Have you been thinking about setting up your own vintage business? Here’s what you need to know:

Decide which type of clothing to specialise in

So, you have made the decision that you wish to run a vintage clothing business, but to build up a dedicated customer base, you will need to specialise in a specific era or trend for the customer to have faith in your products. For example, it wouldn’t be wise to mix ladies 1930’s fashions with 1980’s punk because your audience will be confused as to where your expertise lies and whether your stock is genuine vintage. A trusted vintage store is one that concentrates on a particular period and can provide a substantial amount of knowledge on the item of clothing they are selling.

Build up your inventory

Being a good vintage business owner is being in the know of the best places to source clothes. Many turn to the likes of eBay, thrift stores or garage sales to find unwanted belongings that are going for low prices. Before you make any purchases, research whether the item you have found will make a substantial profit and ask for the specific details to avoid being ripped off. Don’t overlook clothing in poor condition (e.g., with tears and holes), as these items could make you the most significant amount of profit, rroviding yourself or a professional company can make the necessary repairs to restore them back to their former glory.

Choose where to sell

Many businesses are now choosing to run solely online as it is much easier to keep the outgoing costs to a minimum, with no large overheads to think about. While some businesses choose to use platforms such as eBay and Etsy, it would be advised to look into selling your clothing on an ecommerce platform such as Shopify. This site allows you to create your own domain name, build your online store with customisable themes and keep track of orders with the single dashboard feature. Not only can you do without having to invest in a good website, but all of your business dealings are kept in one place and can be accessed from your smartphone. It means that wherever in the world you may be, you’re always kept in the loop on how efficient your business is running.

Use clear photographs

It would be wise to hire a professional photographer to take photos of your stock if you haven’t yet invested in a high-quality camera or studio set-up. Although this can be costly, there is a greater chance of your clothing selling, rather than simply hanging them on the back of the door looking lifeless. Not only will this come across as unprofessional, but potential customers are likely to be off-put if they can’t see what the garment looks like when worn. With this in mind, you may also need to purchase a mannequin or hire a model to showcase your clothing properly. Outdoor shots are great for magazine-style photographs; whereas studio shots are ideal for focusing the attention on solely the garment.

Lately I’ve come across a bunch of new websites which are lacking in content, especially the ‘About’ page. I find this strange considering that businesses should want to let their customers know who they are, what they stand for, and why their product is awesome!

Hence I was confused when I came across multiple sites which lacked these elements. A couple of them didn’t even have an ‘About’ page, and it took me ages to find the prices for their products.

Don’t. Do. This.

If you want your website to rank higher in Google you need to have good content. Even just having content helps, but don’t make the mistake of having nothing at all. That won’t do any good at all and you’ll lose people soon after they land on your site.

Here are some tips for you to boost your SEO (search engine optimisation) and help customers stay on your site. YES – it is possible to have loads of content without bombarding your customers with information or screwing up your site design/navigation. Know who you are talking to.

Here is what TO do:

1. Have an interesting ‘About Me’ page with a touch of humour.
   • Maybe around 300 words
   • Have short paragraphs and sentences for easy reading
   • Could have different tabs available for a timeline of your business.
2. Have your own separate blog linked to the website (for those blog addicts)
3. Write interesting descriptions for products
   • Also writing a brief background about the designer (if fashion products) and maybe about their latest collection
4. Behind the scenes videos
   • Short, sweet, interesting – not trying to sell
5. Product descriptions
   • Sizing charts
   • Product information (i.e. what is it made of, where was it made etc.)
6. Weekly email update available for reading on the site (as well as for e-newsletter) – like a ‘hot topic’ – “Q & A interview with …”

Categorise your content.

Don’t just have it all cluttered on the homepage or it’ll look like a mess of words and people won’t be able to focus or even read it.

But say upon clicking the tab for “About Me” there is a short, clear description of who you are, what your brand does, and why you love waking up in the morning, or what you can do for these wonderful customers. And below this you might have a few links for ‘behind the scenes’ or ‘see inside our shop’, or ‘how we started’ and so if people are researching about you or are browsing your site, the information is there for them to easily find.

This will not only help to boost your SEO and ranking in Google but it will help foster a connection between you and your customers as they get to know you and your products.