As new entrepreneurs, Lauren and I have learned so much from listening to podcasts, being part of a mentorship program and simply talking to others who have more experience than we do.
But so much more than doing the research, we realized that “the learning” doesn’t actually move the needle. It's doing the work and getting outside of your comfort zone that makes all the difference! And believe us - there were MANY times in the last 6 months where our comfort zones were far from what we were getting ourselves into!
But when we're challenged, we change.
Here is a rundown of the most instrumental decisions we’ve made so far that we believe, even in our first year, has changed our business for the better…
1. WE HIRED A GOLF PRO
Not only did we fully commit to our golf game this Summer, but by meeting the assistant Pro at our Golf Club, he opened up so much to us about the golf industry and led us to connecting with many other people. Networking 101!
2. WE PARTNERED WITH A GOLF PRO
Our Pro, Matt, was so good and offered such a non-intimidating golf approach that we knew he could make a difference in many other golfers {or non-golfers} experiences. We explained how we wanted to start building our local community of female golfers by offering golf lessons and was excited and supportive of joining us. We ended up having so much more interest than we imagined and sold out of our Summer golf clinics in just a few days!
3. WE PARTNERED WITH EXPERIENCED DESIGNERS
Originally, after attending an intensive workshop on "How to Start a Sustainable Fashion Brand", Lauren and I set out to manage the sourcing, designing and manufacturing of our women's golf apparel collection. It IS possible to do it on your own.
But months into the slow-moving process, we came across a technical design & development firm servicing startup, emerging and established apparel brands around the globe. After meeting with them several times, we discovered just how incredibly qualified they were not just in helping us bring our collection to life, but also in their experience and expertise in both technical and athleisure apparel and in textile and manufacturing sustainability. The pillars of our brand, which are non-negotiable for us.
We're now at the stage where our first round of 6 apparel sample styles have been sewn and are on their way to us! More to come on that!
4. WE PARTNERED WITH A BUSINESS MENTOR
The decision for Lauren and I to become a partnership was very deliberate. We knew the weight on a solo entrepreneur would be extremely heavy. And although having each other to bounce ideas off of and share the workload with would be more manageable, we had the pleasure of being introduced to an incredibly motivating and successful woman in our community. With her expertise, advice and direction we know that her support through the next several months will be invaluable.
5. WE PITCHED OUR BUSINESS
We had the fortunate opportunity to become involved with a local Women's Entrepreneurship & Mentorship Program and were required to "pitch" our business to a group of panelists. Without this experience, we may not have understood our target market as well, written our "elevator pitch", asked the questions or knew our business as well as we needed to when approaching investors.
We still have so much to learn about technical fashion, our market, and being CEOs, but as Marie Forleo says; “the key to success is to start before you are ready”. There is no perfect time to make your dreams a reality. We just need to start. 
If you want to continue to get behind the scenes of Charming Sally and watch our journey unfold, be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an update!
T xo