Jane Hamill | Podcast

Sustainable fabrics, social impact, living in Bangladesh, consumer awareness in fashion, hand-woven textiles, small quantities BUT with the ability to scale production yardage... wow. Just wow.

My guest today is Jackie Corlett from Motif Handmade.

Jackie tells us about a whole new way of sourcing fabrics, and she allows designers to actually design the very fabric you want and need from scratch with zero waste yarns, zero carbon production. So you know you're launching with the most ethically sourced and eco friendly fabrics available. She's going to dive into what is possible for even small quantities, for designers to get the types of fabrics they are dreaming of. Hand woven people!! 

You'll want to see the visuals that go with this episode. 

Visuals, links, and show notes:
https://fashionbrainacademy.com/motif/

The Barbie movie is taking over the world. Have you seen it yet?

Back in 2006, I did an essay about Barbie for NPR's This I Believe series, titled A Grown-Up Barbie. 

Like many girls, I learned to sew so I could make clothes for my Barbie. The essay is about how the blond-haired, blue eyed Malibu Barbie affected my red-haired, freckled self -- and my career as a fashion designer.

An excerpt: "I consider myself a feminist and I feel like a moron admitting it, but it's true: I believe in Barbie.

For me, as a kid, Barbie was about cool clothes, a cool job, cool friends and cool accessories: the airplane, the apartment building and the camper. I learned to sew so I could make outfits for Barbie and her friends, who took turns being the airplane pilot, the doctor, the fashion designer. Barbie was never about Ken. He was always a little dusty and in the corner."

Show Notes & Links: 
https://fashionbrainacademy.com/barbie/

The original NPR essay recording: 
https://www.npr.org/2006/05/22/5419659/a-grown-up-barbie

This I Believe book: 
https://thisibelieve.org/store/this-i-believe-paperback/

My guest today is SO HONEST about the struggles of his first clothing line and what he's doing differently the second time around. 

Grant Janke is a former network engineer who hated his job and decided one day to quit to start a business - even though he didn't have a clue what business it would be. He's currently working on his second clothing business -- this one in the mountain bike apparel niche, called El Roo Bike.

Grant shares his failures, struggles, and the ways he thought things would go. 

• "I spent all this money trying to develop this artwork for these stupid damn t shirts and no one liked them."
• I had to have the perfect pattern. I had to have the perfect material. I had to have the perfect artwork. I had to have the perfect this... 
• Meanwhile,months are going by, and I'm not making any progress. I was stuck in that concept phase and the dollars just keep going and going and going.
• I was totally of the "build it and they will come" mentality. Which did not happen. I had no customers. 
• Week one, I was dead in the water and couldn't run any ads. I'm serious, my ads ran on Facebook for like, a day.
  
• I'm still in the stumble phase, but the stumbles are getting easier to recover from.

Show Notes and Links: 
https://fashionbrainacademy.com/grant/

El Roo website: 
https://elroo.bike/

Want to make today your make BETCH?! Seriously - I've been testing out a new morning routine and I gotta tell ya… I might look the same… but I am a completely 100% it’s-a-flippin’-miracle new person. This is working GREAT for me and I’m getting so much more accomplished. 

I’ve tweaked my SIMPLE morning routine so I now have time & focus for my most important work -- and then time for meditation, exercise, and self-care — totally guilt free!

xo - Jane

Credit: This morning routine is something I learned from @realcraigballantyne but in all honesty, I didn’t read his book (though I bought it). I watched a few of his videos, and the "work first" part of what I’m doing is a version of what he teaches.

https://fashionbrainacademy.com

I have a habit of ordering books online and promptly NOT reading them. I want to read them, I plan on it, but I don't always do it. 

The 5 books I recommend in this episode I have read cover to cover and I believe every clothing, fashion, or acccessories designer would benefit from.

• 1 that's just for fun -- for anyone who loves fashion and/or old-school NYC stories (I've given it to dozens of clients over the years)

• 2 for sewn product expertise, manufacturing truths & resources

• 1 that's an HONEST journey of a very successful designer and the BS she had to put up wit

• And the last one is for every entrepreneurs on the planet. This one will save you a crapload of frustration - especially for those of us designer/maker types. 

