Me When I Get in the Taxi and He Says 打表坏了。It’s an Hour from the Airport to 天河 [start a clothing brand]

(And suddenly I’m calculating in RMB, USD, and betrayal.)

You ever get into a taxi in Guangzhou thinking you’ve survived the worst of your sourcing trip — only to hear those four fatal words: 打表坏了 (“the meter is broken”)?

That’s when the real math begins.

You’re not just doing currency conversion. You’re running risk assessments, emotional damage forecasts, and wondering whether your guānxì with the factory was worth the 90-minute ride that’s now suspiciously been rounded up to 500 RMB.

Starting a clothing brand? Welcome. This is part of it.

Not the taxi fare, exactly — but the unpredictability, the power imbalance, and that quiet moment where you realize: I do not fully know how this works, and someone else does.

That’s why I built Garment Sourcing 101. Because this industry is full of “打表坏了” moments — moments where things go off-script, and you either know how to adjust, or you get overcharged (literally and figuratively). My course is here so you’re never the one paying the 500 RMB when it should’ve been 120.

I’ve spent 15+ years navigating this business, and trust me, it’s not the what that will kill your brand — it’s the how. It’s the small decisions, the miscommunications, the unchecked assumptions that quietly snowball into product delays, quality issues, and customer service nightmares.

Let’s talk about how not to get rinsed — in taxis or in production.

So You Want to Start a Clothing Brand: Welcome to the Wild

The dream is beautiful.

The product is premium.

The founder story is inspiring.

And then the real work begins.

Most people think starting a clothing brand is about creativity. And yes, it is. But creativity without control is chaos. And control? That’s what makes or breaks your production line — and your profit margin.

That starts with sourcing.

And sourcing isn’t just about finding a good factory. It’s about navigating a world where you’re constantly told everything’s fine — until it isn’t. It’s about learning to ask the right questions, document everything, and follow up like a polite but relentless shark in a sea of half-truths and soft yeses.

You know how the taxi driver smiled when he said 打表坏了? That same energy exists in production.

What “打表坏了” Looks Like in Clothing Manufacturing

Here’s what that phrase sounds like in a factory setting:

• “Same fabric, same quality, just local source — okay?”

• “We can ship next week, just waiting on trim.”

• “It’s pre-production sample, the bulk will be better.”

• “That defect? Can fix next time.”

It all sounds reasonable. It’s all part of the dance. But unless you have your specs, your QC checklist, and your factory communication dialed in? You’re paying the 500 RMB, metaphorically speaking, every single time.

I’m not saying everyone’s out to scam you. They’re not. But the system is designed for ambiguity unless you force clarity. Starting a clothing brand isn’t just about making cool clothes — it’s about knowing when to call out a broken meter and negotiate a real price.

15 Years In: Why I Still Double-Check Everything

You’d think after 15+ years doing this — hundreds of FRI reports, countless hours in showrooms, factory tours in three provinces before lunch — I’d relax a little.

Nope.

I still:

• Confirm zipper brand in the BOM.

• Ask about fabric lot consistency.

• Photograph every approved sample with timestamp.

• Triple-check the carton markings and count the units.

Because the moment you assume the meter works is the moment someone gets a little creative with your production — and not in the good way.

And this is what I want you to understand if you’re about to start a clothing brand: Success doesn’t come from just vision. It comes from vigilance.

If You’re Starting a Clothing Brand, Prepare for This Kind of Chaos

There’s this myth that building a fashion label is all launch parties, lifestyle shots, and “drops.”

Let me tell you what it really looks like:

• Getting WeChat voice notes at 2 AM asking if 210gsm is “okay” even though you specified 240gsm three times.

• Wondering if your fabric supplier actually sent the shrink test results or just reused a PDF from last year.

• Learning that “100% cotton” can mean 60% cotton + 40% good intentions, if you don’t verify it yourself.

And yes — negotiating with your taxi driver while mentally calculating exchange rates because you’re too jet-lagged to argue but too experienced to accept defeat.

That kind of chaos? It’s survivable — if you’ve built your systems.

That’s what Garment Sourcing 101 gives you. It’s not a list of factories. It’s a system for navigating the factories you willfind. How to vet them. How to brief them. How to stop issues before they start.

Because the “broken meter” moment is coming. The only question is whether you’re the one stuck in the backseat, paying full fare with no recourse.

Here’s What You Actually Need to Start a Clothing Brand

Forget the logos for a second. Forget your lookbook. Let’s talk infrastructure — the stuff that makes your brand run behind the scenes.

You need:

• A spec sheet that leaves no room for guesswork

• A sourcing plan that isn’t just “Alibaba and vibes”

• Quality control expectations — in writing, not just over coffee

• A way to track your trims, lead times, and payment terms like a business, not a mood board

Starting a clothing brand means stepping into manufacturing, whether you’re ready or not. And if you’re not? You’re depending on people who may or may not tell you the truth — because they may not know it either.

You wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint.

Don’t build a brand without a sourcing system.

Final Thought: Don’t Let the Meter Decide the Price

If I could give every new fashion founder one gift, it’d be x-ray vision — the ability to see beneath the “all good” emails and the polite supplier calls, and into the real state of their production.

But since that doesn’t exist, I built something better: a complete blueprint for how to manage sourcing like a pro, even if you’re just starting out. It’s called Garment Sourcing 101.

And it’s made for you — whether you’re still sketching your ideas or knee-deep in a production run that’s already gone off track.

You don’t need to learn the hard way.

You don’t need to pay full price for a broken meter.

You just need to know how this world works — before it works you over.

So before you start your brand, before you press “go” on your first PO, before you step into that metaphorical (or literal) taxi ride…

Know the rules. Learn the system. Build it right the first time.

You’ll still hit traffic.

But at least the meter will be running.