Sylvia has been a passionate entrepreneur all of her life. After graduating from London School of Economics in 2005, Sylvia joined HSBC in the commercial/corporate segment. She worked at HSBC for 13 years before leaving to start her own business venture, Bilbette. Bilbette are a specialist lingerie brand, with over 30,000 bras alone. She feels that her work-related success is due to her perseverance, focus and ‘can-do’ attitude.
Date: July 28 2020
Episode: 11
Title: Norman Farrar introduces Sylv Stefanowicz, entrepreneur and Founder of a lingerie brand called BILBETTE LTD.
Subtitle: Passion in Building a Personal Brand
Final Show Link: https://iknowthisguy.com/episodes/11-sylvia-stefanowicz/
In this episode of I Know this Gal…, Norman Farrar introduces Sylv Stefanowicz, entrepreneur and Founder of a lingerie brand called BILBETTE LTD.
She is an experienced Credit Risk Specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. Skilled in Business Planning, Business Lending and Underwriting, Global Project Coordination, Leadership, and Portfolio Management. Strong finance professional with a Bachelor’s Degree focused in Banking & Finance from London School of Economics and Political Science.
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Sylv 0:00
collaboration. That’s right yeah.
Hayden 0:04
I mean that could still happen for the podcast merge some I Know this Guy lingerie.
Norman 0:09
Hey, that’s fine. There we go. We got a I Know this Guy t-shirt. And by the way, check it out on the website iknowthisguy.com
Norman 0:29
Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of I Know this Guy, the podcast where we dive deep into the lives of some of the most interesting people I know. Before we get started, please like and subscribe to I Know this Guy wherever you get your podcasts. By the way, my kids want me to say something about ringing a bell what the hell’s a bell
Norman 1:01
Hey Hayden we’ve got an incredible lady on the show today.
Hayden
Oh yeah, who’s that?
Norman
It’s a lady by the name of Sylv Stefanowicz.I met her at a nightclub with a whole group of us in Vegas, probably about a year, year and a half ago. She has an incredible lingerie brand and we’re going to have her talk a little bit about her struggles. She came out of a communist country. She was over in London for a while, and she was able to build this brand from nothing. She’s really incredible. So I can’t wait to get talking with her.
Hayden
Awesome. Well, let’s dive in.
Norman
Hey whenever I see you or think of you, I think of Vegas. We met in Vegas. We got to know each other at a nightclub. Oh, it is Omni Omni Omnia, right?
Sylv
I can’t even remember the name. Okay.
Norman 1:54
So I am this very old guy and This DJ who was this DJ that we went to see?
Sylv
Tiesto?
Norman 2:04
Yeah, yes. Oh, wow, that’s it. Yeah. Tiesto If you are listening, I am really sorry, but I did love it. I enjoyed it. I stayed, I closed it out. I crawled out cuz I’m old and people had to carry me out with you. But it was great because you were one of the ones carrying me out but this is one of the things I really love about getting to know people is that we were there, we could barely hear each other talk. But we really did get to know each other. Nobody asked for anything. We just kind of liked each other and we struck up a relationship, a friendship. So that’s, that’s really cool when somebody you can go to a club with or just break bread with or just meet at an event, whatever. And you just kind of hit it off and especially if they’re an amazing person like you are.
Sylv 3:02
Thank you so much. I mean Same to you, but would you like to know my perspective on that event SellerCon?
Norman
Okay, go ahead.
Sylv
Oh, no. Um, so, uh from my perspective, because it was my first at a nightclub with a whole groupSellerCon and I was obviously a big fan of yours because I saw you on podcasts before and live auditions and the same for some other big Amazon sellers or like key players in the community. And it was just so awesome to land at that event, SellerCon, and meet everybody face to face and not feeling like, Oh, I’m just this like, small business owner and people don’t have time to talk to you. So everybody has been so open and very accommodating and it’s just been an amazing experience for somebody like me arriving there for the first time, and for you to be so welcoming so yeah, amazing.
Norman 4:06
Well, I and that’s something with our community so a lot of people don’t know that I’m in the eCom community but it’s just one of these communities that is very small. There’s lots of people that sell on eCom m or our eCom service providers. But I’ve never been to an event where somebody who’s got a new store that’s new into eCom that’s just not welcome. Everybody from the eight figure or even nine figure seller to the person who’s just starting out. Everybody is kind of on a level playing field now you do have the those guys,but for the most part, you could go out you could be right beside somebody, like look at our buddy, Kevin King, you sit beside Kevin and you don’t know how successful he is or Manny or all those guys that we know. But anyways, I love the community and that’s one of the reasons why I support it so much. It’s because of that
Sylv 5:09
Difference for me because I actually come from a corporate environment. So in the corporate environment, it’s very much if this is where you sit, that’s where you sit. And if somebody is more senior than there’s definitely that barrier. So it was just amazing to have a different kind of way of dealing with people as I entered that entrepreneurial world of Amazon.
