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Elevate Your Wardrobe: The Power of Custom Clothing
24 Plays2 months ago
Today Matt welcomes Amanda Rahemanji, a leading custom clothing consultant from Tom James. Together, they explore Amanda's fascinating journey from a rural upbringing to becoming a top professional in the custom clothing industry. Discover the hidden world of custom attire, understand its impact on confidence and personal branding, and learn practical wardrobe tips from an expert. Take also a peek into how Amanda balances her thriving career with family life and motherhood, providing an inspiring story and practical advice.
Here is a link to her website for any listener who is interested in purchasing. https://www.tomjames.com/amandaabbott/
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Transcript
Introduction and Amanda's Role in Fashion
00:00:09
Speaker
Hello, everybody. This is Matt Ryan with the All Roads Lead to Real Estate. And I have a wonderful guest, someone that I've met for a number of years. How long have we known each other now? Let's think this through. At least almost eight. About eight years. And boy, were we youthful. And well, you still, of course, are. i'm I've aged horribly, ah comparatively speaking. um But I first met you and it was interesting. And I just had to have you on because You're someone that helps to elevate my appearance. And speaking of how horribly I feel, sometimes I look um and you know, you are someone that brings, I think, I don't know, an elevated sense of someone's self is a way I could describe what you do for a living. And you work for a custom clothing company.
00:00:58
Speaker
And so you help people, not just professionals, but I suppose um just anybody that wants to elevate their game and um and bring some swagger to the mix.
Introduction to Custom Clothing
00:01:08
Speaker
And ah it's just so some of the most fascinating things because as a kid and just even in college, I just would never have imagined that what you do for a living actually exist. I didn't know anyone who had custom clothing. I thought that's ridiculous. Must be expensive and only celebrities do it.
00:01:24
Speaker
And so I wanted to have you on because even I am able to to partake in what you can offer and the service you provide. So I'm thinking there's got to be people out there that have no idea that this world exists. And boy, they need to be introduced to you, Amanda. So um I want to introduce Amanda Rehmanji. And um you are married to one of ah my good friends who's a lender. And we met each other, I guess,
00:01:50
Speaker
kind of kind of through that experience. And so I want to first off welcome you to the podcast. Thank you. Thanks for having me. I'm excited.
Amanda's Journey into Sales
00:01:58
Speaker
Of course. Well, thank you for being here. And so your world is um fascinating, like I said. So I just want to kick it off and just tell everybody a little bit about where you're from and a little bit about your background before we get into the world of custom clothing. Sure. Well, it's funny you said you didn't know anything about it. I come from the Eastern Shore. A lot of people think the beach, but where I came from was a pretty rural, no stoplight, country bumpkin town. Where was it? Like Chesterton? Chesterton is even more north. That's like more, so you know, nice, so nice when I grew up. We were like deep down like Blackwater Refuge area. My dad's a waterman. So I grew up with, I'd say like, you know, they talk about blue collar. We were the blue collar, no collar. So, I did not go her up around fancy clothes, custom clothes, suits, anything like that. So, if you were talking to me 11 years ago and said that I would have been here selling custom clothing to professionals in Baltimore, I would have been like, that sounds a little crazy. I didn't go to college for that. yeah
00:03:00
Speaker
um so I think that where I came from taught me a lot of work ethic. And I think that's why sales to me was when I first learned the true what sales was, wasn't just like selling cars and stuff like that. It intrigued me because they said, if you worked hard, you'll get what you want. So a light bulb went off and I was like, well, I want that. So suits was something that came obviously a little later throughout college. But was it like a job fair? How were you first introduced to it? So it was actually, um I did marketing with a focus in sales in Salisbury and they did sales competitions to get scholarships and money. So I'm like, okay, let let me do that. Let me, yeah I want some scholarships. I'd like some money for school. And the people that gave the scholarship money were different sales companies inside, outside companies.
00:03:48
Speaker
um array of, like I don't know, 6 to 10. When I won one of the sales competitions, you were selling a CRM cloud-based system to um another person. and Tom James came up to me and was just like, hey you did I was a junior at the time. They were like, hey, you did great. We love to talk to you about our company. It's like, great, what do you do? We sell clothing.
00:04:09
Speaker
i'm like Okay, great, you know, just being nice like, sure, okay. um Obviously was not interested in that at all, thought that maybe they were like worked at Nordstrom's or something like that and like tailored clothes like that. And so, but then once I sat down, I was like, well, I'll give them a shot with an internship.
00:04:25
Speaker
And I did an internship there and realized, what was I wrong? This is a lot bigger than just clothes. This is about people. yeah And that's what sales is the about, is about people. And I think at the end of the day, you could be in sales selling Fritos, selling trucks, selling real estate. We're all salespeople. And I just found that the company cares a lot more about people than any other sales company I've been like introduced to or met. And that's what really attracted me to this company.
Confidence and Style with Custom Clothing
00:04:52
Speaker
Well, in your comment about sales, I knew personally I wanted to be in sales as well pretty much my whole life, so I feel that same. I can relate to how you describe your own feelings towards towards that, um but I don't think you've ever sold anybody anything they didn't want.
00:05:08
Speaker
So does that make sense? Like I don't think I've ever forced anybody, you know, at a ah gunpoint to buy a house or to sell. I have never shown up to someone say you're selling your house today. Congratulations. Get the heck out. Like that doesn't really. It's not how it works, nor is it how it works for you. No, um because I know some of your clients personally um and I am one of them. It's.
00:05:29
Speaker
we ah Most of us don't know what the heck to wear. um And without someone's help, you're going to not look the part, if you will, and showcase the best version of yourself. And what's interesting with you, and we'll circle back to this later, <unk> you like to find out who these people are and you're not necessarily changing it. You're not trying to make Matt Rine look like someone else.
00:05:51
Speaker
because I'm not someone else, I'm me. So you kind of get to know someone. I thought that was kind of fascinating is trying to showcase what that person is and what makes them comfortable and highlighting and just, I think your term is like elevated. Like I'm not trying to make you look, you know, go into something you never felt comfortable in. And that to me was different. Because if you go into, you know, the mall, no one's sitting there taking the time to get to understand you and in and do that and and build a relationship in that way.
00:06:19
Speaker
Exactly. And I think that's what the misconception of like, oh, I buy custom clothing is. I think a lot of people think it's like, oh, you buy an expensive suit and you got to dress so that I'm every single day to be a client. And like, that's not the case. It sounds so pretentious, to be honest. Yeah, and it's like, oh, I buy custom. It's like, no, to me, custom means I buy quality. And I think in today's world, especially like you said, someone getting to know you, we live in a world where everything is automated, is over the internet, over your phone. You don't see people anymore.
00:06:52
Speaker
right? You barely, unless you go to a restaurant maybe, but some, now you can take orders via computer. And I think for us, we keep it super old school and the fact that like, we're human to human. You don't call one 800 number. You don't go see five different people in the process. It's just me. And I'm here just to help you.
