Work At Home Success Story: Candice Galek, Bikini Luxe
This week’s Work-At-Home Success story comes from Candice Galek of Bikini Luxe. Bikini Luxe is the pride and joy of owner Candice Galek. She’s the ultimate bikini geek, which is probably why people call her that on a daily basis. There couldn’t be a more fitting nickname for a girl who grew up on the sunny beaches of South Florida. She believes the only thing better than a good cup of coffee is a great designer bikini.
1) How did you get started (basic initial steps)?
I have always been very passionate about bikinis and swimwear since growing up in South Florida it is sunny almost every day. And I was at the beach almost every day of my childhood. I realized that there was a poor selection of designer bikinis online and that there was a true opportunity to capitalize on this. I reached out to local swimwear brands here in Miami, namely Montce Swim and Peixoto Swimwear, and a few other smaller brands that did not have an online presence.
2) How do you market your business?
We use a number of techniques to get the word out about Bikini Luxe. Namely we work on organic SEO for terms for our designer bikinis, and the brand names of the bikini companies that we carry. We also use Adwords, Adroll, Twitter, and Facebook marketing. But in all honesty the best marketing comes from our customers when they are happy with our customer service and recommend us to their friends.
3) What does your usual day look like?
It always starts with a Cuban coffee known as a “Cortidito” there are some amazing little hole in the wall places here, and the coffee is just to die for. It’s then over to the warehouse to oversee orders and plan out what collections we will be featuring. Then depending on the weather we most likely have a photo shoot to do. We have a photo studio at the warehouse, but I prefer to look for any opportunity to get outside and get some sun. There is a constant flow of models and photographers, these days especially with social media and selling online it is all about content, content content. Having the best pictures is an absolute must if you want to succeed selling online.
4) What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
Taking the time to do things right the first time and not putting them off until later is key, especially when selling online. The market changes so rapidly you have to really stay on top of it. Hire the best team you can find, even if they are expensive! In the long run it will be worth it. We have employees from all over the world, and are always looking for talented new hires.
5) Do you have a product/ program/ service you want to promote and what are the details
My favorite collections for this year are definitely Beach Bunny, Frankies Bikinis, and Agua Bendita swimwear. These three brands are really coming up this year. Another brand I foresee doing well is Karma for a Cure by Margaux, the fabrics she uses are super soft and of the highest quality. When a designer pays attention to details like this it really makes a huge difference. Cutting corners is an absolute no no when you are dealing with luxury clothing and swimwear.
6) What is the most important thing when choosing a business to start?
You must be passionate about what you are doing. I can not stress this enough, when you have passion for your business it makes the time fly by and it does not feel like work at all. I honestly can not imagine working the long work days that I do if it was for a business or niche that I had no interest in. I was very lucky to be able to find a niche market that does not feel like work!
7) What are some tips to selling online?
It is vital that you have amazing pictures, and video if possible. When someone is shopping online in order to capture their attention and have them click to your website you must have absolutely stunning pictures. The attention span of online shoppers is extremely short, keep this in mind when creating your content as well. There are no hard and fast rules to selling online, that being said it is important to always look for trends, every day there is a new app or program that can change the way your business runs. In order to succeed you must be always looking forward not backwards. What will the next trend be? spot it a ahead of time and you can capitalize. To all aspiring entrepreneurs find a niche you are passionate about, work hard, stay informed and focused and you will succeed!
To connect further with Candice, visit
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