After making a decision to leave my career, I’d spent months brainstorming my next steps. Then it happened. A revelation hit me as I was driving to a friend’s house. An idea that I loved so much, I couldn’t wait to tell everyone. When I returned home, I sketched out every idea that came pouring out of my brain. Guild Party was born.
My plan was to launch in six months (oh how naive I was!). So I met with a fashion consultant, someone who's been in the business for decades and knows what it takes to run a label. What she told me was not what I was expecting. Actually, that’s being far too generous. It was devastating. I was nowhere near ready to launch. On top of that, my initial designs couldn’t be done easily or affordably. Not what you want to hear when you’re planning to launch a brand.
I left the conversation with a lot of new information but even more doubt. I spent the next few days in a funk. How was I going to make this happen? I thought my first product idea was a surefire winner. Letting go of it was tough but also necessary. I decided to start fresh and look at the original designs I created. And you know what I realized? The product I was so in love with actually didn’t fit where I wanted to go. Sure, it was a cool idea, but it wasn’t Guild Party. Not all of my work was a total loss, however. Many of them could work better than before. It was my approach that had to change.
So that’s what I did. Instead of quitting, I pivoted. I went back to the drawing board and came up with something I love even more! There’s a lesson to be learned from my experience. If you take anything else away from this post, it’s this: just because something doesn’t work now doesn’t mean it can’t in the future. Yesterday’s inspiration can spark today’s action. And if it takes a little bit longer than you expected, that’s perfectly fine, too.
So then, where am I now? Well, I was about to start my sourcing journey, but then COVID-19 happened. Which means another pivot for now. I’m currently taking a 6 month course to help me learn the ins and outs of fashion manufacturing, and I’m writing new content to help us find ways to make the best of this situation.
