I’d rather use a “Top Chef” analogy here, rather than “Project Runway” but it doesn’t feel appropriate for this blog. Truth be told, there is no specific recipe for success in the world of fashion. Seems like some people have it and other, equally talented people don’t. Elusive, isn’t it? I was watching “Project Runway” this week as the contestants designed styles inspired by the California surf scene. Aside from the fact that only one team used Neoprene© in their design, I don’t think you’d want to go anywhere near the water in the rest of those styles. But I digress. The team with the best designs of the show won AND lost. They came up with two great designs – one of them was the one with Neoprene©. Turns out, however, that trying to get two ego driven designers to divide design, draping, sewing and fitting tasks doesn’t always work so well. One team member (Ra’mon) did the bulk of the design, sewing and other tasks while the other team member (Mitchell) seemed to crack a lot of jokes about getting kicked off the show. Sure enough, the team won the best design, Ra’mon won the contest and Mitchell was dismissed from the show with a fairly curt “Auf Wiedersehen.”
So getting back to a recipe for success, how do you assemble the right team for a fashion business? Let’s say you make enough samples to take to a show or at least around to some potential customers or showrooms. Let’s say you start taking orders for your products. Now what? Do you have the money or financing to purchase raw materials, cut, sew and fulfill your orders? Where do you find trustworthy contractors or vendors who will do justice to your designs? How do you ensure you’re shipping to credit-worthy customers? How will you begin to collect on your receivables? How do you know what needs to be done to keep your business moving forward and hopefully growing? Well, that’s what Fashion Business, Incorporated is all about. FBI has the tools and resources to take your business to the next level.
Most companies start with one or two people – hopefully one person has a knack for design, the other has a knack for business and/or sales. The two of you scramble around for months (or in the case of “Project Runway” two days) trying to produce wearable, saleable designs. Let’s hope there’s a natural division of labor within the business (on the “Project Runway” team the division of labor looked to be about 90/10). As the business grows, start adding part-time or full-time employees to fill in the blanks – order entry, shipping, inventory, bookkeeping, production, etc. But how do you make those important business decisions? Like when to start adding? Or how to start growing? Tim Gunn isn’t going to magically appear in your workroom to dispense sage advice. The seminars and workshops at FBI are designed to help you fill in the blanks – business knowledge, technical skills, design, sales and marketing and my favorite, using software to improve your business processes. No, I’m not kidding – I teach one of those seminars.
The business resources you get with your FBI membership are as valuable as the seminars and workshops. Where else do you meet many of the industry’s leaders? Accountants, bankers, factors, lawyers, industry consultants, heads of contractors and textile associations of Los Angeles? How else can you network and make the right connections to move your business to the next level? Come to FBI’s next networking event and meet our team of experts. You’ll be glad you did.
Some people have it and some people don’t. The lesson I took away from last night’s show is that you need to choose carefully when assembling a business team. How better to do that than by joining FBI and availing yourself of our seminars, workshops and experts? The recipe for success? Knowing how and when to ask for help.
Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology consultant working with Fashion Business, Incorporated. Email: jill@fashionbizinc.org
