How To Create Your Own Fitness Clothing Line

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When it comes to starting a fitness clothing line, you may find yourself in a place where you have to make some big decisions.

You may be asking yourself:

What's the first step in establishing my business?
How much will it cost to start my fitness clothing line?
How do I price my fitness clothing line?
How do I market my fitness clothing line?
... so much more!

We walk you through all of the steps; from idea → starting → launching → growing → running your business.

The purpose of this guide is to act as an outline for the steps you'll need to take to get your business running successfully!

💡 Introduction To Starting A Fitness Clothing Line

Is Starting A Fitness Clothing Line Right For You?

There are many factors to consider when starting a fitness clothing line.

We put together the main pros and cons for you here:

Pros of starting a fitness clothing line

• Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

• Ability to start your business from home

It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!

• Little startup costs required

The cost to start a fitness clothing line costs significantly less money than most businesses, ranging anywhere from 12 to 27,209.

• Rewarding work

Starting a fitness clothing line can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

• Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

• Traffic to your website

A fitness clothing line gives people a reason to visit your website and to keep coming back to you!

• High margins

The gross margins for your fitness clothing line are typically around 45%, which is considerably high and allows you to grow your business and manage costs easily.

• Quick build time

The average time it takes to build your product is quick - typically around 9 months. This will allow you to bring your product to market faster.

• Easy to encourage "impulse buy"

In the fitness clothing line, you have a much higher chance of encouraging your customers to buy on impulse - you can easily alter the price, placement, packaging, and promotional value to influence the decision of your buyer.

• Unlimited income potential

With starting a fitness clothing line there is no cap as to how much income you can make. The stronger your business skills and the more energy/time you put into your career, the more you'll make.

• Amazing perks and discounts

Working in the fitness clothing line comes with its perks! As a seller for these products/services, you typically also get to enjoy industry perks and discounts.

• You are your own boss!

With starting a fitness clothing line, you are the one to make decisions for almost all of the operations. Calling the shots can be empowering and liberating!

• Higher likelihood of getting referrals

This business is all about referrals, which can be a a very impactful way to attract and retain customers. It's critical that you have a great referral program in place that incentivizes your customers to tell their friends about your product.

• You can sell your product in various places!

There are various different markets to sell your product, which will help you reach different audiences and revenue streams.

• Simple business model

A fitness clothing line has the advantage of a simple business model, which makes launching and building the business more seamless.

• Control your own destiny

Starting A Fitness Clothing Line allows you to control every aspect of your life and make your own dreams come true every day.

• You get to do something you truly love

With starting a fitness clothing line, you get to put your energy into something you are truly passionate about! You'll find yourself devoting as much time and energy as possible into the business to make it successful.

• You can work from anywhere!

Not only can you start your fitness clothing line from home, you can also run your business from anywhere in the world. This is the entrepreneur dream.

• Ecommerce retail is growing fast

Ecommerce has been grown rapidly over the years and is expected to hit a total of 4.9 trillion dollars by 2021.

With running an ecommerce business, you provide your customers with alternative and more convenient shopping experience, which will ultimately drive sales.

• You can promote and sell your product on Amazon

Although there are some disadvantages to consider when selling your product on Amazon, there are also a host of benefits. Mainly, Amazon is the world's largest online retailer, so you're bound to tap into new business and reach an entirely new audience.

• Various different ways to make money

With starting a fitness clothing line, there is not just one business model to choose from. This field is amazing in that there are various different ways to make money. Although this may complicate things, it's great to have different options and sources of revenue.

• Make money while you sleep

The advantage of starting a fitness clothing line is that you have the ability to have passive income and make money while you sleep. This is the dream for many entrepreneurs.

Cons of starting a fitness clothing line

• Crowded Space

Competition is high when it comes to your fitness clothing line, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.

• Finding The Right Supplier

Most businesses in this space go the supplier/manufacturer route, which isn't a bad thing! However, finding the right supplier can take a lot of time, energy and trial/error. If done properly, this process can save you months (if not years) of time and energy. More on this below in the "finding a supplier" section.

• Security Issues

With any Saas business, data loss and security issues may arise throughout your process of building your product. It's critical that you understand exactly what you're responsible for and how to avoid potential issues down the road.

• Lack of benefits

With a fitness clothing line, you are typically self-employed and responsible for finding your own insurance, which can be quite costly and time-consuming.

• Isolation

Often times, as a fitness clothing line, you typically work alone and do not have much face-to-face interaction with other team members.

• Taxes

As a fitness clothing line, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.

• No safety net

Typically, as a fitness clothing line, you do not receive a consistent pay-check and instead earn money based on your transactions each month. During the slow periods, you typically take away less since the job is based on commission. It's important to budget accordingly for the slow times.

• High overhead expenses

With starting a fitness clothing line, there are overhead expenses that come with selling a physical product. You will want to make sure you strategically budget for these overhead costs. We discuss this more in the startup costs section below.

• You may need to charge sales tax

If you are selling your products in various states, you may be required to charge sales tax. Although this may not impact your financials specifically, it can be a headache to create a process and procedure for this. To learn more about sales tax, check out this article

• Work can be repetitive

You may find creating the same product over and over repetitive and tiresome. One way of avoiding this is to diversify product lines and revenue streams - this will keep things interesting!

• Difficult to build trust with your customer

With starting a fitness clothing line, there can be minimal face-to-face interaction, which means it can be a lot more difficult to establish trust with your customers. You'll need to go the extra mile with your customer to grab their attention and business.

• Minimal physical activity

A big part of starting a fitness clothing line is sitting at a desk for the majority of the day starting at your computer. Some may enjoy this, but others may struggle with sitting for the majority of your day without much physical activity.

• Learning Curve

When you start your own business, you no longer have upper management to provide you with a playbook for your roles and responsibilities. You should know the ins and outs of every aspect of your business, as every decision will come down to you.

Players

Big Players

Gearbest (957 Alexa Ranking)
Gymshark Sverige (2.75K Alexa Ranking)
Sears (3.28K Alexa Ranking)
Peloton Apparel (6.36K Alexa Ranking)
Vanquish Fitness (8.15K Alexa Ranking)

Small Players

Infinite Elgintensity Gym Apparel - Revenue $8.38K/month
Absolute Fitness Apparel - Revenue $650/month

Search Interest

Let's take a look at the search trends for fitness clothing over the last year:

How To Name Your Fitness Clothing Line

It's important to find a catchy name for your fitness clothing line so that you can stand out in your space.

Here are some general tips to consider when naming your fitness clothing line

Avoid hard to spell names: you want something easy to remember and easy to spell for your customers
Conduct a search to see if others in the space have the same name
Try not to pick a name that limits growth opportunities for your business (ie. if you decide to expand into other product lines)
As soon as you have an idea (or ideas) of a few names that you love, register the domain name(s) as soon as possible!

Why is naming your fitness clothing line so important?

The name of your business will forever play a role in:

Your customers first impression
Your businesses identity
The power behind the type of customer your brand attracts
If you're memorable or not

It's important to verify that the domain name is available for your fitness clothing line.

You can search domain availability here:

Find a domain starting at $0.88

Although .com names are the most common and easiest to remember, there are other options if your .com domain name is not available. Depending on your audience, it may not matter as much as you think.

It's also important to thoroughly check if social media handles are available.

As soon as you resonate with a name (or names), secure the domain and SM handles as soon as possible to ensure they don't get taken.

