By Glynis Tao
5
22 ratings
The podcast currently has 38 episodes available.
In this episode, RozeMerie Cuevas, fashion designer and founder of Jacqueline Conoir and JAC by Jacqueline Conoir, shares her experience and lessons learned from over three decades in the industry. From her first fashion show debut at a nightclub in Vancouver at age 18, to establishing her Vancouver-based brand in 1986 with just a small tight knit team, to eventually expanding into the Chinese market in 2013—RozeMerie credits teamwork, adaptability, and a tremendous amount of hands-on effort to make it all possible.
If you’re a fashion entrepreneur, this conversation will inspire you as you hear RozeMerie’s sound advice on how to create long-term success by building a strong brand DNA and making smart operational decisions.
About RozeMerie Cuevas
RozeMerie Cuevas is an icon in the Canadian fashion industry as the designer and founder behind two Canadian brands, Jacqueline Conoir and JAC by Jacqueline Conoir. Growing up, RozeMerie spent her teenage years sewing clothes for herself and for her friends but didn’t consider pursuing a career in fashion. She never thought of herself as a “designer”, but after her first fashion show at age 18 that impressed the attendees—RozeMerie realized that for her, being a fashion designer was possible and that she should go for it! Studying economics and commerce at the time, she decided to change course and apply for fashion school. Soon after, she packed her bags to attend the prestigious ESMOD School of Fashion in Paris.
Upon her return to Vancouver, RozeMerie created the women’s fashion brand, Jacqueline Conoir—the name in honor of her late mother. Over an impressive 36 year career, she has not only created and run successful brands but also received numerous design and influential women in business and business innovator awards in Canada.
In 2013, RozeMerie expanded into the Chinese market after a serendipitous meeting with a Chinese brand developer. That new partnership led to rapidly growing JAC to 100 stores in major cities in China within three years. By 2021, JAC further solidified its position by welcoming the founder of the Alfini Group as a key shareholder, enhancing its management, development, and operations. This strategic move aims to establish JAC as a leading international designer brand.
Contact info
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rozemerie-cuevas-72b3531b
Website: https://jacbyjc.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacbyjc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JACbyJC/
Takeaways
Believe in yourself and have a clear vision.
Establish a strong brand DNA to make yourself identifiable.
Create engaging experiences for your customers to create a strong customer base.
Respect and adapt to different cultures and business customs when entering new markets.
Focus on taking one step at a time when building and expanding a brand.
Empower your team and lead by example.
Summary
In this episode, Carol Shih, founder of Qode Space, a Shopify web development and creative agency, shares her journey and the ethos behind her business and community work. Her approachable and outgoing personality, combined with a deep understanding of the challenges and nuances of being an Asian female entrepreneur in tech, allows her to connect and uplift others who face similar challenges and experiences. Not only does Carol share valuable advice for e-commerce business owners, she also shares about the impact of creating meaningful connections, embracing one's identity, and openly giving and asking for help from peers in the industry and wise mentors. As she balances her professional goals with motherhood, Carol also shares her honest perspective around “wanting it all” and how certain aspects of American Westernized culture can create challenges for mom entrepreneurs.
About Carol Shih
Carol Shih is an Australian-Taiwanese immigrant and the founder of Qode Space, a female and minority-owned web development agency. With a focus on Quality, Community, Transparency, and Purpose, Carol is committed to fostering inclusivity in the tech industry for women and minority leaders. She aims to balance the industry by delivering outstanding and high-quality design development work for e-commerce business owners. Additionally, Carol serves as a senior partner for Major Asians, an organization dedicated to providing exclusive and unique branding strategies to the AAPI community.
Contact info
Website: https://qodespace.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karolz/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shihcarol/
Takeaways
Leaning on your network and mentors can provide valuable support and insights as a founder.
The vision and mission of a company should align with its core values and target audience.
Understanding customer behavior through data analysis is crucial for effective website development.
Avoid the common mistake of trying to replicate competitors without considering your own unique customer base. Using data and analytics is crucial for making informed creative and development decisions.
Balancing design aesthetics with conversion optimization is a challenge, but it's important to prioritize functionality and best practices for better conversion rates.
Having mentors and a supportive community is essential for overcoming entrepreneurial challenges.
American Westernized culture which tends to be more individualistic than other cultures can create challenges of isolation for mom entrepreneurs who think they have to do it all.
Qode Space aims to continue supporting e-commerce clients for web development as well as be an incubator for young females in tech, and support Asian-founded brands.
The A Major Asians podcast highlights and supports Asian-founded brands and aims to create a more inclusive community.
