Fashion Entrepreneurs Who Do It All

Lean times drive savvy businesspeople to reassess every aspect of their businesses, and Brian Hill of Femme Athletic in Phoenix, Arizona, is a prime example. Hill designs the apparel, promotes his line to other stores, deals one-on-one with manufacturers and fabric suppliers, and markets his products online at http://www.femmeathletic.com. Hill started Femme Athletic on the campus of Arizona State University over nine years ago to provide high-quality sportswear for active women, and experience tells him that constant improvement is a requirement for staying in business. 

Hill knows exactly how to get additional support from retailers, line reps, and manufacturers to help cut costs. According to Hill, “Everyone from the cost side of things…[has] been more lenient with our terms….just giving us added value, covering shipping, adding extra catalogs in, giving us ideas…that can help us stay in business. It seems like all these people…are trying to help each other stay in business.”

His key to success is simple: organization. “Organizing really helped because we figured out what we might’ve done better last year and focused in on the things that were successful and that had the best margins.” Asked about the burden of “doing it all,” Hill replies that the economic downturn means that everyone needs as much revenue as possible.

A strong proponent of the Internet and technology, Hill believes that better automation is essential to Femme Athletic’s continued success. He’s also a proponent of networking, both online and offline. In addition to being Director of Phoenix Fashion Week (www.phoenixfashionweek.com) and founder of a local group called Fashion Arizona Meetup (http://www.meetup.com/fashionarizona/),  he uses MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter to increase his business’ online presence. According to Hill, the ability to operate from any laptop in the nation and do business with people around the world gives Femme Athletic an advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Hill’s advice to other retailers: "Keep your costs as low as possible. Keep your margins as high as possible. Sell as many of the same products as you can. Keep your offerings more narrow as opposed to wide, sell through as many times as you can, and keep your costs down"anything from paper products to fabrics to your online presence…even your payroll. Keep everything really, really tight. And then conversely, watch your cash flow."

Another “do it all” online retailer is Eric Torres, founder of Different Trends, a unique online store that showcases diverse handpicked designers and sells everything from gothic art to Ed Hardy-inspired apparel. Torres sees this economy as an opportunity. “I believe in my business,” Torres proudly states. “The more creative you are, the more your business is going to last. I got a ton of designers and a ton of ideas, and since I am small enough I can move faster than just about anybody else out there.” 

Like Brian Hill, Torres advocates a strong online presence. He believes that investing in the functionality of his website was one of the best business decisions he ever made. “I make it easy for people to get the products they want, and sales increase when businesses make shopping easier."

As professional as Torres is with his business strategy, he is like a father with his designers. The designers who meet his high standards have earned his respect; he connects with them. According to Torres, his hot designer right now is Misguided Creativity. “He is an ex-tattoo guy gone graphic designer…..his stuff is really impressing everyone in the store." Torres provides his designers with reports on the number of hits everyone gets, which spurs a friendly competition to be number one.

When it comes to handling all aspects of a business, Torres really does do it all. He manages a number of designers, runs a successful online store, organizes fashion shows, goes to trade shows, manages social media marketing, and volunteers with the local Fashion Weeks. His advice for conquering that long to-do list when outsourcing may be too expensive? “Start partnering up. If a retailer wanted to buy a couple of my products I could go as little as a dozen products…I don’t need to sell them 100. So I can bring traffic to their store and they can bring traffic to me….I mean, the little guys have to stay together and watch out for each other.”