Millennials, Financial Freedom, and the Fashion Industry
These days, young people are looking for ways to achieve financial freedom and work for themselves. It is becoming more and more difficult for those entering the workforce to find a livable wage with a standard 9-to-5 job. Many are turning to side gigs to supplement their earnings, often in the hopes that their side hustle will become their primary source of income.
The most significant benefit of young people achieving financial freedom is that, like starting any business, they can be in complete control of their earning potential. They can work as many hours as they want, whenever they want, especially once they achieve the success that would enable them to be completely independent. It does take some time to reach this point, but once you do, it’s liberating. One of the main industries that people are gravitating towards is custom apparel because of the enormous potential it has.
Why custom apparel is a great option
To understand why custom apparel is the field that so many young people gravitate towards to start their own business, let’s first look at why the demand for custom apparel is more apparent than it has ever been before. The boom in searching for financial freedom means that more people are creating companies—naturally, each one has its own unique brand image. With the booming trend of creating, selling, and consuming customized merchandise from popular brands, commonly known today as “merch”, the opportunities for apparel decorators is nearly endless.
The need for custom apparel has also grown beyond its historical audience of the traditional business. It’s no longer just businesses needing custom shirts for their employees; it’s influencers looking to create their own brand, celebrities making apparel for fans, as well as teams, performers, and institutions looking to develop apparel for their members and other parties.
That being said, the trend of entrepreneurs starting their own business likewise helps custom apparel companies gain more business. However, while custom apparel is a growing industry full of demand, there is a lack of companies that fill those needs.
What a majority of people do not know is that one of the biggest benefits of entering the custom apparel industry is that this industry is easily accessible for new entrepreneurs to enter, typically requiring only a small initial investment. Equipment companies like Ricoma offer 0% financing and small monthly payments to help new businesses start bringing in profits right away. These opportunities can set a custom apparel business up for success from the start, and stimulate early growth to help propel its success.
Using social media to grow your custom apparel business
Another reason for young people to consider starting a custom apparel business is that the skills of our youth are tailored perfectly to the industry. One of the main methods of marketing your custom apparel business is social media—something that younger generations have an inherent knack for. The level of comfort they have with social media, having grown up with it instead of adopting it later in life, makes the transition to this type of marketing much smoother.
Social media offers several marketing tools superior to anything marketers have had at their disposal before. The engagement that social media can create is above and beyond traditional forms of marketing. After all, audiences are consuming content in very different ways than they used to, so marketers have to adapt and change the ways they communicate their message to potential customers.
The fact that social media is, for the most part, free to use also makes it an invaluable resource for new businesses in the custom apparel field. While you can pay extra to boost the visibility and engagement of your content, or pay a professional to manage your social media accounts for you, these are optional costs. The basic features of having an account on social media are free. So long as you know how to capitalize on trends, you can make the most out of a small investment in your marketing budget.
The metrics offered by social media can also be beneficial for a business to identify its audience. Marketing is all about maximizing your return on investment, or ROI, and while you can estimate the number of people who will see your billboard or print ad, it’s hard to verify those figures. On the other hand, social media platforms allow you to know precisely how many people see your content, interact with it, and convert into a sale. This is invaluable because it lets you know what does and doesn’t work about your approach in marketing your brand.
Collaborations and cross-promotion offer further opportunities for a new company to grow its audience. The world we live in is increasingly interconnected, and it would be unwise not to take advantage of this. Other business owners and creators are always looking for opportunities to get more exposure. Partnerships between brands are nothing new, but marketers are just recently realizing that forming relationships with their perceived competition can actually help grow the audiences of both parties.
The custom apparel industry is a well of untapped potential. Those looking for a fresh start to achieve financial freedom will find numerous opportunities for them to start their own business. The skills required to be successful in this industry are particularly suited for members of the younger generation, so it’s only a matter of fulfilling the existing demand.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