Norman 5:29
I’d really like to know what makes you you. So can you give us a little bit of your history?
Sylv 5:35
Sure. So I come from Poland, and I’m back to Poland now actually, with my business. But I moved to the UK when I was 19. I went to university in London. That was a massive dream of mine and I remember when I was thinking of doing it back in the day, everybody was just laughing at me in Poland because at that time it was the communistic time. So we were not open to the Western world yet. So yet I still managed to go and study. And very quickly after finishing school, I got a job with a corporate bank during London. And I was working with businesses for about 12 years, which has been an amazing experience from that respect, because I was looking after corporations and startups and businesses doing really well and expanding globally, but also businesses that were going through some struggles and maybe collapsing as well. So that background gave me such a nice kind of feel of what entrepreneurship is about. And from a bankers perspective, I was going to these businesses premises and I was like, Oh my God, this was just so empowering. So I was dreaming of having my own business for a while.
Norman
Working at the bank, seeing the successful companies and the ones that kind of went into the ground, what were some of the things that you saw, what made something successful and what made the companies that could have possibly been successful, Go under?
Sylv
I would definitely say the management team, so who’s behind the business, the decision makers, and also the fact that you constantly have to evolve in business. And you could clearly see businesses that were doing extremely well that they were always very vibrant. They were always full of new ideas, and they were acting on these ideas. They were always doing something. Whereas if you become complacent kind of – you tend to be left behind. And I think there was a lot of that that we saw complacency and maybe not having the right skill set to run the business. And that’s when you get in trouble.
Norman 7:58
I take a look and I always look at action oriented people. There’s always good intentions, right? So usually, if I’m talking to somebody and let’s say we’re at an event, and we’re talking to somebody, and they have a great idea, well, probably 99%, maybe a little bit less. But there’s a potential to make a ton of money or just have this incredible business. People just don’t follow through, I go to trade shows, they scan your card, whoever follows up? I’m interested in your product and enough that you’re going to scan my card, so you never get a follow up. So these people like what you’re saying is action oriented, instead of intentions, right? So you could have gone to Sri Lanka, seen something, your manufacturer could have had really good intentions , but nothing happened. But it did because you were both on the same plane field.
Sylv 9:01
I’m not much of a risk taker. I think I’m more now that I have been doing this for the last three years. But when I started I wasn’t at all yet. On that trip in Sri Lanka there and then I put 10,000 of my own cash on the line to actually secure some products. So yeah, it was just instant that I believed in the product. I was actually buying some ready made products already that I started with stocks. It was much easier to kind of get into this business that way. But yeah, I mean, you just have to go for it. And suddenly I go to Sri Lanka on a holiday with friends and one of my friends is running a fashion business. And I go to this massive factory of lingerie with them and I just fell in love. I fell in love with the products with what they were doing in Sri Lanka. How they going about their business and their approach to somebody like me who’s never done fashion before and how welcoming they were and how much of handholding they were offering for me if I was to be interested in manufacturing with them, and that really put me at ease in terms of, you know what, I really like this. I want to go for it and yeah, let me give it a go. So that’s how it all started. I left the corporate world and I started my business in lingerie.
Norman 10:34
Okay, lingerie, right? Something I know very little about. Yeah. I can’t say I’ve ever, well, I have bought something but not for me. So I got your visual, oh my god.
Norman 10:49
But how did you ever even think about getting into one of the most competitive niches out there? Weren’t you worried?
Sylv 11:01
You know what, I think I was very naive at that time. I think the product that I saw, how amazing the quality was and how good the price was, that really made me go for that purchase. When the stock arrived. I was like, Okay, so I’ve got the goods, what do I do with it now? And that’s when I started thinking, Okay, I should do wholesale for this. And basically, I just got myself on the road and I went from city to city with a suitcase for lingerie and I was speaking with as many private shop owners about doing some sort of a collaboration or me supplying them with this underwear. And that really opened my eyes in terms of how complex this industry really is, and how tough is going to be. I mean when we talk about sizing alone in bras I work in 30,000 variations. I was not aware of that when I started, how pretty mind blowing 30,000. And obviously, I don’t have everything. I don’t know absolutely every single style and size and color, but this is how complex it can get if you really want it to have a full range. So it’s an extremely tough industry. The same with swimwear. If you’re in fashion, these two, people would say please avoid.
Norman 12:33
And yet you jump right into feet.
