Did you know if you’re a California Company with at least one employee you and your employees may be eligible for Free Job Skills Training through Fashion Business Inc.— made possible by the State of California Employment Training Panel.

Although California companies are required to pay into the program as a part of their business taxes…few companies take the time to cash into the programs extraordinary benefits.

ETP job skills training can be completely contoured to the needs of your apparel business.  Including Photoshop, Illustrator, CAD, PAD, Sales and Marketing courses at little to no cost to you.

To see if you meet ETP requirement for free or low cost job skills training at the FBI give us a call at 213.892.1669

It’s been said that good managers don’t manage…they MOTIVATE.

Most of us perform a lot better with inspriation, motivation and good will than we do on intimidation and fear.

If you’ve suddenly found yourself managing people in your new business its important to be able to reconcile the personal goals of your employees with the goals of the company.

This may be reflected through a generous bonus structure, subsidized education or opportunties for advancement.

However large or small the gesture, simply showing employees you care can make a big difference in your business. People will work harder, save your company money and produce better results.

The best part about good will is that whatever you do it generally ends up paying for itself.

Are partnerships a good idea? They can be a great idea….or the worst idea you’ve ever had depending upon who you end up partnering with.

Many designers have successful partnerships with friends, lovers, siblings, former colleagues or even  their spouses.

Think of partnerships like a marriage….in a business context. There are many people you may date, have a fling with or admire but their are probably only a few people you share enough sensibilities with to marry.

Taking the construction of the partnership very seriously from the start will be very important to its success. Determine who will do what…who’s good at what and who will have the final word at what. Work with an attorney or do the research yourself to come up with a mutual agreed upon arrangement as to how the partnership with function. This planning time is the best time to ask all the what if questions you can think of….

As excited as you may be to get started getting all this “potential drama,” out of the way will make your partnership a lot smoother in the long run…and hopefully preserve important personal relationships as well.

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The fashion schools are a good place to start. I’ve received a truckload of resumes when posting on FIDM’s career center site.

The trick is finding a good intern once you get the resumes.

First of all you want to make sure they are genuinely interested in the product you produce. Also since you are training them you want them to grow with you…so find out about their future plans and if they could see themselves working with you for a few years, or at least a couple.

Finally in order to bag the best talent their needs to be something valuable in it for them…and that doesn’t always mean $$$. See what their specific interests are and determine if you can tie that into their internship experience. You may want to give them a pet project such as something you’ll let them design and produce themselves. Or you may want to train them on a specific software that will improve their resume.

Most interns aren’t working for money they are working for the experience. You’ll get the most out of your time investment by training them as future employees and not just temporary free labor.