Here's some inspiration for naming your fitness clothing line:

Handsome Skater Collective check availability
Brave Vesture check availability
Flannel Apparel check availability
Goodly Clothing check availability
The Physical Physique check availability
Skater Pro check availability
Scanty Garment Trading Co check availability
Darwinian Training check availability
PromisingAthlete check availability
Athletic Co check availability
Inclusive Stamina Pro check availability
Higher check availability
Diminish Fitness check availability
UnconsciousAthlete check availability
Moral Stamina Place check availability
The Clean check availability
Fresh check availability
Finest Garb Place check availability
Epidural Apparel check availability
Evolutionary Gym check availability
Sportsman Place check availability
Functional Fat Person check availability
Underneath Athlete check availability
Babble Apparel check availability
ElegantApparel check availability
SingularFitness check availability
Best Sportsman Pro check availability
Adolescent Athletic Contest check availability
The Absolute Physical Fitness check availability
Physical Fitness Trading Co check availability
The Aerobic Gym check availability
Good Skater check availability
Functional Fit check availability
Talented check availability
Young Sport Group check availability
NonAthlete check availability
Magazine Athlete check availability
Wear check availability
Popish check availability
The Older Sportsman check availability
Clean check availability
Seaworthiness Collective check availability
The Clean Garb check availability
The Best Sportsman check availability
The Fine Enclothe check availability
DayApparel check availability
The Darwinian check availability
Rap geek Athlete check availability
Vocational Training Pro check availability
Fine check availability
Good Shape Trading Co check availability
Maximum check availability
Emcee Athlete check availability
Female Sportsmanship Place check availability
The Adaptive Good Condition check availability
Hawaii Athlete check availability
ExperiencedAthlete check availability
Seattle Apparel check availability
Wonderful check availability
Accomplished Sports Collective check availability
Thickness Fitness check availability
Optimal Physical Fitness check availability
OutwardApparel check availability
Glorious check availability
CostlyApparel check availability
Raffle Apparel check availability
Physical Trading Co check availability
Dress Trading Co check availability
Fitted Fitness check availability
Cardiorespiratory check availability
Athletic Attirement check availability
The Cardiorespiratory Training check availability
Usual Wear check availability
Decent Dress Spot check availability
Gym Co check availability
The Best Swimmer check availability
Athletic Abercrombie check availability
Functional Conditioning Co check availability
Trained Golfer Trading Co check availability
The Peculiar check availability
ComelyApparel check availability
Unconscious check availability
Trained Sportsman Spot check availability
Appropriate Raiment check availability
The Glorious check availability
Experienced Marathoner Collective check availability
The Splendid check availability
Athletic American Eagle check availability
Healthy Swimmer Group check availability
Intellectual Sport Group check availability
The Mature check availability
MoralFitness check availability
WarmApparel check availability
The Healthy check availability
The Special check availability
Vesture Collective check availability
Active Athletic Contest check availability
Tv Athlete check availability
The Usual Clothing check availability
Appropriate Vesture Group check availability
SkilledAthlete check availability
TremendousAthlete check availability
Expensive check availability
Protective check availability
Golfer Co check availability
FreshApparel check availability
Swimmer Co check availability
Moral Apparel check availability
Training Pro check availability
Modest Dress Spot check availability
Poetic Physical Fitness check availability
Evolutionary Gym Co check availability
Physiological Training Co check availability
Accomplished check availability
The Fashionable check availability
Adaptive Fittingness check availability
Everyday Clothe Co check availability
Exceptional Jock Place check availability
DramaticFitness check availability
The Celebrated check availability
Optimal Fittingness Place check availability
Gifted Athletic Collective check availability
Active Athletic check availability
Viral Apparel check availability
Admirable Fittingness check availability
Celebrated Sport Collective check availability
Latchkey Athlete check availability
The Fresh check availability
The Cardiorespiratory check availability
Spiral Apparel check availability
Antiviral Apparel check availability
The Proper check availability
Dramatic Gym Pro check availability
Brave Clothes check availability
The Celebrated Player check availability
Thats me Athlete check availability
The Superior check availability
Victorious check availability
Psychological Seaworthiness Group check availability
Versatile Sports Group check availability
Dress Group check availability
Spurge laurel Apparel check availability
Gymnast Fitness check availability
Conditioning Collective check availability
MeanFitness check availability
Equal Physical Collective check availability
Jock Pro check availability
Highest Good Condition Place check availability
Outstanding Jock Co check availability
The Brave Raiment check availability
The Inclusive Good Condition check availability
The Expensive Tog check availability
Sportsmanship Collective check availability
Trash heap Athlete check availability
Wear Trading Co check availability
HighestFitness check availability
Personal Good Shape check availability

Read our full guide on naming your fitness clothing line ➜

Gia Paddock, founder of Boutique Rye explains how they came up with the name of their business:

What took the longest was deciding on a name and our logo; I wanted it to be meaningful, and I cared so much about what people thought.

Looking back, my advice would be to quit thinking about other people. This is my business, and all that matters is if I am happy the name and logo.

A popular national brick & mortar women's boutique that many may have heard of is called Francesca's… How original, right? So we came up with Boutique Rye named after our son, Riley. We put "boutique" in front to be a little different.

Now came the logo… Oh man, was this a task. We hired a graphic designer that we went to high school with, and went back and forth with him for about a month and a half. I wanted something that really described my style which is kind of "boho chic" and decided on a dreamcatcher. The dreamcatcher is also what our son's nursery was decorated in, so it truly felt like a family business.

Gia Paddock, on starting Boutique Rye ($10,000/month) full story ➜

How To Create A Slogan For Your Fitness Clothing Line:

Slogans are a critical piece of your marketing and advertising strategy.

The role of your slogan is to help your customer understand the benefits of your product/service - so it's important to find a catchy and effective slogan name.

Often times, your slogan can even be more important than the name of your brand.

Here are 6 tips for creating a catchy slogan for your fitness clothing line:

1. Keep it short, simple and avoid difficult words

A great rule of thumb is that your slogan should be under 10 words. This will make it easy for your customer to understand and remember.

2. Tell what you do and focus on what makes you different

There are a few different ways you can incorporate what makes your business special in your slogan:

Explain the target customer you are catering your services towards
What problem do you solve?
How do you make other people, clients, or your employer look good?
Do you make people more successful? How?

3. Be consistent

Chances are, if you're coming up with a slogan, you may already have your business name, logo, mission, branding etc.

It's important to create a slogan that is consistent with all of the above.

4. Ensure the longevity of your slogan

Times are changing quickly, and so are businesses.

When coming up with your slogan, you may want to consider creating something that is timeless and won't just fade with new trends.

5. Consider your audience

When finding a catchy slogan name, you'll want to make sure that this resonates across your entire audience.

It's possible that your slogan could make complete sense to your audience in Europe, but may not resonate with your US audience.

6. Get feedback!

This is one of the easiest ways to know if your slogan will be perceived well, and a step that a lot of brands drop the ball on.

Ask friends, family, strangers, and most importantly, those that are considered to be in your target market.

Here's some inspiration for coming up with a slogan for your fitness clothing line:

For a sporty new look
Sporty is the new sexy
Performance guaranteed
Play your favorite sports with confidence
Keep grinding, love your outfit
Transforming yourself into sporty humans
Fashion and performance combined
Never get behind of your favorite sports
The perfect fit for your sporty lifestyle
Play intensively, wear it with style
High performance guaranteed
Take your game to the next level
The sportswear that lasts a lifetime
Making your game outstanding
Competition never stops
The key to high-performing athletes
Real athletes, wear this
The real clothing for athletes
Authentic and admirable sportswear
Real athletes need real clothing
Play without hesitation
Feel free to move
Be limitless on every sport
Defy boundaries, play harder
Wear it with ultimate confidence
For athletes, by athletes
Bringing out the best in you
Losing is not an option
Play your hearts out
Give your best shot
Always with you on your winning moment
Kickstart your performance
Comfortable, durable, and affordable
The sportswear that will never let you down
Amazing sportswear for all ages
Speedskater Is What We Do
Athletes With Worker
Come Fly The Friendly Apparel.
I'd Walk A Mile For Athlete.
Order A Athlete Today.
General And Several
Everyone Loves Athlete.
Apparel For President.
Royal Clothe, Feminine Clothe
Athletes With Staff
Work Hard, Exercise Harder
From Aged To Formative
Desirability Is What We Do
Because Athlete Can't Drive.
Break Me Off A Piece Of That Athlete.
Work Hard, Enclothe Harder
From Untrained To Housebroken
Where's Apparel?
Wearing Apparel, Redefined
Praise Fitness.
Athlete Comes To Those Who Wait.
Cardiovascular Fitness, Done Right
Athlete - One Name. One Legend.
Apparel For Everyone.
An Army Of Fitness.
It's The Bright One, It's The Right One, That's Apparel.
There Is No Sore It Will Not Heal, No Athlete It Will Not Subdue.
Work Hard, Provided Harder
Gorgeous Denims Are What We Do
Gear Is What We Do
Come Fly The Friendly Athlete.
Work Hard, Clothe Harder
Fitness, Fits The Bill.
Apparel, Pure Lust.
Great Sportsmen, Female Gym
Every Apparel Has A Story.