Sylv 12:36
I had no doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t make this work. And I did, but it was difficult. It was very slow the first 12 months. I wasn’t making any money whatsoever. It was very much a learning process. But today from the perspective of the last three years, I’m so pleased that I didn’t give up because of the knowledge that I have gained of the industry of working with customers understanding female silhouettes and what they’re looking for. Like I’m so well equipped right now for my own private label and actually not even a private label, a brand, a proper lingerie brand. That I know it’s gonna do really, really well. And I have already started 12 months ago and my best sellers are actually, it’s my brand. It’s not the wholesale stuff that I do for other brands. It’s actually what I create myself, so that learning that background has been very empowering. And I say, for me, whenever you go to a new industry, just absorb, learn as much as you can, talk to people, talk to customers, who can learn so much and then you can do so much with that knowledge. I mean, sky’s the limit, you know?
Norman13:56
It is you just have to take control of the opportunity right? You
Sylv 14:00
And even if you’re operating in a very difficult, risky, complex industry, you can always find that one niche that will be simple and easy to tap into. And you can make it really you can do really, really well. I’m not saying avoid risky industries or complex industries, but learn as much as you can and then go for something that will work really well and you will feel very comfortable doing it.
Norman 14:28
Entrepreneurs are risk takers. But the best entrepreneurs know a little bit about the product too. So I probably don’t want to put words in your mouth. You probably knew something about lingerie, but I bet you know you’re an expert in lingerie right now. Is that correct?
Sylv 14:47
Absolutely. I‘m a qualified bra fitter. So, yeah, I would love to do a book about running a lingerie business, because there isn’t one out there yet. So yeah. I mean, I think the level of knowledge that I’ve gained because I’ve done wholesale working with different brands, I’ve got my private label and I also have a brick and mortar store so I actually get to speak and see customers in the fitting room. That knowledge is just priceless.
Norman 15:18
I didn’t know that so you’ve got a store. Oh, fantastic. In London or
Sylv 15:23
no, it’s in Poland,
Norman 15:25
in Poland. And when did you open that?
Sylv 15:29
That was about 24 months ago now. So two years? Yeah, yes. Oh, I like seriously it’s my little lab. my shop because I can test new concepts I talked to, I talked to women, I know what they want. I know. You know what they feel comfortable in their fonder shape, what they want to hide, what they feel good about what they want to display. I mean, it’s, it’s phenomenal. You’ll never get that level of knowledge and insights by being 100%. Amazon seller, no way.
Norman 16:07
You know what, I’ll probably turn red saying this. But I’ve heard that the high majority of women, they’re not fitted properly. So is it true? Is that true?
Sylv 16:21
It’s very, very true. And statistically it’s about 85% of women don’t really understand their bra size. And I think once you’ve got that knowledge as a brand owner in a given niche, so for me, it’s obviously what I do. You can do so much with that because you’re educating customers and at the same time, you’re buying their loyalty. Once they get that personal advice, personal touch, they will love you forever and in their eyes, you’re the biggest expert out there. So that’s been working really, really well for us as well.
Norman 16:55
So I can see a huge opportunity if 85% of women are not properly fitted in a bra. And there’s a lot of pros to a fitted bra. A lot of cons to you know just going out there and buying your typical wonderbra I guess, social media must be able to be a big role for you educating people or It must be a great platform for you to educate people I don’t even know when my peak moment when hidden says Oh get people to subscribe or ring a bell like I always say like what what’s the bell? You already know what all that is? So being a young entrepreneur, how do you use social media to your advantage?
Sylv 17:37
Oh my god, social media for me is everything right now. I have to say that when I started because I went that wholesale route. This was not my priority. So we were not that active on social media. And I regret that a lot. So my big advice to any brand especially in that creative field, so beat fashion or anything of that nature. Please start with social media as a puppy. For me, this is really where customers will be buying, it’s not going to be Amazon, it’s actually going to be the social platforms. I mean, Facebook is already doing it, Instagram as well. So a massive, massive opportunity. And this is where you build a loyal customer base, because as you just mentioned for me for my niche, I can go with that knowledge and I can very easily win new customers by just educating people, educating women. And if you’ve got a good product, so the fitting is good, because I hope my products feed really well because again, I get to see my customers in the fitting room. So I know what a product should look like. If you’ve got that quality of the product, amazing customer service, and you’ve got that two way communication, which you can have in social. You can have it on your website, not on Amazon but with social, that’s been a wonderful development where you can talk to people and you get their feedback. And it’s Yeah. Again, a massive, massive opportunity to be tapping into.
Norman 19:12
Right. So is there any particular platform that you’re using and how are you utilizing it?