00:07:09
Speaker
save time. That's it. And that's what we're all trying to do. I think in the sales world is save someone time. And at the end of the day, yeah, I'm selling you clothing, but I'm saving you time because I know your schedule. I know your family. And the last thing you have is time to be doing this. right And it doesn't mean that I could be helping you with shorts, polos, or I could help you with a suit for a wedding. it's It's the idea of taking giving you back time, but also being able to be someone to help you with anything in your life. Right. um And I think a lot of people think custom clothing is just directly like tuxedo and like going to the rental shop or something. And and it's just not that. Well, it's as a as a gentleman, as they say, I feel that it adds a little bit of confidence. So when I go into a listing appointment and I want to look and feel good, it's not just as I say to look, it's why some people invest in a nice watch or they, you know, they have something as a guy. It's like we have limited things. I don't have earrings.
00:08:03
Speaker
I don't, you know, there's not a whole lot of jewelry I'm wearing. So how do I feel better? I will say when I wear something that I have that's custom, I feel better. I know it fits me right. It looks right. I know you put eyes on it and approved it, so to speak. I have that check mark. And so I don't wear it every single day of my life. But when I put it on, I know I have an appointment. I want to look my best. It's, you know, I'm giving a talk. I'm doing something where I want to feel better. Exactly. And I think it helps me to borrow confidence is the best way I can describe it.
00:08:32
Speaker
That's my goal. So I'm glad I'm achieving that with you.
Challenges and Mindset in Sales
00:08:36
Speaker
It is so. um But let's get back a little bit to the background because I am fascinated by how someone because after I get to know you for these years, you would have been successful in pretty much anything like someone with your mentality, with the hustle.
00:08:49
Speaker
With the determination You could you could easily be sitting in my seat in real estate easily Like I know plenty of people that don't have your level of ambition that are doing very well in our industry So you like you actively chose what you're doing and you had opportunities and still do to take a left or a right and exit and And yet we're still here. And so I'm fascinated by the younger version of yourself that chose it. It sounds like at a fair and they introduced you, you did an internship. My thing is like, how do you stick to it? Because the turnover rate is probably similar, if not worse than real estate. We lose close to three quarters or yeah, about three quarters of the people that join real estate leave the industry in roughly three to four years of being licensed.
00:09:35
Speaker
So there's a tremendous turnover because it's really difficult. I'm assuming your industry is similar. I would say for sure. I'd say even like a shorter time period. I would feel like, especially in like an outside sales role, I mean, once they're almost like salary cap, the training pay, the assistance pay, and we go closer to 100% commission, that's when they start dropping, right? And what does that tell you? They obviously are making money. So in the beginning, do they give you a stipend or a base salary or a draw or something like this? start out with a base salary. But it's not enough to live well, right? It's just enough to survive. Yeah, maybe when I was 22. Ramen noodles. Yeah, not bad, roommates, all that. But it's not a living, obviously. I've been here 11 and a half years, and what I found is that everything they told me in the beginning, what happened in my life, the opportunity, the position, never changed. And I think that's super rare. The company's been around since 1966,
00:10:33
Speaker
What they stand for still exists. I always found that every time that I was having a challenge or I felt like I was failing, it always was something I was doing, not something the company was doing. That takes a larger mindset, I think, as an individual to stay somewhere and realize, hey, this is it's me that's not working right now. It's not it.
00:10:53
Speaker
yeah Like, I'm not taking advantage of the opportunity or I'm not working the system. A lot of people try to come in in today's world and rearrent reinvent the wheel or try to like, you know, just shorten the curve of the grind you need to do. And that's why they fail because they're like, well, how do I get it faster and faster? Sure, we've got new ways that help us, you know, get leads and use technology to help us shorten the curve versus going to the library. like In the old days, they get contacts and phone numbers, but still nothing's changed about the grind. You still need to put the activity in and the time in. I think that's why a lot of people, once they realize how much time, like if you're going to work nine to five, you're going to get paid nine to five.
00:11:31
Speaker
And in the beginning, I knew they that that didn't exist. I had great examples and great mentors where I was at. Don't get me wrong. And that always helped me see, hey, this is what you need to do to be successful. So I never tried to change change it. And so I just followed it and I knew it took time.
00:11:47
Speaker
I mean, you start a business, when you first start a business, it's not going to be successful in six months, right? It takes time. And today's generation sometimes forgets that. I hate saying that because I'm young obviously, but it's true. But because of where I came from, I saw my dad, you know, I remember calling him the first month I did this job being like, this was a mistake. um What do I do now? He said, Amanda, do you know how many days I went with paying more to work than to work?
00:12:17
Speaker
but you didn't know that. It's the consistency over time and it will all average out for you. Each day will not be your best day. And that stuck to me like, I mean, it just smacked me in the face like, wow, he's right right. And it's so true. Some days I sold 17 times amount that I did, you know, in a week. And some days weren't like that. But if you did the same things and stayed consistent,
00:12:42
Speaker
It sounds just like all my experience. I did medical sales, pharmaceutical sales, and I'm doing this, and I sold insurance. I feel that it's the same. It's the activities, and I think it's the genuine personality. I don't think effort alone will do it, but it's about 80%. So I think that- Between the years, they always say it's all between the years. So all in here is what's gonna make you Be successful or not. Um, and I don't think I am I think i'm still continuously growing to become more and more every day I don't think you're ever our owner of our company said that you'll never ever truly be successful You're always growing to get there and that was like wow, that's so powerful. I don't think it's a destination. That's what i've described It's not even the owner of the company is not necessarily if they think they've fully arrived then they're then they're not
00:13:35
Speaker
I think we're just always growing. As long as you're in the mindset of it. When you're in the mindset of it, that's when you can keep going down that path. If you're not in the mindset of growth, that's when you won't be. And so you're right out of college, right? You're a young lady. So how do you how do you approach the business? Because I had this this affected me. I'm curious if it affected you because you're very young looking still. I when I was 21, I looked like I was seven. It was bad. Like I'm ah basically 40 now and I still look relatively relatively young now. I looked very young
Gender and Diversity in Sales
00:14:06
Speaker
and I was selling to medical professionals and I look like a child.
00:14:09
Speaker
it was something I had to overcome a tremendous obstacle and it took me, I think I overcompensated. like I would prepare twice as hard in an effort just not to be laughed out of the room. I'm curious if that was your experience because you were selling to people that are professionals. Most of the folks are very either educated or successful in their career. Older. And older. So how does how did that feel and how do you and think that changed your delivery or your preparation or anything?
00:14:36
Speaker
Well, I think there's a couple of sides to it. The first side is I had no idea who made money. Like I came from a place where like there's all you capped off at a certain amount on the Eastern Shore. You know, we weren't that flashy. So I had no idea really who was our client. And I was glass dooring and googling positions when LinkedIn was kind of just starting and arriving like when I was in college and coming out. Like what does this mean? And now like anyone can be a VP, which is like funny, but like, you know, everybody I know is a VP of something.
