Things to do about how to go into fashion business in Nigeria are not that demanding beside the skills and the little capital required for the establishment. But what is certainly important about it all is the skills. Once it is acquired, every other thing such as the money to start, the equipment to buy, and all materials will begin to fall into place.
As someone that is skilled in the vocation, you can get to work as a journeyman in big fashion couture or enterprises where you get to earn enough money through consistent savings to purchase the equipment, and rent the shop to begin with.
The fashion business or garment industry summarizes the types of trade and industry along the production and value chain of clothing and garments, starting with the textile industry, embellishment using embroidery, via the fashion industry to apparel retailers up to trade with second-hand clothes and textile recycling.
This business is a major contributor to the economies of many countries. Fashion business involves the designing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of different kinds of apparel. It is one of the trending businesses in the world and a much-patronized business venture. Retailers do not typically manufacture their own items and henceforth they purchase their goods from wholesalers and manufactures.
This makes it so that they can mark down there prices, and make them cheaper to consumers. This process is called a Supply Chain, which is the way in which companies and suppliers are able to distribute products to consumers.
Equipment
Starting a fashion design business requires the following equipment:
- Sewing Machine: For sewing cloth. it can be industrial or manual
- Embroidery Machine: To make design on clothes
- Weaving Machine: It is a finishing machine used to make the sewing work neater.
- Scissors: To cut fabrics after the sizes have been chalked out.
- Iron: For straightening of clothes in between sewing and at the end.
- Generator: To supply power in case of power failure.
- Measuring Tape: To get the accurate size of the body.
- Sewing Machine Needles: There are two kinds of needle, the hand sewing, and the machine needles. It is used to fasten thread into the fabrics.
- Threads: The color of the thread varies. It is mainly used with a needle to sew clothes, and the color depends on the colour of the fabric.
- Sketching Books: To sketch out designs
- Chair: To sit while operating the machine. It can be movable or otherwise.
- Pencils/ Chalk: for sketching on fabrics and books.
How to Go Into Fashion Business in Nigeria
Fashion business revolves around creativity, efficiency, uniqueness and gives no room for complacency. More so, it’s a place where personal profits can be decided and horizon expanded within a little space of time.
Having gone through some few details about the fashion business, we shall be duly highlighting the procedural roles you will need to play in order to master every rudiment on how to go into fashion business in Nigeria:
Identify A Need In The Market
The first step in starting a fashion business is to identify what the market needs. So, think about a niche you are passionate about that is not currently filled.
It can be making wedding dresses, shirts, trousers, uniforms, baby wears etc. After identifying the niche, consider the audience you want to target. Do you want to focus on men, women, babies, ladies?
Choosing a niche will help you tailor your adverts and sell better to your audience. Also, it will help in the advancement of the business and in building a brand identity that is unique and different from other existing brands.
Get Trained
In a fashion design business, training is required if it’s not your forte. Getting training will provide you with adequate knowledge on how to turn fabrics into a fitted dress. If you are not trained, you can sign up with a fashion institute for 6 months to a year. It’s important for a business owner to understand the core of their business, that’s why training is important.
If you are planning on building a clothing line and scaling fast, you cannot make all the clothes yourself. So, you need to find a clothing manufacturer. This may mean you employing people who can help you make the clothes in your location or fully contracted out a manufacturer who will produce exactly according to your specification.
Write A Business Plan
Once you are done with your training and sourcing for manufacturers, the next thing is to draft your business plan. A business plan serves as a guide for every business journey.
To write a comprehensive business plan, you need to conduct a feasibility study, identify your target market and audience, know the competition and their activities and come up with a strategy to stand out and win.
Read Also: Steps to Start a Successful Fashion Business in Nigeria
Register Your Business
To run a structured business that can stand separate from you the owner, you need to register the business. You can register with the authorized Nigerian agency, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as a sole proprietor, Limited Liability Company depending on the ownership structure.
Besides, you can contact ReDahlia, a brand preoccupied with offering business support and solutions to entrepreneurs to help you with your business registration. They make the process seamless and affordable for you.
Capital
The cost of setting up a standard fashion design business varies according to the scale you want to operate. if you just start from home, you don’t need to bother with the cost of location. You only focus on the equipment you need.
But, if you need to set up a factory and work with others, you will need to spend money on the location, furniture, equipment, salaries, etc. Therefore, the cost of starting a fashion business can range from anything between a few thousand to millions of naira.
If you do not have the capital to start, there are different ways you can seek funding which we have covered here. Also, there are grant opportunities available to entrepreneurs. The option of crowdfunding where you get different people to invest in your business is also available.
Location
The next thing is to look for a location suitable for the business. Just like in every business, location matters. It can have a positive or adverse effect in the turn out of the business. So, it is better to get a location that gives you access to customers with little or less competition since you are just starting out.
Depending on the standard you are creating, rent a 2-3 bedroom flat and furnish it to a modern taste. The open area can be for sewing machines where your employees and trainees can work from. The other room can be for fabric cutting where you have a center table big enough for cutting different fabrics at a time.
Also, create another room for embroidery and industrial machine and perhaps set up a fitting room in a corner.
As mentioned above, you can start from your home with a machine, tape rule, scissors, and other basic equipment. Then, as time goes on, expand, and create your own fashion store outside your residential home.
