Every fashion entrepreneur must save money. Not having any savings can put you and your business in a very tight spot financially. It can also eventually lead to you having to shut down your business. This is why savings are very important.
Apart from investing, here are 9 other ways to save money as a fashion entrepreneur;
9 Ways to Save Money as a Fashion Entrepreneur in Nigeria
1. Pay off Debts
Paying off debts is one thing that is often overlooked when it comes to saving money. Debts can be real money suckers if you let them. One of the first things to do in imbibing a saving culture is to pay off your debts as fast as possible.
As a fashion entrepreneur, you might have loaned some money from the bank or maybe some other sources to get the business running. The more time you spend paying off or holding up his debt, the higher the interest rate you will have to pay on it.
Getting rid of debts helps you free your money for other purposes. If you really want to save money, you must pay off your debts.
2. Create a Budget and Track Your Spending
To be able to save effectively, you need to create a well-outlined budget. This budget should help you set your priorities straight and help you see how your spending measures up to your income and saving. This will help you create a spending limit per month.
In your budget, you should factor in recurring payments like rent, electricity, transport, food, and insurance so you have a clear picture of everything. As much as you can, after you create that budget, you need to stick to it and avoid exceeding it.
I bet at one point or the other in life you have looked at your account balance and wondered what you spent all your money on. This is where tracking your spending comes in.
Every time you spend money on something, write it out. You’d be surprised at how much unnecessary spending you do and how much you can cut out of your spending budget. This helps you save money.
3. Use the 30-Day Rule (control your impulses)
One of the best ways to cut spending and imbibe a savings culture is to master the 30-day rule. Following this rule means that when you see something you like and you want to purchase, wait for 30 days before making the purchase and see if you still need it at the end of that time.
Mastering this time can really up your savings game. Recently, I saw a mouth-watering buy one get one free deal for wigs online and I wanted to make that purchase so bad even though it was out of my budget. After waiting for a while, I realised I didn’t really need those wigs and I decided not to go ahead with the purchase.
You might try to convince yourself that you really need that item or maybe your fashion business really needs it, but if you wait a bit, you might find that that is not the case. Impulsive buying is the enemy of saving, so you must run away from it.
4. Set up Automatic Savings
Making saving automatic is a great way to save money without even thinking about it. In Nigeria, Tech startups like PiggyVest and Cowrywise have made this easy.
Setting up automatic savings for my accounts has saved me a lot of money in the past months. Saving automatically with these apps is quite easy as the app automatically takes out a specified amount of money as scheduled and puts it in a savings account you have limited access to. Easy!
5. Buy in Bulk
From personal and home items to materials for your fashion brand, buying in bulk can save you loads of money. If there are items you buy frequently, you might want to look into purchasing them in bulk to save yourself some money.
Buying in bulk often means buying things at a lower price than if you keep buying single units. This way, you can potentially save money on your essential needs.
Learning to negotiate effectively is one valuable skill that will save you thousands of money in Nigeria. Whether you are purchasing items in bulk or not, you need to learn and master the art of negotiating and getting better deals for all your purchases.
6. Cut Down on Food and Entertainment
Many Nigerians spend a lot of food and entertainment. As much as you can, find ways to cut down on your food and entertainment bills.
Being a fashion entrepreneur, it might be tempting to order take away or buy food or snack items on the go. This costs more than if you had purchased food items in bulk and cooked your meals at home and packed some for work.
You might also want to consider cutting down the amount of time you spend on social media to reduce the amount of money you spend on data. Also, consider downloading rather than streaming those YouTube videos you watch to help you in your fashion business and the movies you watch to relax.
Also, cancel out automatic payments that you don’t need and hardly ever use and leave just the necessary payments.
7. Set a Savings Goal
Saving towards a goal is one of the best ways to motivate you to save. Think of what you want to save for, visualise it, and set a timeline for it.
Whatever it is, be it saving for an industrial machine, a family vacation, a new bag, retirement, a new car, when you figure it out, commit how much you will set aside till you reach that goal.
8. Spend Extra or Unexpected Income Wisely
As a fashion entrepreneur, there are some months where you will earn more than you planned for. When this happens, don’t splurge on that fancy new item you want. Now, I am not saying you should not have sun or pamper yourself once in a while, I am saying you need to spend it wisely.
If you have debts, you can use this money to pay them off. If there are no debts, you can save this money, invest it or buy something your business needs rather than spend it on things you don’t truly need.
To avoid spending extra cash on items you don’t need, consider unsubscribing from emails that bring juicy offers right to you. You can also consider doing DIY projects as opposed to buying everything you want.
9. Avoid a Poverty Mentality
When all you think about is how you must save and how you never have enough, you begin to have limiting beliefs. This can affect your decision making and make you stay in lack for long.
People with an abundance mentally are always on the lookout for new opportunities and this helps them grow in business.
