We recently connected with Nicole Bowyer and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Nicole thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
When on one of my trips to South America, I loved how women walked with such confidence. Whether they were 80 pounds or 280 pounds, they wore thongs and midriffs and just really rocked their bodies.
I wanted to take that confidence and be able to give that to women.
That is when I started COCO on the go. For the women on the go.
I source my fabrics from smaller manufactures throughout South America that are texture and woven and some that are thicker so you really feel held in.
It gives women more confidence, allowing them to rock their bodies and not feel like they are exposed with just a flat fabric.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
When I was younger I wanted to go to FIDM for fashion design. But instead I took the business route and went to USC.
When I graduated, I thought traveling for work and pleasure would be the same thing. Very quickly I realized it was not.
As I started my first “big girl job” out of college, I knew that I wanted to make an impact on peoples lives and maintain my passion to be creative and an entrepreneur.
On one of my trips to Brazil, I was so inspired by their culture and love for life; their confidence and their textiles I started to google, buy books and immerse myself in the world of how to start your own clothing line. I was young and thank goodness naive on just how hard it is to grow a brand.
I have always had multiple jobs and worked hard for the things that I want.
I used my first bonus from my pharmaceutical company to start a small production for 4 styles and 3 color waves within some of the styles. I signed a contract with the Irvine company and sold over 85% of my inventory. I used that first day of success to continue to snowball the business into what it is today.
I maintained my pharmaceutical job along with a waitressing job on nights and the weekends until I was able to pursue my line full time.
What makes my work rewarding is seeing people who do not know me, wear their COCOs and speak about them as their “special” pair they like to dress up in. And how much they love the textures and fabrics – which is truly what sets COCO on the go apart from other brands.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
My favorite story is right when I started COCO on the go. Using my first big bonus to buy samples and invest my time, energy and mony into my first collection with health events put on by the Irvine company. It was that first event that allowed me to keep rolling onto the. next collection, wholesale, social media and online market.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When I first started, seeing larger brands like Lulu, and even very established brands like The Gap create their own activewear line felt like I would never make it. That every ‘established’ brand would get sales over COCO.
But being able to step outside my negative thoughts and really remember my mission and understand my customer and what sets COCO apart. It helped me keep my head down and work at building and growing along with my customers.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.COCOonthego.com
- Instagram: @COCOonthego
- Facebook: COCOonthego