We recently connected with Grecia Valencia and have shared our conversation below.

Grecia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Before getting into what I would consider my risk here’s a bit of the back story. Grecia Swim became an idea in August 2019 while I was in Costa Rica. At that time, like a lot of creatives I felt stuck in the 9-5 routine but knew I wanted to start a brand and bring my designs to life. I was back and forth mostly because I feared putting myself out there and failing. In mid-2020, I decided to risk it, built the courage, and started working on my designs in a world I knew very little about. I knew that I would possibly be wasting my time, money and stepping out of my comfort zone but I knew that this was something I was passionate about so, I quit my job and started on this dream.

Grecia Swim was born in a spare room in my home. When I first began sewing swimwear, I did not know where to start, but I found a way to teach myself (good ole YouTube), but I knew I wanted to provide the best quality and well-made swimwear, so I decided to find the perfect manufacturer to help me achieve that. Going into the world of manufacturing was completely new to me. Let me say it is not just cutting a pattern and sewing. I learned so much in so such short time, and continue to do so today. So with that, Grecia Swim was born in February 2021 and launched with six swimwear styles

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

So a little of who I am. I was not in the “fashion industry” until 2021, when I quit my job in the dental field, but as some people may say, I was always a style icon. I have always loved fashion, but the business aspect intrigued me, and I wanted to be in the business and look good doing it. As I was building Grecia Swim the brand and giving it an identity, I wanted to do more, not just for myself but for other independent and local swimwear designers; I opened The Bikini Shop in September 2022; some criticize the fact that I was opening a swimwear shop in the fall, but like I say “the perfect time does not exist” I’m a woman who follows her intuition with a “f*ck it” attitude and the Bikini Shop felt right. Grecia Swim is part of this collective and continues to follow the brand motto: It’s an attitude.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

One book that truly resonated with me was Girl Boss By Sophia Amosuro (the original girl boss) because she was not a woman who followed the traditional path to success and other women like Sara Blakely ( Spanx founder), and Kim Kardashian simply because they created uber-successful businesses in a man’s world when the odds were against them. They broke many stereotypes that to be successful, we needed a traditional education, look a certain way, or be part of a corporation. They build a successful brand with many “NO’s” and closed doors, which has impacted my thinking as an entrepreneur.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One lesson I had to unlearn is that pretty girls get all the good stuff and great opportunities, But I can say that is so not true. I unlearned this after years of having that phrase imprinted in my brain. Yes, beautiful women get preferential treatment in most life scenarios. Still, there’s a catch: While everyone’s looking at us, virtually no one sees us, and we have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously in the business world, “the man’s world.”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.greciaswim.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greciaswim/

Image Credits
Shelby Seabranch with @shotsxshelby Cris Cantoya Ryn Pitts