The eCommerce Business Model

One of the main benefits of operating online is that you are exposed to the entire world, versus just one local area. Rather than depending on foot traffic, you have all the tools at your disposal to create exposure for your store online.

Additionally, there are much lower costs to operate an online store - fewer employees, you can operate from your home, and you get to create your own schedules (yes, holidays included!)

Although you are operating online and have the ability to connect with people all over the world, it's important to consider that you will need to invest marketing money upfront in order to promote your store to the right audience.

Gia Paddock, founder of Boutique Rye explains the 3 reasons why she decided to build an online store:

I wanted to find something I loved but also allowed me to stay home at the same time. While I was working at this local boutique, I realized that there was a lot of sitting around during the day when other people were out working. Therefore, an online business seemed like the best route for a few reasons:

We didn't have the extra funds sitting around to pay sign a year or two-year lease at a brick & mortar location.
I realized the opportunity to reach a wider audience online compared to the audience of this small local boutique. For us, it seemed like hitting two birds with one stone.
And finally (maybe the most important of all), running it as an online-only business would allow me to stay at home with Riley!

Gia Paddock, on starting Boutique Rye ($10,000/month) full story ➜

🎬 How To Start A Fitness Clothing Line

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How Much Does It Cost To Start A Fitness Clothing Line

If you are planning to start a fitness clothing line, the costs are relatively low. This, of course, depends on if you decide to start the business with lean expenses or bringing in a large team and spending more money.

We've outlined two common scenarios for "pre-opening" costs of starting a fitness clothing line and outline the costs you should expect for each:

The estimated minimum starting cost = $12
The estimated maximum starting cost = $27,209

Startup Expenses: Average expenses incurred when starting a fitness clothing line.	Min Startup Costs: You plan to execute on your own. You're able to work from home with minimal costs.	Max Startup Costs: You have started with 1+ other team members.
Office Space Expenses
Rent: This refers to the office space you use for your business and give money to the landlord. To minimize costs, you may want to consider starting your business from home or renting an office in a coworking space.	$0	$5,750
Utility Costs For Office Space: Utility costs are the expense for all the services you use in your office, including electricity, gas, fuels, telephone, water, sewerage, etc.	$0	$1,150
WiFi & Internet: Whether you work from home or in an office space, WiFi is essential. Although the cost is minimal in most cases, it should be appropriately budgeted for each month!	$0	$100
Total Office Space Expenses	$0 (min)	$7,000 (max)
Inventory Expenses
Upfront Costs For Inventory: This includes all upfront inventory you will need in order to launch. Be sure to compare prices of wholesalers to ensure you're getting the best deal and margins remain high.	$300	$5,000
Inventory Storage: If you decide to have a physical space for your fitness clothing line, whether it be used for inventory or as a showroom, you may have monthly rent payment or a large down payment associated with renting/buying the space.	$0	$5,000
Package Design: Packaging refers to wrapping and protecting products during distribution, shipping, and sales.Your package design is your customer's first impression of your brand, so it's important you spend some time and energy to get this right from the start.Many businesses design their own packages using design software and tools. There is always the option to outsource this to a design expert, but that route tends to be much more expensive.	$50	$3,000
Shrinkage: Shrinkage refers to the loss of inventory at any point between the purchase from your supplier and the purchase by your customer. Although you will try to avoid this at all costs, this does happen sometimes (especially in the learning stages of your business), and it's important to plan ahead financially in case this happens. Fortune states that retail shrinkage costs U.S. retailers approximately 1.4 percent of their total sales.	$0	$1,000
Distribution costs: Depending on what distribution plan you choose, expenses such as renting vans, hiring delivery drivers and gas costs can add up. If you are looking to save money upfront, you may want to consider conducting distribution on your own.	$0	$750
Total Inventory Expenses	$350 (min)	$14,750 (max)
Software Expenses
Design Programs & Software: These programs might include the Adobe family of design tools: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and others. This is typically a monthly subscription ranging from $10-$50/mo.	$0	$50
Email marketing tool: If you plan to grow your email list and email marketing efforts, you may want to consider investing in an email marketing platform (ie. Klaviyo, MailChimp). We put together a detailed guide on all of the email marketing tools out there + the pricing models for each one here.	$0	$100
IT Support: IT support installs and configures hardware and software and solves any technical issues that may arise.IT support can be used internally or for your customers experiencing issues with your product/service.There are a variety of tools and software you can use to help with any technical issues you or your customers are experiencing. This is a great option for businesses that do not have the means to hire a team of professionals.	$150	$2,000
Accounting & Invoicing Software: It's important to have an accounting system and process in place to manage financials, reporting, planning and tax preparation. Here are the 30 best accounting tools for small businesses.	$0	$50
Project Management Software: You may want to consider using a project management and collaboration tool to organize your day-to-day. This can also be very beneficial if you have a larger team and want to keep track of everyones tasks and productivity. For a full list of project management tools, check out this full list here.	$0	$25
Internal Communication Tool: If you plan to have multiple members on your team, you may want to consider an instant message tool such as Slack or Telegram. The cost is usually billed per month (approx $5/user/month) or there are freemium versions available on many platforms.	$0	$20
Social Media Management Tools: If you plan to do social media marketing for your fitness clothing line, you should consider investing in a social media automation or publishing tool. This will save you time and allow you to track performance and engagement for your posts. Here is a list of 28 best social media tools for your small business.	$0	$50
Payroll Software: The main purpose of payroll software is to help you pay your team and track each of those payments (so that you don't have to do it manually). If you do not have any employees or have a very small team, payroll software may not be necessary at this stage. Here are the 11 best payroll tools for small businesses!	$0	$200
File Hosting Service: It's important to make sure the information for your fitness clothing line is stored and protected should something happen to your computer or hard drive. The cost for this is affordable and depends on how much data you need to store. To learn more about the different options and pricing on the market, check out this article.	$0	$299
Total Software Expenses	$150 (min)	$2,794 (max)
Website Costs
Domain Name: Your domain name is the URL and name of your website - this is how internet users find you and your website.Domain names are extremely important and should match your company name and brand. This makes it easier for customers to remember you and return to your website.	$12	$200
Business Email Hosting Service: An email hosting runs a dedicated email server. Once you have your domain name, you can set up email accounts for each user on your team. The most common email hosts are G Suite and Microsoft 365 Suite. The number of email accounts you set up will determine the monthly cost breakdown.	$1	$15
Total Website Costs	$13 (min)	$215 (max)
Advertising & Marketing Costs
Customer Research & Surveys: Many fitness clothing line's conduct industry and consumer research prior to starting their business. Often times, you need to pay for this data or hire a market research firm to help you in this process.	$0	$300
Affiliate Marketing Commission & Fees: If you want to increase revenue for your fitness clothing line, affiliate marketing is a great way to promote your product to a new audience. When determining affiliate commission rates you will offer, you will want to take into account the price and margin for your product to ensure affiliate marketing is worth it for your business. According to Monitor Backlinks, the average affiliate commission rate should be somewhere between 5% to 30%. To learn more about how to set commission rates, check out this article..	$0	$250
Influencer Marketing: Partnering with like-minded influencers is one of the most effective ways to grow your social media presence. Many small businesses simply gift a free item in exchange for an influencer post, or pay the influencer directly.	$0	$750
Press: If your business and story is unique enough, press and media attention may come to you, but odds are, you may need to do your own outreach and budget for this. We put together a guide here that discusses different press opportunities (both free and paid).	$0	$500
Google Ads: With Google Ads you have the ability to control how much you spend by simply setting a monthly budget cap. Additionally, with these ads you only pay for results, such as clicks to your website or phone calls! It's okay to start with a small budget at first and make changes accordingly if you see valuable returns.	$0	$300
Facebook & Instagram Ads: With Facebook and Instagram ads, you set your budget and pay for the actions you want (whether that be impressions, conversions, etc).You can learn more about pricing based on your impressions here.	$0	$350
Total Advertising & Marketing Costs	$0 (min)	$2,450 (max)
Total Starting Costs	$12 (min)	$27,209 (max)

