Innovating and Finding Inspiration in Difficult Times with Ada Deferrari

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Ada Deferrari is a friend of mine and the owner of ADA Collection, the leading belt retailer in the United States. For 16 years, Ada has been a design and style educator, teaching women to choose style over fashion.

ADA Collection has an unlikely origin story, beginning with Ada’s completion of law school. During a stay in Argentina to learn about international law, she discovered and fell in love with their leather products. The beautiful handbags she brought back to her friends caught eyes and she knew she was onto something. This is where her imagined career switched from international law to international business. After meeting with a factory, holding trunk shows, and selling to small boutiques, her business grew. Even with economic setbacks along the way, Ada continued on shifting her business from mainly handbags to an even more desired clothing accessory: Belts.

COVID changed the landscape of business for all entrepreneurs and while many have had hard times and setbacks, a lot of businesses have found success through innovation. During a time when stores were closed, orders were canceled, and ADA Collection was facing uncertain times, Ada branched out into Online Styling Courses. This really shifted the way they did business, putting a face, name, and style to “their girl”. This new avenue for business brought a human to human connection to a previously only business to business company.

As a veteran entrepreneur, Ada shares three key lessons that remain important to her in her day-to-day business:

You can’t do it alone.
Culture is king.
Have faith.

These little nuggets of inspiration mold and shape the way Ada does business and can be really valuable when you’re just getting started too!

When it comes to not doing it alone, aside from expanding and building your desired team, take advice. Some of Ada’s best advice has been about staying hungry for more by learning, growing, and feeding her inspiration. Ada does this by building a Sunday habit of listening to her favorite entrepreneurial podcasts, like Crystal Uncorked! She also swears by the advice she was given to monitor her metrics and score boards. If you don’t know this yet… you NEED to know your numbers.

I love talking book recommendations and Ada has one she raves about. The Road Less Stupid by Keith J. Cunningham. Ada gave this book a big thumbs up and I cannot wait to read it this weekend. My recent recommendation for books is $100M Offers by Alex Hormozi. Definitely check these two books out and let me know what you think!

Ada shares a ton of relatable tips and inspiration, including her very special Made it Moment story about her first big sale. Be sure to check out ADA Collection on social media and shop their belts online just in time for the Summer 2022 belt trend!

What’s Inside:

ADA Collection: How it all started.
How entrepreneurs can innovate and shift their business even in difficult times like COVID.
3 Lessons in business that can translate to any business or entrepreneur.
What is Ada Deferrari’s latest book recommendation?