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S’porean 26-year-old earns more than S $ 3 million from his shapewear business – Wired PR Lifestyle Story

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When Alif Adam was in college, he was distracted by his studies and had to stay for a year before failing again in his sophomore year.

He decided to give the school another opportunity at the Millennia Institute, but unfortunately did not get a grade to pass one of his subjects and was asked to leave.

Although he was angry and demoralized, he now sees a silver status. After his expulsion, he had the opportunity to pursue a degree in Advertising and Public Relations at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, which became his “turning point”.

Last year, he applied to The SandBox’s Kickstart Fund and donated S $ 3,000 to fund a business called Carousell. Waist Lab, which sells waist shoes.

Most of the money was spent on product photography, and he believes it is an important element that can help catapult a business, especially in the start-up phase. The rest of the money was spent on building the website.

“The grants didn’t cover the investments I made in my inventory, and I had to take a small loan of $ 2,000 from my parents to buy stocks and packaging,” Alif shared.

A total of S $ 5,000 was invested in Waistlab and he managed to get the pairing in just five short days, well ahead of the planned four months.

He sold more than 20,000 sets of the best-selling shoe at the waist

Growing up, Alif has always been by her mother’s side. After the pregnancy, she felt conscious about gaining weight and provided support for her underwear, which made her feel happy and confident.

As he got older, he realized that there were no local brands in the mold market, so he wanted to fill the gap.

“Waistlab is a brand that wants to help women practice self-care so that they can invest well in themselves and feel safe,” said Alif, who started the brand at 22 years old.

Waistlab’s Classic 9 Waist Trainer / Image Credit: Waistlab

She worked on developing the Classic 9 Waist Trainer, which is 2.5 inches shorter than the typical 11.5-inch waist shoes on the market, designed for women with longer trunks. The aforementioned Classic has become Waistlab’s signature and best-selling product since 9 p.m.

As of March 2021, Waistlab has earned $ 3 million and has sold more than 20,000 sets of Classic 9 Waist Trainers.

Waistlab’s Full Body Sculpture / Image Credit: Waistlab

The Waistlab Wear collection ranges from S $ 35 for wireless sculpture breasts to S $ 89 for a large full-body outfit sculpture. Meanwhile, the set of waist shoes is from S $ 85 to S $ 99.

Alif, now 26, describes his belt shoes as “helpful lifestyles”. They are designed to help women feel better with better postures, and serve as a physical stimulant for the development of healthier lifestyles and habits.

“Our customers typically share that they have less appetite to eat large portions and also help them correct attitudes and encourage them to be even more active, which leads to weight loss,” he added.

In addition to being her muse, it was her mother who encouraged her to apply for an entrepreneurship scholarship.

As he experienced multiple failures in his life, he did not expect to receive much support for his business. In fact, he was surprised that his parents strongly believed in him and his business idea.

“It also led to the support work I received from them. I was in Jakarta [for a six-month school internship], my mother helped me with the administrative work and taking orders, while my father sent me packages. [Meanwhile], I manage customer service, social media marketing and website design remotely, ”he said.

It started in Carousell first

Waistlab started in 2015 at Carousell. It received a great response from customers as they clearly shared their opinion on how to improve their products.

The real challenge, however, was to stop Carousell’s presence in mid-2017 and build a dedicated online presence with a business website and Instagram account.

Branding basically didn’t exist and was only in the initial logo I designed in five minutes in Photoshop. I was pretty worried that no one would follow our social media accounts and I was convinced enough to make a purchase through our website.

In addition, the products I initially sold were original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). I was very confident about the brand and product development, and I knew I had a lot more to work on.

– Alif Adam, founder of Waistlab

Despite the insecurity, the business was re-launched and he hoped it could improve along the way.

True, in the first three months, he managed to secure eight suppliers and eventually found a manufacturer who could customize his designs, then with a manageable minimum order quantity based on his cash flow.

Waistlab’s Taupe 9 Waist Trainer / Image Credit: Waistlab

Today, it still works closely with its Chinese suppliers to research, design and manufacture waist shoes.

“I’ve never learned fashion design, but understanding my client’s pain, such as the need for perfect fit and comfort, has helped me design a better product over the years,” Alif said.

He added that in the first two years of the business, specializing only in waist shoes was an important decision, as it helped establish it as a brand for waist shoes.

