Your comment is very much appreciated. You are right, I am “searching in the dark” too. Many thanks to Kathleen helping us approaching the problems from the right angle.

I just wanted to add that reading the book was enormously helpful to me in clarification in my own mind of what I want and the realities of being a DE. After reading it, I’m clear that at this time being a DE is not something I want, and the cost of the book and a few hours of my time just saved me a whole lot of money and stress. But this has opened a door for me I’ve been searching in the dark to find for a long time. The knowledge I gained and finding the forum has already been invaluable, and I’m an extremely new member. While I don’t want to be a DE in the technical sense, I do want to develop my referral-only business. I have an excellent skill set, but I now realize I don’t want to go in the DE direction. This is a long way of saying that this book and the forum can be invaluable to an enthusiast. I’m extremely grateful for the generosity of Kathleen and the forum members for being so embracing of those “not technically a DE.”

I agree with you 100% :-) There are a lot of people who are trying to find the shortcut approach to success in this business and they certainly aren’t worth your time since they’ll never succeed withthat approach anyway. One definitely has to research and become educated, whatever industry they’re in. But there are also many who would happily “pay their dues” if only they knew what the dues were. This site and your book are a great start for them.

I think a big problem is that the way people are taught to approach starting a business nowadays doesn’t fit with the way this industry works, so a lot of people end up frustrated and resort to begging for information. Sure, they need to push harder and “step out of their comfort zone” but they still need a direction to go. Maybe that’s a failure in how they’re taught. Goodness knows there are certainly a lot of things being taught that are useless in the real world :-)

I don’t think they all necessarily feel entitled or that anyone is obligated to help them (the ones I knew were not, but I’m not in a position to receive such enquiries, like many of you are), but I can understand the frustration of having a door slammed in their faces simply for asking a question. I think many of them are just lacking knowledge and don’t intend to insult those they approach, they just don’t know any better because no one has told them otherwise. One doesn’t learn anything without asking questions, after all. If they’re unwilling to figure out the right questions, then yes, they should be shown the door, but just being a newbie shouldn’t automatically disqualify them from even asking.

I suppose those entitled, ungrateful sorts (of which there are far too many) have probably spoiled it for those who are truly eager to learn and succeed. TV shows like Project Runway certainly don’t help, since those people seem to get ahead more by being obnoxious than by playing by the rules and they make it look far too easy to succeed. I guess my main point is that there’s a big disconnect in how people are being taught and how things actually work. The fact that Kathleen’s book is such a necessity is proof of that. It’s too bad they don’t incorporate Kathleen’s book into fashion school (and business school) curriculums.

Yes, The Book is specifically written for someone who wants to develop as a DE. It is less helpful to homesewers because homesewers have fewer tools and don’t have the same emphasis on (and support of) reproduciblilty.

You may discover that there are some differences between the way business is conducted in France and in the US, but you can ask questions on the forum where there are (two) members from France. And the differences shouldn’t be huge, because the problems to be solved are found everywhere.

If only I had understood that “this how the world works” when I was a younger lass….. (hahaha)

I do own Kathleen’s book, and it’s the only reason I feel I have *any* chance of creating and selling a line in the real world.

I suppose it’s one of the disadvantages of the old fashioned “guild” system where industry knowledge is hidden amongst those who are in the business already, with very little room for newcomers to enter. Who wants to train their competition?

These are some of the reasons why I am so impressed by Kathleen’s willingness to share her hard-earned wisdom!

Thanks again Kathleen! :)