Jane Hamill | Podcast

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 There's so much advice out there about starting a growing a fashion business and a lot of it is outdated and unrealistic.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**This topic was inspired by Steve Chou of "My Wife Quit Her Job" and his episode about Outdated Ecommerce Tips.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
• [email protected]

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. https://fashionbrainacademy.com/costsheet/

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/