Diamond Moore- moore4dc@mail.uc.edu
Jonathan Maxey
English 1001
28 February 2020
Clothing Business Owner
An apparel business owner owns the shop that sells clothing by other designers and may sell their own clothing as well. Another but broader name for a business owner is an entrepreneur. An apparel business owner is responsible for many tasks in and outside of the shop, such as: buying and selling, hiring new employees, firing old employees, accounting, payroll, sales, promotion, marketing and much more. Although, a degree is not required it is important for one to understand the business part of the career and not just what is the new fad of fashion now.
A few questions I have about owning an apparel business are how many years of education are needed to start? What is the average salary? Is this profession important and needed? What is the work environment like? Is it easy to become an apparel business owner? What is the everyday life of the job? Does one have the freedom to travel? Does it payoff to be my own boss? How much freedom does one have? How much work needed to do the job? Where and how should one start? How does one know when one is successful?
The first source I will use is an article about what apparel business owners do, where do they work and salary. apparel business owners do many things for example: “he/she is typically responsible for buying, visual, merchandising, accounting/ bookkeeping/payroll, sales, hiring, firing, ringing sales, marketing and promotions and more. (FS STAFF)” Business owners usually have a small team to work with. As an owner it is very helpful to have trustful employees to help divide the task needed to be done daily. To become an apparel business owner, you must have more than just an eye for fashion. Although, a degree is not needed it is very useful to have when running any business. Having a degree in both fashion design and business would be a great combination to run the business. Apparel business owners can work anywhere that works for their business.
The salary of an apparel business is hard to determine because there are way too many variables to factor in. As stated in the article, “The amount earned can depend on the size of the shop, location, type of clothing, years in the business and many other factors. (FS STAFF)” So there is not an easy way to determine the salary of a business unless you look at each year progress.
This source is a newspaper about small business owners sacrificing to thrive in the current economy. Eldon Kabb owner of and president of Cumberland Industries took a 75% pay cut in February and had to start paying rent for the companies plant out of pocket. It is common for business owners to make sacrifices that may break or make your company. “Small business owners are making sacrifices not just in Northeast Ohio, but across the nation: A recent American Express survey of 727 small business owners showed that 30% no longer are taking a salary.” This means that small business owners are giving up money, time, and possibly their livelihood.
Even though it is important for a business owner to try their best it is not always the best thing to continue. Sometimes you need to know when to stop as the newspaper states “Not knowing when to give up, however, can ruin a business owner’s personal credit, and in turn, their business credit, all while causing them to miss out on other employment opportunities.” These are just a few obstacles business owners face to combat the current economy.
The third source I will be using is a trade publication about a day in the life of a business owner. The publication starts off with RealReal Inc.’s senior valuation manager Sean Conway evaluating various merchandise that is in the store. Conway starts the day by looking at the merchandise to make sure it is up to par for what the customers expect. As Hamanaka states “For as much as some purists say the art of the hunt in streetwear has become watered down, the treasure hunt by a set of people obsessed with the freshest looks…” For the most part, each day is remarkably similar and consistent. Conway comes in the office around the same time, checks the site, emails, and keeps up with anything that may have changed overnight. There may be a meeting or two between task throughout the day. It is all part of the fast pace lifestyle of buying and selling clothes. Hamanaka states that “Fastmoving items like the backpacks that sell around $200 on other reselling sites can potentially achieve $350 to $375 on The RealReal, Conway said. The more rare pieces Project Blitz keeps as its unique calling card — in much the same way brands make product specific for some retailers in a bid to control distribution and their brand equity.” One wrong move and you may lose the opportunity to have a high-quality product on your shelf. That is why it is important to move fast but to also know what you are doing.
In the academic journal “Women and apparel entrepreneurship an exploration of small business challenges and strategies in three countries” answers the question is it hard for women to be a business owner? The journal starts by clarifying that “Women-owned small businesses are making increasingly important contributions to the global economy and are developing at a faster pace than those of men (Langowitz and Minniti, 2007). Women-owned businesses are just as vital as men-owned businesses but do not get as much recognition. This journal explores three challenges female entrepreneurs and small business owners face. The three challenges are “garnering sufficient financial support to succeed, having access to mentors, networks and other types of social resources; and balancing the demands of work with those of family.” This happens because people are unenthusiastic to take chances on women. “The fact that women-owned businesses fail more often than those owned by men may in part be due to the fewer opportunities they have to secure financial support as compared to men (Alsos et al., 2006; Fielden and Dawe, 2004).”
