ABOUT US

Welcome to the new Fashion For Profit website! In the days and weeks to come, you’ll begin seeing more and more great features on the site! In addition, we’ll be adding new content to the site every day, so make sure to stop back often!

The Fashion For Profit website was designed specifically for people who want to start or who have already started a new fashion line. The fashion industry is very difficult to navigate and for someone who is new to the industry, it is critical that they start the process correctly or what happens more often than not, they run out of money before they’re ever able to see their dreams come to fruition. This is where the Fashion For Profit site comes in by providing real world insight, direction and advice for people who don’t have much experience in the fashion business. Contributors offer real life accounts of things that have happened to people on the path toward launching their clothing lines as well as the practical “how-to’s” of the business.

The Fashion For Profit website is a content rich extension of author, Frances Harder’s hugely successful line of books on how to start and launch your own fashion line. The books include: Fashion for Profit is an extensive text that covers the A-to-Z of starting an apparel company and is used widely around the world in fashion design and fashion business university programs. Costing for Profit, Brand Building For Profit, & Forms for Profit all address additional valuable information when starting an apparel company. Fashion Retailing for Profit is her latest book that covers details needed when planning to open a retail operation. Chapters from the Fashion For Profit book are also available as downloads. All products are available for sale on this site.

Since 1999, Frances Harder has been the President and Founder of the Fashion Business Incorporated (FBI), which provides vital business development and job retraining programs to the US apparel industry www.fashionbizinc.org. She has self-published a series of books dealing with starting a fashion business: Fashion for Profit is an extensive text that covers the A-to-Z of starting an apparel company, this book along with her other publications address valuable information to assist when starting an apparel related venture. www.fashionforprofit.com

Frances has consistently been invited to present seminars and workshops for International trade shows including Magic International for the past ten years. She consults on product development, branding, merchandising, production and entering the US market. Additionally, she often serves as an industry expert in legal disputes and has recently been retained by the United Nations to consult to under developed countries on textile and apparel products produced by women owned micro businesses.

Her prior experience includes full time professor at Otis (9 years) and FIDM (8 years). Having her own name under license for a Japanese company, designing for the Royal House of Brunei, Pricilla Presley (HSN) and numerous other apparel brands.

Frances is a faculty adjunct professor at Woodbury University, a member of the Southern California District Export Council (SCDEC), Business Incubation Network (BINS), Advisory board of Cal Poly Pomona, Woodbury University, Saddleback College, Art Institute, & El Camino Community College.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

Arlene Battishill, President & CEO of ScooterGirls, Inc., designers and manufacturers of GoGo Gear, a line of highly fashionable, cutting edge, technical protective safety apparel for motorcycle and scooter riders. Arlene launched her line having NO background in the fashion industry, no technical experience and just an idea! That idea took her around the world and back again in manufacturing and marketing her product.  The story of her company reads like a “DON’T DO ANY OF THIS OR YOU’LL LOSE ALL YOUR MONEY!” and YET, survived to tell about it and has product in stores today!

Nicole Leinbach Reyhle, author of Retail Minded, a website dedicated to helping fashion retailers and wholesalers.

Farah Bhatti, trademark attorney, formerly of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Dana Fried, former COO/CFO of luxury footwear company, Taryn Rose. Has conducted seminars for hundreds of busineses at various industry trade shows including MAGIC on topics including Branding, Supply Chain, Starting an Apparel Business, and Financial Planning for a Retail Operation.

Jeff Linett, an industry veteran photographer and graphic artist whose print materials are in high demand among fashion industry professionals.

James Kennedy, a technology wizard, who is able to translate the most difficult techie language into something we all can understand. Every business needs technology but the only way to make smart business decisions is to have someone who can understand the language and then translate it, someone who can take your business needs and translate them into techie language and then set about making things happen on the technology front for your business. A “godsend” when it comes to fending off those expensive technology people who will try to convince you to buy something you might not need given the size of your company OR the amount of money you have available.