Emily Casseday, founder of Blush Boutique Co describes how she was able to stay under $10K to get off the ground:

Because we were starting small, we didn't have a lot of overhead. One of the biggest downfalls of starting a business is having too much to carry without a lot of income, which is why we decided to start in my basement instead of fully going brick and mortar.

We wanted to test the waters first to see if we had a viable business for our community. In order to finance the beginning of our shop, we used some savings and one credit card. Our goal was to never outspend what we made, so we started with a limit of $10,000 on the card and paid it off as we went. That first year, we didn't take a paycheck so that we could completely get out of debt.

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Emilie Casseday, on starting Blush Boutique Co ($25,000/month) full story ➜

Raising Money For Your Fitness Clothing Line

Here are the most common ways to raise money for your fitness clothing line:

Bootstrapping

You may not need funding for your fitness clothing line.

In fact, many entrepreneurs take this approach when starting their own business, whether they have a little amount of cash or a substantial amount to get started.

So what exactly does the term "bootstrapping" mean?

This method essentially refers to self-funding your businesswithout external help or capital and reinvesting your earnings back into the business**

Bootstrapping means building your company from the ground up with your own, or your loved ones, personal savings and reinvesting all earnings back into the business

Here are some tips to consider when bootstrapping your business:

Use your savings as your capital - one of the best ways to bootstrap your business is to collect your savings and use them as startup capital. This will also help you avoid using your personal or business credit cards when getting started.
Determine exactly how much capital you need and how much capital you have to get your business off the ground. Generally, when bootstrapping your business, you may want to consider starting a business that involves less startup capital.
Consider starting a business that will generate immediate returns so you can put money back into the business
Be as lean as possible - this refers to cutting down expenses as much as possible, such as payroll, fancy software tools, unnecessary travel, renting an office, etc
Consider outsourcing instead of hiring - in the beginning, you may not need to hire someone permanently to help run your business. It tends to be much less expensive to outsource work to a freelancer and hire someone permanently down the road!

Want to learn more about bootstrapping your business? Check out this article

VC Funding

VC funding is a traditional and long process, but an effective way to raise money for your business.

The term "VC funding" refers to venture capital firms investing in businesses in exchange for equity.

The VC's (venture capitalists) are an individual or small group investing in your business and typically require substantial ownership of the business, with the hope of seeing a return on their investment.

VC's are typically the best approach for businesses with high startup costs - where it would be very difficult to raise the money on your own or through a loan.

When deciding whether to take this approach, it's important that you have a few things in place first, and know what you're getting yourself into:

Determine if your business is ready

Having an idea is not enough to get VC funding.

Typically, VC's will check to make sure you have these things in place prior to closing any deal:

An MVP (Minimal Viable Product)
A founding team with all proper documents in place (articles of organization, business formation)
A validated idea with actual customers buying your product/service

Get everything in place and build a pitch deck

A VC individual or firm will be expecting a fine-tuned presentation that gives an overview of your business.

Here's what you should consider including in your pitch deck:

Management team, their previous experience + current roles in the business
Market challenge and solution
Company financials - including a P&L statement, cash flow statement, and projections
Company progress
Investment amount - how much do you need and why?

Research the right VC to fund your business

Research the types of VC investors out there and what niche they focus on.

Then, put together a list of target VC's you want to approach and your strategy around setting up meetings.

Be sure you have everything in place (as discussed above) before setting up any meeting!

Make sure the terms and expectations are right for your business

Committing to VC funding is a big deal and a decision that should not be made lightly.

Although the money and experience from VC's can help your business quickly grow, you are also giving away a stake in the company, and the money comes with strings attached.

Be sure you do your due diligence in finding the right investor - one that truly believes in the growth and success of your business.

What Skills Do I Need To Succeed In Starting A Fitness Clothing Line?

As a fitness clothing line, there are several essential skills and characteristics that are important to identify prior to starting your business.

Let's look at these skills in more detail so you can identify what you need to succeed in your day-to-day business operations:

Business Savvy Skills

When starting a fitness clothing line, there are a few fundamental business skills you will want to learn in order to be successful:

Leadership and training skills: A great team starts with YOU. Make sure you have all company policies and training procedures in place prior to hiring your team
Decisive and self-confident: Over the course of your career, you will need decisions that could impact your business significantly. It's important you are able to think clearly and rationally about these decisions.
Ability to understand the financials: You don't need to be an accountant, but it is important that you are able to clearly understand and define metrics such as expenses, revenue, profit, margins, COGS, etc.
Strategic Thinking: Setting clear goals and benchmarks, identifying opportunities, risks. Ability to effectively communicate these insights to your team.

These are a few of many business savvy skills you should have (or work on) when starting a fitness clothing line.

For a full list, check out this article here.

Customer Service Skills

Friendly communication with customers and the ability to address service issues is a critical part of the job.

Here are some customer service skills you may want to consider prior to starting a fitness clothing line:

Professionalism: The way you act, present yourself, and respond to situations all leave an impression on your customer. It's important to stay professional at all times when handling customer requests or issues.
Problem-solving: When issues arise, it's important that you are able to think quick on your feet and address the situation with a calm and clear solution
Friendly-manner: This is an obvious one, but customers truly appreciate someone that can respond in a quick, efficient, and friendly manner.
Proficient in writing: These skills include the ability to write well-crafted emails, service tickets, and any other programs used by the business (ie. chat functions, SMS texting)

Self Motivation Skills

Self motivation and discipline skills are critical in order to become successful in this field.

It's likely that you will find yourself starting and running your fitness clothing line from home, which could mean there are more distractions for you.

Here are the basic skills needed for self motivation & discipline:

Becoming a self starter: It's important that you are capable of independently completing a task without the help or direction of anyone else
Listening and following directions: When you are given direction by others, it's critical that you are able to follow directions and ask the right questions in order to get your job done
Taking the initiative in problem solving: Instead of taking the easy route, you'll need to learn to troubleshoot issues on your own as much as possible.

Advice For Starting A Fitness Clothing Line

We've interviewed thousands of successful founders at Starter Story and asked what advice they would give to entrepreneurs who are just getting started.

Here's the best advice we discovered for starting a fitness clothing line:

Elgin E. Mones, Esq., founder of Infinite Elgintensity Gym Apparel ($8.38K/month):

If your competitors beat you to an idea, think of a complementary one that won't get you into legal trouble.

Read the full interview ➜

Write a Business Plan

Writing a business plan from the start is critical for the success of your fitness clothing line.

Why?

Because this allows you to roadmap exactly what you do, what your overall structure will look like, and where you want to be in the future.

For many entrepreneurs, writing out the business plan helps validate their idea and decide whether or not they should move forward with starting the business.

