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Writer's pictureBarbara Sessim

INSIDE THE FASHION INDUSTRY - Try Everything, But Then Choose One Path



One thing about me is that I want to know everything. With a creative and unsettled mind, I always loved studying and learning new things. In my career, I don’t want to just be the best. I want to be the best, I want to run my own business and I want to become the president of the company I work for. I want it all and that is probably the reason why I want to learn everything I can. So, when it comes to adding experience to your resume, I will always be the first one to support you but, even if you are like me and you want to try it all, it is necessary to focus on one thing.

If it wasn't for my eagerness to learn and the fact that I tried a little bit of everything, I wouldn't be in the position where I am today. I have said it: I will always be the first person to support trying new things. You will never figure out what your passion is until you try all the options you have. Especially in the fashion industry where there are many different fields. But living life adding experience to your resume and never developing a deep knowledge in one area is the same as investing in a new business and not understanding what is your part in the business. You put time, effort, and money into something that might help you learn new things but, in the long run, you will stay exactly where you started.

Yes yes, we all know that successful brands tend to expand their business into different markets, like D&G Home, Roberto Cavalli Vodka and so many other fashion brands that started doing one thing and grew their business into different areas, but the truth is that the first step you should take as a business owner or as an employee is to learn and focus on one thing until you are the best at it.

I started my career in the fashion industry not knowing what my passion was. Thanks to my determination and the different opportunities I had, I found myself in love with product development and production management. The fact that I could specialize in these two areas of this industry opened all the doors for me to start my blog, and my coaching business and get a job in an awesome company. I have to admit that it was complicated for me to find where my passion was, but once I did I got the best mentoring to develop the knowledge needed to grow my career.

Any career in any business will be the same. You have to do what you know best, that is why developing knowledge in one area is the key to, eventually, expanding your company. Great fashion designers focus on doing what they know best: designing! While they hire the right help to guide them through a business plan, marketing all the rest of the areas involved in running a business. It is the same when you are a manager.

The manager got to their position because they focused on growing their position in the company by doing one thing: their job right! Of course, pro-activity, team player, taking one for the team, and all the things involved in being an exemplary employee also help you grow in a company, but the main point is to do your job right. So when you grow in your department, you can also focus on hiring the right people to help you.

Regardless of your job or if you are starting your own business, your knowledge is yours and it will always be in your pocket. Wherever you go the baggage of knowledge will always go with you. If you never focus on learning and developing a deep understanding of one area, you will spend your life on the same stage instead of growing your career (and your paychecks!).

Believe it or not, growing a business or becoming the CEO of the company you work for should not be rocket science. It is about focusing on doing what you know best and hiring the right people. So focusing on one niche doesn’t close doors for you to learn other things, the opposite. It simply gives you the advantage of being the best at what you do, while you learn whatever else you can.



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