When I started my Clothing Co. in 2010, no one really liked my stuff. I mean my stuff sucked. I had just learned basic design and I thought I was the next Jeremy Scott. Then I had planned to take out 6 months of my time and dedicate it to learning how to use Photoshop and Illustrator, then master it. I only took me 3 months to really get a huge grasp on the programs, I amazed myself. But I'm a good learner, and the tutorial sites really helped me. I have to really give thanks to those tutorial sites.
Anyway after I got good, lo and behold, A person who owned a store in my town had hit me up. Wanted to set up a meeting. The meeting at first was about my line and the opportunity for him to sell my line through his store. Sounded great! It was progress, serious progress! I should have known from that day though, that it wasn't about my line though. After a while, it became about all his ideas, and if I could design his lines. I'm thinking in my head, sweet, this is my chance to be a fashion designer, I was ecstatic.
Fast forward to just a few weeks ago, this fool did not want me to take credit for all the sweet designs that I personally designed. He was making money hand over fist, I'm thinking in my head, oh hell yeah I can finally get some recognition and I can use that recognition to really get my clothing company off the ground! Yeah, fucking right.
So now, he sort of alludes to the fact that he doesn't want me to tell people that I designed a lot of the clothing pieces, and it really aggravated me. So I stopped it. When I first started this clothing company, I started it for one reason: To make money. I want to secure my future. In this shaky economy, it's the perfect time to start a company, in my honest opinion. And I've never really thought of myself as a 9 to 5'er really. I've always been an entrepreneur, but I just didn't know it. I'm a real creative person, so I always have ideas, always.
I'm looking at that situation, and I truly thank God that I"m smart enough to notice these things, but I'm looking at that situation and it really made me mad. I have serious debts, I mean I was laid off from my Job last year, so quite a few bills that I have, sometimes just can't be paid. My cellular phone was cut off, though I could of paid that, but really, I needed some cash, so I skipped it. But, the people that I designed for and just helped out of my own free will, and they're making serious cash, no thank you, no recognition, nothing. To be honest, I don't want their money, I just wanted a very professional way of saying that I helped out in the design process. I could have seriously carved my own little market right then and there. But no, they want all of the shine, which is fine. Because I'm smart with a drive like no other, and my clothing company WILL blow up and make it, I mean I not only have designer's experience now, but I was also able to get some good inside knowledge on how the business works.
My one friend who I helped, who has the big head. You can't have the big head, when you're just selling to all of your friends. You can't have the big head, when your design skills suck, it's a competitive market, once the people really find out what you really are, or aren't, God help you. Friends can only support you for so long, and you can only get by with that one design for so long. It's not ironic that your best seller is the piece that I designed. Let that tell you something. Also, excluding myself, for everyone that are 'helping' you, they're all going to come back to you and say "where's mine?" "I ain't eatin'". It's only a matter of time. Why do you think I kept my circle small? Why do you think I'm willing to outsource and contract out design work? Why do you think I kept my team small? I'm not going to be the one with a successful company with a thousand people coming at you with their hands out. I learned in a really awesome book (which I will post later on down the line), that what you do now, will directly affect you later. So enjoy your bottle service, your fancy photographs and the partying for now. I'll be the one that actually building a legitimate business, one that is having a professional website built, making real connections outside of our city, and the one who doesn't have the pleasure of enjoying bottle service, parties and photography now, but I am the one who will be enjoying all of that later without a fear of that going away tomorrow.
I don't place the blame for my shortcomings on anyone else, but myself. I didn't have to design for those people, I didn't have to give free designs away, but I did, because I am a good person. I did get something out of it, a portfolio and tons of knowledge. I now know how to deal with these selfish people, now any proposition for any type of collaborations or sponsorship will promptly be denied if they don't meet my requirements. I have no problem denying people, because in actuality, if you deny a certain amount of people, you have a ton more trying to get in good with you, because now you look unattainable. Like the higher end Lamborghini's. if all of those higher end Lamborghini's were made the same price as a Nissan Maxima or a honda civic, do you think people who jump through hoops to get them? No because now they're attainable. But because they cost $250K, they are unattainable to most, therefore they are highly desirable. It's the plan, the game is just something that needs to be hustled, and I will there to hustle the shit out of it.
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