I’ve been running the Focused Fashion page since late 2018, which has since become Focused F Ltd, a limited company to which I am the director. As my business has grown, I have too, and I’ve been able to gain a lot of knowledge about the reselling industry. It has becoming increasing frequent that people just starting out their business come to me for advice about how to grow an Instagram page, what to sell and how to source it. I believe that there is a lot of room in this industry and I’m always happy to help if I can. This is why we are making this blog post today, I am going to be giving my three top tips on starting a reselling business, things I have learnt along the way that have been crucial for the growth of my business. So if you want to turn your Instagram page into your career, read on..
Number 1. Find a niche/focus for your business.
This is my number one tip because it is so important, this is what makes you different from the rest and helps you to stand out. Before you start you need to decide what niche you want to target, for example; are you selling women’s or men’s items? Are you focusing on a certain brand(s) that you want to resell? Are you focusing on just footwear or accessories, or are you reselling clothing? Are you aiming to provide the best prices or do you want to source hard to find, exclusive items? Once you have this down and have a focus for you brand it becomes easier to reach you target audience and it will give customers a reason to follow/shop with you.
Number 2. RESEARCH!
Research everything. You can never have too much knowledge and there is always something you can learn. It is really important that before you start out, you research how to authenticate items, how to price your items and the legalities that apply to you and your business.
Authenticating is really the most important thing because if you aren’t able to do this you may face some serious problems. There are so many ways that you can teach yourself how to do this; watch YouTube videos, research online, read blogs, the more experience you gain identifying what makes something authentic, the easier it will become. If you are struggling with a particular item or brand I would advise you to reach out to people with experience and ask for help. This is something I still do as you can never be too sure. Everyone is an expert in a different field so having connections and people you can rely on to help you is crucial! I am always open to helping people authenticate items they are unsure about, just send me a DM on Instagram.
Pricing is another important research point, you need to figure out how you want to price items, what the retail price is and how much they value for in the condition you have them in. For this you can use the internet and other reselling pages to give you a rough idea of what customers will be willing to pay.
Lastly, legalities/T&C’s. This can be daunting and time consuming, but so worth it. I really recommend spending at least a day finding out what obligations imposed by law apply to you and your business, in order to not face complications down the line. If you want any help with what to focus on, don’t be afraid to send me or my team a message.
Number 3. Reinvesting cash & creating unique content.
These might seem like two completely unrelated things but they go hand in hand. You need to reinvest cash in order to be able to consistently create good, unique content. At first it may seem like everything is being reinvested and you aren’t making anything from your business, but this is so important in order to keep momentum and growth, and it won’t last forever. Make sure you focus heavily on reinvesting in the first couple of years to make the rewards of your business sustainable/long term.
Bonus tip: Restyle/refresh stagnant stock by rephotographing in different unique ways. Style it with new pieces to make it feel just as new and exciting, film an interactive reel about it or take some shots from different angles. This can help to shift any stock that has been sitting around or hasn’t gained much attention by showing it in a different light and making it relatable to your customers styles.
I hope this helps someone starting out their business as it would have been really helpful to me back in 2018. If you have any further questions or you want to inquire about finding suppliers please Direct Message me on Instagram @focused_fashion1, contact my team via email contactfocusedfashion@gmail.com or leave a comment below.