How to become a resilient fashion entrepreneur?
Entrepreneur stories, episode 2
Another fashion entrepreneur is my guest in this episode. Her name is Marina Fochtberger the founder of WearForever concept store in Switzerland.
Marina was one of my early clients and I was always impressed by her talent, resilience and style.
Living a busy professional life, Marina always wanted to look stylish.She gravitated towards independent brands whose clothes exuded confidence and elegance.This approach led to her business idea.
She launched a fashion start-up that offers products for real women she knows best — professionals, mothers, friends, travellers, philanthropists.
Women who support the idea of conscious consumption and a thoughtful approach to styling their wardrobe.
Inspired by the slow living movement and conscious consumption principles, WearForever works as a wardrobe construct. Its pieces share three common features: high-quality, timeless aesthetics, and unique character expressed in subtle design details.
If you prefer to watch the full interview you can find it here. You can find a summery of our discussion in this blog.
Tell us about yourself and your fashion business
I’m the founder of an ecommerce business, WearForever store. The concept behind the store is timeless, minimalist women clothing items curated from the capsule wardrobe point of view. I do this together with a stylist.
When you go to our home page of our website you will immediately see a certain aesthetic : This has to do with the concept it actually started the business.
We launched in April 2021, so it’s quite new, not even one year old! But the concept started much earlier. I needed some time to bring the idea to life.
Why did you become a fashion entrepreneur
Before I used to work in the corporate world, in a large advertising agency. I used to work for big brands like Chanel, Nike, Coca Cola.
I used to create communication strategies for these fashion brands.And I saw that this is kind of my passion point to work with those brands. It was an amazing experience.
Working with Chanel was a totally different experience compared to what I expected from a heritage brand, a bit distant from people but it was incredible to see how their business works from inside.
But then I realised I don’t want to grow vertically any more:I didn’t want to constantly get promoted in my career.
I just wanted to do something from scratch with my hands to see the result immediately.
Yeah. And this is how I actually ended up with the idea that I need to have my own business, but I didn’t know what kind of business exactly!
The idea that turned into a business
As a customer, I was always struggling to find unique quality brands, especially when I started earning money and I would allow myself to buy the “not-so-cheap” stuff! I wanted to buy good brands that I could use for a long time.
Because I invested energy and time finding those brands. I love the fashion items I own!
I noticed I don’t want to buy things and throw them away endlessly.
And why throw them away? Because those pieces were not high quality. After the first wash you could just get rid of them!
This is initially how I ended with the concept. The style that we offer is close to me as a person.
Some people can run businesses that have nothing to do with their personal taste , and that’s brilliant. But I can’t! My brand is very close to me.
This is how I started!
I’m not a professional fashion buyer, when I buy my next collection, I’m shopping like a real customer.
I ask myself how am I going to mix and match those items? How are they going to work together? That is why everything I have in store is well thought in terms of functionality of the wardrobe.
And function is not boring! Every item has a character
How I looked was always important to me, especially in my past corporate job.
It was always important that I felt confident in front of people.
I had to present lots of different stuff in front of many important people. It was crucial that they listened to me. This was one thing, and on the other hand the way I looked created a whole picture.
Just like an advert, my look was part of the whole massage I wanted to address to the client.
Feeling confident in front of this audience was also very important to me : I started thinking about my style concept. I was going to be timeless and minimalistic with character,because I don’t like boring stuff!
You know, even when it comes to basic stuff, it shouldn’t be boring, it needs to have some specific features, which make those items special.
Even if you take a normal item like a top,which you can wear with a blazer or shorts, it can have something special.You will immediately see the way it’s made,it’s fabric, things like that. This matters to me. I hate boring stuff, even when it comes to basics.
Of course, the way you combine it with other items, like accessories ,bags and shoes,changes the way it looks differently, But I believe each item should look special as well.
Sometimes it can be hard to sell items like this online: Because people don’t have the chance to touch the item and feel the quality. The moment they can touch and feel the quality of an item, they way it’s done, they way it fits, they understand why it costs so much.
The power of style and our professional identity
When you achieve a certain level at what you do,it’s natural that you want to look different.
You want to create a different impression. You want to be more convincing,and of course, it has to do with what you say and how you say, even with the tone of voice, but your look and your outfits play a big role too.
