I am an artist/maker to my core. I love working with my hands, drawing, researching new ideas…making STUFF. When I started my journey as a fashion designer, I entered a wonderland of selecting fabrics, sketching style ideas and making dress samples. I even drove solo from Atlanta to Memphis for the Africa in April Festival to sell a trunk full of my new dresses and to get feedback on my new brainchild. Three months later, I did a bigger market, the National Black Arts Festival, and received great reviews, made more sales and got really excited.
I did a photoshoot with models, made a lovely website featuring my gorgeous African print dresses clothing and waited for the orders to roll in. And guess what? They never did. What was wrong? Was it the cut of my skirt? Maybe my price was too high? Maybe I needed to add jumpsuits to my collection? After many years and fits and starts, I learned the hard way, it was my marketing. My marketing or lack thereof was the main thing standing between me and the growth of my creative business.
Marketing is a word that means different things to different people. Advertising, a brand logo and website colors, working with influencers or a good sales pitch are a few things that come to mind. Sometimes it’s also seen as a complex activity reserved for big companies with big budgets. The first statement is true, but marketing is so much more and the second statement is not true! Read Pt. 2 to hear the official definition of marketing and what I did next.