Chapters
00:00 Overcoming Challenges and Leaning on the Network
10:13 The Vision and Mission of Qode Space
15:26 The Common Mistake of Replicating Competitors
29:39 Using Data and Analytics to Inform Creative and Development Decisions
32:57 Balancing Design Aesthetics with Conversion Optimization
38:37 The Importance of Mentors and Community Support
43:53 Impact of American Westernized culture on mom entrepreneurs
46:40 Future vision for Qode Space
50:49 Major Asians: Highlighting and Supporting Asian-Founded Brands
Maggie Lord, founder of Rustic Wedding Chic, shares her journey of starting, scaling and selling her online publication while balancing motherhood. In this episode, you will learn about how Maggie started with blog writing and eventually worked with vendors in the wedding industry, diversified her revenue streams, and adopted new digital platforms to grow her audience, up until she sold the company to David’s Bridal. Maggie also talks about her current role as a strategic advisor to female-founded brands and shares her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
About Maggie Lord
Maggie Lord was an early pioneer in the online digital wedding media space, establishing her media company Rustic Wedding Chic in 2008. As a founder and CEO of Rustic Wedding Chic, Maggie led the company for 12 years before it was acquired by David’s Bridal in 2020. Maggie is also the author of six books. Today, Maggie has become a sought after strategic advisor to female founded brands allowing her to focus on sharing her knowledge and expertise with other like-minded entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses. Maggie and her businesses have been featured in the New York Times, Fast Company, Forbes, Business Insider, Success Magazine, and much more.
Contact Info:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maggielordandcompany/
In this episode, Kristi Soomer, founder and CEO of ethical clothing brand Encircled, shares her insights on entrepreneurship in the fashion industry.
About Kristi Soomer
Kristi Soomer is a visionary entrepreneur and sustainability advocate known for her work as a founder and CEO of the slow fashion brand Encircled. With a background in management consulting, retail and supply chain management, Kristi brings a wealth of expertise to the sustainable fashion space. Holding both an MBA and bachelor's degree in business administration prepared her for the challenges of disrupting the traditional fashion industry.
Encircled, under Kristi's leadership has become a beacon for ethical production, eco-friendly materials, and versatile garment design. As a certified B Corporation, Encircled exemplifies Kristi's commitment to making a positive impact on the environment, her team, and her customers.
A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Kristi shares her insights on sustainable fashion at conferences, events, and podcasts, inspiring others to embrace conscious consumption. Kristi Soomer's dedication to her community, philanthropic efforts, and passion for ethical practices are demonstrated through her coaching and online education business at kristisoomer.com where she helps up and coming entrepreneurs learn how to scale their business through coaching, her eCommerce Maven podcast, Facebook community and mentoring.
Summary
Kristi Soomer emphasizes the importance of understanding your customer and differentiating your brand. She discusses the evolution of Encircled from a travel clothing brand to a versatile athleisure brand. She also shares her motivation for starting her own business and the initial hurdles she faced. Kristi highlights the value of finding support and mentoring, as well as the need to adapt to industry trends. She offers advice for aspiring fashion entrepreneurs and gives a sneak peek into upcoming projects for Encircled.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristisoomer/
Website: https://www.kristisoomer.com/
Company Website: https://www.encircled.ca/
Encircled Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/encircled_/
In this episode you will discover the journey of Canadian fashion designer, Linda Lundström.
Linda shares her insights on embracing change, the impact of technology in manufacturing and why challenges should be seen as gifts. Join us for inspiring conversation with this true fashion innovator.
About Linda Lundström
Linda Lundström is an award-winning fashion designer, lean manufacturing practitioner, inspirational speaker, Indigenous ally, and creative director of online outerwear brand Therma Kōta.
Linda’s career spans over five decades in the fashion industry. She's well known for designing and building the Linda Lundström brand and a state-of-the-art Canadian lean manufacturing facility. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including three honorary PhDs. She was named to the Order of Ontario in 1995 and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013. She is recognized as a champion of First Nations awareness, ethical manufacturing practices, and a proud supporter of the Made in Canada label. Linda's entrepreneurial journey is marked by synchronicity guided by mantras from her parents and a deep commitment to social responsibility.
Summary
Linda Lundström, a renowned Canadian fashion designer, shares her journey of resilience, innovation, and spirituality in the fashion industry. With over five decades of experience, she emphasizes the significance of seeing every life event as a gift, even setbacks like her company's bankruptcy in 2008. Lundström highlights the importance of paying attention to the universe's signs and believing in one's path. Her career is marked by her dedication to Canadian manufacturing, ethical practices, and empowering Indigenous communities through the Sewing Circle Project. She also discusses the transition from running a multimillion-dollar business to founding Therma Kōta with her daughters, focusing on sustainable, made-to-order outerwear.
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehackslinda
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lundstromlinda/
Website: www.thermakota.com
Today is a solo episode where we're diving into the essential habits that will pay off for your online fashion business. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the vast world of e-commerce marketing, you're in the right place.
E-commerce marketing can be a daunting task, but fear not! Today, we'll break down five key habits that won't break the bank but will significantly impact your online fashion business.
Habit #2: Show Social Proof
Habit #3: Do Email Marketing
Habit #4: Create Better Blog Content
Habit #5: Improve Your Copywriting
How many of these marketing checklist items are you currently implementing on your fashion e-commerce website?
Maybe you’re nodding with full satisfaction because you’re using all these strategies for fashion marketing already, or perhaps you feel your jaw starting to tense a little because you realize—you’ve been missing out on some key opportunities to drive conversions.