00:15:05
Speaker
Like yeah the title can be so, but anyway, I feel like I was, I didn't know who our client was. And like I had, that was like hard for me too because of where I came from. I only knew the common industries. So I kind of just started there and kind of branched off, but I'd also run in a problem where as a female, these guys would give me a shot. Cause they're like, like I was their daughter. Like I felt bad. They'd give me a shot. And then it'd be kind of like a one shirt Sammy type situation where like,
00:15:32
Speaker
they just gave me an opportunity cause they felt so I kind of got the feel bad sales. I feel like from these like 50, 60 year old, you know, gentlemen that were like, Oh, well she good luck. Let's see how she let's give her a shot, which is fine and dandy in the beginning, but that's not how you built the business. yeah But I found that knowledge was confidence. So instead of, I did learn a lot about our product, but I wanted to learn about the industries. I learned about every type of financial advisor, every type of attorney. So when I wanted to meet them, I wanted to know just as much about their job, right? And when I got to know them more, selling the product was almost like, I mean, it's easy. yeah I just learned 27 different ways that you're gonna wear my suit yeah because you just told me. yeah And I felt like that gave me confidence to them being like, oh, this is a smart young lady. But the youth, I think is harder on the men than the women for sure because they just know, you know what I mean? Like they just know like, oh, they're just starting out. But I focused a a on women too.
00:16:30
Speaker
I did a lot of women in the beginning of my career and a lot of people think we're just a men's company. 30 ish percent of my business is women. So I went after the women and being like, you know, because I worked with an office of all men, by the way, there was no women in there. And I was like, I think we're missing a market here. And so I went out like, well, I didn't know this existed. So I kind of try to take a different Well, to that point, I know my wife has complained about just having certain clothes, especially after you have a few children. Things don't fit the way that they used to fit. Just going through that now. I know you had your first child. Congratulations again. But yeah, things change. And you know, she she bounced back and then you have Another child, it's like, so there's, you know, genes don't fit the way and talk about confidence is when you don't look the way that you wanna look, that affects you. And, you know, I never stop, we're going to the beach and she's complaining about everything. There's, you know, nothing fits the way that she wants. And I'm like, well, you know, A, we're not 25 anymore. And secondary, we have children, like it's gonna be different. And so I can see that getting that out there, cause I don't in my head think of women as your traditional client.
00:17:37
Speaker
But if you think about it in today's world, there's a woman that's in the same position as a man now, right? So if you think of a CFO of all these companies, there's women CFOs. Yeah. How many women real estate agents out there? You know, I bet it's not the standard actually. So 50 females, the standard.
00:17:53
Speaker
Look, there you go. And I mean, in our company now, we're 50%. I'd say at least maybe a little bit more that women. So I just felt like that was taking off, especially back. This was 2012, 13. And I felt like, wow, we're missing the boat here because all these guys have been doing it for 20 years. They weren't going to change their clientele. So I just was like, well, who's your wife? And it was, I mean, yeah Well, when you first started, I think that's interesting because
Matt's Experience with Custom Clothing
00:18:18
Speaker
do you like you'd say you were the only female in your office? Is that was that pretty consistent for a number of years where you were you go to these events, or you know, the the company event and you'd be the only female or was that not so it was more of my office. So when I first started in the first two months,
00:18:32
Speaker
Um, 60% of my office quit all at the same time when I first started and I was like, Oh, that's fine. This must be a toxic place. Yes. Um, but really that was just sales, right? And so I ended up being just the only female in my office, not in the company, just in my office. And that was for many years. Um, I think, I mean, young too, everyone else was about 40 and over and I was 22. Um, but that was probably the best blessing I ever had because I grew up fast. Yeah. It didn't have time to listen to a little girl cry, whine, anything. So I was like, just be bold, be brave. And I think it helped me out a lot. um But then it encouraged me to bring get other get other girls in here. Let's get other you know young professionals like do this job. And so I was really highly involved in recruiting and training when I first started. And you just told me you just hired someone to kind of help you be in your assistant role, who is a female, who's young in college and she's ambitious and hungry and yep got ah the mini version of you back in the day. I hope so. we' see just matter today so We'll Well, so listen, that the truth is, any everyone can talk, a lot of not everyone, but a lot of people can talk well. It's like, what are you going to do? and Especially when I'm not looking, what are you going to do?
00:19:42
Speaker
I think it's also a lot of people like I like to, you know, I don't hire as much as I used to, but when bringing people in our industry is so interesting because it's just like, again, I had no idea that opportunity existed. And the opportunity is so great because it taught me at a young age, not just to sell, but it taught me about the net worst side. And that's like a huge piece of our company of how they give us the opportunity of be stockholders and how like we're that a high match 401k, like all these little things that like, again, we're not just right.
00:20:11
Speaker
salespeople were so invested in our careers because of how the company gives us the opportunity. So a lot of people that do the custom clothing, and I don't mean this in a bad way, they're more part time. They don't take this on as a full time career. There's very few of them that do. yeah And I think our company does a great job at letting us invest in ourselves and in the company. And it makes us more invested in our clients, I think.
00:20:32
Speaker
And let's be specific, I haven't even mentioned the name of your company. So it's Tom James. And so Tom James, um you might be familiar if you're listening to this with that brand. It's probably, in my estimation, the largest. Is there anybody larger than Tom James? Not that completely we're vertically integrated, so we own everything. So no one owns their own factories, mills and everything from kind of start to finish.
00:20:53
Speaker
and Tom James does. So I can tell you, so let me first off tell you what I first thought Tom James was. I thought this was pitched by like young people that were super energetic and they'd like, you know, rah, rah, rah. And like the people, the couple people I saw that invested in it were just like really flashy people. And they were like wannabes. They were not the people i I wanted to emulate. That's so funny. And that was just my initial feeling. So I was like, yeah, I'm good. You know, I'm not doing that. That's not you. That was just not it wasn't me until I I think it was at my wedding. I think a final wedding I broke down and said, like, I want to look decent for my wedding. And when you have like an all I only had off the rack suits and in medical sales every day of my life, I had to wear a jacket but and or a suit as your unit, traditionally a ah suit.
00:21:42
Speaker
And they all looked horrible. Like I would go, you know, no offense to those that still do it, but I would just go to Kohl's or whatever. I didn't know, you know, I'm a farm boy and grew up in Carol. yeah Like I just went out there and that's what I did. And I bought, you know, like twenty dollar shirts and they were loose and that nothing fit right. And I already looked dweeby, like added to the dweeb. It was like dweeb squared. And that was my normal. And I didn't know any different. And when I was going to get married, I think, you know, that was like twenty nine to five. Hate to break this to you. I think, i well,
00:22:09
Speaker
Actually, I wasn't from you that first. No, it was from Jason. Yeah, Jason was my first. okay So it was 10 years ago and it was incredible. So different than I've ever experienced clothing. So if you've never experienced it, don't knock it yet. um I'm just warning you with peace and love that but once you do have that feeling, you're going to throw everything else out. I have because you just don't even if you have one jacket or two jackets that are custom, that's all you're going to wear.
