This was just a few of the awesome students at John Muir Middle in Burbank.


Thanks Mr. Senar for having us that day. We hope your students we inspired!

So you’re serious about starting a clothing line? You want the money, respect, and the prestige of friends in high places. Awesome. So did I when I was 18 and met clothing designer Alyasha Oweka Moore. He introduced me to the captivating world of tradeshows, patterns, samples, and to a group of designers who have gone on to be creative directors and founders of brands in clothing and footwear. Since then, I’ve worked in the industry designing everything from skate & surf companies, Hip Hop lines, to volume Target brands. After over 10 years of working in the industry, I finally premiered, Jon Phenom, the first season of my own cut and sew line August 2006. So here’s what you’re asking: why didn’t I do it sooner!?! It took me 10 years to finally launch my own line because in this volatile industry where 9 out of 10 labels will not sustain 5 years of business, you must be ready. If you do weather past all the challenges, with proper distribution and marketing, your company could be able to do millions. So if you think you’re the next LRG. I hope my 8 tips are helpful.


Two words: backwards planning. Visualize your ultimate goal, and record the plan working backwards. Have a clear 6 month, 1,and 3, year plan. Having said that, everything will not happen exactly how you plan it so be flexible with a plan “b” and “c” at any time. Starting a business is very hard but comes with great rewards.


Got to spend money to make money. Keep in mind Ad’s cost a lot; so do launch parties, and tradeshows. Things like leasing office space, office supplies, filing fees, sampling, website development, photo shoots, catalogs, stickers, late trips to Kinko’s and gnarly ass Fed Ex bill’s cost a lot. Get the picture? Each dollar should be accounted for before you spend.


These are the three pillars of any clothing company. If these three elements are strong so will your company. Find specialists who are brilliant in design, marketing, and sales, or at least someone/ a team who is willing to do anything to become superior in these categories.


Important thing to bear in mind is people’s initial reaction to it. I try to stay away from relatively common words or real trendy slang for 2 reasons. 1) It may limit you to a certain type of customer base (unless that’s what you want). 2) Trademark issues. Make sure you can own the name you create.


I can hear you and your best friend (a.k.a. the Marketing Director) hating on this one now. Marc Echo’s no.1 piece of advice is not to hire friends. Partnering up in business is like a marriage. Don’t get me wrong it could work but most marriages were supposed to work too. Work with people because they’re qualified. Most friends that enter business together do not remain friends after.


If you really want long-term success then it doesn’t matter if you show at this next tradeshow or a year from now. It should be dictated by the readiness of the brand to make noise in the market. Make sure all components are ready (see No.3) and that you can accommodate growing demands of your accounts/ stores if the clothing sells off the shelves!!!


Production is how you get your clothing made in mass quantities. Get to know different vendors/ production companies and what they can and can’t do for you. For example: the minimums, pricing, timelines, and the reliability factor, where the fabric is coming from, and where you are on their totem pole. For instance, if your factory has a killer order in from Sean John guess what? Your clothing is getting pushed back because your not a priority. Production is key. It is your end product and affects your delivery dates to the clothing stores. Unreliable product = unreliable clothing company.



Have a good network and always work on expanding your network. I always believe people are your greatest asset. You never know when a person might be able to help. So be good to people.