Starting a sock company?

[JahvonCreamCone]

For those of you who curious, you may be wondering why I'm starting a thread about starting a sock company when I previously made threads and informed people about me publishing my own book.

To make a long story short, for about 2-3 years now, I've been cultivating and dreaming about starting my own sock company. I have a great sized niche that I know i can succeed in, and I have a theme, and product design idea that i know will sell!

I've never been more sure that this is what I want my first venture to be. I rather start something that I believe in, and I have a passion for...Rather than doing something that brings me no joy nor excitement just for quick bucks (self publishing).

I have tons of great ideas that i have been cooking up over the years for my socks, and I plan to scale them out of this universe, have them be sold everywhere. With that being said, it brings me to step 1.

I'm currently applying for jobs so that I can start to reach out to wholesalers to buy socks, find graphic designers that can help with my design ideas, find manufacturers that can take the design idea and have them made on my socks, to see if they come out to my liking.

I have $0 but that doesn't trouble me, During my other threads I was given fantastic advise from you guys, so im just gonna focus on the HOWS and not the cants. With my job that I pray to be getting soon, I will save up my money to hire some graphic designers to create some designs for me.

From there I will find some whole sellers. I'm not sure if I go to manufacturers to get the socks designed or whole-sellers, but I will figure it out.

From there I will try to work out a deal with the manufacturers/whole-sellers to get around 10-20 socks made. I will use these socks to sell online, not really for money, but to get feed back from my target market peers (peers meaning my target market is a community i am also apart of).

I'm not sure where to go from there, or what steps I'm missing, but I don't care, i will figure it out.

Whatever advise or resources you guys think I will find helpful will be extremely appreciated.

This is honestly the first time in a long time since reading TMF , that I've developed such a fire in my belly to work and make my dream come true!

Any and all feedback would be appreciated guys!

 

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[contract]

From there I will try to work out a deal with the manufacturers/whole-sellers to get around 10-20 socks made.

Man/wholesalers aren't going to sell you 10-20 socks, let alone 10-20 custom socks.

You're looking at a minimum of 500-2000 per order, per style.

Maybe 100 per style if you can find a lucky manf. But expect to shell out way more $$$.

Your best bet is to make them yourself at first, or do it locally. Esp. when talking very, small volumes here.

Socks are cheap, they are small items, you know to understand that type of item is built, sold and moved in volume.

...

Also why do you need a graphic designer?

You should really know the vision you want for these socks.. And why each design will sell to the market.

Anyone can make socks. You either have to have an amazing brand, or amazing designs to sell them.

There is very little innovation in the sock industry.

 

[JahvonCreamCone]

Man/wholesalers aren't going to sell you 10-20 socks, let alone 10-20 custom socks.

You're looking at a minimum of 500-2000 per order, per style.

Maybe 100 per style if you can find a lucky manf. But expect to shell out way more $$$.

Your best bet is to make them yourself at first, or do it locally. Esp. when talking very, small volumes here.

Socks are cheap, they are small items, you know to understand that type of item is built, sold and moved in volume.

...

Also why do you need a graphic designer?

You should really know the vision you want for these socks.. And why each design will sell to the market.

Anyone can make socks. You either have to have an amazing brand, or amazing designs to sell them.

There is very little innovation in the sock industry.

Yeah great advice, to get the ball rolling I'll buy socks and have them locally made myself.

As for the design there are a lot of talented graphic designers that make stuff in my specific niche. I would keep the price as low as possible, while making sure they can create the designs i envision.

 

[Bananas]

Yeah great advice, to get the ball rolling I'll buy socks and have them locally made myself.

As for the design there are a lot of talented graphic designers that make stuff in my specific niche. I would keep the price as low as possible, while making sure they can create the designs i envision.

For a small order of 10 to 20 socks just to test your design or market, you may explore finding a craftsperson on Etsy who is willing to create the socks for you by your design.

You would need to make an Etsy account and find a team designed to network buyers and makers together, research each craftsperson you come across, approach anyone you like via Etsy Convo, and they will expect you to make a deposit before they purchase their supplies and begin working. Some may require full payment up front so do your research carefully.

This route will work better than going through China or wherever, assuming you can't find someone locally to deal with face to face.

 

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[pickeringmt]

Hey dude, check out A Better Lemonade Stand

Richard was a huge part of getting my business off the ground, and he actually launched a business that was originally going to be a sock company.

I know he pokes around this forum as well, but I'm still unsure of a username.....

Awesome guy though, and a great blog - one of the best I have found.

 

[JahvonCreamCone]

For a small order of 10 to 20 socks just to test your design or market, you may explore finding a craftsperson on Etsy who is willing to create the socks for you by your design.

You would need to make an Etsy account and find a team designed to network buyers and makers together, research each craftsperson you come across, approach anyone you like via Etsy Convo, and they will expect you to make a deposit before they purchase their supplies and begin working. Some may require full payment up front so do your research carefully.

This route will work better than going through China or wherever, assuming you can't find someone locally to deal with face to face.

Great idea, thank you.