00:22:36
Speaker
um but that was my introduction and and then that was the itch that you know I
Fashion Needs and Personal Expression
00:22:41
Speaker
wanted it and I you don't need 300 pieces like yeah right and that's another misconception right and I think that we always feel like oh you have to buy everything custom for me like I'm also here to help like I know hey getting this somewhere else is okay like it yeah I I'm not here to not be like, oh my God, I can't believe you didn't buy that for me. Like, that's not the thing. I'm here to help your entire wardrobe. I mean, and I think it's more relevant today than ever because I think because of the way the world is, no one really knows how to dress or what to dress for anymore. They're kind of like. yeah
00:23:11
Speaker
Well, is everyone in polos? Does anyone wear suits? They're so unknowns, and they just assume. And it's like, oh, am I going to be overdressed? Am I going to get underdressed? It's more confusing now, I feel like, than before. You just kind of either did this or that.
00:23:25
Speaker
Well, how do I look good for my waist up for zoom? Have you had that yet? Oh, yeah. And that that was that feels like ages ago. But that's how I mean, when 2020 started, that's basically where it was. Some people are still like that today. Right. But travels back, obviously. But I think weddings, if you don't put black tie on your wedding now, people are kind of like, well, am I wearing a sport coat or a suit? It's it's so I don't know. I just I think it's harder. And when it's harder to put an outfit together, then it's like, if It's not a suit. I think all the different pieces you're letting like, well, what am I wearing? Can I wear this with that? Can I wear a t-shirt? It's just more confusing today. And that's why I think I'm more valuable because, hey, I want to help. Like what makes sense for your wardrobe now? What's your brand? What do you want to look like? It's not what the world wants to look like now. What do you want to look like? But you have an opinion. So what I wish someone had expressed to me is that because you have an opinion, you are like an unbiased member that can help someone make decisions. And you do this for a living. This is not a hobby. It's not part time. So like all jokes aside, you literally do this for a living. Like it, you know, you you can very quickly look at someone's physique and say like, that's not going to look right on you because you get to see people all the time and you make note of this.
00:24:36
Speaker
And so I think everybody should have at least a few pieces of custom clothing just for those moments. You know, and you've helped me to be able to select certain items or sport jackets that are more neutral that you kind of can kind of wear stealth where you can use them more often and people don't really notice.
00:24:54
Speaker
And you're not a guy that, like you said, you don't want to be this flashy. That's not my personality. So yeah why am I going to show you that? I want to try to keep you more neutral. I mean, like, Hey, Matt, like these three sport coats are going to go great for this event, this, this and that. yeah And I think everyone has those events right now. I mean, the social party, everyone's life, I feel like is at the height right now. You're, you're doing anything from weddings to social at parties, all parties. Now everyone wants to dress up and have fun because they don't do it in their daily life anymore. And your stuff, you can customize the inside like your inserts, your pocket square. It can all be totally different with different materials and it can look really neat. I know I've I've referred my brother Jay to you. love ja And he's so darn proud of like his stuff, because once a again, grow he he grew up on the dairy farm. He's literally male cows. And now he has like when we go to the racetrack once a year to go watch the Preakness or something. He's got his all his horsies in like right inside of his sport jacket. It's some wild like pink color or purple or so. But you helped him out. So he's like so proud of of this cool outfit. And ah it just it's just you can't buy that stuff off the rack. And he's not like a small person in a small frame. So I think you guys are different. Oh, yeah. I'm like this little thing like he likes to joke. You know, we're not you know the same parents. um He like hovers above me.
00:26:08
Speaker
Half a foot, but it is what it is. oh But you're right. It's like the the whole cost was that customization part of it is like that's fun to have that ability to do that. It's like your personality. Yeah. Right. I mean, we can do custom in almost everything in our life now. Right. So why not do it in your wardrobe? Right. And have fun doing it. It's not a hard process. Like I think picking out, you know, kitchen finishes and all that. Well, that's more permanent. That's a fixed. Yeah. And this I can just wear occasionally. And it's like, yeah.
00:26:35
Speaker
Again, having fun with it again, like a lot of people, the wardrobe was a uniform up, I gotta put the suit on. No, it's not. Now we get to kind of have fun with it and I feel like I get to do the 360 wardrobe versus like just your navy suit. You
Cost and Process of Custom Clothing
00:26:49
Speaker
know what I mean? And I and i think that's the big value of me now is that I'm helping you more with not just your Monday through Friday wear. I can do every day of the week.
00:26:59
Speaker
Well, help, okay, so I wanna make this next question in line of thought to address to the folks that have maybe considered it, heard it, thought it was stupid, or I can't afford that, or whatever, they have all the things. How do you describe someone? First off, is there, what kind of, like, where do you start? Do you like, A, go online, do you can you call, can you say, listen, i don't I have like an event, or I have a wedding, or I just wanna look good, I want a couple outfits.
00:27:24
Speaker
How do you start and what's your first introduction to people? How do you describe what that initial process and maybe what the budget might look like? Sure. um So basically, you'll never see a billboard about us, a magazine article. We do not spend any money on marketing.
00:27:39
Speaker
um to out to people, which at first I thought was like a little crazy, but now I realize our money gets invested into the company for the client, buying factories and things like that. So everything is completely word of mouth. So every person I met is from a referral based kind of just like your business. That's the same exact, it's the same exact way. right Obviously we do have a website, tomjames.com that you can go on and inquire and they'll send But if I had someone listen to this and just did it, they might not get you. They wouldn't get me. They'd have to personally have my contacts, obviously, and we can share that. Yes. Well, I'll tag it in. It's Amanda, guys. Yeah. That last name's long now. It's hard. It starts with an R, so I need that. But we'll figure it out. Yeah.
00:28:21
Speaker
Basically, um then we have a initial phone call, you know, i yeah I'm here to save time. I want to save you time. Initial phone call to kind of see like, hey, what are you looking for? What do you need if you're not looking for anything? Let's see why maybe you're interested in this. So I want to get all those kind of just like what you do with buying a house. Right. What's the budget? Where do you want to be at? Like, you know, all the same type of questions. So hard so if I just had to relive that moment when you say, what's your budget? I don't know. Like, I know what my budget is for a car. I never asked that question when it comes to clothes.
00:28:51
Speaker
Okay, so how would you phrase it? I how i know if I can afford you. Great question. So let's say you're like, okay, we'll i have a wedding coming up in six months, Amanda, and I need a new suit. Okay, great. You know, wherever you bought before, I want to know where you've been at before. So I know like, hey, because we have five different levels, right? I can go, so we're kind of like a car dealership that's got the Honda and the Bentley, right? Honda's a great car still, don't get me wrong, but you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to get a nice car. And some of the difference could be the materials that other feels or just, so it's still almost just as good from a you know from me looking at you across the room. exactly Some of it could be the tactile, the fit, the you know and you've even shared that some of the nicest stuff you possibly sell is super thin, right? So it actually wears out faster.
