For generations we’ve been told a degree is necessary to start the fashion business of our dreams.

However countless numbers of big name designers including Cristobal Balenciaga, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons became INSANELY SUCCESSFUL without a degree!

Every year thousands of fashion graduates get a degree from the outdated education system and clearly most won’t be successful.

So, is it REALLY worth spending 4 to 5 years getting a degree if you have nothing but debt to show for it and no understanding of how the fast changing fashion business is working NOW?

No-one comes out of the womb with all the skills and knowledge you need to be successful so of course you DO NEED education….  If you can afford the time and money to get a degree then yes do get it!!....    But if not then isn’t it more important to focus your VALUABLE time & energy on gaining the SPECIFIC up-to-date skills and education about what you are most passionate about… 

..  And if running your own...

If you have a burning desire to create sustainable hand crafted unique products but are still procrastinating about starting your fashion business or if you have started but can’t make a profit…..then you’re more than likely, what I like to call a Floundering Fashion Designer 😜.

If you are a Floundering Fashion Designer then you more than likely are doing one of these three things:

• NOT MAKING A DECISION about which business model to start, who your customers will be and at what price points.
• You have a business model in mind but are not sure if customers will pay high prices points for your unique EXQUISITELY created artisanal products…because they can buy it Primark for £2 and your manufacturer quoted you £80 JUST TO SEW and embroider it!!!
• You have already started but UNDERPRICED your products that took hours of love, devotion, blood sweat and tears to create!

So, this indecision and fear keeps you:

• FLOUNDERING in procrastination, not getting across the starting line.   
...

You are more than likely suffering from Overdesign Syndrome if you've been struggling to sell your products for more than three months, have trouble manufacturing a wide variety of products  and you’re running out of money.   

It could mean that you are failing to EDIT your collection succinctly enough.   You might be trying to get every single one of your great ideas noticed in just one collection and its confusing your audience.....   And we all know that a confused customer never buys!!...      Or maybe you're unsure what will sell so you give them everything….. but designing “everything” is keeping you broke!!

What you really need to do is FOCUS on a specific product range and strategically edit it to a final range of designs you know will sell and is as cost effective to produce as possible.

Have you ever wondered how brands like Prada, Loewe or Gucci can make 100 piece collections repeatedly several times a year, scaling into the millions?...

... Yes, I know t...

If you’ve been THINKING about starting your fashion business for three months or more without taking any action it could be because you don’t want to waste time or money producing the wrong products.  

Perhaps you’re worried that all of your ideas, so far, might not be original enough to sell…..  and you want to create a really ORIGINAL brand that goes VIRAL!

Well I’m about to give you a method that’s going to help you find the best concept and most original product for your fashion business so that you can stop procrastinating and FINALLY get started!!!

You see the biggest mistake I see most designers making is that they think they have to create a huge range of designs and they don’t focus enough on any SPECIFIC original product that would best suit the personality, lifestyle, finances and resources of themselves and their customers.  Its a bit like throwing all your darts at a dart board blind-folded and just hoping that one will hit the bulls-eye!

Unless you have a ...

I’ve had lots of requests to repeat the three day training event “Manifestation of the New-Age Fashion Entrepreneur”, so I have edited about 4 hours of content into this teeny micro training:

In “Manifestation of the New Age Fashion Entrepreneur” I talked about how a Fashion Launch Formula is the most effective way to start a fashion brand in the 2020’s and here I’m going to show you how:

The 3X Fashion Launch Formula consists of three key areas:   

STEP 1 MANIFEST

The first step to becoming a successful New-Age Fashion Entrepreneur that’s making a very good living doing what you love and living the best life for you and the planet, is MANIFEST: 

1. Before you dive into making all those ground-breaking ideas that are jumping around in your brain you firstly need to develop the MIND of a fashion entrepreneur.    I have a unique methodology to help you do this which I'll talk more about at my next free event...  so for now just believe that you CAN do this!    
2. Get cle...

