Many of us often asked the following question: how do some people manage to turn their idea into a million dollar business project in a few years? Olivia Carr, founder of Shhh Silk (a silk company), did just that. Let's find out her story.
Difficulties
It may seem that many entrepreneurs to create a successful business project is not difficult. Is this true of Olivia? Not at all! Judging by what happened to her at a young age, no one would have thought that she would become the founder of a multi-million dollar company.
At 17, Olivia left school, and at 19 she was left alone with a small child. Moreover, the girl for a long time could not find a suitable job. It would seem that she had everything in order not to have success in life. Here is what Olivia herself says about this: “I came across similar stereotypes. If you do not go to university, you will never find a good job. And having a child at 19 years old in itself meant that I would encounter a lot of negative stereotypes that arise "The impression was that I couldn’t get anywhere, and I was doomed."
However, despite everything, Olivia found the strength and became the founder of a multi-million dollar company. How did she do it?
Important steps
Olivia Carr is from Australia, her hometown is Melbourne. Although she did not graduate from high school, by the age of 32 she had already managed to achieve a good career. Olivia became the general manager of Pacific Brands (a consumer goods company). According to the girl, she could only dream of such a job: her earnings were approximately $ 200,000 (or 12 million rubles). But because of the tremendous work, she devoted too little time to her children (by then she already had two children). Moreover, constant stress had an impact on her health.
According to Olivia, she had an entrepreneurial streak: she wanted to produce some products on her own. She dreamed of starting her own business and realized that the best place to find inspiration for something like this is the United States. So, the girl took both children and went to America for one month.
Unusual case
While in the United States, she was already considering several interesting ideas, but that all changed thanks to an incident in a hotel. What happened?
The thing is that Olivia could not do without silk bedding. She took a silk pillowcase with her on a trip, as she found this particular material more useful for the condition of her skin and hair. Naturally, she replaced the usual hotel pillowcase with her silk.
But one morning, the maids accidentally took her along with the rest of the laundry when they were cleaning the room. Olivia was very saddened that she would never see her favorite thing again. She says: "I was obsessed with this: for all the time I got so used to it that I could not sleep on anything else."
She was looking for a suitable replacement, but could not find a single quality option. And then the thought occurred to her: "Why not do the production of high-quality silk underwear?"
The benefits of silk
For several weeks, Olivia had to do with the usual pillowcases, but she soon noticed that her hair and sleep quality were affected. According to our heroine, silk has a huge advantage over cotton. Olivia says: “Cotton allows the skin to breathe, but silk helps it to be smooth and youthful. Unlike cotton, silk is softer, does not injure delicate skin and takes good care of hair.” Founder Shhh Silk continues: "Cotton can cause wrinkles.Therefore, fabrics that come in contact with our skin must be chosen very carefully. "
Further changes
Seeing that there are not many manufacturers of high-quality silk bedding in the market, Olivia launched her brand Shhh Silk in October 2015. By the way, at first she had only $ 50,000.
Today Olivia Carr is 37 years old. She says: “Some people questioned my decision to leave my previous high-paying job, but it was not difficult for me, because I did not attach much importance to money. People thought I was crazy and said:“ It’s like Kim Kardashian once will use your products sometime. ”However, I had a goal: I wanted to establish my own company myself. And I did it.”
Speaking about the financial side of the decision, Olivia says: “I didn’t have investors or marketing expenses of a million dollars, but I was sure that I would achieve my goal.”
Kardashian support
The production of silk underwear brings Olivia an excellent income: several million dollars annually. Of course, to have such success is not possible without thoughtful advertising or good relations with celebrities. This is true in the case of the heroine of our article.
Olivia Carr shares: “I understood that my products should earn the trust of people. Honestly, I was scared. I realized that celebrities use only special products, but, to be honest, I believed that I was releasing just such things. I needed act: I went to America again to make sure the Kardashian family was aware of my products. I knew very well that they also loved silk, and I believed that they would like my products. I just needed to get there. "
Carr delivered a series of pillowcases to the star’s house along with a note about why she flew from Australia. There was no answer for several months, but when she received it, it was worth it. The message came through the Carr PR agency in the USA: Kim Kardashian liked Olivia's pillowcases, although she could not use them on her wide double bed.
Carr acted quickly: she introduced a series of king-size pillowcases, which, in turn, marked the beginning of the new Shhh Silk collection. Soon, Kim Kardashian placed an order for 30 sets and told her subscribers about the incredible convenience and high quality of Olivia's products. Thanks to social media photos, Carr’s products have grown rapidly. Thus began their mutual cooperation with Kardashian, and Carr’s business began to advance rapidly. Chris Jenner (mother Kardashian, participant in the reality show "Kardashian Family") also approved the products.
Success
So, the Melbourne-based brand has been able to achieve rapid growth, in part thanks to the strong approval of Kardashian and Jenner on social media. Shhh Silk products are sold in more than 45 countries around the world. This year, revenue of $ 5-7 million is projected.
The company's products include not only pillowcases: Shhh Silk currently sells more than 120 items, including sleepwear, a range of hair care products and other similar products.
Moreover, Carr has established a partnership with the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, USA. At Shhh Silk, a wholesale deal was agreed upon and they supply approximately 7,000 pieces of original silk underwear for hotel guests. Carr entered into an agreement at the beginning of 2017 after a special visit to the hotel: since then, guests of the establishment have not ceased to speak positively about Olivia's products.
Total
Despite the fact that Olivia did not finish school, she opened her own business, bringing her a lot of money. Carr says: "Going about your own business is like raising a third child. I give a lot of work to the job, but I also reap huge success."
Soon, Olivia will expand its cooperation with partners in Europe and America. Obviously, she managed to achieve success in business.