00:29:35
Speaker
depending on how it's made up. but yeah so And then once I have an initial phone call with you, then we're going to set up an appointment and I'm going to bring my entire store out to you. And that's all in my bag. It's just one bag. And I'm going to show you all the different levels that we have. Again, we have five different ones. And then I'm going to ask you, it has all the individual pricing, I'm going to ask you what fits your lifestyle.
00:29:55
Speaker
Which does and you're gonna pick a level because at that point you're gonna know hey I can't spend over X amount and our suits start, you know around the thousand dollar range and they go all the way up to 20,000, you know, it's just like You know how much you can buy a less expensive one or you buy a more expensive one and you're gonna pick which level that makes sense your lifestyle Okay, then we're in a certain area. So I've a way timeout. Has anyone spent 20,000 on the suit with you? Oh not me personally, but in our company, many. i say i was there because You need to you need to call somebody. They need like, that's a lot. Well, think about it, though. But think about the people that buy 10 million dollar homes. I guess 15 million dollar homes. They're not driving.
00:30:34
Speaker
$20,000 cars, yeah you know, you got to think about it in that aspect, right? I guess. Just like watches. Yeah. You got a nice timepiece on. There's a lot of people that, you know what I mean? That could be not as expensive for them, right? Or you got to put it in terms of like not that $20,000 to you might seem like, oh my God, that's crazy. It's crazy to me too, by the way. But to people who spend. So what's like the average for just your $1,500 to $2,000? OK.
00:31:04
Speaker
I say $1,500 to $2,000 is where a lot of people spend. And I'll say, having bought stuff off the rack, you're going to spend, what, a minimum $300,000 to $500,000 on the um that most basic. On the basic. The basic basic. Without durations, anything. Correct. And so if you go to Nordstrom or a nicer store, you're going to spend probably close to a grand. Yeah. Anyway, and it's still off the rack, just altered.
00:31:24
Speaker
Mm-hmm. And so the fact that you can get and into a custom garment around that thousand dollar price point right is I think a pretty competitive fair price right and it's just you know what I mean like You buy a Mercedes you can buy the the sea level and you can keep going up It's the more bells and whistles it runs how how it's made and that's what drives the price up. but That's kind of i explain it to people It's like it's like cars like you're gonna get a nice product at the bottom level. Don't get me wrong But it's not like my cheapest option, the higher you go up, the nicer it's going to get. And some people start and then elevate as they go, they grow because it grows with them. Like you're probably making a lot different than you were 10 years ago. So you're probably looking at something a little bit different. You know what I mean? And then once you pick kind of where you want to spend, then I'm going to show you all the fabrics. We're going to see what you need first. Then I'm going to show you kind of like a wardrobe plan and go through every aspect. We might not hit on everything that day, but we have a plan. You know what I mean? We're not just
00:32:19
Speaker
And you need this, you need that. Like, it's kind of not like that. I want to know kind of like, hey, six months from now, you're going to Europe. So I need to make sure I have that plan. And then I don't think a lot of people keep details like that as much anymore.
00:32:32
Speaker
Yeah, you have records like so when you size someone up, what I thought was interesting is when you size someone up, you know, ah we have a tendency to to fluctuate weight occasionally, like so we don't necessarily stay the same waist forever. And so you have that like once you purchase something with you guys, tell me explain that process. So let's say I gained 20 pounds. um what What happens there? I don't fit into that suit just like I did the day that you had it. Now life happens, right? Yeah. I mean, I feel that way six months ago, having a baby, things are different.
00:33:01
Speaker
So you can shirts are a little bit different just because it's made more on your skin, obviously. You can take in but everything that we have. But for suits and sport coats and pants, you can take out about a 30-pound swing. So you can go left or right either way, and we can still alter the clothes. Now, they're never ever going to look just like when you got them, but we're going to save, especially pants and stuff.
00:33:25
Speaker
Pretty dang close. right um Can't help it if it's like 100 pounds or something, but i usually say about 30 pounds. And I'd say the average person swings 10 to 15. And that, in our world, is like a half inch to an inch.
00:33:37
Speaker
You know, if let's say i I bought the suit for the wedding this year, next year I have another wedding and it doesn't fit right. Can I call you? Like, what's that process like? yep Basically, you call me um and we go take all new measurements. And I just charge you when my tailor charges me. Like I do the running and everything. So I charge you what he charges me to do clothing. And I always say use my tailor because he is used to working on our garments. He knows how to sew them up the same way, you know, because there's obviously a lot of tailoring shops around. But for us, it's good because he's using our same thread and everything. And I do all the running for you. And we'll do that forever, you know?
00:34:12
Speaker
So that's a huge part of this, is that you can come to someone's office where they work, to their home, and it's scheduled. And you mentioned it earlier, but you breezed right on by it. Tom James is a large company. do i I don't deal with the company. I've never spoken to a single human outside of you. And I think that's really interesting because you have hundreds of people. And when we were discussing before we started, it's, you know, how many clients have you helped in the course of your career? Oh my gosh.
00:34:39
Speaker
Also, in a year, bait like 12 months, I would go anywhere from 275 300, I serve. In a year, like what what I'll do from start to finish. Over the course of my career, I mean, it was not like... At least a thousand. i mean At least, I mean, if I'm, you know, but I'd say it I stay between like the 275 to 300 on a year. And that's how when we talk about hustle and each person has their own needs, their own wants. Some might call you once a year, others need you a lot more often. Exactly.
00:35:09
Speaker
And so it's I have some people that buy and sell. They can't help but get divorced every other year. So I have some clients that are repeats the same stuff offenders and others that live in the home for 20 years. It's you know, some people need you more.
00:35:20
Speaker
And I say that to people at the time when they start working with me. I said, it's it's like a restaurant, like your favorite restaurant, yeah the really nice place, right? You might only go there once a year and and treat yourself. Or, hey, you you might want to treat yourself every month. It all depends on what you want. I'm always going to show you what you may need and what makes sense for your wardrobe. But, you know, it's your decision on what to do. And I think that's also great that I can come bring you the options. You don't have to go scroll online or like, what's the trend? What do I do? Like, I'm kind of here to say that.
00:35:49
Speaker
And you save all the details, you know what someone has from you, like you have an idea, you can come and actually see their wardrobes. And it's just, I think it's such a luxurious experience to have that. And you would come to the office and say, this is what you got up, you know, ah up next. And you'll breach out and say, this is what matches what you already have. Here are the three new selections for fall. And what I was surprised if I just assumed it was suits.
00:36:13
Speaker
But you you do a little bit of everything. You can do shorts, you can do shirts and you've introduced me to certain brands. And so it's not some crazy markup above what they sell it for in a normal place. I thought it was, I assumed. No, I mean, that's what I think the beauty about us is, again, is like when you meet with me, I do everything from the tuxedo to what you're wearing today. I mean, I sell shoes, too. belts, flip-flops, wallets, hanger. I mean, a little bit of everything because I know that if you stepped into Nordstrom's to go get a belt tonight, you may look over at the sport coat session and say, hmm, so I don't want you to have to step in that store. So I want to be your 360 clothing as much as possible. yeah Again, it's never perfect. You're going to travel. You're going to go to places and be like, oh, I want to shirt from here. I want to shirt from there.
