Career Profile: Bianca Cheah, Founder of Sporteluxe

Bianca Cheah, founder of Sporteluxe talks to marie claire about her path to success.

Today Sporteluxe is one of Australia’s leading fitness and fashion destinations online.

Yet not so long ago it was a humble blog that founder Bianca Cheah posted on in her spare time.

Three years later, the site receives 70,000 visits a month, employs five staff and enjoys working relationships with brands like Nike, Country Road, New Balance and Adidas.

It was an extension of my interests:
"My mother was a model and my father has one of the highest dans in Australian martial arts, so good health is something I’ve always been passionate about. I’d also modelled since I was 18, so I had an interest in fashion."

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I knew the basics of writing for the web:
"I knew that key words and SEO are important, and because of that I was getting two or three thousand hits per story in my first week."

I never looked at Australian competitors:
"When everyone was blogging, I wanted Sporteluxe to be more – a publication. I looked overseas and ultimately used Refinery29 as a loose guide. I always aim to be three steps ahead of the Australian market."

You learn from your mistakes:
"Before Sporteluxe, I had a line of stylish beach umbrellas. They performed well in summer, but weren’t sustainable year-round."

People were dismissive:
"Some of my friends and family brushed off Sporteluxe, initially. It just made me want to prove I could make it work even more."

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Generosity is key:
"When you’re in start-up mode money is tight, but sharing what you can offer to others is a great way to get ahead. If someone gives to me, I try to give back tenfold."

Hiring staff made me nervous:
"It was an extra expense, but staff can double the amount of content we put up, which means more traffic."

Yoga is essential to my success:
"When you’re constantly ‘on’, it’s hard to stop and allow your head some breathing space – but you need that to be effective."

I really underestimated myself:
"It was hard not to tell myself I wasn’t any good when I first started. But you can’t be afraid to take risks. When you fall, just get back up ... just go out there and do it."