Ep. 11: Sarah Shaw, Founder and CEO, Sarah Shaw Consulting

“Sometimes the secret to your life is hidden within unsolicited advice.” – Sarah Shaw, Founder and CEO, Sarah Shaw Consulting

++++++++++

Listen to the podcast or watch the interview videos on YouTube: 

Sarah Shaw, CEO Sarah Shaw Consulting (full discussion)

Marketing Products During and After COVID (highlight video)

Benefit From Unexpected Opportunities and Advice (highlight video)

Subscribe to the Founders and Startups YouTube Channel to see future videos as they're released! 

++++++++++

This podcast was recorded on May 8, 2020 while quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Have you ever seen the product you’d dreamed about developing in stores and on TV and thought, “Why didn’t I do that?” The reason is, most likely, that you didn’t have the information and connections to do it. Celebrity designer Sarah Shaw, CEO of Sarah Shaw Consulting and product launching expert, shares how she created six businesses and now helps others position themselves for success.

 

A fourth-generation entrepreneur, Sarah’s original career plan was to be a French-English translator. However, she discovered that she loved costume design and working in the film business. This eventually led to her current business working with entrepreneur designers who create products sold online and in retail stores. 

Key takeaways: 

• A growth area for Sarah’s clients is offering drop-shipping for online stores where the product owner fulfills the order and sends it directly to the customer. This eliminates the retailer having to invest in inventory and manage shipping logistics.
  
  
• Department stories and retail chains such as Neiman Marcus, J. Crew, Nordstrom’s, are trying to liquidate inventory, some are declaring bankruptcy and others are permanently closing stores.
  
  
• When an item is sold on Amazon, the product owner does not get the contact information for future marketing purposes.
  
  
• Some boutiques didn’t have an online presence prior to COVID-19. They are now creating online stores and are creating online stores.
• Sarah recommend sending items to magazine editors and to celebrities to generate mentions. This tends to be more cost-effective than Facebook ads.
  
  
• Sarah is working with showrooms to develop online platforms for selling products.
  
  
• The opportunity to distribute products to celebrities stopped for several weeks due to COVID. Celebrity gatekeepers are now open to accepting new products.
  
  
• Opportunities to sell and promote products:
  • Promote directly to past clients by developing your own email list
  • Find out if your credit card processor captured an email with each transaction
  • Experiment with Facebook ads
  • Establish partnerships with boutiques and offer to drop-ship
  • Create your own e-commerce platform
    
    
• She started her businesses because someone challenged her to do so.
  
  
• Sarah created her first business in 1994 which involved brokering deals between a clothing designer/manufacturer and theatrical productions such as movies and operas. She was first introduced to the manufacturer while outfitting Danny DeVito for a movie. She next helped a friend who was creating costumes for an opera. This was followed by helping a friend who was outfitting actors for Forrest Gump.
  
  
• Sarah and the costume creator split the profits for these opportunities and created outfits for movies such as Matrix Reloaded, Oceans 11, Out of Sight, T