Pricing Your Baby Dresses

Pricing your baby dresses.

I sell at a local mom and pop store.
She buys everything I make.
We both have input
I sell cheap for two reasons.  My shop sells cheap.  And, having never done this before, I accepted the prices she set.  We are beginning to do a little negotiating but I think the owner is wonderful and I will stay within her budget!

If she buys the fabric, she pays me $6 per dress -- dresses that have less than 20 steps (less than an hour to make).  This is way too low and I will not let her buy fabric again unless she also buys the ribbon and the thread and it is a special project.  We are making Christmas dresses for the Junior League Christmas Shop.  I did not want to get caught with 10 yards of Christmas fabric so I made an exception to my new rule.  For her store, $7.50 is probably the best I can get per dress with her shop buying all the supplies.  Time to renegotiate.

To make $7.50 work, make matching "purses" or "gift bags" and sell to shop for $3, she sells for $6.  These bags take less than 30 minutes to make--about 7 seams.

Or make a hair bow or headband to match--another quick project.

When I make the dresses from my supplies, I get $10.50 per dress--any size.  My cost is about $2.50 if I shop sales.

We just renegotiated dresses made from LSU  fabric.  This is more expensive.  So I am getting $12.50 per dress and she had to raise her prices from $20 to $25 or thereabouts.

When I take this show on the road--market to new shops, I will raise my prices.  High end baby boutiques sell their simple play clothes for $30 to $70.  For my simple dresses, I hope to get $15.  For a two piece set, $20.

I use all Hobby Lobby fabrics--high end for our area.  I live in the south, no celebrities, mostly middle class.  You have to price for your market, the community you are selling in, and this is what will work for me.

My ultimate goal is to earn about $2000 a month.

You have to know your goal!

If I get a little more ambitious, I may try to find some more "home sewers" to make my dresses.  My goal will be to add $5 to the price I pay them as my profit.

Why this works!

I do not make a large line--sinking money into supplies, labor, etc., on speculation that I will be able to sell them.  In researching how to start a baby design business, people invested thousands of dollars in setting up an LLC, creating a business plan, ordering bolts of fabric and supplies, hiring manufacturers to make dresses, etc.  This is risky business.  Unless you have an established business with established clients--you could lose big.

Steps to starting a baby fashion business on a dime

This post will list my steps in starting my business on a dime--well less than a $100.

1.  Know how to sew.  For a home based start-up business, outsourcing is not an option.
2.  Know how to use a computer and printer!  ($25-$30 for ink.) Or make friends with someone who does.
3.  Name your business.
4.  Create a design.  I chose standard pillowcase dress first.  I changed placement of ribbon ties.  I changed length.  I added different sizes of ruffles and bands.  I multiply ribbon.  I change widths of ribbon.
5.  Buy some fabric, record information from end of bolt (fabric content and care instructions) and sew--make a few samples.  I bought a yard of one print and a half yard of another from Hobby Lobby and made two to three dresses from this fabric.  For $9.20 in fabric and ribbons, I can make three dresses.  Don't buy anything that is not on sale!!!
6.  Register with CPSC.
7.  Create tags for clothing.  I use card stock ($11) from Office Depot, my laptop, and my Kodak printer.  I purchased a hole punch (tiny hole), embroidery floss, and little gold safety pins from Hobby Lobby.  Include on your tags--MADE IN THE USA!
8.  Create a portfolio.  This should include dresses, photos, fabric swatches, order forms with photos, and business cards.
9.  Compute your costs.  Do not try to get paid for your time --not going to happen in the beginning.
10.  Price your clothes knowing the shop will probably double whatever you charge.  My goal in the beginning is to "clear" $7.50-$10.00 per dress after paying for sewing supplies.
11.  Visit Mom and Pop stores, sell your products. 
12.  Consignment?  Personal choice!  I want cash or a check--and I receive it when I personally deliver my dresses.
13.  Accounting:  I will go into greater depth later.  But, keep all receipts!  I use Excel to record all expenses and sales.  Keep track of mileage in your car.  Set up one room in your home if possible to use just for your business.  Don't know if it will be necessary, but I keep my gas and car maintenance receipts.  I am taking tax classes this fall so that I will not have to pay an accountant.  I will share what I learn as I learn it on this blog.


