The Business of Apparel

About The Business of Apparel

Go from overwhelmed apparel founder making costly trial-and-error decisions to a founder with the expert guidance, systems, and industry knowledge to scale profitably. Rachel Erickson brings her 20 years of expertise in the apparel manufacturing industry to The Business of Apparel podcast to inspire you to build your best brand yet. Each week, you'll hear from Rachel along with our industry experts who are shedding light on what is needed to build your own apparel line from scratch or to take your existing apparel brand to the next level and create sustainable and unstoppable growth. Most founders "wing it" through launch & production, but scaling requires professional processes. On the show you'll learn: ✅Profit-First Scaling: Financial architecture that protects your margins ✅Production Excellence: Mastering fit, quality control, and factory relationships ✅Operational Systems: Industry SOPs so your business can run without you ✅Strategic Guidance: Real-world advice from experts with decades of experience No BS. Just proven frameworks you need to grow your brand. Follow the show so you don't miss an episode! Learn more from Rachel at TheBusinessofApparel.com/masterclasses and connect with her on Instagram @BusinessofApparel

Publisher

Rachel Erickson

Category

arts · business

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

13 Feb 2023

Latest episode

15 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

190 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Oct 2026

   Why Your Work Ethic is Actually Ruining Your Business

   What if your stellar work ethic is actually killing your business? It sounds crazy, but if you're doing everything yourself, working 60, 80, or 100 hours a week, you may actually be creating a ceiling for your business instead of helping it grow. I've had to learn this lesson myself, and I'm seeing the same pattern with many of the apparel founders I work with. In this episode, I'm talking about why doing more isn't always the answer. I'm sharing what my own experience taught me about letting go of tasks, giving my team room to succeed, making space to be the visionary, and recognizing when my work ethic was no longer serving me or my business. 📝 Today We're Covering: Why doing everything yourself can create a ceiling for your business How holding onto tasks can prevent your team from succeeding and growing Why CEOs need space on their calendars to think about the bigger picture What my corporate career taught me about the importance of delegation How coaching and mentorship can help you find opportunities to save money, make more money, and move faster Building a profitable apparel brand isn't about proving how much work you can handle. It's about creating the systems, team, and space you need to lead the business forward. My challenge for you this week is simple: give yourself permission to be the visionary. ➡️ Your Next Steps: Order my book The Business of Apparel here! Subscribe to the Apparel Founder's Boardroom Notes on Substack: substack.com/@businessofapparel Join The Board here: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com/join ‼️ Don't Miss These 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 🤝 Meet Rachel: Rachel Erickson is a 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, she 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, she 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. Rachel helps 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, Rachel will join you as an embedded operations and product partner—running fittings, line plans, tech packs, and vendor communications so you can get back to leading. Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-erickson-pmp/ and visit her website at www.unmarkedstreet.com.

2. 

   8 Oct 2026

   What Actually Happens When You Survive 5 Years as a Founder

   Reaching five years in business is a milestone worth celebrating, and it also gives you plenty of reasons to pause, reflect, and take stock of everything you've learned along the way. In this episode, I'm reflecting on five years of building Unmarked Street and The Business of Apparel and sharing some of the biggest lessons, mistakes, and pivots that have shaped my journey. From launching my own apparel line and realizing it wasn't where my heart was to learning the importance of trusting my vision, I'm sharing the experiences that have influenced the way I lead my business today. I'm also talking about building a strong team, simplifying our offers, learning to focus, and finally taking my own advice when it comes to tracking numbers, building processes, and creating a more profitable business. 📝 Today We're Covering: The biggest lessons I've learned after five years in business What launching my own apparel line taught me about being a startup founder Why fear-driven decisions can pull you away from what you really want to build The importance of hiring and building a team you can rely on Why simplifying and focusing can be so difficult for entrepreneurs The importance of knowing your numbers and using data to make better business decisions Why slowing down to build better processes can ultimately help you grow faster What I'm focusing on as I begin the next five years of Unmarked Street and the Business of Apparel Five years in, I'm realizing that building a business is an ongoing process of learning, adjusting, simplifying, and starting again when necessary. This episode is an honest look at the lessons that have shaped my business so far and the work I'm doing now to build a more focused, data-driven, and sustainable company for the next five years. ➡️ Your Next Steps: Order my book The Business of Apparel here! Say Good-Bye to $20,000 Apparel Brand Mistakes here: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com/goodbye Join The Board here: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com/join Get help with product development: www.unmarkedstreet.com/contact ‼️ Don't Miss These 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 🤝 Meet Rachel: Rachel Erickson is a 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, she 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, she 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. Rachel helps 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, Rachel will join you as an embedded operations and product partner—running fittings, line plans, tech packs, and vendor communications so you can get back to leading. Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-erickson-pmp/ and visit her website at www.unmarkedstreet.com.

3. 

   24 Sept 2026

   Why Your Online "Factory" is Actually an Expensive Middleman

   When you're working with an apparel manufacturer, it's important to know exactly who you're communicating with. Sometimes the person you think is part of the factory may actually be a sourcing agent working between you and the manufacturer. Agents aren't necessarily a bad thing, but understanding how that relationship works can have a major impact on your costs, communication, and control over your production. I'm breaking down what apparel sourcing agents do, how they fit into the relationship between a brand and a manufacturer, and what you should know about the additional costs that can come with working through an agent. 📝 Today We're Covering: What apparel sourcing agents do and how they fit between brands and manufacturers The potential benefits of working with an agent, especially when sourcing multiple types of products or working across different manufacturing regions How agent fees can affect your FOB costs and why you should understand exactly what you're paying for Why detailed, line-by-line cost breakdown sheets are an important tool for evaluating your manufacturing costs How to compare fabric prices and yields and work directly with your mill to verify pricing Why maintaining a relationship with your manufacturer can reduce risk and give you more visibility into your production Whether you choose to work directly with a manufacturer or through an agent, the most important thing is understanding how your sourcing relationships actually work. Knowing who is on your team, what they're responsible for, and how money and communication flow through those relationships can help you make better business decisions and avoid expensive surprises as your apparel brand grows. ➡️ Your Next Steps: Get help with product development: www.unmarkedstreet.com/contact Subscribe to the Apparel Founder's Boardroom Notes on Substack: substack.com/@businessofapparel Join The Board here: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com/join Order my new book, The Business of Apparel, here! ‼️ Don't Miss These 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 🤝 Meet Rachel: Rachel Erickson is a 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, she 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, she 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. Rachel helps 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, Rachel will join you as an embedded operations and product partner—running fittings, line plans, tech packs, and vendor communications so you can get back to leading. Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-erickson-pmp/ and visit her website at www.unmarkedstreet.com.

Who has been a guest on The Business of Apparel

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Sarah White
• Kayla Clarot
• Brian Finnerty
• Natalie Hamilton
• Anna Triponel

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

152,812

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Spotify

4.4 / 5

7 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 80 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

98

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

68

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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