TAILOR BUSINESS
What do you need to start a tailor store in Africa? The fashion world is extremely broad and perhaps a bit complex. Nowadays, buying brand clothes and quality materials is a very popular topic. Now, there are still a lot of people who feel an important connection to the world of tailoring, and because of them, it shouldn’t disappear.
Therefore, today at WorkBank, we have decided to discuss this topic so that you, who are familiar with it and feel the need to set up your own tailoring shop, can do it. This way, you’ll be able to share your love of sewing, arranging, and creating outfits! So, indeed, tailoring is an incredible business idea.
I want to tell you that at present, around one hundred thousand people search in Google how to alter fabric, not even talking about tailors. It is for this reason that just for those searches, there is an incredible opportunity to specialize.
Now, there are certain details to take into account when starting that dream of creating a tailor shop as a business. For this reason, we have come to you to help you make your dreams come true, almost like Disney. Take note of these tips, which I am sure will be super useful!
What does it take to be a tailor?
First of all, let’s talk about tailors and their profession. They make custom garments, take measurements for customers, and advise on fabrics and designs. For that, they must have a lot of knowledge about types of fabric, needles, and types of sewing.
Within their positions, they do it to order, likewise, they are also in charge of arranging suits and coats, before they were sleeves or pants, then dresses and skirts. Besides, they must advise their clients on styles and fabrics for a particular garment.
The most beautiful thing about this profession is that tailors take care of the entire production or clothing process, from measurements to delivery. I love it! The complicity that the tailor can acquire with his client is unique.
What’s in a tailor shop?
Unlike a sewing workshop, the tailor shop works personally and with tailor-made suits. It is geared more to men. However, with the passing of time and the evolution of the world, now they can work with formal and gala dresses. We can find various materials that are the tools to have a base. Among the main materials are the overclock machine, sewing machine, ruler, tape measure, needles and thread, mannequins, scissors, and seam ripper
What is the tailor’s job?
The tailor is the person who offers the art of creating garments in an artisanal way and to measure. Especially men’s suits. I want to clarify that a tailor, a dressmaker, a seamstress, and a designer are not the same. They are completely different professions.
Tailor. The tailor is the person who cuts and sews dresses, mainly for men. He also creates, designs, and makes them to measure. Tailors have been around since the seventeenth century, when they were the ones who made the outfits of wealthy families.
Clothes designer. A dressmaker is a person who is dedicated to making clothing or creating fashions for women. The dressmaker designs, patrons, prototypes, selects fabrics, adjusts, and tailors. If it is male, it is called a couturier.
Seamstress. Her skill is sewing and making or mending clothes. The seamstress, or seamstress, does not draw patterns or create or design. The designer is only responsible for designing. He is in charge of putting the idea on paper by drawing models. It is not responsible for making the pattern or sewing.
What do I need to open a tailoring shop?
Now, since we have all the basics, it is time to discuss some things you will need to know to start your tailoring business. I would like to tell you that this service is offered to high-class people. So, if you are one hundred percent convinced that this is what you want for yourself, write down these tips!
Make your business plan.
This is the main point for opening any business. A business plan will help you include what you will do in six months, a year, or even ten. However, you must decide what you will specialize in. In this case, we will talk about tailoring, but since it is so wide, think about whether you will alter the fabric, modify it, or make it from scratch.
Next, you must write the general expenses that you have to incur to start your business and create a well-detailed study of whether the store is for profit that involves rent, office, tools, and equipment, in addition to insurance, expenses, and services … without leaving aside the employees.
Third, study the rates of other stores and decide yours. See how many businesses you would realistically have monthly and calculate the money you can earn. Compare everything to startup expenses, and that’s where you’ll find out if your business is viable or not.
Get trained.
In haute couture and business, it is extremely important to polish tricks and discover new ones and techniques that may emerge from time to time. You can achieve this in collaboration with another established business that is doing the same thing, coming in as an employee, assistant, whatever, since you need experience. You can also enroll in a sewing school to be trained and able to perfect your techniques and thus handle scissors with enviable mastery.
The investment.
The business will not open by magic, although I would love to be able to do that already. It would be like everyone’s fairy godmother. Remember that you have expenses for rent, salaries, equipment, and other expenses. This is why it is important to be clear about where you will get the funds from. Either through a bank loan with microloans that they give to businesses of this type to start or if you ask for help from your family and friends. Convince them that your idea is the best in the world, and I assure you that they will give you a loan with a low interest rate.
The paperwork.
You need to be up-to-date with taxes and everything that includes the legality of your business. That is why you should consult with a lawyer to register the business correctly. After this, you open a bank account with overdraft facilities and get an accountant to help with the books.
Get your gear.
As I mentioned before, the equipment is important to achieve it. Not just any team, of course not. It has to be the best. Adapted to the space they handle so that you can manage it properly and thus measure without colliding with anything else. You can also hire employees to help you sew, make, measure … and they can start with you part-time and then you decide if they stay with you on the road. You can also hire women who work from home and give them pieces to collaborate with you.
I love this part; it is the juiciest. What will your marketing be? I particularly think that word-of-mouth marketing is ideal for you to start. Then, you can dabble in a good website and social media.
At Workbank, we can help you boost your tailoring business properly and with tangible results. Through the website, you can show who you are and what you do, offer your services and prices, and create a Blog section where, through the writing of articles with SEO, we can enter the search engines and thus position your business.