The fashion industry is one of those “prestige industries” – a little bit like the movie industry or the music industry. Everybody wants to be a part of it because of the glamor.

But because the industry is quite small and so many people are jostling for the same jobs, getting a career in the sector is difficult. It takes more than mere luck to make it in the industry. Here’s some advice from some of the industry’s leading gurus.

THERE’S NO RIGHT OR WRONG PATH

Justin Mahmud is the executive talent director of Macy’s, a retailer who stocks some of the world’s most famous clothing lines. Mahmud’s advice is simple. He says that there is no right or wrong path to take in the fashion industry. He’s known people take all sorts of different paths in the sector and be successful. The world is random and so everybody’s journey is a little bit different. You never know when opportunity will rear its head and you’ll be given the big break you were looking for.

THE FASHION INDUSTRY IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS

The fashion industry, according to Alechia Reese the strategic marketing director at Daya, is all about relationships. It’s who you know, and how you entertain them that matters, not whether you’ve got a posh logo or amazing suppliers. She says that opportunities in the fashion industry come from knowing people who have the right connections. This means that it’s essential that you attend every social gathering in the industry that you can and start building links with people. The way to exert power in the industry is to make sure that you’re the person that people want to go to if they want to get something done.

LOVE WHAT YOU DO

In many jobs, it’s easy to stop loving what you do. But in the fashion industry, this can be a disaster, according to Leigh Ray the chief blogger and Pink Vintage Heart. She says that in order for people to do their best work in the industry, they have to be passionate about what they do. The only way to a happy and fulfilling work life is to go to work everyday and be exciting to be in the industry. Even if your phone never stops lighting up, it’s worth pausing to remember all of the people who don’t get to indulge their interests all day long, doing boring jobs. Fashion is life-affirming, and that’s enough to put a smile on anybody’s face.

GET INTERESTED IN THE STUFF NOBODY’S DOING

Consumer love novelty, especially when it comes to fashion. After all, fashion is changing all the time. Veronika Harbick of Thursday Finest, says that people need to target the blank spaces in the market if they want to proceed in their careers. Consumers want to buy clothing and accessories that is a little bit different to what their friends have got, but not too different so as to look stupid. These blank spaces in the market, Harbick says, are opportunities to make a name for yourself.

VISUALIZE YOUR SUCCESS

Some people go through their careers without really thinking about what success really means. Hilary Sloan, the director of business development at ShopStyle, says that people need to quantify their success somehow. They need to ask themselves questions like: how much you can make on a fashion merchandising salary? And, what job role do I want to have in five years time? Visualising your success Sloan says, helps you to make the most of every single day. Also think about the route it takes to get there whether it’s going straight into the business and hustling or by looking into fashion graduate programs.

DON’T GIVE UP

No career is a straight line all the way to the top. Everybody suffers setbacks and disappointments along the way. But according to Shira Galler, the director of Outreach at Wix, you should never give up, especially in the fashion industry. Because of the competition in the industry, it’s one of the hardest to rise in. But it’s also one of the most rewarding. People at the top of the industry are literally billionaires, immortalized forever by their brands.

BE APPROACHABLE

Some people are naturally prickly and don’t trust others. It’s a kind of defense mechanism to protect them from being hurt. But Tiffany Aita of Joe Fresh says that people have to put their hang ups aside in the fashion industry. It’s essential, she says, to be approachable. Because the world of fashion is so tight-knit, you never know whether somebody you’re talking to might be a future boss or employee. It’s your job to make sure that they feel at home around you and want to come and speak to you. Connection in the industry are everything, Aita says.

HAVE A SIDE HUSTLE

You want your main gig to be in fashion. But because the work can be a bit stop-start, especially when you’re new to the industry, it’s a good idea to have something on the side to pay the bills. Nataliya Makulova from Spring, says that people new to the fashion industry should have some sort of side hustle, besides their primary job. Perhaps they could work as a tutor or have a job at the weekend. Whatever it is, it needs to provide enough income to sustain you through times when business is slow. You may not always be able to get the business you want, and you could be dropped by your biggest clients, especially if you’re not locked into a contract.

DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT AND GO FOR IT

There’s a lot of truth to Nike’s logo: “Just do it.” Nothing gets done unless you do it, and Nike knows this. As one of the most successful fashion brands in the world, they should.

Some people suffer from a phenomenon called “growth anxiety.” It’s where they’re afraid of changing their lives in any significant way because they don’t want to become better people. It’s a common problem according to Kathleen Elie, the chief editor and ConsciousNChic. She says that people should decide what they want to do and make sure they love it. Passion is a great substitute for willpower and can take you much further.

