Tag: Dynamically Branded

How to Elevate your Brand to the Next Level

Published on by Stephania SchirruLeave a comment

Do you feel like you’re stuck and not leveling up to your full potential? Are you tired of still being in the same place you were over a year ago or even longer? Sick of low or non-existing sales? Are you finally ready to make a drastic change to reach your goals? Then this post is for you!

When my clients and myself started taking these 3 steps, we saw exponential growth in clients, sales, productivity, motivation, network.

1. Invest in your Business: That means, allocate funds towards a professional website, a real logo, labels, packaging, a storefront/showroom, etc.. Hire professionals to do what you can’t. If you’re a fashion designer, hire models and a great photographer to capture your collection. Employ someone in charge of just sales & marketing, hire an accountant that keeps up with your business finances. This will free up your time and allow you to focus on designing and the bigger picture of your business goals. If you’re a busy stylist who can’t keep up with social media hire someone to manage it. Invest in your education via classes and webinars. The Fashion World is one of the fastest-changing industries, it’s very challenging to stay abreast of all the changes and trends. But thanks to the internet you can attend online classes, webinars, masterclasses, or even get certified in areas such as social media, fashion marketing, Fashion Business Management, etc. without having to leave the comfort of your home. Hootsuite Academy and Fashion Brain Academy offer great courses and so do Fashion Institutes. I personally will offer an online class in October for Fashionpreneurs that are serious about taking their business to the next level but can’t afford to hire a marketing professional yet. You can sign up for the newsletter HERE and we will email you when it’s time to register. Once you enhance your expertise you will be better prepared to cater to your clients and understand the ecosystem of the fashion industry. There is also financial gain in offering a superior product/service, the more qualified you are the more you can charge. Another benefit of investing in your business is that you come across more professionally and your audience will take you more seriously. Also, invest time in reading about the Fashion Industry. I created a habit of reading Fashion Newsletters before I get started with my day. The ones I recommend are Business of Fashion, WWD, Vogue Business, and PR Couture. See those line items as investments in your business that will pay off in the long term and enable you to reach higher levels. If you’re not willing to invest and believe in yourself why should others?

2. Be Consistent: Your quality of work needs to be consistent with all clients, products, events, etc. This will establish your reputation, create accountability, and build your brand identity. Be consistent in the quality and frequency of the content you put out on social media and online. Don’t just post to post but instead add value for your audience. Also, consistency is the only way to measure if a new strategy is working or not. Be consistent in your leadership as well. If you say you only care about results and not how your employees achieve them you can’t start micro-managing them all of a sudden. It is said that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, so when trying something new try to maintain it for at least 21 days.

3. Surround Yourself with Positive Energy: There is nothing more draining than being around negative people that suck the life out of you. Surround yourself with like-minded go-getters who will motivate you to keep going and to level up. If you don’t have any friends that are part of the entrepreneurial lifestyle join groups or attend conferences. Great groups to join are FGI, DIFFA, your local Entrepreneurship Center, Start-Up Fashion, and Fashion Mingle. There are additional programs such as GC4Women, Tory Burch Foundation, The SBA, and Accelerator Programs such as Y Combinator, that provide small businesses with mentorship, consulting, and funding opportunities.

I would love to hear from you. What do you struggle with the most in your business? What’s holding you back? Which investments are difficult to make in your business? Or which step(s) mentioned in my post would you like to implement next? You can comment below or email me at Sschirru@dynamicallybpr.com.

XOXO,

Dynamically Branded

Getting Your Designs on Celebrities

Published on by Stephania SchirruLeave a comment

Are you looking for free press or for that extra boost on social media? Then dressing a celebrity might be your next big move. But how do you make that critical connection? You can try to contact them directly with a DM but from my experience, this has never worked. Not because celebrities aren’t interested but simply because they receive way too many messages to filter through what’s legit and what’s not. It’s more effective to contact the person in charge of dressing them, usually their stylist or assistant. Most celebrity stylists list their email address or agent’s email address on their social media profiles. If you can’t find an email you can DM them briefly asking professionally for an email address to send your latest look book or work sample. If you don’t have any luck with your DM or email you can always try to get in touch with the celebrity stylist’s assistant, as most experienced stylists have a team of other stylists around them.

Photo Credits: OutNow.Ch

The most effective way to get in touch with celebrity stylists is to simply be in the same space as them. Many celebrity stylists attend fashion events, host workshops, or speak on industry panels. There is no better way of initiating contact than in person so bring your business cards, wear one of your creations and introduce yourself. Boom! The first contact has been made.

Photo Credits: Dreamstime.com

Now it’s time to cement the connection. Don’t let more than 72 hours pass before following up. Introduce yourself, remind them of how you met and include a message about your interest in collaboration on upcoming projects by providing garments (bonus points if you know what project or event you would like to help with). Include one strong photo in the body of the text and then attach your look book. If your look book is too large try to compress it or create a Google Drive or Dropbox link instead.

Make sure to do your research about the stylist’s clientele and style. Don’t email an exclusively female wardrobe stylist a men’s look book or pitch winter clothes in the summer time. If you know that a particular celebrity loves to wear very fitted dresses, I wouldn’t propose a wide-legged oversize pantsuit.