00:37:01
Speaker
You make it to a country club and, hey, I want this Peter Millar or something. like But we want to be able to service as much as possible because we want to save you time. yeah That's it. That's the game is save you time. Yeah. Well, I don't know. I think it's an interesting proposition. One of the reasons I want to bring you on is just to kind of pop that that layer, right, other that bubble that some people might have as to not even considering this. So to me, if you don't have any custom clothing, I think you should consider it because it doesn't cost anything to speak with you and you can understand their needs, their wants, um even if, you know, in my world, just have one or two sport jackets that look great, right?
Career Balance and Future Goals
00:37:38
Speaker
Or shirts a few shirts that because your shirts, my God, when they actually fit properly, what a difference. These are things it's like, I don't think people recognize if you've never had one, you don't know. I didn't know.
00:37:48
Speaker
You don't know. And you just assume because they're not like baggy and they don't, you know, I don't know. They're not like you're wearing your dad's shirt, which is the way it felt like. And we also live in Baltimore, which is a wonderful place. But we have a lot, a lot of great options in the clothing, like, you know, that the mall's closing stores every day. We have a few boutiques, but again, it's limited inventory. So I find it so hard to find clothing, you know? Um, so I just think it's more relevant today than ever.
00:38:17
Speaker
So what are you concerned about in the future? We've talked about the good parts, right? The positive parts of what you've done and and what you've achieved. You're always taking a ah fabulous trip or something. You're winning the awards. and So I always hear about how successful you are. It's like, so what are you concerned about in the clothing business? Like, is is there any concerns that you guys are talking, and the real estate, I have every concern.
00:38:38
Speaker
I mean, for all I know, we're getting replaced by AI in 10 years. like it's there's I could fill 10 podcasts with the concerns I have in my industry. like is Are there any that you guys are facing? or So I don't think it's concern in the industry. I think it's the concern in the consumer. Like, again, everybody wants things so fast and quick. I'm never going to be able to hand you over the suit the day I meet you. So it's it's all about, like, you know you're not going to have a tangible product when I meet with you that day. And right now, everybody wants Amazon, right? Everybody wants, hey, what's the fastest I can get something? So it's it's the consumer knowing that, hey, I have to wait for quality still.
00:39:15
Speaker
You know, that's that's what is the lead time on average ah six to eight weeks Is that for suits or sport jackets or it's like an average everything? Yeah Okay Some things go faster than the others but I like to say six eight weeks because it could come in in five weeks and I may want to alter because you gained or lost weight and so I just kind of like to give a that time frame and that's probably the only thing is people not wanting to wait for things but Again, ah clothing I think we're more relevant today than we were before because there's no inventory in the stores. There's nowhere to get things. So, I mean, and I think having the aspect of having a human relationship with someone like this is going to go away so much more that again, i'm I yeah again, I think it's valuable to not have to call an 800 number to get
00:40:04
Speaker
a question answered or to get out with something. Exactly. And I mean, I just think that it' it'd be more consumer concern, not industry, because we're doing such fabulous things right now. We're buying other factories that are closing down. Like, I mean, have you heard like Hickey Freeman before? No. Okay. So it's another company that another factory is sophisticated. That's why I need you. No, it's just like another brand, but like these factories are closing now and we are buying these factories and giving work like workers were lost their jobs, but we're buying these factories and just again, adding value to the company, adding value for the consumer that I think Tom James is just.
00:40:43
Speaker
I mean, again, I've always treated the horn. and I always will. But when you keep investing in the business like that, it's hard not to just have passion behind it. So the only concern would be in the consumer not having that, you know, instant gratification.
00:40:59
Speaker
Interesting so do you see yourself doing this long term i mean what's the play i know in my world it's yeah it's people around you to try to build a little team you try to have a little leverage your mom now so it's things changed so it's like is there a way to scale what you do in any capacity is it to hire a junior salesperson or like what's the way to to build it so you don't have to work your tail off everyday.
00:41:21
Speaker
So, I mean, there's a lot of folds to it. You can build a team, essentially, but you're still going to be a producer in it. You still got to run your business. You know, I've gone in different ways in my career where I was like, I'm on the hiring. Let's hire. I hired. I want to have a team. I want to grow this Baltimore office. I want to see us have multiple offices throughout Maryland. like so We're not driving all over the place because we drive everywhere. so like We need an office in Annapolis. We need an office in Eastern Shore. like I was in that mindset, too. and Then I kind of stepped back a little bit. you know When I got married, I wanted it to start a family, and I just wanted to be a producer. and Right now, that's where I want to be because I'm in the family grooming stage, I feel like.
00:41:57
Speaker
versus the glass ceiling punching out phase. And I think to me is I want to just keep giving the clients I have a quality experience and by growing, you know, at least at at a 10% growth rate in the new client range. um And the way I'm focusing on that is increasing to a 50% women clientele.
Building Relationships in Sales
00:42:14
Speaker
oh that's amazing So I want to focus on that a lot more. And I mean, again, you get in this as a great opportunity. I always feel like it's always going to be hard work, but it's you You kind of shorten the curve because you know how to do everything a little bit faster, quicker. I'm not going to cold call 100 people like I did in in year one. I'm going to try to get warm referrals and go off them just like you probably do in your career now. We just had a meeting this morning talking about how we want to grow and the way we have to grow. And I think it's similar to yours. Everything I've heard today, it sounds so similar to what I do, but it's growing. It's basically how do I service my clients in such a way that I use my mother's term. It reminds me of her. So that's why I like to do it. but it's
00:42:53
Speaker
she would describe about how she would gush over someone. That was like the way she would describe it. And it's like, if you can get someone an experience worthy of gushing over, they're willing to refer you. Most people love to not shut up about when they had a good experience, a good meal, a good anything. And it probably sounds like I'm doing an infomercial for you this whole time, but it's because I actually enjoy, A, you as a person, your ethics your work ethic, like all the things. And it's like, I think you do it the right way. You're not pesky, you're not annoying. And you know it's like, so many salespeople can do that. And it's just like, ah you know, I think you've built the business the right way, you've met good people, you know, it's just like, you know. I think what you're saying there, it's like, when you're doing this in thought of, you're doing this for the people, not for the sale, that's when you don't come off those ways, because it's, I'm doing this in the best interest of you, right? Right. It's like, ah you are my model, I want you to look good, I want you to refer me, because I want you, you know, I heard this at one of our meetings one time, a veteran said this, because you want your client every day to leave after meeting you and be like,
00:43:52
Speaker
That was easy. That was easy. That was nice. That was a pleasant experience because you guys got so much going on in your day to day that you need that as well. You don't want it to be hard and complicated. You want someone to leave. And that was my goal this year is like every appointment I leave, be like, that was easy. Yeah.
