How to start a children’s clothing home business

How to start a children’s clothing home business?

Start your children’s clothing business from home by finding high-demand but low-competition items to sell. Source your products from suppliers who can create and package clothing with your logo. Use online stores like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Poshmark, and Shopify to sell your products.

Imagine creating a clothing business around something you love. Children across the country wear your unique clothing.

Starting your own children’s clothing home business is possible.

Luckily for you, I will show you some tips for starting a successful clothing business from home. I’ll show you how much money you could make and some ideas on where to start. With enough hard work, you’ll have your own business to be proud of.

Key Takeaways:

• Start a kids’ clothing line by analyzing the market for high-demand, low-competition products. Find a vendor who can supply clothing and add your logo. Set up your online shop and start marketing your products.
• Get money for your online clothing line by crowdfunding, asking friends and family, getting a loan, or finding an investor.
• At a minimum, starting a clothing brand costs as little as $2,000. However, you may want to plan on having $10,000 to start your clothing line.

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Can you run a clothing business from home?

Using an online storefront and marketing, you can run a clothing business from home. Clothing businesses will need an online store and inventory storage (e.g., a storage unit). You can outsource clothing production to vendors and suppliers.

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How do I start my own children’s clothing line?

Start your children’s clothing line by analyzing the market for popular items. Source your clothing by finding suppliers, designing a logo, and working with vendors to provide clothing. Set up your online store and get customers through ads or influencer marketing. Double down on your strengths to grow your business.

Depending on how seriously you take your business, you will need a basic business setup. Determine if you want to set up a limited liability corporation (LLC) or move forward as a sole proprietorship. You will also need a business license, a reseller’s permit, and a business bank account.

Once you’ve determined your business structure, the first step is to apply for a business license. You’ll need your business license to apply for your reseller’s permit and open a business bank account.

Here’s a video on how Brittany Davis grew her boutique baby clothing company, Willow and Co. I enjoyed how she talked about her struggles with starting a clothing business and how she overcame them.

Analyze the market

The first step to owning a clothing line is to analyze the market. Find high-demand but low-competition products and determine what you want to sell. Creating a successful business is more than picking what looks ‘cute.’

You can use tools like Google Trends, Google Keyword Planner, and product reviews to get a feel for what is popular. Each tool has its own strength when analyzing sales potential.

Google Trends is good for identifying how a product is currently trending. Is the product more popular during the wintertime and has seasonality? Has the product lost popularity over time?

Google Keyword Planner will give you an idea of search volume. You’ll be able to see how many people search for keywords like baby socks, jackets, or pajamas. The more people search for specific terms, the higher the demand for the product.

Product reviews will give you insight into what people like or don’t. You’ll be able to gain insight into how to improve your clothing. The more product reviews an item has, the more popular it is.

Source your clothing 

Finding someone who can supply your clothing can be challenging. You’ll need to find a supplier who can create and package your clothing. All vendors must be properly vetted to ensure the quality of clothing.

You’ll also need to decide if you will design your clothing. Designing your own clothing is more challenging but gives you a unique brand. Most children’s clothing startups find vendors with existing clothes at a wholesale price who can add your logo.

Get your logo professionally designed, or do it yourself in Canva. Don’t spend too much money or time designing a logo because you’re the only one that cares.

You can find suppliers by searching online or attending trade shows. Ask local children’s boutiques where they source their clothing.

Most vendors require you to have a reseller’s permit and business license. Create an account with the vendor and send them your logo to print on the clothing. The vendor should have packaging options available.

Set up your online store 

You’re going to need a storefront to sell your clothing. Having an online storefront is the easiest and most affordable option. You can go independent with a Shopify store or be a third-party seller on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, or Poshmark.

Personally, I think it’s a good idea for you to sell on multiple storefronts. Some customers prefer to shop on eBay over Amazon, so the more storefronts you have, the better. 

Companies like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and Poshmark already have shoppers. You might find it easier to reach success at these stores, but they charge more in fees.

Get Customers

Getting customers to your online store will be difficult but rewarding. You need to find the best way to get people to view your products. Take advantage of influencer marketing, social media marketing, and paid advertisements.

Advertising is best done on any media before it gets large. For example, Facebook advertisements used to be cheap, but now they’re expensive because everyone uses Facebook ads. TikTok is now one of the best places to reach people at scale for pennies.

Influencer marketing is when you reach out to social media influencers with a large audience. They’ll take a picture with your product and post it so their followers can see it. Most influencers don’t know how much to charge, so you can get a lot of views for very little cash.

Social media marketing is when you build an online presence on social media. You could hire a social media manager to grow your social media accounts. People follow you for interesting content, and you make money promoting the occasional sale.

Paid advertising can make you hundreds of thousands of dollars when done right. You create an advertisement that shows up on someone’s Facebook or Instagram feed. Before scaling up, you’ll need to start small to prove you can make more money than you spend on ads.

Double down on what is working

Successful businesses often do one thing, and they do it well. Double down on what works best for you to see massive growth in your business. Don’t waste your time on what isn’t working.

You may find that using paid advertising provides your business the biggest return on investment. At this point, you should be spending more money on advertising. Stop wasting time building your social media following if you only get one follower per week.

Most new business owners make the mistake of trying to do everything. You can’t do anything well if you’re trying to do it all. Double down on your strengths!

How to get money for your clothing line

Starting a children’s clothing line from home through an eCommerce store means less overhead. You won’t have to pay extra for inventory storage, utility costs, internet, or rent a store. Even so, you’ll need some cash to get started.

A few ideas for how to raise money are to:

• Launch on Kickstarter or other crowdfunding sites
• Ask your friends and family
• Apply for a loan
• Find an investor

You can use Lender Match to find lenders who use U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed loans.

