The secret to starting a clothing company
I'm going to tell you the secret to starting a clothing company. It isn't about having huge amounts of cash, armies of employees, or expensive machinery. So, what is it? It’s simply hard work, dedication, planning and luck! Every company is different and rarely start with the same story as others. Okay, so having the cash, employees and machinery would certainly help, but we managed without and I’m going to tell you how.
Plutobury was born whilst watching a television programme about an inspiring young man. He was buying t-shirts, adding his own designs and then selling these on. He was doing rather well out of it too. Now, this wasn’t a moment of realisation as such but more of a motivation to gain confidence in putting together my own dreams and ambitions. “It can’t be that hard,” I thought……... How wrong was I!!!!
The idea of owning a clothing brand initially started several years ago during my employment for a high street clothing store. The problem was, I didn’t know how to manufacture, how to create a website or how I would ever afford to even start a brand. I saw the barriers and they certainly halted me!
Several years after my initial thoughts, I started planning. I’d seen how t-shirts can be bought in bulk, modified and then re-sold. “Perhaps this is my way in,” I thought…
I spent the next several months planning and developing the brand, deciding what I wanted it to be about, what I wanted it to be called, and what I wanted my clothing to be like. At first, I researched ready-made clothing as I thought this would enable me to get my brand out easily. I was adamant that my clothing was to be high quality but nothing I sampled was good enough. I certainly learnt that there is no easy way if you want a job done properly!
At this point I’d lost my confidence again. I knew I would never be happy selling ready-made clothing so my only choice was to manufacture from scratch. I didn’t know where to start! I was really disheartened so I stopped working on the brand. I really couldn’t see a way forward.
A few months went by and a chance encounter gave me a boost. I was visiting my parents when a neighbour came over to me and asked how I was. I mentioned how I’d been looking into starting a clothing brand and that I was at a dead end with it. When I explained my only option was to manufacture my own clothing he said, “well, that sounds like a good idea, go for it.” It’s strange how the littlest bit of encouragement can give someone motivation to try again. That evening I searched for and emailed dozens of UK factories, suppliers and consultancies asking if they can help.
Most of my emails went unanswered, but from those that replied, I received a positive response! This was it…. It’s do-able…. It’s on!!
From then on, I was over the biggest hurdle. I’d found great suppliers, knowledgeable contacts and most importantly, got my confidence back! I still encountered many challenges, and still do today, but now I have a brand I can be proud of. Manufacturing all our clothing from scratch enables us to produce our clothing to our exact standards and design.
So…. Two years later from when I initially started, and after flipping my initial idea on its head, the brand finally made it! Phew!