Q&A with Fashion Equipped

The Fashion Equipped programme Start Your Fashion Business is one of the most valuable investments that I’ve made in my business over the past 18 months. Elizabeth Formosa, the founder and director of Fashion Equipped has over 20 years’ experience in the fashion industry and is an outstanding mentor.

The SYFB course, which is an online program, made up of 10 modules, all of which are self-paced learning segments, content rich and delivered in bite size video and workbooks; guide you through the process of building your brand. This business plan framework is then backed with zoom coaching calls, study sessions and industry Live Q&A Series [check out Fashion Equipped website for conversation with industry specialists, such as Pru Corrigan, Angela Bell, James Bartle and Lana Wilkinson to name a few]. The private Facebook group is where the magic happens, and experiences are shared. It’s a safe place to brainstorm ideas and speak (often for the first time) about your brand and aspirations for your business.

I was lucky enough to be invited to sit and chat with Elizabeth about my fashion journey and what I've learnt and also what challenges I’ve faced as an introvert who adores fashion, and how to overcome shyness to step into a small business owner role. Here's the link to the conversation. 

SYFB Q&A Series - Elizabeth Formosa in conversation with Lisa Sjöblom, Founder of TYOUB, a sustainable childrenswear brand from Elizabeth Formosa on Vimeo.

As a bit of background, I first met Elizabeth in 2015 when I attended a workshop, on starting a fashion business. I was working as a garment technician and already knew that when I was ready to launch Tyoub - I'd need coaching!! I had seen so many brands closing down shortly after launching, and I knew there were many aspects of running a small business that I didn’t know.

Fast forward 4 years and after several months of range development the time had come to approach Fashion Equipped. I attended an information evening and met other small start-ups. From the first phone call Elizabeth was enthusiastic - but realistic, her retail perspective and advice were completely accurate to my stage of business. I signed up to SYFB online business course and it changed the course of my business.

After thinking a lot about it, I can’t believe that I was considering tackling a fashion start-up single handed, there is so much to learn from season to season.