Sylv 19:18
Yeah, so, for the business, we’re using actually three, three platforms actively. So that’s Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. But I’ve also set up a recently personal kind of brand page for myself, and this is something that I have created very recently. It’s very new. So I still don’t know what I should be posting. But I tried to give a lot of tips in terms of, you know what to do when you go into a fashion industry, what to look out for and how you should be marketing. What the risks are, and I already see a lot of people can go engaging with my posts, which is really nice to see. So for me, this personal account is more about giving something back because I feel very lucky in life. So this is the reason why I’ve set it up. On the business side, though, we are now recruiting brand ambassadors. So again, this is a very new initiative. We haven’t tried that before. So again, I’m very excited about this opportunity. See how we’re gonna do? I don’t know there’s not much I can tell you about that yet, because it’s very new. But yeah, it’s looking promising. And I’m just like, again, very keen to know more and really understand how this social impact can do for your brand.
Norman 20:44
Yeah, I’ve seen some of the posts that you’ve put out there. And yeah, and following it. And yeah, I mean, great content, very interesting, engaging, and I think that’s, yeah, we’re not talking too much about social media. But one of the things that a lot of people don’t do is they put out just crap. I mean, and they expect people to engage and what I like about what you’re doing is you’ve got content there that people would actually like or ask questions about. So yeah, you’re doing it right.
Sylv 21:16
Thank you so to you because I love your account, and I follow it as well.
Norman 21:21
thank you.
Sylv 21:22
It’s great.
Norman 21:24
So I’m kind of interested to hear what your take is on Lingerie like right now and possible stigmas, especially in certain communities, and how Lingerie could objectify women?
Sylv 21:41
Oh, that’s a hard question again, okay. I mean, when I started in this niche, it never kind of crossed my mind that there’s a stigma I’m going into something that can be perceived as a taboo, but maybe because I was not going into something too. Very sexy, like I don’t know, bondage or anything like that. In terms of lingerie. For me I’m dealing with very classical styles, or even the non sexy styles. So yeah, so I never felt that this was something that was kind of
something that I should be worried about. But I can understand I mean, when we look at Victoria’s Secret, for example, and what has been going on with them in the last few years, massive criticism, and actually like, how they’re feeling the consequences Well, in terms of how Victoria’s Secret is perceived as a brand always going for these perfect, almost looking women of size zero. And this is not what a typical female looks like. So yeah, so maybe kind of promoting that image that they have been doing by other fashion shows, right? The annual shows where they’ve got musicians and they’re making a massive event on a yearly basis. I can see that happening. But the voice of customers is much louder now. And people are opposing those practices. And what’s my personal view on Victoria’s Secret? Like, you know what I mean, at the end of the day, if Victoria’s Secret they’re amazing at push up bras, if they do amazing push up bras and push up, bras go on size zero as female because maybe bigger sizes, they don’t need a push up bra. That’s absolutely fine. But I think what’s missing with Victoria’s Secret is they’re not articulating really what they are, what they stand for, who they’re making the underwear for. They will never be anything for everyone, no brand will be. My brand will never take every customer’s books. And that’s why nowadays, we’ve got so many niche brands where if you’re looking for something very specific, you’ll always find it but you’re not gonna find it in one department store. So I’m staying clear of the kind of Victoria’s Secret thing because if they do very good kind of maybe petite sizes, let them get on with it. But maybe their communication has to be a little bit different to what it has been.
Norman 24:36
You want to know a secret?
Sylv 24:39
Is it Victoria?
Norman 24:42
No, it’s not. I wish. When I was just before I got into Amazon, so about a year before, I was going to be getting into plus size lingerie. I, yes. So I took Look at a variety of different manufacturers. I bought the domain plus size lingerie, I think it was. Yeah, I think it was even a.com. And yeah, I was going to be doing some drop shipping. But it never never came to be. But yeah,
Sylv 25:16
what why? Why did you not go for it? In the end? I’m wondering,
Norman 25:19
Well, because the model that I was looking for was dropshipping. So I didn’t want to store any inventory. It wasn’t coming out with. It was selling other people’s products. And I was always a brand person. So I’m like you. I like to take something, build perception around it. This model was, I heard, I heard I took a course. And it was about drop shipping. And I thought, Oh, let me just see if I can hook up with a couple of manufacturers. I did. But there was inconsistency there that I can control. So I decided to get out. If I can’t control it. Then you know and especially the brand, then I don’t want my name associated with it. Yeah, so that’s right. like yeah, we could have been friendly competitors. Oh, you would have beat my ass. Oh, your brand
Sylv 26:16
collaboration. That’s right. Yeah.
Hayden 26:20
I mean that could still happen for the podcast merge. So I Know this Guy lingerie.
Norman 26:26
Hey, that’s fine there we go we got a I Know this Guy t shirts. and by the way check it out on the website iknowthisguy.com
Norman 26:41
So as a modern entrepreneur, can you tell me a little bit about how that’s evolved over time and what it means to you today and you know what about the future?
Sylv 26:54
The good or the bad?
Norman 26:55
Yeah both. How’s that?