It’s okay. The truth is, every business has room to grow and improve no matter where they are at with their marketing. It’s never too late to get started on building good habits!
Resources mentioned:
Blog writing tips to help your brand stand out
Discover your fashion entrepreneur archetype. Take the quiz: https://glynistao.com/quiz/
Join the free Apparel Workshop Community
My guest today is Sherri Langburt, CEO & Founder of BabbleBoxx and has been a pioneer in the influencer marketing space since 2007. A passion for storytelling and brand marketing, and
In this episode, Sherri highlights the significance of influencer marketing for fashion brands in today's digital landscape. She talks about what criteria fashion brands should consider when identifying potential influencers to collaborate with.
You'll learn why it's important for a fashion brand to align with influencers who resonate with their target audience. Including
Lastly, she talks about what are some ethical and legal considerations that fashion brands need to be aware of when working with influencers.
You can find out more about Sherri Langburt on her website: https://babbleboxx.com/ Her Instagram is instagram.com/babbleboxxofficial/
Discover your fashion entrepreneur archetype. Take the quiz: https://glynistao.com/quiz/
Join the free Apparel Workshop Community
My guest today is Cristin Zaccareo. Cristin is a strategic leader with 15 years of experience working with leading luxury retail companies as well as mid- and mass-market retailers such as Estée Lauder Companies, Shiseido Company, Lord & Taylor, and Ross Stores. Cristin has a strong history of constantly finding new methods to unlock value, drive sales, and evolve business models in an ever-changing retail landscape.
Her company CGZ Consulting strives to empower digitally native retailers to unlock their full potential through the implementation of wholesale expansion strategies.
Cristin addresses some of the common challenges clothing brands face when it comes to wholesale expansion, and how she typically advises them to overcome these hurdles.
Cristin covers the key factors that clothing brands should consider before deciding to pursue wholesale distribution.
She talks about some best practices clothing brands should take to approach pricing and margins when entering the wholesale market.
This episode is a must listen to clothing brands who are looking to expand into wholesale.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Route to Market Roadmap
List of Inventory Management Software
Contact info:
Email: [email protected]
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristinzaccareo/
Welcome to Chase Your Dreams, a podcast for fashion entrepreneurs who are ready to pursue their passion and make a living doing what they love. I'm your host, Glynis Tao and today we have the pleasure of sitting down with Thomas Girard, a
Thomas Girard has not only been accepted to attend the University of Oxford for lectures equivalent to graduate coursework but has also received multiple Emerging Scholar awards, notably at the Design Principles and Practices conference in Barcelona, Spain, and Emily Carr University of Art and Design. He is also a recipient of the RBC Emerging Scholar award from the Royal Bank of Canada Foundation and an Emerging Scholar award from the New Directions in the Humanities conference in Madrid, Spain for 2021.
The conversation delves into Thomas' journey as a scholar, instructor, and creator in the arts and design space.
Thomas talks about what inspired him to start his podcast, Uniqueways with Thomas Girard and sheds light on his creative process, especially with over 120 episodes having spoken to influential figures like John Maeda, Debbie Millman, Eric Spiekermann, and Chris Do.
Thomas shares valuable insights he has gathered from these
He also talks about his TEDx talk, "How to feel at home in the airport." And the opportunities that have arose from that experience.
Finally, Thomas gives fascinating insights into how he foresees AI is changing the way we do business. He talks about how he has integrated AI into his business, social posts, and research endeavors.
You can find out more about Thomas Girard on his website: https://thomaskgirard.com/and his podcast Uniqueways with Thomas Girard
My guest today is Tiffany Wong, Co-Founder & Brand Director at The Ordinary Good.
Tiffany leads brand strategy and marketing at The Ordinary Good, a mission-led creative agency building and scaling sustainable and social impact e-commerce brands. Women led and operated. She has a brand building background layered with integrated marketing management for the past 7 years mostly in responsible fashion, beauty & wellness. Her favorite part of the job is working with early stage brands making our world better.
In this episode, Tiffany offers invaluable advice for emerging sustainable fashion brands looking to establish a strong brand presence and make an impact.
Tiffany explains the core concepts of sustainable fashion branding and why it's important in today's conscious consumer market. Learn how sustainable fashion brands can stand out in a competitive market by creating a distinctive brand identity.
Tiffany shares expert insights on leveraging email marketing to build strong connections with customers and communicate sustainability values.
Tiffany provides practical tips on using paid advertising platforms like Meta to promote sustainable fashion brands while upholding their values. Gain valuable advice on how sustainable fashion brands can maintain their commitment to sustainability without compromising on profitability.
Get a sneak peek into the future of sustainable fashion branding and discover upcoming trends and innovations.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Milled
You can find out more about Tiffany Wong on her website: https://theordinarygood.com/ Her Instagram is instagram.com/theordinarygood/
Discover your fashion entrepreneur archetype. Take the quiz: https://glynistao.com/quiz/
The podcast currently has 38 episodes available.