I consider myself a private person, but this was something I had to share with you!
I have a 2.5 years old son, and quite frankly the last 2.5 years were an amazing and fun experience for me.
Many people will tell you how much work it is to have kids and what you'll need to give up and change etc.
But what no one tells you is how much you can learn from a toddler...about yourself, life and...Business.
Yes, Business!
Here are 3 things that my son taught me about building a successful fashion brand:
Stick to what works - My son loves this one short sleeve Tee with soccer graphics on it. And when I say he loves it I mean its the ONLY shirt he ever wants to wear. When we tell him that it is in the laundry and we need to wash it before he can wear it again he says: "Let's wash it now so I can wear it tomorrow!" And yes, he will take it out of the laundry bag and put it in the sink and open the faucet to wash it. In fact, last night after we did laundry he asked to have the shirt sleep with him in his bed just so he can wear it as soon as he wakes up. LESSON - This tee works for him, he loves soccer and having this Tee on makes him feel like a soccer player, it makes him feel good and happy and he shows and tells everyone about it. We bought him a L/S Tee for the winter with soccer graphics on but he doesn't care for that one, he only wants that one Tee that he loves! The same goes for your customers. If they LOVE an item that they bought from you they will tell everyone about it (Free marketing for you) and will wear it non stop and come back to get more from you...SO PLEASE, don't change your line every season and force them to go find an item that they love somewhere else!
Perseverance (not giving up) - This part I believe you all know about toddlers when they want something they don't care what it takes and what's involved and if its possible or not...they want it and they want it now! My son is no different. For example, when its time to take a bath and he doesn't want to. We'll try to reason with him and explain why we need to do it and that its time to do and he will say no, we'll try to reason with him some more and he will escalate his response to a screaming NO and NO WAY or will negotiate something in return and if we still don't agree he will just go to a corner and good luck getting him to the bath then! LESSON- IF you believe in something, your concept, your product your idea GO for it and don't give up, even if it doesn't make sense for other people around you. This goes for sales, even more, I read one time that toddlers are the best salespeople because they will not give up until they will wear you down and "sell" you on what they want, and if they don't they will at least negotiate a better deal by getting something in return. Usually, that is what ends up happening with my son...he will get a couple of extra minutes of playing before he gives up and agrees to take a bath! So, when you believe in your product and are certain that this one store will be perfect for it, keep approaching them until you get a callback, a meeting or an order!
NO RULES - I think this is my favorite one! Ever since he was little and playing with toys, and seeing and touching things for the first time I realized how innocent and naive he is when playing with these toys for the first time, he had no "rules" on how you suppose to play with them, where I already had a conform set of ideas and rules of how to play with these toys and its the only way I would play with them and even more so I would try to show him that this is how you supose to play with these toys. But here is the thing, who said that a lego building needs to be done only with the big pieces at the bottom and the smaller on top? Or why does the train car need to be behind the car engine and not the other way around or why can't we have a train that is made of ONLY train engines and no cars? Or why can't he have Pizza for breakfast?? A toddler has no rules and has the freedom to approach things with NO preconceived thoughts! LESSON - In order to stand out and do GREAT things you MUST challenge ideas and processes and think outside the box. Go back to that innocent point of view for a second and think: How would I do it if I didn't know of all these rules?
Btw, my son's name is LEV (it means heart in Hebrew) and the slogan on his favorite Tee as you can see below, says: GAME CHANGER.
Want to be a GAME CHANGER? Let's talk and let me help you be one!
