The cost of going it alone isn't just wasted time—it's the mistakes.
If you are a self-funded apparel founder, you already know that decision fatigue as a small business owner is incredibly real.
You are likely juggling 600 different tasks, dealing with the anxiety of placing large purchase orders, and quietly feeling like, "I've basically been winging this."
But trying to figure everything out yourself by Googling things or taking advice from strangers on the internet is risky.
When you don't know what you don't know, things go wrong:
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Like ordering 3,000 units on a first overseas manufacturing run—which is far too many.
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Like having a thousand pairs of pants come back half a size too small, and you can't sell them or re-label them.
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Like paying hundreds of dollars for your factory to over-night a package that wasn't urgent, and could have cost so much less!
You can't afford to keep relying on back-of-the-envelope guesses.
Hi, I'm Rachel.
Let's sanity-check your next apparel decision.
After 25+ years in the apparel industry, where I served as a corporate executive and business leader for a decade, I saw too many talented founders struggle because of industry gatekeeping.
I believe that building a successful apparel brand doesn’t require burnout, confusion, or doing it all perfectly. I built this masterclass - and my community, The Board - to give founders the transparent, honest, "real-talk" mentorship not found elsewhere in the industry.
Let me show you how to build a brand that will pay you, support your family and give you the freedom you were seeking when you started it all.
-Rachel
the truth about the apparel industry
Did you know that 82% of apparel businesses fail after just 2 years due to cash flow problems?
It's often because brands rarely share information with each other, let alone with newcomers to the industry. The apparel industry is notorious for its "silos."
So founders end up searching for advice, but are too often told to just make more products and add more SKUs.
But the opposite is actually true, and in this Masterclass, you’re going to discover what works instead to scale your business.
This isn't just about making more money (although that is a big part of it)...
This is about growing sustainably while having a life of your own, making your work feel effortless, and building the company of your dreams.
Does this sound like you?
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You've spent a few years working inside your brand, but you're not where you thought you'd be by now
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You're wasting time and money on the wrong things and making costly mistakes
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Other workshops or courses you've sought out only taught about marketing and social media posting tactics
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You are sick of feeling overwhelmed, burned out, and wondering how you could do things better
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Business coaches you interview know nothing about the intricacies of the Apparel and Fashion Industry
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You need clear, actionable steps to turn your hard work, your vision, and your sacrifice into an apparel brand that pays you back.
This workshop isn’t another "how-to post on social media" session. It’s where you start thinking and operating like a CEO who is ready to pays yourself, pay your team, and finally build a brand that aligns with your vision.
Make every apparel decision backed by real, hard-and-fast numbers.
In this 90-minute on-demand masterclass, you’ll get concrete, specific information that’ll help you step out of the daily messes and into a true CEO role
Here is exactly what we will cover:
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The True Cost of Guesswork: Why uneducated decisions in this industry cost thousands of dollars, and how to safely navigate the manufacturing world before you commit money you can't get back.
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The Hidden Industry Playbook: How to bypass the gatekeeping. We will reveal the exact processes and benchmarks the industry tries to hide, so you finally have real numbers for your margins, pricing, and timelines.
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The P.A.C.E. Framework: A four-step framework for making every major apparel decision with confidence, so you stop losing money to the mistakes you didn't know you were about to make.
Presented by rachel erickson,
certified pmp
I am an apparel industry executive who learned throughout my 25-year career how to build the kind of profitability into brands that actually helps you replace your current salary. I now mentor emerging brand founders to navigate the fashion world without burnout.
For years, I worked in corporate apparel, and what I saw every day helped me to develop the systems and processes to successfully and sustainably scale companies.
Now, I have the genuine pleasure to work with hundreds of apparel founders at all stages, and teach this community how to implement the P.A.C.E. framework I developed through launching my own apparel brand.
If you're ready to be more profitable with a streamlined process that you can customize and repeat year over year with ease…
You don't have to be the "next Nike" to be successful here.
If your goal is to simply build a profitable, sustainable brand that pays you a real salary, aligns with your values, and could eventually be sold, this Masterclass will give you that foundation.
Whether you are pre-revenue, or a few years into your business and feeling stuck, you don’t need to go through another season of expensive mistakes.
what you get today for just $27
Full, on-demand access to the "Say Good-Bye to $20,000 Apparel Brand Mistakes" Masterclass.
FREE BONUS: Instant access to my Initial Line Planning Worksheet that I used as a Senior Product Manager inside one of the world's biggest brands (a $197 Value!).
LIVE WORKSHOP PERK: An exclusive opportunity to get a real-time sanity check on a major business decision before you commit to your next big purchase. Inside the workshop, there will be a chance to reserve a complimentary 1:1 with Rachel!
Virginia Peterson,
CEO at SWOOP
Is now confidently building out her dream team so she can stop doing everything herself, and is moving toward replacing her nursing salary.
Rachel's pointed advice and templates are helping to speed up this work and make it simple.
Julia Billings,
CEO at Wildhaven Wools
Worked with Rachel to understand her data clearly, and is now moving forward with an expanded product line that will increase her profits, not just her revenue. Clearly seeing the numbers helped her identify best selling products she didn't expect!
Natalie Weber Hamilton,
CEO at Anna & Atticus
Creating her very own brand and product line after owning 3 boutiques for the last decade. This expansion is allowing her to offer new sizes and unique products to her customers while increasing her profits by owning every product decision.
Our Mission
Here at The Business of Apparel...
We are apparel industry veterans from the world's biggest brands. We witnessed years of corporate gatekeeping and secrecy—and we’re here to end it.
We left our 'cushy' jobs to become rule-breakers, sharing the real executive-level processes that usually take 15 years or MORE to master. We are flipping the industry upside down to put the right information directly into your hands.
Michelle Wolfe,
CEO at Abundantlea
Found $51,000 in savings after working with Rachel and her team for just 60 days.
"This is the best investment I've ever made!"
Celeste Raymond,
CEO at Zun Rays Clothing
Is saving over $5,000 per month in expenses after working with Rachel on her budget and financial plan.
"I wouldn't be here today without the help of Rachel and her team."
Ana Guerrero,
CEO at Wonderland Wolf
"It feels really great to be a part of something with this team. There's definitely a sense of community and inclusion, which is something that you don't get very often working in the apparel industry!"
faq:
Why will this be worth my time?
Because 90 minutes of the right knowledge is worth more than months of Googling benchmarks that don't exist, taking advice from people who don't know this industry, and making decisions you're not sure about. Watch on your own time, get the replay, and save yourself another 3 months of looking for information that simply isn’t out there.
what happens after i sign up for the workshop?
Within just 15 minutes of signing up, you'll be able to access the workshop and jump right in! Or you can also choose a future time slot that works better for you. Once the workshop is over, you'll also receive a replay of the video that you can watch for another 48 hours, pause, rewind, slow down, speed up, and find sections that you wanted to dive into further.
why isn't this workshop free?
For $27, you aren't just getting a motivational pep talk. You are getting the actual, hard-and-fast information the industry tries to hide. A full tutorial on how to use Rachel's line planning worksheet and read your company's profit numbers accurately will be well worth the price. Even if this helps you see how you can just save a single dime on each garment in your next 300-unit order, you made your money back right there! We kept this investment highly accessible, but requiring a ticket also does something important: it ensures you actually carve out the 90 minutes to sit down, take notes, and treat your business with the respect it deserves. You show up ready to act like a visionary CEO. You are investing $27 today to safeguard your business from thousands of dollars in uneducated mistakes tomorrow. Let's get to work!