Student Entrepreneur to Fashion Entrepreneur

Written by Laura Roberts, #WakeEntrepreneur and Summer Intern 

Interning at Cat Perkins this summer has allowed me to learn and accomplish so much. I went into this internship knowing very little about the fashion world and industry, but now, I’m very comfortable and confident participating in our weekly design meetings, attending leather shows and seminars on colors and fabrics, and visiting our shoe factory to inspect the materials. Aside from just the fashion aspect, I’ve also learned so much about the business and entrepreneurial world. I would say that my biggest accomplishment has been adapting quickly to new software, learning tools, and the terminology that Cat Perkins uses to keep the company running and growing. Whether it is a marketing platform tool, an e-commerce software, or a blogging software, I have learned to master these tools in order to succeed in my role as an entrepreneurial intern.

I’ve also seen and experienced first hand the connections between what I’ve learned in my entrepreneurship classes at Wake Forest University and my internship at Cat Perkins. Throughout my studies at Wake Forest, I’ve learned that as an entrepreneur, one has to be capable of accomplishing multiple tasks and doing a little bit of everything in order to build and grow your startup. Within my first week here at Cat Perkins, I was able to witness this firsthand. Both Deb and Cat, co-founders of Cat Perkins, are consistently jumping from one task to another. I’ve learned that everyone here is a team and we all pitch in when needed. This summer I’ve juggled many different tasks including, creating blog posts, logging invoices, running around New York taking pictures of Cat Perkins shoes, managing the e-commerce website and monitoring the social media platforms. I’ve learned to be quick on my feet, but also focused, to ensure that I don’t rush anything and make careless mistakes. Managing and knowing a variety of roles has not always been easy, but it has certainly equipped me to be more responsible and attentive, which are great skills to have.

The biggest challenge I had to overcome was balancing all of these different tasks and roles. It was also challenging to get into the groove of a full working day, waking up early, and taking the subway to and from my internship, as this is my first summer where I had to commute for work. However, what I’ve learned about myself is that I must be patient when things are challenging, because sooner rather than later, I’ll be able to overcome them. I’ve learned that I am a very quick learner and always want to strive to do the best that I can, especially while learning something new.