00:44:10
Speaker
so that when I did call, when I did email, when I did text, you're more likely to make the time for me because you knew it was going to be quick and simple. I hate to say it, but when you're a really decent human and you like get treat people well, it's almost the guilt factor. It's because you're like, they're going to be too damn guilty to not answer or return my call or text me back because it's like, you know, it's ah it doesn't it feels more genuine. Yeah. And I think ah especially in real estate, like we try to leverage ourselves sometimes because when you become successful and you're successful in your career, obviously, it's like what we want most is sometimes isn't the next paycheck. It's our time. Yeah. There's nothing more valuable. We have no other asset or resource that's more valuable. And so then you try to get that, but then you can't leverage so much that the whole reason you became successful was you. And so then you can't. Does that make sense? Like you can't have the new college intern trying to connect with everybody because it's going to look and feel totally different.
00:45:05
Speaker
again, it's about the people. And once you don't like if you once you forget that factor in anything that you sell, if it's not like a smart, educated person, and that's going to be your client, is going to sniff you out. They're going to sniff you out and they're going to call BS on you and they're not going to work work with you. Been there. yeah I've been there. I had the commission breath. I did that when I was desperate and younger because I was not thinking of the person first. I've lost clients that way. I mean, honestly, I was saying it because it was it was focused on me. But when you're focused on service, everything is smooth and everything is less stress. You're not in that quadrant one or urgent, urgent, urgent, urgent.
00:45:47
Speaker
Well, I say some of that becomes easier when you become more successful. And I know personally, I don't feel that desperation like I did in years past when I was much younger. And some of that is natural because you legitimately have bills to pay and you don't have a huge rolodex. You don't have hundreds. Can you imagine if you started and you had 300 clients you thought you would meet this year? like No, like it just doesn't happen that way. And so it's just like with my business, I've become I get referrals. Well, I don't say I get anything. I earn them is what I like to choose to think of words matter. And so that didn't happen in the beginning. So it's I don't necessarily push my agenda on people anymore. And I think they recognize that and it becomes more authentic.
00:46:27
Speaker
Does that make sense? And I feel like that's that's the compliment I'm giving you because as a salesperson, I i love I'll buy stuff from salespeople. My wife will always bug me about it. She's like, so you just buy stuff because if I have a great salespersons there, like I have a set of kitchen knives. Why you don't need another set of kitchen knives? Well, who is the person that who would always?
00:46:47
Speaker
I'm going to say this right. A salesperson that always gets sold, right? I'm the same way. Because we do it. It's like 10 out of 10 salespersons. What are you selling? Just give it to me. I got it. I guess I need something. Yes. Right. Yeah. Because like you said, a genuine human and people want the interaction of it. I almost bought a massage chair recently for like a stupid amount of money. And I literally texted to my wife because if I didn't get any permission, this thing just showed up. She would have had my ass. She taught me how to that immediately. She's like, you are not. The salesperson was amazing. I see it with ads all the time. It's like a guy who's so he's he really thinks things out. So methodical about everything. But if he finds something that he likes and he likes the person like he met this guy at a store when we were on vacation.
00:47:29
Speaker
He only buys the pier roller through him no really because he's like the guy who's great. He makes it easy. And I just get it done real quickly and he gets everything that he wants. tonight That to me was like a light bulb. I was about to go on maternity leave. He'll probably refer him because of that reason. He'll be happy I got the hookup.
00:47:47
Speaker
I got the guy. That's what people want, right? Everybody wants the guy. In my life, I tried it, or the gal, everybody wants that connection. I know I want to be that person for my clients. Exactly. In my world, it's everything about your house. You need a painter, you need this, you need that. I got the hookup. I pride myself on that.
00:48:06
Speaker
and that i mean I think we're on the same page here. and It's like about the people at the end of the day. It's always about the people, how you treat people. You never know who you're going to meet. I learned that a lot in this industry because I mean i met one of my best clients um sitting down at a restaurant.
00:48:21
Speaker
selling three shirts to a guy and the guy next to me saw me do it and he was like end up being one of my best clients cuz you never know where you're gonna be where you're gonna meet or treat people the same like always being a service mentality I've had to teach myself that over and over again and you're always will be Try to be as referable as you can be right and own your mistakes take accountability. Oh my gosh Well, it's just like, hopefully if you're listening to this, like it's kind of a masterclass on how to be successful in general in sales. And so that's why like any, you know, industry, it's why I don't like doing the podcast just on real estate, because I think it's not that interesting to me. But because everything, like I say, it's the whole name of the the podcast. Like it all kind of goes back to what I do for a living because I can't help but think in that.
00:49:06
Speaker
through those lenses. However, you know, if I like these are the conversations if I could listen in on and take seriously, it's not like just jibber jabber. Yeah. Like these aren't people, you know, that are just OK. Like you're at the very top of Tom James and and ah that doesn't happen by accident, certainly not consistently.
00:49:25
Speaker
And so it's interesting to see the way that your mind thinks and I'd like to say like we must have been around certain people or heard the same influence because I think very similar and It's just it can you influence others like I think about recently I had to to do an article and they talked about what the what's the next 10 years for me and And for me, it's to articulate and to unrefine my own, I don't know, my own abilities and my own capacity to teach others some of the things that you just discussed, because that is a legacy. Like that's not that's looking beyond just
Mentorship and Parenting Balance
00:49:58
Speaker
you, your family. That's like that that can change someone else that has the ambition, but they don't have the resources or the people around them at home to support them in that way.
00:50:07
Speaker
Does that make sense? Yeah. Our company does a really good job of the mindset. Like if you ever went into like our trainings and when we first started, 99% of it is about goals and mindset and what you want your life to look like and who you want to be and the character that you are. And the 1% is about the suit. Right.
00:50:26
Speaker
And I found that so fascinating because I've learned so much about myself. Like, talk about looking at yourself in the mirror and sales shows you your biggest flaws, your worst nightmares, and then kind of teaches you how to get better. Like I said, I am not my best version yet by no means. I've learned so much, especially becoming a mother and learning that, like, wow, I thought I multitask and knew how to juggle everything. And I didn't. I've learned so much about myself in this role that now equates to outside. I mean, I it's so crazy. The respect was more when they got married and now we have a baby. They're like, oh, like you're even. Is it is it maybe ah this is something that I feel and felt still feel, but I do feel like I was at a disadvantage. I felt in sales when I wasn't married and didn't have children. It was a weird thing. It could take more seriously now. And you can relate to people. Yes, you can relate to them. It's like I can go in and talk to my client about, you know, it's like, oh, yeah, like, you know, juggling, being home. I said being a wife is like probably one of the hardest things that it for the last six months has been the hardest thing for me to be. And I'm just like trying to make it all work. And he's just like, I completely understand her. My woman client today, um she works at Peter Angelo's. Amazing woman. She's the breadwinner.
00:51:39
Speaker
And I didn't know that until today, you know, she let me in in her life and think about and I was telling her and I was like, how do I improve here? How did I do this? And that is when, you know, what you're doing for them is meaningful because they want to open up to you and have that and give that advice to you of like, hey, 10 years ago when I was having my first child, these are the things I would have done differently or these are things that you should value or this is what time you should be home every night. The business will be there.
