The Struggle is Real
“Read this if: You have a business in fashion or have a fashion hobby that you want to grow & turn into a business (i.e. make some money from it)”
It was a random Wednesday night at 4am & I woke up on the couch, face planted on my laptop with a dazed and confused look of “how did I get here & what time is it?” I don’t know if it was the keyboard imprints left on my cheek or the sudden realization that I had 2 hours left to sleep before waking up for my 9-5 job, but it was in that moment the reality of working full time and starting a creative business in fashion slapped me in the face.
I’ve always been creative since I was a kid (I’m talking self-hosted art shows in my childhood bedroom level creative). And, I always thought that my creativity would evolve into my dream post-college job working for a style magazine or a fashion designer… but here I was juggling a boring 9-5 that I kinda hated, with a brand new business making jewelry and writing a fashion blog in 2010.
I literally hated going to work some days. I was bored, uninspired, and counting down the clock every day so I could get home and work on my creative side hustles. Some days on my lunch break I would dream about being a full-time entrepreneur, setting my own schedule, and drinking carmel macchiatos while writing about fashion like Carrie from Sex in the City. But the way my student loans, car payment and rent were set up, a job with a reliable paycheck is exactly what I needed.
I had to learn the hard way that entrepreneurship does not come to you handed on a silver platter, and if I wanted to eventually, one day even think about not clocking in to a 9-5, I had to put some bonafide hard work in along with change a lot of my habits and sacrifice things I thought I “deserved”.
So, below I put together a list of habits I wish I would’ve adopted earlier on while working my corporate job & starting a business to keep me focused and progress quicker. (Warning, the following list will save you lots of time, money & nights face planted on your laptop.)
Get comfortable working on your business before and/or after work.
Now that you are working on a business along with working a 9-5, your free time now has a different objective. If you want to see progress in your business or future business, going Monday-Friday without working on it is impossible. Committing time to your venture is key & it will require you to give up some nextflix or sleeping in hours for the greater good of success. I know, this is a hard pill to swallow, but once you make this a habit, you’ll start seeing more progress and results and it will be soooo worth it.
What you do with a few extra hours a day will depend on what your business is and at what stage of the game you are in. Whether you are a designer, content creator, blogger, stylist, or boutique owner, you can use this time to plan out social media post, send out emails to customers or influencers you want to collaborate with, read up on the latest trends in your specific field etc. The extra hours each day will add up and by the end of the week, you’ll be glad you sacrificed some time when you are one step closer to your goal. And by the way, this does not mean all your free time should be work; but there’s a famous quote (& book) that says discipline equals freedom. The more you discipline yourself to put time towards your goal, the closer to financial, career and personal freedom you are.
Photo Credit- Instagram Mahdi Woodard
Did someone say Invest?
Oftentimes when we start a business venture, we think we are owed success and owed it quickly. But newsflash, it takes sometimes years (& if your lucky just months) of hard work and also some investing as well. Very few businesses can literally invest $0 and get a return. It’s definitely not impossible, but very few and far between.
Let’s think about this…. So, product-based businesses need (drumroll) PRODUCTS! So if you have a fashion-based product business you either need to buy the product and resell it or buy the components to make the product and sell it. If you happen to have a service-based business in fashion, you definitely have a leg up when it comes to finances because YOU & the service you bring are the product. But, newsflash, the more YOU invest in YOU, the better your chances of success.
Also, most businesses need things like a website, business cards or other marketing material, email service programs, logo designs, apps for graphic design & social media (think Canva), and let’s not even get into FB or IG ads to promote your post if you so choose. What’s my point? This creative fashion business you have is going to cost you some money. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but, you do need to realize that investing in your business is normal and expected and will more than likely increase your chances of reaching success faster. The old, famous phrase is true, “scared money don’t make money!”
Realize social media is your friend and the more you show up, the easier it is to get seen by your potential customers, collaborate with major brands and establish a following.
This one is all about consistency. Showing up consistently on social media is everything, especially in the beginning. Keep in mind, if you’re a new brand or a growing brand, no one knows who you are yet (besides your friends and family & they are often not your ideal customer). So, regardless of how great your content or products are until you get it out there its extremely hard to reach success. Set a schedule to post at least every other day (preferably daily) and this will build consistency with your new audience.
If you’re wondering “when will I have time to do that?” scroll up to the first tip I gave😊 (( Not sure what to post? Here’s a starting point here )). Wondering what’s the big deal with posting consistently? Here’s a confession… all of the times that I’ve lost lots of followers on Instagram it was because I “took a break” for too long and wasn’t showing up as I should. Now, sometimes a break is necessary and that’s ok, but if you can avoid it, it’s vital to keep showing up! That’s the mantra – K.S.U. (make a cute graphic with this)
Feed your brain.
In full transparency, I was never really a podcast listener until the last few years. But, since I’ve gotten hip to my favorites it truly has been a game-changer. The entrepreneur podcasts are my favorites. There’s something about hearing other people’s successes and failures while you’re washing dishes that motivates, inspires, and gives you hope on those days when you feel like screaming “I QUIT!!!!”. I specifically listen to fashion business & entrepreneur podcasts and it’s become one of my favorite weekly routines. Here’s the scoop on what I love- My favorite fashion podcast: The business of Fashion Podcast & The Fashionpreneur Diaries, and my favorite Entrepreneur podcast: How I built this & The Side Hustle Show.
Find other creative fashion entrepreneurs to mingle with online.
The easiest place to find this is on Instagram or Facebook. This was definitely a game-changer in my journey through fashion entrepreneurship. It’s good to find other women who are in your same field to share your struggles, bounce ideas off of, share successes, and support your social media posts. So how do you find them? If you don’t know any in real life, (Meetup used to be a great place for this but that was Pre-Covid), start with the search feature.
If you’re starting on Instagram, hashtags are perfect for this task. For example, if you are a fashion blogger in Nashville start by searching #nashvilleblogger, or #nashvillefashion, #nashvillefashionblogger etc. Replace “blogger” with designer, vlogger, stylist etc. to get down to your specific industry. Once you find a handful, follow them, comment on a few pics & slide in the DM’s to introduce yourself! Don’t be scared, this is how we network in 2021!
From there you can ask them if they know of any DM groups that provide support for creative fashion lovers and if not you all can start your own! I’ve done this more than a few times and ended up with some instafriends for years now that keep me updated on any local meet ups, help support any new initiatives I’m creating or just are there as a listening ear to help if I’m struggling with something fashion & business-related--- This epic photoshoot from a few years ago took place because of a DM group! When I tell you this strategy works it really does!
For Facebook, it’s a little bit harder but the best way to start is in Fashion or entrepreneur groups. Click on the group tab & do a search; there are hundreds of business groups for women (unfortunately not as many for fashion) but you get the drift. Facebook groups are the perfect place to start if you are more active on there instead of Instagram.
Whew, that was a lot of information. My hope is that each one of these tips help you save time, get real and/or speed up your success and progress. All my experiences in this fashion entrepreneur journey are not to keep bottled up, but to help others along the way. If you loved this blog, bookmark it, share it and tell me on Instagram!