The S in S.LO: Ten Questions with Sabrina Ettedgui
What inspired you to start S.Lo Studio with Lo Eli?
I grew up in the hospitality world and was always intrigued by the power of spatial configuration and service excellence, and the key role they played in the enhancement of client experience. Both require detailed attention and care, with one being overtly executed while the other performed with the utmost subtlety.
Interior design plays on the senses in both a conscious and subliminal manner. The sensory cues - visual, olfactory, auditory, haptic and environmental - all help form the value proposition.
I knew I would venture out on my own at some point in my life. A gut feeling made clear as I climbed up the corporate ladder, jumping from one firm to another, without a real sense of satisfaction and belonging. At 28, I realised it was now or never, quit my job and, by a stroke of luck, came in Lo Eli’s quaint little studio in Mui Wo one afternoon, and that was it - I was hooked. Her energy was mesmerising, the studio so effortlessly pure and timeless in style. My love for interiors was instantly reignited…and it so happened that our respective competencies were incredibly synergistic.
What does S.Lo Studio mean to you? What does it stand for?
Aside from the obvious reference to our first names, it was really a play with words on the idea of Slow Living.
S.Lo is about crafting intimate, sensorial brands, spaces and environments that cater to the notions of sustainability, ethics, health and wellness, meditative reflection, purity, timelessness, and freedom.
In Today’s day and age where technology rules the world, waste is both an environmental problem and economic loss, and time seems to go by in the blink of an eye, it is important to have a safe haven to retrieve to when in need of an escape from the daily hustle & bustle.
What’s the most challenging part of your entrepreneurial journey?
There are different phases in the entrepreneurial journey worth highlighting, and each comes with its core challenges. However, the most challenging one, in my opinion, is breaking free from that structural, black & white mindset, and choosing to quiet down the voice of reason and just trust your gut instinct, even if it essentially means plunging head first into uncertainty. A gamble on your career or, for the optimists, a (semi-) calculated risk.
Dealing with ambiguity in a fast changing environment is no easy feat. To be thrown out of your comfort zone and cope with external & internal pressures with poise and professionalism is extremely hard to achieve and requires mental resilience. Handling risk is not a cut and dry process; you often just play it by ear. So you better trust in yourself to make the right judgment call based on your business acumen and expertise accumulated over the years, and accept you will make mistakes along the way. How you get back up again and learn from those perceived failures is the key to your success.
Now, of course, there are many more challenges that comes with a start-up i.e. capital & investments, client management, supply chain management, and communication. But these are expected in any business venture so perhaps easier to anticipate and prepare for at both a professional and personal level.
And the most rewarding?
We are still at the early stages of our business, but I must say the most rewarding part of my entrepreneurial journey has been the strong relationship built with my partner and principal designer Lo Eli. Our complementary personas, skillsets, visions and backgrounds make for a great partnership, nurtured with respect, compassion, consideration and trust. And to have such a strong foundation is priceless.
When one breaks down with stress and doubt, the other reassures. When one needs a break, the other takes over. We understand the importance of work life balance and give each other the space to be most productive on our own terms, just as long as the work is submitted within the targeted deadline.
And I won’t lie, bringing a project to completion is equally as rewarding. Being able to tangibly and visually witness the fruits of your teamwork brings a sense of shared pride and accomplishment that you don’t often get to rejoice in when selling products or services to customers in other industries. Your individualistic mindset is often so fixated on meeting the sales target, beating the competition or climbing up the corporate ladder, rare are the times that you get to appreciate the goals you’ve reached without instantly moving on to the next. And this is precisely why I left the corporate world for the entrepreneurial one. I needed to be true to who I am, find a purpose and share it.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far in running S.Lo Studio?
There is no one path to success. There is no defined plan to follow. But there are rules of thumb that I personally follow and here are a few:
Prioritize: Opportunities. Clients. Tasks.
Learn to identify a good idea from a bad one.
Listen. Ask for advice. Ask for feedback.
Build trust. Be consistent. Be accountable.
Make informed decisions. Collect all the information made available to you and learn to act without the complete picture.
Get comfortable making mistakes. Treat them as learning opportunities. Make them now rather than later.
Do the Math. Keep track of your finances.
Thing Big. Start Small. Scale Fast.
As a young start-up, how do you plan to build credibility and trust within your field?
Building credibility and trust takes time, dedication, care, consistency in the work and service provided, transparency in communication, accountability and reliability.
For most, it is about assessing what added value you can bring to the table. The “Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” principle is widely used and exploited when building trust. So being as helpful as you can usually works to your advantage.
In our case, I also believe we are starting from a solid base. Lo and I both had time to grow in our respective fields, and build somewhat of a reputation based on clear ethics and values practiced in our past endeavors. And I have no doubt this will translate onto this venture.
How do you hope to grow your business in the years to come?
I can start by letting you know what we are not hoping to grow into, and that is to become a business mogul in the interior design and creative branding field. We would like to remain a boutique concept, yet grow a team of self-starters with similar, strong ethical views and varied skills, take on extraordinary projects worldwide without compromising on our company values and philosophy, build a stronger network of eco-conscious suppliers and artisanal crafters locally, regionally and globally, and support our environment in any way possible.
What would you say are the top 3 things to consider before starting your own business?
Why ? Before making any life or career change, consider the reasons behind wanting to own a business. Do you have a killer idea? Did you identify an unexploited opportunity or a talent to grow and manage? Is it a gut feeling? Did you jump from one company to another, unable to find your fit? What propelled you in this direction and is it a good enough reason to take that jump?
When? Timing is key. Do you have enough experience in the industry you hope to build on ? Did you accumulate enough skills to manage a business from the ground up? Did you find the right partner(s) to do this with? And investor(s)? Do you have enough capital to start your business and bring it to success? Do you have a clear and sound business plan ? And the list of questions goes on and on.
How? Keys to success. Competitive advantage – what do you have that is so unique compared to the competition? Values – what are the values you promise to your customers and other stakeholders? Strategic tools. Scalability. Do you have the means to grow fast in the face of success? Communication. Team spirit. Network. And so on.
What would you consider as your own personal success?
My career strengths lie in project and event management, managing the different parties involved to successfully create a mesmerizing experience, further enhanced with service excellence. And these lessons proved most valuable in my personal life and allowed me to acquire the right tools to better juggle the different pillars of my social life – essentially, how to be a better daughter, a better sister, a better life companion, a better friend, a better business partner and role model. A work in progress. I’m most definitely still learning to cultivate self-care, and I do believe that until you master the art of slow living, you can never fully transform into the best version of yourself, and thus, freely make yourself available to others.
What about company success?
All the accumulated perceived failures met along the way have brought us a step closer to our success. But it is still too early in the process to tell!
Success is such an elusive word – we all have different definitions of success. For us, our successes will lie in staying true to our core values; telling a compelling story; creating cathartic, sanctuary-like spaces to promote self-care and a sense of escapism from the daily hustle and bustle; building strong relationships with our team members, clients, suppliers and competitors; and supporting our environment. And yes, being financially sound would, of course, be an instrumental and undeniable component in our success.