Thriving or Surviving, what is your business doing?
I am always networking and meeting new people in the fashion industry. Many of which are looking to become my client and work with me.
The other day I had a lovely conversation with a woman who started her fashion business a couple of years ago. While she was making money it was barely enough and she was barely surviving. In fact she wasn’t sure she should continue or perhaps give up and look for a job. The thing is she loved having her own business and didn’t want to get a job.
In this strange time of the Pandemic most people have a scarcity mindset. They don’t think that they can do well in this climate. But, actually, some businesses have grown during this time. In fact it is in times of bad economies like this that lots of companies see major growth.
This got me thinking about how many fashion brands are just surviving as opposed to kicking butt and thriving. Better yet, what weren’t they doing to ensure they would thrive? This is what I have learned over the years.
Companies that are just surviving live day to day, don’t look at the future and don’t develop strategies to grow their businesses. Many don’t even have goals and the goals they have are puny and aren’t big enough to generate excitement and drive. They are so busy just existing that they don’t see the forest for the trees.
Another problem I see is they don’t manage their business very well. They don’t know their numbers: sales, margins, inventory levels, cash flow, etc. There needs to be processes in place in order to have a well-organized business that runs efficiently. I like the phrase, “run a tight ship”. It embodies the principles that create growing businesses.
A challenge that entrepreneurs face is being distracted. They are busy doing busy work rather then staying focused on the work that drives their businesses forward. One of my favorite business books is E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. In his book he states, “Most entrepreneurs fail because they are working IN their business rather than ON their business”.
Probably one of the biggest issues I see is they do not spend enough time on sales and marketing. When I was speaking to the new business owner the other day she was shocked when I told her as a new business she needed to spend 80% of her time on marketing and when her business began to thrive she could reduce it to 30%. (Of course over time not all at once). The key thing to remember is always be marketing. Many people forget this and they struggle day to day.
When you look at companies like Target and Nike who are very successful you never see them resting on their laurels. They are always looking at ways to market their businesses.