How To Avoid 5 Rookie Mistakes Sustainable Fashion Founders Make
If you want to launch a sustainable fashion brand, don’t make any of these 5 common rookie mistakes! Save yourself the hassle of learning the hard way…
After working with so many slow fashion founders over the years, we have rounded up 5 of the most common “rookie mistakes” that we see so that you don’t have to learn the hard way. But more than that, we want to provide you with the knowledge on what you should be doing instead so that your sustainable fashion brand can thrive. We want you to successfully launch and continue to grow your brand because we need more sustainable fashion brands doing good in the world!
#1 Not Putting Your Customers First
We have seen so many slow fashion founders fail to put their customers first, forgetting that their customers are the ones supporting their brand. It’s okay to have a vision and to want to follow that, but you have to remember to take into account what your customers want and how you can better meet their needs.
ACTIONS:
Identify your ideal customer (who is going to benefit from your sustainable fashion brand?)
Do market research (what does your ideal customer need? how can you meet this need?)
Create a product based on need, putting your ideal customer first
Validate your product (take a sample or sketch to your ideal customer to get their feedback)
#2: Avoid Running The Numbers
We know that financials aren’t everyone’s strong suit, but when you’re running a business, it’s so important that you know what’s going on behind the scenes. We have seen so many slow fashion founders avoid this area, simply because they aren’t comfortable with it, but then they find themselves in a lot of trouble later on when they’re unable to cover their monthly costs…
ACTIONS:
Know your margins
Know your minimum monthly spend (what do you have to spend every month to keep your business afloat?)
Know your funding mechanisms (how are you going to be able to fund your next launch?)
#3: Not Having A Well-Thought-Out Marketing Plan
Marketing is always important (otherwise how are people going to know about your brand?) but now more than ever, we have seen just how important online marketing is. You need to make sure that your customers have a way to connect with you, and more importantly, it needs to be in a way that is trustworthy and reliable, and that comes through building credibility. Having a well-thought-out marketing plan is key to your success when it comes to engaging with customers.
ACTIONS:
Start building your community 3-6 months before launch (even if you feel like you have nothing to share on Instagram or Facebook, it takes a long time to build a strong community, so it’s better to start sooner rather than later!)
Focus on 2-3 social media platforms (don’t spread yourself too thin trying to be on every social media platform out there — choose the ones where your ideal customer is)
Do email marketing! Remember that you can fully control the narrative through email, whereas on Instagram or TikTok, you’re subject to the algorithm (which drastically reduces the number of customers you might reach!)
Share behind the scenes of your brand to build credibility with your community
#4: Being Stubborn and Not Asking For Help
We want to share a little story with you about a time when two founders who initially wanted to work with Recloseted, decided that they didn’t want to make the financial investment and would rather go about launching their brand on their own. After utilizing only free resources, a year and a half later when they launched, they had NO sales. Fed up and burnt out, they came back to us, ready to invest in their brand. We changed their ENTIRE business model to be based on tried and true strategies to help them re-launch within 6 months, and on their first day, they made $5,000! The two founders couldn’t believe it — they were over the moon excited and wished they had worked with us from the beginning. And if only they had, they would have saved themselves countless headaches, a ton of time, money, and heartache. The moral of the story here is to not be stubborn and to ask for help when you need it!
ACTIONS:
Get the support you need by asking for help from trusted resources
Leverage your connections by investing in business and mentorship programs
Learn from others’ mistakes so that you don’t have to go through the same pain and heartbreak with your brand
#5: Not Creating A Support System
As an entrepreneur, it can be so easy to go down the rabbit hole and lose yourself in your business… This can lead to all kinds of loneliness, as well as it can drain your creative juices because you are only left to your thoughts.
ACTIONS:
Make friends with other entrepreneurs and slow fashion founders; find people who will celebrate your wins with you and support you through your losses
Align yourself with mentors who are going to teach you how to continue growing your sustainable fashion brand so that you can keep levelling up
