How to Start a Business Online. 4 Fundamental Steps

As I’m nearing the end of my master’s degree, I have been taking time these past couple of weeks to really focus on my business model and its online presence. Keeping up with the times is an absolute necessity for any online business with hopes of success.

So I’ll delve into some notes on my recent experiences and discoveries when it comes to running a business online.

1-    What is your brand image?

This is something that I have personally struggled with over time. Being that I am very versatile and love so many different clothing styles, it was hard for me to really narrow down and choose what specific niche my clothing design is.

But trust me, as hard as it may be, targeting your brand image is a must. The main piece of advice I can stand on is this: stay true to yourself. Doing something because a person of authority tells you, or you think you may make more money, or it’s a quicker path to success will only dig a deeper hole. I ended up changing things around multiple times, finally landing back where I started in the first place.

Some things to consider about brand image:

·      Who is your client? This means you need to know more than just their age and ethnicity. What do they do on the weekends? What are their hobbies? What music do they like, etc.

·      What do you want your brand to feel like? This takes some thinking. What does the Starbucks brand feel like? And why does it seem to match the feeling of the Apple brand? Consider your senses the next time you go into your favorite store, coffee house or restaurant. Notice the things around you that carry the vibe that you recognize so easily when you think of that place.

·      Consider your competition. Who are they and what are they doing to get the attention of your potential clients? What strong and weak points do you notice? How can you differentiate yourself?

·      What’s your story? Consider your goals as a business. What is the hook that makes you different or intriguing? Consider the emotional triggers you will ignite when telling people about your brand’s story.

·      Here’s another article that provides more tipson creating your brand image: 

2-    Your own website vs. third party platforms.

Making a website for your business is always the best option. It gives the feeling of professionalism and creates trust in the eyes of the client. However, this may not be an option right away as most startups are funded solely by the owner. Putting together a makeshift website from a template is an option, but I guarantee it will make most people shy away. It makes the company look less reputable. Having a solid, professional looking website is truly the best option.

Then there is the choice of using third party as a platform to sell your merchandise. As an example, ww.reverbnation.com is a great site for music artists to network and sell their music. 

Weigh your platform options:

• ·      Having your own website gives you more control.  It also gains better search engine optimization than third party platforms.

• ·      Consider your customer. What will they feel most comfortable with?

• ·      How are you going to get paid? Paypal is by far the most trusted way to send and receive money online. Get an account. It’s free and you can transfer money straight to your bank account with minimal fees.

• ·      A great article explaining why having your ownwebsite is better.

• ·      Another article with a few more insights.

3-    Create a marketing plan. Without question, you absolutely must have all the standard social networks in tact if your business is online. The first thing people want to do when they find your business is check out your Facebook, twitter, etc. It builds credibility and status instantly. The key is finding where exactly your customer is online and formulating your marketing plan around that.

·      Do more than just be present- Interact!

·      Find people who have similar businesses. For example, if you have a make up line, friend and follow others in the beauty industry as well as related industries like fashion and photography. Forums are a great place to do this. People share insights, tips and carry great discussions in forums.

·      Don’t forget about the offline world. Be present at related events in your area. Learn who’s who. Have your professional business cards ready to direct people to where you are online.

·      Create a campaign. Something that you will focus on and push for a set amount of time. This could be a sale, a special product launch, a grand opening, etc. This will help your new audience understand what your all about. Consistent brand image is vital in this stage.

·      Here’s an article on a few tips for onlinemarketing on a budget: 

4-    Blog. The main thing about blogging is establishing yourself as an expert in your craft. People will come to your blog to learn from you. So you want to blog about a topic you’re confident in.

·      Post consistently. At least once a week is ideal.

·      Find sites that you can submit your articles to.

·      The more links your blog is tied to, the higher Google ranks you in searches.

·      Make sure you’re using the right keywords and tags. This is how people find you!

·      Check out other blogs to see what is working for others.

·      Here’s a great article with 21 blogs to followif you want to sell art online.

Final thoughts on this topic; be honest. Keeping up communication with clients and colleagues is the best way to build and maintain your online relationships. Never forget that on the other side of that screen is an actual person with thoughts and feelings, just like you.

Which Came First, the Music or the Image?

     One of the most interesting aspects of artists, or anyone in general really, is image control. Your image speaks volumes about you, whether you want it to or not, before you even have a chance to speak.

     Music has influenced fashion, and vice versa predominately over the last century. Hip hop in particular is one of the more interesting case studies to examine with this scenario. Many of the early hip hop styles were created because upcoming artists were making their image off of what they had, with limited resources, shaping a movement and a culture from the 1970s-1990s.

Ice T.

