Finance Guy Makes Bank With Swimsuit Line

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

[Music]

Are you having trouble staying afloat? Well, listen, today you're gonna hear all about how to start your own swimwear line, or at least you'll hear how one person does it. This Australian thinks banking is the career of his dreams. At least that's what he thinks before he starts the job, but then he ends up feeling bored. So he pursues a lifeline in the form of a fashion brand from my favorite city in the world, actually.

And one year in, he's selling $5,000 a month and has seen his swimwear being worn by a local celebrity on the cover of a magazine standing next to Brad Pitt. Those are some of the successes. Obstacles include a manufacturer that won't prioritize his orders, and a local community that isn't keen on sharing their secrets. But of course, he doesn't take no for an answer. Otherwise, you know, we wouldn't have much of a story.

So I'm glad he didn't. Welcome to the program. My name is Chris Guillebeau. Here's a quick thank you to our sponsor. I appreciate them helping us keep the lights on.

And I'll tell you all about the finance guy who makes bank with his swimsuit line. [Music]

Jake Smith thought working in finance would be exciting. He expected a world of high-end suits, fancy business dinners, and Rolex watches. What he found was that it was actually kind of boring, but it paid well, which was important for Jake as he lives in Sydney, Australia, one of the most expensive cities in the world. Still, money can't buy everything.

And for Jake, days at work often left him feeling stranded in a sea of mediocrity. That's why in late 2017, he began looking for something creative and fun to do outside of his day job. He could keep a solid income and find a sense of fun and creativity in a new endeavor. To come up with an idea, Jake took a deep dive into some of his favorite things. He'd always loved textiles, patterns, fabric, and design.

Somehow he ended up in a career in banking with those interests, but that's a different story. He decided he'd get his feet wet and have a go at designing his own product. And the product he chose was right on his doorstep. Jake not only comes from Sydney, he comes from Bondi Beach in Sydney, one of the most famous and beautiful beaches in the world. Bondi is also the home of several famous swimwear brands like Speedo, Aussie Bum, and Sea Folly, to name a few.

Aussies love to swim, and they love fashionable swimwear. These success stories inspired Jake, so he decided to combine his love of textiles and design and create his own men's swimwear label. He figured that given the popularity of Australian-made swimwear, it would be easy. But of course, he was dead wrong. What followed would be several months of swimming against the current.

The swimwear community was not only tight-knit, it also seemed closed to outsiders and simply unwilling to share trade secrets. Gradually, he was introduced to a few people by asking around, but most requests led to dead ends. Weeks went by, and he still had little idea of what to do to start manufacturing. He was adrift at sea. Almost ready to give up on sourcing locally, he started looking at manufacturing options in Asia.

However, it quickly became evident that he wouldn't be able to achieve the quality he was after. Still, going through the process, armed Jake with new knowledge, and he was better equipped to make things work on home soil. For the next few months, he spent his free time meeting with suppliers, manufacturers, and graphic designers. His determination began paying off, and soon his first batch of designs were nearing production. It looked like his dream was about to come to life, until, at least, he was faced with another issue.

The manufacturers kept pushing him back in the pecking order, making way for other companies with larger volume. But Jake didn't give up, he persisted, and after a couple of months of delays, his first line of swimsuits were ready. He named it Smither's Swimwear, and not after the Simpsons character, which is something he has to explain a fair amount. It was a combination of his last name, Smith, and the word Bather's, a common word for swimwear in Australia. The tide had finally turned, and he was ready to sell.

Committed to being an online-only brand, that's where Jake decided to put his attention on marketing. He engaged Instagram influencers and pushed his social media presence hard. Bondi is a close community with its own scene and culture, so getting in with the right groups of socialites can help spread the word. When the orders began coming in, he accused his partner of making up fake names and orders to make him feel good, but it turned out those orders were legit. Just a few months after launch, Jake had already hit $1,000 a month in sales, and he puts that success down to his unique product in marketing.

You see, all of his branding and marketing is aimed squarely at the modern man. He's named each of his six designs after a characteristic that he believes makes up the true gentleman, integrity, modesty, empathy, respectfulness, gratitude, and loyalty. You won't find this angle of marketing from any other men's swimmer label. One year on, Smither's has built up a solid following. It sold tens of thousands of dollars in swimwear, many of those orders to repeat customers.

Over the past 12 months, Jake has shipped swimwear to fashion capitals like Paris, New York, and London, all the way to unexpected places like Taiwan, the Cayman Islands, and Dubai. He's humbled to know that people are strutting beaches, laying poolside, and cruising around resorts in Smithers all over the world. He's also managed to keep his head above water and still hold onto his day job. He can't leave the bank anytime soon, but the label is doing well financially. Jake sells around $5,000 in product each month after being in market for just over a year.

For year two, he's working on a whole new range of designs ready to rumble for the Australian summer, which is coming up soon, seeing as it is the southern hemisphere there. He believes his success so far is just a drop in the ocean of what Smithers can become. So as the sun rises up the beaches of the Australian coast, Jake is enjoying the view. [Music]

So just briefly, on this topic of the tight-knit communities, which are kind of close to outsiders, in some cases that is because they fear competition. You know, they've got a good thing going.

They don't necessarily want to, you know, share the pie with someone else, but it can also be the case that you just kind of have to earn your stripes essentially. And you have to show that you really are serious about this because I imagine in an industry like swimwear, there are all kinds of people who try it and never really get very far, you know? And so I think nobody wants to waste their time with somebody who doesn't know what they're doing or is not willing to, you know, put in the time and investment and energy to figuring it out. And so in those situations, over time, it gets better as you prove yourself. Now also here's some quick advice from Jake.

We asked him what struggles have you encountered? You know, is there anything you'd go back and do differently? And he said, competing with some large brands and trying to earn respect, attention from publications, influencers and content creators has been hard, but I learned to just be true to myself and accept that people will either be onboard or they won't. And if they aren't, it's perfectly okay. And it also gives me a reason to turn around and show them later that they made a big mistake.

I think somebody out there needs to hear that today. Just be true to yourself, accept that people will either be onboard or they won't. And if they aren't, well, maybe that gives you the chance to prove them wrong, which probably shouldn't be your main motivation, but it is a nice secondary effect whenever it happens. All right, friends, thank you for joining me today. Inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better today's show notes.

All right, sidehustleschool.com/864. Come and check out the Smithers brand, maybe get yourself or someone you care about a swimsuit. We'll also include links to some marketing resources and anything else we can think about. And of course, we'll be back again tomorrow. 864 down, 865 coming up.

My name is Chris Guillebeau, this is "Side Hustle School." [Music]

From the Onward Project.