When starting any kind of business, the first few years will be the most critical and the decisions that you make will effect how successful your business becomes. An important part of the success for any start up business is to minimize your overheads whilst maximizing your profits. An important decision that you will have to make early on is where you are going to work from. Of course, working from home will save you a lot of money on renting space and travel costs, but most people do not consider the disadvantages that can in some cases be problematic in the long term. There are many advantages to running your business from home.
Before deciding that you are going to work from home, take a moment to think about if your home is really suitable for your needs. If your are serious about starting a successful clothing business then there may be certain requirements for your work space.
A few problems that I faced personally working from home was that even though I dedicated a room to my business, it did not feel like a working environment and I was more likely to take breaks and get sidetracked. It was also sometimes difficult to separate work from a relaxed home environment. Being able to shut off and recharge is something that is important when running your own business. I also at times spent days upon days without leaving the house because everything I needed to do was at home. If you are not careful this can have a negative effect on your health. Other disadvantages to working from home could be:
Having your own studio can feel great. It can be impressive and your business will feel more real. The major disadvantages of having studio space are the significant costs on top of what you are already paying to live and all of these extra cost will have to be taken from sales of your clothing. Not only does this add to your overheads and give you less flexibility on the price of your garments, but it can also make you feel very pressured to make the money needed. This can leave you feeling very stressed and jaded if you are not careful.
If you are unsure what decision to make about where to set up your business, start from home if this is possible and work your business up to studio space in a few seasons. This gives you the time and flexibility to test your designs and get experience in starting a clothing line before jumping in at the deep end. If working from home will cause you too many problems but you cannot afford studio space or you are reluctant to take on the commitment, then you can take a look into shared workspace. Try advertising in business classified pages or forums. Someone with a studio in your area may be willing to give you some of their studio space to get you started.