This is very basic beginnings.  I will expand on each item as necessary in future posts.

Tags on baby fashions

Somewhere, and I will find out where for the readers, I was told that a permanent tag has to be affixed to clothing that I make.

The tag must have the following information:
name of business
address of business
date of manufacture
place of manufacture
fabric content
care instructions

This is my tag:

Brenda Lauw’s Handcrafted Children’s Designs

Sulphur, Louisiana, USA

brenda.lauw@gmail.com

Learning from the Masters ebooks on Amazon and Barnes and Noble

For children sensitive to touch, minimum fasteners, French seams wherever possible!

Created Exclusively with Hobby Lobby Fabrics, Ribbons, and Notions

Size _______

Fabric Content 100 %  cotton

Care Instructions

Machine wash cold, tumble dry

MADE IN THE USA

I am not  attaching a  permanent tag to my clothes-- at this time--until I find something official.  One in six children are being diagnosed with Autism.  Autistic children are very sensitive to touch and a tag can be scratchy, irritating sensitive skin.  I am printing the above information on cardstock, adding a loop of embroidery floss, and pinning with a little gold pin to an inside seam.

DOM __________

Tax ID

I do not need a state tax ID according to my accountant friend because as a wholesaler, I am not charging sales tax. If a reader knows something different, I would appreciate the information.

CPSC 2

This is the fastest red tape I have ever met.

It took less than a week to get listed and get approval for Brenda Lauw's Handcrafted Baby Fashions.

We can sell wholesale legally as long as we sell less than 7000 units per year and make less than a million dollars per year.  This is not a problem!

I listed my daughter also because she makes tutus and wants to learn to make baby clothes too!

My only concern is that I don't have anything in writing--a certificate--something that I can copy and give my potential clients.  I do have an email pending--I sent Friday--asking if I will receive anything to give my clients.

If I do not receive anything from the CPSC, I will write a letter on my letterhead and I will include information and account number from the CPSC for my clients.

2ND RESPONSE FROM CONSUMER PROTECTION

Just two days after completing on line information, I received the following information for completing my application


Brooklyn L. Lupari
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Directorate for Epidemiology - Data Systems Division

*****!!!Unless otherwise stated, any views or opinions expressed in this-mail (and any attachments) are solely those of the author and donot necessarily represent those of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.Copies of product recall and product safety information can be sent to you automatically via Internet e-mail, as they are released byCPSC. To subscribe or unsubscribe to this service go to the following web page: https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx*****!!!  ­­ 


 

Your request for a Business Portal account with the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Publicly Available Consumer Product Safety Information Database.  To ensure the the CPSC notifies the appropriate manufacturer (including importer) or private labeler regarding reports of harm that identify them, the Primary Contact for each manufacturer or private labeler must have an email address at the company’s domain name or provide the additional documents listed below.

Your request for a Business Portal account cannot be completed because the email address that you provided does not appear to be affiliated with the company you represent.  The CPSC will complete your request if you send the following information on company letterhead:

Your name, job title, address, telephone number, email address

A signed statement certifying that the company is a manufacturer, importer, or private labeler of a consumer product or other substance over which the CPSC has jurisdiction and you are authorized to receive and comment on Reports on behalf of this company.

Direct responses to the CPSC, National Inquiry Information Clearinghouse, Business Account Verification:

By email: clearninghouse@cpsc.gov

By Fax: 301 504-0025

By Mail:  4330 East West Hwy. Room 820, Attn: Business Account Verification, Bethesda, MD 20814

I had no idea what all this means because I am a home based business!  So I sent another email.

My Portfolio

 Email me if you want to purchase some of my dresses.

Simple, cute, easy.  All Hobby Lobby fabrics.  Three patterns I reuse over and over again with lots and lots of variations--ruffles and bans of varying lengths, no ruffles or bans, embellishments, strips of fabric, contrast, no contrast--the possibilities are endless.

For my sales, I will show three basic pattern styles with variations.I will have a portfolio of photos.  I will have fabric samples to match the photos.   I will have an order blank in color with photos and sizes.  And I will include my certificate from the Consumer Safety people.