Networking For Introverts: Expert Tips from An Extrovert

So you want to sell your fashion brand online, do you?

You’ve got the brand vision, your designs are in the works, and now it’s time to build that website so you can start selling online. Just add your logo, a quick About page, a few images of your soon to be styles, and watch the sales start rolling in. It’s that easy, right?

Wrong!

There’s so much to think about before you even start building your website or selling your fashion brand and designs online. If you want to reach your dream customers and maximize your sales potential there are a few key elements to consider before you take any additional steps (or any further financial investment) forward. Whether you decide to DIY your website yourself or with the help of a professional, you won’t want to miss this episode. 

I’m chatting with Laura Huebner - Founder of Dotted Design, a brand and website graphic design studio for small businesses and creative entrepreneurs. Passionate about helping brands create branding & web design to make their businesses thrive, Laura believes in simplicity, sophistication, and storytelling to help her client’s connect with their ideal audience. She has been designing for more than ten years and has worked with many fashion businesses, helping them to create e-commerce sites that both share their brand stories and always with the end customer and experience in mind. 

Laura is talking about a few of her absolute must do’s that every Designer CEO & fashion brand needs to consider before launching your very own e-commerce site. She’s sharing her expertise and tons of tips and recommendations just for Designer CEOS to make the most of your site before you even begin to build it. Join us for today’s episode, "5 Things You Must Do Before Selling Online with Laura Huebner".

Is your fashion brand ready to not just survive this holiday season, but thrive? 

Is your inventory prepped to drive those sales while still maintaining a healthy profit margin?    

We are quickly approaching the holiday timeframe and all the craziness that comes with it. You’ve been planning your marketing and advertising strategies for weeks, have got your e-commerce site all ready to go, and are laser focused on delivering the best customer service to drive those sales. You’ve got a full plan in place and are ready for those fantastic seasonal sales lifts... fast forward to the first week of December and you suddenly realize that you are running out of stock on some of your best selling styles and won’t be able to get back into them until after the holidays. Now you have to quickly revamp your marketing over the next few weeks bc you featured the styles you are running out of, you have a handful of orders you can’t fulfill and a bunch of disappointed customers, AND you just realized that you probably won’t make your holiday sales goals. 

Sounds like a nightmare doesn’t it?

Well the good news is that this scenario is all absolutely avoidable with a bit of inventory strategy. It may not be the sexiest topic but it is definitely one of the most important and relevant topics for your fashion business as we approach the holiday season. 

So I’m talking all about inventory management - sharing why inventory management is so important to your business, exactly what you need to do to prep your inventory to ensure you have what you need for the upcoming holiday season, tips for finding that “sweet spot” with your inventory, and how to make sure that your inventory is ready to both drive sales AND maintain a healthy profit margin in this episode, “How To Prep Your Fashion Brand’s Inventory For The Holiday Season”.

Are you blogging yet for your fashion brand?

A blog strategy is one of the best ways to create brand awareness and in time will generate sales for your fashion business. Blogging increases your search engine optimization, improves conversion rates, and supports content through additional channels like your social media or email strategy. 

Not to mention it also humanizes your fashion brand, is a fantastic strategy to niche down and reach your dream customer, and strengthens your relationships with new and returning customers.

In fact did you know??

• Companies who blog receive 97% more links to their website.
• 95.9% of bloggers promote their blog posts via social media.
• 57% of marketers say they’ve gained customers specifically through blogging.
• 60% of consumers feel engaged/positive with a brand or company after reading custom content on their blog

Often the hesitancy to commit to “another” thing as a Designer CEO and independent brand owner can feel overwhelming but it doesn’t have to be. 

This week’s episode I’m chatting with Kristin George - Founder of Dotted Comma, a copywriting and content specializing in creating connections and co founder of The Edit Effect, tools to help small businesses simplify content, copy planning, and creation. 

She is a professional copywriter whose niche is working with female owned small businesses and is a big believer in the power of blogging for fashion businesses. 

We are talking all about all things blogging including why it’s one of the best marketing strategies out there for fashion brands, why you should consider blogging for your fashion business, how to create a blog strategy that will resonate with your dream customers, where to promote your blog to create brand awareness, and tons of tips for getting your blog started. Join us for this episode, “Blogging for Beginners - For Fashion Brands, with Kristin George”.

It may seem like the fall season is just getting started, but that means the holidays are quickly approaching.  

Are you and your fashion brand ready for the holidays? 

Do you have a strategy and plan in place to fully maximize all your sales and profits? 

Have you created a product, merchandising, and marketing strategy that will make your brand standout amongst ALL the competition? 

How will you make this holiday your best yet?

The upcoming months are very significant for many fashion brands and are often the difference between making or breaking annual numbers and sales goals. In fact, depending on your brand niche, the holiday timeframe could represent approximately 20-30% of sales for many brand owners, and this year will be no exception. 

