They say confidence is the key to financial success, and Olivia Carr showed she had it in spades when she made the bold move of hand-delivering her silk pillowcases to Kris Jenner.
Less than three years later, the Melbourne businesswoman turns over millions of dollars with her Shhh Silk brand, which has been featured on the social media pages of Kim Kardashian West, Kourtney Kardashian, Chrissy Teigen and Kylie Jenner.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Ms Carr shared her advice on turning a light bulb moment into a multi-million dollar business as well as how to benefit from the lucrative sphere of celebrity endorsements.
Million dollar baby: Olivia Carr (pictured wearing her latest collaboration with the world famous Beverley Hills Hotel) is the founder and CEO of luxury bedding and nightwear Shhh Silk
Shhh Silk pillowcases and nightwear collection is the brainchild of the Melbourne entrepreneur who previously worked in sales and marketing
Starting her career in sales and marketing, it wasn’t until four years ago when she became an online retail general manager that Ms Carr, 36, discovered her love for the e-commerce branding space.
‘I left my job and went travelling across the US for five weeks to determine what brand I wanted to build,’ she said.
During her time in New York City, the serendipitous loss of her silk travel pillowcase triggered a light bulb moment for the budding entrepreneur.
‘I had to make do without for the remainder of the trip but when I returned to Australia, I realised I still couldn’t find anything I loved in silk bedding online.
‘I’m a long time user of silk products and I fully believe in the associated benefits, so I decided to take the opportunity I had identified and three days later I was on the plane to China to start the process of meeting with manufacturers and suppliers.’
Kim Kardashian West is a vocal advocate of silk bedding, particularly Shhh Silk designs; the business mogul was the first person to commission personalised pillowcases from Ms Carr
The entrepreneur said the idea to target global celebrities like the Kardashians, Ms Carr was part of a broader strategy across the business.
‘When you leave a corporate role and take the plunge out on your own like I did, of course there are massive risks.
‘I was okay with the risk, but I knew I needed a steady plan of attack – my strategy was to go global from the outset.
‘It’s notoriously difficult to break into new markets individually, so I looked at the business through an international lens from day one and the easiest way to achieve success in this way was to target huge celebrities who had already endorsed silk products independently.’
Model and mother-of-two Chrissy Teigen is also a devotee of Shhh Silk bedding and eye masks, which reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles, prolong the life span of false lashes and leave hair smoother with less split ends after one use
Using her experience in direct marketing, Ms Carr set about doing just that and three months after launching had worked her way through exclusive gated communities in Los Angeles to personally deliver pillowcases to Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner.
‘I knew the family were fans of silk pillowcases, and since then there has been so many catch points relating to the girls and their associates.’
When Kendall and Kylie Jenner visited Australia on a promotional tour, the savvy CEO created a PR package from the new Shhh Silk range and delivered it to the sisters’ hotel.
King Kylie: On track to become the youngest ‘self-made’ billionaire in history, Kylie Jenner is pictured wearing personalised night eye masks with her executive assistant Victoria Villarroel (bottom right) and go-to make up artist Ariel Tejada aka Make Up By Ariel (centre background)
Kim Kardashian West was the first to request a personalised selection of pillowcases from the brand, an order which went on to open up the increasingly well-paying customisation market for Ms Carr.
‘Khloe [Kardashian] has also ordered some personalised stock. At Christmas, Kourtney requested 26 white cases for family and friends and Kendall [Jenner] went in to our store in Beverley Hills herself and bought her entire family pyjamas.’
Kourtney’s six-year-old daughter Penelope Disick was also photographed wearing Shhh Silk on a recent trip to Italy.
‘It’s amazing to see them wearing our designs and using them in their homes, and the impact on sales is incredible,’ Ms Carr said.
Shhh Silk has gone on to see sales of over a million dollars, with plans for major market expansion in the coming twelve months targeting lucrative regions like Europe and China.
A two pack of Queen sized white marble silk pillowcases (pictured) is available online from Shhh Silk for $159
Good American creator Khloe Kardashian sent a handwritten note to Ms Carr thanking her for a customised order of Shhh Silk pillowcases
‘We are projecting a turnover of $3.3 million for the next financial year.’
In October 2017 the brand collaborated with the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel, a luxurious destination for Hollywood’s elite over the past century.
Ms Carr is currently in California working on her second collaboration with the famous accommodation.
Asked about the unique selling point of Shhh Silk, Ms Carr said it’s a question of design.
‘The product was developed with a lot of personal thought in mind.
‘We were the first to market with the hidden zip-closure. Functionality is important for me, but in terms of what we’re known for, it’s our iconic patterns.
‘What people may not know is we hand draw our digital prints. The Beverley Hills Hotel collaboration range was painted with water colours.’
‘If I could do it all again, I would tell my younger self to get on top of numbers from the get go, draw up a budget and stick to it,’ Ms Carr said of giving advice to her younger self
Sharing her advice with young people considering launching their own brand, Ms Carr emphasised the need for realism.
‘I’ve always been a big advocate of backing and believing in yourself, but as my business has evolved, I’ve definitely become more of a realist.
‘If you’ve got an amazing idea, first you need to think about how to scale that dream. Be realistic about how much money is required and how quickly you will need to grow the company – looking back, I grossly underestimated the sheer amount of cash I would need for a product based business.
‘If I could do it all again, I would tell my younger self to get on top of numbers from the get go, draw up a budget and stick to it.
‘Good products will always grow, so treat it as a proper business and never work backwards.’
Ms Carr is scheduled to speak at the upcoming Online Retailer Expo and Conference in Sydney on July 25th and 26th.