Switching from online to offline

At first, Alif knew it was crucial to expand its brand.

Luckily, he was well-versed in design and public relations skills, which he received in his diploma studies.

“[It] He helped me as a child at Waistlab, from designing the logo to bagging, and I approached the agents to help spread the word about my brand, ”Alif said.

“It simply came to our notice then [influencer] I had a net and it even got cold to some [of them], they were very willing to help my small business, and I appreciate that ”.

As he built his user base, Alif believed it was the right time for him to take an omnikanal approach and expand his business presence with a physical store.

In August this year, he launched Waistlab’s first physical store on Bali Lane.

Waistlab Bali Lane / Image Credit: Waistlab
Waistlab Bali Lane / Image Credit: Waistlab

Even though Covid-19 has brought the challenge of a smaller retail ride, Alif believes a physical store is necessary for customers to touch and feel the products.

I wanted to reduce the anxiety of shoppers when shopping with us online when choosing the right size. We started opening our office for offline shopping in May 2019 and were quite surprised to see the number of people who didn’t mind traveling to our Woodlands office.

That’s why I wanted to expand it properly by seeing its potential in retail and having it in a central location where it’s accessible to everyone. However, the business model will still be based on 90 percent of online sales.

– Alif Adam, founder of Waistlab

Having a physical presence also meant they could establish better relationships with their customer community – affectionately called #WomenofWaistlab (WOW) – and could receive direct feedback from them to improve the product or customer experience.

Interestingly, Covid-19 has also helped drive demand for belt shoes. Their research showed that the more they stayed home, the more they could not exercise or go to the gym frequently, so they resorted to waist training to help them do their homework and control their appetite.

Alif also noted that although social media has become a “noisy and saturated place,” it is still a good tool for interacting with its followers and providing business updates.

“We think it’s very important to get in touch with our followers, respond to all comments and direct messages, resend customer feedback, and constantly get in touch with some of our WOWs to keep track of the progress of belt training and show it on our Instagram.”

So far, Waistlab’s Instagram page It has gathered more than 14,000 followers.

On Instagram, Alif often shares her entrepreneurial story in an effort to inspire others. At first, she doubted that her female audience would feel uncomfortable knowing that a man was running an intimate clothing brand for women.

“Surprisingly, I proved myself wrong because they loved listening to my stories and really believed in the brand. I am very proud now that some of my dear friends are my customers from the early years of Waistlab ”.

He was once an “enlightened” entrepreneur

Alif Adam, Founder of Waistlab / Image Credit: Waistlab

A few months after the launch of Waistlab, Alif tried to apply for a place at the University of Singapore’s School of Management, but was rejected.

“I thought Waistlab was going to be a side project while I was doing a full-time degree. It was horrible, but I saw that rejection as a deviation from what I wanted to do, which is entrepreneurship. to channel. ‘

However, financing the business is an ongoing challenge. In addition to the $ 3,000 S $ entrepreneurship grant, Waistlab is a start-up.

“This means that I only had to rely on a healthy cash flow and consistent monthly sales to maintain and grow the business. It was very difficult when I had to plan where to get the money I got in the first few months. I was afraid to invest too much in inventory. [worrying] maybe he doesn’t sell, or he spends a lot on marketing, but he doesn’t have stocks to hold [the potential demand]”He lamented.

Looking back, Alif admitted that he was quite clueless on his entrepreneurial journey. He also didn’t have a tutor to help guide him and act as a sound board.

In any case, he was eager to learn and did his online research to find out the ropes of running a business.

I proved to myself that everything can be learned if you are willing to look for answers. For each challenge I managed to overcome, it motivated me to move forward and find a solution to the problems I faced.

The challenges didn’t get any easier, but this only means that there are new things I can learn. Having limited resources has helped me to be a solution seeker.

– Alif Adam, founder of Waistlab

Sharing future business plans, Alif said Waistlab is now making progress in the adjacent Malaysian market and intends to establish a presence in Indonesia and the Philippines as well.

“In terms of product, we are looking to expand our selection of Waistlab waist trainers and are currently researching and developing some of our signature shoe options and variants in response to our customers’ responses and feedback. We look forward to launching them in the first half of 2022.”


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Notable image credit: Waistlab



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