Meet the small business with a big heart
The founder of Choose Your Attitude on the personal story behind his inspirational brand.
Nicholas Strand’s tips for starting something from the ground up
- Always remain resilient.
“It takes time to grow and become something. Consistency is usually the goal as opposed to being perfect up front.”
- Never stop learning or connecting.
The biggest thing that I have retained outside of my own inner resilience is the education and the networking needed to try and build [your business]. Networking with other store owners and getting more resources or being open-minded and always being open to learn [is invaluable].”
- Believe in yourself.
“I think one thing about starting a business or owning a business is that not a lot of people really understand the grind. They don’t understand the full vision. It takes some time to build and prepare that vision for it to be seen properly.”
It was a tremendous loss that inspired Nicholas Strand to radically change the thinking of others. In 2017, five years after his mother died from cancer, Strand lost his wife of 10 years, Brianna, to cystic fibrosis.
Soon afterwards, he woke up one morning with facial paralysis. While it was Bell’s palsy rather than the stroke he had feared, the combined experiences convinced him to change his approach to life.
After losing his wife, Strand had one of her favourite phrases tattooed on his arm: ‘Choose your attitude, create your life’. “I realized the truth of that quote and the power of that quote… I realized that I was in control of my ability to make life what it is.” Strand began by writing a book called Loving Someone Who's Dying and started thinking about apparel that would share his powerful message.
Strand, a video engineer for the music-concert touring industry, planned to launch his book in April 2020, but the pandemic upended everything – especially his regular touring work. “I had no other choice but to lean into [this new direction], because I lost work with COVID,” he says.
The brand took on a life of its own.
“The brand took on a life of its own and I heard experiences of people buying the clothes and the value [they placed] on them. I knew that this was more than fate. This was a destiny that I needed to keep going.”
A brand with a message
Strand named his apparel brand Choose Your Attitude, after Brianna’s life-affirming phrase, and has built it from the ground up. “I designed it, I’ve done the messaging, I’ve done the graphics, I’ve done the web design, fulfillment,” he says of the line, which includes T-shirts, hoodies and accessories, all emblazoned with the brand message.
“As much as we grow, it’s as a small business starting out. There’s still a lot of heavy lifting… but every single month we’re shocked by the numbers as we keep slowly growing,” Strand explains. In fact, both sales and average order value have tripled, and the brand now steadily takes in $10,000 a month.
Turning a motto into a business
Choose Your Attitude offers about 10 items at any time, and Strand says that one of the most challenging aspects of launching a clothing brand has been inventory. “Our struggle is as soon as we release something that sells a lot, demand [skyrockets], and then our shelves get emptied. Trying to keep up with stock has been a challenge – that’s what’s been holding us back at those levels.” Strand is hoping to soon be able to expand the product line into more athletic items.
Choose Your Attitude has a staff of 10 freelancers. “[They] help in all aspects, from the ads team, Facebook ads team, to email marketing, fulfillment and customer relations, to our what we call community outreach, which deals with social media, and our affiliates team,” Strand explains.
Never stop growing
Joining Afterpay has been a key step in Choose Your Attitude’s growth. “Right as we signed up, we saw numbers increase. With the technology today, we were able to see the actual purchase numbers, [and] every order has significantly added to the value of our growth.
Afterpay has also proved to be an important marketing tool.
“The marketplace that we’re able to be placed on and able to be seen on is huge and extremely valuable. It’s definitely a valuable asset to add. And [Afterpay] makes it seamless.”
Nicholas Strand’s tips for starting something from the ground up
- Always remain resilient.
“It takes time to grow and become something. Consistency is usually the goal as opposed to being perfect up front.”
- Never stop learning or connecting.
The biggest thing that I have retained outside of my own inner resilience is the education and the networking needed to try and build [your business]. Networking with other store owners and getting more resources or being open-minded and always being open to learn [is invaluable].”
- Believe in yourself.
“I think one thing about starting a business or owning a business is that not a lot of people really understand the grind. They don’t understand the full vision. It takes some time to build and prepare that vision for it to be seen properly.”
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