Bisser Georgiev Of LiveTrends Design Group: 5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Very Successful Lifestyle Brand

Understand your own passion and really be excited about it. I touched on this earlier too but essentially, if you don’t love what you’re doing — it is bound to fail. Why work so hard on something you don’t love?

As a part of our series called “5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Very Successful Lifestyle Brand”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bisser Georgiev, CEO & Founder of LiveTrends Design Group.

Originally from Bulgaria, Bisser Georgiev is the Founder & CEO of LiveTrends Design Group, an innovative company dedicated to inspiring people’s lifestyles by fusing nature and art within their home décor brands, LiveTrends and Urban Jungle. Georgiev founded LiveTrends Design Group in 2013 with the bold goal of changing the way living décor is designed, produced, and marketed worldwide. Besides achieving his dream, he takes the most pride in building a business where he and his employees enjoy themselves on a day-to-day basis.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

I was born and raised in Bulgaria. I grew up surrounded by nature, not just plants, but also animals. Nature was everything to me — I loved being outside and enjoyed going on hikes. My grandparents had a farm, so I grew up around animals, which played a vital role in my life. I actually wanted to be a veterinarian and even went to school for it, until I realized that I wasn’t as interested in it as I thought I was, so I shifted majors from veterinary to biology.

I soon realized that I love people and communicating with them, and that marketing combined the best of both worlds — design and business, so I ended up getting an MBA.

Can you tell us the story of what led you to this particular career path?

I used to be an executive for a large plant company, where I applied my biology experience to my love for marketing. I quickly realized how large the industry was and that there was a great opportunity for innovation. No one really focused on the design aspect of the potted plants; most of them were sold in basic grower pots. That is when I decided to start LiveTrends — to bridge the gap between inspiration and availability.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

One of the funniest mistakes I’ve made was not anticipating that parts of our products would not stay on the way they were intended to. For example, our first design for a Christmas collection was a reindeer pot with an air plant in it. Unfortunately, when the post arrived, we realized that the reindeer’s antlers were falling off. So we ended up having to glue all the antlers back before sending the product out.

Another mistake I made, which was not funny at the time, but ended up well was overestimating our capacities. Our dreams were too big, our plans were too grand and unfortunately, the cash flow wasn’t there to back those goals and dreams. Looking back now it was funny because we were like “Oh, we made it,” but it definitely is a mental challenge when you’re living through that situation.

The lesson I learned from this is that dreams and hopes don’t always align with your cash flow. Plan your cash flow correctly or it can go the wrong way. I’ve learned that it’s important to focus on the culture and the people you work with. Focusing on core values and the structure of the company inspires people. Passion, core values and culture are always more important than cash flow.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

There are too many books and movies to name! One specifically is the “Pursuit of Happiness”. The plot of the movie is about a poor man who wanted to be an entrepreneur. He was evicted from his apartment and took an unpaid internship with a brokerage firm. He and his son were sleeping in a public bathroom, but he refused to give up and lose sight of his goals to make a better life for himself and his son. I watched this movie two months after launching LiveTrends and thought “Oh man, I hope that’s not me.” It left me optimistic, though, and taught me that you have to believe in yourself and the idea of your dreams.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I have a few favorite quotes for different areas in life. For sales, I always tell my team “Unseen, unspoken, unsold”. I explain it as: If there’s no good story, if it’s not seen, then you can’t sell it. Another one I have is “Whatever you decide to do, go after it and announce it to the Universe, God, and whatever you believe in.” Tell as many people as you can about your biggest dreams because they will conspire to help you succeed. Personally, I go by “Speed is Life”. I even have a bracelet I wear that says that. I love motorcycles, racing, you name it. In most cases, being fast is a huge advantage. You must put a sense of urgency into everything. This was a core value in our company until we changed it to “Achieve the Impossible”.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. For the benefit of our readers, let’s define our terms. How do you define a Lifestyle Brand? How is a Lifestyle Brand different from a normal, typical brand?

