Clothing Store Business Plans - Showing Your Experience
A business plan is never complete without a thorough discussion of the experience that the management team has that will enable it to succeed
. For a clothing store business plan, readers will want to see experience in three separate areas: the clothing industry, management, and retail.If you, personally, don't have experience in each, show a plan for how you will recruit that experience, as investors will not be comfortable with your promises to "learn on the fly". Experience can be hired, but it cannot be accumulated quickly in this way. Also remember that readers are not comparing the management experience your business brings to the clothing store against the average person. They are comparing it to the management experience of the competitors you describe in your plan and need to know that you can hold your own against these incumbents in the market.
Clothing Industry Experience
To sell clothes, you need to show some clothing industry background. This could be working in fashion or design, manufacturing, writing about clothing, or sales. The important thing is to show that you, or a team member, have enough experience to know the major players, what drives different customers to buy clothing, and what quality clothing consists of.
Management Experience
Unless your store is a kiosk or stall where you will be the only employee, you or your team members will be managing other people at your store. Show relevant management experience, especially the responsibility of hiring, training, evaluating and firing employees. By demonstrating that the intended store manager has cut his or her teeth in another job, investors will be more comfortable with the manager's ability to work with a staff that requires a good deal of hands-on supervision, like your clothing store likely will.
Retail Experience
If you know the clothing industry and have managed employees or a company before, but have no experience in retail, you have another major hurdle to overcome. Retail, with its fast pace, quick decisions, and need for operational efficiency because of the repetitive nature of the work, has a specific skill set that goes with it. Showing that you have worked at a grocery store at some point is a minimal start, but it would be much better to have a team member with retail management experience, who had to make decisions about how to set up and operate a store before.
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