Building a Fashion Empire: The Power of Being Told “NO”

Happy Tuesday, my lovely ASSASSINS! Building a fashion empire has been a lot more difficult than I’ve ever imagined (but no one said it would be easy.). It’s required TONS of patience and remaining positive in a sea full of constant roadblocks. I want to share what’s been going on behind the scenes with Silent ASSASSIN and how I’ve gained power from rejection. Enjoy!

Sorry, we cannot take on your project.

As most of you know, I’ve been working on creating and launching a women’s intimates line. I came up with the design idea last year and have been working to make it a reality ever since! This past year was a huge struggle for me with finding a contractor in the US. I spent countless hours researching potential factories with nearly 98% of them telling me no. After 8 months of constant researching and sending out inquiries, I have to admit that my positive energy was shot. I seriously thought about quitting and pursuing something else. However, in the words of Barbara Corcoran, “The difference between real winners is how long they take to feel sorry for themselves. Real winners feel the hit… but they come back up and say hit me again.”

Never fall in love with an idea (Even though you love it).

Instead, I decided to stop searching for factories in the US and branch out overseas. I learned a hard lesson with this one which is, never fall in love with an idea. A year ago, you could NOT tell me that I would be considering mass producing overseas. I was and still am very adamant about having my brand made in the USA (you know, help the economy and what not). However, it’s been made pretty clear that the USA simply cannot handle my design element!

The squeaky wheel is always heard.

Overseas was a huge dilemma within itself for me as well. First off, I don’t know the language and I don’t know where to start researching for potential factory partners. I sent some inquiries to their consulate and also reached out to the small business association for guidance. This was at least a 4 month process with back and forth email as well as contacting wrong departments. The lesson I learned here was, ALWAYS BE THE SQUEAKY WHEEL! I know I wouldn’t have received the information I did, if I stopped sending follow up emails. Oftentimes, we want to give up (trust me, I definitely did!) but we have to keep going through the hard times! I’m happy to say that the consulate did eventually come through and help your girl out with a list! See… hard work and being annoying does pay off! 🙂

As an entrepreneur, you can always find a solution if you try hard enough. — Lori Greiner

Nothing is a coincidence.

One day at work, I received a call from a number that I didn’t recognize. I don’t usually answer these calls but something told me to pick up the phone. This lady immediately starts talking to me about how she received my design project and what the next steps were going to be. The thing is… I didn’t know who this lady was and what project she was referring to because I wasn’t doing any projects! Turns out, she called the wrong Ashley and was the owner of a factory very close to where I live. You’d think I would’ve been happy to hear that but I thought nothing of it. I had my list of potential factories overseas and that was all I needed! Well, for the next two weeks this lady kept calling me by accident and one day it finally clicked. I called her back and asked if she was able to handle my design element. Do you know what she said? Yes.

Patience is the key which solves all problems.

Who would’ve known that the girl who almost quit would be in this place today! I have a potential list of factories overseas and one in my own state; it still amazes me. I’d like to tell you all that the happy ending is here but it’s not. I quickly realized that everything I worked so hard to obtain was now in my hands and I was absolutely mortified! I’ve came this far, have saved up a substantial amount of money and now I’m supposed to trust one of these companies to execute?! I just couldn’t make the jump.

“Don’t you dare undermine the power of your own instinct.” — Barbara Corcoran

Wisdom is like fire; people take it from others.

Yes, you heard me! I couldn’t make the jump… I could not take that risk! My gut was telling me don’t do it, you’re about to be out here “moving crazy.” So I opened up my computer and started looking for a mentor. I remembered my BF sending me a link awhile back when I was researching factories. I thought to myself, why not go there and see if I can find any resources. After clicking through the website for about 30 minutes, I came across a partnered website. You won’t believe me when I tell you that this company specializes in partnering mentors with people like me. How insane!

I’m a hustla, I can sell salt to a slug.

I have to say that my mentor put a stop to all my fears (Good looking out, Ed!). He told me that I don’t need to sprint to what I believe is the finish line, just yet. His advice was to show my product to potential buyers and have them give me their opinions. Just because I think it’s a great idea doesn’t mean my product will sell in the marketplace. How can I mass produce before knowing if anyone will even buy it? Essentially, I have to become my own salesperson with these owners and buyers (think Shark Tank). This is a whole other hurdle for me to jump over! I am not a salesperson, but do you know what I’ve heard all my career life? “You’d be great in sales!” So do you know what I’m going to do? Sell the crap out of my product! *drops mic*

Please make sure to subscribe and let me know what you think about this article! Your feedback REALLY helps! Until next time ASSASSINS… Stay Motivated!

Let’s be friends! Follow me on Instagram @MissAshleyAllison Twitter @MsAshleyAllison and Snapchat @MsAshleyAllison.