While media coverage of new design talent is often condemned to a cluttered back page of the big mags….the ladies at the blog Little Designer Book have made it their business to pluck out the hottest new designers you’ve never seen. Smartly written with a cute dose of humor founder Andrea Pohlot simplifies the scavenger hunt buyers go through in order to keep their floors infused with fresh labels.

The blog also shines a light to industry resources and events that help fashion entrepreneurs develop, manage and market their businesses.  They even featured a post on FBI and its founder, Frances Harder.

LDB is must read for boutique owners, designers and anyone who wants to know what’s next…right now.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you know Twitter is the newest craze.  Newscasters haven’t even figured out how to conjugate the verb yet (Twitted..Tweeted…Tweeting…who knows?!) but everybody seems to want to talk about what it means to tweet…

Lets start with the elephant in the room…”What the heck is Twitter?”  In the beginning I was hearing the name so much I mistakenly thought I knew exactly what Twitter was about.  Everybody knows what Twitter is right?!

Twitter describes itself as answering the question “What are you doing?” in 140 characters or less. Other people on the site can “follow” you…These folks are conveniently called “followers”.  And of course you can follow other people you choose. You can broadcast messages or even engage in 140 character< conversations on the site.

In essence it is micro-blogging.

The trick for businesses is that the content you share even in these baby tweets must also be worthwhile to read. Yes, if you don’t have anything interesting to say then..don’t say anything.  People tend to like quiet people much more than annoying ones….

You can’t just blah blah blah about your product or upcoming season.  You may just have to step out of your box…make yourself a personality.

Hey..you watched project runway last night–that dress was a mess; You know what networking events are going on during the MAGIC show, You know where people can find cheap parking for the L.A. Textile Show.   People love a little inside scoop served with a dash of humor…

Make yourself interesting and provide entertaining or informative content to your current and potential customers.

The best part about Twitter is that you can do all this randomness in 140 characters or less right from your cell phone. Wow…now desktops are really out of style.

It’s Genius!

For more information on using Twitter for your business check out the insightful new book Twitter Power by Joel Comm

Friend to the FBI Peggi Burdick, also known as the Financial Whisper submitted the following article to help designers unlock the keys to achieving financial success in business and in life.

So many designers have a dream, are propelled by their passion, but get ‘stuck’. What is the answer people need in order to move forth and not sacrifice their passion?

Why does it feel sometimes that the more one wants to move ahead, there is an invisible rope that holds them back.

All of it can be traced back to one’s childhood where the messages were potent and long lasting. I call it: Living Your Life on Two Tracks.  One’s very early childhood, from birth to 5 years old is total imprinting, for better or for worse.

That imprinting can create havoc when we are adults. We have the body of a 30 year old, but the reactions of a frightened five year old.

For those of you who were sewing at an early age, dressing the dog for a walk around the block, making all sorts of hats, purses, shoes and the like, clearly, your path was set; your passions were taking shape.

What happened?

Reality verses your fantasies clashed.

How do you at this stage ground yourself so that you can proceed and fulfill your dreams?

The key is to get rid of your self-sabotaging behaviors. And, you accomplish that by becoming the perfect parent you never had.  Your inner four-year old often is ‘driving the bus’. The adult in you can help your inner-child calm down and make better choices.

There is a workshop starting Wed June 17^th for four weeks, held in the evenings in Santa Monica. This workshop will help those who really want to move ahead with becoming financially stable to finally make their dreams come true…

For more information, go to: www.thefinancialwhisperer.com/events

Or call: 310-316-3579

Join us for a FREE fashion show featuring the collection of up and coming designer and FBI member Ximena Valero on the first day of LA Market at California Market Center.

Designed for a woman who is not afraid to reveal her femininity, the line is characterized by bold and eccentric colors, vibrant prints and racy silhouettes. Her work has been featured in major magazines including In Style, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle, and has been used to dress major celebrities including Jessica Alba, Alicia Keys and Eva Longoria Parker.

