God speaks in quiet ways and I truly believe He spoke to my heart one afternoon while I was sketching a wedding gown for a friend in 1999. This little small voice said “I want you to become a manufacturer.” I think my immediate response was, How do I do that? But God didn't answer my question immediately because as it turned out the answer was a process that would manifest over time. I just got this revelation as I wrote that sentence. When we think that God hasn't answered us (and there are many days where I have thought that), He actually has answered us but the answer is usually not a simple sentence but a collection of twist and turns on the path you have chosen.
It took a few years for me to truly begin the process of building a fashion manufacturing business. That was over 8 years ago and even though I knew absolutely nothing about the business side of fashion I moved forward. I knew how to sew; I knew how to select fabrics; I knew how to sketch; I knew what I liked in clothing and what I wasn’t seeing in the stores so I believed I had a viable product. However, I knew absolutely nothing about turning that little bit of knowledge into a business, let alone a manufacturing business. But God knew how little I knew and that didn’t stop Him from calling me to it nor did it stop me from pursuing my dream.
I gradually began to share the revelation of this business with family, friends and co-workers and that is definitely something I strongly suggest. You don’t have to share every detail of your business with your circle – I believe in holding some cards close to my chest – but you never know who or what your friends know that could benefit your building process. So, with the knowledge that I was starting my own business, my boss offered his wife’s sewing skills to assist me and a co-worker happened upon some valuable information that she shared. She found a flier advertising this fashion business incubator whose purpose was to provide the tools and knowledge needed to create a successful fashion business. Fashion Business Inc. was created for people like me who want to start a fashion business but don’t know where to begin. Remember when I asked God "how?" Fashion business Inc was part of His response. When you walk with God, your steps are divinely ordered by Him and me revealing my business plans to my social circle brought in help from sources I didn’t even know where available. So the fact that I knew nothing about the business of fashion did not prevent God from calling me to it because He knew that the training was out there on the path He laid before me. Sometimes, all God needs is a yes from us. A simple willing heart, will open doors you never knew were there.
 |
| Model/Actress Chondra Profit in Madeline K Couture during a photoshoot |
Chasing a dream is not a sprint and this is a fact that I have slowly embraced. There are no overnight successes. It truly is a marathon but the good thing is, everyone’s marathon is not 26.2 miles (or years) long. Now the chase is not easy, it can be very long, discouraging and exhausting. I have run into obstacles, have run off course for several miles (years) sometimes feeling like I had nothing left and every time I tried to give up, God stepped in. When you walk with God and He gives you a talent and then plants a dream in your heart, you are not chasing the dream by yourself. He is running right beside you no matter how hard the course or how long it takes. He’s working through others to encourage you to keep going. One of the many times that I have grown weary in pursuing my dream of becoming a manufacturer and was going to shut everything down, I shared it with a friend and fellow designer. She told me something I have never forgotten: “If you say God gave you the dream then who are you to shut it down. It’s his dream and His desires that He planted in your heart because He knew that you as His vessel would bring it to pass with His help.
 |
| Model wearing Madeline K Couture at a magazine photo shoot. |
DESIGNERS PEOPLE LIVING THEIR DREAMS
- Gaynelle White - Owner of PHILTHY RAGZ
- Lauri Michelle - Owner of DEEPLY ROOTED
- Ima D. Uko - Owner of HOOKED BY IMA
- Maune Stephanie - Owner of MAUNE STEPHANIE DESIGNS
