3 tips for starting a clothing brand in 2026

A lot of people will have dreamed of starting a clothing brand from quite a young age. The fashion world does have a certain allure, and in many ways, it’s now a relatively accessible dream - so long as you know how to prepare yourself properly. As I've dipped my toe into this world, I'd like to share my top 3 tips for success in your upcoming journey. From a diligent approach to market research to intelligent marketing, here’s how you can turn your dream into a reality.   Know your niche As you’ll have probably already worked out by now, the clothing industry is somewhat saturated, to say the least. There are literally thousands of competitors in most niches, and in order to have a fighting chance of success, you need to really know your target audience. Before you start piling money into stock, websites and marketing schemes, you want to have dedicated a lot of time and effort to market research. Study your successful competitors, other brands in your target niche that have f......

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How Growing Companies Actually Find and Keep Their Best Customers

When it comes to business, it's not better products or cheaper prices that separate growing businesses from failing ones. Instead, it's the systematic understanding of how to find and keep the right customers. For successful growth companies, customer acquisition and retention are part of the same system, not separate tasks accomplished at different times. Instead of blindly throwing darts while blindfolded to see if they can acquire customers with different marketing options, most companies adopt a way of acquiring customers that simply tries random channels to see if something sticks. Yet for growing companies, customer acquisition is strategic and applies to do different niches and types of clients, including trying to find legal clients . They know who their ideal customers are, where to find them, how to get them to convert, and subsequently, have systems in place to turn them into advocates for referrals. Identifying Customer Value Beyond Acquisition The most successful g......

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Tips on starting your own business

While the recession was not a pretty sight at all and many people were put under a lot of stress, some losing their livelihood, income and way of life in other respects society has certainly seen a rise in people starting their own businesses, being creative and pursuing their entrepreneurial pursuits. I'm self-employed and I work from home and predominately online and while I don't need an office per se it's nice to have a separate space in the home, where I can really focus on my work.  If you have an idea, the will and are willing to take a calculated risk now really is the time to capitalise on a new and original idea and with so many platforms such as etsy and Instagram to take your business to new heights it's really opened the door to small businesses.  If you have a physical product or service starting small is best and selling online can be a great start but at some point you many want to expand on that and open a real-life store which of cour......

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Make a statement, Business tips

John in his element as a traditional barber So for those who don't know both John and I are self-employed, this is both very exciting but also stressful as basically you are totally in charge of your future and your finances. The one thing I have learnt about running a small business or being self employed that visibility is key, if people don't know what you do or who you are you simply won't pull in the clients, thats what marketing tools are really key. My business cards at the ready So what are our top tips we have learnt so far on our journey into self-employment? 1. Never underestimate the power of networking  Both John and I have benefited a lot by networking with like minded people, wether in a formal or casual situation if your passionate about what you do it alway comes across and usual makes the person you are talking too interested as well, we have both seen the benefit of this when a few weeks later that person has got in touch to know more......

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Pin it forward

Ahh Pinterest you are the source of so much inspiration, such a wonderful tool to visually bookmark your loves, likes and Internet gems. I use it to share my love for travel, fashion, interiors, ethical products and chic baby stuff, it's also my place to dream of the perfect home, adventures and wonderful road trips and my favourite board, that I am going to be sharing with you today is Inspired Living . This board is important to me as I have always been a free spirit, I lived in a campervan for a whole summer in Cornwall and travel across Europe and the UK over the span of nearly two years mainly on my own and growing up outdoors in South Africa has lead me to love the simple quirky things in life, it's a bit hard to do those things now with a family and a little one but this board allows me to dream and full my heart with the things that make it happy, here are my favourite pins.... If you have not heard of Pinterest before you should really......

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A little blog sparkle

So I am very excited about meeting all the lovely bloggers at the Tots100 Blogger summit this coming friday in Bristol. I have been to small meet ups before and of course the big Cybher conference but from what I heard the Blog Summit is going to be a day fill of fun, learning, sharing and networking. This has made me think about the look of my blog, there are a few things I want to change and it's not 100% there yet. I am also in need of some new business cards and possibly a little something else to add some sparkle. Image from a previous Tots100 Blog Summit The one thing I learnt from Cybher is that you need to stand out, especially when your blog has become more than just a hobby and provides some income to you. You need to treat it like a business but keep that personal touch that make your blog your own . I felt a little bit under prepared with my mediocre business cards from vistaprint which I had put together with little effort while looking after a newborn, but ......

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