Sylv 26:58
Well, let’s start with Bad because we have just spoken about social so I feel that the bad is that we don’t necessarily appreciate modern entrepreneurs for the know how I feel that maybe there’s just a little bit too much focusing on a certain image. So for example, if you look at Instagram, there’s a certain image that people are trying to push, or women are trying to push and fast cars for guys and designer clothes and having this highlight and being on a constant holiday. This is really not embodiment entrepreneurship looks like so this is that kind of fake false image of what you get. You still have to work really hard and you have to understand numbers and you have to understand what you’re doing and how to develop products and how to sell them. And what I love about this modern entrepreneurship, though, is that in the last maybe 50 years It felt very corporate. I don’t know if you have got the same observation, but it was very cold detached, very salesy, making money, it’s all about that dollar. Whereas now it’s moving towards relationship building with customers, with building communities. We haven’t had that in business 20,30 years ago. So that’s lovely to see again, because I think that’s where you can create, make an impact, especially as a smaller brand or a startup. If you’ve got some if you’ve got values that you live by, if you are an ethical brand, you believe in sustainability, there’s always going to be people feeling that you’ve got something powerful apart from the product to offer and that’s lovely because that’s the space that you know you can use for to get audience.
Norman 28:56
For me. It’s always been about networks. I can go in, and I’m not talking about just trying to go in and get a 1000 people to give you all these false likes, and I’m talking about going in and meeting people and really seeing what you can do for them and not even talk about money. Don’t talk about it, don’t talk about yourself, you’ll get to know the other person. And I’ve been able to do this. And that’s probably one of my biggest assets. And that’s why we actually started this podcast, because basically one day sitting on a patio, three people called and each one, I was able to say, I know a guy I know, I Know this Guy. And that’s how that’s how I see it evolving right now is if you’re building out that network and social media is helping, but it’s not. At least for me, there’s lots of guys out there that stand in front of their Lamborghini and I throw up a little bit. I mean, I really do hate that crap. But saying Isn’t that crazy? But anyways then there’s us. I work my ass off. I work hard. Yes, we go to these events. I’ve had ulcers. People think oh, yeah he it’s all luck. Man I am working all the time trying to, I’ve got an opportunity here I see an opportunity, just like you. It’s got to evolve. And yeah, going out and meeting people at events is great. But if people just think that it’s all about, if you’re doing it for money, it’s a lot harder. At least I have found.
Sylv 30:45
Passion. Passion has to be at the bottom of this the whole thing that you’re trying to build and it has to come from the heart. Yeah. And it will carry you through the difficulties like every day. It’s a constant roller coaster right? So you have to be prepared mentally for it. And what will carry you through is the fact that you love what you’re doing, you love your product, you love giving something back to people. And yeah, for me that’s number one I again I don’t understand how one can have a business just based on spreadsheets and what makes sense what doesn’t to sell and make money, I could never do that I would feel totally lost in that kind of approach. I really want to believe in the product, be passionate about it and inject that passion in my customers.
Hayden 31:35
Do either of you have tips for people who might not be connected to a community right now are looking to get more involved with the community route around them or finding like minded people.
Sylv 31:47
So I mean, depending what niche you are in, but for fashion, there’s a lot of meetup groups, probably in all major cities nowadays. That’s a very popular trendy way of meeting new people. And you’ve got events. So there’s a lot of fashion events and meetings with brand owners. I mean this, I find that there’s always something going on with the Fashion world. You’ve got fashion magazines where again, there will be that community feel because they all have their social media that you can follow and they’ve got their lives that you can join and talk to, again brands or or service providers within fashion. I feel that if you really look for your niche, you always find it’s just getting yourself on the net and look for those. They do exist. There’s loads of them.
Norman 32:46
Right. And there’s one thing that I look for when I go out with people are people like I just when you attract too positive minded people. I mean, you just attract. I don’t want to hear people that are bitching and complaining, I mean it, I want to have positive people and you can weed them out very quickly. But one of the things I look for people that may have that I have my weaknesses, and that just talking with them, you could say, oh, wow this person knows this. And you’ll just start talking and maybe they need or they are interested in something that you have strengths with, like the creative side to more of the analytical side. And one of the things that helped me with this is I found a group called EO Entrepreneurial Organization, it used to be called YPO. And it’s just a group of thousands and thousands and thousands of entrepreneurs all around the world. I believe, if you put them all together, it would make up the G8. And it says organization that you can meet. Once a month, you have a forum that you can talk to, but also it’s just events so you can go to like little local events so for E comm I know that there’s a group that has about 125 people in Toronto. There’s a great way to meet and get introduced. You could go to simple meetings like that there’s an organization I’m sure they have it in, in Europe as well called DNI. you wake up, you go to seven o’clock breakfast, who knows? It’s all it’s, and I did that and I don’t do it anymore. But man, it was just a grind but you got to know people. One of the things that you can do, if you get the opportunity to do this, go to trade shows or go to events. Go to small events, probably in the Amazon. Well, the whole Amazon group for me. That changed dramatically. When I paid through the nose to go to one private event. The private event consisted of about 25 fairly large entrepreneurs and probably six or seven high ranking speakers. And we were basically locked in a room for three days, went on some excursions together, had a great time. And we built relationships from there. And that led to podcasts, it led to events that led to forming businesses with people. Anyways, that’s now, small amount of money as probably I don’t even know how much it’s made me. And because of those, I was able to go and expand it and it kind of compounded to other people and other people. I don’t know how many other people I’ve met from that one event from other people in that event and so it was worth the money.
