Bako Rambini is the founder of Fashion Cross-Functional and the author of “The Fashion Business Plan.” Today, she is here to tell us more about her work and the second edition of this fabulous book!
Bako and I have collaborated on different projects these last few years and I’m a big supporter of her work. She definitely knows her stuff. Plus, she is very professional, kind, and friendly 💕
In the second edition of her book, I had the incredible opportunity to participate by sharing some tips about the topic of Visual Identity/ Branding. What an honor! (You can find the content on page 36!).
Also, Bako has been kind enough to offer our Fashion Entrepreneur Club community a generous 30% off discount, so you can get her book for only $20 instead of $33. To take advantage of this wonderful offer, visit this page.
Okay, so here we go!
Where are you in the world?
I am in Paris, located right next to Notre Dame in the middle of the Latin Quarter.
What’s your background?
I grew up in a Couture craftsmen family from Madagascar. They opened their workshop in the 30’s. They dressed officiers of the French army during colonial times. We were famous for our 24-carat gold embroidery and we were very successful. When the French left Madagascar, my family lost its main client. Although they went on embroidering for years, they weren’t really able to recover and they ended up closing their workshop a few years ago.
Although I know how to make clothes, their failure inspired me to study business administration and finance. Actually, since then I spent most of my time trying to understand why other businesses succeeded while our company couldn’t.
I started my career in a complete opposite field: in finance where I offered audit and management consulting services to large corporates worldwide, including boutiques of household names of the luxury fashion industry like Armani or Trussardi.
I also have experience working in sales and customer relationship management of premium fashion brands in France.
To finish I also lectured strategy and business planning in a top-ranking fashion school in Paris.
How do you help fashion brands?
I offer online business coaching to help them bridge the gap between their creative concept and the money/business side of their brand. I give them the strategies and tools to convert their collections into money.
Concretely I help designers find a smart angle to make money with their brand using a combination of 3 pillars of what I do best :
– helping them become more visible by building a solid brand DNA
– helping them design a unique strategy to market and sell their collection and create customer loyalty in a way that’s aligned with their brand identity
– teaching them processes and tools to work more efficiently (with for example the brand DNA creation kit, the business plan calculator, marketing tools, etc)
What do you love most about your work?
I love discovering a new collection. I love strategizing with the designers and providing them with solutions to obtain better results. And what I love most is when they actually implement what they learnt with me because then they see the results and the reactions are priceless.
I am very pushy with the designers I work with. I really want them to succeed.
Where are your customers based?
I have clients in France, in the US, in the UK, in Australia, and in Africa as well.
Do you work in-person/online?
I mainly work online. I use interactive tools too so that we can share the same workspace even if we’re not in the same room.
Where can people find out more information about your services?
You can find more information about my services here.
Tell us about your book, The Fashion Business Plan!
Most of the designers I met In my life, starting with my family, but also clients of mine, as well as designers from the Fashion school I lectured to, most of them were afraid of business. Afraid of selling. And they had no clue how to start with their numbers.
And yet, even more in a post-pandemic world, creatives can no longer afford to ignore their numbers. They have to watch their costs and be able to sell enough to live off their fashion business.
I wanted to present the business side of an emerging fashion brand and numbers in a simple and friendly way to give designers a very easy method to understand how things work and what they’ll be doing. By the way, I’ve used it at the fashion school as well as with my clients. I wanted to show designers that numbers are neither magic nor a mystery science. There’s actually an underlying reality behind them and it’s not that complicated to grasp and to act on.
The book presents a step-by-step approach of my entire framework from the moment you have a creative fashion concept up to when you evaluate your numbers.
You have plenty of templates that you can download to accelerate the implementation of the solutions I offer.
What changes have your customers experienced after reading and working with your book?
Some designers got more visibility using the brand DNA and got press in magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, etc
Some Designers loved how it’s simple and easy to understand
Some other designers appreciated a lot the principle of having a workbook that you can fill out.
Now in the new version, you’ll also get the fashion business plan calculator which is thoroughly explained, a pitch deck for fashion brands along with other cool templates to help you
Where can people get the book?
You can find it on Amazon however Fashion Entrepreneur Club members get special access using this link.
Where can people get in touch with you?
You can either contact me by email bako@fashioncrossfunctional.com or on my Instagram account.
Want to connect with Bako? Head to her Instagram and send her a DM!
Bako, thanks so much for sharing your expertise with us!!!
If you want to get your hands on The Fashion Business Plan, visit this page (Pay $20 instead of $33!).
Want to stay in touch with us? Join the Fashionpreneur List and our free Facebook group!