 

[JahvonCreamCone]

Hey dude, check out A Better Lemonade Stand

Richard was a huge part of getting my business off the ground, and he actually launched a business that was originally going to be a sock company.

I know he pokes around this forum as well, but I'm still unsure of a username.....

Awesome guy though, and a great blog - one of the best I have found.

I just quickly browsed his blog, looks very informative. Def gonna check it out when I get home. Thank you for posting.

 

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[Vigilante]

Everybody needs socks. Ignore the naysayers and just get moving.

 

[pickeringmt]

Everybody needs socks. Ignore the naysayers and just get moving.

Hell yes

You can make it work if you realize that what you are selling is more than socks.

The reason people doubt the idea is because they don't understand what a product really is.

I want to see you make this happen.

 

[JahvonCreamCone]

Hell yes

You can make it work if you realize that what you are selling is more than socks.

The reason people doubt the idea is because they don't understand what a product really is.

I want to see you make this happen.

I'll def keep everyone updated

 

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[JahvonCreamCone]

Everybody needs socks. Ignore the naysayers and just get moving.

Will do!

 

[Stubbers]

Great idea! Drives me nuts how so many socks these days are plastic with minimal cotton in them! http://www.sockshop.co.uk might give you proof and more ideas?

 

[Wuz]

Probably there is only a few young people in that industry. The other big players prefer to play safe and stick to the standard. If you can differentiate yourself from the rest of the market, i think you have a big opportunity in front of you.

 

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[benhebert]

For those of you who curious, you may be wondering why I'm starting a thread about starting a sock company when I previously made threads and informed people about me publishing my own book.

To make a long story short, for about 2-3 years now, I've been cultivating and dreaming about starting my own sock company. I have a great sized niche that I know i can succeed in, and I have a theme, and product design idea that i know will sell!

I've never been more sure that this is what I want my first venture to be. I rather start something that I believe in, and I have a passion for...Rather than doing something that brings me no joy nor excitement just for quick bucks (self publishing).

I have tons of great ideas that i have been cooking up over the years for my socks, and I plan to scale them out of this universe, have them be sold everywhere. With that being said, it brings me to step 1.

I'm currently applying for jobs so that I can start to reach out to wholesalers to buy socks, find graphic designers that can help with my design ideas, find manufacturers that can take the design idea and have them made on my socks, to see if they come out to my liking.

I have $0 but that doesn't trouble me, During my other threads I was given fantastic advise from you guys, so im just gonna focus on the HOWS and not the cants. With my job that I pray to be getting soon, I will save up my money to hire some graphic designers to create some designs for me.

From there I will find some whole sellers. I'm not sure if I go to manufacturers to get the socks designed or whole-sellers, but I will figure it out.

From there I will try to work out a deal with the manufacturers/whole-sellers to get around 10-20 socks made. I will use these socks to sell online, not really for money, but to get feed back from my target market peers (peers meaning my target market is a community i am also apart of).

I'm not sure where to go from there, or what steps I'm missing, but I don't care, i will figure it out.

Whatever advise or resources you guys think I will find helpful will be extremely appreciated.

This is honestly the first time in a long time since reading TMF , that I've developed such a fire in my belly to work and make my dream come true!

Any and all feedback would be appreciated guys!

It doesn't sound like you have any industry expertise nor do you have the capital to fund the venture. You need money to make money.

Use whatever skillset you have now and build something that you can immediately start profiting from. It's not socks.

When you look at the sock business, they're very low priced commodity items. How many pairs of socks would you have to sell per month to legitimately make a living?

Forget the socks and go with something else.

 

[Evotank]

To be honest, my advice is stick your toe in first (geddit?)

On a more serious note, I reckon you should run with the dream that you have. If you are not risking all your capital then I cant see any reason why you dont make it happen.

Somebody has to make and promote socks, especially super cool ones

Good luck

 

[Vigilante]

Yeah. Just give up. LOL

Sam Walton should have just given up when he saw that K-Mart had a perfect formula.

Steve Jobs should have bailed because IBM owned the personal computing space.

Debbie Fields should have abandoned her cookie idea because she didn't have any money.

And you, my friend. You have no business playing with the big boys.

 

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[dbjennings]

Two notes of encouragement:
1. A friend of mine started a sock company. It has since been sold, but it is a brand that you can now find in major sporting goods stores across the country. He had no background in sock design or manufacturing. He just saw a need for a sock that he (and others like him) wanted, so he made them.
2. I have three sons that wear Nike Elite socks every day. Each pair costs $15. I think it is ridiculous, but I have spent hundreds on socks for them. So have thousands of other parents. Commodity market? Maybe it is (or was) but there are a lot of people willing to spend money on high-end socks.

I don't know the details of your particular strategy (so this isn't necessarily an endorsement of your business model), but don't listen to naysayers if there is demand in the marketplace. If you've got a legitimate need in the marketplace, provide a solution. There are opportunities everywhere.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[themaxx]

google seth godin socks

 

[Paulli]

Older thread getting a bump here.

If the OP is still around, did you have any success with your socks business? Would love to hear how you travelled, the hurdles along the way, or if you did find it too tough to continue what was the reason?

