Writing a Business Plan in the Fashion and Beauty Industry

Lori Greiner: The Queen of QVC

(Entrepreneur.com)

Lori Greiner, got her start with one patent idea and soon turned herself into the QVC queen. She now holds patents for over 400 different products which are constantly featured in Town&Country, and Woman's Day Magazine. One of her silver safe-keeper's was even included on Oprah's Favorite things list. Lori has been featured in Forbes and on television programs like Bloomberg who can't get enough of her success story. But, she isn't just happy sitting at the top of the pyramid she feels it's her duty to give back to budding entrepreneurs, which is part of the reason she has now become a part of the Shark Tank panel.

Lori Offers the following advice to young entrepreneurs when it comes to creating a business plan and pitch:

1. Be confident, and likable, know your product inside & out. Be prepared & try to practice and be ready for any questions that could possibly come your way about you, your product, or your business idea.

2. Be prepared, enthusiastic, know your idea inside & out, have all the facts, be polite & respectful-be someone people would want to work with. If you're not passionate about your product or idea, no one else will be.

Daymond John: FUBU King

(Success)

Daymond John, is most notably known as the creator of the urban clothing line FUBU.  For Us By Us(FUBU) took the urban community by storm as it was seen on every rap superstar and hip-hop lover all over the country, but after racking up millions the hype had died down. Little did we know Daymond John was focused more on becoming a branding powerhouse instead of just the creator of FUBU. He is now one of the most sought-after keynote speakers on branding within the fashion industry. A true Cinderella story of turning his humble Queens beginnings into a million dollar powerhouse, Daymond lends his business know-how to budding entrepreneurs as a panel member on Shark Tank.

Daymond offers the following advice to budding entrepreneurs on coming up with a great business concept and constructing a business plan:


1. What makes a good business idea great?
Something that solves a problem (i.e., helps you do something faster), satisfies a need (i.e., makes an existing product cheaper), or improves quality of life (i.e., medical devices ).

2. What are the most important first steps a new entrepreneur should take?
Educate themselves in the product and the industry they are attempting to enter.

3. How do you create a business plan that works?
Allocate all the time and money that you can invest into the business. And write down your strengths and weaknesses, then cost out how much it will take to partner or hire somebody to cover the weaknesses.

4. Where can I get help creating a business plan?
Small business consulting firms. Then look for a consultant in the area of business that you would like to go in.

5. What makes an investor put their money into a deal?
Trusting and believing in the CEO, knowing that the business can grow and distribute large profits, and knowing you have a patent that can be defended as well as licensed out to a larger company.

The two entrepreneurs above are just offering a small piece of the pie for how to get a successful business off the ground? Would you like to hear more about constructing a business plan for a clothing line or any other business venture in the fashion industry?