For me clothes are an inevitable part of confidence. I love bringing this beauty into people’s lives. Change the way they feel. I like to bring confidence into people’s lives.
This is based on my own example : The way I looked was an important part of my own life.This has been a big influence in my own life: My look affected my confidence and how well I could perform at a meeting!
You know you have a course module about this topic,the power of looking inside. When you like yourself your mood changes completely.You act differently!
This is not about wearing expensive things, however well made things don’t cost cheap!
What is a capsule wardrobe?
It means you have a fixed set of clothing items which you can mix and match. So you can have lots of different combinations from the limited amount of items that you have.
You can have a capsule wardrobe for a specific season or for certain occasions or for your lifestyle.
For example,imagine I’m going on vacation and my capsule wardrobe will contain probably 10-15 pieces maximum. And if I’m going to stay somewhere for two weeks, I know what I’m going to wear everyday.
Because these 10 pieces will be mixed and matched perfectly with each other.
This is inspired by my own lifestyle
I’m going to wear a blazer with a couple of different jeans, different tops, shorts, and something else.
You mix different things with each other and you have a new outfit everyday.It looks fresh and you won’t spend much energy thinking about what to wear everyday.
That’s also a big drama for many people to decide what to wear. Even if they have a lot of stuff.
I don’t want to spend too much time thinking about what to wear , I just want to have the looks ready: fast,functional, stylish.
And this is the concept behind WearForever which I implemented by hiring a professional stylist.
A professional stylist has a developed eye for fashion.The look at collections of all brands on a regular basis. It’s a skill of its own.
Creating a timeless style can sometimes be tricky: You can wear some looks endlessly but there is always a little influence from the trends. A simple white t-shirt is seemingly a timeless item, but for example sometimes it becomes more common to wear an oversize t-shirt.Suddenly your white t-shirt may not be relevant!
You really need to be able to recognize if an item is a real classic, timeless or not. We also can’t only rely on timeless classics. It will be difficult to compete with other stores.
And the financial success of the business matters! And it’s not easy when you start from zero and in fashion which is a highly competitive industry.
Becoming a fashion entrepreneur & Starting a business in pandemic
It wasn’t an ideal time to start but it was the ideal time to start with this concept.During the first lockdown people rethought the way they consumed everything.
They realised they don’t need to have lots of unnecessary stuff anymore. Because lifestyles changed. I was convinced my concept was needed!
And of course there will always be people who need something totally different but they may not be my customer.
I remember the device you gave me some time ago that if a person unsubscribed from your list.They are just not your customer.So I am focused on my audience, they will be with me!
And this is incredible, because right when you feel everything is going wrong, someone writes” Oh , I am so happy I found your store”, “ this site is amazing, your taste is amazing”. Then you’re like , yeah I will keep moving!
We have some unique brands in our store, I mean, specially for the Swiss market. This is what differentiates me from other stores. At the sametimes it’s also more difficult to create awareness about a brand that is not well known.
People may wonder if they should buy that brand or not. That encourages me to make additional efforts to promote those brands.This is for example possible by showing the credibility of those brands, for example if they were worn by a famous personality, or by showing how great the quality is.
Some of our brands are relatively well known, maybe just not among the broad audience! What we chose is for our specific audience.
There are different criteria that go into purchasing specific collections, but sometime I immediately know if a brand is the right fit for our store or not.
But definitely my idea was also not to have well known brands very well known brands just because they became mass produced.
The different , unique look was important for me!
Advice from a fashion entrepreneur :How to look more confident?
First of all a person can feel confident in an outfit if it fits well!
The way an outfit sits on a certain body and fits a person they automatically start to feel more confident.Confidence also has to do with the personality and character.
The way you combine items matters too.
In my corporate job I had to follow a dress code working in an office I always wanted to show my creative side too.I wanted to show to the clients that I am capable of taking care of their budget and create a plan for them, but at the same time I wanted to show that I have a creative brain too! This was always shown in my style unconsciously.
That is why I find it hard to find an answer as I always did this in a subconscious way!
Sometimes we underestimate the power of first impressions!
Gabrielle Chanel, said you will not have a second chance to create the first impression.This is so true.
