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With Freedom Fit Gym beginning to take its first baby steps as a business, I felt it only right to admit my naivete and implore other business owners to suffer through my questions and help me learn. Today, I have for you all a small interview with the illustrious Amy Brachman of Superfun Yoga Pants.
1. How many businesses do you have, or have started? Their names?
An LLC holding company. Brachstar Enterprises. And the consumer facing business is (dba) Superfun Yoga Pants.
2. What made you want to start this company?
I wasn't actually trying to start a business. I was on sabbatical (AKA “very burnt out”) from an almost 20 year corporate career. Committed myself a short while toward not looking for another job -- just help people doing things I thought were cool, re-find and do things that made me happy and things that I thought made the world a little better place. That included a lot of yoga and more time on social media.
I happened on a pair of pants that made me smile more, walk differently, talk to more people (sounds crazy but it's true) and things just built from there. In order to get a wholesale account with a manufacturer, I had to have an LLC registered.
3. If you had to choose three things to say you've done quite successfully, which would they be?
Innovation
Creating community
Staying flexible and letting the business evolve naturally
4. Successes always come with failures. What would you say were your three failures?
Not securing business loans soon enough
Overthinking the details (vs. staying above the individual elements and seeing the bigger picture)
Hiring (not that it's a failure, per se, but it's really really difficult to find the right people)
5. What did you learn from these experiences?
You have to have passion for what you're doing and you have to have faith in the big picture, long run. You have to learn how to define success in various ways and see the good instead of getting caught in a spiral of negative.
6. If you had to start all over from the beginning using what you know now, what would you do differently?
Minimize my cost of living to take as much financial pressure off the business as possible.
7. Do you feel there's any way to institute what you just said, today?
Yes. My co-worker is taking some of the steps to help us right now.
8. What kind of growth do you foresee in the next 6-12 months? 24 months?
15% in the next year. 30% in the next two.
9. Is there any way a reader could help you push towards those goals?
• They could buy pants (in person or online!) and/or help spread the word about what we do (post in social media, interview or blog, have me speak, etc)
• We need help building out potential new markets...we are looking at Charleston, Nashville, Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles.
So if anyone reading lives there and would like to talk about working for us that would be fantastic.
• We are also open to the right internship candidate to help with communication & social media.
Thank you for your time, Amy!
If you have any questions for Amy, please feel free to leave a comment below, or she can be reached at [email protected]
1. How many businesses do you have, or have started? Their names?
An LLC holding company. Brachstar Enterprises. And the consumer facing business is (dba) Superfun Yoga Pants.
2. What made you want to start this company?
I wasn't actually trying to start a business. I was on sabbatical (AKA “very burnt out”) from an almost 20 year corporate career. Committed myself a short while toward not looking for another job -- just help people doing things I thought were cool, re-find and do things that made me happy and things that I thought made the world a little better place. That included a lot of yoga and more time on social media.
I happened on a pair of pants that made me smile more, walk differently, talk to more people (sounds crazy but it's true) and things just built from there. In order to get a wholesale account with a manufacturer, I had to have an LLC registered.
3. If you had to choose three things to say you've done quite successfully, which would they be?
Innovation
Creating community
Staying flexible and letting the business evolve naturally
4. Successes always come with failures. What would you say were your three failures?
Not securing business loans soon enough
Overthinking the details (vs. staying above the individual elements and seeing the bigger picture)
Hiring (not that it's a failure, per se, but it's really really difficult to find the right people)
5. What did you learn from these experiences?
You have to have passion for what you're doing and you have to have faith in the big picture, long run. You have to learn how to define success in various ways and see the good instead of getting caught in a spiral of negative.
6. If you had to start all over from the beginning using what you know now, what would you do differently?
Minimize my cost of living to take as much financial pressure off the business as possible.
7. Do you feel there's any way to institute what you just said, today?
Yes. My co-worker is taking some of the steps to help us right now.
8. What kind of growth do you foresee in the next 6-12 months? 24 months?
15% in the next year. 30% in the next two.
9. Is there any way a reader could help you push towards those goals?
• They could buy pants (in person or online!) and/or help spread the word about what we do (post in social media, interview or blog, have me speak, etc)
• We need help building out potential new markets...we are looking at Charleston, Nashville, Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles.
So if anyone reading lives there and would like to talk about working for us that would be fantastic.
• We are also open to the right internship candidate to help with communication & social media.
Thank you for your time, Amy!
If you have any questions for Amy, please feel free to leave a comment below, or she can be reached at [email protected]
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