Today's guest is Fabienne Chapot, who founded the clothing brand Fabienne Chapot and led it to success. As an investor, also in the clothing industry, I, Wendy van Ierschot, know like no other how difficult it is to be truly successful in the clothing retail sector. Every female entrepreneur knows this brand. That is an achievement in itself.
Fabienne Chapot began her career after studying communication sciences at an advertising agency, but soon came to the conclusion that she preferred to work for herself. Her passion lay with bags and accessories, but the dream of designing clothes was already there at the time.
Ego
Fabienne Chapot put in record time a clothing brand that is catching on. They have grown sales tenfold in six years and last two years in corona time twice 50%, in clothing retail. Truly an achievement.
Fabienne believes that with confidence and the right people you can go far. "With the right people, I will succeed. I think I have a character that I keep going continuously and don't give up. Maybe I know what the customer wants. That's a piece of self-confidence and a piece of being stubborn".
In addition, according to the entrepreneur, you need a team that can work well together and wants to get the very best out of each other. Give your employees self-confidence so they think I can do this. And set an example yourself! Wipe your ego off the table, dare to be vulnerable and be open to feedback.
Building a good team with the best people
Fabienne explains that there are so many disciplines involved. It's not just about creating a beautiful collection, but you also have to ensure that the quality is good, the distribution has to be in order, finance, marketing and e-commerce, sales and your own stores. Fabienne launched her clothing six years ago and only now does she feel she has the right people on board in every discipline.
A few weeks ago Wim Gijselaers was a guest on the Work Professor. He investigated whether a team with only Harvard graduates was a guarantee for success. It turned out not to be.
According to Fabienne, it's not about whether someone has completed a University degree. "It's important that with all these different disciplines you look at which person is the very best for that job. And if that, in terms of the sales team, is someone who learned that off the street so to speak, then I don't need a Harvard graduate at all. But in another area, where we have to think more strategically about how we are going to conquer the world, then you need a different mindset.
Outline a good profile for each discipline.
Wondering what else Fabienne Chapot has to say about her experience as an entrepreneur? Then listen to the latest episode of the Work Professor Podcast.
Links
More about Fabienne Chapot
Check here the webshop of Fabienne Chapot
Podcast episode with Wim Gijselaers
More about the Working Professor
Do you have questions or input? Please contact Wendy van Ierschot at wendy@viepeople.com.
Curious about the next guest in the Werkprofessor or want to be the first to hear the teaser of the next episode? Follow the Werkprofessor on https://www.linkedin.com/company/viepeople/.
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