Twin-sisters Sali and Julie Stevanja are nothing short of inspirational. Their online empire Stylerunner leads the way in bringing the best of fashionable activewear to a hungry and super-fit market. Their start-up journey is packed with great business advice for budding entrepreneurs. Here are some of the ladies’ top tips for starting your own business.
Start Your Business In A Lean Way: Test your ideas and the market so that then you can improve based on what your customers actually truly want.
Perfect Partnerships: If you are considering partnering with someone make sure you find someone with complimentary skills and always, always draw-up a partnership agreement no matter how ‘friendly’ you may be.
When It’s Time To Grow: When you are looking to expand your team, there are two things to remember, hire for attitude and train for skill. Make sure you give people the recognition they deserve when they positively contribute to the growth of your vision and go above and beyond what’s expected.
Network Wisely: Associate with individuals and companies who are supportive of your entrepreneurial pursuits and add value to your journey. Minimise time with those who aren’t/don’t (HINT: Remember – we are the average of the 5 people we associate the most with!!)
Be A Triple Threat: As an entrepreneur you will have to wear three hats 1. Having the vision (i.e. an entrepreneurial spirit) 2. Having the technical expertise (i.e. knowing how you want things to be done including processes) 3. Leading and managing people (i.e. being able to build and foster a positive working environment and culture)
Authenticity: Be authentic always. Full stop. Engage with both your audience/market and your colleagues in an authentic way. The rest will follow
Attitude. Attitude. Attitude: It’s all about having the right mental attitude and the clarity on what you are working towards.
Read, Read and Read Some More: A few great reads include – “the lean start up”, “lady boss”, “e-myth” and “9 laws of attracting profit” (a downloadable e-book)
PR Yourself: When you’re starting up lean, do your own PR. Check out Source Bottle for some great PR opportunities to promote your brand.
Get your Z’s: A MUST is Magnesium. Get some and take it – EVERY NIGHT. You will get the equivalent of 8 hours sleep in 3hours!!
Rise and Shine: Get up that little bit earlier everyday and take a moment to remind yourself of your key goals and visions before you get out there and kick some butt. Remember, for the extra hours you are still in bed sleeping there is every possibility that your competitor is out there already working!!
Just Get Started: Don’t just chase the dream – BUILD IT! Remember, done is better than perfect. There will never be a perfect time or day or scenario, you just have to get started!!
About Stylerunner
The Beginning
As consumers themselves, Julie and Sali Stevanja were living in two of the most fashionable cities in the world, Julie in London and Sali in Sydney, yet neither of them could find a big enough selection of functional and fashion-forward activewear to meet their sartorial needs. The twin sisters realised the gap in the market was a perfect start up proposition for beautifully curated activewear not just in Australia but internationally. Once they committed to creating the world’s first premier online store for fashionable activewear, they launched it just three months later.
“We couldn’t find a specific retail store that offered premium, curated activewear, let alone a beautifully presented one that we personally wanted to shop at – so we decided to create one,” says Sali.
“We bring together style and performance for modern, trend-driven women who don’t want to compromise on fashion or function”, adds Julie.
The Inspiration
For these energetic and ambitious sisters, their customers are the constant inspiration behind the brand and as such, Stylerunner is not just about selling activewear, it’s about promoting positive spirit, self-empowerment and cultivating a healthy lifestyle from the inside-out. This starts with motivating them to get out there and do something positive for their bodies.
“The clothes you wear have the ability to change your entire attitude,” says Sali. “And if you look good, you feel good”.
No one understands this more than Sali, who at just 27 years old was diagnosed with breast cancer. This experience and recognition of the importance of being body-aware led to the development of Stylerunner that we now know.
“Breast cancer has definitely been a hidden blessing. It’s one of the main reasons we started going to the gym more often and because of that we were looking for new and interesting gym gear that we wasn’t easily accessible. It has taught us both that you only get one shot at this life so you need to live it by doing something you love,” says Sali.
The Success
Stylerunner has grown faster than ever anticipated – achieving exponential growth, year on year. In 2013, Sali and Julie were named #17 and #18 on Australia’s list of Top Women Entrepreneurs Under 40 and were named among the top Ecommerce Entrepreneurs ‘killing it’ in Australia by Start Up Daily.
The store has shipped to 58 countries to date and has celebrated significant press including being selected to feature on Naomi Campbell’s TV series ‘The Face’, Channel 10 TV series ‘The Living Room’ and editorial in the AFR, The Age, SMH, and The Telegraph; as well as magazine coverage in Women’s Fitness, Women’s Health, Cosmo, Cleo, Grazia, marie claire, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar plus numerous online features.
In its first year of operation, Sali and Julie secured distribution rights to some of the world’s leading activewear brands including Nike and adidas by Stella McCartney and continue to win ever increasing exclusive offerings.
While they have only just begun, they are already making a mark in the ecommerce world, both domestically and internationally.
What’s Next?
Having already carved a strong international presence in a record amount of time, the Stevanjas are actively working towards a distribution centre in the US and continual development for the best user experience is always of utmost importance.
Julie and Sali’s vision is to be the number one global online retailer dedicated to the activewear category whilst creating significant value for its customers, staff, brands and shareholders. Having already created an inspiring and rewarding working environment, it won’t be long until they are recognised as one of the best companies to work for in the world.
Sali and Julie from stylerunner.com spoke to an enthralled audience of female entrepreneurs in Sydney recently at the League of extraordinary women.
Visit their website for more inspirational events for women in business.
