- Who is behind Dibo Bodi?
Dibo Bodi is a partnership between my mum and I. Being 17, I’m juggling school, extracurricular activities, and running a business all at once. Thankfully my beautiful mum takes care of all the production processes behind the scenes! I am the buyer and creative director with the task of choosing accessories to buy, designing garments, and choosing fabrics.
- How did you start?
The business started in the big Melbourne lockdown of 2020. We were working out of our living room making corsets to sell on our Depop account. After blowing up on TikTok, we expanded and eventually outgrew the available space at home. We moved into a retail/studio located at 1600 High Street Glen Iris in Feb 2022. Our following on TikTok has continued to grow and we expanded onto Instagram and more recently Pinterest. It’s great to have so much support for our small, woman-run business.
- What made your business successful?
Creating a successful business is not an easy thing to do. What really helps us remain competitive is our in-house production process. Dibo Bodi is not fast fashion, we do our own design and production so we’ve been highly adaptable. If something doesn’t work on social media we haven’t put any production dollars into it yet, so it hasn’t been a big cost. But if something does work or goes viral we can fairly quickly produce to respond to that market need. Also being a business for young women, run by a young woman is helpful as I have a strong appreciation for the trends in our target market.
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
That’s a great question because Dibo Bodi has been through such dramatic change in the last year. I love being a buyer and designer and even as Dibo grows I’d like to think that is something I can continue to do. Outside of Dibo, pursuing my passion for making music is something I want to explore.
- What is the best thing about having a business?
The best thing about having a business at such a young age is firsthand learning. I learn so much about what it takes to run a business, how to take risks, and commit to decisions, and I have to thank my mum for that. It’s also such a great thing to share with mum and makes our connection so much better, even though we can both be a pain to work alongside!
- What is the worst thing about having a business?
The worst thing that happened to me since Dibo started was the judgment that I received from my peers. It’s never easy to put yourself out there and steer away from the like-minded crowd, but being an entrepreneur it’s just something that comes with the territory. I copped a lot of crap from my peers in my previous school, judging things as little as how I was posing in particular photos. The funny thing about it was after the business started to grow, the same people invited me out for breakfast or asked me how they should start their own fashion label. If you’re looking into starting a business, you definitely have to have thick skin.
- What are your top three tips for any person who wants to start a business?
⁃ get started! It may seem hard but trust me, you don’t have to wait until you have the equipment, the following, or the space. The sooner you start the sooner you will succeed.
⁃ Cliche but don’t worry about what everyone is saying. As someone who got totally canceled in high school for being brave enough to start a business, I don’t have a single regret. Success is the best revenge, and soon those same b!^*hes will ask you for your advice.
⁃ Commitment is key. Nothing can grow overnight. You have to persist and keep up your hard work in order for your business to keep progressing. The real roots of Dibo started in 2019 and flopped because I wasn’t ready to throw myself in wholeheartedly.
