Dear ‘fashion preneur 

Once you get into the ready to wear space you need to start watching your costs like a hawk. Those simple bespoke days are over, you can no longer charge baselessly just because your client is desperate or capable of paying. Now cost truly matter. As a retailer you must protect your business from extinction, Cash flow is to a retailer as blood flow is to a human being. Cut off the flow of cash and the business dies, it’s that simple. Also when you have all these fancy ideas on how to brand your business, ideas that can’t be perceived as value by the the customer…cut it off….yeah like that fancy shop bag that cost you 3 times more than a regular bag, your fancy woven labels that cost twice the cost of a simple printed one or your wooden branded hangers that cost 4 times more than your decent plastic ones. There is a time for all this “fanciness” but right now your “mission if you choose to accept it” is to keep your costs low and create value first where it can be perceived and rewarded.  

Dear fashion ‘preneur 

We have gotten things twisted for way too long. Keep your standards international and your focus local and not the other way around. The quality of your clothes, your service, your fit, your finishing and your designs must be as close to international best practices as you can afford but focus delivering this first to your local market even if your vision is international. Seven years ago I had an opportunity to pitch my business to a group of angel investors based in the UK. After my pitch I got a standing ovation and one of them gave me feedback that changed my thinking forever. “Tomi you are ready for the international market” but go back home because that is where the big opportunities are” before I could interrupt him with arguments to convince him that selling in Selfridges was my destiny he quipped “ besides we are watching the local players keenly….don’t mess with your local business” . I’ve since heard many great international players reiterate this. Your route to the international market is local. So please go ahead and aim high , strut your pieces on as many runways as you can but remember that the true test of a great brand is the endorsement from its local market.

Dear fashion ‘preneur 

There was so much fuss over the Stella McCartney Ankara Dress sold at Harrods . So much fuss about the price tag. I honestly couldn’t understand the fuss. Did we all just choose to ignore the 2 monster brands represented in that post? Stella McCartney and Harrods !!!! You do know that’s what really influenced the price not the fabric or the design. Yes I know your designer can put together a nicer dress, complete with all the bells and whistles, embellishments and trimmings but she ain’t Stella McCartney and her dress ain’t sold at Harrods. That is the power of a mega brand. It’s not the commodity, it’s what it represents. Building a brand takes time and consistency….it’s not enough to throw money on a big campaign and get all the celebrities to wear your dress…..that is great and is part of the journey but what is your brand saying consistently for 5years,10years,20years. That is branding. If you are in this for sustained success and want to really get paid the big bucks… start building a brand today….warning….it takes time.

Dear fashion ‘preneur 

How does it make her feel?, where does she wear it to? how does it make her look? and can she afford it? These are just 4 of the questions my team must answer before a design is approved and released. We ask an average of 12 questions and a design must pass at least 10 of them. The question “how original is this design?” Is no.12 so whilst most of our designs score a pass on this question not all of them make the cut, why? Because  if a design is not considered functional by my customer it’s what we call a “museum piece” good to be admired and even appreciated but not to be worn or purchased….we are here for the purchase. Make pieces that are relevant to the lives of your customers not just pretty to look at ….if you want to make money that is.

Dear fashion ‘preneur 

It doesn’t matter where you are in the price spectrum. You could have a vision to be a mass market brand like Primark selling basic high street fashion at discounted prices or a luxury brand like Channel selling high-end products at justifiably high price points , whatever your vision, you are selling to people and these people need to find your brand accessible. The more of your target market can reach you when your product category comes to mind the more sales you can make. Don’t be so exclusive that even your ideal client finds it difficult to buy from you. 

  Dear Fashion ‘preneur 

So we are trying to think fashion retailing and not just fashion designing. We now know that fashion retail is all about the numbers i.e how many people can you get to buy your pieces. While we love our regular loyal faithful customers we must also deliberately expand our networks to include new markets. New markets stretch the life span of your winning designs . New markets must be at the heart of your strategy to hit those winning numbers. DVF did not sell 10million wrap dresses by selling to the same set of people. Find new markets. Don’t kill a bestseller prematurely because 5 people have bought it .

