Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherry Winslow.
Sherry, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
After 25+ years in the corporate world, working in operations, I decided it was time to put all my skills to use in my own business. In 2008, I launched my first business as a fitness coach/performance nutrition specialist. My second and concurrent business, Aerialetics, excites me just as much as coaching folks toward their personal goals.
Aerialetics, the aerial apparel brand built for aerialists by an aerialist, was born so unexpectedly! It all happened, as Tom Cruise put it in Top Gun, “Because I was inverted”. In late 2016, I decided to find a new challenge for myself personally and physically. I had done obstacle course races, local running races, bodybuilding competitions, etc. It was time to use my body and brain in a new way. Somewhere I had seen someone performing aerial silks. Think Cirque du Soleil – the artist high up on a 30’ fabric dancing, wrapping, dropping all the while seeming to be floating up there. I wanted to do that! I found Aerial Theory Fitness, the studio at which I have been training for three years now.
As soon as I touched the fabric, I was intrigued and signed up for more! Fast forward a few months to the OH-NO/AH-HA moment that was the stimulus for Aerialetics. As most aerialists do, I wore leggings and a tank top to class. We were practicing a skill that required us to be inverted (upside down) while wrapping the fabric behind our back. While I was wrapping the silk, I also wrapped my shirt! I didn’t realize that until I had come right side up, which through that action had tightened the fabric around my shirt even more. I was about 15 feet in the air, and I was very scared! I was holding on tight with my feet and legs while I tugged and pulled at both the silk and my shirt. Fortunately, I was strong enough from bodybuilding to pull myself up just enough to loosen the fabric’s grip on my shirt and pull it out. I was exhausted and my forearms were spent. I climbed down and thought “that is never ever going to happen to me again!” That next day, I went online and bought pretty much every one-piece jumpsuit I could find. I wanted to wear something that would not distract me from my training. Needless to say, none of those worked. The fabrics were all wrong, the cuts didn’t provide support, they were see-through, etc.
Enter The Theory Trainer. I knew what I wanted/needed to build! First and foremost the jumpsuit had to address the safety element – no more clothes getting tied up! After that box was checked, I went to work making it stylish, affordable, and sassy. I sketched out a few versions and finally came up with something I liked. Through internet searches, I found a patternmaker. We met, I bought fabric, she created a pattern, sewed my first prototype and I wore it to class. My Silkmates were curious and I was excited that I was up there in my outfit worry-free. Many prototypes later, with the help of my Silkmates, I had a final design! Since I had so much input and support from my Silkmates at Aerial Theory Fitness, I named the jumpsuit The Theory Trainer. There have been a few changes to it since the launch but folks are happy with this initial design. At one-year post-launch, I am getting ready to enter new products into the line. Did I mention I have no training in fashion design? None necessary when you have an idea, a strategy, the desire and a solid reason to get it done.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has not been hard as much as challenging. One of the biggest challenges was that I was a newbie in a niche market. Asking a factory to carve out time for my first, small production run was a big ask. I understood that. I couldn’t give up though. I had paid for prototypes, patterns, fabrics, etc., and needed to recoup that money back. I persisted and finally, I got time on a local production schedule and we went to working making Theory Trainers. They made my first units in time to launch Aerialetics at an aerial arts festival three weeks later. My website was up, my POS was working, I had inventory, strangers were buying my products. I was making it happen!
As far as struggles along the way, yes there have been and will continue to be many. And honestly, those are some of the more rewarding times. You must embrace the tough times; those times are what define you. Anyone can do things when it’s easy. When it’s all running smoothly, cash is flowing, all the vendors are sitting around waiting for YOU and YOUR work to flow through their doors, and you’re driving shipments to the post office every hour on the hour.
When you are out of your bestselling product, the ONLY fabric that you’ve found that could possibly work is no longer being made, you can’t get on anyone’s production schedule, your patternmaker/seamstresses’ dog died and she’s on bereavement leave, and nobody has a flatlock machine, now those… those are gut-checking fun times!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Aerialetics – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Currently, my days are filled with answering customer inquiries, shipping orders, sketching out new ideas, having samples sewn, sourcing fabrics and vendors, updating my back-end systems, marketing, customer and affiliate out-reach, as well as reading everything I can to make my business better for my customers. As an operations expert, I crave knowledge. I am constantly learning, tweaking and implementing new systems. If I know how things work, I can be a better coach, manager, collaborator, creator, and owner. I am very proud that Aerialetics is made here in the United States of America. It feels good to put our American citizens to work. It also confirms my decision to build this business when I see posts and hear feedback from my customers. They love that they can train safely, and more comfortably in Aerialetics’ gear. I am fortunate to run a business that solves a problem.
Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well-positioned for?
As a female business owner, and as a female who has worked primarily in male-dominated industries, I want to tell you that you have to stand up for yourself. There seems to be this societal notion that there are more barriers to female leadership than there are for men. I don’t agree with that at all. I have always accomplished what I set out to do and have been fortunate to have a great team of men and women around me. If ANYONE ever tells you that you cannot do something that you have investigated and feel is a truly valid endeavor, get them out of your life.
You can absolutely do anything you commit your mind to.
I encourage you to:
• Have a well-thought-out plan including financials.
• Know your market and your business forward and backward.
• Maintain conviction in your overall plan, your short and long-term objectives and most importantly, yourself.
• Have the ability and desire to share your vision with business and thought leaders. Of even greater importance is that you listen with an open mind to those successful people. You can choose what you do with the information, but it’s always a great idea to listen.
• Surround yourself with people who want to see you succeed.
Results take time so be patient and understand that your plan sometimes doesn’t go as planned. Stay fluid with your plan, and even more so with your thinking.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.aerialetics.com
- Email: sherry@aerialetics.com
- Instagram: @aerialeticsbysherry
- Facebook: @aerialetics
Image Credit:
Sherry Winslow
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