How to build a successful e-commerce business

Is there a short cut to success? I’d love to give you a new and unique answer which would magically make all your problems disappear. But, unfortunately, there is none. So, I’m just going to go with the old fashioned epithets of ‘hard work ‘, perseverance, talent and a little bit of luck (although the law of attraction states luck itself is directly proportional to how hard you work!).

A lot of budding entrepreneurs think that they can get a website, open a shop and customers will beat a path to their store. The reality is far different. With a billion websites out there, getting discovered, building the trust that gets a sale take a lot of time. Most new e-commerce sites don’t net a single sale for the first 3 months.

You could do a simple google search to find hundreds of articles about hard work. I simply wish to give a more realistic perspective on the subject.

Case study 1:

In 1993, K. Anders Ericsson and colleagues asked musicians to estimate the amount of deliberate practice– full engagement in structured training activities designed to improve a particular aspect of performance– every week for each year of their careers. They found that on average, the most accomplished musicians estimated much higher amounts of deliberate practice than the less accomplished musicians. At age 20, the average estimated hours for the most accomplished violinists was more than 10,000 hours, whereas the average estimated hours for the least accomplished violinists was about 4,600 hours.

Case study 2:

Winston Churchill, one of the 20th century’s greatest orators, practiced his speeches compulsively. Vladimir Horowitz supposedly said, “If I don’t practice for a day, I know it. If I don’t practice for two days, my wife knows it. If I don’t practice for three days, the world knows it.”

 

The field of fashion is no different. Sure, talent is important, but consistency, hard work and dedication to the art are even more important. Opening an online store is easy, anyone can do it. But making it successful requires hardwork, perseverance and motivation. Maintaining its standards consistently with new, catchy designs, customer service, keeping up with trends, research etc are the tough parts. It’s even tougher doing all these knowing that you statistically won’t be getting even a single order for at least 3 months from starting your store. These are the parts which will determine if you will be a success story or a cautionary tale for others.

If you say, “I’ve tried all this, still no success”, here are few more case studies for you, Colonel Sander’s chicken recipe was rejected 1099 times before going mainstream, Henry ford failed in five businesses before starting ford motors, Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper early in his career because “he lacked imagination and creative ideas”.

So what is the secret sauce to building a new digital business?

1. Have something truly unique
2. Share your website with friends and family and ask them to share it with their friends
3. Provide excellent customer support. Give your customers a reason to buy from you
4. Be active on social media like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and share your work.

In the end it takes talent, nurturing, motivation, persistence and hardwork to build a success story. There are no shortcuts here!

Launch your own clothing line at under $100,

Launch Your Own Clothing Line. Custom Made, On-demand!

MyWear^® is the only integrated platform to let you launch your own line of apparel or accessories, designed, produced and delivered to order, under your label, with no minimum order quantities. MyWear^® provides you with everything you need: design tools, e-commerce, social media integration, manufacturing & drop shipping!

If you are wondering, is talent alone enough?, you need to look at industry legends like Coco Chanel, who learnt the art of sewing while being raised in an orphanage or Georgio Armani, who started his career from a garments shop, where he assisted a photographer in arranging the window, or let’s take the example of Calvin Klein, who started his career as a complete loner, with no connections nor money, except for what he made helping his father at his grocery store.

The simple truth is, in addition to being exceptional fashion designers, these greats were also exceptional business men and women, scouting the market like a hawk, searching for opportunity, flaws, chinks in the armor where they could step in and offer their solutions.

For instance, Rene’ Lacoste designed a game changing shirt with a buttoned neckline and short sleeves in a time when tennis players were accustomed to rolling up their sleeves to get a little relief. Lacoste saw opportunity, stepped in and offered his solution. A simple formula.

These extraordinary people loved their art enough to learn and develop a new line of business. Now, we have made the barriers much lower for an enterprising designer to get started on their own.

Choose from our wide range of product silhouettes across customer segments – Tees, Tops, Dresses, Backpacks, Messenger bags and Raglans across Kids, Men, Women and Extended Sizes in Synthetic, Cotton, Polyester, Silk or Blends. Just design on our 3D tool and publish to your store and the product is ready for purchase! No inventory, no pre-orders, no minimums – we will custom make and drop ship every single order, under your label, within 2 weeks.

