Fashion Business Plan

Recently I am seeing quite a few articles here and there that mention business planning in the Fashion industry. One of my favorite entrepreneurs Martha Pullen wrote in her interview:
"... I made almost no money for the first 10 years I was in business. The main reason is that I had no written plan" (1).
 As a former "business planner" I am a great proponent for writing a business plan before you open any business. It might not be easy but it will make you think like a business owner and rise the questions you haven't even thought of.
Kris Van Assche - a creative director of Dior Homme- describes his struggles writing a business plan for  his independent label:
“My first reaction was, ‘I don't know how to do a business plan, I am not going to do it. You're the business people, you take care of it, I'll make the clothes.’ But they said 'No, you want your company, you come up with a business plan.’ It was one of the best things that ever happened to me, because it made me take responsibility and learn.” (2)
I completely understand that the idea of writing a business plan could be quite intimidating especially for the business owners who don't have any business training. There are several online resources, tools and templates to help you get started. Small Business Administration offers great tools for writing a business plan. You can contact your local SBA chapter and check if they offer training on business planning.
Check out tutorials. In this video you can learn about the basic elements of a fashion business plan
 Reach out to the business school at your local university, they may be able to pair you with a business student who can help.
Find out if there is a fashion organization in your area that can help you with the information and connect you with the specialists. Here in Huntsville, AL, for example,  Alabama Fashion Alliance (AFA) can be a valuable resource.
Think of a business plan as a calendar. You can't imagine living without a calendar, right? You need to know where and when you should be and plan accordingly. Same here. You need to get to know your competition, to plan your sales, to estimate your operational costs, to get the idea what kind of  resources and when need to be allocated to certain spheres of the business and finally to realize when your business should start bringing a return on your investments.
With such a plan you can start approaching potential investors.
Good luck! And get planning :)


1) "A visit with Martha Pullen". The ribbon in my journal. http://www.theribboninmyjournal.com/visit-martha-pullen/
2)"Kris Van Assche Says Do What You Are Good At". Business Of Fashion.
http://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/first-person/kris-van-assche-says-do-what-you-are-good-at-krisvanassche-dior-home