002 - "Free Game"

I’ve been home for a year now, and although I legally formed Two Skip, LLC in June of 2023, this journey really started when I pulled into my childhood home after four months on the road.

I want to share, in a condensed form, how I went about starting a clothing brand. There are a hundred + books out there that you can read, they’ll be 200 pages long and take you months to get through. Most will have the same key pointers and could be written in 50 pages or less. I read a lot of them, and I’m not saying you shouldn’t, but they inspired me to write this for those that may need it.

Please do not misunderstand my style of writing. This is not advice, it is simply what I did and did not do. An account of my experiences starting up Two Skip. Enjoy.

 

-Have your vision. Be passionate about it.

-Get on social media.

-Create your legal structure. I chose to form an LLC - simply because I can’t afford to pay myself a salary as an S-Corp requires.

-Open a bank account. I chose Chase.

-Start bookkeeping right away. If you don’t want to pay for quickbooks, and you probably don’t need to, find a “small business bookkeeping template” online.

-You need capital. You’ll have nothing to show for the brand, so it won’t be easy to raise money. Put your own money up, that speaks volume. Then talk to family and friends and see if you can get some low interest loans. Don’t offer equity as your company isn’t worth anything (at this point).

-In my case, the vision stemmed from the name of the brand. Trademark the name, slogan, and anything else you can. I’ve already had two infringements where my trademarks ceased competition.

Do your research: https://www.uspto.gov/

-Acquire your domain name (url). Doesn't need to be a .com!

-Get a Shopify account. No doubt the best Ecommerce platform. I started on Squarespace and that wasn’t the play.

-Start putting together the vision board if you haven’t done so already. Get many second opinions. START SMALL. I didn’t.

-Create a google workspace, and link your domain so you have a professional email.

-If you’re about quality: start ordering samples, lots of them. Shipping fees are expensive, so place an order and don’t skimp out on the items you’re curious about. It took me months to find the right blanks and hundreds in shipping fees.

-Find a local embroiderer/printer. Establish a relationship with them. Share your vision and story.

-When dealing with the embroiderer/printer - be precise. I messed up a few batches by not sharing color codes, dimensions, etc. If they’ll run small batches for you as samples, pay the fee and do it.

-I sew my own tags on. Buy a sewing machine (Singer Heavy Duty 4452 has worked great so far). Practice with it before messing up your own garments.

-Shoot your clothes. I used my iPhone camera and photoshop/lightroom to edit.

-Get the website up and running ASAP - don’t have a password on it. You can hide your collections within the site. Why? Because when your site is locked, you are not building any credibility online and thus your SEO will be shit. Like mine when I launched.

SEO: Search Engine Optimization. Very important. Look it up. Write a blog post, it will work wonders.

-Send your clothes out to people. Make a list, get it out, casually set expectations to those people. I didn’t do a great job at this initially. I thought my clothes would speak for themself. Put the ego down and send free stuff out.

-Set a launch day and create excitement.

-Marketing: set up google ads, run a minimal budget campaign. Get google analytics. Meta Business Manager, Pinterest Business Account, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.

-Shipping: What size shipping boxes do I need for my products? You won’t find this info ANYWHERE online. Right now I buy from Uline - which you need to buy in heavy bulk to make it worth the shipping fee. Poly mailers are probably the move - I am using boxes at the moment. I primarily use 13”x10”x3” for hoodies, tees, etc. 13”x11”x6” will fit about two hoodies, and other misc. items no problem. 8”x8”x4” boxes for hats.

Get flap lock poly bags and sizing stickers to wrap and protect your merchandise.

You’ll need a scale to weigh your items an input into Shopify to calculate shipping rates.

A label printer. I use Brothers. It is finicky, not sure if some other brands are better.

Make custom shipping tape. Gives the custom vibe to your mailers, it’s “free” advertising during transit, and saves u bucks in comparison to custom mailers.

-Stay true to your brand identity. Tap into the culture and be the culture.

 

It’s hard to get started, but it’s harder to deal with the consequences of procrastination and losses you incur by not taking action.

To No Last Runs - Jeffrey T Colón