A balance between family and work can be exceedingly problematic for women in the work force. Women are expected to be a potent force at home and to be solid in the workforce. There is a great deal expected from women but not much aid offered. “The women with families found it challenging to balance work and family obligations. Interestingly, most indicated that the motivation to pursue entrepreneurship was due to the flexibility it offered them as wives and mothers or that it allowed them to help others within the family. However, the reality is that they find it difficult to draw boundaries between the two.” Although, it is extremely rewarding to be your own boss it is also incredibly stressful and hard to do with having a family and not being able to get the support that is required.
The final source that will be used in this essay is an academic journal, which answers the question how can one grow their own business? Many business owners want to know the value of their company but do not want to pay that much for one. “The truth is, there’s no such thing as a quick valuation, and there’s no (reputable) computer program that can provide an accurate valuation based on a bunch of numbers you input. (McDaniel)” According to the journal a good valuation should depend on more than just financial records. In this journal it is explained that if one receives a valuation without an interview and without understanding the business and industry then the valuation is truly not a valuation. By the definition from the article “Valuation is a prophecy of the future based on the information that the valuator has as of the valuation date. (McDaniel)” To make an honest and truthful valuation of a company and its future success should be based from every aspect that the business brings.
Another crucial aspect of this journal is “growing your value”, McDaniel explains that it is very important to make your business the most attractive it can be. “Do you treat your business “like an investment” or as a vehicle to support your lifestyle? Business owners who have written goals and plans to increase their value will be more successful in increasing the value of their business than those who simply hope the value will increase without having any concrete plans on how to make that happen. (McDaniel)” If one takes the time to plan out what is the next step that needs to be taken and how will one get there it that business owner will have a higher chance at staying successful. Some strategies that were shared in the article were “Improving your business hygiene, increasing your sustainable cash flow, reducing your business risks, developing a growth plan, and professionalizing your business. (McDaniel)” Growing the value of one’s business may take some time, but it is important to have patience.
In conclusion, the advice I have to offer to others that are in my field is take your time, plan out what you want to do to grow your business, make your business attractive, increase the value of your business, find a balance between family and work, and lastly enjoy what you are doing. Although, it may be extremely stressful, this is the career that you choose. In my opinion, a career is a job that someone loves and will never get tired of no matter the struggles it brings. Some of the info that I was unable to find while doing my research was is this profession important and needed? Can you travel? Do you get benefits? How does one know when one is successful? It was somewhat challenging to find the answers to the questions above because I believe the questions are ones that can be answered personally. The importance of ones business is based from how well the business is doing. The questions can you travel? And do you get benefits? Are also based off how well the business is doing and if one can afford to travel and have benefits. Although, your business can receive a valuation I genuinely believe that only the business owner can measure the amount of success they have. Some of my concluding thoughts about the exploratory essay is that I enjoyed it and it has me thinking about my next step in creating and growing my business.
“Apparel Business Owner – Fashion Career Profile.” Apparel Business Owner – Fashion Career Profile | Fashion Schools, FS STAFF, 3 Nov. 2011, http://www.fashion-schools.org/articles/apparel-business-owner-fashion-career-profile.
CHUCK SODER. “A HEAVY BURDEN; Often the first to sacrifice when times get tough, small business owners are being hit much harder as the recession continues”. Crain’s Cleveland Business, June 8, 2009. https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:7VX2-DCW0-Y99S-G07N-00000-00&context=1516831. Accessed February 19, 2020.
Hodges, Nancy, et al. “Women and Apparel Entrepreneurship.” International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, vol. 7, no. 2, 2015, pp. 191-213. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/2108840567?accountid=2909, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJGE-07-2014-0021.
Hamanaka, Kari. “A Day in the Life of… A RealReal Appraiser: Women’s Wear Daily Women’s Wear Daily.” Wwd, 2019, pp. 6. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/2319661830?accountid=2909.
