[Lesson 1] Finding + Using your Super Powers

As a fashion creative, you can monetize your talents with services and products. Most of the times it’s easier to get started selling services because the time + financial investments are lower than selling products. So the way you start depends on you, the time + money you have at your disposal, and the energy you want to invest.

Maybe you want to start selling your services, and over the time incorporate products. Maybe you want to sell products and never monetize your services. Or maybe you want to start with products and sell your services to high-end clients sporadically.

However you want to monetize your work you must consider the next three points:

• You + what you do best + what you want to create
• Your dream clients and what they need + want
• Your business and what you want it to be, aka your dream business vision

These points will help you craft offerings that you and your customers love, offerings that propel your business to new heights, and offerings that sell (almost) themselves.

You + what you do best + what you want to create

The first module of this course was all about finding out what makes you YOU, revealing your strengths, and owning yourself. That module and the inner research you made is super important because they’re the foundation of your whole business.

You know I believe that the best products come from the combination of your passions + talents + strengths with your dream client’s needs + wants. So, if you let aside the YOU factor, then you’ll end up with a business and offerings that are like everyone else’s, that don’t mean anything to you, that aren’t fulfilling, and that feel just meh.

Of course, you don’t need to come up with something out of this world, and your idea doesn’t have to be entirely revolutionary. It just has to be yours, include your passions + talents + strengths (which turn to be your super powers), and serve the people you love (and who love you and your offerings back!).

Finding your super powers

You know those brands that captivate you, that you always remember, and that are soooo fascinating?

Yes, those brands have found their secret sauce, their unique je ne sais quoi, their super powers. And they’re making the best use of them, so their dream clients love + share + buy + remember their offerings (all the freaking time).

That’s what you need to do, and that’s what you’re going to do in this lesson because your super power(s) is what make you irresistible + memorable + unforgettable. It’s what makes you shine from the inside and outshine everyone else. It’s what you do best, and what you enjoy the most.

Your super powers easily and fantastically sum up YOU + what you do best + what you want to create.

And your super power(s) is found in the convergence of three things:

• Your passions
• Your talents
• Your strengths

We talked a lot about all these three during the module 1, so it’s time to bring all your inner research from those lessons back, and figure out what’s the most powerful of your super powers!

• Your passions. What are the things that fire you up? What are the things that lift you up? What are the things that you love the most? What are the things that you care about the most? What would you do endlessly, even without a paycheck? What makes your heart + soul vibrate? What obsessions do you have?
  Your passions are things you can’t hide; they always find their way to creep out even if you try to forget about them. What are those passions that are connected to you and who you are?
• Your talents. What are the things that you are good at without effort? What are the things you most love doing? What are the things you get more compliments about? What are the things that seem to be natural to you?
  Your talents are things that are natural and easy to you, things that you enjoy doing, and things that people praise you for.
• Your strengths. What personal strengths do you have? What professional strengths do you have? What are your best qualities? What are you good at? What do you excel at? What are the skills you feel most proud of?
  Your strengths can be personal or professional, they can be part of your personality, and they could also be developed as professional skills.

Now put them into action

1 | Brainstorm.

Brainstorm with the help of your previous research brainstorm your passions + talents + strengths. You can take what you wrote before and put it on the corresponding worksheets, or even better you can give them an extra though; what else would you add? Think about it, and make a list.

2 |  Cross out the ones you have trouble to focus on.

If you can rarely devote more than 90 minutes to a thing, it likely isn’t a Super Power. It might be more like a hobby, but not your real thing. You’re looking for those things that regularly get you into the zone, those things that you can do for hours, and those things that get you excited.

You don’t have to force yourself to do something you don’t quite enjoy just because you feel you’re good at or you think you could make lots of money. Focus on the thing (or things) that give you pure joy + are easy for you + you’re best at doing + love the most.

3 | Highlight the things that you feel most passionate about.

You want those things that get you excited, those things that make you smile so hard that your mouth aches, the things that make you forget about time + space, the things that you can’t stop thinking + talking about.

4 | Make a list of all the ways you can start using your super power now – yes like right now!

You don’t have to wait until the perfect moment comes, you don’t even have to wait until you raise the funds to found your dream stationery brand (is it only me, really?). Remember in module one we talked about starting small, you can start small with your super power as well.

Maybe you want to have a stationery brand featuring your illustrations and pattern designs (like me!), and a good starting point would be creating one item, like a calendar (which I’m working on right now :P)

Maybe you want to have your own clothing or accessories line, then a small starting point could be designing for others as a freelancer, getting yourself into the whole production process, so you know what it’s involved in creating a line.

Or maybe you want to offer your services as a fashion illustrator in events like shop openings or runway shows, then you could start researching + networking with local event planners.

There’s no reason to keep stagnant waiting until someday when you have all today to start using your super powers.

MODULE 2

LESSON 2