I have had the tremendous pleasure of getting to know some of the most creative people in Arizona through my work with Couture in the Suburbs. I have written about several of these people, and even become close personal friends with a few. All this goes to say, I think I understand the fashion crowd of Arizona pretty well.

But, what I have seen time and time again is that creative people have a tendency to put all their energy, time and resources into the product they are creating, but spend little to no time working out the logistics of the business.

And that is absolutely detrimental.

At the end of the day, if you want to be successful in the fashion industry, local or international, it is absolutely imperative that you understand the business side of the industry. This is as true for emerging designers, as it is for bloggers, as it is for boutique owners, photographers, stylists etc.

If you can’t build a sustainable business around the creative work you are producing, then you really have a hobby.
Not a business.
Not a career.

And hobbies are great and all, but I have bills to pay. And I know you do too.

So, I begun looking for ways to help everyone make money.

One of my friends, who also happens to be an emerging designer, referred me to StartUp Fashion, an online community of emerging designers who are helping one another succeed in business. The more I researched the company, the more I realized how beneficial their resources could be to the Arizona fashion scene.

“StartUp Fashion is an online community where independent designers and emerging brands are helping one another, forming friendships, collaborating, letting off steam, sharing victories, and belonging to a network of people who get it; who are doing it too.

We’re a place to discover the limitless ways you can build your fashion brand by helping you create your path and giving you the guidance to follow that path.

We promise to always support you in your goals, cajole you into committing to your work, push you to have more focus, remind you to embrace your edginess and celebrate your weirdness, and to do whatever is in our power to help you create a life and build a business that make you happy.

You can do this.

We are on a mission to help you, independent designers, to thrive at doing what you love!”

After speaking a bit with Nicole Giordano, the founder of StartUp Fashion, I felt that becoming a Community Connector was the best way to help the local fashion community start talking about what their businesses needed and how we could all help one another succeed.

Part of my duties as the Arizona Community Connector include hosting monthly events that bring together the local community. I hosted my first event this past Friday at Here on the Corner, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled with the outcome of the event.

Every conversation I heard amongst attendees, or had the pleasure of participating in myself, revolved around how the other person could help their fellow entrepreneur achieve their dreams. We talked about our struggles, successes, favorite business tools, and opportunities for collaboration.

This was not a networking event.
This was an opportunity for every single person in attendance to talk openly and honestly about what their business needed.
This was progress.

Moving forward, the monthly events will center around specific topics dictated by the community based on what they need to accomplish their next milestone. I got some great feedback at the event about what people were looking for both through my conversations with individuals and through my “What Does Your Business Really NEED?” poster.

Only you know what resources your business needs to move forward. If you weren’t able to attend the first event, but are interested in attending future events, sign up to receive details below and let me know the topics you are most interested in through the contact form below.

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Topic’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

Let’s improve our businesses. Let’s improve the local fashion scene. And let’s all help one another in doing it.

 

See more images from the event below, all courtesy of Almanza Photography.

 

To learn about StartUp Fashion’s resources, visit StartUpFashion.com.