Links to all books back on the blog: 
https://fashionbrainacademy.com/5books1

Our best selling course: Create a profitable clothing or accessoreis line -
https://fashionbrainacademy.com/launch/

Today we cover what NOT to do with your clothing, accessories, or jewelry business. There's so much advice out there about starting a growing a fashion business and a lot of it is outdated and unrealistic. 

We discuss: 

• are fashion shows a waste of time and money or good for getting exposure?
• designing for seasons & sticking to a fashion calendar
• how some fashion designers are actually planning for your products to become obsolete quickly
• creating full fashion collections vs. dropping new products when you want to
• professional, slick photoshoots vs. user generated content & customer pics
• carrying inventory and finding customers to buy it

**This topic was inspired by Steve Chou of "My Wife Quit Her Job" and his episode about Outdated Ecommerce Tips. Thanks, Steve!

In this episode, I share 5 things I did right with my clothing line and 5 things I did wrong. 

I made so many mistakes, and yet my business was still profitable. I'm quite embarrassed about some of the things I reveal in this episode but my goal is to be really honest with you, so here goes. 

In this episode: 

• The embarrassing mantra I posted on my fridge for all to see
• No safety net and no plan B - a good thing or a bad thing?
• Selling to upper middle class white chicks (with hella body issues) and how they differ from other groups of women 
• Losing focus, copying others (*cringe), and needing help I refused to ask for
• If I started over again today, what I'd definitely NOT do

In our best-selling online class, you can learn how to set up a profitable clothing or accessories buisness: 

https://fashionbrainacademy.com/launch/

Show Notes & Links: 

https://fashionbrainacademy.com/why/

Why do so many creative entrepreneurs struggle to sell their products? When I first started my clothing line, I really did think that people would just FIND me and my products. If the product is good, people will notice, right? Bwaaahaaaahaaaa. 

Selling often FEELS hard but it doesn't have to. Today you'll learn 2 simple things you can start doing immediately to make selling ten times easier. 

The course mentioned for apparel and accessories designers: 
https://fashionbrainacademy.com/launch

Show Notes: 
https://fashionbrainacademy.com/hard/

Want some quick sales? Here are 5 things you can do right away to get some $$. 

Many of us work last-minute so if you've put off planing your promotions, this is for you. I taped it with Memorial Day weekend in mind but most of these marketing & sales tactics can be used any time.

LMK which one of these 5 your choose! I LOVE hearing from you.

• @janehamillchi
• brain@fashionbrainacademy.com

Show Notes & Links: 
https://fashionbrainacademy.com/5waysweekend

I was walking with a friend who owns her a business and she asked me...

"Should I hire a business coach?"

I make my living coching & teaching creative entrepreneurs how to sell more products online. You'd think my immediate answer would be an immediate yes.

It wasn't. 

Instead, I told her why I just hired a new business coach for myself with the hopes that my 3 reasons could help her decide if a coach is something she wants right now. 

Will a coach help her make more money? Feel less like the lonely entrepreneur? Make a plan and stick to it? Let's unpack it...

Show notes:

https://fashionbrainacademy.com/business-coach

How often should I send emails to my list?

I get this question ALL THE TIME. There are so many different answers that it will make your head explode.

Today, I'll give you an HONEST answers to this and other questions that I've gotten about emails.

Here’s what I cover…

• How often should I send emails to my list?
• What’s the best time to send an email? 
• Is buying an email list a good idea?
• Is there any real difference between a new email list and an older list?

Next week, I'll go over more of your questions about sending emails.

Get the show notes here: https://fashionbrainacademy.com/sendemails

You don't have to run your business like other people think you should. 

You don't have to do what the gurus say. 

You don't have to do it like your competition does.

Today's episode tells a story about when Johnny Earl first started his business, Johnny Cupcakes. He did something completely OPPOSITE of what 99% of other entrepreneyrs would have done.

It's a true story about what Johnny did, how it shocked retail buyers and changed the entire course of his business. It's a true inspiration.

Enjoy!

Jane

Mentioned in this episode:
Johnny Cupcakes, https://johnnycupcakes.com/

"How do I keep my business going while I deal with a life crisis?" 

There are times in your life when you have SO much happening in your personal life that you just need to do the minimum at work. Just do whatever it takes to keep the business going while you handle all the other stuff.

