Launching a business venture while still holding down a day job sounds like a stressful step to take. But plenty of people manage to do this successfully, and it can transform your prospects and your life if you do it right.

Entering the e-commerce fashion market is a great example of a side hustle that could be a game-changer. So how can you do this without scuppering your main source of income in the meantime?

Pick a market to target

You need to know what you’re selling and who you’re selling it to before you go any further, so reading up on the latest fashion trends and determining the demographics they appeal to is crucial.

It’s also worth researching your target audience in as much depth as you can, so that you know their wants, their needs, their habits and their expectations in terms of the retail brands they engage with.

Of course, if you’re aiming to sell to people like you, then a lot of the legwork is already done. Things get trickier if you try to connect with an audience you don’t already understand innately.

Select products to stock

Only the top fashion brands handle the manufacturing side themselves, with most mainstream, attainable outlets preferring to outsource this to a third-party supplier.

Budding clothing entrepreneurs can find factories to fulfil their own designs. Alternatively, you could purchase stock from wholesalers and sell that.

Consider switching to a better personal bank account

As soon as you start carrying out business transactions, you’ll need a bank account that goes above and beyond.

For example, a SoFi account offers benefits like mobile banking, as well as integration with all sorts of digital services and benefits.

This will make tracking your spending, and separating out business and personal payments a breeze, which is important where accounting is concerned.

Build a website

This is perhaps the most complex part of the process, so it’s worth doing what you can to eliminate the burden at your end, especially if your job takes up most of your time and you’re not a tech wiz.

Website building platforms like Squarespace and Wix are a great option for small but ambitious businesses, and there are also e-commerce-focused platforms like Shopify to consider using as well.

You could choose to hire a web designer to make a bespoke site for you, but we’re going on the assumption that you don’t have endless cash to throw at this problem. If you just want to test the waters with an e-commerce site and see how things go, the template-based builder approach is more cost-effective and convenient.

Establish a social media presence

If you want to bring customers over to your site, you’ll need a presence on social media. Fashion retailers do particularly well on platforms that put visual imagery front and centre, such as Instagram and TikTok.

Again, you don’t need to do all the heavy lifting yourself, especially if you use social media management tools like Hootsuite. Setting up posts to go out automatically will let you promote products and spread the word, without needing to be up all hours.

Serve your first customers and keep them loyal

New businesses struggle with customer acquisition above all else, so when you win those initial sales, do your best to impress those buyers.

This will boost loyalty and will also increase the chances that your online clothing business will be recommended organically to others.

Most importantly, start small and have patience, as no business will succeed overnight, and you shouldn’t go all-in until there’s a good reason to do so.