Mia makes waves in the world of e-commerce

Mia Plecic has tossed around hundreds of business ideas since setting her mind on a career as an e-commerce entrepreneur.

Each idea – no matter how random – is jotted down in a notebook the 29-year-old keeps close at hand day and night.

Mia, who grew up in Aireys Inlet on the Surf Coast, has so far pursued five business ventures ranging from bottled pressed juices through to teeth whitening kits.

She has experienced varying degrees of success during the past six years until her latest venture.

A clever little haircare product called the Slick Stick has proven to be the breakthrough idea the determined young businesswoman has been dreaming of.

More than 50,000 Slick Sticks have sold this year and a deal to stock them at a major retailer has just been struck.

It is a proud achievement for Mia whose story is one of grit, determination and hard work.

“I haven’t spoken about this yet but in very exciting news it is now official we have been accepted into Priceline,” she says.

“So, 2021 will be a very exciting year as Slick Stick rolls out into Priceline stores across Australia and New Zealand.”

Mia says the concept for Slick Stick came to her because she was forever having to deal with flyaway hairs when tying her long blonde locks back into a tight, stylish ponytail.

“I have the craziest flyaways and I love wearing my hair up,” she says.

“But an everyday problem that I found was using hair sprays or hair gels would make my hair really oily, wiry and dirty, which meant I would have to then go and wash my hair that evening.

“I’m not someone who washes my hair daily, in fact, I probably only wash my hair once a week.

“So, coming up with a product like this was a solution to that problem where I could slick my hair back and it would brush out at the end of the day.

“Such a simple product but it’s so effective and it works really, really well.”

Her customers agree and the Slick Stick has quickly established itself as a handbag essential.

Mia has gone from working solo out of her apartment in Melbourne – with her cavoodle bestie, Honey, by her side – to renting a storage unit and soon after moving into an office in the heart of Port Melbourne.

She says a warehouse is now on the cards to cope with ever-increasing stock demands.

“At the start of this business, I wasn’t sure if Slick Stick was going to be a trend-based product or if it was going to be a long-term, sustainable business,” she says.

“As time has gone on, I’ve realised people are purchasing it over and over again.

“It’s becoming an everyday beauty routine staple for people, so I don’t think the Slick Stick is going anywhere anytime soon.”

Its success has seen Mia pay herself a salary for the first time, as well as employing two full-time staff.

There are also plans to expand the Slick Hair Company range, with five additions to the product line being added by the end of next year.

“We are quickly evolving into a full haircare range,” she says.

“As a business owner one of the most exciting things is when you can actually put yourself on a salary and after six years of working for myself, I’ve finally put myself on my own salary.

“I’ve always just taken bits of profit here and there and done consulting work on the side to get me through.

“But this business is doing so well I’ve been able to go on a salary and hire a full-time marketing manager and a warehouse manager.”

Mia credits some of her busines success to TikTok which has seen her quickly garner a following of 75,000 and access an audience of millions.

“At the start of lockdown in Melbourne I decided to explore TikTok because it was a new platform and I saw people getting success out of it,” she says.

“It is an organic algorithm with an organic reach so I thought there was no harm in trying it.

“It all started with one video of my dog in a Tesla which got nine million views and my following overnight went from zero to about 10,000 and I thought ‘this is interesting’.

“I decided to start posting some business videos of me running the business from home during lockdown and it resonated with people from all over the world.

“I’ve had two-and-a-half million likes on my TikTok and I’ve got 75,000 followers on there now and people are really loving the content I am creating.”

But, as Mia will tell you, her story is not one of overnight success.

In fact, she is writing a book on the topic she hopes will inspire other budding entrepre

neurs.

“This is my fifth business and I’ve been struggling through business to business for the last six

years trying to get to this point,” she says.

“It’s taken years to get here and a lot of ups and downs.

“Self-belief is the number one thing you need and the determination to get to where you want to be.”

Mia says 2020 has been bittersweet, with business success and personal struggles running in tandem.

“It’s been the best worst year of my life,” she says.

“On a personal level it’s been a bit of a challenging year because my anxiety really flared up and I had a few months there where I was really struggling with anxiety and panic attacks.

“But business-wise it has been incredible and I’m so grateful knowing the circumstances of what is going on in the world and how many people have struggled this year financially.

“I’m just excited for the New Year and to see what comes from it.”

Find out more at slickhaircompany.com or @slickhairco and @miaplecic on Instagram.