Go from successful designer to business mogul
New designers are succeeding every day in establishing their brand and image. So after investing untold hours of relentless effort, it's critical to know how to manage your ever expanding business - which will require new skills and a higher level of business acumen as it grows. Unfortunately hard work alone doesn't give you the necessary array of business skills needed to run today's fashion businesses. The secret is knowing when it's time to ask for advice, and even more importantly, who you should ask.
Through independent professional advice you have the opportunity to maximise the potential of your business and turn unknown opportunities into reality. This knowledge and advice can make enormous differences to the growth rate of your business, enabling you to not just be competitive and but to dominate your competition.
Finance is the most common area that fashion businesses seek expert advice on - so here's a guide to enable you to source the best financial advice:
Know your measurements
Prior to any adviser assisting you to understand the financial options open to your fashion business, you must be able to provide them with your current financial position and you vision for your company's future. Aside from the obvious financials, give them a sense of where you would like to take your business and how you plan to take it there.
The price tag
Like clothes, when it comes to advice the key isn't price - it's value for money that's important. You can choose to pay by the hour or day for business advice, which will usually be tailored to your individual business and industry. Alternatively, you can access one of many free advice options, which will probably be more generic in its nature and could be skewed towards selling you particular products or services.
Who
There are many people in life who want to give you financial business advice, but only a few can give you the right advice. Aside from trusted family, friends and mentors, other groups of advisors can be broadly categorised as follows:
* Government agencies: Through both state and federal government agencies, there are vast amounts of business financial advice and general information available. Most now have extensive information on their websites and offer advice over the phone or through seminars, workshops and referrals, all of which are either provided at no cost or at a small nominal fee.
* Business advisors: These experienced and knowledgeable business people make themselves available as professional advisers to other business owners for a fee. With advice that is based on real world experience and know-how, it's usually well founded and practical to implement. Having spent any number of days meeting with you and learning about your business, they will have a strong basis of understanding upon which to provide tailored advice to your specific business and needs.
* Accountants: The days of accountants only preparing tax returns are long gone. Today they work with clients to assist in the financial planning and growth of their business. They still provide traditional tax and accounting advice, but this is often combined with financial planning and assistance to clients seeking finance. Given their position as your accountant, they already know your business and offer an independent, well researched and dependable source of advice that is available at an hourly rate.
* Finance brokers: With access to a wide selection of finance products and providers, finance brokers can save you money on borrowing costs and find the right finance option for you. As they principally earn their income through commission, they'll also be driven to provide you with high quality service and fast turn-around times. They're available to meet with you at a time of day and location that suits your schedule.
One size fits all
You need to consider whether your financial business advisor will be suitable to provide your business with advice that suits its current position, as well as its future size and needs? Seek the contact details for a few current clients who first hired the advisor at a time when their business was comparable to yours, from which you'll learn about their capabilities, industry knowledge or limitations.
A cut above
Check the qualifications, experience and professional memberships of any potential advisor. Assess this in combination with their relevant fashion industry experience, ensuring that they are well position to provide advice which accounts for current industry and economic influences. There are many local Chambers of Commerce, trade associations and professional bodies that can also provide you with reliable referrals to financial business advisors.
Selecting a person you have confidence in to provide financial business advice is crucial and can take some time. The right selection through an investment in time will ensure that in the future you're able to make the best financial business decisions, managing your growing enterprise for continued success.