Kailee McKenzie’s Substack

Kailee McKenzie’s Substack

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Kailee McKenzie’s Substack
Kailee McKenzie’s Substack
The Basics 01: Starting a Fashion Business

The Basics 01: Starting a Fashion Business

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Kailee McKenzie
Sep 18, 2024
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Kailee McKenzie’s Substack
Kailee McKenzie’s Substack
The Basics 01: Starting a Fashion Business
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What you need to know that no one wants to share….

Some quick background on me - I’m Kailee and I have a portfolio career.

I’m a —

  • Designer + founder for sustainable fashion brand and circular marketplace, STAATSBALLETT, scaling DTC revenue to 7 figures

  • Freelancer + consultant for brands and individual clients

  • Content creator

  • A girl who is OBSESSED with aesthetics, business + logistics

I’m pivoting from my fashion brand business, STAATSBALLETT, to focus on new ventures after some unfortunate ownership struggles, but I’m happy to share some of my knowledge and resources I’ve learned along the way. Some was gained through fashion school and working for other brands, but most was picked up through my personal experience of building a business from scratch.

My previous venture: STAATSBALLETT

Experience is truly the best way to learn, especially when you’re working for your own brand. Every little decision can be detrimental and overwhelming, especially if you’re bootstrapping your funding yourself. I hope this guide can be used as a starting point.

While there is a TON of information online, not all of it is easy to find or up to date. I’m often asked for advice on how I started, and while I’m in no way an expert, I do have a ton of information to share!

I wish I would have had some sort of guide like this to refer to at the beginning.

SECTIONS:

  • Start-up costs and the importance of research

  • Sourcing and minimums

  • How do I find a factory? (the toughest part imo)

In the next weeks we’ll talk more about -

  • The flow of sample-making -> the flow of production.

  • Shooting your collection and presenting it

  • Designing a website and creating your store

  • Selling your product. Pricing?

  • Fulfilling your product

  • Resources

  1. Start-up costs and the importance of research

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