You may want to consider expanding upon these sections in your business plan:

Executive Summary: Brief outline of your product, the market, and growth opportunities
Overviews and Objectives: Overview of your business, target customers, and what you need to run your business
Products and Services: Specifics on the products and services your business will provide
Market Opportunities: Analysis of customer demographics, buyer habits and if your product is in demand
Marketing: Outline of your marketing plan and how you plan to differentiate yourself from other customers
Competitive analysis: Analysis of your competition and the strengths and weaknesses therein
Operations: Hierarchal structure of the company and what it will take to run the business on the day-to-day
Leadership Team: Detailing roles and responsibilities of each manager based on their specific skill-set
Financial Analysis Understanding of all expenses, operating budgets, and projections for the future.

Learn more about how to write a business plan here

Determine Which Business Bank Account You Need

There are hundreds of banks out there, and it can be overwhelming to find one that's right for your business.

Here are some factors you may want to consider:

Location - Is your bank close enough that you can easily make deposits or get cash?
Low Fees - Make sure to understand any and all fees associated with setting up and maintaining your bank account. Ask for a list - banks usually try to keep this hidden and in the fine print.
Online Banking Services - Make sure you can easily navigate through your online portal and you have easy access to everything you need.
Line of Credit - What do your options look like (even if you don't need this now, you may need this down the road).
Every bank has something that differentiates them from the rest, so make sure whatever that is applied to your needs and values.

Check out this list of the 13 Best Banks for Small Business in 2020 and what makes them so unique.

Setting Up Your Fitness Clothing Line (Formation and Legal)

When it comes to setting up your business, you may find yourself in a place where you have to make some financial and legal decisions.

The first thing you'll want to decide on is whether you want to be an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp.

These three options are found to be the most common when starting a small business, and all serve to protect your personal assets and also provide you with certain tax benefits.

LLC: All income and expenses from the business are reported on the LLC personal income tax return.
S corp: Owners pay themselves salaries + receive dividends from profits.
C Corp: C Corps are separately taxable entities that file a corporate tax return (Form 1120). No income tax is paid at the corporate level and any tax due is paid at the owners individual expense.

Depending on where you're conducting business, you'll also want to consider securing the proper permits, licenses and liability insurance.

Learn more about securing the right permits and licenses ➜

Need to start an LLC? Create an LLC in minutes with ZenBusiness.

How Do I Pay Myself As A Small Business Owner?

Most entrepreneurs start a business to do something they love- but at the end of the day, you still have bills to pay (maybe now more than ever).

But it's important to strike the right balance - if you pay yourself too much, you could be putting your business at risk.

There are two common ways to pay yourself as a business owner:

1. Owner's Draw

Many entrepreneurs pay themselves through an owner's draw. This means that you are technically sean as "self-employed" through the eyes of the IRS and are not paid through regular wages.

At the point that you collect money from the draw, taxes typically are not taken out - so make sure you are prepared to pay these taxes once you file your individual return.

As an owner who takes a draw, you can legally take out as much as you want from your equity.

This type of compensation is suited for Sole props, LLCs, and partnerships. If you're an S corp, you can pay yourself through both a salary and draw if you choose.

2. Salary

If you decide to pay yourself a salary, you will receive a set and recurring amount. This will be taxed by the federal government and the state you reside in.

The reality is that it can be really complicated to set your own salary, so we have some tips for you to consider:

Take out a reasonable amount that allows you to live comfortably but also sets your business up for success
Consider the number of hours you are working weekly + the type of duties you are performing.
Set your salary based on your industry-standard, location, and profits (or projected profits)
Look at your P&L statement: Deduct your own pay from that amount. This is important so you can first tackle important business expenses, and then pay yourself from the amount leftover.
Pick a payroll schedule (and stick to it)! In the US, it's most common to pay yourself and employees twice a month.

To learn more about how to pay yourself and what is a reasonable amount, check out this article.

How To Price Your Fitness Clothing

One of the most challenging aspects to starting a fitness clothing line is determining how much to charge for your fitness clothing.

When businesses under-price their product, this can be extremely detrimental to their bottom line and reputation.

Often times, businesses under-price their products to drive demand and volume, but that last thing you want is for customers to view your product/service as "cheap." Additionally, this can have a big impact on the type of customer you attract, which can be difficult to recover from.

On the other hand, when businesses over-price, this tends to be just as damaging to the business.

When customers buy, it's likely that they will explore the internet and look at other competitors to ensure they're getting the best value + deal. This is why it's so important that you research your competition and understand where you land in the marketplace.

Here are some factors to consider when pricing your product:

Understand your customer

It's important that out of the gates, you identify the type of customer you want to attract and how much they're willing to pay for your service. One great way to do this is by surveying your customers. Here are some important items you'll want to takeaway:

Customer demographic: Age, gender, location, etc.
Buying habits of your customer: What they buy + when they buy
Level of price sensitivity with your customer

All of these segments will help you identify the type of customer you're attracting and how to price your product accordingly.

Understand your costs

When pricing your fitness clothing, it's critical that you first identify all of your costs and consequently mark up your fitness clothing so you can factor in a profit.

The actual cost of your fitness clothing may include things like:

The actual cost to make the product (ie. raw materials, supplies, manufacturer).
Shipping + overhead fees
Rent
Operating costs to run your business

You may want to consider creating a spreadsheet with every single expense involved in operating/owning your business. This will give you an idea as to what you need to generate in order to at the very least, break-even and will help you price your products to factor in a profit.

Create revenue goals

When determining the price of your fitness clothing, you'll want to create goals for revenue + how much profit you want your fitness clothing line to make.

This process is simpler than you may think:

Think about your breakeven cost (by completing the above step).
Create a revenue goal based on your break-even cost
Evaluate the # of items you plan to sell in a given period (make sure this is a realistic number)
Divide your revenue goal by the number of items you plan to sell

This figure will help determine your estimated price per product in order to meet your revenue goals.

Evaluate your competition

The last piece in determining how to price your fitness clothing is by simply looking at your competition.

The best way to do this is by finding like-minded businesses that offer product(s) with similar perceived value. Then, you can compare prices of the different businesses and determine where your fitness clothing fits best in the marketplace.

All of these factors play an equal part in pricing your fitness clothing, so it's important you evaluate each one individually to come up with an accurate price that will help optimize your business from the start.

Understanding Your Costs

Example from Ishan, founder of Ugly Duckling

First objective: profitability

Our profitability is OK at this point but definitely not where it should be yet. To this day I have not paid myself a regular salary yet...and it's been 4 years!

The problem is not the cost of goods which are well under 20% of sales, which is good by any standard. The problem is fulfillment costs. In 2018 we transitioned from our first fulfillment company to a much bigger company. We did this because we wanted to provide faster shipment speeds and a better quality of packaging. In hindsight, we chose a company which would have been more suitable for a larger company with bigger volumes. We ended up being tied in with some pretty large minimum monthly payments. So currently fulfillment costs are currently around 45% of sales...way too high.

We are now looking to transit to another fulfillment center. Our target is to get our fulfillment costs down to around 30% of sales which I believe from what I have researched, is possible.

Just to be clear, when I say fulfillment that includes transportation costs also - FedEx, USPS, etc. Not just storage, picking, and packing. I am pretty sure that it is possible to get fulfillment costs down even lower, and I suspect that some large pro sellers on amazon.com work with around 20-25% of sales.

So our target P+L for 2020 looks something like this:

Cost of goods, including inbound freight and clearance - around 22% of sales.
Fulfillment - around 30% of sales.
Digital Advertising & Promotion - around 15% of sales.
Other marketing and office costs, including salary costs - around 10% of sales.
That would leave us around 23% of sales - enough to pay me a liveable salary and for the company to make a profit and finance future growth.

That's the first objective for 2020: to right-size the P+L so that we are profitable at our current sales level

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Ishan Dutta, on starting Ugly Duckling ($60,000/month) full story ➜

Gross Margin Calculator: How to Calculate The Gross Margin For Your Fitness Clothing

Our calculator is designed to be simple and easy to use.

The goal is to help you set realistic expectations and understand what is considered a healthy gross margin for your fitness clothing line.

Calculate your gross margin and profit margin here.