Sylv 35:45
It can be very powerful for sure. Yeah.
Norman 35:47
Like look at you. Look at you, you go to SellerCon, you know nobody, right. nobody,
Sylv 35:55
And now I know everybody.
Norman 35:56
And you’re speaking like everywhere I look. You were just on I’m a huge podcast with Danny, Danny Macmillan. And I mean, you’re, I mean, you’re featured here, you’re featured there, you’re everywhere now. I’m surprised you still talk to me.
Sylv 36:14
Well, maybe not everyone. But yeah, I mean, SellerCon has been really mind blowing in terms of how many people I met. I don’t know how many people attend SellerCon. Must be a few thousand.
Norman 36:26
Yeah, probably around there. Yeah.
Sylv 36:29
But it’s been amazing sellers from different countries and again, different industries. I mean, not many people talk about what they sell, but still you can discuss so much in terms of how they approach and how they’re dealing with race, how they’re sourcing, whether they’re sourcing from China or India or maybe Eastern Europe and just sharing ideas. it’s been really, really great.
Norman 36:55
Right? No, and it’s been really great seeing just how you grow and how you’ve evolved. Because you know that first meeting one year later, what you were able to do, and not only for your brand and and just reaching out and asking questions, you know about the brand, and then all of a sudden, oh, you’re on this podcast. I mean it was really good. I remember the first one that I saw you on was very cool. So, to be a Sylv, what were the five main people that you could think of that contributed to you being a success?
Sylv 37:39
I would say my dad number one. As my dad passed away not even 12 months ago now. But I actually mentioned him because he gave me so much strength. I’m very similar in terms of personalities to what he was like, and he always had that drive and determination to do well and I’m exactly the same so I think that was in me since childhood and I pushed through to go to the UK to finish that university in London to get on that corporate ladder and then to have the guts to leave and start my own entrepreneurial journey so all of that I think, my dad hundred percent. I look up to I mean, Sara Blakely, as the queen of lingerie. She’s a massive influence on me, I see a lot of similarities in terms of how she started to what my journey has been. Because she put herself out there she was going to the Portman stores talking to customers, going into that changing room with them and trying her garments on and very much she wasn’t trying to be this top person not being available. She was really grinding it hard and just reminds me of me getting that suitcase and getting myself on the road and talking to people as well. Massive success and she’s also a fantastic inspiration for me. We saw her at SellarCon last year. Who else? GaryVee big one? I don’t know how you feel about him, but he’s very to the point. Great content. He’s such a visionary. Amazing,
Norman 39:23
Right. And I agree. I mean, GaryVee and how he’s built his brand. It’s just a success story and it shows that just a breakout, right? There’s a certain way that you have to do things and you see this with a million people and then here’s this guy comes out and he’s just in your face. The way that he just blurts it out and I’m not that style, but you know what I love I listened to him. I love it. You know how he how he presents it and It’s really great content,
Sylv 40:02
Oprah Winfrey. Big one. I love listening to her podcasts. She’s very soft spoken. I mean, we know that but again, fantastic content, especially for women empowering women. She’s been a big influence. But even within our community, as we had the Bronzer By Women event, the online event a week ago that was organized by Danny and we had 30 plus females doing business in different continents and different industries. Again, it’s been just so empowering to listen to their achievements and how they’re coping in predominantly men oriented worlds again, fantastic. Isabella, for example, she’s great. We’ve got a book club actually within the Amazon community as well. And we were analyzing a book a few weeks ago, Isabella was on the call. And I mean, she was just like, Wow, she was so inspiring in terms of recommending this book and how much impact that book had on her life and her career. So, I mean, everybody has got something to offer. It’s lovely.
Norman 41:19
Yeah, we had a chance to talk to Isabella last weekend. And yeah, she’s very inspiring and as interesting as both of you came from communist countries, right. She was from Romania. You were from Poland. Growing up, she was touching on a few things, but for you growing up in a communist country. What was that like? We’re here in the West. I grew up very similar to most places in the United States. I’m up in World Canada. What was it like for you growing up?
