Fashion Business Owner Musings: Success Comes From Perseverance

As much as you may feel you’ve already heard this, I’m going to say it anyway. Success comes from perseverance.

I see examples of this every single day in the work that I do. When members of StartUp FASHION or students of LevelUp FASHION share with me their victories of finally seeing consistent sales on their website or getting into new boutiques, or being able to pay themselves for the first time, those wins have come from years of working toward these goals.

That’s years of working other jobs to help fund their dream. Years of learning the ins and outs of business ownership from design and finances to marketing and sales strategy. Years of tapping into resources to help reach those milestones as quickly and smoothly as possible. Years of failures, big and small.

And recently, during the Launch Your Fashion Business Summit that we hosted, I interviewed the owner of a maternity brand who shared that it took six years for her business to become profitable. Six years.

And the moment she said that I got a glimpse into who she is as a person.

Six years of perseverance towards a goal. A dream. A mission.

Regardless if it takes you 2 years or 10 years to reach the goal you have in place for yourself, the act of “keep going” is the only way you’ll get there.

Being ok with the idea of years of believing that success would come if you keep doing what needs to be done. 

I’m not saying it was easy.

I’m not saying that you’ll know exactly what success is going to look like.

I’m saying that perseverance will work in your favor.

Keep writing those blog posts and sending those emails.

Keep going to work every day knowing that it is paying your bills and simultaneously allowing you to go after your dreams and goals.

Keep working on your confidence, reminding yourself that you are a smart and capable person, who can make this dream come true, even when you have a really hard time believing it.

Keep reading books and watching videos and taking classes so that you can learn as much as possible about entrepreneurship, marketing, overcoming self doubt, finances, and everything else.

Keep going. Eventually it will pay off.

Success comes from perseverance.

But if you stop when it feels like you’re spinning your wheels, if you stop when you feel unsure, if you stop when you believe there’s no way you can make this happen, you’ll probably always wonder “what if”.

I get it, it’s exhausting.

How long can you keep doing this?

The answer?

As long as it takes.

Because when it finally takes hold, when it clicks, you won’t always know that it’s coming.

So yes, it’s difficult. But if this is a dream you still want for yourself. If it is a goal that you are not interested in moving away from. If the thought of not having do this makes you incredibly disappointed and sad, then keep going. 

I know the journey is challenging. I know that it can sometimes seem like you keep trying, flopping, getting up, trying again, and nothing is changing . . .

But it is changing. You’re changing.

You’re learning and improving and growing.

And learning, improving, and growing is how you get from a hopeful dream to an accomplished goal.

Success is reached with perseverance.

Lots of love and encouragement,