William Wilson Partners with Allen Edmonds Shoes
Celebrity clothing designer, William Wilson, known for being one of the most exclusive custom clothiers in America, has entered into a partnership with men’s shoe manufacturer Allen Edmonds as a brand ambassador. The agreement will allow his custom clothing firm, William Wilson Clothing, to provide its clients with the full line of highly respected men’s shoes, including custom shoes, without having to go to the store. So clients can order their suits, shirts, skirts, trousers, overcoats and shoes without ever having to leave their home or office. This is the first apparel partnership for William Wilson Clothing.
“No suit is complete without a great pair of shoes. My customers had often asked if I was going to start making shoes, or if I had recommendations for shoes. I knew it was important to provide that service, but I also wasn’t going to rush into an agreement just to say I provide them. I wanted something that was commensurate with the William Wilson brand. Allen Edmonds has a legacy
of quality, a reputation for superb customer service, and a commitment to sticking to its core values. The fact that it is an American company was icing on the cake. After meeting with Paul Graangard, President and CEO of Allen Edmonds, and Heron Laing, GM of the Allen Edmonds store in the upscale Southpark area of Charlotte, NC, I knew this was the company to partner with. I look forward to a long, and productive, relationship between Allen Edmonds Shoe Company and William Wilson Clothing.”
In honor of the new partnership, for the month of January, clients who purchase 2 William Wilson suits will receive a pair of Allen Edmonds shoes.
To schedule an appointment, or to learn more about William Wilson Clothing
Log on to WilliamWilsonClothing.com
Shut Up and Do It
I’m just gonna come out and say this. Do you know why many of you aren’t successful? You don’t deserve to be. Why? It’s simple. You talk too much, and don’t work hard enough. You TALK more about being successful than you are willing to SACRIFICE to be successful. Until you are ready to commit to being successful; just shut up. Stop holding our ears hostage. Stop telling everyone what you are going to do “one of these days”. We all have that friend, buddy, or colleague that since the day you met them, they have always told you what they need to do, but you never see them do it. They are always talking about success, but they never commit to having any.
Success doesn’t accidentally happen. You don’t just fall into it. You work for it. You fight for it. You risk for it. And you sacrifice for it. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose, but you fight. You get knocked down and you get back up. THAT is where success comes from! I laugh sometimes when I read my Twitter timeline and I read “Lets Go!”, “Let’s Get It”, “Make it Happen” and all the other stuff. I can read their timelines for a month and not see what they are doing to actually “Get It”. It’s bravado. Don’t get me wrong. I say it sometimes too. But then I make something happen. Not everything I make happen results in success, but they do result in a lesson learned. A lesson I wouldn’t have learned just typing “Let’s Get It” on Twitter and then going about my usual routine. Yelling words of encouragement, with no plan of executing it, is cheer leading. “Let’s Go?” Yea right!
On Christmas night at 12:30 I sent out a tweet asking 1 simple question: “Whose working?” The people that responded were the ones I thought would respond. They were on their computers planning for 2011, while most were out partying. They were exactly who I thought would be at home working. Because I see them all year doing the same thing. They don’t tweet about parties, they don’t tweet about their relationship problems, and they aren’t constantly re-tweeting what everyone else is saying or doing. They are moving forward. They are sacrificing. They have put their heads down and committed to being the best. They will be successful. Or at least they have the best chance. I’m not saying, you can’t party. I’m not saying don’t enjoy yourself. But I AM saying, if you don’t fully commit, you won’t fully grow.
While sitting at my computer at 12:24 Christmas night, I came up with an incredible idea, that I will be launching soon. I’m giving away $100,000 dollars to a fortunate person that follows me on Twitter and “Likes” my Facebook FanPage. This is going to be an incredible branding opportunity. I wouldn’t have come up with this in the club. I also formed a strategic partnership that I will be announcing next year. I wouldn’t have done that in the club either.
