A GLIMPSE BEHIND THE SCENES: Building a business with no experience, three small children, and two professions
- Mar 2
- 8 min read
Starting a business out of nowhere with three children and a large house isn’t as far-fetched as it might seem. If you have children, you already have excellent training in organization. In a large house, it’s not that difficult to set up an office instead of paying rent elsewhere. And having two other professions at the same time is actually a benefit; it eases the financial pressure and allows you to self-fund your new venture. The most critical resource you’ll need to manage, however, is time.
Many stories of dream careers begin with years of no free evenings, no weekends out, no holidays, and canceled plans with friends. My story was no different. But when you have a vision and a strong drive, you don’t mind. Over time, you learn to adjust. When my company was starting, my marriage of 18 years was coming to an irreversible end, and since then, I have been raising my children on my own. However, I can imagine that a supportive partnership could also work well in this rhythm.
As I stood at the starting line of managing my small company, I spent a lot of time reading and listening to stories—especially those of women—who had been in similar situations. They found their careers later in life and built them alongside their families and duties. I am grateful to those who inspired me, and now I want to share my own experience.
The brand Tradice (Tradition) began with the idea of showing that everyday folk clothing, as I know it from the Slovácko region, can be worn beautifully today—whether in its original or adapted form. I was inspired by my great-grandmother, the grandmothers of Slovácko, and all the beauty I had known since birth. I felt that if these grandmothers were the last ones to wear it, the tradition of everyday folk dress would vanish within 10 to 15 years. I began wearing 50-to-100-year-old pieces myself and received so many compliments.
I developed the concept for my first collection and applied for a grant with a foundation. We didn't get it. By then, however, everything had taken a concrete shape in my mind, and I wanted to present my idea regardless. So, I funded everything myself and held the first fashion show. Meanwhile, my friends helped me set up my limited liability company (s.r.o.). Until then, I had worked as an illustrator and model—a freelancer with minimal administration, building my work schedule around my children’s schools, clubs, and sports matches.
Kamarádka Věrka, historička
I stood at the starting line as an entrepreneur, considering everything that was and would be needed—calculating, researching, and planning. Six months later, we launched an online made-to-measure tailoring service under the brand TRADICE, officially registered as TRADICE-ČESKÉ ODĚVY, s.r.o.
Right after the first fashion show, people began reaching out for custom-made clothing. I had two seamstresses with extensive experience in bespoke tailoring, one of whom specialized in traditional folk costumes. One was incredibly skilled at bringing my sketches to life; the other at flawless finishing and detail. I wanted to start with this small team, alongside a friend in my home office on the ground floor, working in an online environment but with the personal touch and care of a physical salon.
I drew detailed guides on how customers should measure themselves. Our website featured a selection of illustrated designs and fabrics. The customer would simply add a cut and a fabric to their cart, then provide their detailed measurements in the personal information section.
At the time, I hadn't seen any other website offering a similar online tailoring service, and for a long while, I felt a wave of nerves with every order, wondering if the garment would fit perfectly. To this day, the fact that everything fit so well and that we received so many happy emails feels like a sign—a confirmation that what is meant to be, will be, and that we must keep going. Our first custom-coded website was built by an agency; it cost over a hundred thousand crowns and lasted about a year and a half. Since then, I have preferred using templates. Back then, I was constantly on the move with my three young children, working as an illustrator and model to provide our income, managing a large house and garden, and facing the end of my marriage. In the evenings, I devoted myself to building the company, which was steadily growing more demanding.
Because our concept was perfectly timed—tapping into a renewed interest in traditional symbolism, folklore, the return to slow living, and local production—we were very successful in the media. Public awareness grew quickly, even reaching beyond our borders. I am deeply grateful for the media's support; we never paid for promotion, yet within a short time, we were featured in numerous major interviews and features.
I chose TV presenter Petra Svoboda as the model for our first shoot. It wasn’t just because she was a well-known face, but because she embodied exactly what I was looking for. She has a beautiful figure with distinct curves that fill the dresses perfectly, allowing our customers—who aren't top models—to imagine how the clothes might look on them. She isn't just a young model; she is a woman and a mother. And she has a stunning face.
That first series of photos included all our baseline cuts, the Podluží collection, which are designed to be mixed and matched to create both subtle and more traditional looks. From the very beginning, we communicated in detail exactly how we were following the folk traditions of the Podluží region, explaining the 'why' and 'how' behind every design choice.
Petra Svoboda
We also presented the collection to about eighty grandmothers from the Slovácko region—women who have worn folk dress their entire lives. I wanted to hear the opinions of the true wearers, the experts, and the general public alike. To this day, I consider transparent communication essential—whether regarding our pricing or the value of domestic labor and the traditional crafts that are increasingly represented in our work.