We all go through periods where the business has to take a back seat.

In fact, I'm going through some personal stuff right now and this prompted me to think about a few things...

• What are the things that absolutely need to get done while I take care of these personal challenges?
• How can I keep everything going in the business so there's a business to go back to when this crisis ends?

Find out strategies to keep the business alive when life gets messy or even if you just want to reduce the amount of time you work.

Get the show notes: https://fashionbrainacademy.com/bareminimum/

• "My business looks good on paper but it's killing me."
• "I feel like I'm missing something important for my business that everyone else seems to know."
• "I've totally lost track of my ideal customer and how to speak to them."
• "At this stage of my business, I'm still working way too hard to be making this little money."

If this sounds like you, you're probably in the "Messy Middle". You're not a newbie filled with excitement and adrenaline - but not yet at the stage where you have a reliable team and layers of people handling certain tasks for you. 

The Messy Middle. If you're slogging through your days chasing sales and feeling exhausted, there's a better way. I promise.

This episode will help you. 

Link to Jane's calendar to discuss private coaching:
https://fashionbrainacademy.com/calendar/

Show Notes: 
https://fashionbrainacademy.com/middle/

Get the Costing & Pricing Template now. Use code: PODCAST to snag it for 10 bucks.

In this episode, I give you my EXACT pricing formula. The exact markups I recommend. 👀

Today is part 2 of Costing & Pricing your product. If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, click here to get it. 

You'll learn 

• the EXACT markup & pricing formula for fashion, accessories, and jewelry products that I've used for 20+ years
• what you goes in your cost sheet and what to leave out 
• the story of the pricing mistake I made that almost put me out of business
• how pricing fear can mess up your business and how to handle it

DISCLAIMER: What I go over today are guidelines, not rules. In all honesty, there's a reason I haven't released my exact pricing formula on the podcast before. And that's because there are a lot of variables about what markup is right for you and your brand.

Each business is unique and each product is unique. That said, you need to start with something and sincerely hope the details & numbers started in this episode guide you to better and more profitable pricing decisions.

I really could have used an honest episode like this before I started. 😃 

xo - Jane Hamill

Get the Cost Sheet TEMPLATE + workshop for $10 (use code: PODCAST):
https://fashionbrainacademy.com/costsheet

Show notes:
https://fashionbrainacademy.com/costingsheet2/

• You may be using a cost sheet you got on Etsy with wacky margins
• You could be fudging your numbers (like I did) because you don't want to deal with the painful truth
• You might even be undercharging based on fear that no one will buy.

Today you’ll get the CURE for “I don’t have enough time.”

There’s a simple hack that’s working very well for me and I tested it with 20 clients who are LOVING it. It’s a life-changing, confidence-boosting, productivity-crushing hack that anyone can do starting immediately.

Try it. It will take you 60 seconds. 

Show Notes and Links: 

https://fashionbrainacademy.com/

Download the Content & Promotions template that goes with this episode at this link:
https://fashionbrainacademy.com/promotions

If you're agonizing over "what to post" and falling into the popularity contest that is social media, this episode is for you.

I'll give you my SIMPLE content & promos calendar and teach you exactly why creating a content and promotions calendar (that you can actually stick to) seems so hard and the CURE -- to save you loads of time and to make you loads of money.

Not joking actually. This system is magic for my VIP clients and now you can do it too.

This episode is a clip from a LIVE class I taught this week. I'll make the entire training available to you in the next few days for free. Stay tuned!

Download the Content & Promotions Calendar template here. 

You do NOT need to be on the hamster wheel of content creation. There’s an easier way and it focuses on just TWO pieces of content designed to attract your ideal customers.

Even better, you probably already have this content created and can use it immediately to make your life easier.

Take our 4 question survey, pretty please:

https://fashionbrainacademy.com/survey/

Show Notes & Links: 

https://fashionbrainacademy.com/notime

Ever wish you could be INSIDE the head of your customer? Today you'll learn a quick & dirty way to find out what they want.

If you know what they want, you can serve them better, right? And serving them better means you can make more money. Evveryone's happy.

Take our 30-Second Survey for Entrepreneurs: 
https://bit.ly/laserFBA

Show Notes & Links: 
www.fashionbrainacademy.com/survey