Sewna Helps Fashion Passionate People Express Their Creativity Through Clothes

My name is Sounnat, I am a dynamic and passionate young female entrepreneur with a thirst for knowledge. Fashion and creativity are my tools of expression and I am always looking for new experiences that will help me learn and grow personally. With each project I seek to overcome challenges and achieve ambitious goals.

1. What motivated and inspired you to start your own business?

I have always set myself the goal of following my values and realizing a dream. To do this, I have embarked on entrepreneurship because it is the only way for me to make a living from my passion and to do good around me. Entrepreneurship represents for me the opportunity to make an impact and to realize my full potential.

2. Tell us about your business.

My upcycling clothing brand, Sewna offers unique pieces made from second hand textiles. I bring together the inspiration of my Comorian and African cultural heritage with western trends to offer unique and modern pieces. By recycling these textiles, I also provide a second life to these materials and bring them a new value. Come discover our collection and adopt a unique and sustainable style 🙂

3. Where is your business based?

My business is based in France, Normandy.

4. What were the first few steps you took to get your business up and running?

I went into it not knowing what I was getting myself into and realized that it was important to educate myself on entrepreneurship. So I read books, listened to podcasts and watched tutorials. To get my business off the ground, I took the first steps to market myself. I posted creative content on social media to share what I was doing, get feedback, and thus generate interest. I used social media as a key step to build a presence. My goal is to get more visibility, connect with my clients, understand their needs and serve them in a timely and responsive manner.

5. What has been the most effective way of raising awareness of your business and getting new customers?

The best way to raise awareness as a business is definitely to inform people the simplest way possible. I, for one, inform a lot about textile waste. Indeed, textile waste is a real problem that has negative consequences for both the environment and our wallets. That’s why it’s important to raise awareness about the negative impact of textile waste and encourage people to adopt more sustainable and ethical alternatives. Upcycling is a good way to do this because it gives clothes a second life by re-making them and reusing them in the same or different designs. This reduces waste while creating new opportunities for outfits that are both beautiful and eco-friendly. By embracing upcycling, we can all help reduce waste and preserve the environment.

6. What have been your biggest challenges so far?

While I can recognize the added difficulty I face as a minority woman in developing my clothing brand, I have always kept myself motivated and found creative ways to create a healthy environment for myself. I have surrounded myself with a strong circle of close friends and people who support and inspire me. Nevertheless, learning fashion starts with an in-depth study of style and design, but also of materials, manufacturing techniques and technical details. This is a daunting task for a self-taught beginner. The main challenges I faced were finding the right target market, creating collections that were both trendy and feasible and understanding the creative process. Then, reaching out to customers in order to sell my creations to interested people.

7. How did you overcome these challenges?

To overcome these challenges, I had to train and learn and I am constantly training to perfect my skills. To understand my market and offer the best services for my clients and excel in my field. Also, I like to talk regularly with more experienced women entrepreneurs sharing their successes and challenges. I try not to hesitate to ask for advice and help when I need it. I am persistent enough to overcome obstacles and work hard to achieve my goals.

8. What is the best advice you have received recently?

I will literally say this, Don’t spend your life waiting for what life will decide for you. Take the lead and take the initiative to shape a life that makes you happy. Take action to get the results you want and don’t be satisfied with letting things be passive. Don’t be a silent spectator – be the main actor of your life and your own destiny !

9. What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?

Have faith, always! My faith is one of the main drivers that allows me to overcome the difficulties associated with entrepreneurship. It gives me the strength to endure and grow by regularly overcoming the obstacles I encounter. It also supports me in difficult moments. My faith reminds me that I am capable of achieving great things, and inspires me to seize every opportunity that comes my way. Don’t wait for people’s validation and just do it! Even though I am surrounded by incredible people who constantly stimulate me and encourage me to try new things. I definitely know that on a day to day basis I am the only one that can work for my dream and persevere to achieve my goals. As an entrepreneur, you must not wait for people’s validation in order to do or not do. Be creative, try, set yourself ambitious tasks and goals, it is challenging, life changing, exciting and the rewards are so satisfying.

10. What are you currently learning about for your business or looking for help with?

These last few days, I have learned a lot about marketing digital as it is a key for business development nowadays. I will probably need a marketing digital expert to help me with my website and marketing strategies, and a sewing expert also to continue proposing even more quality pieces. and respond to the demand in the most timely and effective way.

11. What are your goals for the next few months and how are you striving to achieve them?

For the next few months, my objectives are to get to know my customers better and better by establishing a real relationship with them and by trying to understand them as well as possible in order to propose things that are similar to them and bring them a solution to their needs. For this, I intend to be present in several physical events to meet them and exchange with them. Moreover, one of the key elements of the brand since its creation is the collaboration, I like to exchange, transmit, give and receive. Therefore, with my brand, I wish to collaborate with as many artists as possible to exchange my artistic vision and work with other talented artists.

12. What is your favorite business tool or resource?

I have a lot of favorite business tools, but one of my favorite is Notion, a great tool to be and stay organized ! You can manage every aspect of your business and they have added AI which is amazing to have an extra help to be more productive. There are also a lot of tools that I used that make my life easier as an entrepreneur such as Capcut for video editing, Canva, for creating design and posts for social media etc.