I’ve had over a hundred people ask me what am I doing for New Years Eve. I told them “I will be in church. I am giving God my real time, not my obligatory, or spare time.” Many of them applauded my actions. Some even said, they needed to do that. To which I responded, “Why don’t you just do it then?” They have a variety of different answers, but it all comes down to where your priorities are. I’m not saying they should be like me, or that I am right and they’re wrong. I started doing this a couple of years ago, and my life began to change. I started becoming more successful; and the craziest goals I could think of began to be exceeded. This has worked for me, and I will keep doing it.
Success is a fruit that takes time to ripen. We are about to embark on not only a new year, but a new decade. Now is your chance to commit to greatness. I’m no one special, if I can be successful, you can definitely be. But you have to commit. You have to be 100% in. Otherwise, you’re only fooling yourself, and wasting a ton of time and money. Buying a pack of business cards and building a website doesn’t make you a success. It doesn’t even make you a business. I can build a website, and buy business cards that say I’m a neurosurgeon; but you don’t want me cutting into your brain. Trust me! Hard work, dedication, commitment, and sacrifice are key ingredients to success. If you aren’t willing to give it 100%, then why bother? Why start a goal or a business if you aren’t willing to work, fight, and sacrifice to see your vision come to life? If you choose the club over planning. If you choose sleep over research. If you choose the party over the paperwork; that’s fine. Just don’t be upset when your competition leaves you in their dust. After all, at least you got your party on. Until next time…
God Bless and dress well,
William Wilson, CEO
William Wilson Cloting
Don’t Make The Mistakes I Made This Year
I want to personally thank you all for helping make 2010 an incredible year for William Wilson Clothing. Like any company, we have had our share of ups and downs, yet it simply made us a stronger brand. As you know, I’m a transparent guy. I like to help those I can. I have made some good and bad decisions this year, some could have been catastrophic, but God placed people around me to make sure it wasn’t. In hopes of helping you avoid some of the mistakes I have made, I will let you in on some of my LEAST desirable situations.
First, I waited too long to put together a team. I treat my company like it’s my child, and I didn’t trust anyone else to take care of certain things. I tried to do everything myself. As a result, some of my greatest accomplishments went unnoticed.
For example, I did Calvin Richardson’s suit for the Grammys this year. He was recognized as “Best Dressed on the Red Carpet”. This is a big deal. For a local clothier from Charlotte to even be doing a suit for the Grammys should have at least warranted some interviews, not to mention being named best dressed. But it went relatively unknown. I may never repeat that feat again, but again it’s a lesson learned. Fortunately there’s a bright side to this lesson, Calvin has been nominated again for the Grammys, and I will once again be doing his suit. This time it will be the William Wilson Black Label Grammy debut. And I’m determined that it receives its proper press.
Second, I contracted with a PR firm and didn’t have the outcome I anticipated. I will take the blame and say I did this without fully understanding how PR works. I assumed they kind of took the lead in this arena, since they were the experts. Apparently, I wasn’t as involved as I should have been. I now know EXACTLY what is a reasonable expectation, and I will make sure to leave no window of doubt concerning my expectations next time. In addition, I will ensure that I don’t allow myself to feel as if I’m not a big enough client to demand the attention I feel I should have received. Again, my fault.
Third, I hosted my first golf tournament, The William Wilson Celebrity Invitational presented by Jetpool. The tournament, and the pairings party, was a smashing success. Everyone had a great time. You would never guess the mess we had with the food. I will show the guilty parties more respect than they showed me, or my events, and not get too detailed. Let’s just say I thank God for providing me with a sponsor that was more involved with the event than the food sponsors. We were in a precarious position, because the ball was dropped and we didn’t know until 48 hours before the event. This actually left us in a tight spot up to 20 minutes before my event was set to start. Through Jetpool’s professionalism and preparedness, we were able to form a contingency plan to keep a potentially catastrophic and embarrassing event from happening. I have three words of advice on this one: “Trust but verify.” I didn’t think of this, it was actually a quote from Pres. Ronald Reagan.
Kevin Conway,with girlfriend Angel Taber, wearing William Wilson Black Label on the Red Carpet at the NASCAR Awards.
