We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cristina Placyk a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cristina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

When I started my business, I had no idea where to begin. I work in the Medical Field as a Practice Administrator. I have basic knowledge on how to start a business but having an E-Commerce Store is completely different from a medical practice. I consulted with fellow business owners on how to begin. I had to learn the process of opening an E-Commerce Store as well as online marketing to promote my brand.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Getting into the Fit Wear industry was not a planned thing. I started my weight loss journey at the age of 40. I was never interested in fitness but wanted to make a change. I signed up for one of those 30 day challenges online after drinking a couple glasses of wine. Turns out that it was Crossfit! I stuck with it for about a year. Although I loved the challenge and grueling work outs, I had no knowledge of diet and nutrition which resulted in weight gain. In 2018 I was introduced to my Trainer/Coach. He helped me with diet and eventually started training me at his gym. After reaching my weight loss goal, I set what I thought would be an “unobtainable” goal. I wanted to become a NPC Bikini Competitor. With the help of my coach I mastered an overall transformation. My lifestyle changed completely for the better. After my transformation I jokingly named my coach the “MILF Maker” because I actually fell in love with fitness at such a late age. I became “MILF Made” (Mom’s in love with Fitness). I have a crazy sense of humor and I’m always wearing funny t-shirts. So why not make them myself? This business was created in fun and to share with others in the fitness community!

I love the confidence that my customers feel when wearing my shirts. I’m always promoting “who cares what everyone else thinks”. The main thing that I’d like to share with my customers is to HAVE FUN. Our work outs can be grueling at times. Why not put a smile on someone’s face?

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

I create all of my designs and send to a vendor to create professional heat press transfers. All of my online products are made to order. I personally heat press each individual shirt. For big events, I utilize a printing company for bulk orders.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My social media presence has increased due to many customers sharing the company pages. Most customers tag and share my products. In turn I share their post as a “thank you” for sharing. I reach out to online fitness forums and request to advertise on their sites. I also do Give-A-Ways requiring others to tag their friends as an entry rule. I’ve also gained more traffic when promoting my business on my personal social media account. Most of my sales rely heavily on “word of mouth” so it’s extremely important for me to provide great customer service to each customer. For the customers that promote my brand, it is very appreciated.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mymilfwear.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/milfwearllc
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/milfwear