Mr Chigozie Amaraegbeni held the class on growth and the importance of branding.
Key factors in planning for growth:
Research into our market.
Segment your market.
Customer identification.
Determine the customer acquisition cost of your customers.
How do your customer talk/want to be spoken to.
Develop a marketing strategy.
Execute.
Learn quickly and adapt.
Three things to consider in general
Who is on your supply chain?
Who is our competitor?
Who is adjacent to your market?
To fully understand this concept, the expertise of Mrs Sola Babatunde, Founder of OSC College of Fashion, was implored.
A product developer designs and builds a product for eventual sale. This person must have a strong understanding of product development and production, and ensure profitability.
To start product development you have to:
Identify the market.
Maintain an identity for the brand.
The Processes Are:
Research and Analysis to Concept development to Sample preparation to Pattern development and cutting to Manufacturing.
Range Planning is when a collection has different range – pieces that go together – within it.
Fundamentals of fashion
Haute couture.
Designer label.
Mass market.
Mrs Babatunde during her lecture
The screen
Mrs Babatunde and the Founder of 360 Creative Innovative Hub, Mrs Blessing.
Chuks Ogene (Sunesis), is a creative entrepreneur (one who makes creative ideas profitable). He is known for his endeavours in design, fine art, brand communication, creative/art directing, fashion photography among others.
On the four brand quadrants to know where your business lies and how to effectively brand it are:
High Intellectual
These are products that are highly needed like drugs, technology etc. Customers are drawn to these products because they need them and are willing to pay a lot of money for them.
Mr Sunesis with project manager Ms Uju [left] and Mrs Blessing, Founder 360 Creative Hub [right].High Emotional
These are products that are not really needed but wanted. The products are primarily luxurious and expen
sive. Examples include: Versace, Apple etc.
Low intellectual
These are products that are needed but also not expensive like notepads, pen etc. Low emotional
These are products that are neither expensive nor needed, they include Limca drink, Zara brand etc.
To effectively brand your company, ask yourself these questions:
What is it about?
Why should you do it?
How do I make it happen?
Where/who will t impact?
You also need to keep in mind that to design you need to go through a series of processes beginning with learning, asking questions, thinking before finally applying.
The fashion industry is encompassed with glamour but beyond the red carpet, the five-minute runway shows and photo shoots is an industry that needs funds to run just like any other.
Taking a peak behind the curtain, one would see that a lot of fashion entrepreneurs sway towards the creative part of the industry and neglecting the business side of it – which is the most important if you want to have a sustainable business.
Rufai Oseni speaking to the students.
To educate the young fashion enthusiasts is Rufai Oseni; a broadcaster with over 15 years of experience, an author and an all-round business man.
“Entrepreneurship is moving from one venture to another, consistently failing but without losing your sense of enthusiasm,” Mr Oseni said. He emphasized on the importance of not being afraid to fail because failing when starting a business is almost a guarantee.
Rufai Oseni
“Timing is everything.” Mr Oseni gave examples of some technology that would have been rejected if they actually came decades earlier. To break into your market, one must know when to do so.
On innovation, he gave a few sources where an entrepreneur can get one, with the primary focus being the customers. Watching trends, peer review and branding also being on the list.
After speaking extensively on the business side of fashion or any other business, he ended the session by giving a piece of advice: “business is a rational venture that needs an emotional fuel.”
In an earlier post, I talked about the perks of signing up for a Fashion Acceleration Program like I said it is not an alternative to fashion school. It is a program primarily focus on business and not design.
In light of this 360 Creative Hub would be hosting a specialized training aimed at Accelerating emerging fashion designers to becoming the next Valuable Brand and transform their fashion label into a sustainable business.
The program will welcome 30 fashion entrepreneurs that have existing businesses operating in Lagos, Nigeria. Fashion Acceleration Program is open to any entrepreneur within the fashion value chain; Fashion designers, Fashion Bloggers, Fashion illustrators, Fashion Retailers, Pattern makers, Jewelers, Shoe makers, Bag Makers, and every fashion-related field.
TRAINING COURSE OUTLINE
What will be taught in the program?
The Accelerator program is developed with your best business interest in mind and equip you with all knowledge needed to strengthen your business case.
The program will cover the following course material:
Business Model Design and Business Strategy
Customer Development
Competition & Positioning
Financial Literacy & Planning
Funding Strategies
Operations Management
Distribution Strategies
Digital and e-commerce Strategies
Marketing
The use of Social media to grow the Fashion Business.
Hands on Practical Sessions.
How it works
• Each Participant would be subjected to training for 12 hours per week (that is, 8 hours on Monday, 4 hours on Tuesday, including practical sessions)
• The 360 FAP Board will invite notable Fashion celebrities during weekends of the program to have a mentoring session with the designers,
• The designers would be given weekly assignments which would prepare them for a grand finale competition
• The graduation day will feature a competition where all the designers will showcase their designs that will be judged by Industry experts. Academic Backbone
The program has been specifically designed with a strong academic foundation in collaboration with Alan & Grant Business Solutions in order to deliver a comprehensive and instructional program that will equip the students with a global mindset. Industry Practical Know-How
The program has partnered with some international and the country’s top minds and companies as workshop instructors & guest lecturers, merging practicality and industry insights with academic backing.
