Report

Part 1: SMART objectives

Specific – I’m going to open my own fashion business after finishing university because it has
always been my dream job
Measurable – I’ll do my master’s degree in fashion management to get knowledge about fashion
for my fashion clothing brand
Achievable – I have taken a fashion course before, so I already have background knowledge
about it
Relevant – I want to have my own fashion brand, I enjoy the idea of fashion and want to be the
founder of the brand
Time Based – I want to accomplish this after university, and after taking my master’s degree
when I am fully prepared

Part 3: SWOT analysis

Strengths:
 I’m good at time management
 I don’t get easily discouraged
 I enjoy facing challenges
 I enjoy leadership
 I have a proper sense of style
Weaknesses:
 I’m impatient
 I’m very indecisive
 I find it difficult to focus while working under pressure
Opportunities:
 Currently studying a business degree
 I could take a master’s degree in fashion management
 I have networks with people working in the fashion industry

Threats:
  It’ll take a lot of time to adapt to the environment
 There is a lot of competition
 Fashion trends are constantly changing

Part 4: Reflection
Strengths: My first strength is that I don’t get easily discouraged when something
doesn’t happen as expected. To add on, this is a crucial skill when it comes to opening
one’s own business since it always reappears, as mentioned by the interviewee “because
no matter what happens you are aware that you went through situations worse than this”.
Moreover, facing challenges can help me expand my creativity by making me think
outside the box, which is useful in fashion. Furthermore, I enjoy leadership rather than
following others. As this was a skill mentioned by the interviewee, its necessary
especially since for this career. Leadership can help me have a clear vision of goals that I
can achieve by motivating employees, providing a purpose, and clear path, and be able to
handle any unexpected problems. Another strength is that I have an interest in fashion
and a proper sense of style. This skill is an obvious to have especially if interested in
working in fashion. My interviewee mentioned that if one is sure about his interests and
really has a deep passion towards it, then they should pursue it. I think that with my
skills, pursuing this career will ensure that I reveal all my talents and passions. Lastly,
I’m good at time management. My interviewee said it makes a huge difference and can
be useful in saving time, allowing me to work efficiently, while not being stressed.

Weaknesses:
Firstly, one of my weaknesses includes that impatient. I’ve always been used to getting
things done fast, so the idea of having to wait to achieve something makes me
discouraged. On the other hand, I’m aware that this is something I should be working on
because as my interviewee mentioned, patience is a necessary skill when it comes to this
field since there are a lot of times when working on projects that require patience to get
the best outcome. I’ll try to overcome this by practice, where I try to accept my current
situations as they are. Furthermore, another weakness is that I’m very indecisive. I always
have constantly changing ideas and trouble agreeing with a certain decision because I
 always feel that there’s room for improvement. This’ll affect me in my career because I’ll
constantly be needing making decisions whether about designs, materials, suppliers, etc.
I’ll overcome this by using the process of elimination. My other weaknesses include that
it’s difficult for me to focus while working under pressure. My interviewee stressed on
this as an essential factor of success in this career. He said that there comes a lot of times
where one has to do several things at once especially when launching a new collection so
one needs to be able to calmly manage the responsibilities. Since it makes a huge
difference, I’ll work on controlling this by using a prioritization strategy where I make a
list and focus only on the priorities first and break the tasks down.

Opportunities:
My opportunities which can help me achieve my goals include that I’m currently
studying a business degree. This is an essential thing to have background knowledge on
especially since I want to open my own business. My interviewee said that he studied
business at university. This saved him a lot of time and effort, as he says that he was able
to apply this knowledge in his career. However, he mentioned that if he could go back in
time, he would’ve taken a bachelor’s degree in fashion management. For this reason, one
of my other opportunities is that I could take a master’s degree in fashion management. I
think that taking a fashion course is a necessity for pursuing this career, despite having a
passion and skills. Taking a fashion course will help me to expand my background
knowledge, as well as make me gain enough knowledge to be able to continue in
pursuing this career. My last opportunity is that I have networks with people working in
the fashion industry. This can help me even further expand my knowledge, by exploring
their works and taking advice while learning from their mistakes so that I don’t repeat
them.

Threats:
The threats I may face which can limit me from achieving my goal are that it’ll take me a
lot of time to get used to the working environment. Similarly, my interviewee mentioned
that when he changed his career path, the routines were completely different. However,
as he got to explore both options, he was able to adapt. I think that it may be challenging
to get used to the environment in the beginning but with time, I’ll be able to adapt.
Another threat is that there is a lot of competition in this career path. There is always a
need to check what collections other brands are launching and how they price their
products to be able to compete with them. This could be a challenge however, providing
the best quality at the lowest price is always the best strategy for competitors. Lastly,
fashion trends are constantly changing so it’s hard to keep up. My interviewee mentioned
that if you sleep for a little amount of time, you could miss out on the fashion trends. This
is true so it will always be a challenge to be up to date however, I think its achievable
through constant checking and its achievable if others can do it.