THOUGHTS AND IDEAS
Seven Years of the Apparel Plan: Insights & Lessons Learned
Over the past seven years, the Apparel Plan has evolved from a simple concept to a comprehensive strategy for creating, selling, and scaling apparel. Whether you’re running a gym merch line, a fashion startup, or a franchise, understanding the...
How Much Does This Cost? Discover Real Prices & Expert Estimates
All of our pricing is custom to each design because that’s the fairest approach. We don’t use instant price calculators because I have never used a price calculator that actually gives you the true price. The true final price is...
How to Calculate the Effective Hourly Rate of Apparel Projects
The price is the dollar amount you see on the invoice. It is the easiest and simplest way to interpret how much something "costs". Often times, we fail to take into account the invisible costs of doing things. While...
Forever Fierce Apparel: How Lightning Fitness Turned Heads
For Matt Mills, owner of Lightning Fitness, gym apparel isn’t just about clothing—it’s about identity. His members are athletes, competitors, and community builders, and their apparel should reflect that energy. But before Forever Fierce, the story was different. Matt had...
Stop Tweaking. Start Executing: The Key to Progress
It’s easy to get caught in a cycle of Stop Tweaking and perfecting, whether it’s your business strategy, apparel designs, marketing campaigns, or personal projects. While attention to detail matters, excessive tweaking can stall progress, waste resources, and prevent you from...
Invisible Costs Are Eating You Alive – Cut Them Now
Let’s take a moment and calculate your effective hourly rate. Let’s be conservative and say it’s $100/hour. Now, imagine this scenario: you’re working with a vendor who is unresponsive. It’s been a week since you last saw a mockup. In the...