As of today I can officially say that I have been in the swimwear business for 14 years. It has been a rewarding experience and one that has taught me many things but mostly it has given me the most incredible schooling in persistence. If that was a degree, I’d have a PhD in it by now, one that was earned with lots of sweat and tears. Unlike many apparel companies, mine was started with no investors and I had to bootstrap it every step of the way. It has not been easy and I hope that my experiences can help at least a few of you with your apparel venture. I look forward to telling you my own story on another opportunity since I know that my mistakes and successes will indeed help others in their journey. For now, I will highlight some steps which will help you get started in this exciting business.

Enrique Sánchez-Rivera, CEO LA ISLA

Credit: La Isla

Approximately three years ago I was sitting at my desk and something very unexpected happened. I went out for a coffee break and upon my return I realized that I had been flooded with manufacturing inquiries from all over the country. I was in shock. I had always worked very hard at selling our manufacturing services and getting leads was very difficult. Getting twenty leads in a matter of 45 minutes was a completely new thing for me and LA ISLA. I had no idea what had happened since I never spent any money on advertising. That day’s inquiries were not even close to any of the inquiries we had received at the trade shows we participated in and we hadn’t hired anyone for SEO. What was happening? All the emails were coming from the contact form on our website. I opted to call one of the people who had written their phone number below their email signature and after thanking them for their interest in LA ISLA, I asked them how they had found us. She said, “well I searched for private label swimwear on Google and your company was the first one that showed up on my search.” I couldn’t believe it, especially because every search I had done for those keywords in the past 3 years always resulted in us coming in at the 35th or 36th position! As soon as I answered her questions I immediately tried the search and there we were, #1 on Google’s search for private label swimwear. Those are not highly searched words but when people do search them, they are very interested in moving forward with their project. I called friends in every state and in a few countries and for the exception of Canada . . . we ranked #1. It paid off to have started an effective and in-house planned SEO (search engine optimization) program.

Credit: La Isla

So why am I telling this story? Because the calls we have received over the last few years are exactly what prompted me to write this article. Having that fantastic Google rank has been both a blessing and a challenge. Why? Well, I closed my biggest client ever after they contacted us because of a Google search. At the same time, I have received calls from folks who think they want to start a swimwear business but have no background in design, apparel or the retail world for that matter. Many of those calls are from people who just don’t know where to start. The most common story I hear is, “I just couldn’t find a swimsuit that I loved and I thought I would start my own company.” Typically those calls turn into me telling them why they should not start a swimwear company. I try to discourage folks who have no background in the business because that was the first mistake I ever made with my company. Because of that, I ended up paying a very high price to learn the garment and swim business over a span of 4 or 5 years. I could have saved a lot of time and money if I had started a business in my field, finance.

Credit: La Isla

In the spirit of making this article short, sweet and informational, I have come up with the seven steps I believe can help someone start their own swimwear company. These are somewhat in order and of course, different situations will lead some to omit or replace these steps with their own personal needs. However, if I was starting from day one all over again today, these are the steps I would take to start a swimwear company from scratch. These steps also assume that the interested party has some educational background or experience in the garment/design/apparel field. They also are abridged in the interest of providing a brief stepping stone and not the answer to every question.

7 Steps For Starting Your Own Swimwear Company

1. Create a business plan. Many business advisors have differing views on this. Some say it’s a must have blueprint and others say it’s a waste of time. I personally think it’s an essential ingredient for the success of someone’s entrepreneurial venture. There are plenty of online resources and software packages available to help one create a successful “b-plan.” The U.S. Small Business Administration has a wonderful resource which you can access at: http://www.sba.gov/writing-business-plan. BPlans.com also has some interesting information and a software package which can be extremely useful. You can access this website at: http://www.liveplan.com/?pasc=liveplan-B-lg. A printed resource I like is the book “The Entrepreneurial Venture,” by Sahlman, Stevenson, Roberts, and Bhidé (Harvard Business School Press). Section A of the book #9 and #10 are great reads. This book was introduced to me by Richard J. Ash, Esq. my Private Equity and Entrepreneurship professor at The College of William and Mary (www.wm.edu). For me a business plan is not just some document that is used to pitch investors an idea, but it is really a document for oneself that can be tweaked and modified as your business evolves. My business plan has been a wonderful tool to keep me grounded and has helped me never to lose sight of why and how I run my business. It has also served as a virtual compass for my company and brand.

Credit: La Isla

2. Research your target market and the industry. This does not mean go try on a few swimsuits, tell yourself you don’t like them and use that as the basis for starting your business. What this means is research deeply and look for industry numbers (sales figures, industry figures, hard data), speak to store buyers, interview trade show managers and walk as many trade shows as you can. Observe how people sell and take a look at what’s out in the market so you don’t end up building a better mousetrap (although sometimes this is not a bad thing) but instead you end up offering something that is unique and needed in the market. Ask storeowners what they do not have that they would like to have – a different spin on “what problem can you solve” with your product? Take a long hard look at all your research and if you and others truly believe your product is a home-run, take the next steps. One of them should be to create a “launch”/project calendar which should coincide with the retail spring/summer or with the wholesale buying season which for swimwear begins in August for the following year’s market.

Credit: La Isla

3. Get your designs professionally sketched in Adobe Illustrator/CAD (http://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator.html). One of the big challenges we have as a manufacturer and swim consulting firm is trying to decipher designer’s sketches, drawings and ideas. In order to get accurate pricing for your designs, once you have designed your swimsuits, you will need a professional artist (hopefully someone with technical garment expertise) to draw the exactly how your garments need to look with every detail labeled. For example, if the suits have underwires or not, removable cups, the length of the straps, the type and shape of hardware on them, etc. When you have professionally drawn sketches you are able to receive more accurate pricing, which is extremely helpful when deciphering your costs and therefore the wholesale and MSRP of your products and your possible margins. There are many great resources to find a technical designer. There are a myriad of groups on LinkedIn which are dedicated to fashion where you can join for free and post your needs. Fashion schools like Parsons in NY (http://www.newschool.edu/parsons/), FIDM (http://fidm.edu) and Otis (http://www.otis.edu) in Los Angeles have career services offices which can help you find excellent candidates.

Source: La Isla