TSW Talks: Tips For Success in The Sneaker Industry With Emily Atkins

Want to know how to get your foot in the door and establish a career in the sneaker industry? TSS Talks is our latest series that puts a spotlight on the most influential women in the industry right now. From designers and creatives, to influencers and industry leaders, TSS Talks is all about highlighting the talented individuals who are paving the way for future females.

For our first episode, we have our very own Emily Atkins, Senior Digital Marketing and Acquitision Manager here at The Sole Supplier. If you’re looking to get into the sneaker industry, and are keen to pursue a career in social media then Emily has some top tips that you may want to note down and save for later! Check out our first episode now available to watch over on our Instagram, @thesolewomens, and stay tuned to find out who will be joining us next.

“I studied business management at University of Sussex, did a little bit of marketing, but actually originally I wanted to work in the music industry, so I wanted to get into social media and work at music festivals and things like that. So then I found George, who heads up The Sole Supplier, doing his thing on Facebook, and I reached out to him to see if I could volunteer or if there were any opportunities for me to volunteer.”

“Right at the beginning, when I started, obviously, I mean, sneakers is a male dominated industry, so I started at The Sole Supplier running our Facebook groups, some guys right at the beginning didn't really like to see a female leading it, heading it up. So, you know, there was a lot of shots fired. There was a lot of abuse back in the day, so I had to raise it, had a chat with George, and he just said to me, like, who are these people, why are they being mean, you know, they're just jealous. And some guys, this doesn't apply to everybody, they don't like a female leading something. But I was doing my best job and I was giving them the information. I was providing the drop links, helping them win raffles and things like that. So once I realized it was just a few bad eggs causing the issues, everything was fine and it's happy days now!”

"Yeah. So like I say, I did study at university, I did business, I did a bit of marketing and things like that. However, I kind of went out and got the social media experience myself. So I volunteered, but it's not necessarily possible, I completely understand, for people to go out and volunteer because, you know, you have to work, you have to get a job as well. So I kind of recommend making your own platform or sharing things on Instagram, reading around the subject. And one tip from me is that within this job you have to have marketing experience and you have to have product knowledge and product passion. And for us, it is so much easier to teach additional marketing than it is to teach passion for the product. So go out there, learn everything that you're passionate about, and then the marketing can follow and come later is what I would say.”

“I think I just wouldn't let people's opinions bother me from day one, or at least earlier. You have to take people's feedback into consideration, not everyone is going to be a fan of you, and that's just life.”

“So, we can come back into the office now, The Sole Supplier office is such a buzzing place. When I'm sitting at my desk and I can see, especially The Sole Supplier team - but obviously shout-outs to The Sole Supplier guys as well - in the corner, doing their thing, creating content, working so hard. You know, it warms my heart in a way. It's so motivational to see The Sole Supplier do that and grow and become such a prominent platform within females within sneakers. And I know there are so many other platforms out there as well, but just what I can see on a day-to-day basis really keeps me motivated.”

“The way I'm staying organised at the moment is everyone here especially has a calendar or an outlook calendar. Before I go to bed at night, I kind of just give it a quick scroll through and see what I have to achieve the next day.”

“It changes day to day, but right now it's probably the Kith Air Force 1 Tokyo specifically. So I actually have the three from the city pack that came out. But the Tokyo one for me - especially the red Swoosh, the fact I've been to Tokyo, I love Tokyo - I hope to go back there again and then rock them to Kith Tokyo.”

“It's really, really hard to choose, but I guess for me, my first pick up with a female collaborator-designer was Aleali May, so I grabbed the Aleali May Jordan 1 with the different panelling, with the fur tongue, which I took off. But there's so many, and so many creatives that haven't yet, hopefully soon, will have a shoe with Nike. Then we'll see, there's so many out there! “