-: Definitely I would say any social entrepreneurship program
any business degree is definitely crucial.
I would say one of the most,
one of the hardest things in the business is
the financial aspect and the marketing aspect.
Having an in-depth knowledge of those two things
and knowing what's right and what's not right,
who to hire, who not to hire, how much to pay
and how much to spend is, that's make or break with a brand.
I see so many people that have amazing ideas,
but never pursue them because of financial obligations
or because of uncertainties that,
in the long run, don't matter at all.
I mean, finding money is the easy part
when you have a good idea.
It's testing the idea that's the hard part.
And if you just go for it with what you have in your pocket
nine times out of 10 you're gonna know right away
whether it's worth pursuing or not.
For the first 600 leggings, we,
my partner made in her apartment.
For the first 2,000 hang tags,
I cut physically out of pieces of wood.
We had wooden hang tags.
It's ridiculous.
I don't know why we did it,
but it was because buying laminate from Lowe's
was cheaper than meeting a 10,000 minimum hang tag at China.
So, I mean, you get around those costs
and you just get creative.
And that's what really, that's what really makes your brand
or your product or your idea stand out.
I think the two most valuable things
in gaining experience is finding
a really good mentor in the avenue you want to go in.
There's networks out there to find mentors,
but really finding a mentor that will guide you.
And whether they're old or young or insanely successful
or not, that's not the important part.
It's the amount of time and energy
they're willing to give you that's the most important
because they can be insanely unsuccessful
and still teach you just as much
as anyone that's successful.
So finding a mentor and a good internship,
whether it's paid or unpaid, just really, really
being in the industry in any capacity
is the best way to really start wrapping your head around
how things are done.