Organic Loungewear Becomes Sleeper Sensation

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

[Music]

Welcome to Side Hustle School. My name is Chris Guillebeau. So glad you're here. In today's story, after years working in nonprofits, an Aussie woman develops a line of cotton sleepwear based on fair trade practices. Tell you more about that story in just a moment.

Now, I also have an exercise for you, or an exercise activity, however you like to think of it. And this assignment, let's use that word, is to make a list of your assets. At the end of next week, I'll talk about this more. But for now, an asset is anything that holds or increases in value over time. So traditionally, that means real estate, stocks, and bonds, that kind of stuff.

If you have those things, then great, that counts. But assets could also mean lots of other stuff, a product that you sell, royalties you earn, passive affiliate income, or any other number of things, including the kinds of projects that we look at just about every day here on the show. Okay, so a lot of these are digital assets, but whatever they are, make your list. It will just be a private list. I'm not gonna ask you to share it or anything, but make your own list.

And if you don't have any assets, according to this definition, if you're like, "Wow, you know, I got a job, I've got some income, "but not sure I have any assets," well, that's okay. We're gonna work on that because you need them. Okay, so more on that in the days to come. But for now, organic loungewear becomes sleeper sensation. That story is coming up in just 30 seconds.

[Music]

Back in 2010, when Anna McGregor started Sorella Organics, an online sleep and loungewear company, there wasn't much of a market for ethical and sustainable clothing in Australia. Anna saw an opportunity, not just to claim that market for herself, but to work the way she wanted to. She had previously started a private rehabilitation company as a side hustle that became a full-time business. So she knew she could do it again and that she could carry over some lessons from building one business to the next. Anna had left her prior company and had been working full-time with a nonprofit in India and Vietnam.

What she saw and learned doing this work inspired her to look at using fair labor in the supply chain and organic fair trade cotton in the products. A lot of people were advocating against sweatshop-made garments, but few were talking about the people providing the raw materials for those garments. The farmers who were growing the cotton in the first place. And that's what she wanted to address. The biggest issue she had in the beginning, however, was finding good sources for the cotton.

While there was such a thing as organic fabric, it wasn't readily available because most suppliers didn't see a need to stock it. But thanks to her nonprofit contacts, she ended up buying cloth directly from a mill in India. It took her a year to learn the fashion design business by reading and doing. She did hands-on analysis and inspected hundreds of garments to learn how they were constructed. She also took that time to do consumer research through surveys and focus groups of friends.

Additionally, she figured out what she couldn't do herself. Drawing the designs came naturally, but she had to rely on an experienced pattern maker to bring those designs to life. Instead of looking for outside investors or loans, both Anna and her sister, who at the time was her business partner before leaving later, each invested $10,000 Australian dollars, or about $6,700 US dollars. That money covered stock, brand development, the online store, and the first photo shoot. Their feeling was that if they never saw that money again, it would be okay, because the potential reward was worth it.

Anna also felt it was the perfect time for her to get ahead by taking the risk. She had sold her house, which was part of the money she invested in Sorella, and she had affordable rent. Plus, of course, she had a stable full-time job to fall back on if she needed it. The brand made its first in-person sale to a customer at a trade show, and then launched an online store three months later. However, Sorella was always designed to be a flexible business.

At some point, Anna went back to working at another nonprofit, both because she missed the work, and because she wanted a break from just doing fashion. While she was at that new nonprofit, she kept working on the brand. She came back to it full-time in 2018, after she and her fiance decided to start a family. She's now able to work at home with their son. So let's talk about the challenges.

Keeping good suppliers in her business chain is her biggest one, and she calls it a constant struggle. Even if she's had a strong relationship with a supplier in the past, she doesn't overlook problems with quality. For example, she once had a herringbone cotton drawstring that the company had used for years. But the supplier sent a new batch that didn't measure up, and I wasn't even sure if it was 100% cotton. The supplier couldn't explain why there had been a change in the material, so she had to go and find another vendor.

She also hasn't had quite the massive growth she first expected. There are a number of larger companies she's now competing against, and because these other companies have greater profit margins, they can invest more in marketing. Still, 2019 has seen the company's best period of growth, 60% for revenue and a 40% increase in U.S. sales. With this success and a child who's getting a bit older, Anna is ready again to take Sorella to the next level.

In addition to her side hustle turned full-time career, she's also a partner in her fiance's business, and she's pursuing a couple of new ideas as well. Anna looks at all these projects as opportunities. Most importantly, they're a chance to keep improving each step of the way. [Music]

All right, congratulations to Anna and Sorella Organics. It looks really fun.

I'm so glad that they're expanding to the U.S., hopefully beyond as well. Now, remember to make your list of assets. Like I mentioned at the beginning, we're gonna revisit it next weekend, or if you're listening another time, we'll revisit it in episode 1030, which is also known as eight episodes from now. I'll do this myself as well, so we can regroup all around. And my goal is for all of us to make some improvements in this area.

So I look forward to sharing that with you soon. In the meantime, inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better. Today's show notes are at sidehustleschool.com/1022. 1022. Wherever you are in the world, thank you so much for listening.

I hope you do something today to get closer to the goals you believe in. Until tomorrow, my name is Chris Guillebeau, and this is "Side Hustle School." [Music]

From the Onward Project.