We recently connected with Khawaja Ahmed and have shared our conversation below.

Khawaja, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Looking back at the decisions you made early in your career, particularly whether to join a firm or start your own, do you feel you made the right choice for that stage of your career?

Embarking on the entrepreneurial path and starting my own apparel business has been an exhilarating and rewarding journey. In this narrative, I would like to share the story of how I turned my passion for fashion into a thriving business. From humble beginnings to achieving significant milestones, here is a glimpse into how I started and nurtured my apparel business. It all began with my deep-rooted passion for fashion and a desire to create something unique. Also I had my family background being involved in the business for years and I had this urge on my own to start and create something new with this on my own. My father has been working for years tirelessly in different markets and I have seen him burning the midnight oil to build his family’s future. It felt like it was high time that someone needed to take over and take charge of everything , also if not everything then at least being able to be a helping hand in the family. I spent years cultivating my understanding of clothing trends, consumer preferences, and the industry itself. I wanted myself to get established in this business.This groundwork enabled me to lay a strong foundation for my business. Before diving into the apparel industry, I conducted extensive market research to identify gaps and opportunities. I analyzed target demographics, emerging trends, and competitors offerings. Armed with this knowledge, I formulated a business plan that encompassed key aspects such as branding, product range, pricing strategies, and distribution channels. One of the most valuable lessons I learned during my early years was the importance of adaptability and flexibility. The apparel industry is dynamic and constantly evolving, so I had to stay attuned to market changes and consumer demands. This meant being open to adjusting my product offerings, refining my designs, and experimenting with different marketing strategies to stay relevant and meet customer expectations. Also digital marketing was a new tool to experiment with and it was a challenge initially on how to merge the apparel business in its best on social media. It has been going soo far soo good for me. Looking forward to take my Kaytax Apparel at new heights!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I told my story earlier on how I came and made my place in this online apparel industry. Though it was very hard for me to initiate but with hardships comes ease and I remained strong during all kinds of hurdles that I faced. Obviously in any business there are problems and solving them seems like a big deal at start but once you start looking into the broader side , nothing seems impossible. My apparel business mostly contains bulk orders that are given by companies that further resale the garments that we manufacture. No doubt , digital marketing and social media is a great tool to attract customers but sometimes it can invite problems too. Due to the perfectly , imitating portfolio available on social media sometimes my customers dont try on getting a sample test or trial first and rather order bulk amount of garments. This had led to sometimes disappointment of the customer because at our end we exactly know what we are producing but they fail to convey us their expectations or sometimes we lack in understanding or so. So in such unhappy scenarios what we do is that either we settle them down by compensation on their next order or by giving them a refund if they ask or so. The refund is basically what makes us different from other companies or businesses in this niche.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The most valuable lesson that I unlearnt by leading this business is the fact that anyone can be a leader. Working on my own company made me realise that it takes a lot to be a leader or boss of the business. It is never easy way up there and a person should adapt and acquire leading qualities as soon as possible to manage his team in the best way possible

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

Yes , once it happenned that there was a client with a bulk order for around £14000 and we have a policy that a client has to pay almost half or 75% advance , otherwise we dont proceed with such a big order. So there was a customer who wanted this order, most of our clientele is based in USA thou but we are always ready to serve anywhere. So he requested a lot that he would make the advance after a day or two. Two days passed he made a payment of 10% and said that something was wrong with the account that paypal isnt transferring , showed us that he had money(fake screenshot obv) and told us to get the order ready by two weeks , till then his paypal will sort and he will pay the full amount. There is a saying that always trust your gut so my gut feeling was to not start order unless I have atleast 50%. After two weeks to check , I texted him that order is ready , he blocked or deleted his account. I never heard a response ,though he saw my message. Hence this was a very close call that I decided to chose my gut feeling and did not let him fool me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kaytaxapparel.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kayta_xapparel/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D