Silvia siantar

The Style Maker

While Silvia Siantar was living in Singapore to get her degree in public relations, she would document her thoughts about fashion and her personal style on her blog. Although she didn’t know it then, that was the beginning of her own fashion brand, Poise24.

Today, she considers surviving in the business for over ten years to be her biggest achievement. Silvia remembers when her brand was one of the first that started selling online in Indonesia. It was a challenge because the market barely knew what shopping online meant, and she had to produce quality clothing that were in style – and then convince customers to buy without trying them on.

Looking back, the most important lesson that her parents taught her is that nothing in life is free. “You have to work hard to get what you want in life and there are no shortcuts. They also taught me to about optimism. Since I began my career, I learned to be respectful and that I can’t be a respectful-woman if I don’t respect others,” says the mother of one.

Being a womenpreneur involved plenty of ups and downs, but Silvia never game up. She believes that there’s always a solution as long as she can focus, be clear and stay practical. She measures her brand’s success not only through sales numbers, but also by how customers perceive the brand and whether or not it becomes part of their preference for everyday clothing.

Last month, following her brand’s tenth anniversary, she successfully launched her first footwear collaboration.

Today, Silvia is still learning to balance work and life, but she’s also starting to realize that maybe there is no perfect answer. Some days she’ll focus more on work, and some days she would stay home with her family. To that end, she has a wonderful mantra: It’s better to spend uninterrupted hours with each, than having to lose focus doing both.