Beyond Just Coaching... Wednesday, October 17

At this point in the game, to bring on a new business partner to work alongside me would just add more confusion to the organised ciaos and it'd be one more thing for me to have to manage.  So, on that note, I'm not going that route.  

I've hired a new manufacturing team to take care of my clothing line, Slay, but with them having a big fashion show launch next week, I'm having to wait for them to produce my samples.  I'm not too concerned but my anticipation and excitement over it all is growing by the day.  I sent them the designs for my first item, a She-Slay hoodie and He-Slay hoodie -- a hoodie that has a female version and a male version.  It's a sleeveless black hoodie and the female version is rather badass, if I do say so myself.  It's a semi-mesh hoodie with a large pocket on the front and the first line of the Empowered Manifesto written on the side of it.  There are more details, of course, but I'll wait till they produce the sample till I share that publicly.

I have a side manufacturing team, a one-woman team actually, that is going to be working on some tank tops for me to personally wear.  I don't think they'll ever go into production for sale but I do need some new tops to train in and to further get my name out there so I figure why not make some tops.  I can't really find tank tops that I like here, ones that have a good stretch and keep it, and tops that don't have such a low neckline, so that's also another reason why I decided to make my own.  The fact that it's comparable in price, buying vs making my own, was what sealed the deal though.  I had a mad hookup here in BGC with "The Original Boss Babe", as I like to call her, and she'll be my go-to woman for making my personal tank tops. Tomorrow I have a meeting with her.

I have one manufacturing team here in the Philippines working on my Slay line.

I have another manufacturing team working on my personal tank tops.

I have another manufacturing team in Pakistan working on my Slay Gear.

I have another manufacturing team who produces my Lil' Sista Project fundraising items.

Four manufacturing teams.

And to think coaching is where I make my money right now.

So why the clothing line and gear?!  That's easy to answer.  I needed clothes that could take me from a business meeting to coaching to boxing -- clothes that were fashionable and true to my brand's image but that were also functional.  And as for making my own gear, I simply got frustrated with clients buying bad, overpriced gear that shouldn't have been sold to them in the first place, gear that they didn't know how to properly pick out, and so I figured it was easier for me to make a gear line then educate them one-by-one.  Plus, there's of course the fact that I go through a lot of gear and so it made it financially possible for me to continue training at the level I am without breaking my own wallet.