The opportunity to start a business is what the majority of us all want. In this competitive world, the idea of finding our niche market is exciting due to the potential for growth and prosperity.

Meet the black woman behind ‘Swank A Posh,’ an online fashion clothing brand quickly making a name for itself in the industry. Learn how this entrepreneur is using her platform to showcase her collection of stylish clothes and empower other black women to follow their dreams.

Early Failures are Often Bespoke Lessons

We all know the saying, “If at first you do not succeed, try, try again.” While that may be true, our early failures can sometimes teach us some valuable lessons.

‘Swank A Posh’ is an online fashion clothing brand that found its groove after a few early failures.

The brand’s founder, Ebony Swank, started the company in 2009 with the goal of providing a revolutionary new clothing boutique with exciting products and services for women.

However, the early days of the business were not easy, and she failed in her first attempts. First, she struggled to find the perfect line of products that could fit every woman’s needs. But Swank persevered and eventually gave a second trial at a different location with an estimated cost of $12,000. She also revamped her website and made it easier for customers to find and purchase her products.

Now, ‘Swank A Posh’ is a thriving business with a loyal customer base. Her company is now valued at $40 million, with two physical stores in the Metro Detroit Area, a head office, and a massive warehouse in Los Angeles. While she may not have achieved her initial goals, she certainly learned valuable lessons that improved both her and the business.

Niche Within Your Niche

What do you do when you want to stand out in a sea of online retailers? For example, if you are ‘Swank A Posh’ – an online fashion clothing brand catering to black women – you zero in on a niche within your niche.

“When we first started out, we knew that we wanted to focus on black women,” says founder and CEO Ebony Swank. “There are so many fashion brands out there, but not a lot that is geared specifically towards our demographic – thick and curvy women who often had a hard time finding the perfect jeans to accentuate their body types in regular stores.”

To further set themselves apart, the team behind ‘Swank A Posh’ decided to focus on stylish and sophisticated clothing for the everyday black woman.

“We want our clothes to make our customers feel confident and empowered in their everyday lives,” says Swank.

So what is next for the brand? Swank says they are always looking for better ways to broaden their customer base.

“We are always listening to our customers and trying to figure out what they need and want,” she says. The company offers jeans in various colors and styles – their SuperGa jeans come in a wide range of sizes and colors, making them very affordable and comfortable. They are also famous for their jumpers, bodysuits, coats, jackets, tops, bottoms, and footwear.

Keep the Loans to a Minimum

When starting a business, it can be tempting to take out a loan to get things off the ground. However, this is not always the best decision – especially if you are not sure you can keep up with the repayments. That is something that all business owners need to be mindful of. “I have never taken out any debt, always worked on cash, then reinvested the money I made,” says Swank. According to a study by the National Women’s Business Council, African American women are more likely to start their businesses with personal savings than any other group of women. There are a number of reasons why this is the case, but one of the main ones is that Black women are often denied access to traditional forms of funding. This means that they have to be extra careful when it comes to taking out loans, as they may not be able to get help if things go wrong.

If you are thinking about starting a business, make sure you do your research and only take out a loan if you are confident you can afford the repayments. Otherwise, you could find yourself in severe financial difficulty.

The most important is learning from our failures so we do not repeat our mistakes. In the words of Ebony Swank herself, “When you fail at something, put it in your back pocket and learn from it.”