Need your own custom product or special fabric? We will design, pattern-make and set up manufacturing just for you, for a small fee.

Don’t be restricted to designing inside a box! MyWear® is the only platform that supports full-bleed prints with custom sizes and choice of fabric. Go ahead and unleash your creative skills without any technology limitation.

Promote your products on Facebook, sell on Facebook in-app store, promote on Twitter, Instagram & Pinterest with a single click from our social dashboard. When your customers order on any of your channels, we will manufacture and drop ship it!

Launch your line, under your own label.

We have simplified supply chains, built design tools and brought on-demand
manufacturing so any budding designer with talent and entrepreneurial skills can get started. We have made sure tools, technology or cost are no longer a barrier. You just need to add your talent and creativity to the mix!

Register now: https://www.launchmywear.com/design-make-sell.html

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Are You Taking Advantage of These MyWear® Tools?

Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with the MyWear platform and designed your first item, you might be wondering if there’s any hacks or tools for even more control during the design process. Lucky for you, there is! Here we’ll walk you through some of the lesser known tools to utilize while designing with MyWear!

Apply Image To

If you only want to apply art to specific sections of your design, use the “Apply Image To” dropdown to add art to desired panels, or uncheck components where you don’t want your art to be applied.

 

Additional Artwork Tabs

If you’re planning on using more than one artwork on your piece, you can use the additional artwork tabs to do so. When combined with “apply image to” you can create pieces that feature multiple works of art on different sections, or it can be used as a tool for even more control over the placement of your art and how it will look on your garment.

 

Clone Tool

Use the clone tool to clone your art to a second (or third!) artwork tab.

 

Center Arrow Button

As you’ve probably figured out, the four arrows located in the artwork tab will align your art further to the left or right, or higher or lower. But, there’s also a small center button which will make your arrows move in smaller increments.

 

Display Order

Use the layer up/down buttons located to the left of your art thumbnail to change layer order.

To set a logo, use a .png file (without a background) and overlay it on top of the other layers.

 

Color Tab

To apply solid color, go to the color tab and uncheck “art” in the component you’d like to apply color to. Click the color box and use the dropper to choose a color or enter a color hex code.

Mirror & Copy Functions

You can also find the “mirror” and “copy” functions located in the color tab. Use these to copy or mirror the art from one side onto the other. For example, for symmetrical sleeves, use the color tab’s dropdown menu under “Mirror” and select “Mirror” to make the left component match with the right. Select “Copy” to apply an identical copy of the art onto the other sleeve.

Once you get the hang of these tools, you’ll find many inventive ways to use them to create truly unique items that your customers can’t find anywhere else. Want a quick visual refresher course? Look no further than our video tutorial!

Know Your Stuff: A List of Patterns A-Z

Argyle: A solid diamond pattern with an overlay of intercrossing diagonal lines.

Barcode Stripe: A pattern created by stripes of varying width.

Burberry Plaid: A distinct plaid featuring camel, black, and red associated with British fashion house Burberry. 

Camouflage: Created to conceal a person or object, camouflage clothing is often associated with the military.

Dotted Swiss: Small evenly spaced polka-dots.

Fleur De Lis: A classic French pattern consisting of a stylized lily composed of three petals.

Floral: A pattern featuring flowers or sometimes other nature-inspired elements like leaves or vines.

Geometric: A pattern formed from geometric shapes that often repeat.

Gingham: A pattern consisting of sheer lines that are overlapped to create a checker motif.

Glen plaid: A plaid created by assorted alternating dark and light stripes that overlap to create a pattern of checks that vary in size.

Graph Check: Checks created by evenly spaced, solid, single-colored lines, like that of graph paper.

Herringbone: a pattern of zig zags created by short parallel lines that slope opposite direction of each other.

Hound’s Tooth: A pattern made up of checks with notched corners to create a jagged effect.

Ikat: A pattern created using or replicating an Indonesian tie dye technique.

Liberty: A small floral pattern developed and made famous by Liberty & Co. of London.

Madras: Brightly colored plaid design often used on summer clothing.

Ombré: A gradient effect where tones or colors are shaded into each other.

Paisley: A stylized teardrop-shaped design.

Pinstripe: A stripe pattern created by thin lines.

Pucci: Brightly colored, boldly patterned designs in geometric, swirled, or kaleidoscopic prints created by famed Italian designer Emilio Pucci.

