So you want to start an online clothing boutique and work full time? Let me help you get started!
If you’ve already done some research on starting an online boutique, you will likely have seen a mix of individuals working on their boutique full-time vs. part-time. In my opinion, you can absolutely have an online boutique while working full time and I actually encourage it. You will have to spend some money upfront on inventory and it’s really nice to have the safety blanket with other income while you do so.
As mentioned in my post on How To Start A Clothing Line, it is key you ask yourself a few questions before you get started.
Things to consider before starting an online boutique:
- Same as with starting your own line. Your why. WHY do you want to start a clothing boutique?
- Do you have the time to dedicate to having an online clothing boutique? (aka do you have time in the mornings and evenings?)
- Do you have the space to keep inventory in your house? (I had to buy multiple IKEA storage units to store the clothing)
- Do you have the ability financially to buy inventory before selling anything?
- Do you have it in you to ride the highs and lows of some days with orders, others with none?
Once you’ve asked yourself some questions, it’s time to begin on your business strategy.
Below are some of the initial steps to consider when starting an online clothing boutique. Each step below takes time, so work through things at your own pace and try to have fun!
Spend time creating your business strategy
Things to consider before starting your online boutique:
- What is your niche?
- Who is your target customer?
- Who are your competitors?
- What is your unique value prop?
- What is your mission, vision and goals for your boutique?
- How will you find vendors?
- How will you price/mark up items? What is your profit margin?
- How will customers learn about your business?
- How can you encourage referrals?
- How can you encourage repeat purchases?
- Will you offer free shipping?
- How will you deal with returns/ exchanges/ refunds?
- What mail carrier will you use to ship your products? (I use Canada Post)
- Will you need to keep multiple packaging options on hand (poly bags, boxes, etc)? (Yes, I use all…)
- Will you have custom or plain packaging? (This is a place you can spend a lot of $, or save)
- What vendors will you get your packaging from?
From a legal standpoint:
- Incorporate your business (you need a BIN for most wholesale platforms)
- Check if you need a retail permit (I did not need one, and tbh I could not find much on retail permits in Canada)
- Set up HST (I have not done this because my sales have not hit the threshold to charge tax)
- Open a business bank account
Create your website & set up your social handles
This is a step that requires a post of its own! So I will write another post on how to create a website.
As a start, you need to do the following asap:
- Buy a domain
- Determine your web host (I use WordPress) + design the bones of your website
- Design your logo
- Set up your social channels – I use IG, Pinterest and Facebook (taking a TikTok break, but it is SUCH a great business tool)
Budgeting for your online business
From a general budget standpoint:
- Inventory costs (where the bulk of your budget will go)
- Website costs
- Logo design/branding (you can do your own on Canva)
- Equipment – camera, printer, label maker etc
- Incorporation/legal fees
- Shipping supplies
- Stationary/office supplies
Questions to ask yourself:
- How much $ do you intend on spending on inventory to start? Consider duty and taxes if you are in Canada. I found it very hard to find Canadian clothing wholesalers to work with and most of my items came from LA. Therefore, every shipment had a big amount of duty attached.
- What is the retail price range of your boutique?
- How will you accept payment?
- What is your marketing budget?
- Will you gift to influencers?
Branding your business
Properly branding your business is key and there are SO many resources out there to help you do so.
Personally, I wanted to brand my business as one that everyone could relate to with unedited pictures of friends enjoying each others company. Early on I had friends trying on my line and I would bring them champagne to hang out and take pictures.
So before going too far, ask yourself: what type of brand do I want?
Things to think of when branding your business:
- What makes your brand unique?
- What is your brand personality?
- What are the core values of your brand?
- What promise do you make to your customers?
- What words describe your brand? What words do not describe your brand?
- What problem is your brand solving?
Finding wholesalers
With a simple Google search you will likely come across numerous sites for wholesale clothing. However, through all my digging, my favourite is Faire. This is the site I used when I was selling wholesale clothing in Fall 2020.
The best part about Faire (IMO) is being able to choose the brand values you want. This will limit your searches to the perfect products that align with brand values. In addition, Faire is very curated in terms of the types of brands they allow on their platform.
To get started on Faire as a buyer, again, you need to be incorporated, have a website, and have a social presence. When I was accepted, I had yet to launch my website but sent them pictures of my site and my business plan, so they knew I was serious.
Again, the more planning you do, the better.
Launching your online boutique
There are tons of articles out there telling you what you MUST do before you launch and I’ve read the majority of them…(IMO) the key things to do before launch are:
- Ensure you are happy with the overall look and feel of your site. You want to love your brand!
- Make sure you have the essentials pages set up – about me, contact, returns, privacy policy, disclosure statement, disclaimer, terms & conditions
- Check your pages for SEO rankings
- Set up an e-mail opt-in form
- Have your content calendar planned for at least 2 months
- Order some inventory! And make sure you have a plan for when orders come in.
And those are some of the basics on how to start an online clothing boutique and work full time!
I wish you all the best with your very exciting journey.