From Manual to Magic: How to Automate Your Fashion Pricing & Save Time (Part 2)
If You Can Do It Manually, You Can Automate It Confidently
In Part 1, we walked through the emotional and business side of why many fashionpreneurs are stuck.
Now that you’ve seen the beauty of manual pricing, here’s the sweet upgrade: automation.
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| How to calculate profit in fashion business |
Let’s break it down gently.
You already know how to calculate your price using:
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Material cost
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Labour time
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Overhead
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CEO salary
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Profit margin
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Savings and reinvestment
Great. Now imagine a system that does all that for you, in seconds—while giving you insight into your business growth.
That’s the power of automation.
Why Automate?
Fashion is already intense: measuring, cutting, sewing, fixing customer demands…
Automation is your silent assistant—doing the math while you focus on creativity.
Here’s what automation helps you achieve:
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Speed: Get prices instantly with just a few clicks.
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Accuracy: No more forgetting to add electricity bills or undercharging.
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Consistency: All your clients get structured pricing.
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Confidence: You now know your price is right.
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Growth: Track how many outfits you must sell monthly to hit your targets.
Tools You Can Use to Automate Pricing
You don’t need anything complex. Start simple.
1. Google Sheets + Formulas
Turn your manual calculator into a smart sheet that:
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Updates totals automatically
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Tracks how much you’re earning per job
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Warns you when a discount cuts into profit
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Shows monthly targets based on your expenses
(If you’re an OOTI student, we’ll walk you through how to set this up step-by-step!)
2. Mobile Apps or Custom Tools
There are easy-to-use apps or templates that:
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Log jobs
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Show profit per job
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Alert you when you’re undercharging
But remember: no tool can replace understanding your numbers. That’s why you should know both the why and the how.
What About Discounts? Here’s the Smart Way
We all have those loyal customers we want to ‘do something for.’ That’s okay.
But you must learn to discount without bleeding out.
A good pricing system should:
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Show you your minimum price (the lowest you can charge without entering loss)
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Tell you how much of your profit you’re letting go
Now you can say:
“I can give you a 10% discount—but not more.”
with facts, not fear.
Let’s Talk About Time Efficiency
Every outfit you make has a time cost.
By tracking time spent per outfit, you learn:
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What’s eating into your profits
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What jobs are actually worth it
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Where you need to outsource or improve
That’s why we suggest including Time Tracking in your pricing system.
A simple time log can tell you:
“Ah, this took 12 hours and made ₦7,000 profit. That’s less than ₦600/hour—too low.”
That knowledge alone can transform your business.
Planning for Savings and Reinvestment
With every outfit you sew, some part of the profit should be:
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Saved for emergencies or business slow seasons
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Reinvested in machines, staff, or training
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Set aside as your real salary
A good pricing system lets you break every income into:
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% for materials
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% for labour
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% for operations
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% profit (with clear savings & CEO pay inside)
This is not just pricing—it’s a business control system.
How We Do It at OOTI (Osas Olumese Training Institute)
At OOTI, we don’t just teach sewing—we teach how to build a business.
Our fashion students learn:
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How to price right from Day 1
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How to track profit and loss
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How to plan for growth
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How to use tools that simplify their process
So if you’re tired of sewing and still being broke,
If you want to scale from hustle to enterprise…
We’re ready for you.
What’s Next?
We’re working on something exciting:
A Pricing System Template—easy to use, fully automated, built with YOU in mind.
If you'd like to get early access, send us a message or visit our center in Kano State.
And hey—if you found this helpful, please share it with:
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That tailor friend who always undercharges
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That fashionpreneur trying to grow
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That cousin who just opened a shop
Let’s grow this fashion industry together.
