Over breakfast this morning, a friend and I shared stories and insights that could add value to each other’s business. We attempt to catch up every couple of months and I always walk away with a new idea or an interesting way to approach an existing business issue.
We met 15 years ago when our boys were four years old. My friend Alexia was, and still is, a fashion designer and retailer. I was editor of a fashion magazine. Although our boys were at school together, as time-poor working mothers we didn’t get the chance to meet there. We connected initially via a letter that Alexia sent to me as editor of ELLE. I had written an editorial about the stress associated with being a working mother and Alexia wrote me a long letter explaining how my life mirrored hers. By chance, my son had been invited to the fifth birthday party of a boy in his class with the same unusual surname. I introduced myself to Alexia at her son’s party and we have been friends ever since.
When we find the time to catch up, it’s never just to talk about our boys. We dive straight into our respective business challenges – straight down the rabbit hole. We have known each other for so long that there is no judgment here. We talk openly about our successes and failures. We know so much about the other’s careers and businesses that we can offer advice candidly. We workshop ways to pull ourselves up and defy the economic conditions that have challenged us.
We are both interested in e-commerce and the potential benefits for our businesses, and eagerly share what we have learned in the months between catchups. Alexia is expert at targeting a niche market, customer service and pricing. She understands operating costs and brand marketing.
As a former director of The Apparel Group (Sportscraft, Saba) I have been able to share my experience regarding wholesale versus retail, and the relative differences between managing your brand in your own stores and leaving it to the mercy of the department stores.
We have been there and done that, while juggling children and cashflows. I value having someone to talk to who just gets it every time. We have the best intentions for each other’s businesses and lives, and there are few who are happier when the other succeeds.
Do you have a friend or acquaintance that you can share your highs and lows with without fear of judgment?