Entrepreneur – Sid Mashburn

I wanted  to share about a entrepreneurship presentation I attended that was sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Society for Professionals in the Georgia Tech MBA Program.

Sid’s Background

Sid Mashburn is an entrepreneur who opened Sid Mashburn Men’s Clothing in 2009 located on the west-end of downtown Atlanta.  Sid’s background includes working for Tommy Hilfiger Land’s End, J. Crew, and Polo.  In 2009, he appeared in GQ for being one of the 10 Most Stylish Men in America and was also featured in other articles on style in 2008.  In addition, his current store ranks one of the Top 100 Stores in America according to GQ.com.

He aims to offer authentic and high quality products while stressing the utmost in customer service.  When you walk into the store, they offer you a beverage.  Their staff takes a hands off approach allowing you to peruse their selection.  In addition, they have been groomed by Sid Mashburn himself to see his sense of style in order to sell men a proper wardrobe.

Sid stressed selling a great product with great service and a lot of passion.  Passion played throughout his talk, and he said “if you are not having fun 80% of the time, you need to refocus.”  I think this has a lot of truth.  Work consumes a large portion of our lives, and it is important that you have fun at what you do.  This does not mean that you have to love it all the time, but you definitely need to enjoy it significantly more than you don’t.

What is his secret to success?

• Customers
• The people who work in the store
• An energetic tailor
• Commitment to quality
• Integrity
• Following through
• Have fun!

Of the list, he did emphasize having the tailor was critical.  Tailors seem to be disappearing, and he said it was very difficult for him to find one with the skills and taste of quality that he sought.

What is the most important business concept you do?

The concept of “good, better, best.”  A previous mentor of Sid passed this concept of a good, better, best system onto him.  In his store, you will find products that fit each category based on the type of customer you are.  It reminded me of the concept of STP (Segment, Target, Position) in marketing.  In effect, Sid is segmenting the customers that come in and has products, in this case men’s clothing, that fit the needs and wants of different customer segments.  Whether the man that comes in is a high-rolling investment banker looking for a high quality blue pin-stripe or you are a casual white-collar man looking for some socks or a shirt with a quality that will last longer than msot, Sid Mashburn has you covered.  The products are designed with this system in mind.

What would you recommend for someone looking to be an entrepreneur like yourself?

Sid said that when he was younger he did not have the capital nor the experience to be successful as an entrepreneur.  Experience and capital are crucial for starting out as an entrepreneur.

What is a book you recommend?

He recommended reading Setting the Table by Danny Myer.  This stems from his deep respect for those who have worked in the restaurant industry.  The fast pace, high stress environment had many parallels to him of the fashion industry.

Photo Credit: Sid Mashburn
Yes in the photo that is Sid in front of his store front.