Tanya Shang (founder of Nimble Made)
Nimble Made, an online clothing store started by Tanya and her partner, turned a basic idea into a business, making six figures and drawing 90,000 monthly visitors. The company grew from a common issue: slim Asian-American men struggling to find dress shirts that fit properly. This gap in the market led to creating a brand with shirts sized from 0 to 5, designed for thinner body types.
Starting with no experience in fashion or e-commerce, the founders tackled challenges such as finding manufacturers, developing products, and marketing their brand. Their journey involved quitting full-time jobs, tapping into personal networks for initial publicity, and eventually gaining features in major publications like The Washington Post, Men's Health, and Forbes. The company's growth strategy heavily relied on content marketing, producing articles and videos aimed at their target demographic of men aged 30-55 working in urban offices.
The company has branched out to earn money through ads on their blog posts via Media Vine and by suggesting other products for a commission. This varied strategy, along with a unique sizing system that keeps customers coming back, has pushed Nimble Made's yearly earnings over $100,000. The article explores the specific methods, obstacles, and key takeaways from the company's growth story.
Discovering the need for better fit
Before founding Nimble Made, Tanya worked in advertising and design in New York City. Despite enjoying her job, she felt a desire to create something of her own. The idea for Nimble Made was sparked by her partner’s struggle to find well-fitting dress shirts. As a slim Asian-American man working in finance, most shirts were too baggy, and custom-made options were prohibitively expensive.
This wasn’t an isolated issue. Tanya remembered her father, who had moved to the US from China, facing similar difficulties. Friends with slimmer builds often shared the same frustrations. Recognizing this widespread problem, Tanya and her partner saw an opportunity to help people like them by offering better-fitting shirts.
Getting started
Starting a clothing brand wasn't easy, especially since neither Tanya nor her partner knew much about making clothes. But they took it one step at a time.
First, they needed to find someone to make the shirts. They looked on Alibaba.com and contacted manufacturers in China. They wanted a company that could handle everything from fabric to finished product, and that would let them order small amounts to start.
They also needed to be able to talk easily with the manufacturer. Since they didn't know much about designing clothes, they needed someone who could understand their ideas in English.
After a lot of back and forth, they found a good match. They sent the manufacturer their ideas using Excel sheets and pictures of styles they liked. Soon, they had their first sample shirts.
Growing the business: Word of mouth and press coverage
At first, Tanya and her partner told everyone they knew about Nimble Made. They explained how they were trying to help slim men find better shirts. People liked their story and started telling others.
This led to some unexpected opportunities. Some of their friends knew journalists or people in public relations. Soon, Nimble Made was featured in big publications like The Washington Post, Men's Health, and Forbes. This free publicity helped a lot of people learn about their brand.
Taking a big risk
About six months after starting Nimble Made, Tanya and her partner made a bold move. They quit their jobs to work on the business full-time. This was risky because the company wasn't making much money yet. But they felt they needed to give it their full attention to make it succeed.
As Nimble Made started to take off, Tanya and her team tried different ways to reach more customers.
Writing helpful articles to attract customers
One of their main strategies was creating useful content for their website. They wrote articles about topics their customers might be interested in, like how to dress for a job interview or how to measure yourself for a dress shirt.
They aimed these articles at their target customers: men between 30 and 55 who work in offices in big cities. To create more content quickly, they used AI tools like ChatGPT, but always edited the articles to make sure they sounded right for their brand.
This strategy worked well. Now, Nimble Made gets over 90,000 visits to their website each month, mostly from people finding their articles through Google searches.
Trying out paid ads
Like many online businesses, Nimble Made tried advertising on platforms like Facebook and Google. However, they found it tricky. Sometimes these ads worked well, but other times they cost too much money for the sales they brought in.
They've learned to be flexible, using paid ads when they work well and stopping when they don't. This approach helps them spend their money wisely.
Keeping in touch with customers through email
Email is an important part of how Nimble Made keeps customers coming back. They send weekly emails sharing their blog posts and YouTube videos. This reminds customers about the brand and gives them helpful information.
Their unique sizing system (shirts come in sizes 0 to 5) makes customers likely to buy again once they find their perfect fit. Email helps remind these customers about new styles or sales.
Making YouTube videos
Recognizing that many people prefer watching videos to reading, Nimble Made started a YouTube channel. They make videos about men's clothing tips. While the channel is still new, it's already bringing some visitors to their website.
Finding new ways to make money
As their website traffic grew, Nimble Made found new ways to earn money beyond just selling shirts. They added advertisements to their blog posts, working with a company called Media Vine. They also started recommending other companies' products in their articles, earning a commission when readers buy those items.
This lets them make money from articles about topics related to men's fashion, even if the article isn't directly about their shirts.
What they learned along the way
Tanya's experience with Nimble Made offers some useful lessons for anyone thinking about starting their own business:
1. Know who you're selling to: Understanding your customers is crucial. Nimble Made spent time figuring out exactly who their ideal customer was, which helped them make better decisions about their products and marketing.
2. Keep at it: Their success with writing articles didn't happen overnight. It took years of consistent work to build up their website's reputation and content.
3. Be ready to change: Whether it's turning ads on and off or changing their strategy during COVID-19, Nimble Made's willingness to adapt has been important to their success.
4. Tell your story: Nimble Made's story about why they started the company resonated with both customers and media outlets. A good story can help your brand stand out.
5. Don't rely on just one thing: By adding ads and product recommendations to their blog, Nimble Made found ways to make money beyond just selling shirts.
6. Use new tools: Their use of AI for writing articles shows how new technologies can help small businesses do more with less.
The ups and downs of starting a business
Tanya is honest about how hard it was to start Nimble Made. Leaving a stable job to start a business with no guaranteed income was the hardest thing she's ever done. She suggests having some savings if you're thinking about doing the same - they had about six months of savings when they started.
But she also talks about the rewards. She sees the experience as a hands-on business education, teaching her things she couldn't have learned in a classroom. Even if the business hadn't succeeded, she believes the skills and experiences she gained would have been valuable for her career.
Conclusion
Nimble Made's journey from a simple idea to a successful online business shows what's possible when you identify a real problem and work hard to solve it. They saw that many men struggled to find well-fitting dress shirts, and they created a solution.
Starting with no experience in fashion or e-commerce, they've built a business that now makes over $100,000 a year. They've done this by consistently creating helpful content, being flexible in their approach, and always focusing on their customers' needs.
