I
am currently majoring in International Business. I was majoring in Fashion Merchandising and
dreamt of becoming a buyer for fashion chain stores at the beginning of my
college career in the U.S. I have loved
fashion since I was a little girl but I didn’t have a chance to go to college back
to China when I was young. I had to obey
my father’s order to attend a vocational school and majored in Auto
Engineering. That diploma guaranteed me a
job at a state-owned company. So I ended
up having a job at a state-owned Bus Company’s garage, drawing blueprints for
car parts. When I came to the U.S.A. and
I had the chance to go to college, I loved it so much that I could do whatever
I wanted and didn’t need to obey my father’s order anymore. Fashion Merchandising was my first choice as a
major. However, when I got a job as a
contractor at a large bank’s Global Banking Department in 2007, I was eager to
have that job permanently. I talked to
my counselor at school to see if I could take some classes that could improve
my skills at work while earning school credits.
My counselor suggested me to change my major to International Business
for these reasons: Fashion Merchandising
is an impacted major in San Francisco State University, which means I may not
be able to get into that program; I don’t have any working experience in the
fashion industry and all my work experiences were office related, it may be
easier for me to get a job in international business than in fashion merchandising. I took his advice and changed my major to
International Business.
I
will find my way to sneak back to the fashion industry since I love it so
much. I was planning to open my own
online jewelry store this past summer but got pre-occupied by some other activities. I did researches about how to register as a
small business, how to open an online store, and I checked out how to sell merchandise
on eBay and Amazon. I am still not sure what I really want to sell and where I should
go for my materials. I was thinking of
taking a trip back to China to check out what I could do over there; but I didn’t
have time to do it this summer. Any
concerns, suggestions, advice about starting an online business? Greatly
appreciate the advice.
Do you intend on recieving a degree in International Business or are you just taking classes until re-entering Fashion Merchandising? Also, is there any way to take the skill that you have learned in International Business and eventually use it when you open your own store? I think that sticking with International Business could play a crucial role in your success with Fashion Merchandising. It is important to know about Business if you choose to run one.
ReplyDeleteI am on my way to a B.S. degree of International Business. I think I can use the knowledge that I learned to open my own store! I may take some classes toward fashion design after I get my B.S. degree on International Business just for fun! I know I will enjoy it more when I am taking classes for fun. It just like I hate to take writing classes but it does not mean that I don't like English literature. I will enjoy the English literature more when I know I don't need to write something after I read it. I will still do the annotation and may just write a blog to discuss it with others. :)
DeleteYou mentioned earlier that you make your own jewelry; would that be your focus or just one of many products? Online businesses are very difficult to maintain because of all of the competition. Marketing is very essential to success, those who market best, earn the most. International Business is a great alternative that seems to suit you. The majority of jobs for that particular degree involve sales and marketing, which will be great if you do open your online store.
ReplyDeleteGood question, Pierre! What I am planning to do is to have my degree and have a job on international businesses related first; and then open an online store as a side-job. Nowadays, a lot of software out there to help you setting up an online business and if you pay certain fee, they would help you for marketing, and create ads etc..., on a very reasonable price. And I will start it from something that's simple like earrings, if it gone well, then I will think about add more products. If the online store didn't go well, it is ok to me. I will still have a job to pay for rent and other bills.
DeleteI think a website you can go to is http://www.etsy.com/ and start off form there. Another way to start letting people know about your business is through facebook, twitter, blogging and all the other online websites or apps where your store would be shown to the public
ReplyDelete