Start A Preppy Clothing Business - Business Ideas

Updated: September 15th, 2022
Start A Preppy Clothing Business

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Starting a preppy clothing business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell preppy clothing, or selling preppy clothing online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Key Stats

market size
$558B
revenue (monthly)
$21K
starting costs
$35.6K
gross margin
50%
avg product price
$120
time to build
240 days
business model
E-Commerce
time investment
Full time

Startup Costs

Min Startup Costs Max Startup Costs

Office Space Expenses

$0

$7,000

Employee & Freelancer Expenses

$151

$352

Website Costs

$223

$7,215

Business Formation Fees

$5,600

$20,400

Equipment & Supply Expenses

$66

$1,200

Retail Business Expenses

$1,250

$11,650

Inventory Expenses

$350

$14,750

Software Expenses

$162

$3,094

Advertising & Marketing Costs

$75

$5,286

Total Startup Costs

$7,877

$70,947

Successful Businesses

Business URL Rank

vineyard vines

vineyardvines.com

42,222

Southern Honey Boutique

southernhoney.com

158,514

Country Club Prep

countryclubprep.com

213,317

Perfectly Priscilla

perfectlypriscilla.com

258,787

Petite Dressing

petitedressing.com

262,396

Number One Wholesales

numberonewholesales.com

333,887

Kelly in the City

kellyinthecity.com

368,274

EastCoast Lifestyle

eastcoastlifestyle.com

567,889

Bon Worth

bonworth.com

607,930

Shelly Cove

shellycove.com

676,792

Duck Head

duckhead.com

705,024

Pros & Cons

Pros Description

Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

Ability to start your business from home

It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!

Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

High customer retention rates

Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer.

High margins

The gross margins for your preppy clothing business are typically around 50%, which is considerably high and allows you to grow your business and manage costs easily.

Amazing perks and discounts

Working in the preppy clothing business comes with its perks! As a seller for these products/services, you typically also get to enjoy industry perks and discounts.

Cons Description

Taxes

As a preppy clothing business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.

You may need to charge sales tax

If you are selling your products in various states, you may be required to charge sales tax. Although this may not impact your financials specifically, it can be a headache to create a process and procedure for this. To learn more about sales tax, check out this article

Time commitment

With starting a preppy clothing business, all responsibilities and decisions are in your hands. Although this is not necessarily a negative thing, work life can take over at times. This can place a strain on friends and family and add to the pressure of launching a new business.

Difficult to build trust with your customer

With starting a preppy clothing business, there can be minimal face-to-face interaction, which means it can be a lot more difficult to establish trust with your customers. You'll need to go the extra mile with your customer to grab their attention and business.

Impatient customers

You may offer an engaging user experience for your customer, but customers expect a lot and may be impatient if they aren't pleased with your product or service.

Learning Curve

When you start your own business, you no longer have upper management to provide you with a playbook for your roles and responsibilities. You should know the ins and outs of every aspect of your business, as every decision will come down to you.

Marketing Ideas

  • 1

    Direct Sales

    Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.

    For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.

    Learn more about direct sales ➜

  • 2

    Word of mouth

    Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.

    Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.

    According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.

    Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.

    Learn more about word of mouth ➜

  • 3

    Social Media Advertising

    Social media advertising is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience with the objective to build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic.

    According to Oberlo, approximately 48% of the global population use social media, and the number is ever-growing.

    Therefore, social media allows brands access to cost-effective advertising by enabling them to interact with a large audience.

    Learn more about social media advertising ➜