Know your strengths (and weaknesses). Before starting Ma’am, I’d never designed shoes and I felt like a bit of a fraud. Early on, I was nervous that I would be found out as a first-time designer. But rather than try to cover up my shortcomings, I decided to lead with them. When I looked for the best manufacturer to help make our shoes, I told them what I didn’t know about the manufacturing process upfront and made sure that they could fill in expertise where I was lacking.
As part of our series about the 5 things you need to succeed in the fashion industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sofi Newmyer. Sofi spent the last decade of her career at TOMS, building the original One for One shoe company. In her most recent role as Chief of Staff, Sofi led TOMS’ innovation strategy, catalyzed partnerships for the business, and incubated new initiatives with Founder Blake Mycoskie. Previously, Sofi was Director of Partnerships + Experiential Marketing at TOMS where she managed brand collaborations with Nobel…