With so much at stake, it’s no surprise that the holidays are often a very stressful time for many Designer CEOs. But the holidays don’t have to be overwhelming or anxiety inducing -- IF you begin before things get too crazy and hectic. Instead of missing out on potential sales because you’re scrambling to keep up, set yourself up for success by getting your brand in order and ready for the holiday timeframe NOW. 

It’s time to make sure you have strategies in place to not just survive the holiday but THRIVE during this crucial time of year. With a bit of planning and strategy, you’ll be organized and ready just in time to start seeing those orders rolling in and make this holiday your best season yet. 

I’m sharing a holiday roundup or my final must-do’s, along with a few creative ideas that you can still implement before the holidays are here to make sure you are primed and ready for your best season yet in today’s episode, “How to be Holiday Ready - For Fashion Brands”.

Not sure how to get started with your fashion brand’s business plan? 

Or scarier yet securing that financing or a business loan? (gulp)

On today’s episode I’m chatting with Bako Rambini  - former finance expert turned fashion brand strategist and Founder of Fashion Cross Functional. She’s an entrepreneur, an author, a lecturer, and truly passionate about fashion and brands. 

Bako and I met on where else but Instagram and quickly connected. We planned our first international chat (from Milwaukee to Paris -- thank you Zoom!), during which we quickly realized our many common business philosophies as well as our shared love of helping entrepreneurs successfully launch and grow their fashion brands. 

After working in the finance and banking industries, Bako knows what it takes to write a strong business plan for your fashion brand and the significance it has on your business’s future partnerships and success. Her experience offers a unique perspective and understanding of what bankers and investors are looking for when they consider funding and loans for fashion brand and she has in-depth knowledge of what you can expect as you prepare for your upcoming meeting. Between her expertise of the banking industry and her passion for fashion she knows how to bridge the gap between Designer CEOs and financiers. 

Join Bako and I as we break down the “myth of numbers” for Designer CEOs and how to overcome those fears that often come with “facts and figures”, share the importance of having a business plan and how to get started creating your very own, and pull back the curtain on what you need to know about securing financing for your fashion business in this episode, “Business Loan Basics for Fashion Brands”.

Do you trust yourself to make good decisions for your fashion business? 

Are you confident in all the decisions you make each and every day? 

Yes, of course you are trying to make the best decision possible for your fashion business and its growth. You’ve been dreaming about your business since what feels like forever, you’ve invested time and money into your fashion brand, and you want it to work. You believe in your brand and know that you are doing your very best to make great decisions for your business, but every so often you hear THAT voice. 

You know what I mean...that nagging voice in your head that challenges the decisions you are making for your brand. From the designs of your upcoming collections, you next big marketing campaign, or future business investments that you JUST KNOW will lead to more sales growth - you hear it. Sometimes it’s a faint murmur and other times it seems like it’s shouting at you - double guessing your decisions and causing endless self-doubt.  

It’s a constant struggle to know if you’ve made the right decision for your fashion brand and business and why wouldn’t it be? As a startup fashion brand, and often a one person show, the expectation to know - and perfect - every area of your business is a lot of pressure for anyone to take on and it often feels overwhelming

So what do you do when that self-doubt really starts taking its toll and makes it difficult to manage your fashion brand effectively like the Designer CEO you know you are? How do you get back to leading like a boss when it breaks down your confidence and your ability to trust yourself?

Join me today for a little real talk about what it means to trust yourself, why so many fashionpreneurs struggle with self-doubt, and tips to get back on track to lead with confidence in today’s episode, “Trusting Yourself To Know What's Right For Your Fashion Business”.  

I’m so excited to be chatting with Sara Meadows - Founder of Match Point Consultants, a copywriting and content strategy boutique and co founder of The Edit Effect, which are tools to help small businesses simplify content, copy planning, and creation. 

For 17 years, Sara has teamed up with businesses to create copy that drives action and awareness. From marketing to internal communications to public relations, she has tons of experience to turn ideas into words that make an impact. She’s worked with large Fortune 500 businesses, helping them cut through the clutter as well as small businesses make their debut. 

She is passionate about helping other female entrepreneurs grow their businesses and after working with small business owners, and being one herself, she was inspired her to launch her newest business partnership - The Edit Effect. Entrepreneurs have limited resources and busy family lives and The Edit Effect offers tools to help you plan, create and simplify your content and copy, with the foundational belief that less can actually be more and quality is always better than quantity.

Sara and I met over the summer and quickly realized that not only do we share a name and live in the same neighborhood but we both love helping small business owners bring their visions to life. Sara’s robust experience in communications, marketing, and social media is bar none and I was absolutely delighted when she agreed to be a guest on The Designer CEO Podcast and share her perspective and business tips specifically for Designer CEOs. 

