31 Pros & Cons Of Starting A Niche Fashion Business (2024)

Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

Ability to start your business from home

It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!

Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a niche fashion business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

Quick build time

The average time it takes to build your product is quick - typically around 11 months. This will allow you to bring your product to market faster.

Easy to encourage "impulse buy"

In the niche fashion business, you have a much higher chance of encouraging your customers to buy on impulse - you can easily alter the price, placement, packaging, and promotional value to influence the decision of your buyer.

Amazing perks and discounts

Working in the niche fashion business comes with its perks! As a seller for these products/services, you typically also get to enjoy industry perks and discounts.

You are your own boss!

With starting a niche fashion business, you are the one to make decisions for almost all of the operations. Calling the shots can be empowering and liberating!

Location is everything!

When operating a physical storefront, the location often speaks for itself and serves as it's very own marketing tool! It's important to choose a location in a high traffic area so you can spark curiosity and get people through your door!

Face to face interaction

If you are the type of individual that thrives on human interaction, then this is the business for you! With a niche fashion business, you will be hands-on with customers and or employees every day.

You can sell your product in various places!

There are various different markets to sell your product, which will help you reach different audiences and revenue streams.

Simple business model

A niche fashion business has the advantage of a simple business model, which makes launching and building the business more seamless.

Minimal experience required

Starting A Niche Fashion Business requires little experience and no specific certifications or qualifications. To be successful, you need hard work, determination and the desire to achieve greatness!

Greater Income Potential

With this business, the sky is the limit in regards to your income potential.

You get to do something you truly love

With starting a niche fashion business, you get to put your energy into something you are truly passionate about! You'll find yourself devoting as much time and energy as possible into the business to make it successful.

You can decide who you work with

Gone are the days of working in a toxic work environment with employees that you may not vibe with. As a small business owner, you get to decide who you work and surround yourself with.

Easy to Learn The Business

When starting your niche fashion business, there is a ton of information readily available to you online (Facebook groups, Youtube videos, Starter Story etc). This will help you get the business started and answer any questions, doubts or concerns you may have.

You get to inspire others

Your business is one that encourages and inspires others, which in itself, can be very fulfilling.

Never a dull moment

With starting a niche fashion business, there is truly never a dull moment. Your job offers a lot of variety and allows you to meet interesting people from all walks of life.

Crowded Space

Competition is high when it comes to your niche fashion business, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.

Finding The Right Supplier

Most businesses in this space go the supplier/manufacturer route, which isn't a bad thing! However, finding the right supplier can take a lot of time, energy and trial/error. If done properly, this process can save you months (if not years) of time and energy. More on this below in the "finding a supplier" section.

Motivation of employees

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

High employee turnover

In the niche fashion business, employee turnover is often high, which can be quite costly and time consuming for your business. It's important to try and avoid this as much as possible by offering competitive pay, benefits, and a positive work environment.

Niche Market

A niche business is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can be the key to your success. However, it can be more challenging and time consuming to find the perfect niche market and target audience.

High overhead expenses

With starting a niche fashion business, there are overhead expenses that come with selling a physical product. You will want to make sure you strategically budget for these overhead costs. We discuss this more in the startup costs section below.

Work can be repetitive

You may find creating the same product over and over repetitive and tiresome. One way of avoiding this is to diversify product lines and revenue streams - this will keep things interesting!

Time commitment

With starting a niche fashion business, all responsibilities and decisions are in your hands. Although this is not necessarily a negative thing, work life can take over at times. This can place a strain on friends and family and add to the pressure of launching a new business.

You might struggle financially (at first)!

If you bootstrap your business or choose not to pay yourself (or pay yourself less than you were making at your corporate job), this can be financially taxing. It's important to adjust your lifestyle and set a plan for yourself so you don't find yourself in a stressful situation.

The job can be demanding

This is one of the major disadvantages starting a niche fashion business. It's important to understand that you may need to make yourself available on a 24/7 basis.

You may need to relocate

There can be a lot of opportunities that come your way when starting a niche fashion business. Although moving around can be fun and exciting, it can also be physically and emotionally taxing for you and loved ones.

Recession-Impacted Industry

When the economy is down, niche fashion business's are one of the first things to be cut.