"Entrepreneurs who doubt themselves are their own worst enemy" with Mari Suyama
Mari Suyama is a serial entrepreneur with a serious case of wanderlust. Since the age of 14, she experienced her first solo trip which sparked her curiosity about languages, culture, design, and hospitality. Her passions coupled with her sense of adventure became the foundation for many businesses, including most recently, her lifelong dream of starting a luxury swimwear line — Noa Kai Swimwear.
Can you tell our readers about your background?
After studying journalism with hopes of becoming a war correspondent or a travel writer, I returned from a yearlong South and Central American journey to open a marketing agency in my hometown of Toronto. After three seemingly short years, the yearning to travel hit hard and I landed the opportunity of a lifetime managing an agency in Hawaii. My relocation to Hawaii satisfied my passion for travel and exotic locales — it also honed my skills in a new market. Swimsuits became my weekend uniform and from there, my dreams of starting a swimwear line became more and more pronounced. Leaving Hawaii for Miami — the capital of the swimsuit world was the next obvious adventure.
What inspired you to start your business?
I decided to work backward and figure out how I wanted to live, not what I wanted to be. It was obvious that I needed to create a business around my lifestyle that put time with family and the opportunity to travel at the heart of the business. Swimwear was the constant in my family’s life. Any chance we got, we’d be on a plane to any and all warm destinations. I believe I was always destined to start a swimwear line — it was just a matter of when.
Where is your business based?
Noa Kai Swimwear is a virtual business with operations based in Miami and Toronto.
How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?
I started the business by enlisting the creative expertise of my mother, Mika. Together, we came up with a strong aesthetic and narrative for our swimwear line. Visually, we knew what we wanted to create within a week.
Before we could agree on the name of our brand, we booked flights to Hawaii for our first photoshoot — confident in our vision and setting a big intention. As soon as we clicked ‘book now’, the creativity flowed and we knocked out swimwear designs, fabric, logo, and website in a few months. It’s amazing what passion can bring to a project.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?
Networking and building meaningful relationships are the foundation of any business. These relationships are with staff, vendors, industry, media, and of course your friends and family. Having advocated for your business that you cultivate throughout your life is key to raising awareness, especially with limited funds. I’ve learned the importance of supporting your network before expecting their support back. Donate products, donate your time, and ask how you can help your network. You’ll be top of mind and a reliable source which can open doors for you and your business in the future.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
Funding will always be one of the biggest challenges any entrepreneur or business owner faces when starting out. For someone with high expectations, creating something out of nothing can be daunting. I kept reminding myself that I’ve done it before. All it takes is a lot of creativity… and very little sleep.
By nature, I always choose the path of most resistance — but it’s how I’ve learned to grow as a business owner. I have built businesses for myself and others with very little resources which in the end, trained myself to become my best resource.
If you can learn to look at problems creatively, you’ll realize they aren’t obstacles at all. What one creative person can do with $1 would cost anyone else $10 to achieve the same result.
How do you stay focused?
Always having a trip planned keeps me mentally focused by creating a reward and an immovable timeline. I thrive off the notion of work hard, play hard. While deadlines and pressure kickstart my creativity, I stay focused and calm by remembering relaxation awaits.
How do you differentiate your business from the competition?
Noa Kai’s versatile, timeless, and classic swimsuit designs allow travelers to consume smarter, pack lighter, and always look great. We are on a mission to shake the traditional notion of ‘seasons’ by creating essential pieces that are true staples for any travel wardrobe no matter what time of year it is. We consider ourselves the basic white tee or little black dress of swimwear — effortless and essential. Our staple pieces will always be available — in different colors and fabrics of course!
Noa Kai is swimwear for the wanderers out there who need timeless everyday pieces versatile enough to take around the world and back. We design approachable luxury essentials easily layered, mixed and matched, and accessorized for smarter travel.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
We launched our company during the COVID-19 pandemic, but out of the chaos came a marketing strategy that we are extremely proud of. We launched a social campaign gifting 100 swimsuits to female entrepreneurs. Not only are we gifting 100 free swimsuits, but we are giving 10% of sales back to these women who became Noa Kai brand ambassadors.
