This week, notable names in the fashion and design world are popping by Savannah, Georgia to impart wisdom upon the students of SCAD. Chatting with W‘s Rickie de Sole, the chic accessories talents shared their secrets to success. Below, learn how Clare Vivier of Clare V, Eva Zuckerman of Eva Fehren, and Jessie Randall of Loeffler Randall started their own businesses…
Clare Vivier: “I was married and my husband supported our household for a while. But I’m a really big proponent of taking it one day at a time and not looking at too big of a picture; don’t bite off more than you can chew. Start off very, very small. Make something and sell it, make something and sell it, and just put all of the money you make back into your business.”
Eva Zuckerman: “I got a full scholarship to college, although my parents put aside my full college tuition money. I was able to start my business with my scholarship money. I made a small collection and I calculated every detail of it before, and I tried to be as careful as I could. Then I sold one thing and I made another; I sold another thing, and I made two more things. I built it up like that. You inevitably make a lot of mistakes in the beginning, and I still make tons of mistakes, but it’s easier to digest those mistakes when you’re not spending money you don’t have.”
Jessie Randall: “I started with footwear, and there’s so much equipment involved in footwear. I had to buy all the equipment to make all the size runs. So, my husband and I weren’t able to start small, we had to start pretty big; our factory told us that we had to sell 2,500 pairs of shoes our first season, which seemed really scary to me. My husband and I both worked full time and we know eight months before we started the company that I would be leaving my job, so I was saving money. We had white boards running the whole length of our apartment, we were seeing a life coach, and we had everything planned out regarding what we were going to do. I quit my job, he kept working, and we were able to make it work with my husband supporting us. He would come home from his advertising job and spend all night art directing our website, doing all the marketing materials, and laying out our line sheet. And that’s how the company worked in the beginning.”