I am planning to take the dive into the socks game in the coming days, weeks and months. This past weekend has been enlightening haha. I can commit to an intro and progress post very shortly, but in the meantime, let us all know how you went

 

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[QDF]

Never saw this thread before, but have thought this would be a good business to start before.

1. Low product costs so you can offer a free/low cost sample
2. Products have high margins
3. Very high percentage of repeat customers and high lifetime customer value
4. Potential for a subscription service

Here's how I would approach it:

Focus on 1 single thing that makes the sock better. Most comfortable athletic socks. Best athletic sock. Best sock for running. Best sock for hiking. etc. "Our socks guarantee your most comfortable hiking experience ever...or it's free" type of thing. Niche down and develop a killer product. You can always expand from your niche once you're established.

Offer a free or low-cost sample. Wouldn't cost much...and would be a great, no-risk offer for the customer to try your product, leading into a high-margin sales funnel for you if your product lives up to expectations. Win-win. Besides, if you make a bold claim and offer a free sample, you will get some great traction on social media.

Offer a subscription service at a discounted rate. People always lose or go through socks. Help them out and make sure fresh, clean, crisp socks show up on their doorstep every month or two.

Just my 2c as an outsider....but I've never been in the sock business, so what the hell do I know?

 

[ZeroTo100]

For those of you who curious, you may be wondering why I'm starting a thread about starting a sock company when I previously made threads and informed people about me publishing my own book.

To make a long story short, for about 2-3 years now, I've been cultivating and dreaming about starting my own sock company. I have a great sized niche that I know i can succeed in, and I have a theme, and product design idea that i know will sell!

I've never been more sure that this is what I want my first venture to be. I rather start something that I believe in, and I have a passion for...Rather than doing something that brings me no joy nor excitement just for quick bucks (self publishing).

I have tons of great ideas that i have been cooking up over the years for my socks, and I plan to scale them out of this universe, have them be sold everywhere. With that being said, it brings me to step 1.

I'm currently applying for jobs so that I can start to reach out to wholesalers to buy socks, find graphic designers that can help with my design ideas, find manufacturers that can take the design idea and have them made on my socks, to see if they come out to my liking.

I have $0 but that doesn't trouble me, During my other threads I was given fantastic advise from you guys, so im just gonna focus on the HOWS and not the cants. With my job that I pray to be getting soon, I will save up my money to hire some graphic designers to create some designs for me.

From there I will find some whole sellers. I'm not sure if I go to manufacturers to get the socks designed or whole-sellers, but I will figure it out.

From there I will try to work out a deal with the manufacturers/whole-sellers to get around 10-20 socks made. I will use these socks to sell online, not really for money, but to get feed back from my target market peers (peers meaning my target market is a community i am also apart of).

I'm not sure where to go from there, or what steps I'm missing, but I don't care, i will figure it out.

Whatever advise or resources you guys think I will find helpful will be extremely appreciated.

This is honestly the first time in a long time since reading TMF , that I've developed such a fire in my belly to work and make my dream come true!

Any and all feedback would be appreciated guys!

First off what's up with the book? I haven't even gotten a chance to respond to your email and I see this thread. FOCUS = Focus On One Thing Until Successful.

I'm not knocking you at all, don't take that the wrong way.

Listen, look into the story behind soxy. They focused on the B2B market. Good luck!

Anytime you want to set up a meeting in queens, I'm always around (although I own a place in jersey too), I just finished a project in the Howard Beach area. You're not far right? Rockaway?

 

[ZeroTo100]

First off what's up with the book? I haven't even gotten a chance to respond to your email and I see this thread. FOCUS = Focus On One Thing Until Successful.

I'm not knocking you at all, don't take that the wrong way.

Listen, look into the story behind soxy. They focused on the B2B market. Good luck!

Anytime you want to set up a meeting in queens, I'm always around (although I own a place in jersey too), I just finished a project in the Howard Beach area. You're not far right? Rockaway?

Or is it Focus One Company Until Successful haha. I'm on the beach drinking lol

 

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[minivanman]

The best way to start this company is 1 step at a time.

LMAO Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

 

[Guest24480]

The best way to start this company is 1 step at a time.

LMAO Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

Don't forget to put your sole into it

Ba dum tss

 

[jacoplee]

Man/wholesalers aren't going to sell you 10-20 socks, let alone 10-20 custom socks.

You're looking at a minimum of 500-2000 per order, per style.

Maybe 100 per style if you can find a lucky manf. But expect to shell out way more $$$.

Your best bet is to make them yourself at first, or do it locally. Esp. when talking very, small volumes here.

Socks are cheap, they are small items, you know to understand that type of item is built, sold and moved in volume.

...

Also why do you need a graphic designer?

You should really know the vision you want for these socks.. And why each design will sell to the market.

Anyone can make socks. You either have to have an amazing brand, or amazing designs to sell them.

There is very little innovation in the sock industry.

It has changed now,
I found a factory, although they repeatedly stressed that the minimum order quantity is 1000 pairs, but I tried 100 pairs and they still helped me.
If you need, find them at Custom Made Socks Manufacturer, Bulk Socks Factory | KTSOX

 

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