There’s a case to be made for the small business these days.  While big corporations are going through these massive restructuring plans to stay afloat–and small businesses certainly have their vulnerabilities they also have one big commonly overlooked advantage.

Flexibility….

“I can change in a day!” a successful small business owner once told me.  He looked around his small office, snapped his fingers as if to drill his point home and said again,”If something stops working out…I can change it all in a day.”

While his statement may have been a bit of an exagerration, his comments do have an interesting underlying question. In these challenging economic times how many small companies are taking advantage of their unique opportunity to change in a day…a month..or next year for that matter?

Many of the fashion business owners I encounter are just trying to keep what they have, lower prices, push the sales reps, find new production.  However maybe now is the time to pull out that small business trump card and “change in a day!”

So who’s going to dream up all this change..as if the small business owner doesn’t already have more than enough to do?  Well as the saying goes “Fish can’t see water.”  If you’re in the trenches of running your everyday operations you may not even know quite where to begin…

Why not get some outsiders involved to give you some ideas to create change you can believe in….

1.  Hire Some Bright Interns–And not to answer the phones, file or fax.  Encourage them to share ideas, give feedback and even have a pet project. Schools like, The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising allow employers to skip the clutter of craigslist and post opportunities for interns directly on their website.

2.  Meet with a Consultant–Why not get the assistance of someone that knows how other companies have managed to succeed and fail.  Many times their insider perspective can make the difference between a golden parachute and feeling like your business is trapped at the bottom of the ocean with an iron anchor.  You can find these helpful industry insiders presenting seminars at trade shows and other industry events or you can check out Fashion Business Inc Consultants that may be able to help.

3.  Get Some Free Business Advice–Score.org is an association of retired executives that helps small business owners plan and assess their businesses completely free of charge.  Maybe you need to revisit your business plan…or maybe you never even had one to begin with.  Now could be the perfect time to rewind and restart.  Get the scoop on score and its services at  www.score.org.

The hardest part of ever having a business is starting it in the first place.  So with the current economic uncertainty many are wondering is it the time to lay low or start laying the foundation for future success.

Here a few thoughts from the FBI President and Founder Frances Harder……

Now may be the right time to plan to invest in a new business, which could then reap the rewards for better times to come. A new business is, by definition, SMALL and as such has few responsibilities or overheads, except YOU the entrepreneur! So, if you are thinking about taking that leap of faith, you should take time to plan and to ensure you have the financial backing, experience, plus partners to ensure future success.

Take time to understand why some businesses survive and some don’t. One very important and vital part to a successful business in a slow economy is customer loyalty. It will be those with good relationships with buyers and with clientele who will get paid on time and enjoy returning customers. If people are not buying based on price and product, they are buying based on service…

We received a inquiry from a reader frustrated with her search for the right textiles and notions.

Yes its no secret finding materials in our industry can be a slightly underground process.  We know, its hard to know even where to begin…

Well reader…no fear.  Here are a few ways you can find the textile and notion resources you need:

1.  Attend Sourcing Events: Going to a trade show is a great way to meet and see the products of a variety of manufacturers at one time.  The next round of big sourcing shows start at the end of August with,  Sourcing at MAGIC or be sure to check out the LA Textile Show which starts at the end of September.

2.  Do an Online Search: You can search online for resources as well.  Infomat.com is an excellent online resource to help you find more production resources than you’ll know what to do with.

3.  Get a Guide: The Textile Association of Los Angeles publishes a quarterly guide of textile resources that sells for about $75 dollars.

And remember you can always visit textile showrooms year-round as a buyer.  Check out the floor directory for the California Market Center in downtown, LA for exact locations.

Happy Hunting…

Facebook has 100 million users log on each day. 100 million users that are on the web and given the right motivation would be happy and willing to share your message with their circle of friends.

