Self-Affirmation Leads to Online Clothing Brand

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

As we approach the week of Thanksgiving, at least in the US, as we approach the holidays worldwide, I want you to listen to this quote from today's story. This quote, this woman I'm going to tell you about in the story, she says, "I was not about to put my success in someone else's hands and limit my future." I was not about to put my success in someone else's hands and limit my future. This is a perspective that I know many people in our community share. And if you're new here, you should know as well, it doesn't mean you have to be a hard charging entrepreneur. There are all kinds of ways to work for a good company or organization, or just work for any company or organization for a time, without necessarily putting your success in someone else's hands or limiting your future.

That's why having more than one source of income is so important. Because when you're not dependent on any one company or organization, then you go to work because you want to. Just because you have an obligation, not just because you have bills to pay, but because you believe in the work you're doing. And I tell you these stories as an encouragement and a model. What can you learn and apply for your own life?

Now in this one, after hitting a glass ceiling at work, one woman decides to manage her own career by starting a lifestyle brand clothing line. I'll tell you all about it shortly after this message from our sponsor. Michelle Cador was a program manager at a New York City government organization overseeing grants for small businesses. After working there for two years, she applied for a promotion to an open spot for a director in her division. She was pretty much already doing the job.

She just didn't have the title. But when she talked to her boss about it, she was told that they would have to see who else was interested. Devastated, Michelle headed home that night, silently fighting tears on a street corner in the rain. When a cab passed by and splashed her with water from head to toe. She chose to see it as a wake-up call from the universe.

She was giving over the power of her professional future to someone else. In that moment, she told herself, "I am who I say I am." That experience of self-affirmation was powerful, and it might have been enough for some people. But Michelle wanted a way for others to experience and own that same powerful feeling. It didn't take long to decide how she would do it. As a kid, she'd enjoy designing clothing, and now she wanted a way for others to literally wear a message of empowerment on their sleeve.

It was clear that the best way to do this was to start her own clothing line, which she would call "Yes I Am" in honor of that street corner epiphany. Not wanting to waste any time, she decided to keep working at her full-time job while investing $1,500 of her own money to start the brand. She came up with five positive, empowering designs and then hired a graphic artist to bring them to life. One of her mentors was able to recommend a local printer and connected her to a spot in the fashion district where she could purchase shirts wholesale. It took Michelle eight months from that puddle-drenching moment, but in July 2016, she launched "Yes I Am" with the tagline "Brand Yourself." Although she was worried no one would like her clothing, she brought her first samples to a pop-up fashion show and kept expectations low.

To her surprise, at least one person loved what she was doing and snapped up a shirt right away. Motivated to continue, Michelle began teaching herself Adobe Illustrator so she could do more of the designs herself. She also bought a heat press for $180 so she could handle the entire process of making the shirts from design to production. Next, she moved her brand's website to Shopify and began advertising on Facebook and Google. Having a more visible online store helped grow her audience and her sales.

Her second event was at another pop-up show. By the time she arrived, this time there were already three people waiting to buy her sweatshirts. She had made $300 before she even finished setting up for the show. Moving forward, she collaborated with two partners to open a second business to support her first, a fashion boutique in Brooklyn called Despot NYC. It brings together several indie brands that are all focused on fashion, art, and lifestyle goods.

Their mission is to provide a platform for independent creatives to increase their network, build brand awareness, and achieve economic mobility. This brick and mortar store started in a 100-square-foot location with a small production room next door. The three partners pulled together $3,000 to get into the space and buy basic furnishings. It took them a month to get the store open, but they made their first sale even earlier. Someone walking by happened to see an item that caught their eye and asked to buy it right away.

That first sale was a sign of good things to come and the business continues to grow. In fact, in 2019, the partners decided to expand to a new location in Brooklyn's City Point Mall. They now have over 1,000 square feet and a full-time staff member. For Michelle, the new store means having a dedicated section for her own clothing brand, a step that's been part of her vision from the beginning. It's given her access to a new audience outside of her online presence.

Today, Despot turns an annual profit of around $75,000 for the partners, with Michelle earning around $25,000 in profit from Yes, I Am. With a move into the new location, she expects that sales will continue to grow. Even so, she's still dedicated to doing all the production of the shirts herself. For her, it's more than a clothing line. She's hoping to inspire and empower people.

In fact, that's what it's all about, empowerment. She's teaching people that you can't rely on anyone else to give you a promotion. The best way to get it done is to promote yourself. So how can you give yourself a promotion? Well, first and foremost, we often talk about income or money or cash, you know, whatever you want to call it.

Here in the program, that is a big part of what a side hustle is about, a big part of diversifying your income, increasing your assets, increasing your wealth, reducing your debt, etc. So that you have more options, possibility and choice available to you. So that's a big part of a side hustle. But also you could increase or improve your role, your responsibility, your status or title. Is there a way you can change your title, either at work or in the project you're making yourself?

Or is there a way you can introduce some more creativity, do something else that you appreciate more in your job, and perhaps, you know, find a way to also pass on some other tasks that you're not enjoying as much. Obviously, you know your work situation much better than me. So for some people, that may be very possible, others, it might not be as possible. But whatever your situation, choose to invest in yourself. Never put your success in someone else's hands or limit your future.

Good advice from Michelle. And of course, it's great that she's taking it herself. All right, listeners, inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better. Today's show notes are at sidehustleschool.com/1056. That's episode 1056, 1056.

We're going to link up Michelle's brand, anything else I mentioned in the episode, and I hope you'll join me again tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.