Abstract This study examines fashion entrepreneurship from the designer’s perspective. The aim is to identify what kinds of challenges fashion designers face in their simultaneous roles as designers and entrepreneurs, and what the potential advantages of that position are. The article aims to supplement existing research on micro-scale fashion design businesses that has focused primarily on the encountered challenges. A total of 16 entrepreneurial fashion designers from Finland, Estonia, and Latvia were interviewed. Thematic analysis was used in order to identify patterns in the diverse experiences of the entrepreneurial designers, and to conceptualize them into concise themes and subcategories. The purpose of the study is to bring a broader understanding of the designer’s viewpoint, and thus it highlights also personal perspectives and motivations behind fashion entrepreneurship. The results show that entrepreneurial fashion designers have to have multilevel managerial skills to run their business. Another important factor for success is the creating of balance between the business and private life. This study identifies micro-size fashion companies as businesses where creativity is a successful combination of fashion creativity and entrepreneurial creativity. Furthermore, the study shows that the obstacle for business growth might be the designer’s business orientation rather than the lack of investors. Therefore, it is crucial to recognize the different drivers behind the business, acknowledge the importance of intrinsic values (e.g. aesthetic and creative aspects), and allow them to shape the business.

中文翻译：

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作为企业家的时装设计师：微型公司的挑战和优势

摘要 本研究从设计师的角度考察时尚创业。目的是确定时装设计师在同时担任设计师和企业家的角色时面临哪些挑战，以及该职位的潜在优势是什么。本文旨在补充现有的关于微型时装设计企业的研究，这些研究主要关注所遇到的挑战。共有来自芬兰、爱沙尼亚和拉脱维亚的 16 位创业时装设计师接受了采访。主题分析被用来识别创业设计师不同经历中的模式，并将它们概念化为简洁的主题和子类别。研究的目的是为了更广泛地了解设计师的观点，因此，它也突出了时尚创业背后的个人观点和动机。结果表明，创业时装设计师必须具备多层次的管理技能来经营他们的业务。成功的另一个重要因素是在商业和私人生活之间创造平衡。本研究将微型时装公司确定为创意成功结合时尚创意和创业创意的企业。此外，研究表明，业务增长的障碍可能是设计师的业务导向，而不是缺乏投资者。因此，认识到业务背后的不同驱动因素、承认内在价值（例如审美和创造性方面）的重要性并允许它们塑造业务至关重要。