What Type Of Customers Will Buy Your Fitness Clothing

It's important to first establish who you will be selling to, whether it's to businesses or consumers.

Typically, in this industry, products are sold to B2C markets (business-to-consumer).

Let's take a look at what this means for your fitness clothing line:

B2C (or business to consumer) is a transaction where businesses sell their products or services to the consumer directly.

In this market, consumer behavior is the primary driver for your business decisions - so it's important that you truly identify who your customer is, and what their buyer habits are when building your product/service.

The advantage

B2C is that you are able to cast a very wide net when targeting your customers. Your product may interest a large number of consumers or a specific niche.

The disadvantage

B2C is that consumers hold all the power - so if your website is not the most user friendly, or does not rank in the top search results on Google, chances are, your customer is going to shop elsewhere.

When building your fitness clothing line, it's critical that you hone in on who your target audience is, and why they need your product over your competition.

Here are some items to consider when identifying your buyer persona:

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Source

Design A Prototype

Turning your idea into a reality can feel like a daunting task - but it's critical that you have an idea of what your product will look like (even if it's just a sketch) prior to finding a manufacturer.

Here are some common ways you can design your prototype:

Draw Your Initial Design on Paper
Form pieces of fabric together
Consider Taking A Generic Product And Putting Your Own Brand On It
Try Making the Product Yourself
Consider Building A Prototype With A 3D Printer

To learn more about how to design and prototype a product, check out our latest guide here.

Elgin E. Mones, Esq., founder of Infinite Elgintensity Gym Apparel dives deep into the process of designing and prototyping their product:

I submit a drawing or written description of my apparel idea to an artist, who submits rough sketches that we fine-tune. Eventually, the artist presents a digital drawing that I tweak ruthlessly; I remember taking weeks to get the folds on the pug in my "Plus-Size Model" design to look right. I then submit the finished design file to my printers in Georgia, who have a 2-3 week turnaround. If a design is risque, then I'll drop-ship it to avoid the high upfront cost.

I started selling pants and shorts in 2018, which require a different design process. I order samples from my manufacturer so that my friends and I can test them for shrinkage, wear, fading, etc. I eschew synthetic materials because they hold odors too much and don't breathe as well as natural materials like cotton. Ironically, my competitors make their so-called premium gym wear from such cheap materials. I draw upon my knowledge of tailoring to ensure that the pants and shorts are flattering to the physique yet comfortable enough to move in.

Given how long and involved the design process is, I don't take kindly to copyright infringers. Every week, I sweep the internet to look for knockoffs of my work. If vendors don't comply with my takedown demands, then I either threaten to take them to a court or negotiate a licensing fee, the latter of which can be highly lucrative when someone with a larger customer base than mine uses one of my designs on a product that I don't sell.

Elgin E. Mones, Esq., on starting Infinite Elgintensity Gym Apparel ($8,378/month) full story ➜

How To Find A Supplier For Your Fitness Clothing Line

Here are the steps to consider when finding a supplier/manufacturer:

Know your design

One very critical step to finding the right supplier is having an initial idea of what your design/product will look like.

Sketching is one of the most simple ways to get started in the design phase.

What's great about sketching is that you can practically do this anytime, anywhere - even on the back of a napkin.

To get started, all you need to do is pick up a pen and paper and start drawing - or if you are working on a virtual/software product this can be a diagram that outlines the user interface or experience.

Decide your supplier type

You'll want to identify the type of supplier you are looking for.

Here are some questions you may want to ask yourself prior to searching for a supplier

Are you looking for a manufacturer to produce your product idea?
Do you want to find a supplier that can simply purchase existing products for you?
Do you want a drop-shipper to supply and fulfill orders?
Do you want a domestic supplier or an overseas supplier? Read more about the pros and cons of each here

Where to start your search

Once you have an understanding of what type of manufacturer/supplier will be best to bring your idea to life, there are several areas you can start your search:

Domestic Suppliers

Makers Row
Kompass
Thomas Net

Overseas Suppliers

Alibaba
IndiaMart
Oberlo
AliExpress

Manufacturing Your Product In House

It's also very common to manufacture your fitness clothing on your own - either from your home or in a commercial space.

In order to get the product right, you may want to consider experimenting with different designs and recipes until you find the perfect one.

Some founders choose to manufacture their product in-house so that they can control quality, manage costs, and easily handle production/logistics.

Down the road, you can always choose to outsource your fitness clothing.

Leslie Eisen, founder of AlmondClear discusses how to manufacture products in house

If you want to start a line of unique products, then you have two basic options: you can make them yourself, or you can find a manufacturer to work with that creates custom formulations for their clients.

I knew that I was trying to build a larger-scale business and that the home-made model wasn't right for me, so I had to find the right manufacturing partner. It took a lot of research, phone calls, and emails before I found the laboratory that met my needs.

I wanted to create unique products (as opposed to private label), so I worked with the manufacturer's chemist who specializes in skin care formulations. This process takes some time!

First, you have to tell the chemist what kind of product you're looking for, the ingredients that you want to include or leave out, and what you want the final product to look like/feel like/smell like, etc.

Then, the manufacturer sends you the first sample, you try it out or give it to others to try, and then provide feedback for revisions. In my case, the first two products came together fairly easily because I only needed to make small changes to stock formulations.

There are many, many rules and regulations around cosmetics and skin care products. If you want to sell products that contain FDA regulated ingredients then you have to register and get a permit.

My products aren't FDA regulated, so I didn't have to go through this step, but I did have to be aware of the many guidelines and standards around labeling and safety warnings. Some people hire a lawyer to help them through this process, but my manufacturer was able to guide me through the regulatory process.

The entire process, from researching labs to work with to having the first finished products shipped out to me, took around six months.

Leslie Eisen, on starting AlmondClear ($15,000/month) full story ➜

Purchasing Inventory For Your Fitness Clothing Line

When first starting out, it's important to start small with your overhead to get a gauge for what people want.

Just remember - if you order a line of items that don't sell, it's nearly impossible to recoup the money lost.

Buying the right inventory takes research and planning in order to get it right.

Identify your target audience: Identify the age, gender, annual income that you will be selling to. This is a defining factor in ordering the right inventory that will sell.
Research your competition: Conduct market research and identify the different types of styles, price points, and materials being used. This will help you see what's trending and ways that you can improve/stay ahead of the competition.
Create an inventory wishlist: Identify what you need for the launch of your business and create a budget that you will stay within. Remember, it's okay to start small.
Find a supplier Make sure to first compare prices and analyze different options.
Delivery timing: Schedule the inventory delivery to match with seasonality and trending buying seasons

Pro-tip: It's easy to become biased based on your own fashion preferences on what types of shoes/apparel to purchase. This is where a lot of fashion businesses go wrong. It's important to base purchase decisions on current buyer behavior, trends in the market, and specific to your niche.

Erin Hooley, founder of Bailey's Blossoms tells us how poor inventory projections led her to lose over $2M

When we first launched Peyton Bre we did so in a social or direct sales model.

Through poor inventory projections we were forced to change models but only after losing $2 million dollars.

It was a devastating time for us and one we were not sure we could survive.

I have since become very intentional about the way that we project our inventory needs and we continue to refine that quarterly and even monthly. We have created a KPI for the cost of goods sold to help us hold ourselves accountable.

Ultimately, the better we manage our inventory the less we have need to discount and the healthier our profit margin becomes.

This is, of course, a very high-level overview of the importance of inventory control.

To see the full breakdown on how to manage inventory, check out my guide over on my blog..

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Erin E Hooley, on starting Bailey's Blossoms ($750,000/month) full story ➜

🚀 How To Launch Your Fitness Clothing Line

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Build A Website

Building a website is imperative when launching your business, and with the right tools in place, this can be a simple task to check off the list (without having to hire someone).

Pick a domain name that's easy to remember and easy to type
Choose a Web Hosting Plan (ie. Shopify, Squarespace)
Make sure you choose the right theme and design
Implement the proper page structure (ie. about page, contact page, pricing etc)

To learn more about how to build a stellar website with little stress, we give you all the details on this step-by-step guide.

