9 Must-Have Business Management Tools For Fashion Designers +Organizational Tips
Organization is absolutely vital to running a successful clothing company. In my experience, I’ve noticed that “organization” as a whole comes naturally to some people, but not to others. And believe me, when I first started my own clothing brand, I had to learn the hard way how important organization was to the success of my business. Over the years, I’ve learned so many tips and tricks for business management systems and organization – so I’m here to recommend my top 9 favorite business management tools for fashion designers and some excellent organizational tips!
Why Organization Matters
If you’re a new or aspiring clothing brand owner, you’re probably the only person running your business. You might not even be able to imagine what it will feel like to have a few employees working for you in the (not so distant) future.
Once you expand your business and hire employees, your digital organization will be the backbone of your business. At one point, I had 25 employees working for my clothing business – each person was responsible for working in a different area of my digital assets. The following business management tools saved my sanity by providing a structured system for my business workflow.
But it takes more effort than just creating an account for each tool. As the boss and the owner of your brand, it is your responsibility to intentionally create the structure that will be implemented throughout your brand.
How Business Management Tools Can Help
There are tons of amazing business management tools out there for small business owners! Tools that help you thrive in literally every area of your business – from accounting, to graphic design, to email marketing, and everything in between. And as a clothing brand owner, we need even more specific tools just for fashion design and production.
But before you can dive into those, you must ensure that your business foundations are solid. Don’t be tempted to put the cart before the horse here – it’s absolutely worth your time to start with these business management tools before exploring fashion design softwares.
Business Management Tools For Fashion Designers
Within Google Workspace
1. Gmail
Email platform for communication. As a beginner, you’ll use email for the simple back-and-forth needed to start your own business. But as your clothing business grows, you’ll want to set up an email list for marketing purposes. More on that below.
2. Google Drive
Free accounts offer 15GB of storage for files like word processing, slide presentations, and spreadsheets.
3. Google Docs
A place for any note taking, content drafts, lists and more. Read on to learn my expert recommendations for an efficient workflow using Google Docs.
4. Google Sheets
Great for making spreadsheets, charts, graphs, and organizing data.
5. Google Calendar
The perfect place to house all of your schedule related items like appointments and deadlines.
6. Dropbox
Dropbox is a more secure and robust file organization software compared to the Google Suite. I recommend that you use one Dropbox account for your entire team – in the beginning you can use a free account, but as you expand, you’ll want to invest in the business account for additional features and storage. You’ll be able to easily collaborate with team members and all of your work will be saved no matter who makes changes to a file.
In my own clothing company, I use Dropbox like a secure vault with all of my business assets. It’s extremely organized with a folder system that I’ve used for years. Read on to learn my recommendations for utilizing a folder structure within your Dropbox account.
7. Trello
Trello is essentially a platform with digital “sticky notes” that you can move from list to list. Each note has the capability to add a checklist (with checkable boxes!) where you can see your progress. You can upload photos and other files to each note, as well as collaborate with team members, and assign due dates with reminders. Trello is an essential business management tool for any small business owner!
8. Canva
Canva is the perfect design tool for basic business graphics – think logos, email signatures, social media graphics, and website graphics. While you won’t be designing your clothing line inside of Canva, you most likely will use it for managing a lot of other areas of your business!
The last business management tool I recommend is an email marketing software like Flodesk or Kit (formerly ConvertKit). You don’t need to sign up for this tool immediately after launching your business, but it is something to explore early on when you’re ready to start building an email list.
Organizational Folder Structures For Clothing Brand Management
I recommend using a 3-tier folder system for business organization.
1st folder level – you will title this the name of your brand or company (especially if you have more than one clothing brand or if you use Dropbox for personal files as well)
2nd folder level – main categories of content for your business
3rd folder level – subfolders within each of the main folders
Examples of Folder Structures for Organization
First, consider your file naming structure – for example, you could name your files by title+season+year: SampleFileFall24. Or maybe you prefer year+title: 2024SampleFile. Do what makes sense for your business and listen to your intuition here. As long as you make a clear decision, your (future) employees will be able to follow the structure and everyone will be more organized!
Here are three different examples of how your folders could be named and organized:
- Clothing Company Name > 2024 > Fall 2024 > Photographs > Catalog Images
This example shows your main clothing brand folder organized by year and season. Within each season, you’ll have many subfolders of assets that apply to that particular season.
- Clothing Company Name > Marketing > Social Media > Instagram > Hooks > Authority Hooks
Here we see your clothing brand organized by business foundations, such as marketing. Other categories in the first subfolder level might include “Inspiration & Research”, “Design & Development”, “Production”, “Financials”, and “Legal & Admin”. Within your marketing folder, even if you are only using Instagram for social media, you’ll want your social media folders organized so that when you expand into other platforms, your system is already set up.
- Clothing Company Name > Production > Manufacturer Contracts > Fabric Supplier
This example highlights the organization of major business documents such as contracts. You can see that the first subfolder is titled “Production” and would house all relevant information to this category – purchase orders, production timelines, fabric & trim orders, to name a few. Each subfolder would be broken down into as many further subfolders as you deem necessary.
Here’s an actual screenshot of my level 2 subfolders within my clothing brand Dropbox folder. The ultimate goal of using a folder system is to remove clutter so you can stay focused on each task.
→ Need some hand holding through this process or with other elements of launching your own clothing company from home? Stop the guesswork – check out my 1-on-1 mentorship program where I help you launch and grow your own clothing brand from start to finish.
Clothing Brand Management Asset Workflow Example
I highly recommend using a combination of both Google Drive and Dropbox for all of your assets. I have personally found that the best method is to start my work in a Google file (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Form) and then move it to Dropbox for secure storage once the asset is created and finalized.
So think of it like this: Start in a Google file > finalize in a 3rd party platform (Canva, Adobe Illustrator, etc) > store final asset in Dropbox.
Your Next Steps To Running A Successful Clothing Company
I hope this information about business management tools and organization was helpful for you. Taking these proactive steps before you become overwhelmed with business assets is the key to success.
If you’re looking for more support along your journey, check out my educational resources here. I specialize in helping women like you launch and grow a thriving clothing brand company from home – no degree required.
And if you’re ready to take the full plunge into the world of fashion design, let me be your guide. I’ve launched and grown my own clothing companies into thriving, 7-figure businesses. Inside my VIP Mentorship program, Fruition, you’ll learn every single detail about how to start a clothing company from scratch. All of the business management tools, fashion design techniques, manufacturing tips, and marketing strategies you’ll need.
Check out Fruition today – I’d love to hear from you!
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