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Are you tired of dropping your carefully curated portfolio into the online application black hole and hearing absolutely nothing back?
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Do you feel like the fashion industry is impossible to break into unless you already have family connections or endless money?
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Are you stressing over how to cold-DM a creative director or buyer without sounding desperate, annoying, or "cringe"?
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Are you exhausted by vague advice like "just put yourself out there" when what you actually need is a step-by-step strategy?
Ditch the generic advice and spend one hour learning the insider networking strategy that turns your talent into actual job offers.
Let's do this!
In this 60-minute workshop, we'll be teaching you how to network professionally within the Fashion Industry and where you can look for events to attend.
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This industry is not just about what you know. It's also about WHO you know, and networking is going to be a big part of growing your career opportunities. Come learn how to master this skill and start building your fashion community with us.
In this no-fluff, actionable workshop, you’ll discover:
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The "Backdoor" Application Strategy: How to bypass the online application black hole and get your resume into the inbox of the people who are actually hiring.
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The "Zero-Cringe" Outreach Formula: Confidently message industry heavyweights on LinkedIn and Instagram without sounding desperate or crossing boundaries.
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Building a VIP Network from Zero: Engineer your own industry connections and get in the room, even if you don't have a single fashion contact in your phone right now.
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Turning Coffee Chats into Career Offers: The post-networking follow-up playbook. Learn how to stay top-of-mind so that when a dream role finally opens up, you are the absolute first person they call.
meet your hosts:
We built this workshop because we were tired of seeing incredible design talent get ignored just because they didn't know the "rules" of the industry game.
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Mary Coats, The Student Advocate: Mary knows exactly where traditional design programs drop the ball. With a background in higher education and a Master's in Sustainability (because the future of fashion must be circular), she is obsessed with helping students bridge the gap between classroom theory and the reality of the job market.
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Rachel Erickson, The Industry Insider: Working as a manager and business leader for over 20 years, Rachel is our fearless leader here at The Business of Apparel. While Mary knows how students learn, Rachel knows how the industry hires. She's here to hand you the exact networking playbooks, outreach strategies, and backdoor methods to get your portfolio in front of the right people.
who is this workshop for?
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You have a killer portfolio, but zero industry connections: You know your designs, tech packs, and concepts are strong, but you don't have a single fashion insider in your phone to actually show them to.
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You actively cringe at the word "networking": You are an introvert or just someone who hates the idea of being "salesy." You want to learn how to build genuine relationships without feeling fake, desperate, or annoying.
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You are tired of the "Apply Online" trap: You’re a junior, senior, or recent grad who is realizing that dropping resumes into LinkedIn portals is a massive waste of time, and you need a proactive strategy now.
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You want to break in on your own merit: You don't have a trust fund, you don't have a family friend at a major label, and you are ready to engineer your own backdoor into the industry.
Ready to Transform Your Network?
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Date: Available On Demand!
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Who: Hosted personally by Rachel Erickson and Mary Coats
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Where: Hosted on Kajabi. Link will be provided after you register.
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Price: $27 for Lifetime Access
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BONUS: All attendees will receive free resources along with the workshop.​​
Our Mission
Here at The Business of Apparel...
We are a team of apparel industry veterans. Our team members have all spent over a decade or two (or more!) working for some of the biggest brands on the planet. We've also started our own apparel brands and everything in between.
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During our years in corporate apparel, we saw SO MUCH gatekeeping, and it took some of us 15+ years to learn the processes we now teach our community. Some of us learned it for the first time from Rachel just a few years ago!
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Honestly, we find this to be ridiculous. This industry that thrives on secrecy, hiding information and keeping newcomers from succeeding needs to be flipped upside down.
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So now, we're out here teaching YOU the way to grow and scale your career in a way that nobody else understands... because the industry didn't open up to them either!
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Most industry pros stick to their cushy jobs inside corporate walls. Come learn from this small cohort of rule-breakers trying to turn the tables and get the right information in to more hands.
Megan Krajco,
University of Wisconsin
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"The foundation that [Rachel Erickson] has built around sharing and connecting others is incredibly inspiring. She's an incredible mentor - anyone would benefit from time spent with this team.”
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Hayley Matthews-Jones,
University of the Arts London
"Absolutely 10/10 recommend. The value of the knowledge it contains and having a playbook of all the documents to get started has saved me so many hours of trial and error trying to figure things out alone."
Ana Guerrero,
LA Trade Technical College
"It feels really great to be a part of something with this team. There's definitely a sense of community and inclusion, which is something that you don't get very often working in the apparel industry!"
faq:
is this really worth my precious time? i don't know if it'll be worth it...
We know how busy you are as a student! It's our goal to give you as much value and helpful information in less than 60 minutes than you've been able to find in the last 3 months of researching on your own. Gain access to the masterclass for life and ultimately save yourself another 3 months of looking for information that simply isn't available out there.
I want to learn this information, but I'm not a Student...
All are welcome! We know that the greater community of Fashion Industry professionals also need to spruce up their networking skills from time to time. Sign up! We'd love to have you there, but please keep in mind that the language we use and target audience is being geared toward graduating Fashion Students.