Noa Kai Swimwear is a women-owned company and we felt it was important to give back and elevate other women who were affected financially and mentally during this tough time. This was much more than a marketing campaign.
This marketing effort goes back to our philosophy that relationships are the foundation of a successful business. We felt building a community of like-minded entrepreneurial women would speak to our brand’s core values. It’s marketing with heart.
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
Think about why. If you think about why you are doing something or why you are deciding one way over the other, you’ll learn to trust yourself. Entrepreneurs who doubt themselves are their own worst enemy — lesson learned the hard way.
What’s your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?
Later for social media management is my must-have app. I am a stickler for maintaining the aesthetic of our brand and there’s no better way to manage the look of your brand than with Later. Not to mention the time it saves by allowing you to schedule posts from your phone.
Favorite blog and book combo would be the Tim Ferris Blog and The 4-Hour Workweek. I was already living a 4-hour workweek when I decided to finally read Tim’s book. It gave me so much clarity and helped me put all the pieces of my personal and professional life neatly in place. Tim’s book is not about dreaming big, it’s about making actual changes in your life to achieve your ideal lifestyle. For those willing to act, it can be a great motivational tool.
What’s your favorite business tool or resource? Why?
I am obsessed with Basecamp for keeping organized and collaborating with coworkers and clients. I started using the desktop version over 10 years ago and it’s become a daily ritual since. If I don’t put it in Basecamp, it’s already forgotten.
Trying to remember everything takes up too much mental capacity and you leave the risk of forgetting. Invest in a program like Basecamp and you’ll free up your mind, create better habits, and best of all, you get everything done!
Who is your business role model? Why?
There are so many brilliant business people who I admire for specific qualities. But the one business person who has achieved the lifestyle I want for myself is Tim Ferris. He has mastered lifestyle design in a way that is approachable and reasonable — especially for young people today. When money, cars, and designer bags are no longer the goal, you can focus on creating some pretty amazing life experiences. For me, Tim made me look at success in a whole new way.
How do you balance work and life?
The goal of starting Noa Kai Swimwear was to create a business that implied work-life balance. Part of what makes this company special for my mother and I is that we build in relaxation and vacation time into our work. We need to go to Tulum for our next photo shoot, but we add on a few days for our team to enjoy the yoga and tacos post-shoot!
Most importantly, after years of stubborn thinking, I now take a step back and ask if there is a professional better suited for the task at hand who can accomplish it faster and with better results. If the answer is yes and the cost makes sense, then I let go. I have learned to outsource. This scary feeling of letting go has allowed me to achieve work-life balance and better business results. It’s win-win and you eventually build up a network of reliable vendors and freelancers who are there to support you, know your business, and are cheerleaders for your success.
What’s your favorite way to decompress?
I remember when my partners and I signed the incorporation docs of our first agency, used all our savings to rent an office, bought life insurance policies and the nurse came to the office for the standard physical required by the insurance company. After two failed attempts to read my blood pressure, the nurse asked if I was always that relaxed — almost too relaxed! In one of the most stressful moments of my career as an entrepreneur, I was calm.
It doesn’t take much for me to decompress because I believe negativity and worry do nothing to help your situation. I choose not to get stressed. So long as I have a trip I am looking forward to as my long-term goal and clear short-term goals for the day, I can find an escape and a reason to push through the noise. A good glass of red wine and something to satisfy my sweet tooth will also do the trick.
What do you have planned for the next six months?
Noa Kai Swimwear is in the middle of our official launch and over the next six months will plan to work with our 100 brand ambassadors on social media campaigns, giveaways and photoshoots in LA, Tulum, and Miami.
With all our pop up events canceled, but we are finding online ways to reach our customers. These six months will involve a lot of learning, researching, and mastermind discussions. I think all companies will be taking this time to revisit and contemplate their business models and marketing strategies.
How can our readers connect with you?
We would love to connect, collaborate, and grow with you. If you are interested in joining our brand ambassador program please visit our website for sign up instructions.