Brave new beginnings for Sandra
As a marketing coach I get a fascinating insight into many varied small businesses. I’m always inspired by the resilience, passion, and the courage to embrace change that each of these entrepreneurs shows.
One such inspiring entrepreneur is Sandra Palmer. I can’t remember when I first met Sandra, but I remember that when I came across her on Instagram I immediately fell in love with her ethos of sustainability and her gorgeous art.
Meet entrepreneur Sandra Palmer.
I also loved that her art-led swimwear brand, More Than Swim, prided itself on making sustainable swimwear for every body. She’d managed to combine so many things I love - nature, art, inclusion, water - in her work!
So when Sandra, who is now part of the Do Crew, announced the closure of More Than Swim in December, I felt sad but also inspired. Sad that it didn’t work out, and inspired by the courage of Sandra’s decision. I knew I wanted to chat about this more with her, and in this blog post I’m sharing some insights from our conversation.
👙 A farewell splash for More Than Swim🌊
A More Than Swim creation in the wild.
Sandra announced the closure of her swimwear brand a couple of weeks before Christmas.
“I've poured my heart and soul into More Than Swim over the past few years, but it's time to move on to new endeavours,” Sandra wrote on Instagram.
She thanked her supporters for “embracing our mission of creating sustainable, empowering swimwear that makes you feel confident and beautiful” and encouraged them to “continue embracing the More Than Swim lifestyle by making sustainable choices, celebrating your unique beauty, and embracing every moment of your swimwear adventures”.
In her bittersweet farewell letter, Sandra also said she was proud of the impact More Than Swim had on reducing their environmental footprint and promoting body positivity.
Behind the scenes, Sandra told me that More Than Swim had become an expensive hobby for her. She was barely making sales, but she carried on because people were encouraging her to continue. “I was so stressed, at one point I was not sleeping, said Sandra.
She decided to give it one more year, but after a “terrible” Christmas, Sandra’s decision was made.
💖 A palette of possibilities with The Brummy Artist 🎨
The multi-talented and multi-passionate Sandra will now focus her efforts on The Brummy Artist, her art business, which is something that’s been on the back burner since 2022.
“With me closing More Than Swim I wanted to delve deeper into this, because art is my cathartic passion. I live and breathe art and I incorporated it into More Than Swim designs,” she explains.
Creating the beautiful fine art prints for The Brummy Artist will be less stressful for Sandra, as she doesn’t have to outsource work and can do it all herself from home.
As a values-driven entrepreneur, Sandra continues to prioritise sustainability with The Brummy Artist. “And being at one with nature is also emotional feel-good, so it's win-win!” she adds.
Three of Sandra’s floral flatlay prints.
Big courage from a tiny business
Sandra’s story is obviously unique, but I think it has a few things in common with most values-driven small (micro) businesses.
First of all is the absolute passion for and commitment to doing good that drives so many of us to do the work we do. It’s a completely different business DNA compared to organisations that prioritise profit over everything else.
But of course, good deeds don’t pay for a roof over our heads, and it is a hard realisation when the decision has to be made that an expensive hobby can’t continue to masquerade as a business.
It’s something I think of often when I talk about doing marketing that feels good, does good, and gets good results. All 3 elements have to be present for a business to be sustainable and truly successful.
Also interesting to me is that Sandra really knew in her gut that the time has come to pull the plug on More Than Swim, but what kept her going was the encouragement of others. Now of course I believe in cheerleaders and community, and I’m so glad Sandra has those around her.
But how often do we let our decisions be determined by the input of others when we really know what’s right for us/our businesses? I think we could all do with listening to our intuition and trusting ourselves a little bit more.
Sandra's pivot from swimwear to art is not just a business decision, but the next step in her evolution as a creative entrepreneur. I’m so excited to see what comes next for her!