If You Don’t Know How to Do Something, Find Someone Who Does

By 2014, my YouTube channel had become big enough that clothing companies were willing to send me clothing in exchange for promotion. Free clothes meant new outfits to put onscreen (you wouldn’t believe how quickly you cycle through your wardrobe when you’re playing all the characters in a video), and I happily accepted this swag…until I realized that I could be promoting my own swag. So I decided to create a clothing line called Ghost & Stars. It’s something that has always been on my bucket list, and I’d saved up enough money by this time to start a new business venture.

I wanted Ghost & Stars to be taken seriously and to stand on its own, so I set out to find help from someone who had experience in clothing design and production. I wanted to locate someone who had already made all the mistakes and who I could learn from.

Maura ran a small company that made cute animal-inspired clothing. She did all the graphic design herself, and from what I could tell, the shop was pretty successful. She just kicked ass at illustrating cute pandas. It was perfect.

I offered her a consulting fee in exchange for teaching me how she ran her business. She showed me how, from start to finish, to make a garment. This saved me so much time. Of the $5,000 budget that I had to launch Ghost & Stars, $1,000 of it went to Maura.

Hiring her was worth every penny. She saved me hours that I would have spent researching various manufacturers, she taught me a quick and efficient fulfillment process, and she gave me a recommendation for a printing company that I still use today.

If you don’t know how to do something, find someone who does. Locate people who are way better and smarter than you and learn from them. People are usually willing to share their knowledge for free, but that shit is power and you should be willing to pay for it (even if it’s just a lunch or coffee). Thanks to Maura, I didn’t have to waste time comparing reviews on which label printer would work best or which poly mailer could best withstand the wear and tear of shipping. I was able to focus on the designs and the creative work and create a product that I could be proud of.

Time is a thousand times more valuable than your money.

As much as being a boss can be a pain in the ass, I love my job. I love the freedom I have with creativity. I even love the responsibility, to an extent. It’s given my life purpose when I had none. It’s been the dream that I’ve been chasing since I was a kid. And I wish there were more badass boss women out here with me! So give yourself permission and get out here. Work hard and smart. Take over the world and inspire other people to do the same.