HOW TO STARTUP YOUR OWN FASHION HANDICRAFT BUSINESS IN NIGERIA
The saying “learn to do what you love” or “make your passion your business” aren’t at all new statements. If you’re thinking of turning your love for fashion and handicrafts or handmade accessories into a profitable business, then you’re not wrong.
Starting out your own Fashion brand or business on beautifully made handicrafts or handmade accessories is certainly a bright idea! One which, if well executed, will yield tremendous returns!
The world is a big place, and the human being is wired to not just interact, but most especially to notice uniqueness and appreciate it by default (though a few who oppose this generalization, basic human psychology remains unchanged).
If you’re in a country like Nigeria, in Africa, you really have an edge because not only has its citizens opened up to appreciate the crafts/handmade accessories, it also costs quite a fortune in countries outside the continent! You only need to get it right 🙂
Here are a few things we put together to get you running:
Research market demand
Now before you start out any venture, you must ascertain that there is a market demand for the product you’re trying to introduce to the system.
“Ascertain that there is a market demand for the product you’re trying to introduce to the system”
Imagine creating tons of crafts or Fashion accessories people don’t need, remember before any buying decision is made there has to be a desire to WANT the product in the first place. Once this is off, the business would have failed from the very beginning.
So what do you do? Make your research >> There are few ways you can get this done:
1. Websites: Visit already existing sites like ANQR; This is an African based website for everything fashion, think of it as the Amazon of Africa! You can go on this site and search for crafts & handmade accessories people are selling. Make your research here, know the market demand
2. Fashion shows/exhibit: In Nigeria there are Fashion shows you could attend to have an idea of what the big guns in the industry are doing, what people who actually have interest in this are looking for. You can use Eventbrite to check for available Fashion shows in your area.
3. Social Media: Social Media has served as a potential search engine for some kinda of businesses and people, especially when it comes to Fashion, entertainment etc. It is proven to be very effective in a bid to find queries related to Fashion, handmade accessories or handicrafts.
Niche down (Get on one thing)
Yes yes, isn’t Fashion already a niche? Are you aware of how many small business owners who are into the exact same thing you’re doing? Well, that’s why you need to in a way…set yourself aside.
There are a lot of things you could do with that skill when it comes to Fashion:
• Embroidery
• Lace-making
• Jewelry
• Knitting
• Crotcheting
And this doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t do any other one, a typical example would be a jewelry business, as you know there are already thousands of jewelry making businesses in the world today. So you can make something out of sustainable materials, you can make your brand different by doing Fashion but also promoting the safety of the environment. So make your decision and move to the next step.
Research Customers
There is every need of you to KNOW who your customers are. You must come to terms with the fact that you’re selling to people, not robots/dummies. It’s the same way you feel.
How you’re approached most times affects whether or not you’d buy a product. It’s the same with your customers, define them, there are a few questions to ask yourself when doing this research to know your buyer persona; this is well researched digital image of your potential customer. It includes:
• Location
• Interest
• Social Media platforms
• Income
• Education level
• Are they decision makers?
Reliable source for materials
They say “A meal is only as good as its ingredients” if you will offer high quality products to your customers, you must have a reliable source of materials.
Ensure this is settled before you start out your business, you can as well get companies that will provide materials for you on a large scale and varied discounts.
Brand yourself
Get branded! Everything pertaining to branding; brand name >> Logo >> tagline >> business cards, email and all. Remember you’re just starting out, so it may not be so advisable to get a website, that’s why we have websites like ANQR that will help you take it up from here.
You will have less issues with strategy, delivery, even shipping outside the country. It’s an all in one platform that meets all of your needs in just a click! Highlighting some of the websites key features will include;
• Guaranteed 7-day settlement
• Ship products at a button click
• 24/7 customer care
• Live chat with customers
• Dedicated vendor help-desk
• Rock bottom cheap delivery fees
• Negotiated the cheapest rates with reputable global logistics companies
