Hip-Hop and Fashion

Vol. 13

Due to the fact that I am so interested in mixing the fashion and entertainment industries, I decided this week to look into how others view the mixing of the two industries and the relevance of another company trying to mix the two. This week my research took www.askmen.com where there was an article ‘Hip-Hop Fashion” where the two industries were discussed. The article speaks about the fact that as Hip-Hop is increasing so are the rapper desires for high fashion pieces, it states that the rappers are learning what has been known for years “Nothing says filthy, stinking rich like conspicuous consumption”. Which basically states that as rappers see more income from their music they want to show the wealth by purchasing and wearing high fashion pieces. The music industry is an industry where it has went from having talent to an industry where mainstream acceptance means total success. Which has turned the entertainment industry into one all about the flash of money.

The article goes on to discuss how the industry has turned into one where it is almost required to flaunt the pieces one is able to acquire with their recent wealth. Because of this the article states that “fashion was simply the next worldly possession on the list”. This simply shows how now the only thing that is needed is good fashion sense to gain a following. This shows that the mixing of the entertainment and fashion industries in greatly needed especially since so many artists are merging the two unknowingly. With the recent demands for high fashion its cuts out the quick imitations that seldom occur from admirers wanting to look like the next up and coming artist. Therefore limiting the ability to dress like your favorite artist, unless your pockets could handle the financial burden of keeping up with the Jone’s.

The article goes on to speak about the rapper as the designer. It questions the ability for designers to answer all of the hip-hop fashion trends when the artists are the ones living and breathing the lifestyle. With music moguls entering the fashion industry with an impact with such companies like Jay-Z’s Rocawear, Russell Simmons Phat Farm, etc.

Read more: http://www.askmen.com/daily/austin_60/79_fashion_style.html#ixzz1u8UTueUh

Memberships and Associations

Volume 12

For this particular blog post I wanted to talk about a trade association that I came across the site for North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents (NAPAMA) at www.napama.org . This organization is geared to help keep members of the performing arts industry aware of the economic and legal trends, which have an impact on the industry. This was important to me due to the fact that I will be new to many things in the industry as I make my entry. With wanting K by Shay to be a company that mixes both the entertainment and fashion industries I will be helping to offer management services to the potential artist who will be using the company to reach clients.

NAPAMA sole purpose is to  “promote the best interests of performing arts agents and managers through leadership, professional development and alliances in the performing arts industry”’. The benefits of joining this organization include discounts for conferences, discounts on products and services used in the industry. One of the things that I really found interesting was the fact that the membership included legal advice and services. Along with this they host seminars and other educational opportunities to help keep members aware of any developments in the industry.  NAPAMA holds an annual meeting in various locations somewhere during the months of May or June of each year, which is held in conjunction with the association’s annual retreat. More information about the dates and times can be found on the organizations website www.napama.org .

The site shows that there are currently 6 main membership levels agent/manager, presenting organization, business associate, individual, emeritus and student which are divided into 11 subcategories for the members to chose from which range in price from $50-$350 per year, with the student fee being $50 annually.  Each of the membership levels have their requirements as to the amount of people managed, the number of performances held, and gross bookings income.

Twitter and More Twitter

Volume 11

In one of my most recent post I spoke about the importance of marketing on Twitter. I also discussed ways that marketing on Twitter can help and harm a company or brand if not utilized properly. With the fact that I am interested in the mixing of the entertainment and fashion industries by form of a retail boutique. I found an article in one of the magazines that I subscribe to Chain Store Age which can be found at www.chainstoreage.com the article was titled "All A'Twitter" and was focused on social media and its importance for retailers. In this particular article two companies got together to survey where retailers were trending in terms of social media engagement and communication tools.

The article states that though Facebook and Twitter are ranked amongst web and mobile advertising sector it will not surpass proprietary databases or customer infinity programs. It is important to mention that the survey returned results indicating that half of the retailers surveyed believed that the old way of communicating with customers worked just fine. While the other half of the retailers believed that frequent shopper programs, opted-in databases, web advertising, and Facebook are amongst the most important forms of communication. It would be great to see at the end of a year or two the balance sheets and new surveys of both sides to show how the percentages changed.

Mobile advertising and Twitter are expected to see a rise in retailer use, this is where the greatest increase will be seen. Though many retailers will join the social media trend many still have direct relationships with their customers as their main focus. It was amazing to see that of those surveyed that it was mainly the specialty retailers were more likely than all other retail category respondents to say web and mobile advertising were important forms of communication. The larger department stores see direct mail as the most important form of communication. Though web and mobile advertising are rising on the list frequent shopper programs remain on the top of the lists.

