Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Agana.
Hi Monica, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
At the time when the thought came up to start my business, I was still employed at my 9-5 job. I knew from the very beginning I wanted to pursue a career that allowed me more freedom of time, but I went against that intuitive knowing and did it anyway.
Six months prior to putting my 2-week notice in, I started my side hustle clothing brand, Savage Babe. I knew I wanted to help women in some way. I felt utterly called to it for many years, but I also wanted to figure out a way to use my natural passions because otherwise, I knew in my heart I wouldn’t feel completely fulfilled, no matter how many women I helped.
I’ve always loved creating and designing. I remember I used to sit in my bedroom, alone for hours, drawing and painting, crafting and creating all kinds of things. I used to go to thrift shops like Goodwill and buy used clothing, bring it home, and take it apart, cut things up, sew things together, create an entirely new article of clothing, and proudly go to school wearing what I had created.
One night in December of 2018, I came up with the idea to start a clothing brand and call it Savage Babe. I knew that if I created and grew a business that had the potential to grow, I’d be able to reach thousands of women and help them with my own story.
I would go so far as to say that the message of Savage Babe IS embodied by my personal story, my experiences, and the highs and lows of my spiritual and personal evolution from childhood to today.
For personal reasons I don’t want to cast too much detail on the childhood I experienced as I’d like to keep this article as lighthearted and inspiring as much as possible for the readers, but long story short, my childhood was not easy. I experienced quite a lot of abuse in many different ways, for several years.
The important thing to note is that it isn’t about what I experienced so much as the beliefs and thought patterns that developed in me at such an early age. Negative feelings of being “unworthy” and “not good enough” developed and so I took that story with me in all areas of my life as I continued to self-sabotage one good thing after the other without even realizing it.
By the time I was in my mid-20s, I had started “going within.” I noticed a defeating pattern in my life (because it just kept happening), and it pushed me into a place where I had to finally confront the issues and get really honest with myself. That’s when I started finally journaling more consistently, incorporating daily meditation into my routine, and taking space away from others to learn how to truly be alone with myself.
The moment I started really changing within, that’s when I began to notice my outer reality change. It didn’t happen overnight – it was a slow journey, and it still continues today.
But today I feel so grateful for the journey and how Savage Babe has evolved overtime not just as a clothing brand, but as a community of empowered amazing women who are on similar paths of wanting to unlearn old beliefs and thought patterns in order to help them to create the life of their dreams.
And it’s vital that I add, that I did not build this brand alone. I am blessed to have the help of my business partner, Marlon, our current wonderful and amazing employees, our loyal team of ambassadors and customers who stuck with us from nearly the beginning up to now, and of course our new ambassadors and customers who have decided to hop on this bandwagon with us. We have so much love and support every CONSTANTLY, and it’s such a beautiful thing that can never be taken for granted.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth road? Not in the slightest. Of course, depending on what your beliefs are, you can build a business as easily or as hard as you believe you can. It’s a mindset thing.
But going into this business, I was just beginning my personal growth/self-love journey, so as you can imagine, I still had to limit negative beliefs hardwired in my subconscious, one of which was, “you have to work really hard and go through the hardest of times to get what you want in life” – which looking back on all of it, I definitely made things a lot more difficult in building Savage Babe in the first 3 years of business.
BUT because we are all in fact human and we all go through challenges and tribulations in most things in life, I’d love to share what some of these struggles were along the way to hopefully inspire those out there who want to build the business of their dreams or do something similar, but are afraid of the bumps in the road.
Challenge 1 – when the quality of our products began to increase, I had to start raising prices on our products to compensate for the fact that we were paying more for higher quality, and because the brand’s overall quality, in general, was rising. We lost many of our old customers and got a few angry emails about our decision to increase prices. Some customers were loyal and understanding and stayed by our side, but I would say about 35% of our customers walked the other way. Of course, at first, this was mentally challenging for us because seeing sales go down for a period of time during this transition instilled fear and doubt in me, and it caused me to emotionally battle with wanting to decrease prices again – which I did for a brief period because of how emotional I got around it. After nearly a year and half of mentally battling with the transition, I got to a place of acceptance where I knew very well that the quality of our products and brand was significantly much higher than it was a year ago, and that they deserved to be price accordingly. Basically, I had to unlearn the belief that my products weren’t good enough to be priced at where they are, and trust and know that we were pricing them fairly.