Web Design

Once you have chosen the domain, web hosting, and platform, it's time to get started with the design phase.

Themes are a great way to produce the fundamental style and identity of your website - this includes everything from your font design to your blog post styles.

One of the best ways to get started is to simply explore the various themes (free or paid depending on what you're looking for) and test them on your site.

If web-design really isn't in the cards for you, you may want to consider outsourcing a web designer to help bring your vision and brand to life.

Launch Strategies For Your Fitness Clothing Line

There are various different ways you can launch your fitness clothing line successfully.

Here are a few different strategies to get customers excited about your fitness clothing line.

Build hype with a landing page: you can effectively do this through waiting lists, discounts, countdown timer etc
Create a teaser video: even just a 30 second video is a great way to exposure for your fitness clothing line, and possibly even go viral
Reach out to influencers: The right influencer for your product has the ability to reach your audience with just one post, and because of their loyal following, this could lead to a big return for you.
Get Press: Whether you plan a PR stunt or get exposure through a popular news outlet, this is a great way to attract initial customers
Launch on popular sites: A great way to get buzz about your fitness clothing line is to submit your launch to popular startup sites.

Here are a few popular sites to launch on:

Reddit
ProductHunt
Quora
Hacker News

Learn more about how to launch your business successfully ➜ here

Anthony Mellor, founder of Absolute Fitness Apparel dives deep into the process of launching the business:

The most important aspect of having an online business is being both accessible and there being minimal friction for the consumer.

My main aim from day 1 was to ensure I had my website fully optimized for both desktop and mobile use. Thankfully, Shopify which is the platform I use is good at optimising sites for both desktop and mobile use. I simply had to learn how to design an aesthetic site from the basic templates they had available. I started learning and developing my SEO and organically grew forms of social media. To this day, 45% off all of my store's traffic comes from Instagram, and its traffic is ranked within the top 10% of all stores on Shopify that launched the same week as mine.

One of the main things I noticed that distinguished professional looking brands and amateur looking brands were the level content. From Day 1, I strived for the best quality content I could get, I didn't want my brand to have that "new brand" look, despite the fact it had only just launched.

I wanted to give the impression that we were a well-established brand, and that would, therefore, increase social-proof and increase consumers confidence in purchasing items from the brand. Content on the website was absolutely key for us.

You also have to realize that with online shopping, consumers only have images of the items to view and these images have to provide a clear image of what they're buying, as well as provide a true representation of the fit.

Anthony Mellor, on starting Absolute Fitness Apparel ($650/month) full story ➜

Make Sure You Get The Package Design Right

The way you package your fitness clothing line is often the first impression your customer has - so it's important to get it right.

You may want to ask yourself these questions:

If my product is on a shelf next to hundreds of other similar products:

Will my fitness clothing line stand out?
Will the branding/packaging create a connection with my customer, and hence, lead them to buy?

There are hundreds of tools you can use to help with packaging and design:

Canva - Allows non-designers to create beautiful Instagram/Pinterest posts, flyers, business cards, etc.
Stickermule - High quality custom stickers you can include on or in your packaging.
Noissue - Custom tissue paper and compostable mailers
Rollo Label Printer - A great tool to print all shipping labels at home

Sheets & Giggles explains the motive behind their "Premium Unboxing Experience"

I had a particular vision for our packaging centered around one goal: because we were a DTC company and wouldn't do physical retail in year 1, we needed to focus entirely on an incredible unboxing experience that made the product feel as premium as possible.

Outside: a white box, nice wax coating, logo front and center with no other copy, easy to open, nice and sturdy.

Inside: make people smile from the get-go, have a social call-to-action, include free extra surprises (a knapsack that wraps the sheets and an eye mask), put funny copy all over the place, and add a donation bag that people could use to donate their now-defunct cotton sheets (sheets & blankets are the #2-most-requested item at shelters behind socks).

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Colin McIntosh, on starting Sheets & Giggles ($200,000/month) full story ➜

Get Press Coverage For Your Fitness Clothing Line

The more buzz around your brand - the more the phones ring, the more traffic to your website, and the more customers as a result.

Here are a few ways you can get press for your business:

Press releases:

Press releases are a great way to share big announcements or news, but in order to get any traction, you'll need to find a way to make your press release stand out amongst others.

Try to convey a story that really matters, not just to you, but to the reporter and to their audience.

Here are some things to consider when submitting a press release:

Craft a catchy subject (keep it short and sweet).
Acknowledge the journalist's past work and interests - this is key!
Include the main point of the story in the first paragraph, heck, even the first sentence. Reporters want to hear the juice first and foremost.
Focus on the facts and try to limit the amount of jargon used.
Pitch yourself! Help them put a face to the story.
Make sure your topic is newsworthy. If it's not, find a way to!
Try not to include any attachments of your release!

Email is one of the most effective and preferred way to send your press release, so as long as you keep your pitch brief, interesting and personalized (no cold emails), you should stand a chance!

Get Press Using HARO

HARO, otherwise known as "Help a Reporter Out" is an outlet for journalists to source upcoming stories and opportunities for media coverage.

The best part is, HARO is free to use! There are, of course, premium versions you can purchase, but the free version is still an accessible way to get press.

Once you set up an account, HARO essentially will email you based on stories (that are relevant to you) that need to be covered where you will then have a chance to essentially "bid on the story."

Here are some tips when crafting your pitch:

Discuss your experience and expertise in the space. Make sure it's obvious why you're relevant to this story.
Answer the question in 3-4 sentences. Try and be as direct as possible
Offer to provide the reporter with more information and make sure to give them your contact info

Plan a Publicity Stunt

Planning a publicity stunt is an effective and quick way to raise awareness for your brand and gain some traction from the press.

If you're looking to plan a stunt, the objective should be to be bold and create something memorable

However, being bold has a fine line - it's important that you consider the timing of your stunt to ensure you don't come off insensitive or unethical. For example, timing may not be in your favor if you plan something during the general election, or in most recent cases, a global pandemic.

In order to measure the success of your stunt, it's important that you first determine your end goal, for example:

Is the stunt aimed to raise money for your business or a particular organization?
Is the stunt aimed to drive more traffic to your website?
Is the stunt aimed to get more followers and engagement on Instagram?

Here are a few tips for creating a great publicity stunt:

Research to ensure that there haven't been similar stunts done in the past by other businesses - this could easily turn off journalists and your audience.
Make sure you can explain the stunt in one headline - this will help grab the media's attention. In other words, simplify!
The stunt should be related to the product you are promoting. Even if the stunt is a success in terms of viewers, but it doesn't tie back to your original goal, then it's not useful.
Keep the stunt visual with videos/images.
Leverage the internet and social media platforms for your stunt by sharing your message across a variety of audiences. This will help with word of mouth and the overall success of your event.

To learn other strategies on how to get press, check out our full guide here.

🌱 How To Grow Your Fitness Clothing Line

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Consider Selling On Amazon

In addition to selling your products directly on your site, you may want to consider selling on Amazon to reach a wider audience and attract new customers.

Here are some pros and cons of selling on amazon:

Pros

Easy and seamless process to get your product listed on Amazon
There are roughly 100 million thoroughly committed prime customers, so you're bound to tap into new business
Can help grow your business exponentially and reach new audiences

Cons

You may encounter some "copycats" and counterfeit products
Amazon owns the relationship with the customer (you lose control over product reviews + customer service)
If you already have a low-markup, amazon may not wrth your while and you could end up losing money
Commissions and listing fees are high - it's easy to lose control of your offering

Follow these instructions to get your product listed on Amazon or check out the video below on how to get started:

Cory Stout, founder of Woodies ($250K/mo) provides us with specifics on how to rank better on amazon:

Our main product is walnut wood sunglasses that I sell for $25 on Amazon and Woodies.com.