Join us as Sara shares advice for creating your content strategy, the most common mistakes she sees fashion brands making as they are just getting started, time management tips so content planning doesn’t take over your life, and the important role YOU play in sharing the story of your brand in this episode “Getting Started With Your Content Strategy with Sara Meadows".

This episode I am chatting with fellow ladypreneur, nature lover, and spirited soul - Katherine Gramann - Designer CEO of Lake Effect Co.

Katherine and I met about a year and a half ago and we quickly connected over our mutual love of retail and the great outdoors. As she told me Lake Effect Co. and her own entrepreneurial journey of where the brand has been and where she hopes to take it I was struck by how she weaves her passion for lake living into her brand, creating a community and authentic customer connections. 

After growing up in the Lake Country area, just 30 miles west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Katherine successfully launched her very own lifestyle brand Lake Effect Co. - a retail brand and blog that encourages you to connect with the beauty and adventure of nature, through time by the water. Lake Effect Co. is not only where to buy items that embody your lake life love, it's also a community to connect with others who feel similarly through their blog, social channels, and in-person events.

Katherine is the epitome and manifestation of her brand. She lives and breathes for lake living and has created a brand where she is often her own core customer. She follows her intuition and own experiences to develop creative and relevant brand strategies including seasonal pop up shops and other curated events that will not only resonate with her customer base but also continue to deepen her connection to her customers. 

Join Katherine and I as she shares her journey and experiences as an entrepreneur, how she listens to her intuition to make strategic decisions, and fearlessly forges new opportunities as she leads her brand like a boss in today’s episode: “Building A Fashion Brand Based in Passion & Intuition with Katherine Gramann, Designer CEO of Lake Effect Co.”

Imagine with me for a moment...

You are surrounded by complete strangers in a room where everyone seems to know everyone else, chatting merrily and exchanging business cards. You however, are clinging to the bar taking in your surroundings and people watching, studying each of the different cliques starting to form and hedging your bets on where you may best fit in. As time ticks by (and all your networking opportunities) you find yourself hoping that some kind extraverted soul takes pity on you and comes over to chat while simultaneously wishing you were ANYWHERE else but here. You’ve finally worked up the nerve and unclench your hands from the bar as you walk over and attempt to introduce yourself to the group of strangers you’ve been watching for the past 20 minutes. 

As you stand there barely eking out your name, business, and short elevator pitch, you suddenly feel all those sets of eyes staring at you and go red in the face. You fall silent as you begin to worry about your next attempt at the perfect professional, engaging, or witty comment. You listen to the group as they chat with each other for a few minutes and end up silently ghosting the discussion, heading back to the bar for a bit of recovery. The process repeats 3 or 4 more times (on a good day) as networking slowly sucks the life out of you and every single interaction leads zaps energy until you’ve had enough and head home. 

If you are an introvert, you know the unspeakable horror of of networking. What seems like an innocent evening of meeting new people and simple conversation suddenly becomes a painful and torturous ordeal. There’s a different set of rules for introverts if you want to make the most of networking. I’ve gotten much better at playing the game but it’s taken me a long time to learn how to effectively network as an introvert. 

Much of my own networking success was from fantastic advice and tips from my podcast producer Doug Howard. He is a master of networking, genuinely loves people, and is a true extrovert in every sense of the word…but his advice to introverts isn’t what you’d expect. 

Join us as we discuss the differences between networking styles, tips specifically for introverts, and how you can use your strengths to make the most of your networking experiences. So stay tuned for my interview with “introvert whisperer” Doug Howard on this episode - Networking For Introverts: Expert Tips from An Extrovert.

Have you ever received unsolicited feedback or criticism about your fashion brand or collection?…. 

 Maybe it was from a customer sharing how the style they purchased wasn’t exactly what they were hoping for and that they wished X,Y, & Z could be incorporated because THAT would make it absolutely perfect.

Or it was a wholesale or retail buyer comparing your line to another brand’s and commenting that if you would just make all these few changes to your recent collection, it would definitely sell better. 

It could be your best friend talking about their favorite styles for the upcoming season and encouraging you to create a few trendier pieces in next collection drop. 

After you received feedback from them what were you left thinking? Did it make you question your most recent strategy or upcoming collection? Or even worse - your overall design direction or brand itself? 

Being the head decision maker as a Designer CEO isn’t always the easiest and working alone can lead to questioning and self doubt. You’ve got lots of opinions coming from every direction and it’s your responsibility to determine which ones are valid and will benefit your business versus those that are unmerited and may actually damage your brand or business. Knowing when to listen to your commentators and how to find balance for your future strategies and business will ensure that you are making the BEST decisions for you and your brand. 

In this episode I’m sharing my own personal experiences and challenges with managing unsolicited feedback, the key contention points you need to be considering before making any significant business decisions, and what to always keep in mind when determining your next strategic move to determine if you should listen to your commentators or stay the course in this episode, “When to Take Customer Feedback”.