Anyone who has created a business will know that it can take time for you to earn a good living off it, and with fashion being such a creative sphere, it might take a little more time for your designs to fly off the shelves. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t find a way to earn some extra money to keep you afloat and get your business’s name out there.
With passive income, you can earn extra cash, so let’s dive into five excellent ideas for you to choose from!
How Can Fashion Designers Make Passive Income?
 1. Create A Blog
If you’re a fashion designer, drawings rather than words might be more your forte. However, blogs are a great way to generate additional revenue without doing too much. It might not be the most passive way to generate money because it’ll require some thought and effort to work well, but once you start, you’ll find it hard to stop.
It would be best if you created a following, so whatever your blog is going to be about, it needs to be unique, much like your fashion business. So think about what your USP is and craft your blog around it.
Are you all about sustainable fashion and partnering with charities? Are you fascinated by how changing or adding an accessory, like a custom patch, alters an entire outfit? Are you interested in exploring the partnership between fashion and food? Whatever your niche passion in the fashion world, let that shine.
You’d be surprised how a simple blog can become a six-figure salary! But how is it generating income? A lot of the time, your blog can earn you extra cash through advertising and pay-per-click links. Of course, one component of getting more passive income through this channel is getting people to your blog.
2. Start A YouTube Channel
So you’ve started the blog and found your niche, but it’s not getting the views you’d like. We live in a digital world where watching often substitutes reading, so start a YouTube channel and partner that with your blog!
This option is less appealing for fashion designers who prefer to be firmly behind the camera. However, you can use this platform – like social media platforms – to your advantage. After all, people need to see fashion, so showcasing your work or the themes of your blog will always be an asset to creating more of a passive income stream.
3. Outsource Manufacturing
It’s no secret that the more of a product you have, the more you have to sell. While it might be tempting at the start of your fashion journey to manufacture everything yourself, as your fashion business grows, you’ll struggle to keep up, and it will be costly to make everything by hand. That’s where outsourcing your manufacturing is a must.
Let’s say you’re a fantastic graphic designer and you’ve been hand printing your designs onto t-shirts or creating embroidered patches for your clients to sew – that’s wonderful, but you’ll reach a stage where doing it all by hand will prevent you from getting the demand. Why not take your expert designs to companies like The/Studio to outsource manufacture for you?
With a comprehensive selection of products to choose from, The/Studio can work with you to find a product that suits your business and has designers working with you to ensure you are happy with your design before printing on mass (or individual) so you’ll never need to worry about a design not hitting the mark.
With hundreds of items ready to sell, you can plug these on your blog and YouTube channel and watch as the passive income streams in.
4. Get On Social Media and Influence
Becoming a social media influencer is one of the best ways to create genuinely passive income. While it takes work to become an influencer – and don’t be mistaken, you’ll need a strategy – plugging other brands that adhere to your fashion values is an easy way to create more money.
Depending on the contracted agreement, these videos or plugs often don’t have to be very long. For example, you might need to take photos of you wearing a brand’s beanies or hats to get some extra cash, and that’s it.
Even today’s youth recognize a Social Media Influencer as a legitimate job, with 86% of young Americans saying they want to be one. While that is cause for concern for many, it’s essential to recognize the power of social media in amplifying your brand and creating more money, ranging from hundreds to millions of dollars.
However, remember to put only some of your eggs in one basket; the social media world is ever-changing, and you might consider not using it should you not agree with its owners or its nature. So, we recommend having it as an asset rather than your whole strategy to increase passive income.
5. Freelance – Upcycle Your Designs
Being in front of the camera might fill you with dread, and that’s okay – not everyone wants to have their face visible! So stick to your business’s heart and create in new ways.
For example, why not sell your designs as art prints if you’re designing a dress? Fashion designs are often like artwork, and these small actions of selling something you had to create could be a great little (or not so little) earner.
Likewise, freelancing by tweaking designs you’ve created in the past to sell to a much larger audience. Depending on what you usually design, could you tweak a previous design to make school uniforms and sell them to the masses? Or turn your sock design into a bridal party must-have novelty item?
Final Thoughts
The fashion industry is challenging but creatively exciting, so don’t lose heart! With these five income ideas, you’ll soon find a passive income stream that works for you. And while you’re deciding, why not discover The/Studio’s collection of products to get the creative juices flowing and inspire your next exciting design?
