When Sophie Doyle quit her corporate job and headed to India for a vacation, she had no idea it would be the start of a multi-million dollar empire.
The Sydney-based mother of two is the founder of The Fable, a silk shirting company that now has $4.5 million in annual sales – and to help launch her idea, she sold her car for $7,000.
If you told her this was what would happen to her “simple idea” in 2015, she wouldn’t believe you.
The 36-year-old quit her marketing job at L’Oreal after desperately needing a break and headed to India where she lived in an ashram in the Himalayas.
“I had worked so hard for years and between work and life, I was so exhausted and needed a break,” Sophie told news.com.au.
Meanwhile, she found a women-run factory, which sparked her multi-million dollar business empire.
“I had it in my mind that I might want to try something new, but by the time I went to India, I didn’t have a fully formed idea yet.”
“[But] “One day, while I was in a tuk-tuk, I came across a small factory run by women,” she explained.
“I went to them and asked them to help me perfect a silk shirt. I spent a few days with them making adjustments, and I liked what we made so much that I decided to try running a business.”
Sophie said she had always loved silk shirts, she worked in a fancy marketing job and always needed to look elegant, and silk shirts became part of her wardrobe staple.
However, in order for Sophie to bring her idea to life, she needed money.
When she returned home to Australia, she sold her only asset – her car – and used the money as capital.
“At that point the car was my only asset,” she said.
“That allowed me to bring in my first batch of shirts. From there, I reinvested the money I made into subsequent deliveries and products. I had to increase the amount a little bit, but $7,000 is practically where I started.”
Sophie said she initially wanted to make a shirt for fun for herself, however, since it is a basic product, she figured most women would recognize the need to own a silk shirt.
“People who work in offices probably have a need to own a few of these, so it made sense to me that this would be a viable business.”
And she was absolutely right. The company now sells several hundred shirts a week, with the black and white silk shirts being the best sellers.
“Many silk shirts are too thin,” she said, “so we made The Fable shirts out of a thicker, softer silk fabric that was more durable.”
“Our shirts are machine washable to save on dry cleaning costs. I love the shape we chose – it’s form-fitting but has a relaxed fit.”
Sophie says her shirts are the opposite of fast fashion, “they’re made to last and stay in style.”
But despite the huge success her company has achieved today, the mother of two said it was a labor of love.
“It took several months for the idea to crystallize and then go to the launch stage. I realized the importance of launching a great product, so the sampling process was necessarily long,” she explained.
She said getting the fabric was what took the longest.
“I worked closely with a fabric merchant through my factory and was able to source a fabric that I felt customers would love. Something that was great to wear but also durable.”
Sophie said that since she is not a fashion designer, making a piece of clothing was “hard work,” and it was difficult to understand how factories work, cultural barriers, and quality control.
She said her biggest priority is ensuring that the factory she works with is ethical.
“What I saw in India was an enormous amount of poverty, so making sure that women were paid the right wages, treated well and cared for was very important to me.”
Due to the increasing success of the business, Sophie outgrew the factory and needed to move to a larger factory to accommodate the increased sales.
It now manufactures its products in China – ensuring that the factory is in line with its ethical values.
Sophie said the customer response has been overwhelming over the years.
“When I first started, I had an idea and wanted to try it but had no idea that there were so many people who would love the product,” she said.
Sophie told anyone looking to start their own online business to learn about META and digital marketing.
“I don’t consider myself a fashion designer, I’m a digital marketer, and this is how I reach my audience and new audiences,” she said.
“Make your product good – 55 percent of our customers are repeat buyers. If we don’t make a good impression on them in the first place, it could lead to business collapse.
“Instagram is also a great way to showcase your product. We ask people to send us photos of themselves wearing our shirts so people can see a variety of people, how they wear Fable, how they style it, and where they wear it.”
While the silk shirt is the workhorse, the brand has evolved over the years to include a few other silks, including pajamas and eye masks.
The Fable is sold online and is also available at The Iconic.
