What Advice do 3 Industry Experts Have for Fashion Start-Ups?
It’s been weeks since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a global health pandemic. Since then, the world has been flipped upside down, and so is the case for small businesses in particular. Not only have many non-essential businesses been forced to close down, but the appetite for consumption has also drastically changed, and reduced.
On April 2, the Fashion Zone launched Future Forum, a platform for start-ups to pitch business challenges to an expert panel.
This session, our start-ups got the opportunity to pitch their problems and challenges to our expert panel, consisting of:
- Stacey Fruitman (external link) - Founder of SWS Ventures (external link)
- Linda Maxwell (external link) - ENT Surgeon; Executive Director and Founder, Biomedical Zone
- Brian Gallant (external link) - Special Advisor to the President for Innovation, Cybersecurity, and Law at Ryerson University
Here are some of our key takeaways from the discussion:
Tip #1: Put your customers first, and your products Should you, or should you not promote your products?
We all need to make money, but right now people are still reacting to the emergency and focused on transitioning. Take this opportunity to create content, tools, and resources to help your customers get through this transition.
An example is Fashion Zone start-up, Sprout Collection, a subscription service for maternity clothing and everyday work-wear. Sprout's customer base is mainly comprised o mothers, many of which are wearing multiple hats during this pandemic, so they swapped their usual newsletter content to feature fun activities and resources for parents to do with their kids at home.
Tip #2: Stay true to your business, and where you want your business to go!
To stay afloat, many businesses are looking to pivot. Businesses in this position need to properly evaluate these new opportunities, and whether that fits with the values of your business now, and where you want to grow your business.
The reality is COVID-19 will (hopefully) be resolved in the near future, and things will go “back to normal”. You don’t want to completely change your business and do something now that in the long run does not fit with your company vision.
Now is not the time to be sitting at home and doing nothing.
Now is the time to re-think how you run your business, and what you need to do to keep it alive.
But you don’t have to do this alone. Fashion Zone is here to help Canadian fashion, retail, product, and technology businesses grow and sustain their business, and we are still open.
For those interested in our program, check out the Become A Member page for more details.
Tip #3: Look to the past to tell the future.
Remember, this is not the first time that a global problem has affected our lives, nor will it be the last.
Take this time to research how your industry was previously affected by events resulting from health pandemics and economic crises to help guide your path to recovery and growth.