Sylv 41:56
It was tough. I mean, I remember when as a child I had to queue a lot. I remember queues that is something that will always stay with me because me and my sister, we had to sometimes get up at 4 A.M. to go into the queue for bread, or for milk or for meat. And so that’s the earliest I can remember in terms of communism. But also, again, there was no female role models for us to look up to. There was just one model for a woman which was kind of get education, get married, have a family, stay at home and serve your husband. I think that again, that was something that was expected of women. And it’s quite interesting that was never something that really, there was just nothing in terms of how I felt about my life and what I wanted to achieve. Even as a teenager, not having these role models around me not having that TV to be not having the internet. Yet, there was something in me wanting to do more, achieve more and go and see what this Western world really looks like. So that’s what I did everything to do. And again, as you said, Izabela’s story is very similar.
Norman 43:20
Now I hear a lot when we talk about back then, a lot of negative.But on the positive side, was there anything that you saw that was positive coming out of communism that people don’t talk about or you don’t hear about?
Sylv 43:40
Working culture. Again, that is something people had to work. So again, the way I was raised was that I didn’t. I was never told that making money was easy. So I always knew that you had to work to be successful. I’ve never run away from hard work. So although sometimes maybe I could have been a little bit smarter, but I think you, you will learn as you go along anyway. But yeah, that I would say that the working culture is a positive. And also in terms of communities. I don’t know whether that’s your observation, but people were more together. Whereas now you see more kinds of everybody’s doing everything for themselves, not necessarily considering others. I think the mindset was a little bit different, maybe because everybody was meant to be equal. There were no business people in those days. So everybody had a stable job making pretty much the same salary. There was not much difference in terms of the family budget.
Norman 45:01
So in Poland it was similar to, let’s say, East Germany where there was a trust factor. It was very hard to trust people?
Sylv 45:11
In those communistic times, I would say, No, I think it’s more now that people are less trusting.
Norman 45:19
Interesting. Yes. Very interesting.
Hayden 45:23
Why do you think that is? Now?
Sylv 45:27
Why do I think that is now? Well, because,
Sylv 45:31
Again, you’ve got all these opportunities at your fingertips. So sometimes you would go for them and now it depends how you want to approach things. And do you want to be the ethical person doing it in the right way or you want to cut corners? And there are opportunities to be cutting corners. So maybe that’s why there isn’t that much trust, whereas before you didn’t have that, like there was just one way of doing things and everybody had to follow that one way. Good this is a hard one. I would have to sit and think a little bit more. Yeah.
Norman 46:11
I want to know your biggest success. It doesn’t have to be in business but what do you consider overall your biggest success in life?
Sylv 46:24
The biggest success in life? Definitely. Well, for me, a self fulfillment plays a massive role. Always has been. I never wanted to be at this kind of one level, lifetime. So for me progressing that’s massive and if I can progress for me, that’s a massive achievement for me. That’s a big success. So I’m always keen to learn and meet new people. I’m very social. I’m not too shy to go and say hi, and I’m so curious about the world. I want to travel. There’s a lot of that drive. So for me, this is success really to be able to do that and progress and develop myself. I also want to give something back. So I think the more the older I get, the more I’m thinking about, okay, now, how can I make my life more fulfilling not just for myself, but also for others. And I think that’s why this personal account on Instagram started, I’m now thinking of maybe doing a book for the industry, so that where you’ve got, I don’t know, fashion designers graduating they can learn from people like me who have done this journey that is very difficult and complex and risky in fashion, they can learn a lot. So yeah, that’s a big driver as well. It’s not for me, it’s never about the money. Money helps. You have to, like I want to have a comfortable life, of course. But that’s not the principle at all.
Norman 48:04
That is one of the common denominators on almost every person that has been on this show is that you hear almost every single person say that money wasn’t their motivation. Alright, so I say just so people understand failure, but I don’t believe in failure. I believe that every failure is a learning experience. So let’s rephrase that and say, What has been your biggest struggle? What have you had to overcome to get where you are today?
