I don’t have any support and I don’t know what I’m doing

[winning]

@aboutsites After quickly looking through your post history:

You will want a shopify site. I have worked on a shopify site before for a profitable fashion company. They sold unique African dresses.

You will need to learn how to use Facebook/instagram adverts. Google ads will be too expensive. You must learn this yourself, don’t pay someone else. The more skills you acquire, the better it is to understand and run your business.

I learned web development at home for 2 years only to start a recovery company. We rank very well on Google and I have never had to hire anyone for marketing or design.

As you are Muslim and into fashion, I would go into making Hijabs / cultural clothes and dresses. You need a speciality in order to stand out. These African dresses sold like crazy.

You need to be charging a reasonable amount. Don’t sell yourself short. We charge £50 - £100 per hour.

As for your husband, I know your culture is different, but try to earn some money yourself. This business will be a big investment and you will not appreciate it if you didn’t save your own money for it.

I had to save up £8,000 working less than minimum wage. It was all or nothing. There’s a big mental bonus when it means everything to you.

But in short, you can make money selling unique and pricey dresses or clothes. You must make them appeal to the average ‘UK/US’ Islamic woman. You cannot resell clothes online that you buy from a supplier. You should manufacture / modify dresses. You need to learn how to make profitable Facebook/instagram ads.

 

[aboutsites]

@winning Thank you for the advice! I’m a christian really advocating for modest fashion as most western shops out here is hard to find.

 

[winning]

@aboutsites Sorry I didn’t read properly. People like the ‘old style relaxed dress wear’. Make sure you’re doing something unique and build a storyline with it. These clothes are handcrafted and made for X purpose. Good luck!

 

[aboutsites]

@winning Thank you

 

[buckeye_momof4]

@aboutsites My advice:

1. Slam on the breaks & stop.

Do it immediately or you're going to crash!

You cannot start a business with a declaration of "I don't know what I'm doing."

This is not a red flag, it's a total show-stopper.

1. What kind of support do you want:
2. A cheerleader?
3. Hugs?
4. Encouragement?
5. Money?
6. Someone to tell you what to do?
7. Someone to tell you how to do it?
8. Someone to do it for you
   Get educated?
9. All of the above?

Sounds like a web-based business. If you don't know what to do, then don't! Seriously.

If you don't know what type of photo looks professional, this is an even bigger full stop.

1. Get Educated.
   Start with an on line search using an search engine called Google. You can ask Google actual questions such as:
   
   "How do I start an online clothing business"

You will get more information than you ever imagine.

You can ask:
+ Is it a good idea to start an online clothing business?
+ Is an online clothing business profitable?
+ What types of clothing sell best online?

Maybe on a few weeks, a few months or in a year you may or may not be ready to resume the process.

Finally, I commend and congratulate your husband for not letting you waste money on something you know nothing about.

 

[bornagainsteve1]

@aboutsites Is this a question about photos or more general about starting a business?

 

[tgunz22]

@aboutsites You might not be ready. I spent years planning my business. I spend likely too much time planning projects, and when it works perfectly i never regret it. When there are fails, planning for contingencies was the problem. Plan, write, draw, visualize, talk about it.

 

[faresia]

@aboutsites growth numerous juggle bear murky pause encouraging materialistic tap punch

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

 

[ellego]

@aboutsites What research did you do before starting the business?

 

[aboutsites]

@ellego I’ve done research galore on my free time before getting it set up.

 

[uruthkranon]

@aboutsites I run an e-commerce business.

Tell your website guy to use placeholder images in the meantime. Even better, if you can provide him with some sample photographs/inspiration of how you envision your website will ultimately look (or close to), do that.

Then, focus on taking the photos. Get your inventory photos done so you can start adding them to the website when they're done.

Look, your brand image is going to go through several phases if you only work with a website designer. Do you have a brand designer? I think you need a professional opinion on the brand image so that they can assist you with the visual/design aspects of the brand, including how should the photos should look.

What you need is cohesiveness, you need to have a clear vision of what you want and delegate from there. Some things can be delegated now, or in parallel with one another, or can wait for a later time. Write down what's most important for YOU. Hopefully, once you get some order back and take control of your stress, you'll be able to think clearly on the next step, just look for the right support you need first.

What I'd do:

-Look for inspiration for brand image and design all over the internet.

-See if I can hire a brand designer and focus on the brand image. No, logos and names don't come first. Also, ask if they do graphic design, this is important for the next step.