Fashion entrepreneur life & running a business as the mother of two
I Had no idea what I was stepping into! I believe everything is manageable when you have a plan in place.Even with the kids! Women who start a business while having kids need to learn that it’s okay to find help and to ask for help.
You can’t do everything alone and on your own.Asking for help is an important skill I developed when I became a mum of two.
So it’s about your priorities, how you plan your days. how much help you have and how you plan this help.
But it was difficult for me in the beginning.
I had this feeling of dissatisfaction with everything: no matter what I did. But you also can’t spend 24 hours on your project.
With kids you just need to stop at a certain point and spend time with them.
So the business brought me to the point where I had to start making clear priorities.
- What do I have to do?
- What I don’t have to do
- What do I want to have?
- What do I want to delegate?
I am not great at this but I am trying!
That’s a journey.
As soon as you have a quality time, with the kids, and with your work with your project, ,you see that makes a difference.
The dissatisfaction feeling does not bring any value: it just destroys you. And you will never be able to work 24 hours to justify that feeling.
You need to sleep, be with your kids and family. That’s important.You need to find that perfect balance for you!
This is different for everyone.I can’t come up with a recipe for all.
Starting a business as an expat fashion entrepreneur is possible
I had lots of fears as an expat in Switzerland. I was wondering how I’m going to do it in a foreign country. But this was at the end about my personal decision.
Are you going to do what you love no matter in which country you live, where you will not even try?
I don’t know if I’m going to succeed you know, if I fail I fail.
But for me it was important to try. Better to try and fail, than never try so never fail!
This is my mantra.
Probably so much would have been easier in Moscow where I knew everyone and everyone knew me. But that is not a good enough reason not to try something new.
And I want to try despite having a lot of fears.
For example, sometimes I think that yeah, my Russian accent is so huge and no one will understand what I’m saying.
But in the end it’s just my fears!
How can fashion entrepreneurs stay resilient?
For me a big source of energy is my friends.
If I have a down moment, and I’m doubting what I’m doing, wondering if this is the right thing? Am I the right person to do this,I try to get support from people who I trust.
And I don’t always want to hear nice stuff, I want to hear the opinion I trust.
It helps to ask people why they appreciate you, what are the strengths that they think you have, that’s, that’s really important.
Because this is, this is how you remind yourself who you are.
Sometimes I try to distance myself from the problem to solve it: With yoga, meditation or just having a free mind. This way I make better decisions.
It was important for me to understand that it’s okay not to have an answer right now.
Because the perfectionist inside me wanted that: This is especially common among people who come from the corporate world.In corporate everyone is talking about achieving results, multitasking and productivity.
It’s okay sometimes to feel stupid!
It’s okay. Just because you started something new.It’s way worse not to try to learn something new. It’s uncomfortable for me too to go to an area you know nothing about. But you can figure things out step by step.
What makes a fashion entrepreneur successful
I think about this alot. I’m pretty sure that many people just give up too early.
Sometimes it’s not even about their product or anything wrong with that.
A certain level of resilience is a key ability to move forward.
How to maintain this resilience is a very individual topic:how do you recharge your batteries? How do you find confidence? It’s so different for different people.
Sometimes it’s important to understand when it’s time to give up. And not just to give up:to close this door to open another one.
If someone wants to start a product based business in fashion and lifestyle, what advice do you have for them?
First advice: have enough cash flow. That’s really important!
You freeze lots of money in advance to buy collections / goods.Sometimes you have to buy collections a year in advance before selling. That’s tough!You may not earn enough right away.
This is what many people don’t understand when they start these types of businesses.
Second advice: Done is better than perfect!This is my mantra
Even before I knew I’m going to launch, I wasn’t finished with a lot of things. But I knew I had to start just the way it was and make improvements step by step along the way.
Sometimes you just have to change things in the process.
Because then you see what works and what doesn’t. So you don’t need to know everything from the beginning. Of course, the more things you can predict the better.
How can we find you online?
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/wearforever.store/
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Wearforever.store
Website: https://wearforever.store
Thank you Marina for sharing your inspiring journey with us!
Did you find this story inspiring? Do you want to become a fashion entrepreneur like Marina and don’t know where to start? Maybe you have have a look at this blog article.
And If you are really serious about this journey , then feel free to book a discovery call with me and see how business coaching can help you move faster towards your goal!
