Floor van de Pavert, founder of SuperBra

“This is so fantastic. You have truly changed my life.” -SuperBra client

Multi-talented

Floor van de Pavert is a scientist, an entrepreneur, and the founder of specialty lingerie and swimwear store SuperBra. She’s also one of the 5 finalists for Rotterdam Businesswoman of the Year. I’ve seen firsthand what she can do for women by helping them find the perfect-fitting bra, and that’s why she is the Wonder Woman of the Week.

An Extraordinary Client

Tammy: Tell me a story about an extraordinary client and how you were able to help her.

Floor:     Well, one client was in a wheelchair, which presented some challenges. If you’re always seated, that has an effect on your breasts. And using a wheelchair means that your arms are very active a lot of the time, and need a full range of motion. This results in a lot of friction on the sides of the body. We were able to fit this customer with a bra with a small underwire which moved the breasts to the center of the body where were they weren’t blocking the arm movement. She had never worn the proper size bra, and was so grateful that she told me, “This is fantastic. You have truly changed my life.” We get that kind of feedback often, which makes this work really rewarding.

Most Important Lesson

Tammy: What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in business?

Floor:      This is my advice for ambitious entrepreneurs. As soon as possible, figure out how to make the room — physically and mentally — to focus on the strategic growth of your business. Learn how to delegate so that you can work ON your business instead of IN it.

Industry Trend

Tammy:  What’s an important industry trend that you’d like to share?

Floor:       Retail will continue to see a very turbulent period. Lots of bricks and mortar stores continue to close as online shopping only grows in popularity. But lingerie has a certain resistance, because the advice you get in the fitting room is so personal and so essential. I would never start a clothing store in this market, but I really believe in a combination of on- and offline. SuperBra customers come into the store once in awhile for a fitting, to check their size (which changes), and sometimes they like to try different models and brands. But in between they can order the things online that they know and like. With our chat function online we advise clients about new models and brands they might like based on their past purchases.

New Store

On 7 March Floor will open a new store in Utrecht. Visit www.superbra.nl for the address and launch party details.

Advice on Bra Fitting

For advice on how to properly fit and wash a bra, see the SuperBra website (in Dutch). Or subscribe to Superwomenconnected.com to read my upcoming English version. There’s also a great film clip about bra-fitting here.

About SuperBra

SuperBra is THE specialty lingerie and swimwear store in the Netherlands specializing in D+ cup sizes. They carry 96 sizes of bras and also carry a wide variety of skin-colors. After a free fitting in their Rotterdam or Utrecht stores, you can place re-orders online.

5 Tips to Let Your Wardrobe Work For You

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