An Interview With Sara Connell
Being motivated is one of the hardest parts of being successful. For starters it helps if you love what you do. Owning your own business you are hardly ever doing the same thing day in and day out, so my job is not so repetitive. That being said, for every five lows you get one high so that can really hinder your motivation, but those highs feel so good that it helps push you along!
Beginnings are a Genesis. That means that not only are they a start, but they are also the origin of all that follows. This means that the way we start something, the way we start our day, for example, creates a trajectory for all that follows. How do highly successful leaders start their day in a way that creates a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day? How do you create habits that make these routines permanent? How do you get inspired to develop the discipline necessary for such a lifestyle? In this new series, called Morning Routines and Habits Of Highly Successful People, we are talking to successful leaders who can share the morning routines and habits that have helped them to achieve success.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michelle Maslanka.
Michelle Maslanka, NJ-raised founder of Sister Swim, began her mission in 2017 to bring attractive and well fitting swimwear to the shores of the East Coast.
With vision, perseverance, and a solid background in the fashion industry, Michelle brought her designs to life and was soon creating swimwear for her sister and friends. Focused on fit and quality, the brand quickly gained momentum and established a loyal customer base.
After creating several successful capsule collections, the designer found her niche in the market with best selling styles that accentuate bodies of all shapes and sizes.
Sister Swim is now sold online and to boutiques across the US. Known for fashion-forward shapes, high end Italian fabrications and custom prints, Sister Swim is proud to make women feel comfortable and confident in their most vulnerable state. We welcome you to the sisterhood!
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I grew up with an amazing, close, funny, weird, family. I mean there was never a dull moment, never a quiet house. While I was growing up I thought we were wealthy- not until I left my hometown did I realize we were lower middle class because my parents never made us feel like that. We traveled, even if it was a 12 hour road trip, my sister and I played sports, we were never without. I tried every sport or activity that was offered- a coach once told my parents what I lack in talent I make up for in personality. I started working at age 14, so I know the sense of a dollar. My dad passed away when I was a senior in highschool and that is when I created a don’t quit never stop mentality. I want to make him proud, I want to help my mom, to be honest I want my family back. I feel for some reason succeeding in life will make that happen. My dad was my best friend, my soccer coach, and my parent. So, after senior year I got accepted to LIM College where I worked my way up to stay in the city and from there that is where I am today.
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
What inspires me most in my career is making women feel amazing in their most vulnerable state. Growing up at the Shores of NJ surrounded by girls I would alway hear how self conscious and uncomfortable they felt in a bathing suit. I was studying abroad in Europe where I saw a difference in the confidence in women and what they were wearing on the beaches. I wanted to bring a little of that home so I sought out to make flattering and affordable swimwear that me, my sister and my friends could feel confident in.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?
My mom has always been a huge cheerleader for me- not in the super sweet way some moms are, but in the sense that if I complained to her that I was tired she would simply say, “keep going do not stop.” She was never that nurturing mom that would say take a break, you have been working too much, or you bite off too much, do less. Always, “you got this you can do it all” or “you are fine toughen up”. She also inspired me to go to NYC, travel, become something, take the risk. Which I am learning the more I grow up, not everyone has that person in their corner cheering for them. I have alway had it so I thought everyone did. For her and for that I am grateful.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?
Producing swimwear in the factories of NYC is always an interesting feat! I would go to the factories with shopping carts full of fabric and Carona’s so the sewers would go faster and not slack off. That wouldn’t always work, but we always had a great time! We learned to respect and appreciate the work we were both producing and eventually created a beautiful product!
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Drive, grit, and ambition. You can be the smartest person in the world, but if you don’t have the drive to apply it you won’t go anywhere. Your business is not going to grow unless you put your effort into it, there is no relaxing after your day job, trips to tulum for weeks, you have to keep pushing and pushing and that doesn’t stop once your business becomes something either! When starting a business you have to be able to get down and dirty, make sacrifices, and have 0 shame. You are starting from a low point. It doesn’t matter where you were in your career or socially you are building something from 0 so you two are now at 0. You need to have the confidence to fail and keep going no matter what other people will say about you because it won’t always be nice. I always say when starting your own business do it yourself, and if that doesn’t work, try again, if that still doesn’t work, hire someone, then do it yourself.
