In the fashion industry it’s common for new businesses to be financed solely by their owners and develop organically.   Bootstrapping is the term used to describe the challenge of financing your startup without relying on outside funding and instead relying only on existing resources such as personal savings, materials equipment and workspace.

It's what I recommend to clients and students going through the Fashion Entrepreneurs 3 X Launch Formula and in my experience that's what I recommend for most people unless of course you already have someone ready to invest and they are willing to wait a while to receive a return on their investment.

There are many reasons why I recommend this:

• If you obtain funding too early your investor might not be aware how long it can take a fashion business to become profitable and if they don’t see a return on their investment early on could pull out.  
• In the early stages you need some time and creative space to build your customer base an...