BANYAN With Anya Ayoung-Chee | Fashion Conversations That Inspire

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Exclusive Conversation: Banyan Talk with Anya Ayoung-Chee

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The Fashion Industry holds a wealth of talented designers. If a career in this industry is something you are passionate about, it is important to know the journey. Being able to lock down a designer for a conversation isn’t an easy task but we managed to get it done. Fashion Designer and Social Entrepreneur, Anya Young-Chee is willing to lend her expertise. From winning Project Runway to starting her own fashion line, Anya can offer some solid industry tips. She is slated to moderate the BANYAN Webinar series LIVE talks powered by Yellowbrick.

The Banyan series was created to showcase women entrepreneurs across a variety of different industries. While Fashion is Anya’s area of expertise, she lends her knowledge and shares her stories with women in the Streetwear, Sneaker Design, Music, Hospitality, Beauty and Sports Management industries. These conversations are meant to serve as inspiration and motivation for other women who are looking to do the same thing. BANYAN is a platform created to inspire women, with a focus on Caribbean creatives, to pursue their dreams and turn their passion into a career. Finding your “WHY” is important and hopefully these conversations will help you do that.

Design Director Cherese Thornhill (adidas) and lifestyle brand Founder Fe Noel were the first 2 in the series. Next up is Nikitha Cornwall (June 11th @ 2:30pm) and Fallon Seymour (June 18th @ 2:30pm). If you missed the first 2 episodes or want to sign up for upcoming episodes, leave your email in the box above.  

Yellowbrick Grad Coins ‘Strange on Purpose’ Podcast

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Yellowbrick grads have done some pretty cool things after course completion. They waste no time putting their talents and credentials to work. Whether it’s designing a custom drop for Nike, curating a makeup museum or getting their first writing credit on a song, YB grads are on the ground putting their skills to good use. Sneakerschool grad Izzy Lugo is another dope example. He teamed up with Quentin Allums to craft the  Strange on Purpose podcast.

Strange on Purpose – Urban Misfit Adventures is a podcast that has something for everybody. Hosted by Izzy Lugo / @itsizzylugo and Quentin Allums / @tagjustq, their pod conversations are a great way to “pick people’s brains” simply by listening. Hearing the story of someone’s journey and identifying with the parts that resonate is a key motivator. It is always interesting to hear about a person’s grind, drive and setbacks that got them to where they are today.

One of their most recent guests, Susan Boyle, is an industry expert in Sneaker Essentials. She was one of the experts that Izzy Lugo came across in the course. The 3 met up on the pod for “Women In Sneakers” Episode 9 and had a great conversation about her career experiences. Lugo also reached out to Yellowbrick and scored an episode with Dion Walcott, the VP of Brand Partnerships. Click below to listen to Episode 9 and catch up with all the shows on either Anchor, Spotify, or Apple.

If you are interested in taking your first steps towards the job of your dreams, visit yellowbrick.co to find out how.  

How you can beat perfectionism as a creative entrepreneur

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According to Forbes, the creator economy is estimated to be at almost one billion dollars in 2021. With the massive growth brought by work from home flexibility, the creator economy has seen an influx of aspiring creators. Many of them fantasize about pursuing their passion and doing something they love while finding financial security. This growing creator economy is estimated to be 50 million strong. It’s an industry built by influencers, bloggers, videographers, and anyone who uses social media to activate and monetize their community. Many, who have started their own businesses, have seen $800 million in venture capital invested since October 2020.

But as creators navigate the creator economy gold rush, many don’t come to light. Many creative entrepreneurs ideate or conceptualize their brands but then fall into a holding pattern. This prevents them from launching or executing. Rates of perfectionism among Millennials and Gen Z are at the highest, studies reported by EAB show. The perfectionism epidemic is the cause of the rise of behaviors such as intrinsic drives to reach a perfectionistic goal. It also tries to meet high expectations of others, and hold others to impossibly high standards. This obsession towards perfection leads to a rut — intervening in a brand launch, new product, or service ever coming to fruition. 

As a co-founder of Faculty, a cosmetics brand for the new wave of masculinity, Fenton Jagdeo understands the highs and lows of launching a business and following through with yourself, your partners, and your community. With the launch of our newest course alongside FIT featuring Beauty Inc, Yellowbrick sits down with Fenton on tips on how a creative entrepreneur can follow through.

Practicing mindfulness as a creative entrepreneur is a way to counter perfectionism.
Practicing mindfulness as a creative entrepreneur allows you to address any ruts.

Practice Mindfulness

“The first thing is recognizing that you are in a blocked situation or in a rut,” says Beauty Business Essentials contributor Fenton Jagdeo. Sometimes it’s about understanding your limitations or areas of improvement. That mindfulness — a self dose of self-awareness, allows you to begin to address the problem. “It’s emotionally and mentally removing yourself from it and saying, ‘I am unable to launch,'” Fenton says. In addition, practicing mindfulness helps with creative problem solving as it can help improve your mental flexibility in approaching issues from every angle, rather than a simple linear, logical approach. 

Tip: Sit down and list out three tactics you’re not able to complete (X, Y, Z) and list the reasons why you’re unable to achieve them. Practicing mindfulness helps counter perfectionism because you’re addressing situations head-on.

Generate Solutions

A part of being an entrepreneur is also being a creative problem solver. Creativity and problem-solving skills are more critical now than they’ve ever been before. After identifying what’s prohibiting you, address ways on how to solve your blockers. Brainstorming on how to generate solutions will have you consider different approaches, practicing a growth mindset. Thinking creatively here or with partners/teammates can help you come up with something you may not have considered. “It’s truly diagnosing your problem and the solutions to that and which one is the easiest for me to go and try,” Fenton shares. Which one is the most effective and most efficient solution to the issue? If option one doesn’t work, then try the next option. 

Example: 

The Problem: You don’t have enough money to buy inventory

Different Solutions: Raise capital, get a loan, or crowdfund 

Look at the problem from a logical perspective. Obsessing over perfectionism is an emotional response from internal or external pressure. But if you can pinpoint your problem and not have an emotional response to it, it can go a long way in solving your block. 

Final Thoughts

Opportunities for creative entrepreneurs and creative businesses have exploded, becoming the fastest-growing type of small business. Still, growing pains from the effects of the perfectionist epidemic and burnout have begun to set in as a result. Although the space can be fast-paced through the medium of social media, creative entrepreneurs can help push through blocks or burnout through practicing mindfulness and embedding creativity in their problem-solving skills. 

Have you identified that you need to raise capital for your new creative start-up? Then, check out our guide on the steps to secure funding.