No one in his or her right senses will walk around naked. Similarly, people living without clothing are considered primordial because every normal and modern day person is expected to wear clothes. Cloth sewing is, therefore, a limitless business that brings in profit, whatever way it is done, and in whichever community.Apart from meeting peoples essential need of covering their bodies, dress making is a handiwork that one derives satisfaction from, especially when one sees the beautiful work on his client.To some practitioners, there is hardly any other easier way to success than learning and knowing how to make people look exactly how they want to be at any particular time.Of course, it is generally believed that success is found in any handiwork-based business. Yet, dress making business surpasses all others because it thrives on happiness. The success factor in the business is in the ability of the practitioner to make different designs with great appeals.Operators believe that, apart from knowing how to sew good dresses, there is the need to input business promotion strategies into it. Practitioners have, therefore, noted that going the extra mile to make the business more profitable will give the owner an edge over others. For instance, there are several ways of meeting potential customers for various new clothing lines. This could be by seeking out sales agents and buyers or retailers. It may also be through major departmental stores or boutiques.The operators say the business of dress making can be enhanced by talking to prospective customers and asking them the types of clothes they are looking for.Besides, they say once a dress maker has surveyed the market landscape, it is best to decide the best way he or she is going to distribute the products. According to them, distribution channels can also dictate the quality, quantity and costing structure of the clothing line.A dress maker, Mrs. Oyeyinka Badejoko, says she went into the business because it caught her fancy as a very interesting business.Badejoko, whose designing outlet is located in Mowe, Ogun State, explains that she started operating on her own after two years of training.She says, Every client wants a dress maker or a designer to keep to time in the areas of job finishing and delivery. Jobs should be delivered according to the agreement reached between the practitioner and the client.According to her, training in a good fashion school is compulsory so that an operator can meet up with the current trend in the business. Besides, she says it may be difficult for ill-trained persons to be competitive in the market.I attended two different fashion schools to brush myself up on the job. Even though I am the boss of my own business, I am still learning because fashion is not static; it changes every day, she adds.She adds that renting or acquiring a shop may not be necessary.An operator can reach out to customers from his or her house. Customers come to my shop and I also go to some of them to collect cloths, which I later return to them after sewing. What matters to a customer is the quality of your job, she notes.According to her, more hands may be needed as the business grows. Besides, outsourcing is an option. A designer may not have a shop or an outlet. All he or she does is to outsource the job to others in the business. What matters is to be sure that a job is well done. Even for a practitioner, who has his own shop, outsourcing helps to meet serious appointments and agreements with clients'You can start the business with amounts ranging between N50,000 and N150,000, depending on the projected size of a business one has in his mind. The business is profitable. But it needs a lot of concentration, focus and courage to make it. It also takes patience to sustain a good clientele level because some clientsneeds are insatiable, she adds.Another practitioner, Mr. Jimoh Gbadamosi, who says he trained as a tailor at age 15, is now a specialist.Gbadamosi, a designer in the heart of Lagos, has been in the business for 10 years. The owner of Daily Designs says he chose the business because of the love he has for fashion.I love fashion and I like seeing people look good. I thought within myself that one of the best ways to express myself was to get into the business. So I decided to make a career of dress making and fashion design, he says.He adds, My parents could not afford to pay my school fees. So, I was asked to decide the type of trade I wanted to learn. My mind did not go to any other business except sewing, although then, I was considered too young, but I could understand that everybody wears clothes and I would be able to make profit from the business.According to him, the business is profit-oriented, as an operator can make half of the cost price of the cloth as profit.He says it is a kind of business, where beginners can start from their rooms, especially if they cant afford to rent a shop. From there, the business can grow to the extent of getting a shop, and later, registering a business name.The business size, either large or small scale, depends on the capital on ground. But aside from the shop rental fee, N50,000 may be enough to begin the business. All you need is to buy a sewing machine at the minimum sum of N19,000; a weaving machine of about N21,000 and other sewing materials, he says.According to him, the major challenge is power. To tackle this, he says one only needs to buy a generator of about N12,000.But the most important skills required for the business to thrive and grow, he says, are customer service-related.
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