I’m an author and I believe that books have the power to change lives. Do you have a book in your life that impacted you and inspired you to be an effective leader? Can you share a story?
Untamed by Glennon Doyle really had an impact on my life. She mentions things about social media that really struck me. How kids need to be bored in order to create. This really struck me especially being a swimwear designer. I was so focused on social media looking at influencers that are size 0 with no jobs just traveling around rather than looking up and seeing the real women in my life. My sister is a mother, my cousin is a lawyer and a mom of 3, my best friend is a gorgeous size 8- these are real women doing real things. Going to the beach with their kids, riding bikes, going on hikes and jumping in springs! They are not the people we become consumed with on social media with photoshopped abs and flowers in their hair! It is a constant reminder that social media is not real, it is not the real world, and we are constantly influenced by it. We are constantly influenced by body image, filters, lifestyles that are not real and it is sad. We need to be bored again, we need to create, and we need to start living our lives not the people we wish we were on instagram!
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
I am starting to interview inspiring women, creatives, business owners- anyone that can inspire someone that is maybe stuck in a rut, or that is looking to go into a certain career field. We want to be more than a swimwear brand, we want to be a resource for leadership. Yes we are still selling bikinis, but I want our customers to know there are hard working women behind our product and they can do and be whatever they want to be because if we did it with the right ingredients and if you REALLY want it you can be whatever you want to be. So stay tuned on the Sister Edit for more inspiring women!
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. This will be intuitive to you but it will be helpful to spell this out directly. Can you help explain to our readers why it is important to have a consistent morning routine?
Having a successful morning sets the president for your entire day. I get all of my hardest tasks out of the way first. This leads to such a more impactful and successful day. If I keep pushing out the hardest task I tend to procrastinate it with a bunch of other things I should not be doing. If you succeed in your hardest task of the day first thing you have already had a successful day!
Can you please share your optimal morning routine that can create a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day. If you can, please share some stories or examples.
Mornings are extremely important to my success. First of all I have always been a morning person- it actually annoys some people. I start my day getting set up- I make my fiance lunch, take care of my puppy and get everyone situated so that they are out of my way. Then when it is time for me- coffee, shower, light workout, then right to work!
Speaking in general, what is the best way to develop good habits? Conversely, how can one stop bad habits?
I think the best way to develop new habits is to start… We all make goals plan how to achieve them but the hardest part is to just start. Whether you want to start saving money, working out, skin care- rather than writing or planning what you want to do just do it. The best way to stop bad habits is working them out of your routine. Everytime you find yourself veering toward your bad habit- do something else.
Doing something consistently “day in and day out” can be hard. Where did you get your motivation from? What do you use to motivate you now?
Being motivated is one of the hardest parts of being successful. For starters it helps if you love what you do. Owning your own business you are hardly ever doing the same thing day in and day out, so my job is not so repetitive. That being said, for every five lows you get one high so that can really hinder your motivation, but those highs feel so good that it helps push you along!
What other resources would you suggest to our readers?
I listen to a lot of podcasts that showcase women in business, start ups, and the industry in general. I think it is always good to surround yourself with success so listening to the journeys others have taken to succeed I always find it motivating.
Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I am not here to change the world, I am just trying to inspire women in business and sell amazing swimwear. That being said I really dislike the trashing, hate, and internet trolls on women especially. There is a culture of bloggers and women in business on the internet towards women who open up their lives to others and in return they get trashed for it. I think sites like Diet Prada are toxic- it is so much easier to take someone down then bring them up. When women do make it to the top they have a giant red bullseye on them for people to hate. When a man makes it to the top they are a success story. When women make it to the top privileged or not they are the first to be taken down. I think there needs to be a stronger stand for women and internet bullying and those who take part in it should be penalized.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them 🙂
If I could have lunch with one person it would be Lori Greiner. I love following her career and watching her on Shark Tank. I think she is understanding, reasonable, logical and an amazing leader. I think she sees the best in everyone and she is such a role model for women in business.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can follow us on instagram @sisterswim_ and on our website sisterswim.com
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.
Michelle Maslanka Of Sister Swim On The Morning Routines and Habits Of Highly Successful People was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.