Fourth, I again was not prepared to maximize an opportunity in front of me. NASCAR driver, Kevin Conway, won the 2010 Sprint Cup Raybestos Rookie of the Year. Kevin debuted the William Wilson Black Label, the most exclusive line of men’s custom suits in the world, at the NASCAR Awards Banquet in Las Vegas on national television. Again, as incredible as this was, it went relatively unnoticed, except by you, my loyal fans. Even some people in the media that knew about it, let the moment pass; preferring to write yet another article about one of the 300 local fashion shows taking place in Charlotte.
As you can see, I made some huge errors in judgment. I made many, many more as well, but I don’t want to bore you with them. Fortunately, I have learned from my mistakes. The first thing I did was acquired a mentor, Leonard Wheeler. Next, I began to assemble my team. God has put some incredible people in front of me to help guide me. Now I have Alexander Sok as my Director of Creative Development and Operations, Lilly Pad & Pen as my Editorial Firm and Kaytlyn Lackey to head my Video department. On Christmas Eve, I added our first intern, Grace Mills to serve on board our Graphics department. I feel these individuals, as well as others I will add to the team, will help William Wilson Clothing fill some voids in our brand. I look forward to what the New Year will bring. We have some incredible projects in store for 2011. I hope God blesses your 2011 to be more amazing than you could ever dream of, and that this blog will help you avoid making the same mistakes I did. Until next time…
God bless and dress well,
William Wilson, CEO
William Wilson Clothing
You Can’t Be a Preacher in the Strip Club!
William Wilson, CEO William Wilson Clothing
When you have branded yourself a certain way, there are places you can’t go, and things you can’t do. Not that they are illegal, or immoral; but because they are contradictory to your brand. As a business owner, your brand is a factor of future success. Without proper branding, you can only expect to have limited success- if that.
Simply defined, branding is labeling. Breitling Watches is a watch manufacturer, Breitling is a high-end luxury timepiece. William Wilson Clothing is a clothing manufacturer. William Wilson is an exclusive custom clothing brand. Get it? Branding is the foundation of how you are known as a business, or a person.
What is your brand? By industry standards, William Wilson is defined as “an ultra- premium luxury brand”. That’s easy to write. But I also have to live my brand. As a CEO, especially with my name on the company, I am never off work. Everything I do, everywhere I go, everything I say, and even the media I allow myself to be in, reflect on my brand, both corporately and personally. Therefore, they are tied to my success. The mistake many small business owners make is believing that people do business with them because of their product. Rarely is your product, or business, as important to others as it is to you. People do business with people, not companies. Who you are as a person, has everything to do with how you are seen as a brand.
It is also important to connect yourself to people that reflect, or protect, your brand. I have suffered business disappointments, and put the integrity of my brand at risk, by attaching myself to firms that either didn’t understand the William Wilson brand, or just couldn’t provide the service they offered, to a brand like mine. I ended up with people that were more concerned with self promotion, being in the spotlight, and looking to promote big stars than they were in handling my business properly. I severed those ties, not because I didn’t like those people personally, I did and still do. But I have to think of the way my brand is represented. If your brand is at risk, your success is at risk.
Now I will concede, to many people I may appear obsessive about my brand. That is correct. A lot rides on my success; and not just for me. As my brand grows, so do the brands of the people on my team. As my brand grows, I can help others with their education and their careers. As my brand grows, I become more and more of a role model to children and adults alike. As my brand grows, I can help raise more money for non-profit organizations. So you see, the importance of my brand integrity is crucial not only to my success, but to people I don’t even know. Who knows, you can be someone reading this blog right now that I don’t know, but you may look up to me. I have a responsibility to you.
So here are some things I do that protect my brand:
1. I keep it clean. I don’t curse, belittle others, or otherwise poorly represent myself, or my brand, on my tweets, blogs, Facebook posts, and in public venues. (FYI- If you re-tweet other people’s garbage, you may as well have said it yourself. Spreading garbage is speaking garbage)
2. Take time for everyone. I’m always mindful to acknowledge everyone that approaches me, whether they email me, or want to take a picture with me. Even on social media, if you comment on my Facebook wall, I reply. I may only be able to say thank you, but if you take time out of your busy day to reach out to me, the least I can do, in return, is respond.