Quatrefoil: An ornamental design made of a four-lobed flower or leaf, resembling a four-leaf clover.

Shepherd’s Check: Small, even-sized, checks made from overlapping bands of twill-weave or finely slanted lines.

Tartan: A plaid made of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colors, often associated with the Scottish.

Tattersall: A repeated pattern of evenly spaced horizontal and vertical stripes in alternating colors.

Tessellations: A pattern made of repetitive interlocking shapes that can be repeated infinitely.

Windowpane: Checks consisting of widely spaced stripes spread evenly apart to create a pattern that resembles panes in a window.

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Seeing Red: You Can’t Be Mad at This Week’s Romantic Looks

Normally, when we think of the color red, words that might come to mind are along the lines of “passion”, “action”, or “anger”. Color psychology associated with red represents “our most physical needs and our will to survive. It exudes a strong and powerful masculine energy.”

But, let us introduce you to the softer side of red. This look has been spotted multiples over the last week, especially at Cannes. Florals, naval stripes, and hints of nude and blush have been keeping things romantic, feminine, and, dare we say, soft?

Red is a classic color that never goes out of style, but with its current popularity, now is the perfect time to design something of your own in the timeless shade.

Here are just a few examples of how you can achieve this style with MyWear®:

How will you showcase red in your next MyWear® design? Tweet us your creations at @LaunchMyWear!

2016 Summer Trends Spotted at Cannes!

If you’re a female celebrity attending Cannes Film Festival this year, there’s probably a 70% percent chance you’re wearing one of these colors:

a. Summer White (30%)

b. Yellow (18%, with an 85% likelihood of being paired with a red lip)

c. Silver (10%)

d. Tan/Nude (6%)

e. Lilac (6%)

If you’re not wearing one of the trends above, there is an 85% chance you’re wearing black.

If you’re trying to fact-check this math right now, don’t. It’s not accurate. But, the popularity of these colors on the red carpet speak for themselves!

Other trends spotted at Cannes?

Pantsuits:

Floral Embroidery & Beading:

Menswear-Inspired Black & White:

As you can see, there’s a lot of overlap here… perfect for getting inspired and designing trends that will sell this summer on your MyWearStore! Be sure to tweet your designs @LaunchMyWear and, as always, happy designing!

Paris Shows Off 2016 Couture

This year’s Couture Fashion Week in Paris delivered exquisite, awe-inspiring designs from the best of the best fashion houses, as you’d expect. These one-of-a-kind pieces can take hundreds of hours to make (This Dior dress was 200 hrs in the making!) and can cost an upwards of tens of thousands of dollars. Haute Couture dazzles and amazes as wearable art, but, for obvious reasons, is not available to most of us. Even if we’re not part of the billionaires club, we can still use these designs to inspire us, which is just what I’m doing today! I’m showcasing three couture collections straight from the Paris runways that we can use as inspiration for our own MyWear® designs.

First, we have to talk about Valentino’s Spring 2016 couture collection!!! This show was my absolute favorite. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli’s romantic Venetian royality-meets high priestess designs made my heart melt. Some of my favorites included this ethereal nude gown with velvet detailing, a dragon column dress with sheer bodice, and an intricately beaded coral tunic.

Schiaparelli’s show made me hungry for more tabletop-inspired designs! Crimped hair, 70’s-esque boots and ladylike silhouettes complimented the delicious display of garments inspired by the table.  Bertrand Guyon said of his second collection for Schiaparelli, “It’s a return to things that are essential, the pleasure of having friends at home”. The runway was just the right balance of quirk and high fashion, in my opinion, and would make for an adorable foodie-themed fit n’ flare from MyWear!

Last, but certainly not least, we have Atelier Versace’s collection. This show had all you’d expect from Versace: plunging necklines and curve-hugging silhouettes, but this time with an athletic twist. Donetella Versace wanted this collection to feel strong and I think she delivered. The models looked empowered walking the runway with athletic straps, cutaways, and intricate embroidery detailing, some of which she said was the most time consuming she’s ever devised.

Hopefully, after feasting your eyes on these gorgeous masterpieces, you feel inspired to create your own works of art via LaunchMyWear.com. Tweet your designs @LaunchMyWear!