McDaniel, Tim. Know and Grow the Value of Your Business: An Owner’s Guide to Retiring Rich. Apress, Berkeley, CA, 2013, doi:10.1007/978-1-4302-4786-9.
Diamond Writing Portfolio 
This is from William Blades:
Exploratory Essay: Peer Review
Name: Will Blades Date: March 2, 2020
Introduction:
1. Does the author provide an interesting fact, analogy, quote, or other way to pull the reader into his/her essay? (Hook) If not, how can he/she fix this?
Opened up well explaining and making clear the topic of the writing very quickly and gave a good “background” for the career.
2. Does the author provide a broad overview of their field? If not, how can he/she fix this?
Yes. Good job explaining the field right off the bat. You did a good job of explaining daily tasks of this career right away.
3. Does the author explain what drew him/her to this field? If not, how can he/she fix this?
The writing doesn’t really tell what drew you to the career. You could try explaining what got you into clothing or what gives you the urge to run a business in the future.
4. Does the author end the introduction with a list of questions that he/she hopes to answer by the end of the essay? If not, how can he/she fix this?
Yes.
Body:
5. Does the author split this section up by source or by content? How can you tell? Are there any times when the author breaks this organization? If not, how can he/she fix this?
This paper is split up by source, it’s easy to tell because at the beginning of a new section the source is mentioned and explained. It doesn’t appear that the organization is broken. It’s very well organized.
6. What are the author’s major sections – what topics does he/she cover? (Be specific).
I think the biggest and most important section is the final source, the academic journal answering the question, “How can one grow their business?”. I think this is one of the more important sections because it’s the one that most people are going to be most interested in because everyone’s main concern in business is growing their business and network which are addressed in this.
7. Does the author explain positive things about the career that he/she is going into? If not, how can he/she fix this?
There isn’t really a part of this where a positive outcome is discussed by this. I’m not the most eductated when it comes to the positives of owning a business but I’d imaging things like working on your own time and being your own boss are some of them.
8. Does the author explain negative things about the career that he/she is going into?
Not really it is more of just an outline of the career, I wouldn’t say there’s much of a personal side to this writing.
Conclusion:
9. Does the author provide advice to his/her reader? If not, how can he/she fix this?
There isn’t really much advice in this but to fix it I’d provide personal stories, experiences, and examples displaying things that could possibly go wrong or certain hardships people face when starting a business.
10. Does the author provide any extra information about his/her career? If not, how can he/she fix this?
Not really I feel like everything provided is enough to outline the career.
11. Does the author explain any challenges they had when trying to find any information about his/her topic? If not, how can he/she fix this?
No but like I said in question nine, providing examples like this could really help.
12. Does the author provide a closing thought to leave his/her readers with? If not, how can he/she fix this?
Yes but not a very strong one, I would give examples of how you plan to grow your business or what your next steps are as a prospective business owner.
14. Does the author use a picture? If so, is the picture no more than 1/6 of the page? Also, does the author use no more than three pictures throughout the essay?
There are no pictures used.
15. Are there any sentences that are confusing or hard to read? If so, how can he/she fix this?
No I thought everything was very understandable, good job.
16. Does the author provide a topic sentence for each paragraph in the body? If not, how can he/she fix this?
Yes, the question or point of the paragraph is made clear at the beginning of every paragraph, every thought is clear and easy to understand.
17. Does the author provide a transition between each main point? If not, how can he/she fix this?
Yes the paper flows very well, each thought flows into the next, to me this paper is seamless.
18. Does the author use Times New Roman, 12 point font, with 1 inch margins and double-spacing? If not, how can he/she fix this?
Yes, formatting is good.
19. Does the author provide a title? If not, how can he/she fix this?
Yes
20. Has the author included his/her name and page number on every page after page 1? If not, how can he/she fix this?
Yes
21. Does the author have a works cited page with at least 5 sources listed? If not, how can he/she fix this?
Yes
22. Is the works cited page in alphabetical order with a hanging indent? If not, how can he/she fix this?
I can’t tell on wordpress.
23. Are there any other issues that the author needs to be aware of? If so, what are they?
Everything is good except for a few things that I already stated. All in all I think it just needs a more personal touch to it.
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