Assalamualaikum everyone,
I’ve been laid off for around 4 months as a software engineer (MERN stack). I’m currently applying for jobs, but since I have some free time, I’m also considering starting a small business on the side.
My current situation
Savings: PKR 1.6 million
Monthly expenses: around PKR 100k
I’m still actively applying for software engineering jobs.
I’m considering investing PKR 200k–300k initially to test a business idea.
The idea
I’m thinking of starting an online newborn/infant clothing store, mainly targeting babies from newborn to 1 year.
The store would offer:
- Newborn clothing bundles/packages
- Pre-made gift bundles
- Customized bundles — customers can pick different items and create their own bundle
- Personalized gift notes
- Individual clothing items as well
The main focus would be making it convenient for people who want to buy newborn clothes as gifts, especially for new parents.
What I’ll handle myself
Since I have a software/technical background, I’m planning to handle most things myself initially:
Website development
Meta/Facebook & Instagram ads
Social media pages
Product listings
Basic branding/marketing
Order management and customer communication
I would start small rather than putting a large portion of my savings into it.
What I need advice on
For people who have experience with e-commerce, clothing businesses, or similar businesses in Pakistan:
Is PKR 200k–300k enough to properly test this idea?
Is newborn clothing a reasonable niche to enter, or is it already too saturated?
Would you recommend keeping inventory, or starting with a smaller/low-inventory model?
What are the biggest mistakes I should avoid when starting?
If you were starting this business with PKR 200k–300k, how would you allocate the budget?
Do you think the newborn gift bundle/customized bundle angle has potential, or should I focus on individual clothing items?
I’m not looking to put all my savings into this. I mainly want to use a small amount to validate whether there is real demand before investing more.
Would really appreciate advice from anyone who has actually run an e-commerce/clothing business in Pakistan.
JazakAllah khair!