How to Start a Clothing Boutique

If the opening years of the 2020s have taught us anything, it’s that we can’t take anything for granted. Everywhere, people are taking stock of their health, their careers, and their dreams to see what can be done about them. 

For fashionistas and stylists, starting a clothing boutique is one such dream. Like all dreams, it can seem unattainable. However, opening your own boutique is actually surprisingly achievable if you’re willing to put in some hard work and build your business from the ground up. 

With this blog, we’re going to be explaining what you need to do to start your own boutique and how you can help it thrive in the retail landscape of today. With a killer sense of fashion and a little bit of luck, you might be able to make your dream come true. 

Get ready with research 

No matter what industry you’re hoping to break into, the first thing you should do is sit down and do some intense market research to turn your business idea into a reality. Gather as much information as you can about how fashion boutiques work, what the market is like, and what successful boutiques have done in the past. 

If there’s a boutique you particularly admire, it may be worth contacting the owner and seeing if they’d be willing to offer you some tips. Insights from business people that have successfully done what you’re trying to do can be invaluable. 

There may also be grants or loans available to new businesses in your country to help with startup costs. Make an appointment with a financial consultant as they’ll be able to point you in the right direction and help you to apply for the money. 

Build a business plan

There are very few things in life that don’t benefit from a bit of preparation. A business plan is an integral part of starting a business and you should make yours is airtight. While you can make your plan as intricate as possible, at the very least it should cover your business goals, your monthly budget, your target customers, and your clothing boutique start-up costs. 

There are several questions you should ask yourself when you’re writing your business plan. These can include:

What are my start-up costs?

This may seem obvious, but opening your small business will be over before it begin if you can’t afford your start-up costs. Bare in mind that you will need to secure a shopfront, pay any fees your country may require, secure the correct business insurance, decorate the shop, and of course, source your clothes. 

Depending on the shop you want to start, you may be able to save some money. For example, by building your own website and initially starting an online boutique you would be able to avoid paying rent on a shop unit until your website gains traction. 

How much does a clothing boutique owner make? 

While your desire to start your boutiques may have come from a passion for fashion, you will realistically want to make some money from it. If you can’t afford to pay yourself a salary from your shop, you will eventually be forced to close. 

By the time your business plan is complete, you should have a solid understanding of what the typical markup will be on your products and how much your overheads will cost. By calculating the average profit margins you need to run your store in order to survive, you’ll be able to determine your first year's salary. 

This is a question that may be answered by your fellow boutique owners. Approach owners you’re friendly with and ask them if they’d be willing to tell you how much they make.

Who is your target market?

Your target market describes the customers you’re trying to reach with your clothes. They will be the core of your client-base and will bring the most profit. It’s important to understand who these people are and what their buying habits are like so you can better tailor your business to their needs. 

For instance, if you and your customers are interested in a specific subculture such as Gothic or Cyberpunk, it would make sense to stock clothes that adhere to that subculture. Alternatively, if you’re trying to attract the average customer on the street, you should stock trendy but more generic clothing. 

This specificity will also play into your prices as more generic clothes are generally cheaper that clothing that caters to a subculture. 

Where do boutiques buy their clothes? 

As a clothing boutique, sourcing the clothes you sell is perhaps the most important part of your business. Unless you’re trading in custom pieces, you’ll be getting your clothes from a wholesaler. These companies source clothes directly from manufacturers and sell them in bundles to boutiques. 

The easiest way to find a wholesaler is to simply Google “clothes wholesaler [your location]” name. When choosing your wholesaler, research their sources and ensure that you’re getting quality pieces for a reasonable price. 

Time to market

Now that you’ve gotten your business plan out of the way and set up all the basics, it’s time to build a marketing plan for your clothing boutique. Luckily, clothes are some of the most marketable items available and getting the word out there shouldn’t be too difficult. 

Be creative as possible when creating marketing campaigns for your business. There are many traditional ways to advertise, including print and newspaper adverts. If there’s a local TV station in your area, you could buy advertising time and film your own advert. 

Clothing shops are very popular on social media and the internet is a great place to market you boutique. You could ever partnerships with influencers and have them create #Ads for your business. You could even buy advertising space on popular apps such as TikTok and Snapchat to get your business in front of younger audiences. 

On Instagram, you could post pictures of your products along with clothing boutique display ideas and clothing boutique packaging ideas. If do go down the social media marketing route, make sure your business’ personality shines through. 

The perfect POS system

Now that you’ve started your own clothing boutique, it’s important to ensure your point of sale (POS) is the best one for your business. Epos Now offers a number of different systems, including one specifically designed for clothing stores, that make business owners' lives easier. 

Our benefits include:

• Accurate, detailed, flexible reporting on your sales
• Quick and easy product management and stock control 
• Flexible app integrations and exportable data
• Hardware, software, and card processing integrations to suit your needs
• 24/7 support and advice from expert staff

If you’d like to know more about how Epos Now can help you, get in touch with our team below.