In this Lunch and Earn episode, Evan Carmichael answers a viewer’s question about how to launch a fashion design business. He and co‑host Mark Jagger stress that passion for fashion must be paired with solid business understanding. Their advice includes: (1) work for a small, respected fashion house to learn the trade and build connections; (2) study the early careers of iconic designers such as Armani, Coco Chanel, and Calvin Klein to uncover practical startup tactics; (3) start a side venture while still employed, using zero‑cost print‑on‑demand services like Spreadshirt to test designs and gauge market interest without inventory risk; (4) avoid the common pitfall of over‑investing in unsold stock or expensive equipment before validating the concept; and (5) invest first in personal education and experience, treating money as a later-stage resource. The hosts also highlight the biggest risk—ending up with a garage full of unsold inventory—and encourage viewers to share their thoughts in the comments.
Chapters
What should you do if you want to start a fashion design business? We're going to answer that question in today's episode of Lunch and Earn. So I recently got asked a question from one of my YouTube followers, Cara, love you guys, who wrote in to say, "Hey Evan, my name is Cara. I watch your videos a lot and I was thinking of being a fashion designer. Is there any advice you can give me before starting my own fashion business and can I get a shout out on your next video please?" Thanks. So you wanted a shout out. Hey, Cara. So what do you think?
I think fashion is a really creative industry. And like a lot of creative industries, the type of people who want to get into it are usually really into fashion. They're into design. They're into, you know, the sewing and the pins and needles and the drawing and whatever else it is. I think if you were to jump into any industry like that, you need to be aware of also the business side of things. So I think, yes, have a passion for fashion.
I like that. Passion for fashion.
Passion for fashion.
There you go.
Have a passion for fashion.
T-shirt there.
But also, what are you going to What are you going to do in your business path? How are you going to run your business? How are you going to get things sold? How are you going to get things manufactured? How are you going to get them made? Is that through a website? Like, maybe. Is it through retail and in-store? Well, how do you get stuff in-store? And like a lot of creative businesses, creative people go into it and they have such drive and such passion to create, but then there's a whole other business side of things, and that can be scary and daunting, I think, for a lot of people.
Cool. Yeah, so I have a couple of suggestions to add on to what Mark was saying. First off, I would go work for somebody that you respect in the industry. I would go get a job and not at some big company, but at a small fashion house, 10 employees, where you can learn from their success and get really close to the entrepreneur founder so you can understand how the business works. Because so many people start off in the fashion business printing t-shirts and making their own clothing and they don't go anywhere because you don't— you don't know enough. You don't have enough experience in what you're doing. And so I would go find that job to learn, to make connections, to get paid to make mistakes, to get paid to understand how that industry works. I would also study more successful entrepreneurs. I would look at people like Armani and people like Coco Chanel and people that you look up to and look at how they got started, right? Not how Armani makes extra money now, but how did he go from zero to one, right? How did he get his first piece out and get noticed? And I think it'll give you some specific strategies that you can use, but then also give you some motivation, right? Like, oh, Armani started off from nothing. Calvin Klein started off from nothing. So if they could do it, I could do it too. I found that super helpful for me when I was starting my business. And then I would also, as a third thing, just start on the side. So while I'm at my job, while I'm learning, while I'm modeling success from these big guys, I would start something on the side just as a way to improve my skills and to start building some momentum. I wouldn't spend any money. I don't know what you're making in terms of fashion, but I would look for a website that could do all of the production for you. I would go with like a Spreadshirt.com or something like that where you upload your designs and you can promote it and you can start getting the sense that people like your designs or not, if they're starting to sell anything. You lose a big percentage of each deal that comes in, but there's zero cost for you. And so you don't have a garage full of t-shirts that never sell.
What would you say for something like this are the big risks? I know that wasn't the question, but what are the big risks that you go down the path, you get really excited, you start the business, you know, you're all excited about fashion, but the blind spot is you don't see the stuff that you're missing. What could be the risks in that?
The biggest risk is having a basement or a garage full of inventory that nobody ever buys, right? Your first design is probably not going to be the one that hits, and you don't know enough to know that that's not going to work. And I see it constantly. Like, people, they over-invest on their idea because it's the greatest idea ever, and then whatever it is, if I'm gonna start a YouTube channel and I buy the most expensive lights and camera and tripod and microphone and then I get into it and realize, "Oh, I don't actually want to do this," or, "I actually suck on camera and I would rather be an editor," or something, right?
You don't suck on camera.
Well, I suck at other things. So it's part of that learning process and I hate spending money until I'm making money. So I think the biggest risk in any business starting up is that you over-invest, you take your life savings and you put it into something that doesn't work out. Because you're going to make mistakes. You will make mistakes. It's normal. That's part of the process. And so I would invest in myself, the education and the experience before investing dollars into what I'm doing. So our question for you today is—
let's all help Kara with this. If you are in any kind of manufacturing or heavy business where you have to put a lot of money into having stuff in boxes, what are the advice that you would give her?
I like it. Leave in the comments below and we'll join in the discussion. Thank you guys so much for watching. Continue to believe, and we'll see you soon. Mark Jagger, everybody, in the house. I'm in his house, actually.