In the fashion industry it’s common for new businesses to be financed solely by their owners and develop organically.   Bootstrapping is the term used to describe the challenge of financing your startup without relying on outside funding and instead relying only on existing resources such as personal savings, materials equipment and workspace.

It's what I recommend to clients and students going through the Fashion Entrepreneurs 3 X Launch Formula and in my experience that's what I recommend for most people unless of course you already have someone ready to invest and they are willing to wait a while to receive a return on their investment.

There are many reasons why I recommend this:

• If you obtain funding too early your investor might not be aware how long it can take a fashion business to become profitable and if they don’t see a return on their investment early on could pull out.  
• In the early stages you need some time and creative space to build your customer base an...

YOUR FASHION BUSINESS REQUIRES YOUR MIND BEFORE YOU GIVE IT YOUR MONEY!

Throwing a rich sauce over tough chewy chicken won’t improve the chicken…

…And it’s the same in your fashion biz.   Just throwing money at your business only MASKS the problems.

Instead, successful fashion designers plan strategically with a launch formula.   They know the best areas to spend money that will move their business forward.

Look, I get why you might think that you need a huge investment.  In the past you had to produce large 40 piece collections for wholesale buyers to take you seriously.  You also had to pay for large studio & showroom space….

...But what most people don’t realise is that TIMES HAVE CHANGED allowing you to start a fashion business with just a small budget.  In fact waiting to find that huge investment or backer could be preventing you from taking action and getting started!

In the Twenty Twenties you can work from a small space with some of your team working remotely.   You c...

CHARGING LESS FOR YOUR FASHION PRODUCTS IS THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL FASHION BRAND

If you have lots of unsold inventory I know how tempting it can be to lower your prices THINKING that it will increase sales….

But that could be the worst thing you can do to build your brand! 

I know it can be really disheartening when no one is buying....

But have you ever considered that if lowering prices meant increased revenue then all cheap garments would fly off the shelves and we all know that’s not the case!

Customers queue to buy £3000 Chanel handbags and bespoke Ferraris have a 5 year WAITLIST! ... Yet I’m sure you’ve seen all the images being circulated showing huge landfills of cheap clothing!

If you are lowering prices like the Floundering Fashion Designer then you’re probably burning yourself out working more hours, attracting the wrong customer and deterring those who ACTUALLY want the best, most expensive products…. Or, perhaps resorting to...

One of my students , a few weeks ago, came to me in a bit of a flounder.    She said there was no point designing anything because everything already exists and she felt it impossible to design anything unique.

She didn’t want to add yet more unwanted clothes to the worlds surplus….

….So it all just seemed pointless and she was about to give up!!!

Do you ever feel like that?

I'm sure it was just her brain finding excuses to keep her “safe” and prevent her going after her scary goals!!!

But nevertheless it got me thinking that technically she was right!!!    When it comes to clothing everything has already been done before!

But, as I said to my student, not designing and following your passion as a designer because the things you want to create have already been done is one of the worst things you can do if you’re trying to become a successful fashion designer

I completely understand why she would think that.  At uni design tutors told you everything had to be c...

Most fashion designers think that to grow a successful fashion business all you need are fantabulous unique designs, customer acquisition, sell as many products as you can and make great profits.

I understand why you think that….It’s what everyone told you: college tutors, business books, the marketing guru’s, your bank manager,  business advisors…!   We are conditioned to believe that business is all about the cold bottom line and that we have to focus only on the intellectual aspect of a sale....  But,  have you ever wondered why 60% of UK businesses that put blood sweat and tears into great products, sales and profits fail in their first three years.

Don’t get me wrong….you do need fabulous unique products, sales and profits to grow a successful fashion brand…..However what is very often missed is the EMOTIONAL CONNECTION.   Building strong emotional connections with both your customers and your team will form strong lasting relationships that keep your customers returning, ...