As orders grew, the balance between my evening business tasks and daytime illustrating began to shift until it eventually flipped. Eventually, there was no time left for large-scale projects like children’s picture books. Yet, after only three years in business, I was given the opportunity to design a collection for the Czech Olympic team—and to manage the entire production, including footwear and accessories.
At that time, I was gaining my first experiences with ready-to-wear (off-the-rack) fashion. At Tradice, we developed our first standard-sized patterns, meticulously refining them to ensure they fit various body types up to size XXL. We received overwhelming feedback from customers in larger sizes, who often find that most brands don't cater to them as well as they do to smaller sizes. We opened a pop-up shop where I spent over a month personally listening to valuable feedback on our cuts, which we then used for further development. I found our pattern construction experts in Prostějov. Much like finding them, I always had to search for everything myself—testing, experiencing, and learning the art of communication. I am guided by the principle that our business partners should be people I genuinely look forward to seeing. We are not a large corporation that pushes for the lowest production prices or operates under stress. A sense of well-being is our core ethic.
Throughout our existence, we have remained debt-free. My initial investment was around 400,000 CZK, which I paid back within a year and a half. I reinvested my own funds a second time when we were developing the ready-to-wear line for the e-shop and creating our first inventory. That amount was smaller and was repaid within a few months. Otherwise, the company’s growth is self-funded. When our monthly turnover reaches half a million, we are satisfied, knowing we have the reserves for further development and creative projects just for the joy of it.
A large portion of our investment goes into materials, which we strive to keep in stock in the widest possible range. This allows us to maintain an inventory of garments available online for next-day delivery. We also invest heavily in product development. Sometimes, it takes hundreds of thousands to bring you something new; materials, production, testing, sampling, photography, and overall communication all represent significant costs.
However, we do not have the overhead costs of renting and operating our own retail stores. While our prices are not low compared to what you find in cheap international chains, they are nearly a third lower than other brands that produce ethically and locally within Europe. This is because I have, so far, declined to increase prices to accommodate the 40–50% discounts requested by concept stores. By offering our retailers a 30% margin, we keep the final price lower for our customers, even if it means we cannot accept most international offers at this time. For now, I believe this is the right path, though a separate line may eventually be created for such purposes.
Business strategy is one chapter I feel I haven't quite mastered yet. I was making strides when the pandemic hit and changed everything; the subsequent war impacted the overall situation even more significantly. Now, I may be approaching the point where I will focus specifically on this area—ideally by finding the right person for the task. Currently, Tradice has only one official employee: myself. The dozens of other people who contribute to our products work as external partners.
Kolegyně Martina, žije ve Švédsku
Our main production facility in Prague is small and focuses exclusively on bespoke, made-to-measure orders. For our ready-to-wear series, we partner with approximately ten larger workshops, distributing the work based on the specific type of product.
A significant part of my role is logistics and communication—constantly overseeing deadlines. In this business, one delay easily triggers another, and the customer might not receive their order on time. From introducing materials into production and checking print shades to setting delivery dates and transporting goods to the cutting room—where timing is again critical—it is a continuous cycle of coordination. It involves managing customer expectations, setting up pre-orders based on material consumption, and closing those pre-orders the moment capacity is reached. Every day consists of countless small moving parts that must be monitored and synchronized to keep everything running smoothly.
This process can be scaled just as effectively at several times the current volume. In fact, increasing production would be desirable, as it would reduce the cost per unit, particularly in the cutting stage. I don’t use complex analytical tools for any of this; I rely on common sense and intuition. It’s a form of alchemy, much like our online bespoke tailoring for traditional 'jupka' jackets, but it works beautifully for us.
A slower, steady pace is manageable for me without stress, at least while I still have children in this large house. And as they say: little children, little worries; big children, big worries. Stress is my absolute number one 'NO.' Evaluating priorities is a constant process, and the business model of Tradice is largely shaped by my own 'stress sensor.'
As two of my three children are now heading out into the world and I am moving toward a simpler way of living, a natural expansion of my work will follow. Part of me hopes I won’t give in to the temptation of scaling Tradice too far, and instead dedicate that newfound capacity to painting. But we shall see—I know myself. I will respond to whatever comes my way and whatever I feel is 'meant to be.'
What matters most is that you still love wearing our pieces, that you write to me and send photos, that you keep coming back, and that I can see the joy it brings. It matters that the artisans thank us for the collaboration and that we can sense a growing interest in traditional crafts. And, of course, my ideas for new patterns are far from exhausted. So, we shall see.
Zuzana Osako
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