3. Choose events wisely. I don’t go to events that start after 10PM unless I know what they are about. (FYI- No “Networking event” starts at 10 with drink specials. Those are called parties.)
4. Don’t fall for gimmick marketing. I don’t go to ANYTHING if it has the description “Grown and Sexy” in it. (My experience is 9 times out of 10, they are neither.)
5. Know when to go home. I rarely spend more than an hour at an event. I get in, take pictures, do my business, and leave. Being in the event when the lights come on is like going to a strip club in the daytime. It’s not illegal, it’s just sad and pathetic)
6. And on that note. I don’t go to strip clubs, nor do I sell to strip club owners. ( I just don’t see the point in the first part. As for the second, I speak to and support organizations that empower and help rebuild women’s self esteem and value. It would be hypocritical to turn around and sell clothing to individuals that make their money doing the opposite. If that offends you- you are welcome to purchase your clothing from ANYONE else. In fact I encourage it. Not all money is good money.)
7. I don’t drink. I have never had alcohol in my life, so it’s not like I stopped for the sake of my branding, so I can’t accept credit for this. I don’t think drinking is bad. But a drunk in public is a sad and pitiful sight. (And ladies, it’s even worse when we see you sloppy or “tipsy”. It’s neither cute nor lady-like! I’m just saying.) Not to mention the pictures, or repercussions that result from them can be catastrophic.
8. I support the community. I leverage the value of the William Wilson brand to bring credibility, and funds, to events that may otherwise not have happened. Though my brand is still in it’s infancy, I do what I can, to help who I can, do what they dream.
9. I connect with like-minded people. There are 3 people that I have grown to love like brothers; Ryan Stone, Bill Wiley and Leonard Wheeler. Bill is a spiritual rock. He is transparent, vulnerable and genuine which is a sign of a man who has true inner strength. He’s genuine and always has a good word, and it comes from a place of love and care. My relationship with Ryan started off as business and turned into a true friendship. His honesty, business acumen, and commitment to transparency allows me to say something that I don’t often say, but I completely trust him. My partnership with Jetpool (Ryan is the CEO) has played a major role in the remarkable branding success of William Wilson Clothing. Being with people that think like you, or even more advanced is how you grow and learn. And how you open other doors to success.
10. I got a mentor. No one has all the answers; and we have to be accountable to someone. The rapid success of my company often places me in positions in which I am unfamiliar. I asked my friend Leonard Wheeler to be my mentor. I cannot put into words the respect I have for Leonard. He shoots it to me straight. Sometimes what he says hurt, cuts, or may even make me angry. But I know it’s the truth and it comes from a place of love. Many of the changes you see, and will see happen in the near future for William Wilson Clothing is a direct reflection of Leonard’s influence on my life, and my business.
Branding is a crucial part of your success, both personally and professionally. Who you display yourself to be, is what people see you as. Business lessons often mimic life lessons. Many of us never see success because we focus on the wrong things. Your brand is the foundation of your reputation and what people will think of you. Take time as ask yourself. How do others describe me? How do they describe my company? The way they answer these questions are how they see your brand. If you’re happy with what they say, then keep doing what you’re doing. If not…. Until next time.
God bless and dress well,
William Wilson
You Can’t Always Charge Full Price For Everything
I’m a businessman. I love what I do, but I don’t do it for free. And I don’t expect others to either. However, I do expect to have an idea of what I am paying for. Especially if you deal with a visual medium, like websites or you are going to be managing something I can’t readily qualify, like PR. I was looking for a someone to design my website and I spoke to a number of great people.They had great words, but none of them gave me anything with which to connect. Just my own mental pictures, which history has shown is’t always the other’s picture.
