When it comes to the creation of an online business, virtually nothing is off-limits these days. One of the top e-commerce choices for freshly minted entrepreneurs is fashion merchandising. This industry allows people to express their personalities through their clothing and accessory choices. It allows allows the entrepreneur to focus on niche demographics that they’re passionate about so a strong core of customers can be developed through relationship building.
What are the pros and cons of fashion merchandising? Here are some of the key points to consider before breaking into this field.
The Pros of Fashion Merchandising
1. You can create a schedule that is flexible to your needs.
To say that fashion merchandising is “easy” would not be accurate. Just like any entrepreneurial opportunity, it takes a lot of hard work and probably more hours than someone working the 9-5 daily grind. What you do get, however, is a schedule that is flexible to your needs. You dictate the terms so life fits in with work instead of making work fit in with life.
2. There are generally low start-up costs.
Fashion merchandising can be relatively inexpensive if you’re selling items that others have made. You’re essentially a retailer in this form of the business. If you’re creating your own designs, marketing them, testing core market segments, and establishing your own brand the costs can be much more – but so can the profits. The risk/reward ratios in this industry are quite strong.
3. You don’t need to have a physical business location.
The modern fashion merchandising business can be run online. This means you can run the average company out of your home if you wish. Many of the processes can be automated or outsourced so you don’t have to have employees and deal with the potential tax consequences of being an employer. Finding a domain and hosting company is also relatively inexpensive, allowing you to sell a large inventory without needing to carry a large inventory.
4. You can be open 24/7 thanks to modern technology.
Fashion merchandising is a business opportunity which never ceases. Thanks to the growing global economy, just about every region in the world has a potential customer concerned about their fashion right now. When you have an effective web presence, you can meet the needs of the entire world 24/7 and become an established global brand from a home office.
The Cons of Fashion Merchandising
1. There is a large amount of competition.
Everyone dreams of becoming the next big name in the fashion industry. Unfortunately that status is reserved for only a select few. Because it is so easy to break into the fashion merchandising world, the amount of competition someone may have will be enormous. Many entrepreneurs find themselves even selling the same fashion products. This can make it difficult for someone to get their foot in the door.
2. Trust can be difficult to establish.
If you’re just getting started with fashion merchandising, then you will need to work on establishing trust with your core segments. There’s just no getting around this fact. People are going to be wary of you until you are able to prove yourself. Reviews and testimonials are a good first step, but what you really need are satisfied customers who give you free word-of-mouth marketing. That takes an initial investment that not every fashion entrepreneur is willing to take.
3. There are always technical issues which need to be solved.
Websites can go down. Hosting companies have server errors which need to be fixed. Fashion components can change slightly from year to year, but create big ripples that can effect your merchandising business. This means there is a great variety of tasks which need to be performed daily and this limits boredom, but it also creates challenges that can be difficult to solve.
4. The pay scale can be very difficult to predict.
Fashion merchandising can go through severe droughts from time to time. This happens even if you’ve made all of the right connections within the industry. There will also be floods of success, so it is important to make sure your budget is structured to help you get through the difficult times. Otherwise it may be difficult to survive.
The pros and cons of fashion merchandising show that there is a niche which can be highly beneficial for a passionate entrepreneur. If the cons can be appropriately managed, then consider giving this industry a second look.
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