I felt that this article was very helpful in finding out how the importance on various forms of advertising are ranked across the retail spectrum. I think that the survey would have held a little more value if it would have surveyed the retailers and the customers. This would show the differences each side held on how they view advertising.

Boccaccio, K. F. (2011, October). All a'twitter. Chain Store Age , 87(7), 23-24. DOI: www.chainstoreage.com

Tweet, Tweet, Tweet

Volume 09

I mention all of the time how the fashion and music industries are a perfect comparison for each other, and how I want my business to show how the two can compliment each other while at the same time bringing recognition to entrepreneurs who would generally not be able to get their products out to the public. This past month things have been moving pretty fast here at The Shoe Cafe and I have found some new ways to get my products in front of the public while at the same time doing the things that I love. Recently I was approached at an event about modeling for a company in the Orlando area with a strong background, so I accepted. Modeling for this company gives me the opportunity to see how fashion and music industries work well together and at the same time gives me the ability to wear my own products at events and shoots. One of the things that I was informed of by my agency was the importance of using Twitter as a form of marketing to gain jobs and recognition for ones brand. Because of the information received in that particular meeting I decided to do some research on the Twitter for marketing topic that seemed to be of such importance.

One of the sites that I stumbled upon while looking up some information was Virtual Social Media whose post can be found at http://www.virtualsocialmedia.com/why-twitter-is-a-good-marketing-strategy/. This was titled Why Twitter is a good marketing strategy one of the many things that was mentioned which caught my attention and something that I could easily agree with is the fact that Twitter is different then any other social networking sites which means that it will take a different type of marketing strategy to see success. It also list some of the pitfalls that businesses and individuals face when trying to use Twitter as a form of marketing these pitfalls include but are not limited to the following bulleted points:

• Following and being followed by people in the same industry.
• Followers usually have no interest in the products or services being offered.

It leaves off by mentioning the fact that if Twitter is used correctly it can be very profitable to all involved. Making sure that tweets are short and to the point will also help to make sure that your followers are actually interested in the things being tweeted. Since Twitter only allows 140-character tweets it is important to leave room for people to re tweet your tweets if they like what is being said.

The Title of Leadership

Volume 9

This week I was browsing a site http://www.ted.com which housed various videos from speakers all over the world with innovated messages about various topics. The video that I watched and would like to share my findings with you all about was by speaker Drew Dudley in September 2010, the film was titled Everyday Leadership. In this video Dudley speaks about the way that we have taken the word leadership and turned it into something so much bigger, turning it into something dealing with changing the world. I chose to write about this video because leadership is one of the most important skills needed when position where one will have others working under them. During the 6 min 21 sec. video Dudley elaborates on making leadership bigger than what it actually is by discussing the fact we as people no longer celebrate the small moments when we actually do things that influence or affects another persons life. He speaks about the fact that we often have people that do things in our lives that change the way we do something or has an impact on us, but we never let those people know that at that particular moment they showed true leader skills. 

There are people walking around everyday not knowing that the things that they do on a regular basis is affecting the way that someone else views things in life. When I think about that fact alone I know many people in my life that have had an impact on many of the major decisions that I have made and I have yet to inform them of this simply because we often assume when people do something good they know it and there is no need to let them know. Dudley tells a story to the audience about a time that he made a simple gesture that made a young lady decide to stay in college and ended up marrying the guy associated with the story also. If you get a chance you should definitely check out this link  http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_dudley_everyday_leadership.html and watch the short video it was very inspiring and the story was something that everyone could relate to. After watching this video I am going to be sure that I start to acknowledge all of the smaller accomplishments that are made on a day to day basis. 

Joining the Crowd

Volume 8

This week while doing some work for school wee were assigned to look into industry associations, because of the fact that I am mixing fashion and music I chose two associations. The first association being the Music & Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA) which can be found at http://www.meisa.org. I gathered information from the student association site. The site helps to connect students in the entertainment industry to professionals working or retired from the industry. The site also stated that it helped to prepare students for the industry by pairing them with mentors and potential  employees. By securing a MEIEA membership one will be allowed to gain admission to conferences, seminars, and association workshops. Earn voting priviledges and apply for grants and scholarships.  MEIEA is a non-profit organization, the membership is for two and four year colleges and universities http://www.meiea.org states the the association currently has three levels of membership active, student, and institutional. The best part about the active membership is that it is available to anyone who wants to join the organization. The membership is good until October 31st of each year and must be renewed or will expire. The site did not state rather or not there was a membership fee, though it stated that the chapters were not required to pay. 