I dedicated myself to becoming an Amazon expert. I listened to all the podcasts and read all the blog posts I could find. Shoutout EcomCrew I took the basic fundamentals that are out there and I added a couple of my own twists.

Amazon brings me, 100 brand new customers, every day for very little acquisition cost. If I tried that on my own, it would take a TON of work and it wouldn't be nearly as effective as Amazon, so I took the easy road on this one.

Here's an article I wrote on how to rank better on amazon (30+ Tips):

5/5: ESSENTIAL

Beautiful images (minimum 5 images) especially lifestyle images I use UpgradedImages.com for product photography (hey Ken!)
Keywords in your title (but it still needs to sound human)
Competitive price (contributes to high conversion rate)
NOT having 1-star reviews
DON'T STOCKOUT: it's such a killer and if you DO stockout, definitely DON'T raise your price right before you do, if anything LOWER your price for the last 10-20 units before you stockout, each ASIN has a 'memory' for when you do get back in stock so that will help you regain ranking quickly
DON'T VIOLATE AMAZON TOS: just don't
Perform QC on your stock before you send it in (I sent in a wrong box once and I had to 'remove' over 3,000 pieces so I could sift through them and remove the 150 contaminated pieces 0/7 would not recommend

4/5: Pretty Friggin Important

Minimum 10 5-star reviews (do this before you do anything below this)
Well optimized PPC campaigns (could do a whole post on this, keep ACOS under 40%) here's a screenshot of some of my campaigns I use a combination of manual campaigns with exact phrases and high bids...and auto campaigns with a broad range of products and very low bids
Turning on FeedbackGenius for auto review requests (it's not as good as it used to be, but it's still worth it)
Get a trademark and get Brand Registry, this protects you from hijackers and other unscrupulous sellers
Quick response to customer messages (under 12 hours) here are my stats my mom does all my customer service "Employee of the Year" status
Drive outside traffic (amazon loves outside traffic because they don't have to spend so much to acquire customers) Facebook, Instagram, and Google Adwords are the usual suspects
Use ocean shipping to save mucho $$$ on unit costs (use flexport)

Consider Working With Instagram Influencers

Partnering with like-minded influencers (within your industry) is one of the most effective ways to grow your social media organically.

Industry influencers already have an established and loyal following. With one post, your product immediately establishes a connection with a brand new audience. It's that powerful.

When finding influencers to promote your product, do your research and make sure that their following will actually be interested in your product.

It's easy to be blinded by any influencer with a huge following, but if those followers don't resonate with your product, there may not be any value there... so make sure you do your research!

Evan Marshall, founder of Plain Jane discusses how "micro-influencers" have impacted his business:

Influencer marketing has been huge for us. Our approach is pretty simple. We give out samples of our products and ask people to post about us on social media aka a micro-influencer strategy.

We really like this approach because we get authentic stories and content. We cannot really control the messaging so the product has to speak for itself. We don't really take product photos at all. Our customers take the photos and we ask to reuse them.

With any influencer strategy, you have to be very sure you're targeting the right people and engaging with them. You can make sure you're targeting the right influencers by looking through their posts and then looking through the profiles of their engaged followers.

It takes more time per influencer but the payoff is certainly worth it. Make sure their followers look like your existing customers.

It takes a ton of time and work to grow a social media following this way but it's worth it. Other accounts have tried to grow themselves through botting or other manipulations. As a CBD company, we didn't want to give Instagram any reason to shutdown our account so we've done everything through content and real engagement. It's not magic to make this happen. You just have to post consistently and then reply or like every single comment you get. It takes months but it works

Evan Marshall, on starting Plain Jane ($275,000/month) full story ➜

Social Media Advertising is one of the leading ways to get the word out when it comes to fitness clothing line.

There are various different Social Media platforms available to you. Some may be more critical for your marketing efforts than others, however, it's important to have an understanding of what's out there and available to you.

Let's talk about a few of the main platforms and what makes them unique:

Facebook Advertising - more than 2 billion monthly users. Facebook is the best for lead generation + capturing email addresses for e-commerce businesses.
Instagram Advertising - approximately 500 million monthly users and has a higher audience engagement rate than any other platform. Instagram ads are best for linking to a product page or landing page and reaches the 18-29 age group most effectively.
Twitter Advertising- Small businesses typically use twitter ads to drive brand awareness, but the platform is meant more for organic engagement (and is not as heavily used for paid advertising)
Pinterest Advertising - 175 million monthly users and most effectively reaches the female audience. Pinterest is great for promoting products without "promoted". The promoted pins have a way of blending right in.
LinkedIn Advertising - 227 million monthly users and is geared towards the B2B market and generates the highest quality leads. Great platform for recruiters, high-end products and services that will help businesses

It's important to first define your goal/objective so that you don't waste time and money into the wrong platform:

Here are some different questions to ask yourself as it relates to your goals:

Do I want to simply drive brand awareness?
Do I want to drive users to my website to gather information?
Do I want to increase sales and get my customer to take action?

From there, choose the platform that targets your audience best and start experimenting!

Learn more about social media advertising ➜ here.

Emily Cassedy, founder of Blush Boutique Co explains how their Facebook strategy is the #1 way of attracting new customers:

Our biggest tool for attracting customers and then keeping repeat customers has been social media and word of mouth. We made sure our social media platforms were attractive, inviting, and not too in your face.

We set up an editorial type calendar for our Facebook posts that we still use to this day.

For example, every Tuesday we have a vote post where our followers can vote on an item that we will bring into the shop. Our customers and followers love this and chime when that piece that is voted on comes in, we already have a set amount of people that will come purchase it because they were able to be a deciding factor.

We also make sure to do a live Facebook video when we get new arrivals to show what came in that week. The supply and demand of a piece then draw in more customers, even if one of the new arrivals sells out, they are still coming in to see what else we have in the shop.

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Emilie Casseday, on starting Blush Boutique Co ($25,000/month) full story ➜

Founder Andy Hayes talks about mastering FB ads and the pixel:

The biggest bang for your buck will likely be mastering Facebook and it's platform - which we all know is pay for play, so you'll have to come up with a small amount of budget to start for marketing.

We've spent countless hours (and paid numerous coaches) before we cracked the code that works for us on Facebook, but it is working really well for us now.

Some of the most important things to know when it comes to FB Ads:

Start with retargeting (that's showing ads to people who already know you but did not purchase). Master this - and start building information on your Facebook Pixel - before you do anything else
Once you have that down, try working with the 1% "Lookalike" audience to prospect for new customers. This may take awhile because your pixel audience is small, so try layering on interests - 1% Lookalike and your largest competitor, for example. Don't use interest-only targeting until you master this.
Great photography and videography is key, as is smart copy. Research what's out there in your industry and constantly test - what works for one company may not work for other people.
Make sure you have good offers. For example, we have a $5 trial for our subscription, which converts affordably - if we promoted our subscription with the standard $30 front charge, it wouldn't be as cost-effective.

Andy Hayes, on starting Plum Deluxe Tea ($75,000/month) full story ➜

People love free stuff and love competition. Giveaways and contests are a great way to create awareness for your brand, grow your email list, and eventually convert leads into customers.

If your goal is to gather email addresses, make sure the entry criteria is to "enter your email." You can do this by leading customers to your landing page where they can then enter their email to be in the giveaway.

One of the most important aspects of promoting a successful giveaway is having an amazing prize. The better the prize, the more engagement you'll get.

This doesn't necessarily mean choosing an iPad or an expensive/trendy watch, but instead a prize that is actually relevant to your brand/target audience.

Giveaway Example and Tips

Example from TJ Mapes, founder of RIPT Apparel

Our most recent successful giveaway was when we gave away a PS4 + the new Spiderman game. I hosted the giveaway on our site and then let our audience know about it via email/social channels.

Entrants earned different amounts of entries for entering in different ways (tongue twister!), for instance; enter via email, get 10 entries. Follow us on Facebook, get 5 entries. Subscribe on Messenger and get 25 entries.