Image Source

Unstoppable Fashion Fate? Fashion History Periods Compared

1920s vs. 1990s

1930s vs. 2000s

40s here we come?

As of late I have been wandering about what silhouettes our current decade and the previous one (the naughties, or the 2000s) will be remembered for 30 years from now. I wrote about this issue in my previous post (above). In digging deeper into the subject, and knowing that history goes in cycles, I have found that there are socio-cultural elements that mirror each other in the 1920’s and the 1990’s, also with the 1930’s and the 2000’s. This also leads me to wonder if the decade we have newly entered will be at all like the 1940’s.

The 1920’s silhouette was boxy with a dropped waist, minimizing curves. The 20’s were a time of prosperity and economic growth in the United States. It was the first time that more people lived in cities than in small towns. It was the birth of automobiles, jazz music, national advertising and chain stores, which made trend communication much faster.

check out those awesome boots! 

 The 1990’s was the minimalist fashion period. Like the 20’s, the 90’s came right after a very decadent era. This could be a reflection of both generations rebelling from the ornate, over the top style of the prior period into more clean, simple lines and shapes.

The benchmark of the 1930’s is the Great Depression. One cannot help but see the similarity of the depression of the 1930’s to the recession of the 2000’s. Despite the economic downturn, fashion still found a way to endure in the 30’s, and produced some great pieces in the era. The waistline moved up to the natural waist, and skirt lengths elongated, creating a more feminine figure. 

The war required women to go to work, 1939-1945. This forced them to wear trousers and coveralls for the first time in history! It was the introduction of a whole new silhouette for women. Over some time, it became acceptable and commonplace for women to wear pants outside of work. 

This reminds me of how the 2000s (or the naughties as some have coined them) silhouette of skinny jeans or leggings with a long top or sweater and boots came in, which is more likely to be remembered as our staple silhouette than a dress. It is also interesting that in both eras the silhouettes is one that elongates for a slim, tall, feminine figure.

Does this mean that our fresh 2010’s will be trending with 40’s inspired silhouettes? We’ve seen a few of them thus far with peplum style dresses and jackets. 

We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for our fashion era, but wouldn’t it be interesting if people were aware of these trends and time patterns and then intentionally started wearing 40’s inspired trends? Would that still make it a natural repetition of history? Certainly at one point designers were inspired by the 20’s and 30’s when creating pieces in the 90’s and 2000’s. The intent or motivation does not change the fact that it’s a trend, but some may not consider it a naturally evolving trend since it was premeditated. That’s a whole other blog post!

Donna Karen Pre-Fall 2013- very 40's inspired.

An interesting look at a video from the 1930’s predicting what fashion of the future will look like!

Sources:

If you're interested, this site breaks down the history of the Great Depression in a very easy to understand and informative way.

Fashion silhouettes of the 1930’s

Article on culture similarities of 1930’s and 2000’s

Future Nostalgia

     

As a designer I look to the past for vintage inspiration, so the subject of nostalgia is quite intriguing to me. Every so often I try to envision what will trigger nostalgia for people in the future about this past decade. Sometimes it’s hard to see the big picture when you’re in the middle of a situation. Certainly there are silhouettes that emerged this decade that will define the looks of the era. The all around “trimming of fat” provided cleaner looks. Velour tracksuits, leggings, hipster style, plastic rimmed glasses and tailored suits are all staples from the 2000s. But what will really be remembered or stand out to others and us in the future is unpredictable. Some trends may be relatively short lived, but be a stand out in the people’s minds about the era.

     Another factor to consider is how much mass retailing and fast fashion has changed. It is easier and cheaper than past decades to keep up with current trends.  Retailers like H&M, Forever 21 and Charlotte Rousse have made it possible for consumers to get the latest trends for affordable prices. These clothes of course have a quick turnaround and are very short lived, which is fine since these consumers want the latest style anyway. The system leads to a “trickle-up” pattern, which refers to where the trend began; street to the runway vs. runway to street.

     

     In the early 2000’s a new means of marketing involved “cool-hunters”. They would go out to find teenagers who were innovators and ahead current trends. The cool hunters would take their photos, compile the information and images and sell them to companies for thousands of dollars. This type of marketing continues today along with other very consumer influenced tools like focus groups and surveys. This has changed the way trends begin. Also, the fact that the 2000s mark the first decade of the social media influence on fashion increases the rapid pace at which trends unfold, disperse and disappear.

     We may not be able to predict what our era will be remembered for, but it is fun to think we as consumers, and myself as a designer have a greater influence on fashion history than ever before.

Here is a link to an article with a little more insight on the subject.

What staples do you think will be remembered from the 2000s?