Challenge 2 – Did I mention my current business partner is my ex-boyfriend? Three months after starting the business, my ex (at the time who was my boyfriend), joined me as co-owner and media director of the brand. Well, when 2020 hit with all the COVID stuff, that’s when our relationship was at a tipping point. We ended up breaking up during the year of COVID. Not only did Savage Babe experience the decrease in sales after the whiplash from COVID’s unavoidable turn, but having to emotionally battle working together while we were not exactly each other’s favorite person was incredibly challenging. At a few different points that year, I was sitting on my bedroom floor bawling my eyes out, telling friends over the phone that I was highly considering dissolving the business because I just couldn’t do it. I haven’t shared this with many people, but 2021 was the year of finding myself again after COVID and the breakup.
I hate to admit it, but although I had worked on the business that year, it wasn’t much. 2021 was really my gap year, and exactly what I needed in order to walk into 2022 with motivation, alignment, and an enlightened sense of the brand’s purpose and vision, and where we were headed to. 2021 did not just give me more clarity in who I was and where I wanted the brand to go, my relationship with my ex began to change in a positive way. No, we are not together. We are actually both dating other people, but it’s great to know that we have completely transformed our old relationship into a mutually fulfilling business partnership, and we both managed to somehow save the business from the COVID aftermath while going through our breakup.
I look back on those last two years and really wonder about some higher force that helped us push through what has to be THE MOST challenging period of Savage Babe. We made it out of those last two years alive. 2022 started with a BANG. It’s the most ambassadors and customers we have ever had. The most employees we’ve ever hired in such a short time. The highest quality and most unique products we’ve come out with yet, and the most revenue we’ve EVER generated in a period. I’m so happy we didn’t quit!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a clothes designer for fitness and casual and loungewear, and I am a self-published writer. I design women’s clothing and we come out with 5-6 new product launches a year. I’ve also written now, three (3) self-love guided journals for women which empowers them to create the life of their dreams through principles of manifestation and self-love. I also host the Savage Babe Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify which is another platform I utilize to teach women about self-love and personal growth.
I am most proud of how much our clothing has evolved, as well as the guided journals I’ve written for women to utilize as tools to guide them along their self-love journey. As we’ve continued to grow and develop more funding, we’ve been able to slowly, over time, focus on creating pieces that cater to women of different body types. This year is our first year coming out with an adjustable sports bra! I kept getting feedback from many different women that different parts of our old sports bras were not fitting them right, so I decided to work on creating an adjustable bra to cater to the needs of different women. I want all women to feel CONFIDENT and sexy in our clothing. Confidence is a huge part of our self-love message. I highly believe that confidence is what allowed me to build the life of my dreams. If I didn’t have confidence, I wouldn’t have achieved what I have today. If I can create clothing that helps women to feel good about themselves, that’s literally the first step in them being able to manifest anything they desire.
This is exactly what sets us apart. There is no other women’s athleisure brand in our industry that provides a self-love podcast or self-love guided journals. It’s what truly sets us apart and the reason why I believe so many women gravitate towards what we do. We are providing them with a message, tools, and products that are actually helping to change so many lives in a positive way.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Before starting, I wish someone would have told me to focus on changing my internal limiting beliefs first before attempting to build the brand. Granted, I believe that everything happens for a reason and we are on different paths to push us where we need to get to or to learn lessons in a certain way, but if I had reprogrammed my subconscious mind to believe more positive thoughts in general, I’m 100% certain that my journey in building Savage Babe would have been less painful during the first 3 years.
Another piece of advice is that if you’re building a business just to make money, chances are you won’t be happy. Your business has to be aligned and/or heart-centered. It has to be something you’re truly passionate about. It has to be the kind of work that you’d do even if you barely got paid for it. For our first 3 years, I was barely making money from the business, but I kept going because it’s something I’m passionate about.
Pricing:
- Legging prices generally range from $50 to $62
- Self-love guided journals are priced at $22
- Sports bras range from $44 to $46
- Shorts are priced around $44
- Jackets range from $64 to $89
Contact Info:
- Website: www.savagebabecollection.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savagebabecollection/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savagebabecollection
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePI9I7mfL6lOk1XcfuLEYw
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aHtHuiLpYDPJlR7ew38Wj
Image Credits
Marlon Orellana (@marlonedits on Instagram)