Sylv 48:43
I think doing this business in my home country, Poland, because I left when I was so young, I was pretty much raised by that English culture. Because that’s really when I started living. I was at university, I was meeting people from so many different backgrounds. As London is a massive melting pot. So that has been a massive influence on me. And I spent almost 20 years in London. So now being back in Poland and starting this venture is like being in a brand new country that I don’t really know. And it’s been tough because all my decisions in my first year of training were based on my UK mindset, what I perceived as what females wanted, but I was thinking of the UK females. In my head, I was visualizing going to places like Victoria’s Secret where females go in, they just throw 10 different bras and panties and they go into pay, they don’t even try stuff on very often they would throw stuff in their wardrobe and they don’t even wear clothes. So that’s very typical behavior of that Western society when it comes to shopping, or impulse shopping. In Poland, it’s very different here. Money matters. you if you’re making as a female, maybe 400, 500 euros a month, you’re gonna be very conscious about how you spend your money. And how many bras you buy and what type of bras you buy because you want to maybe buy one bra that you can use for work and for an evening outing. So for me learning a completely different way of shopping and what products appeal to people. That International Labor has been very impactful. It’s been super tough. I had to switch everything my strategy, my expectations from money that I would be making whatever kind of put it to bed and and think about how I can make this work for this culture, for this country and make it meaningful and I feel today that I’ve been really successful with that it’s been seriously a lot of crying days and nights. It’s been tough. It’s been very, very tough. But will they change it? You know? Yeah, maybe I could have gone into an industry that is much easier. Maybe I could have paid for some, I don’t know, coffee grinders and just go on Amazon. But I really feel so well equipped to do what I really want to do with my business now. And with COVID, especially now. We’ve suffered sales massively. I was trading even last month on 30% of what we had last year. But none of the less like, I’ve got massive expansion plans. I’m investing a lot. We are a cash rich business. And I know where I want to be 12 months from now like I feel so empowered and so happy right now. So even financially, we are a little bit behind to where we want it to be. Like, right now I couldn’t be happier with my strategy with the people I’m working with on my brand. I’m working with the best agencies in Poland. I’m engaging with so many experts that I didn’t think of doing before because I was concerned that maybe this is not from my budget, or I don’t know, like, maybe it’s not gonna work out. So I don’t want to spend so much money. Very different way of looking at things now. And I feel like I’m now taking this Polish business overseas. Whereas three years ago, I was kind of taking it from the UK to Poland. And now I’m going back from Poland to the Western world. But yeah, it’s a phenomenal learning. And I can now understand different market characteristics which is again great because I can use In whatever I do in the future, and in any niche as well.
Norman 53:05
Yeah, it’s interesting that your sales are down during COVID. Now, most of the time, I would say yeah I understand that. But I would have thought and maybe this is just because of the retail side, but I would have thought your sales would be going up. People are at home. People are together more. I thought the lingerie scene might be a little bit more active.
Sylv 53:32
Yeah, unfortunately not. It is something that you don’t necessarily want to spend your money on during COVID. Also, a lot of females, I don’t know whether you saw even on social media. There was a lot of posts saying bra is the most useless thing right now because everybody’s at home braless. Sales have definitely suffered. Also, we do a lot of underwear for events. Again, if you’re not going out, there’s no weddings, there are no parties. So you don’t need these solutions like shapewear or anything of that nature. So we have suffered a lot.
Norman 54:10
You had a very interesting quote. How would you like to share that with us?
Sylv 54:16
Yeah, so my quote is standing on the street corner waiting for no one is power. Why did I choose this quote? I think it’s about that inner strength and inner calm. Like, you really have to feel comfortable with who you are, what you’re doing, where you’re going. And you don’t necessarily need the environment to impact your decisions. And just trusting yourself and feeling comfortable and calm about making the decisions that you’re making in life. And I think that’s where I am really in terms of who I am and how I feel about myself. So this quote, very much relates in that way.
Hayden 55:05
Is there any, anything you do to find that calmness? Like when there’s a lot of stress going on or things don’t go your way?
Sylv 55:13
Good question. I mean, I do sometimes meditation, but I have to say that I have to get better at that I’m not. I would love to, I would love to find the time and the discipline to do it. I don’t know, maybe it’s just a personality type where I always wanted to do things my own way and I was always driving my life in a way that as I said, before I grow, I evolve, I learn, I explore, and that gives me that joy and that calmness, I would say. I would hate to be in a situation where I’m influenced by other people in my life. And I have to maybe be in a certain location or, or in a certain maybe relationship that maybe I don’t want to be that kind of thing. Yeah. So, yeah, that that’s priceless, that independence is really priceless for me.
Norman 56:19
So, we’re coming down to the end of the show. And at this point, we have one question to ask. That is, do you know a guy?
Sylv 56:28
I do know a guy, but I also know a gal and that gal is Anna Davidson. Do you know Anna?
Norman 56:35
Oh, sure. Yes, I do.
Sylv
Anna is phenomenal. I really think you should bring her on the podcast. She’s got an amazing story. She has recently been featured in Forbes, and she’s a kick ass amazon seller.
Norman 56:51
I can’t wait to reach out and see if she comes on the show. Well, thank you very much. Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to go see you at an event. But, Sylv, it’s been so great having you on the call and hearing more about your life, your struggles, your incredible business that you’re building. So once again, I just wanted to thank you for coming on, I Know this Guy.
Sylv 57:18
Thank you so much for the invitation. You’re such an inspiration, Norm. I follow you on LinkedIn on Instagram, on Facebook. You do so much for the community. I always look up to you. So it’s been a pleasure thank you very much for having me.
Norman 57:35
It’s been my honor. Thank you.
Norman 57:40
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