The fashion world is more than just glitz and glamour. In order to start a new venture in this industry, there are a few points to keep in mind, says Pranav Aggarwal

The world of fashion appears to be filled with a lot of glamour and glitz. However, the reality is quite different. Just like any other business startups or new aspirants, the one related to fashion designing has a lot of hassle and a lot of hard work has to be put into it in order to achieve great heights and make the company scale new heights. There are a few tips to be followed in order to be successful in a new venture, a few of which have been mentioned below.

Awareness and proper research is very important: The fashion world is constantly changing and you need to update yourself as well in order to keep pace with it. There is a cut-throat competition in this field with everyone eyeing to be the best and people are ready to bring others down to achieve it. The challenge is all the more prominent now as the number of aspirants has skyrocketed in recent times. Something new is coming up every day and there is an increased necessity to be aware of all the changes that are taking place. You need to be involved in extensive research as well which needs to be done not only through the online forum but also through visiting the stores physically. Only then you will be able to keep up and even stay one step ahead.

Consider your target customers: The fashion field is pretty huge and widespread and you are better off targeting one customer niche before expanding the investment with time. Be very clear about who the designs exactly are for and is it any better than what is already available in the market. You have to make a decision between the markets for men and women, older or younger age group, the type of clothes like either western or Indian etcetera. There is another point of consideration while choosing the target, which section of the society will be ready to wear the design of yours. Once all of these are taken care of, you should direct most of your work towards this direction.

Have a good plan in place: Planning never goes waste and comes to fruition sometime or the other. Therefore, it is very important that you have a business plan chalked out about how you are going to go about the whole process. The main aspect that needs to be taken care of immediately is the financial aspect of the business. Do you plan to have investors for it or take a loan for meeting the requirements. If it is the former, you will also need to know whom to approach and when and once that is done, you need to finalize the deal as soon as possible. The business plan is not very concrete though. It is always subjected to different forms of changes and adjustments that might be required.

Find out about manufacturing and production details: A plan might be in place but you should also know how to execute it properly. Looking at it from the perspective of a fashion design business, you need to take care of the manufacturing and production units of the materials and who is going to take the responsibility of distribution. Again, you can spread your wings either through the online or offline source

Promote it well: When starting a new business, proper promotion is as important as anything else. One of the major mediums of doing so is through social media nowadays as the number of people hooked it is numerous. Thus, maximum coverage can take place through it only. You must be aware of the multiple advertisement forums that are available these days and everyone wants to make their online presence felt. You should also jump into this bandwagon and promote your business extensively.

Look for feedback: You should always be looking to satisfy the needs of the customers and making amends in your business accordingly. One potent way of doing so is to ask your customers for feedback. The utilities are many. You will not only know about the potential of your business adequately and also you can address some grievances of the customers as soon as possible. Thus, this tip can be included in the most important along with the others.

The writer is Executive Director, International School Of Design