Jacinta Richmond is the founder and director of the Sunshine Coast International Fashion Festival, a published author, fashion industry mentor and seeker of bigger visions. Her passions are her teenage daughter and providing opportunity for others to succeed.
1. Humble Beginnings
Q: How did you get started and what or who inspired and empowered you to?
I have always had a love of fashion. As a young girl I played dress ups and shops in my grandmothers ballroom dancing costumes and my great grandmothers costume jewellery. With a background in live bands and nightclubs, well, fashion and music go hand in hand. My foray into events, fashion and writing were never part of the big picture but I went with the flow and the opportunities and was relentless in then pursuing the end goals (which keep moving!).
Q: What unique and creative strategies if any did you use when you were first getting started?
I let them complaint. If onlookers want to complain and be negative about what you do and how you do it, let them. then thank them for their time, go away, take a couple of deep breathes and write down their issues. Then as you progress forward, mark them off one by one as you put a strategy in place to over come each one. Prove to them that you not only heard but that you acted!
Don’t stay inside the box. There are rules and regulations in every industry and while there are some you have to abide by, find your own ways for all the rest. Just because everyone else does it one way, doesn’t mean you have to. Someone broke the rules the first time it was ever done in the first place — so go for it! Disrupt!
2. Mindset
Q: What mindset distinguished you from others who were doing the same thing? How did you develop it?
I am relentless and have a strong work ethic (my parents and my maternal grandmother, all very influential on me, had strong work ethics). No matter what is thrown in my way, I keep pushing forward. I have not had it easy, though easier than some. Two years ago, someone said to me “but I haven’t had the opportunities you have.” No, she hadn’t, because she hadn’t made them. You cannot rely on anyone other than yourself in all facets of life: “ you decide to be positive, you decide to work hard, you decide to love, you decide it all, and you decide whether to make your own opportunities and keep working at it.
3. What is your definition of success?
In business — I will tell you when I reach it. In my personal life — seeing my daughter happy, healthy and establishing herself.
4. Failure
Q: What do you think is the main reason why some people face failure when going after their vision?
It’s not really their vision. It is usually something they think they should want or do. In my industry I say many fail in going after their vision because they make simple mistakes under the guidance of ego. Longevity and doing everything possible within your means is the way forward. Just keep going.
5. What is the best piece of advice you have received or came across and would like to share with everyone?
I have two. In 1998 in a meeting, someone was told “talk less, and listen, really listen”. The second was my best friend only last year, it was at a time of high private emotional turmoil in my family and she said to me “Since when do you let others tell you what to do?” It’s my mantra now, (along with “Good clothes open more doors”), that I apply to both my personal and business lives. Just take action and keep going!
To view Jacinta’s amazing work, visit www.sunshinecoastfashionfestival.com
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Originally published at medium.com