Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in activewear but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Christina Morrow, Founder of Wicked Rose, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Wicked Rose creates innovative activewear for women in martial arts. Our activewear is designed to heighten performance, increase comfort while training, and help women feel better represented within the sport.

Tell us about yourself

After training in Muay Thai for four years, I realized that there were no clothing brands specifically for women in martial arts and that women were often wearing men's gear to train, which was distracting, uncomfortable, and ill-fitting. In response to this, I built the first clothing brand specifically for women in martial arts. I wanted to build a brand that I was proud of, so everything is made just down the road in Langley, BC, we offer sizes XS-5XL, and you can plant our clothing tags to grow wildflowers. I am inspired every day by the women who are blazing their way into martial arts gyms, and I want to support them every step of the way.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Building a brand that people in my community are excited about and love. It brings me so much joy when I meet new martial artists who already know the brand. I interviewed 60+ women to create our new products, and they went through rigorous testing and iteration to make sure that they fit and perform perfectly. The business is finally picking up momentum, and it feels like the labour of love that I've been working tirelessly on for the past two years is becoming the brand that I always knew it could be.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

You spend every second thinking about your business. It's all-consuming, and it's hard to understand until you experience it. When I first started working on my business, I was motivated and felt a sense of urgency to get the business out into the world, but I had little grasp of how long the journey would be or how much it would take over the direction of my post-grad life. Now that I'm 2 1/2 years in, it feels like I've only just started (and have so far to go), but also like I've accomplished so much.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Surround yourself with communities of entrepreneurs, mentors, and people who know more than you. As a first-time solo founder, I've been really fortunate to build great support systems around myself. Seek out accelerators (League of Innovators for young Canadians, university accelerators, Next 36, Techstars, YCombinator) and mentors in your space. Accelerators have wide networks as well, so becoming a part of an accelerator will offer more support, introductions, and structure than you'll find on your own.
  2. Totally random, but keep a master doc of your answers to every grant/accelerator application/personal-about-me that you fill out. I have a 43-page google doc from the past two years, which cuts down application times significantly. Being able to copy/paste and edit answers to common questions (tell us about your business, competitive analysis, traction, etc.), rather than conjuring up answers every time, saves me hours on each application.
  3. Networking is key, and it snowballs. You'd be surprised at the number of people (and their impressive qualifications) who are willing to help young entrepreneurs. If there's someone that you want to meet, go on LinkedIn and see if you have any mutual connections who would be open to making an introduction. Reach out to your connection and offer to supply a paragraph for the introduction so that they can copy-paste it into an email and send it off. "I want to introduce you to Christina, she's the founder of..., and she admires... about what you're doing.. and would love the chance to chat with you for 15 minutes...". If you don't have any mutual connections, a cold connection request/email that's genuine can often yield results. People love helping new entrepreneurs, and you'd be surprised at the connections you can make if you just reach out.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.wickedrose.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bombshellboxing/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wickedrose.ca/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-morrow-b80b2656/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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