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Fashion & Beauty · Rachel Erickson

The Business of Apparel

by Rachel Erickson

Go from overwhelmed apparel founder making costly trial-and-error decisions to a founder with the expert guidance, systems, and industry knowledge to scale profitably. Rachel Erickson brings her 20 years of expertise in the apparel manufacturing industry to The Business of Apparel podcast to inspire you to build your best brand yet. Each week, you'll hear from Rachel along with our industry experts who are shedding light on what is needed to build your own apparel line from scratch or to take your existing apparel brand to the next level and create sustainable and unstoppable growth. Most founders "wing it" through launch & production, but scaling requires professional processes. On the show you'll learn: ✅Profit-First Scaling: Financial architecture that protects your margins ✅Production Excellence: Mastering fit, quality control, and factory relationships ✅Operational Systems: Industry SOPs so your business can run without you ✅Strategic Guidance: Real-world advice from experts with decades of experience No BS. Just proven frameworks you need to grow your brand. Follow the show so you don't miss an episode! Learn more from Rachel at TheBusinessofApparel.com/masterclasses and connect with her on Instagram @BusinessofApparel

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Why We Continue to Re-Focus and Simplify Our Business

What if growing your apparel brand actually means offering less? After five years of trial and error, I'm realizing just how much simpler a business can become when you s

Oct 22
23 min

Why Your Work Ethic is Actually Ruining Your Business

What if your stellar work ethic is actually killing your business? It sounds crazy, but if you're doing everything yourself, working 60, 80, or 100 hours a week, you may

Oct 15
19 min

What Actually Happens When You Survive 5 Years as a Founder

Reaching five years in business is a milestone worth celebrating, and it also gives you plenty of reasons to pause, reflect, and take stock of everything you've learned a

Oct 8
30 min

Building and Scaling an Apparel Brand With a Purpose, featuring Kelly Roach

Starting an apparel brand can require far more time, money, and patience than you might expect, and unfortunately there may be plenty of expensive lessons to learn along

Oct 1
34 min

Why Your Online "Factory" is Actually an Expensive Middleman

When you're working with an apparel manufacturer, it's important to know exactly who you're communicating with. Sometimes the person you think is part of the factory may

Sep 24
16 min

The Overseas Manufacturing Lie You've Been Sold

There are a lot of opinions about where you should and shouldn't manufacture apparel, but the truth is that no single region of the world is automatically good or bad for

Sep 17
18 min

The 4 Things That Instantly Prove You're an Amateur to Factories

Getting a response from the manufacturer you want to work with can feel like a challenge, especially when you're building an apparel brand and still learning how the indu

Sep 10
14 min

The Advice You Didn't Know You Needed (Office Hours Unlocked)

One of my favorite things about running a membership is that I have the opportunity to give apparel brand founders direct access to experienced industry professionals who

Sep 3
39 min

Don't Read My New Book, "The Business of Apparel," Until You Do THIS

Starting an apparel brand is a big investment, and taking the time to validate your idea before jumping into product development can save you time, money, and frustration

Aug 27
19 min

If You Aren't Prepping BFCM Now, Your Q4 is in Trouble

Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be some of the most profitable days of the year for your apparel brand, but success doesn't happen by accident. The brands that see the

Aug 20
19 min

The Fashion Industry is Purposely Hiding This From New Founders

Building an apparel brand can feel like an uphill battle, especially when you're competing against industry giants with resources, data, and strategies you don't have acc

Aug 13
15 min

3 Female Founders Tell All: The Truth About Scaling Your Own Agency

Leaving the security of a steady paycheck to build your own apparel business is one of the biggest decisions you'll ever make. The uncertainty of replacing your income, f

Aug 6
47 min

You're a Designer, Not a CEO (And It's Costing You)

Stepping into the role of CEO requires more than designing great products. It means shifting your mindset from working in your apparel brand to leading and growing it. Le

Jul 30
21 min

Why "Selling Out" Could Actually Bankrupt Your Brand

Bringing investors into your apparel brand might seem like the fastest path to growth, but the wrong investment, or the wrong strategy, can put everything you've built at

Jul 23
19 min

Why Most Apparel Brands Don't Have a Revenue Problem

Many apparel founders believe growing revenue is the key to building a successful brand, but revenue alone won't keep your business alive. Without healthy profit margins,

Jul 16
21 min

A Big Announcement for the Business of Apparel Community

For years, we've been searching for a better way to help Apparel Ffounders bridge the gap between learning industry concepts and actually applying them inside their busin

Jul 10
4 min

Why "Learning As You Go" Will Bankrupt You in the Fashion Industry

When apparel founders fail to create a profitable business, it's not because they lack talent or great product ideas. They struggle because they're forced to navigate a h

Jul 9
27 min

How Jason Daniel Turned LSKD Into a Movement, Not Just a Clothing Brand

Building a successful apparel brand takes more than creating great products. The strongest brands are built around a clear purpose, a committed community, and a culture t

Jul 2
33 min

The Exact Blueprint to Stop Being the Bottleneck in Your Apparel Business

If you're feeling exhausted as the CEO of your apparel brand, it doesn't necessarily mean you're working too hard. It may be a sign that you've become the bottleneck prev

Jun 25
20 min

How to Make Firing an Employee 100x Less Painful

Managing employees well starts long before difficult conversations ever happen. In fact, the systems you put in place from day one can determine whether your team grows t

Jun 18
16 min

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