Fashion Step-by-Step

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How to Become a Fashion Designer

What to do When You don’t Know What to do

Do you want to start learning a new skill or a bunch? Or do you want to start creating a new fashion collection or a new illustration, but you don’t know what to do first?

Have you ever wondered what to do when you don’t know what to do?

This is one of the biggest struggles my students and people sending me emails are having. They want to do a bunch of amazing things, but they don’t know where to start.

They get paralyzed by the options, the possibilities, and the what-ifs that they get stuck for a while.

And it’s happened to me too, more often than what I’d like to admit, so today I want to help you get started when you don’t know what to do whether because you have too many options, or because you’re afraid of the outcome…

So let’s start!

You can watch the video or read the post, whatever you prefer 😉

Okay, the best way to start doing anything when you don’t know what to do is to start with play.

Yep, that easy.

When you don’t know where to start, then start with what makes you feel the happiest + most joyful. Start playing around, or start with what’s easier, but always start with joy.

When you do things from a place of joy and play, you remove all the fears and judgment of what you’re doing + the process + the outcomes. And you can completely focus on the task, and the happiness it brings you.

When you focus on starting with play, the options you have in front of you are dramatically reduced. You stop messing around with what you “should” do, and you pour your whole attention to what makes you happy.

And besides feeling joyful and amazing for doing what makes you feel good, you’re also opening yourself up for more opportunities because when you’re doing something out of joy you’re doing it with your heart, and you’re pouring the best of you in it, instead of just delivering meh results, meh creations, and meh everything.

At the beginning of the video I mentioned, I’ve felt stuck not knowing what to do, and this actually happened last month.

I kept myself stuck not knowing what to do for a couple of weeks. I just wrapped up a project with a client, and I started to feel anxious and kinda desperate because I really didn’t know what to do next.

  • I knew I “should” land more clients
  • I knew I “should” network with some bloggers and influencers to get the word out about me and my work
  • I knew I “should” create more videos, blog posts, and Instagram pics because when I work with clients, I get so focused on their work that I can’t keep up with my channels
  • I knew I “should” revamp my fashion illustration portfolio and create more illustrations and designs
  • I knew I “should,” I knew I “should”, I knew I “should” do a lot of things.

So, what did I do?

Get up from bed pretty late, get out of the house, watch Netflix, play with my pups, hang out with my husband, and pretty much anything that could distract me from making a decision.

I kept doing that for a couple of weeks, feeling a bit more anxious and more guilty day by day. Until Allan, my husband, told me: “why don’t you just start with what’s more exciting? Wouldn’t that be easier?”

And Oh My GOD! He was so right! (Love you, babe! 😘)

So I ditched everything out of my paper planner, Trello, and my own head. And I started asking myself what’s the most exciting thing for me right now?

“What’s the most exciting thing for me right now?, what’s the most exciting thing for me right now?, what’s the most exciting thing for me right now?”

And it hit me:

  • I want to create more personal projects
  • I want to grow this amazing community around FSBS; I want to be of help to them
  • And I’m excited about moving to Italy this year!

Those are the most exciting things to me at the moment of recording this, and those became my primary focus.

So, I decided to create a printable + illustrated travel planner. I decided to create more videos + posts + illustrations. I decided to set up a Patreon page for everyone eager to get more out of me and this blog + my channel. And that’s what I’m starting to do.

I’m starting with play.

So, it’s time for you to try it now!

  1. Grab a piece of paper and a pen.
  2. Take a deep breath.
  3. And ask yourself “what’s the most exciting thing for me right now?”
  4. Now write it down.

Sometimes the answer is not as clear as we’d like because there’re so many things in our heads. But keep writing what’s the most exciting thing to you at this moment, and take note of patterns or repeating words.

Then go and do the thing with all your heart and trusting yourself 😉

To finish…

Okay, that’s it for today! I really hope this video and this little tip have inspired you to take action right now.

And, now I’d love you to tell me in the comments:

  • What’s the most exciting thing for you right now? How will you start with play?

If you liked this video + post share it with your friends!

Also, if you want to support me in the creation of more videos like this, and more illustrations like those in my Instagram, now you can become a Patreon! I have some great goodies for everyone pledging and helping me make more of what I love – so, head to my Patreon page to learn all about it and join 😀

See you on the next video…. Bye!!

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The Roadmap to Build YOUR Fashion Business – plus a super fun quiz!

