How a Single Mom Created a $1.5M Business from scratch

How did all started?

Julie, ehe founder of Be Activewear. An online retail store stocking over 60 amazing Activewear and swimwear brands.

Our product range is unlike any other. We showcase established and many emerging Australian brands from Leggings, Compression tight, Sports crops, sneakers and a large range of fitness accessories.

Our customers are those who want to lead a healthy lifestyle, while feeling amazing in their activewear. Our customers are generally aged between 20 - 45 and are busy working women. Our store offers these women the convenience of shopping in one store for all of their favourite activewear brands

I launched the store in October 2014 (spending only $150) and we now do over $1.5 million a year in sales.

How did the idea come up?

I started Be Activewear because there needed to be a place where if you were a size 6 or 26 and you wanted to wear bright pink tights, go out, get them and OWN IT.

After a successful corporate career I found myself being a single mum, relocating and working part time, all while completing my MBA. During this time I knew I wanted to start my own business so I could have more control on how I spent my time.

My definition of success also changed. No longer was it about climbing the corporate ladder, but it was more focused on how I could spend time with my son while her was young and still achieve my personal goals.

I decided I would start a business… though had no idea what I would do. After talking to my 2 sisters one day I decided I would start an online Activewear store - specialising in affordable Australian brands.

I love supporting women on their journey of being confident in their own skin and at the same time supporting amazing Australian brands. We now stock over 60 brands, making it one of the best online Australian Activewear & Swimwear Shopping destinations.

Having never started a business it was a huge learning curve to get it going (and in a short period). But I was determined to make it work.

How was the business launched?

I didn’t have any money to buy products. I decided I would approach business offering to market and sell them and the will fulfill the orders (dropship).I googled Australian Activewear brands and came up with a list of 100 and I knew I only needed 3 to say yes and I would have a store. I launched the business with 5 brands.

The store is set up on Shopify and the look and feel of the website and brand has changed over time. A lot of people spend a lot of time on logos, website design… my focus was to get it launched and learn along the way what works.

The look of the website is dramatically different now from 4 years ago

After I finished my MBA I thought now is the time, my son was 18 months old, it took me 3 months to decide what to do and I then gave myself another 3 months to launch my business.

I designed and did everything myself to launch the store using Shopify. As I didn’t have the funds to hire people I figure things out as I went along. I bought the Shopify set up book and used google to look into everything, from getting a business tax file number, to getting images off website, buying a domain… I just googled it all.

When you’re committed to doing something… “I don’t know that” or “I can’t do that” is not even a thought. You read, ask questions, research until you have the answers.

I previously had never worked in retail or anything to do with ecommerce. I launched the business with only $150 and worked on it on the side for 2 years spending nearly every spare minute I had on it and invested everything back into during this time.

By the third year we sold $1.5 million and I now have the lifestyle I want. Working for myself and the flexibility to be with my son.

How are things today?

As we are a drop ship business our margins are smaller than traditional retail stores.

It sits around 35% gross profit margin and our largest variable cost is advertising spend.

We average around 43 - 45k unique website visitors to our store each month. With a online conversion rate at around 2.1%We focus on having around 30% of sales as repeat customers and 70% new as we focus on growth and the lifetime value of a customer

We have big growth plans for Be Activewear, we are proud of the Australia labels that we carry and it is our commitment to them to help them grow and at the same time provide Australian women with the best selection of Activewear and Swimwear – all in the convenience of one store.