The Journal
Essays on brand DNA, pricing logic, founder mindset, and the small business decisions that turn beautiful into profitable.
FEATURED · DESIGNER TOOLBOX
How difficult is it to start a fashion brand? The seven fundamentals every emerging designer needs before launching: branding, business plan, pricing, production, marketing, sales and mindset.
PRICING
Pricing by vibes is not a business strategy. Why emotional pricing keeps designers broke, and the calculation to use instead.
3 MIN · BY BAKO
SALES
Beautiful designs not selling? It's not your talent. It's your system. The real reason you're losing sales and the 4-stage funnel to fix it.
3 MIN · BY BAKO
FOUNDER MINDSET
You have the talent, the designs, the passion. These three myths are what keep talented fashion designers trapped, exhausted and underpaid.
9 MIN · BY BAKO
STRATEGY
Urgency, exclusivity, collaborations: how limited drops and capsule collections create a frenzy around your fashion brand, and why customers reward it.
4 MIN · BY BAKO
FOUNDER MINDSET
Visionary, believer, lucid, focused, decisive, determined: the qualities I found in every successful fashion boss I have met, and how to build them in yourself.
5 MIN · BY BAKO
FOUNDER MINDSET
Passion is not a business plan. Five mindset shifts that turn a talented fashion designer into a founder who runs a real business.
4 MIN · BY BAKO
PRICING
Discounting unsold pieces sounds smart on paper. What it really says about your brand, which pieces should stay untouchable, and how to plan better next season.
4 MIN · BY BAKO
STRATEGY
Concept, strategy, target, prototype, audience, costs: the 6 milestones of a fashion brand launch, and when each one should happen, month by month.
6 MIN · BY BAKO
FOUNDER MINDSET
From auditor in a grey-suit bank to fashion business strategist: what it really takes to break into fashion when you were not born in it, and how to do it smart.
11 MIN · BY BAKO
PRICING
Pricing anxiety is not a strategy. Clear the mental blocks, benchmark your competitors criteria by criteria, and make sure your price covers the costs.
6 MIN · BY BAKO
STRATEGY
Fuzzy goals, fuzzy results. The 5-step planning session to set measurable goals for your fashion brand, build the action plan, and start today. Not someday.
8 MIN · BY BAKO
BUSINESS PLAN
I used to evaluate loan applications. Fashion brands were almost systematically rejected. Here is what a financier actually checks, and how to pass.
8 MIN · BY BAKO
BUSINESS PLAN
Before you crunch a single number: be 100% cohesive, be crystal-clear on your brand DNA, and tailor your strategy to it. From a former auditor turned fashion strategist.
8 MIN · BY BAKO
BRAND DNA
What makes a fashion brand unique? The six mistakes emerging designers make when defining their brand DNA, and how to avoid them.
8 MIN · BY BAKO
BUSINESS PLAN
An empire built from an eBay account, killed by cash. What Nasty Gal's fall teaches every emerging designer about vanity, processes, loyalty and profit.
6 MIN · BY BAKO
BRAND DNA
Before the collection, before the prototype, before the website: the brand DNA. The 6 elements that separate a memorable fashion brand from an awkward one.
6 MIN · BY BAKO
SALES
Selling fashion online is cheaper than brick-and-mortar, and far less forgiving. The 6 factors successful online fashion brands all have in common.
3 MIN · BY BAKO
SALES
Getting the meeting, preparing the samples, answering the only question that matters to a buyer: what's in it for them. A practical guide to the buyer pitch.
3 MIN · BY BAKO
BUSINESS PLAN
A fashion business plan is not about "need". Nobody needs another brand. It is about impact. The 7 sections yours must contain, and the angle that changes everything.
3 MIN · BY BAKO
SALES
People are not buying an item, they are buying an idea. How to sell high-end fashion through passion, storytelling and ritual, without feeling like a salesperson.
3 MIN · BY BAKOThe Strategy Letter
A weekly letter on fashion business strategy, founder mindset, pricing logic, and the quiet decisions that make brands profitable.
No fluff. No "manifest your sales." Just business thinking with French restraint and very direct opinions.