PROGRAM PHASES
Phase 1: Call to entry and opening applications
The program has a two-step application process. The first step is the online application which will evaluate the participants on basic business & financial understanding, as well as on the solidity of their business structure.
The 2nd step is a day-long boot camp, where the applicants will convey at 360 Creative Innovation Hub and embark on a day-long activity, designed to test them on key business skills such as financial literacy, sales negotiation, marketing and human interpersonal skills.
Phase 2: The Accelerator
During this period the accelerator will take place every week on Mondays (full day) and Tuesdays (half day).
Phase 3: Graduation + Announcement of 2018 Edition Winner
At the end of the program, the participants will be required to present a business case in front of the judges and review committee. All participants will graduate officially from the Fashion Acceleration Program; one participant will be nominated as the winner.
During the graduation event, our panel of judges will select the fashion entrepreneur who has demonstrated most business acumen and capabilities to become the first Fashion Acceleration Program Winner.
A business plan is an essential tool, not just for raising investment, but also for clarifying your goals and objectives and communicating these to your wider team of employees, business partners and clients. There are five essential components:
A business plan is an essential tool, not just for raising investment, but also for clarifying your goals and objectives and communicating these to your wider team of employees, business partners and clients. There are five essential components:
Executive Summary: The executive summary is at the beginning of your business plan, but should be the last thing you write. It encapsulates all the key points, ideas and objectives of your business in a very short and concise “elevator pitch.”
Vision & Objectives: This section will help investors, and anyone else reading your business plan, understand what particular market need you are going after and what you will offer that is unique and differentiated.
Market & Competitive Landscape: This section describes the market that you plan to operate in. How big is the market? How fast is it growing and what evidence do you have that this part of the market is a viable opportunity? You also need to identify who the competitors in the market are, whether they are growing and what their position is on the market. What are you going to do that is different?
Implementation Plan: This is probably the most detailed section of your business plan, identifying the specific actions that your business will take to go after the market opportunity you have identified. Ideally, it should cover three years of activity, on a seasonal basis, and should include everything from how you communicate as a business and the staff you will hire, to the space you will need and the outside expertise you will require, in terms of marketing, communications or PR.
Financials: Your financial plan shows how your business will grow in terms of both profit and revenue and what financing you will need to make it happen. An income statement uses projections of how your business will grow at the top line, through sales and other revenues, and will also project the costs of delivering that growth. The cash flow statement shows the peaks and troughs of your cash situation on a monthly basis and identifies what funding you will need to finance growth.
To know more about managing the business angle of your fashion business, you can register with us or find out about our upcoming Fashion Acceleration Program .
For 2 weeks Talented Fashion Designers from across the city of Lagos showed an overwhelming response to the call for entries in the #LagosTop20 challenge.
We asked people to upload a picture of their best work in the year 2016 and upload on any of their social networks using the hashtag #LagosTop20. the phrase ‘Snap it, Tag it, Post it’ soon became the watchword as over 100 designers showcased their art.
Non-fashion designers were also allowed to upload their best outfit of 2016 to help their fashion designer win.
The criteria for selecting these 20 winners are;
Number of Likes and retwets/shares/regranns
Designer must NOT be an established Fashion Designer, as the program was created to empower talented, young and upcoming designers
Creativity in the designs posted
and number of entries by a designer (multiple entries was an advantage)
These very creative individuals will get;
1. 1 Month Full Membership Each which includes Full Access to our fully equipped Cosewing Facility + 2 Hours Meeting Room use to meet with clients + opportunity to collaborate with tens of other Creative People using the Hub.
2. Featured on our Blog and other Blogs; sponsored by the Hub
3. FREE 1 month Social Media Advertisement for their brands across all our Online platforms
We say a very Big Congratulations to our Winners!
At 360 Creative Hub, we are solving the problem of inadequate equipment and poor business accommodation for local fashion designers!
As a way to start the New Year, Nigeria’s 1st Coworking Space for Fashion Designers introduces the #LagosTop20 Challenge to celebrate and reward creativity among local designers.
20 outstanding local designers will be chosen as the #LagosTop20 and will get 1. 1 Month FREE access to use our Premium Fashion Design Coworking Facility in Lagos
2. Featured on Leading Blogs in the country
3. 1 Month Social Media Marketing Campaign to jump start their outfits to new levels in 2017.
Get ready to be exposed beyond your imagination!
They are the most inspiring Upcoming Fashion Designers to watch out for in 2017.
To Enter
Simply Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and upload a Picture of your most inspiring work for 2016 using the hashtag #LagosTop20. If its good enough, you could be on the #LagosTop20!
At 360 Creative Hub, we are solving the problem of inadequate equipment and poor business accommodation for local fashion designers! Enter the challenge for an opportunity to start the new year with excellence!
