Interview with Alanna Murray, founder of By Alanna
Find out what inspired Alanna Murray to turn her COVID sewing hobby into swimwear brand By Alanna.
What’s your career background?
I started a women’s swimsuit brand. To rewind and give some context, I graduated with a Biology major from college but quickly realized after graduating that my true passion was in business. I worked in insurance claims management for four years for a growing small business which was great because I wore many hats and could dabble in all of the different departments that a business requires – sales, marketing, operations, human resources, payroll, etc. .
After that, I decided I wanted to spread my wings and take a risk. I left that safe job in insurance near my family in the Midwest and moved to NYC in January 2020 right before the pandemic hit. I made the cross-country move with zero plan, but just a lot of ideas and hope.
During COVID, I would peruse the fabric stores in Garment District and taught myself how to sew via YouTube videos – swimsuit fabric and designs, specifically. I shared some of my designs and the sewing process with my Instagram page at the time as well as on Tik Tok. One of my videos went viral on Tik Tok and I received enough encouragement from social media to take the risk and hire a manufacturer to make my swimsuit designs at a higher volume. I have created a website since then and am ranking on Google for some of my targeted keywords. The entrepreneur journey is very exciting and always a learning process but I enjoy every minute of it!
Where did the idea of your business come from?
I have wanted to be an entrepreneur for several years. It is truly the American dream – to work for yourself; to have a vision and see it grow and ultimately manifest itself is extremely gratifying. In addition, I have always admired and appreciated fashion.
I am extremely particular and detail-oriented when it comes to purchasing an article of clothing, let alone swimwear and I found that most stores did not have the style or cut that I was looking for in a swimsuit. I felt that I was not alone in this as many other friends shared the same problem. I had faith that there were other people out there who would want my swimsuit designs, and so I decided to make the jump.
How did you move from idea to business?
The hardest step is moving from step 0 to step 1. Moving from step 22 to step 23 is not nearly as difficult as it is to get things off the ground and take that first step. Truly, so much of the work of starting a business is in that groundwork and mental toughness of just believing in yourself and having determination. It took baby steps. And baby steps are not a bad thing!
For myself, I think I truly have enjoyed the process. Firstly, I was wanting to see for myself if I was capable of actually sewing a swimsuit – I had never grown up around sewing and am still so fascinated by talented seamstresses who are able to weave beautiful threads together into a magnificent piece of clothing. But I loved passing my time in the fabric stores, picking out pretty designs, and putting my hands to work with the cutting of fabric and using the sewing machine. Using your hands is so therapeutic!
What’s your USP?
You will not find my designs in mainstream stores. They truly are one-of-a-kind, designed by myself personally. The fabric is compressive. I think what makes them stick out is that they are a full-coverage swimsuit that actually has a beautiful print and style – which is rare to come by.
Who’s your target audience?
I know it is going to sound cliche, but truthfully my swimsuits are for every woman! From teenagers to women in advanced age, my swimsuits look good on all body types and all ages. My target audience is women!
How do you spread the word about what you do?
As mentioned before, social media played a huge role especially in the beginning stages of my business. Specifically, Tik Tok catapulted my business with some of my videos going viral. For the past year, my main focus has been on SEO and gaining an even better ranking on Google. I love doing PR and other partnerships as well. I sincerely enjoy talking about my business and sharing it with others.
What’s been your most successful marketing strategy?
Tik Tok has been very instrumental with bringing in business where I have seen obvious growth spurts. While I definitely appreciate Tik Tok and other social media, I find it to be just very non-reliable and time-consuming. With my website now ranking on Google, I have found that working on SEO will be best in the long-run.
What’s been the biggest obstacle you have overcome?
I would say that my biggest obstacles have all been mental – from having the faith to get the business off the ground and to commit to it; to having the patience to wait on third-party manufacturers during times of serious supply chain issues.
What is your proudest moment so far?
By far, I take the most pride in someone reaching out to me after they receive their swimsuit and telling me how much they love it. It makes everything worth it for me! Another noteworthy moment was being interviewed by a Charleston news station and being aired on TV.
Why is work so important to you?
One of the things that I love about being an entrepreneur is that you can allow it to become a part of you. It is a vocation and life mission. Work is extremely rewarding.
What are your top three pieces of advice for someone wanting to do something similar?
1) For other entrepreneurs: just begin!
If you can’t tell by how I have answered some of the other questions, I believe simply starting can be the biggest roadblock. Write down one action step and work on it each day. Never give up. The mental belief is just as important as the actual operations of a business.
2) Never stop learning
Watch YouTube videos. Listen to podcasts. Look at your analytics. Read articles. Be curious.
3) Enjoy the process!
Choose something that excites you and brings you hope. It will be hard to give up on your dream if it brings you hope. Ask yourself: what brings you to life?
Find out more about By Alanna.
