Reinvent to Grow – in Fashion, Divorce & other Challenges

The Third Growth Option with Benno Duenkelsbuehler and Guests

Making a living selling to retailers, during Covid, while adjusting to a recent divorce, is not for the faint of heart. Natasha Silver, founder of Community Service Showroom, a fashion business in LA talks openly about the business and personal angles of growing in adversity.

3:05 – “Covid was… an opportunity to say ‘you know what I don’t want to do it like that anymore… and people are listening and giving room for it’.”

3:48 – “also, we’re raw… and vulnerable… and allowing things to shift and adjust.”

8:00 - … “I discovered this amazing word that became my mantra… celebration… it means you’re always choosing the moment and you’re not a victim. So in fashion, people want to get back to experience, to be in celebration, they’re comparing this time to the Roaring ‘20’s… Retail is the same thing, it’s about falling in love with the moment.”

10:40 - … “we’re just at the beginning, DTC has been so strong… but what if there is a third thing? What if there are garden parties? … Fleamarkets?”

12:10 – talking about DTC brand Outer (www.liveouter.com, Ep #37 of this podcast) and a third way “they have neighborhood showrooms… part business model, part sociological experiment.”

18:40 – on personal reinvention and divorce “…but what is the conversation about later? … we’re afraid of being old.”

20:55 – “What if life just begins again, but in a different way?”

22:53 – “This is the thing about life: you can go up to the river of life and gently dip your toe and slowly ease into it, but the truth is, the current is going to take you… so just jump in.”

27:35 – “ the definition of success is not that you’re always winning, but sometimes you’re out of the game for a second… and you re-strategize and you get back into the game. It’s the art of getting back in… and… not giving up. I’ve been up, and I’ve been down, and I can do it now.”