As another option, you can apply to an SBA investment program, including the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. You may also apply for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

Costs of a Children’s Clothing Line

The main upfront costs for your store will be inventory expenses. Inventory expenses can range from $300 to $5,000 depending on the wholesaler or if you make the clothes yourself. 

It is recommended to thoroughly research your target customer to ensure the inventory you purchase will sell.

Start with a small number of various styles to see what sells, and then purchase more of what your customers want. If your inventory doesn’t sell, that is money you won’t get back, so this step is essential.

Another cost is package and logo design, which could cost between $50 and $3,000. This includes protective and wrapping products that you will use to distribute your inventory. To save money, you can design your package and logo using free software such as Canva.

A cost you may not have considered is shrinkage. Shrinkage is when you lose your inventory between when you purchase from your supplier and when you send your product to the customer. 

According to Fortune, retail shrinkage costs around 1.4% of U.S. retailers’ total sales. It is recommended to budget up to $1,000 to cover these losses.

Since you will be using the internet to sell your product, you may run into IT issues. You will want to resolve these issues fast for your customers. IT support could cost anywhere between $150 and $2,000.

You will also need a domain name for your clothing website and a business email hosting service. A domain name is a small cost of $13.

You may consider advertising to get your product off the ground. Influencer marketing could cost you up to $750. Google Ads could be up to $300. Facebook and Instagram ads could be up to $350.

With a little creativity and thoughtfulness, you can find cheaper ways to do almost anything. 

Let’s say you spend $300 on inventory, $50 on packaging/ logo design, $1,000 to cover shrinkage, $150 for IT support, $13 for a domain name and email, and $200 on advertisements. 

As a general estimate, you’re looking at a total startup cost of $1,713.

What you’ll need to start a clothing business from home

A clothing business doesn’t appear without some elbow grease and effort. To start a clothing business from home, you will need:

1. A dedicated space in your home
2. Inventory storage
3. A strong internet connection
4. (optional) business plan
5. Company name
6. Logo
7. Domain name and web hosting
8. Inventory
9. Social media accounts
10. Business License
11. Reseller’s permit
12. Business bank account
13. Sewing equipment (if making your own clothes)

Setting up your home space

First, you’ll need a dedicated space in your home to work and store inventory. Make sure to have a strong internet connection since everything depends on it. If you decide to make clothes yourself, you’ll need plenty of space to craft efficiently.

Business plan

It would help if you now wrote a business plan. Include an executive summary, overviews and objectives, your products and services, market opportunities, marketing, competitive analysis, daily operations, leadership team, and financial analysis.

Business plans can be optional, but they can help you think through your business strategy.

Name, logo, inventory, and online presence

This next part is important because you’ll need to come up with a name and logo that best represents your brand and niche. This should streamline your name, logo, clothing, packaging, website, and social media, so they all have the same feel. 

You can create your logo on a free design site. Then, register a domain name for your website, and through that, set up an email.

Now it’s time to purchase your inventory or design and make your clothing. Research wholesalers, see what your competitors are using, and read product reviews.

Next, set up social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Pinterest.

You may also need an online storefront other than your website, such as Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Poshmark, or Etsy.

Once everything is up and running, and you are ready to sell, consider advertising through social media and other forms such as Google Ads.

Licenses

There are three common ways to start a business legally, and you’ll need to decide which works best for you: 

• LLC
• S Corp
• C Corp.

An LLC means you’ll need to report all the money you make and your company expenses. This is done on a personal tax return for your company. 

S Corp owners pay themselves directly from their profits. They can collect dividends from any money they make from their sales. 

C Corps are separate tax entities. If you choose this license, you’ll need to file a corporate tax return. The owner must pay taxes directly, but you don’t have to pay income tax on a corporate level.

A certified public accountant can help you decide which business structure is right for you.

You will also need a business license, a reseller’s permit, and a business bank account.

Equipment Needed to Start a Clothing Line

You won’t need much more than shipping labels and a computer if you use a wholesaler for your clothing inventory. However, if you plan to design and make your clothing line, there is equipment that you need apart from a sketchbook and fabric.

Sewing Tools

Every good sewist needs a sturdy sewing machine with multiple stitching options. Depending on the fabric and weight, you will need a range of machine needles. 

A seam unpicker is great for mistakes. 

Extra sewing feet will make your life easier, as well as hand-sewing needles, a pin cushion, and a thimble.       

Fabric Measuring Tools

The basics include a tape measure, tailor’s chalk, pencil, ruler, and an eraser.

Cutting Tools

You will need high-quality dressmaker shears. You will also need paper scissors, sharp scissors for thread, and a rotary cutter to cut multiple layers of fabric at once with a cutting mat.

Pressing Tools

When your clothes are finished, you will need to ensure they look their best with an ironing board, pressing cloth, and tailor’s ham.

Is a baby clothing business profitable?

A baby clothing business can be profitable. Most boutique owners make around $50,000 per year. Online baby clothing businesses have the potential to scale and reach hundreds of thousands of customers.

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Summary: Start a children’s clothing home business

As you can see, you can start a children’s clothing business from home, even with no experience. You can find the suppliers, get samples, and start production in no time. Start an online children’s clothing business if you have little to no money.

You will need to analyze the market to find high-demand but low-competition products. Find suppliers who can make and package clothing with your logo. Start an online store and start marketing your products. Double down on what works, and don’t spend time on things that produce little results.

Most baby clothing business owners expect to make around $50,000 annually. However, online business owners can scale up easier than physical locations.

The more storefronts you have, the more customers you can reach. Use Amazon, eBay, Poshmark, Etsy, and Shopify strategically in your business.