One of the things I have learned after years in the fashion industry is that it is ok to not enjoy every little piece involved in running a business. People tend to think that being in fashion is so cool, but there is always something we do not like about our jobs. Whether it is the cost involved, the business aspect, the PR campaigns… Whatever it is, I know it is impossible to like it all. Guess what? It is ok to not like it all, and it is important to recognize your weaknesses to make sure that you will build a team that can help you with the things you lack interest in or knowledge.
Personal experience, I hate sales! I hate it and I have had horrible experiences as a salesperson. I not only suck at helping people to choose their clothes, but I also do not have the patience to persuade them to buy. That is something I have learned and have been suffering from ever since I started my own business. On strategy calls, where I get most of my client leads, I am usually too soft and too honest. It is always either “this coaching program is not for you at this moment” or “let’s jump into the points you need help with, instead of starting from the basic steps”. There is no in-between with me, and that is probably the reason why I cut my coaching time in half, I decided to work only with clients who are worth my time and focus on blog writing.
It took me about 5 months and hundreds of failed strategy call to understand that I suck at sales and I shouldn’t be the one doing the first talk with potential customers (even though this is my business). After I understood and accepted that, the workload became much easier and potential leads are way more effective. Same thing with my day job. I learned that I am not detail-oriented, nor do I like to be. After acknowledging that, I was able to hire a team to help me with things that need special attention.
As I said, it is normal to not be good at everything and not enjoy every little piece of your job. I have worked with many different clients and one thing most designers have in common is the fact that they are all focused on being a designer, while forgetting that to run a fashion company the “boring” parts are included, like any other business.
If you have read all INSIDE THE FASHION INDUSTRY blog posts, you would know that I am constantly repeating myself when I say “designers tend to be creative and creative minds tend to be everywhere”. This directly reflects on my point here. There is a reason why people start their businesses. Either because they love what they do, because they are tired of working for someone else, because they want the freedom of managing their own schedule, or because they are really good at something. Production management, costing and product development are my passion and that is why I started a blog and a business, but marketing, sales, and PR are not my area of interest or expertise, so I had to seek help.
If you are anything like me, you are the kind of person with eyes everywhere and control of absolutely everything. Nothing gets approved without my saying, so when I am not good at something, it is quite hard to admit it. I guess that being used to doing everything on my own and having so many people trying to take advantage of me, I got to the point that I do not trust people anymore and I need to see absolutely everything that is going on in my business (and my life, lol). This feeling of control helped in the sense that I am always eager to learn and if I do not know something I want to be able to at least understand how it works. But I also suffered and affected my business by being too a control freak.
It is impossible to be good at everything and, a thing I learned after so many mistakes, is that not knowing or not being good at something does not make you out of control. Keep in mind that your business is your business. Nothing will change that, and you, only you, can hurt your own business. We all know that trying to do everything alone is impossible and you cannot be good at everything. We all have weaknesses, so focusing on what you are good at, and building a team that you trust and can guide you through what you do not know is crucial for success. Restructuring your business model and starting over, sometimes, does not mean a step back, it means a new and better strategy.
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