Dear fashion ‘preneur 

I don’t joke with quality. My designs must be wearable both inside and out. We have a rule Xclamations , if we can’t make it well then we don’t make it at all. So don’t think this is me giving you permission to deliver crappy work. Quality must be assumed, it is the foundation upon which everything else is built. Now that you have gotten your standards up let’s work at making some money. Fashion retail is a NUMBERS game. A bestseller is not measured by how quickly you sold out but by how many you sold. If you create a design that can only be sold to 5 people before it sells out and cannot be made again…. you are not a retailer. A winning design is a gift to the world, it’s your meal ticket. You have a right to maximize it, stretch it and make money doing it.

“Do what you love and you never have to work a day in your life” This quote is the creative entrepreneurs mantra. But I think it is such an unbalanced truth. It doesn’t matter if you love what you do. It is still WORK and you need a break even from great, fun , satisfying work. I am so guilty of this. I tease that I don’t know how to rest….but it’s not funny. Recently I developed a dry skin condition I couldn’t manage. My face was flaking badly and when I finally made my way to the dermatologist he said the only known cause of the condition was stress. I didn’t think I was particularly stressed…but I was joggling so much and because I truly enjoy what I do, I didn’t notice the toll it was taking on my body and my mind. Waking up at 3am everyday just to get some more hours of work in, sleeping late to steal some me time which really is me working some more, people ask me how I get to do all I do…its simple ,I simply don’t rest. I’m changing that.

Dear creative entrepreneur you need to switch that over active mind OFF. A wise friend of mine once said to me “Tomi watch some mindless tv” I did just that and that was the best advice for that moment. But seriously work is work fun or not. I don’t care if it is your calling, your ministry or your destiny…a creative mind only knows how to give 100% so you have to force yourself into rest mode before you are reminded that even though your are creative genius you are still only human.

 Resist the urge to be a loner even though you love your own company. I am most certainly guilty of the loner syndrome. Give me a room, soft music, a pen and a sketch pad and I can be in there for days totally content. Throw in WiFi and you literally have to break the door down to get me out . This is not admirable and more importantly it’s not healthy behaviour. We are social beings, being social is not only recommended, being anti social is dangerous. For the creative mind it’s lethal. We need to share our thoughts with a trusted circle, we need people to support our dreams and our minds. We need to support each other and share our war stories. I have friends I connect with constantly who listen to me when I vent and also who lean on me when they are vulnerable. This support system means a lot to me and has helped me through many dark times.

Sometimes the creative mind can also create scenarios so vivid in your head it cripples you before you even take a step. Scenarios that are completely unfounded and rooted in fear. Sharing your fears with a friend, a trusted friend, a solid friend can restore hope to a creative mind and HOPE is the principle thing. Hopelessness is the root cause of SUICIDE.

 Not every body has the privilege of earning a living from their creativity but that doesn’t make you less a creative. Working your gift is like breathing, you need it to connect with yourself and to feed your joy. So are you a banker who is really a dancer at heart? Join a dance class or start a dance group or find a way to include dancing in your life….OFTEN. I don’t believe every gift must be monetized so don’t feel pressured to be a professional dancer or worst still go into a self sabotaging mode of thinking you can’t dance anymore because you are too old to. Some gifts are just for you to enjoy and when you enjoy your life you inevitably touch more lives. 

Then we have those of us who are creative entrepreneurs. Business is commerce and every creative knows commerce and creativity are not always in sync. Commerce is guided by what the consumers want, creativity is selfish… it’s all about YOU. So even as a creative entrepreneur find another platform that is non profit, that is all about expressing your gift, undiluted you!!! I don’t care how much money you make, you NEED this. For me it’s writing. When I am tired I write, when I am overwhelmed I write, I have been writing since I was 9years old and it’s my creative outlet… it keeps me sane. Find your own safe place, not hindered by the pressures and demands business puts on your gift. Find it fast and then go there often.