Remember timing is of the essence. What are some events your collection could be leveraged for? Any award shows, galas, premieres, or product launches coming up? Get on the stylist’s radar weeks before or create a special design for the celebrity if your chances are high for being pulled.

Michelle Williams, Tina Knowles-Lawson and Kelly Rowland at the Wearable Art Gala. Photo Credits: Chron.com

Now that you’ve got the stylist’s interest here are some important things to remember before facilitating the pull:

1.    Make sure your garments are dry-cleaned and cleanly sewn (cut off any loose threads, tighten up loose buttons and beads, etc.)

2.    Have the stylist fill out a pull request form with all his info, credit card, ID, which items pulled, when they will be returned, etc. (A stylist pull request form is a legally binding contract that documents every detail of the pull)

3.    I highly recommend charging a refundable deposit at least the first time. I had an incident where I received a pull request form and when the stylist didn’t return the garments, the credit card declined because I was given an invalid card number. I definitely learned my lesson. Most legit stylists receive decent budgets from their clients so a deposit shouldn’t be a big deal. If it you get any pushback, I would consider this a red flag.

4.    I always ask for a shipping account number if the stylist doesn’t come to pick up the garments

5.    Follow up to see if garments have been received and if they worked out. If they so, ask for pictures for your personal portfolio.

6.    When you receive the garments back verify, they are in good condition before refunding the deposit.

If you’re more interested in celebrity pulls, need a sample stylist pull request form, a sample email, or more info about fashion events to attend to connect with celebrity stylists. Sign up for my upcoming Fashion Marketing Class “Elevate your Fashion Business in 60 Days” in collaboration with Fashion Mingle.  You will receive an email you when the class is live.

Please comment and share!

XOXO,

Dynamically Branded.

Hallo, we’re back! With Exciting News!!!

Published on by Stephania SchirruLeave a comment

Hey guys, what’s up? I know it has been a while since I last posted on here. But a lot has happened in the past 11 months. If you follow me on Social Media you might know that I have had a beautiful baby boy. Khai was born Sep 6th, I essentially only took off 3 weeks and was back to handling Press, VIPs, Run of Show, Sponsors and Talent on Nov 1st for one of my client’s fashion shows. All while still trying to figure out my new role as a working mom. I was honestly overwhelmed at times and felt as if I was losing myself in being a mother. I wanted to quit everything at one point but one of my dear friends advised me to just maintain what I was doing for the next 6 months and that things will level out. Thank God they did eventually! Now I’m at the point were I can finally grow my business again. I’ve learned to work more efficiently and to not stress myself out on those days I don’t get much accomplished. I have some really exciting news!!!

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I will launch an Online Fashion Marketing Class this summer which will help fashion businesses reach the next level whether it’s sales, targeting, social media presence, dressing celebrities etc. There will be assignments, Q&A’s, as well as personal one on one consulting sessions with me. As an added bonus I will share my resources and invite Industry Experts such as celebrity stylists, fashion show producers and magazine editors to the class to share first hand what they are looking for when working with fashion businesses. This class is for fashion designers, stylists, fashion bloggers, fashion photographers, fashion marketers etc. We have also received many requests in regards to fashion shows and how to plan and organize them. You asked and we’ve answered with a Fashion Show Check-List which is available for sale right now! This resource will guide you from start till finish, ensure you meet your deadlines and guarantee you won’t forget anything. 

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Buy Now

Stay tuned for announcements and give aways. Please share and comment!!!

XOXO,

Dynamically Branded

Why Brands don’t want to work with you

Published on by Stephania SchirruLeave a comment

Over the past 10 years I have worked for and with several brands such as Curls, Shea Moisture, Swarowski, Google, Uber, Hennessy, NYFW, Coca-Cola, Omni Hotels, Stila, Covergirl etc. I’m always being asked the question of how to receive sponsorships from brands. Some people wonder why brands don’t want to work with them or what they’re doing wrong with their pitching approach.

Here some pointers why brands don’t want to work with you:

  1. You don’t bring anything to the table: Whenever you approach a brand you have to make yourself interesting to them. What’s special about you? How will you help them make a sale or increase their popularity? Do you have an engaged audience? Do you create original or creative content? Do you have a unique perspective or a one-of-a-kind look? Are you involved with an event that could touch many potential customers in one sweep?
  2. You don’t target their target demographic: Let’s say for example you want to approach a premium brand but have only been promoting and working with lower end brands it’s very unlikely you will get a deal with that higher end brand.
  3. You’re unprofessional: The first impression counts whenever you are trying to contact brands. Always approach a brand with professional pictures, a media kit, highlights of what makes you special, and your specific value proposition. Also, clean up your social media since these channels will be the first ones they will check out. No brand wants to see an endless collection of selfies, you turning up in every other picture, or captions with foul language. They want to see that you will actually represent a brand and make them shine in the best light.
  4. You’ve been going hard for their competition: Even if you approached a company professionally and did everything right your proposal might still be rejected due to prior strong advocacy of a competing product. So you either have to let some time pass between the competitor and the new brand or take those posts off .

I hope this helps if you don’t know how to create a media-kit or a value proposition in your pitch feel free to send me an email sschirru@dynamicallybpr.com and I will give you advice.

XOXO,

Dynamically Branded