Brisbane woman making $8m a year at just 28 with Baiia Swimwear

A Brisbane woman‘s “unreal” idea has left her on track to make $8 million this year with her range of sustainable swimwear.

Amber Boyers knew what it was like to feel “vulnerable half naked” on the beach in a swimsuit and wanted to address this issue, but the Millennial was also desperate to find swimmers that were sustainable.

Back in 2016, she was running her own sustainable fashion account on Instagram where she would share different brands and fabrics but came up uninspired when it came to sustainable swimwear. A few days later, Ms Boyers started thinking up designs that were more than just “pieces of fabric to wear to the beach”.

In a stroke of good luck, an email landed in her inbox from her university announcing a competition to win $2000 for businesses that involved social good.

She won the competition and with $2000 added from her savings, she quickly had to launch the business called Baiia Swimwear.

“To win the $2000, I had to prove I had made the business official so I had to whip up a website and took photos of myself in swimwear as I didn’t have money,” she told news.com.au.

“That brought it to life but I wanted to bring something to the market that didn’t already exist, which was a brand that was desirable, but pieces that were functional and more than pieces of fabric to wear the beach.”

It saw the now 28-year-old pouring all the money from the three jobs she was working at the time into the new brand, apart from covering essentials like rent.

Sending out first orders in 2016 from her boyfriend's bedroom. Picture: Supplied

But it wasn’t instant success for Ms Boyers, who would receive emails from potential customers telling her that while they loved the brand, they didn’t really rate the products.

“It was good because having that brand and customers being vocal opened opportunities to have conversations about what they want to wear, how they want to feel and their biggest concerns,” she said.

“I think with swimwear, it’s closely tied to confidence and you feel like you have to have permission to show up half naked on the beach and I thought I have to find out how to make someone comfortable to wear a swimsuit.”

Ms Boyer said she felt she had a “boyish figure” and not a “lot of feminine curves” but always wore a wrap dress to make her feel sexy.

This sparked the idea for Baiia Swimwear’s hero product although she admits it came about as a “mistake”.

She was looking at a reversible swimwear that could also be interchangeable to create “unique” pieces – something that could be worn eight different ways.

But it wasn’t until she cut up her prototype that she saw the power in a wrap swimsuit that could be worn on different body shapes.

A huge marketing push through Facebook helped the brand grow and the first employee was hired in 2019.

Baiia swimwear focuses on wrap-style designs that complement natural curves and beauty. Many pieces are reversible, making them highly functional. Picture: Supplied

Baiia swimwear can be worn in eight different ways. Picture: Supplied

Mid-last year, Baiia Swimwear introduced a new bikini wrap suit, which is now the brand’s new hero product with a whopping 40,000 products already sold.

The Brisbane woman said while she loves playing with colour and bold prints, black remains the most popular colour.

“That’s how the business started with bold, fun and experimental swimwear,” she said.

“But again having conversations and looking at data, I think asking a woman to step out – and some haven’t stepped out confidently for years or decades – and now they feel sexy or confident, it’s big ask to step out in a swimsuit and have bold prints that are in your face.

“So subtle and classic and timeless – those types of prints are bestsellers.”

These include a black and coffee striped bikini and a zebra print that is reversible with just plain black.

While the products weren’t originally designed for this target market, Ms Boyers’ swimwear has also found popularity with those who have undergone a mastectomy or for mums who need extra comfort while breastfeeding.

She offers a tailoring services for Baiia’s swimwear where women are financially reimbursed to a certain extent.

A stall at the markets in 2018. Picture: Supplied

Since Baiia Swimwear was started, it has also sold 32,500 wrapsuits and 12,500 other items such as sarongs.

The business is on track to make $8 million in revenue this calendar year.

“I think when you are not hitting those numbers you look at them and think how am I ever going to be able to do that? But everything happens so fast that you don’t get a moment for the dust to settle,” Ms Boyers said.

“It’s about creating the next best product. So when you do sit down and realise where I came from and how I have created a business and allowed my team to experience opportunities or give back to my family or provide to people who matter to me – that’s what the dollar amount means to me.

“It feels unreal. I didn’t think I would hit it this quickly but it feels pretty cool.”

Ms Boyers said she was fortunate to not have any physical stores because when the pandemic hit initially, it was kind of “apocalyptic” for a week.

“No one was buying anything but I kept going and, like, all the (other) e-commerce people we saw that (consumers) went crazy in terms of their consumption behaviour as they couldn’t spend money on travel or go to stores,” she added.

“I am in the business of making women feel confident and sexy and you always need to feel that, regardless of what is going on in the world and to be able deliver products when people most needed it – allowed us to catapult and take off which I’m grateful for.”

She started making a profit in 2019. Picture: Supplied

Baiia Swimwear also offers beachwear like sarongs. Picture: Supplied

Baiia Swimwear has also been “dabbling” in some dresses, while it sells beachwear such as sarongs and skirts.

“My core beliefs is if we take resources, you need to get maximum amount of use from resources and materials, so it can’t be a piece that people will only wear for one day. It has to be worn for years and made to last,” she added.

Ms Boyers she spent some of her childhood growing up in the Solomon Islands surrounded by nature and now she finds it “hurtful if the environment is in distress” – driving her sustainability mission.

She believes her generation was one of the first to be raised to be more conscious about things like water consumption, environmental destruction and climate change, adding she treats the environment as the “be all and end all”.

The young entrepreneur had always been interested in business – and not having a lot of money growing up – she saw it as an opportunity to make money and take her “destiny” into her own hands.

Her first pop up store in 2020. Picture: Supplied

At the time she launched her business, she had three jobs – working part-time at fashion brand Cue as well as the Body Shop, alongside being the marketing manager of a small business that sold eco homewares.

“It gave me a good understanding of business. People would purchase from Cue as it was ethical fashion accredited or it made items in Australia and it exposed and educated me around really well constructed garments,” she said.

“I loved knowing the story of the Body Shop and the business focusing on social good so early on in the 1980s and as a marketing manager I learned how to sell a product online. I didn’t have much time to myself.”

In fact, Ms Boyers has been hustling since she was six-years-old selling jewellery, before she scored a job “illegally” when she was just 12 working at a Turkish restaurant on Friday and Saturday nights for $10 an hour.

Baiia swimwear focuses on wrap-style designs that complement natural curves and beauty. Many pieces are reversible, making them highly functional. Picture: Supplied

Amber Boyers, founder of Baiia Swimwear. Picture: Supplied

She moved on to work for a cleaning contracting company when she was 15, cleaning offices before school and also had a job at Subway.

“I have always been working. I have come to a point where I have attributed a lot of self worth to productivity and I don’t feel safe if I’m not productive,” she explained.

“But I’ve hired an operations manager and I’m able to step back. There is so much I want to do and great ideas and products I want to deliver to women but I can’t do it now. I’m on brink of burnout if haven’t filled my own cup.

“I’m going to step back a little bit and get inspired again.”