Setting up a fashion business 101..what do I need to know?

Whether you enter the fashion business as a bricks and mortar retailer, internet retailer or as a fashion designer, the rules are the same. Dedication and tenacity rule.
The only thing glamorous about fashion are the clothes themselves otherwise expect to spend a great part of your time unpacking boxes at 2 am, steaming clothes over and over again, and spending time pouring through receipts with an accountant will and must become part of your routine.
In order to be successful, you should think of yourself as a CEO first, fashion designer second.
A CEO is a manager of people, finances and processes. Therefore, you will have a great deal of responsibility and important business decisions will face you each and every day. The buck stops at you and the business should always be at the forefront of your mind, not just an afterthought.
For fashion designers, you will likely spend less than 10% of your time designing, while the rest of the time you will be managing production, sending clothes to magazines, dealing with suppliers who want their money yesterday.
Here are some question you must ask yourself.
“Do I really want to run a business?”
“Do I already have or can I find the necessary skills, contacts and funding to create a successful fashion company?”
“Do I have something unique to offer the market?”
Aside from these obvious questions, you must decise what your niche is. Who do you ideally want to sell to. The youth market?- very fickle or the older market - very staid and indecisive.
It’s worth pointing out now that not all fashion businesses have to operate at the high end of luxury, although it seems that that is where every designer wants to be.
Remember, your business concept needs to offer a clear proposition of value to your customer, and that value could be world-class design at more reasonable prices.
Look at Zara or H&M or Coach or American Apparel and how they have taken clear business ideas that allow them to deliver great fashion to the masses.
While it may seem ideal to be a “luxury” brand, also remember that some of the most influential fashion businesses are on the high street and in your neighbourhood mall, because they dress thousands of people around the world.
My opinion is that because you love Chanel does not necessarily mean you must sell Chanel. The whole point of being able to afford such luxuries is why you must become a successful fashion entrepreneur.