Is it still feasible to pursue an online clothing boutique?

Hello Guys,

I have been a SaleHoo member for several months now. My original plan was to join in order to find wholesale vendors for a potential online clothing boutique that specializes in women's blazers and dresses. NOW the question is: are there too many clothing boutiques? I am not trying to become a millionaire (yet) from this store... I just want to make some extra bucks so that I don't have to work so hard at my traditional day-job. Do you guys think it is possible to make even a small amount of money in a market that already seems saturated to death? I have my heart super set on this boutique but I don't want to waste time or my hard-earned money. Please let me know what you guys think.. no matter how brutal.. I'm a tough gal =)

Thanks!!

Hi Stevee and welcome to the forum,

Impossible for me to give an opinion since it's not a market I know well at all personally. For me, it come down more to how you market it and making sure you can still be competitive within the market, saturated or not. Standing out form the crowd is what marketing is all about, so how saturated a market is probably isn't the most telling factor in terms of ultimate success. It's more ensuring your competitive within that market space so your market dollars don't just get traffic who don't spend their money, they work to get traffic that do spend their money.

@Sander - Let me answer your question. Marc is onpoint when he says, it isn't about how saturated the market is but how well you sell/market your product. If you see most successful businesses, have products created from needs. Recently I was watching SharkTank (yes, I'm hooked to the show like a zillion others) and noticed how funding is being provided to folks in hundreds and thousands of dollars for simplistic products like plastic water bottles. Ofcourse, funding is a product of multiple factors. But the investment pros sitting there are successful people. So for them to put in a $ means getting at least 2$ out of it. All this by selling plastic waterbottles with an top and a bottom opening :)

That gentleman had 3 offers and had already grossed sales of about 750K :)

So cheerup my friend...There is always a market for every product we sell....It's the story of longtail....something you might have heard... Please let me know if I can help in anyway. I would be happy to answer any specific questions you may have to the best of my abilities..

-Marc, thanks for the advice. You made a great point about standing out from the crowd. I see alot of companies that sell things that I want to sell and I KNOW that I can market the products WAY better than they do.

-Bharath, thank you also! Your positive energy is just what I need to stay focused and motivated. And yikes 750K for plastic bottles??? That's amazing and yet inspiring altogether.

Thanks for the warm welcome guys, I feel at home now, lol

Best,

Sander

4 key things in developing a business plan steve.

S.W.O.T.

Measure your STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES, along with the OPPORTUNITIES and your THREATS within the market place. If you can work on building your strengths, you will reduce your weaknesses. If you can create opportunities, you will counter your competitive threats in the marketplace.

Easier said than done in a lot of cases, but get those ducks all in a row and you're in a good place to get started and build on.

Cheers