As a teenager, bra shopping was an incredibly frustrating experience for me. I had to search the entire mall for a 32DD. If I found one in my size, it was inevitably beige and boring. I knew there had to be other women like me, so I did market research and found the full-busted market niche. Today, I am the founder and president of Jodi Gallaer, a lingerie company in Newport News, Va., that sells its products for full-busted women to high-end boutiques in cities like New York. I am one of the only bra designers who creates sexy, supportive lingerie specifically for women with hard-to-find sizes that range from 28C to 40H.
While I was at
Columbia Business School, I wrote the business plan, and I received an incredible amount of support from Columbia's entrepreneurship hub, The Lang Center (see BW Online, 10/25/05,
"Teaching the Startup Mentality") My professors were accommodating and allowed me to use my fledgling business idea for most of my projects. Columbia was great for networking, honing my skill set, and producing an exceptionally polished business plan. In addition, I took a couple of courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology, so I would understand bra construction and sketching (see BW Online, 3/26/06
"Creativity Comes to B-School").
During my final semester, I commissioned a factory in Mexico to make samples. When I graduated, I showed the samples to retailers, took orders, and started my first production run. Besides design, my other responsibilities include the day-to-day operations -- sales, accounting, financing, and production coordination. Surprisingly, this takes a majority of my time.
Here is a typical day in my life:
7:30 a.m. -- I walk our dog, Teddy, and get ready for work. On my walk, I think of a new camisole style.
8:30 a.m. -- After my husband leaves for work, I stop in the kitchen for a cup of coffee and make the long trip (down the hallway) to my home office. Half of our house is taken up by my home office and lingerie warehouse.
8:35 a.m. -- My first look at the day's e-mails -- production questions and issues from the factory, a sales inquiry, and some clarification questions from the Web designer. I promptly respond to all of them and begin preparing a sales package for the new lead.
9:15 a.m. -- Compile data from last week's N.Y. trade show, so I can place an order with the factory. The trade show in New York happens twice a year, and retailers from all over the world come to buy inventory for the upcoming season. After the show, I have to decide which styles I am going to cut, and which ones I am going to order for inventory. This is challenging because I need to rely purely on business instincts and put aside my personal preferences. Of course, every designer has her favorite pieces, but those are rarely the hottest sellers. I count on retailers for realistic feedback.
11:15 a.m. -- I haven't finalized my order yet but need to change gears. Yesterday, I received a size set of bras, which the factory sends, so we can make sure the sizing is correct. I drive over to one of my retail customers, The Full Cup in Virginia Beach, to have customers try on the bras. It's the only surefire way to tell if the sizes are correct.
Noon -- Pick up a quick lunch at Starbucks before I go into The Full Cup.
12:10 p.m -- Arrive at The Full Cup and show everyone the new bras. I ask how sales are going, and if they need more Jodi Gallaer bras, panties, or camisoles in stock. Then, the women of The Full Cup help me test out the sizing by trying on the bras and asking customers to do the same. This time, the bras are just about perfect, but we need to make a few minor changes. Bra production involves a lot of back and forth with the factory. It is a precise art form, and if a bra is off by .25 of an inch, it can make a big difference.
2:10 p.m. -- Head back to my home office.
3:00 p.m. -- E-mail the factory the new specs on the bra, and I check to see if I received any new messages.
3:15 p.m. -- At this time of the day, I become my own collections agency and call my overdue customers to remind them to pay me. Although it's usually not a pleasant experience, it's an important part of what I do.
4:00 p.m. -- Drop off the package for my sales lead, and then Teddy and I head to the dog park.
5:30 p.m. -- Back at the house, and I check my messages again. I hired a Web designer to create our first Web site, and she just sent me the first draft. It looks great. And apparently the factory didn't understand my original e-mail regarding the changes on the bra pattern, so I do a quick sketch and e-mail an explanation.
6:15 p.m. -- It's an early night for my husband, so I cook and we have dinner. We're reality TV junkies, so we settle in for some
Project Runway or
The Amazing Race.
8:00 p.m. -- My sister calls, and I talk to her about the idea for the camisole. She's not sure about it, so I tell her I will sketch it tomorrow, and e-mail it to her. I always like to get a second opinion.
8:30 p.m. -- While watching TV, I do inventory on some of the camisoles. It basically involves taking them out of cardboard boxes, counting them, and putting them into plastic bins in the warehouse section of our home.
10:30 p.m. -- Time to call it a day.
The most challenging part of my job is doing everything for the first time. I have been learning an incredible amount about dealing with international factories, retailers, and legal issues. If I had the chance to go back to Columbia, I would take a course in negotiations. There are times when I am discussing pricing or terms with my factory or retailers, and I wish I had more of a background in that area.
As we go forward, I would like to expand into boutiques in new markets throughout the U.S. So far, expansion has been slow but steady. The Jodi Gallaer line -- originally four styles in nine different laces -- shipped to a handful of stores in early November 2005. We are currently in 11 stores and have taken orders from others for our fall '06 line, which has doubled in size since last year and includes four new laces.
Jumping into an entrepreneurial enterprise is really a lifestyle choice. Weekdays and weekends are pretty much the same. But I'm passionate about designing my lingerie line, and I really appreciate the opportunity to do something I enjoy. By far, the greatest part of my job is hearing from women who tell me how much they love my product. And I adore seeing my lingerie in stores with my cute heart-shaped hangtag, which I designed. That makes it all worthwhile.
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