Vendor at trade show: Yes we do (friendly smile back). We only do sublimination printing.
Me: Wonderful. (shoulders back, confident, ‘I mean business voice’) I’d like to print on 100% cotton at approximately x GSM. Can you help me with this?
Vendor at trade show: (confused look) but you need polyester in the garment for sublimination printing.
Me: (aloof look, quickly pull myself together, arrange my face) Yeah of course, of course. Thanks for your help. Bye.
This if how 99% of my interactions with experts, factories, consultants, companies, any one really, have ended up. I am learning everything as I go along. There’s only so far the university of Google will take you, let me tell ya! I’ve gone from being routinely embarrassed by this kind of encounter to viewing it as normal, even welcoming it. Every time it happens something clicks or I learn something new.
I have no background in manufacturing, fabrics, fashion design or even running a business. The most I have is a GCSE in textiles and I can (very proudly) thread and operate a sewing machine. However, that’s where my knowledge started and ended when I embarked on this journey. The last time I learned acronyms at this rate was my first job in advertising. I compiled a whole glossary page in the back of my notebook because there were so many to learn.
These days I tend to get it out of the way and tell people I’m learning or admit that I don’t know. Most people are happy to teach or help someone and I love learning so it’s a good combination. When I think about what I’ve learned in three years, I’m excited to see what I’ll know in six.
My advice about dealing with knowledge gaps is to embrace them, enjoy the journey and be genuinely excited to look at how far you’ve come.
Well hello. I took a bit of an unplanned break from writing this blog and posting on social media this summer. I had to get over the strange feelings of guilt associated with taking a break. Let’s face it, I doubt anyone cared I took a break…and yet it’s so bizarre that these feelings of …
I’ve only just realised that I didn’t write a launch day post. No doubt I was busy praying that everything linked together and that there were no errors in the order and payment process. It was a major high for me that four years from incorporating a business, I was finally selling products. I was …
When someone asks me this question, I groan silently and deeply inside. Depending on how beat up I’m feeling, sometimes the groan is audible. There is nothing wrong with this question, those of you that ask me, please don’t stop asking me. The groan has everything to do with me and nothing to do with …
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Knowledge Gaps
Vendor at trade show: Hi
Me: Hi! Does your factory do digital printing?
Vendor at trade show: Yes we do (friendly smile back). We only do sublimination printing.
Me: Wonderful. (shoulders back, confident, ‘I mean business voice’) I’d like to print on 100% cotton at approximately x GSM. Can you help me with this?
Vendor at trade show: (confused look) but you need polyester in the garment for sublimination printing.
Me: (aloof look, quickly pull myself together, arrange my face) Yeah of course, of course. Thanks for your help. Bye.
This if how 99% of my interactions with experts, factories, consultants, companies, any one really, have ended up. I am learning everything as I go along. There’s only so far the university of Google will take you, let me tell ya! I’ve gone from being routinely embarrassed by this kind of encounter to viewing it as normal, even welcoming it. Every time it happens something clicks or I learn something new.
I have no background in manufacturing, fabrics, fashion design or even running a business. The most I have is a GCSE in textiles and I can (very proudly) thread and operate a sewing machine. However, that’s where my knowledge started and ended when I embarked on this journey. The last time I learned acronyms at this rate was my first job in advertising. I compiled a whole glossary page in the back of my notebook because there were so many to learn.
These days I tend to get it out of the way and tell people I’m learning or admit that I don’t know. Most people are happy to teach or help someone and I love learning so it’s a good combination. When I think about what I’ve learned in three years, I’m excited to see what I’ll know in six.
My advice about dealing with knowledge gaps is to embrace them, enjoy the journey and be genuinely excited to look at how far you’ve come.
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