The Recession is Bullhonkey Michelles Story - When I Grow Up

The Recession is Bullhonkey Michelles Story - When I Grow Up This is part of  The Recession is Bullhonkey series, where I share stories of those who have gotten hired and/or started their own businesses (or sometimes both!) since 2008.  Michelle Fifis  post is not only amazeballs for its inspiration factor (can we say she went from in-house textile designer to freelancer, blogger, teacher and community leader?), but  for giving us the biggest secret of her success and ways to  apply it to your career. I’ve found the secret to growth in just about any economy recession or not. This secret is easy to understand, but oh so difficult to master. Are you listening? Good, because The best way to grow is to really listen….and it’s harder than you think. Listening is the most important skill I’ve ever learned, and it’s also the one I struggle with most on a daily basis. You see, I’m a natural sharer. I love to offer advice, share resources and mention lessons I’ve learned. But in order to really know a client or a market I have to first take the time to truly listen. My first real lessons on listening were in the corporate design world. As an in-house textile designer for Columbia Sportswear, I often worked for weeks or even months on a project before presenting it to a panel of superiors for review. My “clients” were the design directors, CEOs and VPs who would evaluate my efforts, offer feedback and make decisions. I dreaded these events for many reasons  including my natural tendency to defend and protect my work. I wasn’t able to grow and learn from them because I was too caught up on my own perspective. Instead of listening to feedback and observing the reactions around me, I focused on my own creative efforts and the time I’d invested in each project. I couldn’t grow professionally while my eyes were on myself. Things began to change when I learned to look at these meetings for what they actually were an amazing opportunity to learn about the creative directors I worked for and the direction they were taking the company. I realized the feedback wasn’t about me. It was about the project itself. My role was to truly listen to the way my work resonated with them and align my creativity with their vision for the company. My breakthrough? Being defensive is a waste of time. Truly listening makes me a better, more productive designer and a happier person. In 2010 I left Columbia Sportswear to launch my own freelance business as a textile designer. I knew it was time to listen to my heart and build the business of my dreams. I’d already been taking freelance clients at night and on weekends as a source of extra money. It was time to use that experience to start my own company. I planned my departure carefully, putting money aside as a cushion and letting my contacts know of my plans. These steps helped me make a relatively easy transition into self-employment. These days listening is a vital part of my work with freelance clients. I love working with clients from a variety of interesting markets. Each client works in a slightly different way, creating new challenges for me. CEOs and creative directors come and go. Artwork styles and preferences shift. It’s up to me to stay flexible with every change. I might be the designer, but the most important part of my job is listening to my clients and asking questions that get to the heart of what they want. Wondering how you can improve your listening skills? Here are some changes you can implement right now to make an impact in your work. #1 Be Visual I use techniques like a trend board or concept board at the beginning of a project. Visuals like this help clarify the design concepts I’m describing to the client and help us start the project on the same creative page. In other types of work, using a whiteboard or sharing visual examples can really help you communicate with a client and gather feedback. A picture really is worth a thousand words in a project meeting. #2 Be Confident Prepared There’s nothing worse than trying to listen to a client while worrying about my outfit or the next item on the agenda for our conversation. When meeting with a client, make sure you are completely prepared. Love your outfit. Plan for every step on the agenda. Do whatever it takes ahead of time so you can stop thinking about your own role and focus on them. #3 Be Curious It’s incredible how much I can learn about a client just by asking questions. In my work, I really need to know the price point for the product that will use my design. Will the item of clothing be sold in a high end, exclusive boutique and require a big investment? Will it be mass produced and sold at a bargain? I need to understand my client’s market and positioning, and it would help to have a little insight about their competitors too. Asking these types of questions gives me important information and marks me as a professional. #4 Be Intuitive I listen to my clients, but I also listen to my heart. I pay attention to the non-verbal cues I receive from the people around me. I try to get to the heart of what they are trying to say and I notice their emotions during the meeting. Are they suddenly anxious or confused? Do they love the work I’ve presented or are they holding back? Sometimes the most important words I hear are the ones that are never said. I’ve learned to listen to my clients and I’ve also learned to listen to myself. As you might know, building a freelance business involves a lot of downtime. As an entrepreneur, I wait for feedback from clients and I occasionally have gaps between projects too. After I started my business, I had a little time on my hands and also found I wanted to stay connected to trends in my industry. So, with the encouragement and help of my husband a software engineer I started the Pattern Observer blog. My first readers were my mom, husband and a few friends. They faithfully followed along while I shared my sources of inspiration and my artistic and business process with the world. I LOVED it, and I found myself blogging almost every single day. My readership grew slowly as I discovered an international community of people interested in textile design. In 2011 I realized it was time to add teaching to my business model. My inbox was filled with questions from designers who wanted advice on textile design and building their own businesses. I knew I needed to put the answers to these questions into courses and I started teaching online workshops related to becoming a more professional designer. Teaching and helping other designers is incredibly fulfilling to me. Last year I once again listened to my heart and created Textile Design Lab a membership site focused on learning and networking within textile design. This rich community learns together through my online courses, webinars and guest expert trainings, connects and supports each other in community forums, and is continually challenged to improve their designs and their businesses. Through listening to others and to my own heart, I’ve grown personally and professionally. My secret? Growth has nothing to do with the economy. Growth comes from truly listening. Michelle Fifis is a successful textile designer who has worked with such clients as Lucy Activewear, Columbia Sportswear, Jantzen Swimwear, Pottery Barn and PB Textiles. She writes about business and textile design on her blog, Pattern Observer. Her membership community, The Textile Design Lab, offers learning and networking opportunities to hundreds of designers worldwide.