When you have a new dream + goal…

When you have a new dream and goal is quite easy to get lost in the joy and excitement, and it’s your go-to option to start doing random things that you truly believe will be helpful, but actually are not taking you anywhere – that happened to me a lot, when I decided to become a fashion designer + illustrator, when I decided I wanted to build my freelance business, and when I started working in fashion.

We want that dream to come true so bad, that we just do things and learn things without a plan, without knowing if we’re making progress, and without feeling we’re making any progress.

I know how you’re feeling, I know what it takes to build a business you love doing what you want, and I know it would’ve been easier for me if I’d made some things a bit differently – more planned 😛

That’s why I created the Roadmap to Build your Fashion Business, this is a tool that will keep you on track towards your dream and your goal of building a business in fashion. And, it’ll guide you through the steps you should take before you’re completely ready to launch your business (strong + confident + prepared to succeed!).

Are you curious?

SEPARATOR NEW 1

Great! This is the Roadmap to Build your Fashion Business

As you can see, the roadmap is divided into three sections; these sections are the phases of your preparation towards your goal. Each phase is different, and they have their own and unique milestones.

To use the roadmap properly, you first have to:

  1. Clarify your destination
  2. Then figure out  your current location within the roadmap (what phase, and what milestone)
  3. And finally, use the milestones as a guide for what you have to do from now and until you’re ready to launch your business 😀

Are you ready?!

1 | Clarify your destination

On my post Yes, you can!, you told me WHAT you want to do, and WHY it’s super important to you. By defining your WHAT + WHY you established your end goal: your destination.

For some people that destination can look like this:

The first (pink) and the second (coral) parts of these statements can be interchangeable to create other kinds of destinations. Your end goal is yours, and it can be similar to these examples or completely different. But all of these destinations (and yours should) have in common 2 things, they define:

  1. What you’re going to do, and
  2. How you’re going to do it

A lovely example is from one of my students, Kellsi:

“I want the freedom to create, inspire, and influence humanity. I want to excite the hearts of people with beautiful creations, giving them a touch of ‘truth, beauty, and goodness’ to add to their world.”

Play with your destination, it is your dream, and it can have and be whatever you want 🙂

So, write your destination down, and keep it close because you will need it all along your journey.

Okay, now you know where you’re going, but then what? How do you know what you should do now? How do you keep on track?

You need a plan. You need to trace the path you have to take from where you are to where you want to be. That’s where the roadmap will be helpful, but first, keep reading 😉

2 | Figure out  your current location

Now that your destination is clear, it’s important to know your current location so that you can know what steps you should take afterwards.

When your destination looks like the examples I gave you before. When you want to build a thriving business being a fashion creative/artist (you know, fashion designer, fashion illustrator, or surface pattern designer), you have to follow certain steps + you have to complete certain tasks. And when you finish them in order and purposefully, everything will be a lot easier for you than being like a headless chicken doing random things randomly.

All the steps you must fulfill before launching your business are included in the Roadmap to Build your Fashion Business, which you’ve seen already. As you know, this roadmap has three phases, and they determine how close you are to your goal + what you must do now. These are the phases:

  • Starting out
  • Skilled but confused
  • Almost ready!

Sometimes it’s quite easy to identify your location within the roadmap, like when you’re super new and you just decided to learn  and pursue a business or career in fashion.

Other times confusion gets in the way, and it’s harder to know if you should continue with the next step. And sometimes you don’t even know what the next step is!

So, I prepared a little + FUN quiz to help you determine your location within the roadmap, and a quick guide for each of the results (the phases :D) 

Ready?

Here’s what to do:

  1. Follow the quiz
  2. When you’re finished continue with the next step on this page
  3. And click the link that corresponds to your result 😉

3 | Your current location + milestones

What are your results? What is the phase you’re located at? Click in any of the images below, according to your quiz results.

This is just the beginning of this FANTASTIC journey, and the fun will just increase 🙂

Now that you’ve taken the quiz + know the phase you’re located at, it’s time to get a little narrower. So, take a look at the milestones from the phase of your results, see what steps you’ve completed so far, and determine what milestones you still have to complete (this is your exact position within the roadmap). 

You can continue your journey from there, and track your progress as well.

And remember to tell me at what phase of the roadmap you’re located, what’s the next milestone you have to complete, and your thoughts on this resource 😉 – share with me in the comments!

See on the next resource, byeeeee!
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P.S: Have you seen the COURSES I have for you at the Fashion School?

They’re FUN + COMPREHENSIVE + AFFORDABLE! If you want to go deeper in your learning and complete those milestones faster, go check them out 😉

Just click the button below.

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