I realized my small clothing business needed fewer products, not more
I started my apparel project with the usual mindset: more designs meant more chances to make a sale.
So I kept adding ideas.
After a while, I had too many products to properly test. Some had different fits, some used different garment qualities, and the branding wasn't always consistent. The store looked busy, but I wasn't actually learning much about what customers wanted.
I decided to slow down and focus on a smaller group of products. Instead of immediately adding another design, I started ordering samples, checking the actual garments, testing different branding details, and paying attention to how everything felt together.
That changed the process quite a bit. I could spot quality issues earlier, make better decisions about customization, and avoid committing to large quantities before knowing whether something actually worked.
The biggest lesson for me has been that building a small product business isn't necessarily about having the biggest catalog. Sometimes it's about finding a few products you can make really consistently and confidently.
I'm curious how other indie founders approach this. Did you grow faster by expanding your product range, or by getting a smaller number of products really dialed in first?