If your apparel brand isn't growing, or worse, burning through cash...these are the mistakes you can't afford to ignore.

In this episode of Business of Apparel Podcast, Rachel breaks down the 3 most costly mistakes apparel brand founders keep making and how to fix them before they stall your growth. From trying to appeal to everyone, to overloading your product line, to designing without a financial plan, these common habits are quietly draining your profitability.

This is a must-listen for founders ready to stop guessing and start building a focused, scalable, and profitable apparel business.

Sign up for the Secrets Behind Billion Dollar Apparel Brands Masterclass here: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com/secrets

Join The Board here: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com

0:00 The 3 Costly Mistakes

01:00 Mistake #1

04:13 Join Our Masterclass!

05:24 A Niche Focus Grows Markets

07:46 Mistake #2

09:31 Join The Board!

10:51 Do Less, but Better

14:23 Mistake #3

18:25 Workshop And The Board Recap

Watch more of The Business of Apparel Podcast episodes:

Wholesale 101: https://youtu.be/lpezH1YwCyE

Use AI in Your Apparel Brand: https://youtu.be/Dn9tjPNmfaw

Grow A 7-Figure Apparel Business: https://youtu.be/rpQYDyo5Rao

Purchase the Business of Apparel Online Course: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com/course

ABOUT RACHEL:

Rachel Erickson—Fractional COO, Apparel Industry Consultant, and founder of Unmarked Street and The Business of Apparel. With 20+ years in technical design and product development leadership, I've sat at the executive table of a $25M apparel line and helped scale it to $60M in one year.

After decades working inside major fashion companies, I learned the truth behind billion-dollar brands, and it's not about chasing trends or pumping out endless products. It's about building clean processes, tightly edited assortments, and obsessively focused customer targeting.

I help founders and CEOs of performance apparel brands:

✅ Build lean, profitable product lines

✅ Streamline operations for growth

✅ Replace overwhelm with executive clarity

✅ Create garments that fit bodies in motion

Whether you're just hitting $1M in revenue or trying to break through the $10M ceiling, my team joins you as an embedded operations and product partner—running fittings, line plans, tech packs, and vendor communications so you can get back to leading.

To connect with Rachel, you can join her LinkedIn community here: LinkedIn.

To visit her website, go to: www.unmarkedstreet.com.

Struggling to figure out how much inventory to order without overbuying, or worse, selling out too fast? In this episode of The Business of Apparel Podcast, Rachel breaks down the 3 essential forecasting strategies every apparel brand must master to grow profitably without the guesswork.

Whether you're just starting out with zero sales data or scaling past your first million, this episode gives you a clear roadmap to smarter inventory decisions, stronger cash flow, and sustainable growth.

If you've ever felt stuck between playing it safe and scaling your brand, this is the episode that will help you finally make confident, data-driven decisions.

Sign up for the Secrets Behind Billion Dollar Apparel Brands Masterclass here: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com/secrets

Join The Board here: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com

00:00 Three Forecast Types

00:20 Why Forecasting Matters

01:06 Forecasting From Historical Data

03:02 Adding Growth Targets

06:03 Stop Leaving Money on the Table

07:43 Join The Board!

09:55 Dangers of Forecasting With No Data

13:17 Pre-Sales And Community

17:25 Why You Should Join The Board

Watch more of The Business of Apparel Podcast episodes:

Wholesale 101: https://youtu.be/lpezH1YwCyE

Use AI in Your Apparel Brand: https://youtu.be/Dn9tjPNmfaw

Grow A 7-Figure Apparel Business: https://youtu.be/rpQYDyo5Rao

Purchase the Business of Apparel Online Course: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com/course

ABOUT RACHEL:

Rachel Erickson—Fractional COO, Apparel Industry Consultant, and founder of Unmarked Street and The Business of Apparel. With 20+ years in technical design and product development leadership, I've sat at the executive table of a $25M apparel line and helped scale it to $60M in one year.

After decades working inside major fashion companies, I learned the truth behind billion-dollar brands, and it's not about chasing trends or pumping out endless products. It's about building clean processes, tightly edited assortments, and obsessively focused customer targeting.

I help founders and CEOs of performance apparel brands:

✅ Build lean, profitable product lines

✅ Streamline operations for growth

✅ Replace overwhelm with executive clarity

✅ Create garments that fit bodies in motion

Whether you're just hitting $1M in revenue or trying to break through the $10M ceiling, my team joins you as an embedded operations and product partner—running fittings, line plans, tech packs, and vendor communications so you can get back to leading.

To connect with Rachel, you can join her LinkedIn community here: LinkedIn.

To visit her website, go to: www.unmarkedstreet.com.

Factory audits are not enough. If you want to build a stronger apparel brand, protect your margins, reduce sourcing risk, and create better factory relationships, this episode is essential.

In this conversation, Rachel sits down with Anna Triponel, a leading expert in sourcing, human rights, and supply chain accountability, to unpack what really makes a factory partnership work. They break down why third-party audits and supplier profiles can create a false sense of security, what brands should be doing instead, and how smarter sourcing decisions can improve quality, resilience, transparency, and long-term business growth.

Anna explains why the future of sourcing is moving away from top-down compliance and toward real partnership, where brands work alongside suppliers instead of policing them from a distance. She also shares why poor purchasing practices, last-minute changes, race-to-the-bottom pricing, and weak internal leadership can quietly create major human rights and operational risks across the supply chain.

Sign up for the Secrets Behind Billion Dollar Apparel Brands Masterclass here: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com/secrets

Join The Board here: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com

00:00 Let's Talk About Factory Relationships and Sourcing

00:22 Meet Anna Triponel

00:53 Why Audits Miss Issues

03:37 Partnership Over Compliance

07:12 Culture Shift Success Story

12:29 Business Case for Human Rights

16:46 Consumer Scrutiny and Lawsuits

20:12 EU Rules and Blind Spots

23:44 Three Regulation Types

33:08 Why Transparency Matters

35:53 Internal Culture and Suppliers

38:58 Climate Adaptation for Factories

39:33 Resources and Don't Forget to Subscribe!

CONNECT WITH ANNA:

Website: https://www.wearehumanlevel.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-triponel-285b3ab/

Watch more of The Business of Apparel Podcast episodes:

Wholesale 101: https://youtu.be/lpezH1YwCyE

Use AI in Your Apparel Brand: https://youtu.be/Dn9tjPNmfaw

Grow A 7-Figure Apparel Business: https://youtu.be/rpQYDyo5Rao

Purchase the Business of Apparel Online Course: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com/course

ABOUT RACHEL:

Rachel Erickson—Fractional COO, Apparel Industry Consultant, and founder of Unmarked Street and The Business of Apparel. With 20+ years in technical design and product development leadership, I've sat at the executive table of a $25M apparel line and helped scale it to $60M in one year.

After decades working inside major fashion companies, I learned the truth behind billion-dollar brands, and it's not about chasing trends or pumping out endless products. It's about building clean processes, tightly edited assortments, and obsessively focused customer targeting.

I help founders and CEOs of performance apparel brands:

✅ Build lean, profitable product lines

✅ Streamline operations for growth

✅ Replace overwhelm with executive clarity

✅ Create garments that fit bodies in motion

Whether you're just hitting $1M in revenue or trying to break through the $10M ceiling, my team joins you as an embedded operations and product partner—running fittings, line plans, tech packs, and vendor communications so you can get back to leading.

To connect with Rachel, you can join her LinkedIn community here: LinkedIn.

To visit her website, go to: www.unmarkedstreet.com.