Bridesmaids’ Dress Design Made Easy – Make Your Own with MyWear

Custom bridesmaids dresses continue to gain popularity, but they’re missing something in my opinion… true customizability! There are many brands that offer a few different silhouettes in limited choices of fabric or color, but, aside from that, there’s only so far you can go. Trying to find a style that all of your bridesmaids will agree on is exhausting. And trying to find the exact shade to match your accent color, or print to coordinate with the groomsmen’s ties, is down right overwhelming. Add in the staggering task of finding something that’s offered in a variety of sizes and you have a huge headache and are quickly charting Bridezilla anxiety levels.

I too experienced this during my wedding. One of my Bridesmaids didn’t really agree on a dress and when they all finally did agree, it wasn’t available in the right sizes. This is after months of trying to find a shade of “peach” that wasn’t actually orange or hot pink (apparently, the color peach is surprisingly subjective). Ultimately, I chose to have my bridesmaids wear different tones of peach and coral in different styles and fabric, although my preference at the time would have been different shades in the same dress style and fabric. Ultimately, it just wasn’t an option at the time.

I regret nothing, but for brides facing the daunting task of finding the perfect bridesmaid dresses, might I point you in the direction of MyWear®!

In just a few minutes I made four bridesmaid dresses, same silhouette and fabric, different shades of peach and coral, all available in custom sizing for every body type. Wow, this would have saved me time during wedding planning!

Or, for those of you who want to match the dresses to the exact color of your bouquet, or just really love a specific shade, we got you covered too! MyWear can make dresses in a variety of silhouettes and fabrics in any color of the rainbow you desire.

It also doesn’t hurt that these dresses are half the price of a standard bridesmaid gown. MyWear® is a great solution for all you brides trying to find the right dress for each person in your bridal party. Breath easy and get to the fun stuff (cake tasting!) with MyWear®.

MyWear My Way: Lupita Nyong’o’s SAG Awards Head Turner

It’s no surprise that Lupita Lyong stunned at the  21st Annual Screen Actors Guild on Sunday. The floor length Elie Saab gown was just the right amount romantic, moody, and modern… a sure fire way to land on everyone’s best dressed list for the evening.

I fell in love with this print and knew immediately that I wanted to make an affordable MyWear version. But, upon some internet investigation, found the real kicker: Lupita loved it so much, she wore the same print in the fit’ n flare version to an after party!

In a day and age when After Party means “costume change!” and an opportunity to wear a second showstopper, arriving in the same exact print takes real dedication.

Lupita’s loyalty to this Ellie Saab Pre-Fall 2015 stunner tells me that this style is going to be EVERYWHERE. I had already predicted we’d be seeing moody, romantic pieces and stripes this next year, but having a fashion icon like Lupita confirm it x2 makes me want to scream, “I told you so!!!” from the hilltops (<yeah, I have some issues to work through).

I created a soft, almost pixilated-looking floral print in Photoshop and then added black stripes. Voilà; Lupita’s look for less… or rather looks!

You can use MyWear® to recreate lots of celebrity looks for a tiny fraction of the cost. Or, you can unleash your creativity and create the pieces you’d like to wear on the red carpet. As always, tweet us your designs at @LunchMyWear!

MyWear My Way: Nicole Richie’s Bevy of Blossoms & Stripes

Spring is just around the corner and, if you’re anything like me, you’re busy lobbying and bribing all the groundhogs out there with bark and apples in the hope we can get this show on the road! Late January seems to set off an internal alarm in most of us that says we’ve officially had it with winter and are ready to embrace warm weather… and the fun, poppy fashion that goes along with it! When I came across this stunner Nicole Richie wore on a red carpet I knew I needed it in my life. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate spring than with a combination of delicate blossoms and bright, sporty stripes.

Because the real deal is out of the question, as this is probably thousands of dollars, I made my own interpretation via LaunchMyWear!

I started by creating a stripe pattern in Photoshop:

Next, I found floral patterns to work off, adding flowers by copying and pasting layers in Photoshop. I made a second layer of the design and flipped horizontally to create a floral peter pan collar:

Finally, I uploaded the files to LaunchMyWear and applied the floral print to the collar and the stripes to the skirt and hemline only. I kept the top bright white.

After publishing my dress, it’s ready for purchase. Not only for myself, but anyone who wants to buy or customize their own on MyWearStore.com! Now, please, Spring… hurry up!