Planning to Instagram your progress with New Year’s fitness resolutions? Libby Amelia can help, at least when you’re wardrobing yourself for stylish smartphone snaps.
The Sydney-based entrepreneur knows how to create a look: she’s the Sephora Australia country manager by day. On the side, she co-founded the fashionable activewear brand //Out Incorporated – yes, the slashes are officially part of the name – with her California-based sister Lauren Gill and friend Leah Hundsness. The label is now sold in five countries worldwide, and Amelia isn’t slowing down her hustle despite her high-profile day job and the oceanwide separation from her partners.
“You have to be prepared to work longer hours for less pay in your own business,” Amelia says. “But the creativity involved in having your own business can actually be a rejuvenating force, which gives back to your day job in many ways.”
Amelia is a prime example of going big with a side gig and keeping a fulfilling primary career. In fact, she thanks her Sephora training for helping improve her Out Incorporated game. “Sephora was built on the idea of cultivating brands, creating unique retail experiences and knowing what women want,” she explains.
The Australian innovator didn’t set out to have a side business but says she’s always had a soft spot for fashion, having worked for brands such as Lorna Jane activewear. Amelia and her co-founders were living in Singapore when they thought up Out Incorporated, which they imagined as a flattering line of exercise clothing that could fit into a busy, active lifestyle. The so-called athleisure pieces can be worn from hot yoga to a hot brunch spot, from boxing class to catching a flight.
They officially launched the brand in summer 2014 and currently split the work, though Amelia focuses more on marketing and business development, Gill tackles retail operations, and Hundsness dives into business strategy and merchandising.
Working in separate countries presents its own challenges, but the Out Incorporated team has a system for consistency. “After working across time zones, the best thing we have done is declare a ‘home time’ zone,” says Hundsness. “This is based on our official headquarters on the west coast of the US.” Their catch-ups are in the morning Australia time, afternoon California time. Even if the team travels, they keep their routine.
“When you’re running the show, you quickly start realizing how many challenges are ahead of you, and it’s easy to get bogged down in the daily grind,” Amelia says. “So keeping a true business head definitely comes in handy.” She uses a physical diary and the WhatsApp messenger to stay organized, and she says one of her biggest lessons has been learning how to prioritize her energy.
“There are some tasks that require heavy attention, and some things that, at the end of the day, will make no difference to the bottom line,” notes Amelia. “It would have been nice to understand how to manage this from the get-go. However, regardless of what you do as an entrepreneur, if you stick with it, you’ll probably become very good at managing your time and honing your expertise.”
In collaborating with her co-founders, Amelia has seen the difference between side project culture in the states v Australia. “The US has a culture that encourages entrepreneurship and out-of-the-box thinking,” explains Amelia. “This is one of the key reasons we decided to set up the business in California.”
In Australia, she says, side ventures aren’t as heavily promoted, despite a general work environment that can allow employees down time. “I often meet people with great business ideas, but they’re often under the impression that you must quit your ‘9-to-5’ to make it happen,” Amelia notes.
On her side, Amelia takes pride in her growing international side gig and encourages anyone interested in starting a new project to “give it a go”. If you imagine the worst-case risk and are willing to try anyway, she says, that’s confidence you can fall back on to keep calm during the early days.
Despite bringing Out Incorporated to the global market, Amelia knows there’s more to go. “In speaking truth, I don’t think you ever feel ‘successful’ with your own business,” she explains. “However, of course, there’s always pride in building something. When you have a vision and are able to execute it, you definitely have a swelling heart when knowing: ‘I did this.’”
This content is brought to you by Squarespace. Receive 10% off your new Squarespace signup with offer code SIDEHUSTLE