The second being the National Shoe Retailers Association (NSRA) where more information can be found at http://www.nsra.org. The NSRA is also a non-profit organization which represents independent shoe store owners throughout the United States and Canada. One thing that I found interesting about this particular association which seemed to line with what I want my business to be about is the fact that the typical members goal is to make sure the customer is pleased, not only with the purchased product, but also with the overall purchasing experience. The current members currently make up 20% of the total footwear industry. The NSRA offers similar if not the same benefits to its members as MEIEA. The reason I chose these two associations is because they lined up with not only my career path but also had programs that allowed students and other members to network freely with people of similar interest in career paths. 

Crowd Funding

Volume 6

While browsing the World Wide Web, I came across www.indiegogo.com, an online site, set up to give individuals from all over the world, the opportunity to set up their own platform, in order to raise money for various projects, events and causes. Up until today, I was completely unaware that a site such as this one existed; therefore, I was very intrigued by the concept of the site, the international audience that it reached, as well as, the generosity of those that donated.

As I browsed through all the different categories, I noticed that while all of them had a decent amount of money donated the majority of the large donations were for causes that dealt with health. For example, Michelle Combs Fundraiser the supports a wife and mother of two, as she enters into stage four of breast cancer. With a goal of $25,000 for alternative cancer treatments, the campaign as already earned over $13,000 with 105 more days to go! Other example was shown through the Go Alex! Fundraiser , which has already raised nearly $14,000 for the family of Alex, a 38 year-old husband and father of two who is currently battling esophageal cancer. Surpassing their goal of $10,000, Go Alex! Fundraiser and the Michelle Combs Fundraiser are prime examples of the generosity and compassion that overflows in our world.

While the campaigns on health required no perks to donate, outside of the indescribable joy you’d feel afterwards, some campaigns actually had what they considered “benefits” to your contribution. The Ethical Fashion Missionary, for example, was geared to fund the tuition and personal expenses of an inspired fashion student as she prepared to travel to the University of Ideas, in Biella, Italy. In order to make you feel like your contribution would be put to good use, if you donated a certain amount of money, you were “awarded” prizes, ranging from customized postcards, to free babysitting and business consultations. A great form of customer appreciation; this form of fundraising is a win-win with the idea of the cause being fulfilled and the giver being honored.

The interesting thing about the site is that with a valid email account, anymore can set up a campaign and begin to earn money for their cause. With no cause or campaign too big or too small, it’s amazing to see what causes people are truly passionate about and how many other people in the world share in their passion.

A Fresh Start

Volume 6

Recently the team here at The Shoe Café decided that we wanted to go about the business operations in a different way. Because of this decision to change the way things operated we decided to close the doors on the first retail store. One of the best things to come out of closing the doors on the business is the fact that we were able to sell all shoes to the public therefore leaving us with no stock on hand. This was perfect because it allowed us the opportunity to start fresh. We are now in the process of finalizing the new business ideas and producing designs for samples to be made. We look to have this completed by the later second half of the first fiscal quarter. While in the process of gathering information for restarting The Shoe Café I came across an article speaking about alternative options for funding a start-up company versus traditional business loans. The link for the article can be found at the bottom of this post.

One of the things that really stood out to me was crowd funding. After further research I found out that crowd funding was a was for the entrepreneur to place their business idea in front of unlimited numbers of people in hopes that someone would like their idea enough to invest. The person investing in the company and the original owner would then agree on terms of how the investor would receives dividends in return if any were agreed upon. The website that I found hosting this service www.wickedstart.com also assisted the business owner in drawing up a contract for both parties to have for their own records. 

This site was very user friendly in providing the information in a way that even the most novice user would understand. The site is also 100% free and will not ask for any of the users banking information. This was a comfort especially in an age where every site that offers to help also ask for a credit or debit card to start. The one thing that I found the most helpful on the site was the fact that you got to set your own deadlines according to what you were trying to accomplish. The Wicked Start site allows the user to plan, gain capital, and market their ideas through the process of a 10-step plan. While working through the plan the sites has resource materials, advice columns, and videos all as a way to help the user understand the next steps and answer any questions. After using this site personally I would recommend www.wickedstart.com to anyone thinking of starting a business rather they felt they needed the start up help or not. This recommendation would be in part that the site was very easy to use. The best part of the site is the ability to save all of your business documents on one site this will assist with the organization aspect of the business.

Stodghill, A. G. (2011, August 31). The start-up company that helps you start your own business. Retrieved from http://madamenoire.com/110965/this-start-up-company-helps-you-start-your-own-business/