Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Allison Hills. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Allison , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

To better answer this question, I think it will be helpful if I provide a bit of my personal background.

I am originally from Slidell, LA (a smaller, suburban town near New Orleans), and am from a huge family (one of 10 kiddos!) As you can imagine, we weren’t able to travel often, and when we did, we loaded up the family van–kids on laps, teenagers sleeping of floorboards, it was the 90s! On the summer before my freshman year of high school, we visited Annapolis, MD and toured the US Naval Academy. I immediately knew that I wanted to go to college there–and I knew nothing about the Navy, or commitment required to go to such a school! It’s hard to explain exactly why I had that feeling, but from that moment on, I set the Naval Academy as my goal. I wanted to get out of Louisiana and see the world!

After applying and receiving my appointment (it’s a very arduous application process), my parents put me on a one way plane to Annapolis for “plebe summer.” I was newly 18 and this was my second time on an airplane–bound for an adventure, for sure. Fast forward 4 years, I graduated with a degree in Oceanography and as a Commissioned Naval Officer.

In the Navy, I was a qualified Surface Warfare Officer (on a ship) before transferring to the HR community. I earned a Masters Degree in Operations research at the Naval Postgraduate School and finished up my last tour in the Navy at the Pentagon. After resigning my commission, I accepted a position as a management analyst with the National Institutes of Health, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Soon after, my husband was offered the opportunity to relocate to Houston with his firm, and we jumped at the opportunity to be closer to my family in Louisiana.

In Houston, for the first time ever, I decided to become a stay at home mom. Up until this point, my three kiddos have only known before care, after care, summer camp, nannies and babysitters. I was excited and eager to spend more time with them–but I soon felt a gaping hole in that spot once filled with my career and assumed “identity” it provided. I spent a few years with a direct sales activewear company, and although I was very successful, I struggled with the fact that I wasn’t creating the products and had no control or insight as to what was produced or sold. I knew I needed to go out on my own, I was just waiting for the right product, business, or opportunity.

Another time warp–now to May of 2021:). For our 17th anniversary, my husband and I planned a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona. I thought it would be fun to wear matching swimsuits on our trip. I searched and found a few suits–but I couldn’t find any style or design combo that would work for both of us. I couldn’t let it go–I had that gut feeling again and couldn’t let it go.

I remember sitting around the dinner table and sharing the idea with my family–they were so excited. We all brainstormed for names that might work, from Nautical inspired to greek mythology, lots of laughs were shared. Ultimately, we decided on “Charlie Swims”. Charlie is one of our family pups: she’s fierce, athletic and loyal. Although she doesn’t really swim (unless it’s on a pool float) you can always find her poolside.

I share this rather lengthy background, because I believe it sheds a little light on who I am, and a little more context behind the “spirit” of Charlie Swims. Although I do not necessarily have specific experience in design, production or business in general, my Naval experience and education has instilled in me the ultimate “problem solving” attitude.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I mentioned before that I had the idea to start Charlie Swims because I couldn’t find “options” that worked for my family. Although I was able to find matching swimsuits elsewhere, I often found that a particular print that I liked only came in a one piece swimsuit, or I’d find a swimsuit style that I liked, but they didn’t offer a comparable style for children.

For every collection we release, there are multiple options, specifically related to coverage and fit, for women and girls. For example, the Colorful Camo collection features two mix-and-match bikini styles and a one piece suit for women and the young ladies may chose between a bikini OR one piece. It’s very important that my customers have the ability to choose between the offered styles to obtain the perfect fit and to feel comfortable in our suits. I hope to expand our lines, both in sizing and styles, to accommodate even more customers in the future. For example, I’ve already gotten a tankini prototype and am working on finalizing the details before going to bulk production.

Quality is also of upmost importance to our brand. Our women’s and girl’s suits are composed of the softest, most comfortable nylon/spandex material blend. This is overwhelmingly the first bit of feedback we receive after someone tries on a Charlie Swims suit: “This the the softest swimsuit I’ve ever worn!” Our boys and mens shorts feature the softest fine nylon mesh liner with removed elastic around the leg openings. I know the liner can be a point of contention these days, but we’ve also developed a design that includes the shorts type liner for future releases.

Finally, I think it’s important to share that we are *still* a family run business. My boys help with the website, my daughter helps pack orders, and my husband helps with the inventory management. Although I hope to scale and hire in the near future, I also think there is so much value in the ability to learn and develop the business from the ground up–even if I have to learn things the tough way (my first manufacturer was a disaster, lol!). I listen to feedback and provide the best customer service experience possible because I am building this brand from my heart.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

I initially built my website on the Wix platform, but shifted over to Shopify. I have also listed a few collections on Etsy to help grow brand recognition.

Shopify is the absolutely the superior e-commerce platform over Wix, although I appreciate the simplicity of Wix for non e-commerce site building (blogs, etc).

Etsy is not the perfect solution for items that have nested multiple variations, but I’ve had a great deal of success there, specifically with the Amalfi Coast Lemon collection.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I’ve shared a little about this in my answer on the first question, but just to wrap it up here: I don’t have any experience in business or retail and I’m sure everyone around me was caught completely off guard when I launched Charlie Swims. At the end of the day, we live in such a beautifully connected world, where you can access help *almost* anytime. Don’t know how to build a website? There are a plethora of YouTube videos that walk you through it, step by step. What if you fail? My first collection sample set was manufactured in Bali for 200 times the price I currently pay, took forever, and was absolutely awful. You just roll up your sleeves and start over- now you know what questions to ask, having learned from your mistakes!

I know it may sound cliché, but I have an quote displayed in my office that seems so fitting for what I’m sharing:
“It’s Impossible,” said pride. “It’s risky,” said experience. “It’s pointless,” said reason. “Give it a try,” whispered the heart.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.charlieswims.com
• Instagram: @charlieswimstoo or @activewithallie
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CharlieSwimsToo/

Image Credits
Emily Strickland Travis Richardson