-The website designer can use the brand collateral as reference for the development of the website. In parallel, take or have a pro photographer take the inventory photos and start optimizing them for the web, then hand them out to the website designer.

-The brand collateral is also very important if you plan on creating social media content, the sooner you have it, the sooner you can begin building a niche audience and lead traffic to your shop.

-You won't be making money right off the bat, but you need to get the ball rolling. The sooner you have a working brand image and website, the sooner you will be able to sell and build social proof. Trust me, brands change all the time, no brand looks the same, ever. But once you have a loyal clientele, you can make little adjustments over time and keep focusing on what's important" Your vision.

Lastly, forget about expecting faith and help from people, there are shitty people in business and in life, stand your ground on what you believe and who you aspire to become as long as you are stern but fair with everyone, and provide good value to your customers, you will be fine. Only let those who believe in you close to you, you can let the haters hate from afar.

 

[pool1234]

@aboutsites Dear OP, let me share you something = Anxiety comes from lack of action. The moment you send the pictures PUFF the problem is gone. the moment you take action towards any task you need to take the anxiety level just goes away.

ahhh! I am a developer and I have clients that made me wait for 1 year for content.

in this day an age starting a business is easier than ever. You are young and much to learn so just keep taking care of each tasks. dont leave it for tomorrow. just do do do and all this questions from the head will start to go away. Tomorrow you learn something new or anew problem show up = fix it = anxiety gone.

Hope this helps dm for any advice.

 

[sun1982]

@pool1234

Anxiety comes from lack of action

You are indeed wise. I really like the way you put it. I gotta remember that one.

 

[shingles]

@aboutsites No business will succeed with this mentality.

You don’t need support. No one will give it to you. Your expectations are wrong.

You have to be able to hunt and kill your own food to survive on your own. Small business is similar.

 

[gemoul8]

@shingles I like this advice

 

[shingles]

@gemoul8 People are too soft these days…

 

[questionoflife85]

@aboutsites Analysis paralysis is a bitch isn't it!?

Find Like minded people who won't bs you. I'm in a different industry but I'm more than happy to talk honestly if you wanna pm me. I've tried but gave up on my own business ideas before they went anywhere. I have definitely learned since then but I'm now overthinking things associated with basically the same feelings lol. I'd love to bounce ideas back and forth w you!!

 

[enoch27]

@aboutsites Maybe you could share you thoughts on the group(s) of like minded people that you believe will want to buy your line of clothing.

Is there a theme? Working professionals, cruise adventures , going out uniforms?

You're building a brand which relies on storytelling to trigger emotions.

Not sure where to start? Take 20 minutes to write down as many keywords as you can. It not about reflecting on every keyword before writing it down... Be quick, be fast and write downs many keywords as you can that relate to your thoughts on your clothing.

Take the time after a short break to prioritize your list. Try using Post-Its on the wall. Easy to move them around.

When done, look at your work and write down your thoughts. It's your private journal that nobody will see any of it.

Now, what unanswered questions come to mind? Jot them down. Keep jotting them down until the well runs dry.

Enough for one day. Trust your mind to agitate, cogitate, ruminate, and figure things out.

Just keep a notepad handy (or voice recorder) to capture those thoughts that rise to the top of your mind in the twilight just before waking up. Or, if part of your mind considers this to be very, very, very important. You'll wake up at night with a lot of interesting thoughts.

Now that you've captured a lot of interesting ideas, google the keywords one by one and click on the images tab. More inspiration? Fresh thoughts. Some ideas jump to the top?

Imagine the smiling buyers of your clothing. What stories to they want to hear.

The start of an entrepreneurial journey. Remember that this is a learning process. It may take a few iterations before your inspiration lines up with a group of dedicated believers. Luck plays a big part in success. You have to be in the "right place," at the "right time," with the "right" product.

 

[stillbelieve]

@aboutsites Key thing - get your husband on side. Honestly you will need this to survive.

2nd - photographer don't over think it. You need your clothes on a white background at a minimum. Use pixlr to get the images to look right. It's a cloud photo editor and you get 3 a day free. I ay £100 per product if it helps to a local photographer.

Can't afford that? A white tablecloth against a white wall and you'll get close enough.

 

[darwinroussel]

@aboutsites Post pictures as good as you can. You can update them later as the business refines itself. You really need to launch to see if your idea will work or not.