With a savvy approach to social media, eCommerce and new tech, Sandradee Makejev has put Australian women’s fashion e-boutique St Frock on the global map.
Back in 2005, Sandradee Makejev started selling trendy women’s dresses at a humble Bondi Beach market stall. In 2009, she started a Facebook page for St Frock and interest started to grow.
“I decided to start posting pictures of the clothes on social, invited a few friends, and then overnight, I had $350 worth of orders,” the founder and CEO shares with Kochie’s Business Builders. “And I thought maybe I was onto something.”
When she reached 1600 followers, Sandradee made the leap and quit her PR and marketing job to focus on her passion full time. Today, St Frock’s Facebook page is rocketing towards 1 million followers from around the world.
Through a clever use of social media and constant innovation, Sandradee has now built a $20 million business with more than 120 staff – all while remaining self-funded.
Just recently, on Black Friday 2021, St Frock had their first $1 million week and grew 20 per cent year on year.
While St Frock’s story is inspiring, rapid growth can also be overwhelming for business owners. Often, a shift in mindset is needed to manage the bigger picture while staying agile along the way.
“I remember what being overwhelmed used to feel like,” she shares. “But then I also got out into the eCommerce community. I went to conferences, I did research, I found experts. So as your business grows and you meet people and being part of networks, you learn a lot. And I’m always about being better today than yesterday, and better tomorrow than today.”
Watch our interview: The secrets to Sandradee’s success with St Frock
Seven Network’s resident technology correspondent Valens Quinn speaks to Sandradree Makejev about technology and how she’s grown her business. Post continues after video.
With the onset of COVID, many companies had to rapidly transition to a hybrid working model or face dire consequences. Thankfully, St Frock already had employees set up in different countries, however, it needed to get its local team working from home quickly.
“I remember staff were coming into work and we told them to turn around and go home, so we had no time to change. Technology is what saved us,” Sandradee says. “And we grew 100 per cent last year through the first round of COVID. And if we didn’t have all the amazing, shiny things that you can play with to collaborate, we wouldn’t be able to grow 100 per cent. Companies wouldn’t have been able to survive.”
In terms of collaboration, St Frock relied on team sharing and video conferencing tools for its day-to-day operations.
“You’ve really got to think about ways you want to interact with your team, whether it’s using channels or scheduling meetings and collaborating,” she says. “Obviously, there’s Microsoft Teams [so] that you can communicate with your staff. We use it because we have a team in the Philippines, we have a team in China, we have all our partners and suppliers. But I think, more than ever, it’s for a work-from-home environment.”
When asked what advice she’d give business owners around staying up to date with technology, Sandradee says it’s best to do “a regular review” and “consult with your staff”.
“They are the eyes and the ears of your company,” she says. “They’re across different pieces of technology, they notice stuff. And one of the things we have at St Frock, is if it doesn’t look right, smell right, or it seems off, then tell someone. Investigate it. And then consulting your staff is also great as well, because they’re going to be the first ones that tell you what their blockers are and what technology you need to upgrade.”
St Frock’s story helps demonstrate the value of using modern technology that can keep up with rapid growth or unexpected changes. You can support your business by upgrading to modern PCs with Windows 11’s zero-trust ready operating system, which provides secure, anytime access to your data. For the latest on how to prepare your business, visit the Windows 11 Security website here.
This article is brought to you by Kochie’s Business Builders in partnership with Microsoft.
Feature image: Supplied.
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