Step 1: Decide what type of market you want to reach with your clothes. If you want to appeal to a teen audience you will need a very different line of clothes from what you would need if your audience is expectant mothers. Know your market, what it wants and the upcoming trends.
Step 2: Source out a supplier for your clothing. If you will be carrying an inventory, you will need to find a supplier that can give you a full size run of the clothing you wish to carry in your store. If you will be using a drop-shipper, fully research them ahead of time to make sure that they have a good reputation of filling orders promptly and that the clothes are high quality. Place a sample order to see if they can meet your expectations.
Step 3: Store your inventory properly. If you will be having an actual inventory, the clothing will need to be stored in a cool, dry location away from pets, children, smoke and moisture. Your inventory is your future success--treat it like gold and take excellent care of it. Consider getting warehouse or inventory insurance as a back-up should the unexpected occur.
Step 4: Set up your website. You will need to purchase a domain and buy web space for your site. Most hosting companies now offer the ability to easily configure your site and your web store. You will also need to have a merchant account to be able to take credit card payments through your site. Get all of your clothing inventory loaded on to your web store and then troubleshoot your entire site before going live.
Step 5: Advertise your new clothing boutique. Find places where your key market visits online and place ads with these sites. Utilize services, such as Facebook and Twitter, to take advantage of social marketing. Pay-per-click ads are also a good way to market clothing online and can be cost-effective for startups since you only pay when someone actually clicks on an ad.
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