Let’s face it, every time we receive an email about a “Limited Period Offer” or when a scheduled online sale date approaches, we can’t help but grab our credit cards and head over to the ecommerce app on our phone or fire up the old laptop for a visit to the site. However, what is it exactly that we love so much about online shopping? Is it the deals or the convenience of it all? Could it be because we love the anticipation? We think it’s the combination of everything really. Read on to see if you can agree with the reasons mentioned, here or if you have completely different reasons of your own.

The Anticipation

There is no denying the sense of anticipation and excitement we have all felt after ordering a particularly coveted item online. There is a sense of euphoria when the trademark printed boxes from the ecommerce site finally arrives. Then there’s the unboxing experience where we carefully remove all the packaging to reveal something we liked, paid for and even waited a while for before receiving! In our opinion, this is definitely one of the most underappreciated bonuses of shopping online.

Read: 5 ideal ways to stretch your money further with these simple online shopping tips

So Many Deals!

Offline shops have their own advantages, but they just can’t beat their online counterparts in terms of deals, discounts, offers, cashbacks and coupons. There is always something going on in some section of an online retailer. The bottom line is that if you shop online, you will probably end up saving money most of the time. When you are able to buy everything you like from one place and get a bargain while doing so, it’s hard not to fall in love with shopping on the internet.

The Convenience

Nothing lifts the mood like shopping! But what if you are feeling blue and you don’t want to go outside? Thanks to the multitude of ecommerce sites, you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your bed (and the gloom of your room) to binge shop. Irrespective of whether you are sick, sad or just can’t go out of the house, it’s all just a click or a tap away from being delivered right to your doorstep.

Read: 4 steps to providing the IDEAL online shopping experience

Endless Browsing

The best part of online shopping is that browsing and shopping on the internet has no limits. The shop is never closed and as long as you can find the time, you can spend hours online, scouring through hundreds of items across multiple categories to find that one thing you can’t live without. The feeling is almost like finding hidden treasure – and who doesn’t love a treasure hunt?

You probably knew about these already, but it’s always good to be assured that the credit card bill you received from last month’s online shopping is (kind of) justified. Another often neglected positive aspect of buying online is the exchange policies, which are fantastic. Amazon for example, has an amazing return policy where you can try out a lot of the items for a limited amount of time before deciding whether you want to keep using it, ask for a replacement, or your money back.

We all love a bargain, don’t we? We will spend our time looking for restaurant vouchers when we go out to eat to ensure we save at least a few pennies and a 20% off tag is enough to tempt us to spend money we otherwise wouldn’t have. Not to mention Black Friday, when we will fight off anyone that stands between us and a bargain. In fact, this discount day – that was only introduced to the UK in 2010 – officially overtook the 26th December in 2014, as the UK’s biggest shopping day, with £810 million spent.   

There is something about getting money off that leaves us feeling not just pleased, but almost smug. So, with that in mind, here are five ways you can bag a bargain online:  

Use comparison websites  

For your bigger purchases, such as insurance and so on, a comparison website is often the best way to see and compare your options. But, just remember, the cheapest price isn’t always the best deal – so make sure you look into it carefully and understand exactly what you will be getting for your money,

Explore online marketplaces

Online marketplaces such as Freeads are home to countless bargains – here you will find cars, furniture and everything in-between. A lot of the items are second hand – but as the old saying goes: ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’. You might just find that the perfect sofa is sat on there, for hundreds of pounds cheaper than in the shops. Plus, if it isn’t exactly what you are looking for but the price is right, you can always upcycle it and turn it into something new and unique.        

Cash back sites

Want to receive money for spending money? Of course you do! Cashback websites pay you when you click through them to a retailer and spend. Depending on what you are buying, the amount you receive can range from pennies to hundreds of pounds – but, it all adds up!

Vouchers/voucher codes

Before you buy anything online you should search to see if there are any voucher codes available. Sites such as Virgin Experience Days and Buyagift – which already offer you days out for less than the RRP, often have codes to make it even cheaper. But, not everyone knows to look for them! Take a look at sites such as My Voucher Codes, or simply type ‘buy a gift discount code’ into Google and you will see what is available. Choose the best one for you and then when you get to the till you will be offered the opportunity to enter the code.   

Consumer sites

Look at sites such as Which and Money Saving Expert, which will offer you tips and tricks on how to save money online – pointing you in the right direction of the bargains. They can also explain the best way to use cashback and comparison sites – to ensure you don’t get caught out thinking you have a bargain but in reality you are actually spending much more.