So how do you get your hands on these folks?  It starts with the understanding that social media is authentic, its real…it’s not about ordinary run of the mill marketing or promotions.   Its about relationships.  And like relationships….it’s tricky.  Doing the right things could lead to eventual unconditional love…while one email too many could make you seem like a cyber stalker.

In his book, Facebook Marketing, Steven Holzner, lays out how businesses can use social media to make their companies grow. With words and images he explains how the old marketing rules don’t necessarily apply and what you can do to get in the game.

Check it out and don’t let the social media revoloution pass your business by.

Many successful apparel companies have never created or needed glossy full color lookbooks to sell their wares.  Often times as far as buyers are concerned if they like the product and the company has great samples and good line sheets–that typically does the trick.

However in this oh-so jumbled marketplace standing out from the crowd couldn’t hurt.  As long as you can afford it (pro look books at the entry level will be at least 5K).

With some stylish lifestyle photography you’ll be on the fast-track to building your brand and bringing your product to life in the eyes of potential buyers.  Also a well put-together lookbook can add to your professional image–making buyers less skeptical that you’re a fly-by-night new company that will be here today gone tomorrow.

Its a judgement call. If you feel like all your other selling ducks are in a row (good showroom, line sheets, color cards and website).  Save the 5-15K it takes to produce a nice lookbook and plan some extra sales trips. Or do the photoshoot only–use the shots on your website and put the printing costs back into your marketing budget.

Fashion showrooms and sales reps are paid as a result of the quantity they sell.  It’s no wonder they may be a little territorial.  Most showrooms require all the sales made in their assigned territory to come through them…regardless of how or when they were acquired.

For example…let’s say you’ve launched your line yourself…scored some great orders at MAGIC or another trade show and even used your frequent shopping habits at some local boutiques to help land your line on their shelves.  Even better you may know someone..who knows someone who can get your line in some major department stores.

Here’s the deal….When you sign on with a showroom or sales rep they’ll normally request that you hand over all information on sales that have happened in their territory.  And Yes…the commission as well.  Are you still listening?

For most of you who know the excruciating hustle of getting your own sales, handing them off may seem incredibly painful…not to mention terribly unfair.  However, this untimely transfer can in fact work to your advantage.

By handing some key accounts off to your showroom right from the start you can…..

1. Build Your Own Momentum– By already having some orders before you sign on with a showroom you’ve just given them a running start.  Sometimes showrooms end up dropping new lines rather quickly because they just can’t manage to get them off the ground.  They are leery about investing too much time in an untested line because they’re busy paying the bills with some proven staples (You can’t really blame them.)  However by handing off your existing contacts you could be giving your showroom just the motivation they need to keep hope alive.

2. Put Your New Team to Work on the Bottom Line–Your sales rep’s commissions shouldn’t be collected until the order is shipped and preferably the final payment has been collected.  So although you may have landed a fat order– unless the total cycle has been completed it would be premature to count it as money in the bank.  By handing accounts over to your showroom asap they may be able to warn you about stores with bad credit or reputations you may not want to produce for…. or they may be able to use their leverage in the industry to help ensure you collect on time.

3.  Show Your Retailers….How Good It Looks to Be Seamless–Your retailers need to see you and your showroom as a seamless entity.  As soon as your showroom comes into the picture they should be reaching out to your existing customers, soliciting re-orders, building trust, following up on delivery dates and putting their sales magic to work.  Customers hate confusion…do I talk to you? her? both?  Who do I call with a problem?  To reorder?  Set up the relationship between your showroom and customers immediately so they know they’ll be taken care of for whatever they need.

Don’t let your ego get away with you when it comes to handing off your accounts to your showroom.  While their may be instances where you may want to question this hand-off such as teritory or outreach issues– but for the most part you will probably just have to get with the program.  You’re simply handing off the job (and yes the commissions:( to someone else on your team.  If you’re going to do it…do it with a smile.  It can be a good thing…