There is a reason there are pictures in catalogs, because if you selling something meant to be seen, people need to see it. Especially if your describing a concept. Websites are concepts. In some manner suits can be as well, so I have to be able to draw out my idea for my sewers and my clients. Does this take time, of course it does, but it is necessary to get me to fall in love with your concept. Many business don’t want to take the expense of doing work they are not getting compensated for. They don’t see the big picture. In business this is called a loss-leader. You are basically doing work for free, or a reduced price, in order to gain business that will profit you down the road. It’s an investment in your success.
When I started William Wilson Clothing, I offered reduced pricing to specific people who could easily afford my suits. Why? Because having them as clients gave me credibility. Doing that for just one client gained me 3 more. I also donate suits to charities. This is not only a good thing to do morally, but it also gains exposure and brand recognition. All of these cost me in the beginning, but they paid off in the end. One of my best clients won one of my suits at an auction. He was so impressed with the quality and speed, that he continued to buy. To date, he has bought about 10 suits and 15 shirts in the last year.
If any of the web designers had taken the time to build even a quick mock up that I could have an emotional reaction to, I probably would have signed with them. But they didn’t. Sure they will have their reasons and excuses why, but at the end of the day, the end result is, they lost my sale and anyone I would’ve referred to them, because they weren’t willing to put in the sweat equity to earn my business. Same goes to the PR people I have talked to. None of them have given me a plan of action that they would take for my situation. They just tell me things that are possible. A lot of companies like to put the minimum into their client until they have a contract and are getting their money. Which is why, many of them are struggling.
Here is the takeaway for this. There is a reason dealerships let you test drive cars, why department stores have display televisions and appliances, why there are mannequins with clothing on them; to garner an emotional reaction. To allow you to visualize your self using the product. Can this be costly? yes. Is it effective? Absolutely. When people feel a connection or emotional response to an item or idea, they will more than likely purchase it. Put in some sweat equity and give me something to fall in love with. Give me something other than words and proposals. Give me something to like, not just something to sign, and maybe we can do some business.
God bless and dress well,
William the Clothier
Custom is the Only Way to Go
There is a common misnomer that if it has an expensive label, it has to be good. This isn’t always true. Actually, it rarely is; especially when it comes to clothing. Many of us get so caught up in the prestige of the tags that we have no idea about the true quality of an item. This is a brand manager’s dream come true. I’ll explain.
Me working with my client Julius Hill
When I hear a man comes up to me like a baller and tells me, “This suit I’m wearing is Armani, what do you think about it?” My answer is, “Are you sure you want to know?” If he says yes, I tell him, “I think you got robbed.” And it’s true, he was taken to the cleaners. Heis wearing a suit that is worth about 15% of what he paid for it. That suit was manufactured in a suit mill along with about 30 other designers. The deciding factor between whether that suit goes to K&G for $199, Brooks Brothers for $899, or Neiman Marcus for $1995 is the tag that is applied inside. If you want really quality and prestige, buy custom. Custom is the ONLY way you can get quality, selection, and luxury. Any man that spends $900 or more for a suit, and it isn’t custom is throwing money away. PERIOD. I don’t care what the salesman (on commission) at Norstrom’s told you. He is supposed to make you feel good about spending too much money for a high production, mid quality,overpriced suit. The tag in your suit should say Your Name, not a designer. I once wrote on my Facebook status that if you answer the question “Where did you get your suit?” with a store name, you were not a “Big Dog”. Real players have tailors, not store receipts. They have someone come out to their residence with a store full of fabric swatches and design his suits for him, then deliver them to his place of residence. If you still want to overspend on overpriced suits so you can brag to your friends that don’t know better, go right ahead. But if you want to graduate to the Big Boy’s Club, it starts with custom. After all why is some designer’s name more valuable to you than yours. This is just food for thought. Shop where you wish, but if you want to move up to the big leagues, go custom.
William Wilson is the CEO of William Wilson Clothing, America's Most Exclusive Private Clothier. His clients are the who's who of corporate America, professional athletics, entertainment and politics.