00:52:06
Speaker
you know Do you feel now that you're a mother, because I've heard this in the real estate world, they feel like the expectations for the men and the women in the industry are so different. and I bring my oldest son to work, pretty like especially this summer, like quite a bit. like and I'll take him on appointment. and like It's weird how it's perceived. and Someone pointed this out to me. They said, Matt, it's like cute when you bring your son out.
00:52:30
Speaker
because it's it's like, oh, is he took a son. And it's endearing for not everybody, but some people and think that's endearing. And then others, they say that that that if you were female and you brought your eight-year-old with you to that appointment, they would say it's grossly inappropriate. Someone told me that, and i I had to think for a second. I was just like, I wonder if that's actually true. And it was a woman that told me that. They just said, if you took all, I have three kids, if they if I took them to breakfast, for example, I'll let people come over and say, how great a job I'm doing.
00:52:58
Speaker
And my wife is like, I'll go to the store. I'll go to breakfast. No one says a word to me. You know, it's funny you said that it was um Mother's Day last year. Yeah, last year, obviously. So before I had the baby and me and a as we're going to Wegmans to get food for Mother's Day. And it was all the dads in there oh yeah with the children. And I said that I was like, Oh, look, this is so cute and everything when it should be normal, right should be should be normal but it's because as the female and they assume that that's our role and that's what we do and um I would never think it's grossly inappropriate. Obviously, I think we're all just trying to make it work in this world The best thing to upset my wife is also babysit the kids don't let you can go out or do something. She's like babysit. Oh It's called parenting. So AS made a mistake of saying that to someone one time. It's like, oh, you got someone to like, are you watching are you watching the kids and tonight? You mean parenting? I was cracking up because me and AS always said, we're like, we can't stand people. Oh, you'll know one day, you'll know one day how it is we couldn't stand it. Because we're like, well, obviously we don't know because we don't have kids. yeah Then we catch yourself doing that to our friends now being like, oh, you'll, you'll see. I'm like, oh my God, no, I'm doing it. I'm doing it. yeah But It's funny. I just I mean, do you like my my legitimate question here is, though, do you feel there's a different I don't know. Does it feel different now that you're a mother trying to do sales? Is it does it feel more stressful in a weird way or?
00:54:21
Speaker
When I first came back from maternity leave, I was on cloud nine, ready to get back after it. I was out for five months and I was ready just to crush it. And I had my best mom I'd ever had in my career, actually. I couldn't believe it. I was like, oh, I'm going to do this and I'm going to do it. Well, July came back and kicked me in the face.
00:54:40
Speaker
I was big on my britches. I was like, oh, I can't do it all. Amalia had a five month sleep regression. I wasn't sleeping. I was tired. I would just give up. I'd want to go home. And I realized, well, this is going to take some time to get used to the balance. Like I just maybe had a little lucky streak coming back. And that kind of humbled me a lot. And yeah and I think the balance of time is the hardest thing that i thought i always had mastered i was never late i'm always on time i was always like my schedule is sure but with the baby and now being the mom and being the wife i want dinner on the table you know every night like all that kind of stuff i'm like okay you get home at a certain time do you make sure or is that flexible So I won like five 30 is usually like my time. So you're lucky that I really like you because I'm going to get home closer to six tonight, but I knew that. So I already have a meal on the crock pot. So when I get home, all I have to do is play with the baby and skip the meal, the crock pot. So I, you know, I've, it's all about balance and I think that was the hardest thing coming back. And you know, I only work now three and a half days a week and that's incredible. You have a career that you can modulate that way. That's why I mean, I would never be able to have this flexibility. I don't think in a lot of places that is not like a remote job. Like I go out every single day. I don't work from home. It's impossible to. You have to see the client and it's.
00:56:03
Speaker
It's definitely got to me. It's definitely hard to maneuver the schedule, but every mom I've talked to, they just said that every day, every month is going to be different and you're going to get better at it. Just like with a newborn, you got better every month as the baby got older and it's going to be the same thing here. And don't expect to be perfect. Like we have all these high expectations of ourselves and sometimes we got to let ourselves off the hook a little bit, be like, it's okay. It's okay. And I know I'm going to fail at this this season. Like, so we go off seasons, right? It's like June to December and our industry and and then January.
00:56:33
Speaker
Well, I'm sorry July to December and then January to June. So this is like my season I came back in June So this is my fall season and I know I'm gonna fail at it But I know that if I can just stay consistent I know that every day is a new day go by the weeks not by the months and it's all gonna average out and if I can and I just don't want to give up on Everything I've built because you get mom guilt like whoa. I did. Yeah, I did not understand that it's a full thing and I just I want the I said this to everyone like on my Instagram when I went back to work, I was like this is my last day um being home with the baby and going back to work and I think that every mom who's a stay-at-home mom and a working mom are like legit superheroes because the amount of the capacity you have to have to do both yeah is something that I never even and it like
00:57:27
Speaker
I just I give credit to all you women out there yeah that do both because you are super man. I know some men that are the primary caregivers of the kid. Yeah, yeah you're right's a lot a lot a less often obviously, but it I know several I just, I feel like a lot of times like, you know, there's so many opinions out there. It's like, Oh, well you, you you know, get to stay home. And it's like, no, like, it's no vacation. I beg to go back to work after a long weekend and I have the kids or something. I'm like, this is hard. Like I tell, I joke, but it's not exactly a joke. I go to work to like take a breather. Exactly. Cause those kids are like, daddy, daddy, daddy, mommy. Like you're not your kids to tell him that you should be happy. She doesn't talk yet. I guess it's like, I want him to say hi to me. I want to say hi. I was like, Oh, it'll happen And then it will never stop. It's it's really intense. Yeah, it's but you know what? It's it's a beautiful thing um about life. And again, I think the balance is just something that's going to be always a work in progress and it's the journey of it all.
00:58:24
Speaker
It's the best and it's just interesting. You have a career you might not even know at the time, you have the flexibility and you're here, you're doing it. And hopefully today through this this podcast ah to kind of summarize, like I'm going to have your information here. If someone's interested in trying to explore custom clothing, if they've never done it before,
00:58:41
Speaker
This is ah ah not you couldn't find a better person. And if you're in the Baltimore metro area, like this is your hookup. I'm giving you the hookup. You asked for the hookup. I got you likeup your gal. And and that's basically where it starts. It doesn't have to call you not to spend 20 grand a suit. I don't. um But you can certainly get a handful of things thrown in there and it feels great. It's a great feel. That's what I was described. It's just like it feels good when you wear proper fitting.
00:59:05
Speaker
Stuff and so um, I appreciate you for joining me today and hopefully we've educated and enlightened and hopefully it's a little bit of fun It's not like a little like therapy session. Maybe I needed this. It was a hard week last week So, you know what? Maybe you really um, I appreciate you. Well, there you go. I'm here and we're here and uh, if you're listening to this check out amanda And uh, and tom james are the real deal and i'm happy that I I get to support your stuff occasionally Thanks, man. All right. Thanks. You're the best I'll talk to everybody later