Lifestyle can be defined in so many ways. “Lifestyle” can mean that a brand caters to certain lifestyles, but it can also mean that that brand will be in your life forever. If you’re creating a brand, you have to think about how to create a brand that is a part of your life, home and aesthetic. You have to create things by understanding what people need in their lifestyle. Really, that’s what LiveTrends Design Group is all about.

What are the benefits of creating a lifestyle brand?

First, it’s how you see it. Brands can enhance your life and inspire you. For LiveTrends, our products inspire people and their lifestyles while they are at home and in their office. When that happens, the brand becomes a beautiful thing. Nature and art at home are so important, we’ve seen studies about how much nature and décor affect your mental health and how powerful it is — especially when both are combined. There’s a reason why LiveTrends Design Group has sold over 12 million products per year, which is truly incredible. We reach a huge number of homes and lives because our products are inspiring, mentally stimulating and brighten your day.

In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job building a believable and beloved Lifestyle Brand? What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?

Well, I always preach to never compare your brand to the nearest competitor. Always compare yourself with the best in the class and get inspiration from them. So, with that in mind, I’m impressed by many different brands for a number of different reasons. For design, Apple inspires me because they do such an incredible job. For social missions, Patagonia is my inspiration. Instagram does an amazing job with marketing, while Toms is another brand and powerhouse for social missions. Zappos excels in customer service. These are all powerful consumer and lifestyle brands. It’s amazing to look at other brands as an inspiration, but my advice is to never look at the competition — it’s narrow-minded.

Can you share your ideas about how to create a lifestyle brand that people really love and are ‘crazy about’?

Regardless of the brand, it’s important to remain consistent and it’s important that you’re passionate about the brand. As a founder of an art and nature company, it’s very important that my employees are just as passionate too. Also, be true to yourself and don’t lose sight of what you are trying to achieve. Slow down, look around, correct errors and make sure the focus is always there. We have three distinct brands that all provide a different experience for each customer’s individual desires. LiveTrends is more nature and art-focused, while Urban Jungle is geared towards mindful living and nature. Lastly, our soon-to-be-released collection, BeYou is focused on expressing yourself.

What are the common mistakes you have seen people make when they start a lifestyle brand? What can be done to avoid those errors?

Well, there are two. First, never stop reinventing yourself. People design something or create a brand and think it will carry on forever, but that’s not the case. Customers are fickle — they are becoming more and more impatient and want things faster. This translates to everything — whether it’s how quick your Uber can come before you cancel it, or how consumers want new and fresh endcaps at Target every three weeks. If you design something and think you’re going to sell it once a year, you’ll miss the mark. Here at LiveTrends Design Group, we’re consistently reinventing ourselves. We have 500 collections a year and 80% of those we’re focused on reinventing for the future. There will always be something to improve on.

Second, understand your customer and how their needs are changing. For example, last year was a highly disrupted by COVID and we could sell anything. Now, in 2022, people are pickier about their selections, how they spend their money and the design of products. We’ve had to really learn our customers’ wants and needs and continue to provide that to them. If they’re less willing to spend money, we need to make sure our price points are meeting their needs, so that we can continue to sell our products — and this is true for the design aspect as well.

Let’s imagine that someone reading this interview has an idea for a lifestyle brand that they would like to develop. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?

The first step is to do some soul-searching and find if this is something that really excites you. Are you passionate about it? Any company you start will present challenges and you need to be passionate about it. Otherwise, you won’t succeed. As an example, I worked in wine importing and thought I’d love it, because well…I love wine! Turns out, I actually didn’t like it because of supply chain problems and the number of competitors. I just wasn’t excited about it. After that, I learned that you really need to take time to understand the gap in the market and understand the supply chain challenges, along with the idea of established creations and goods.

Ok. Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our discussion. What are your “5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Very Successful Lifestyle Brand” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Understand what people want and how to bridge the gap. For LiveTrends, that gap was a focus on the design aspect of potted plants, which is important for aesthetics.
2. Understand your own passion and really be excited about it. I touched on this earlier too but essentially, if you don’t love what you’re doing — it is bound to fail. Why work so hard on something you don’t love?
3. Never stop reinventing. You may think a product is good enough or something is the best it’ll ever be, but there’s always room for growth and opportunity — and that happens when you consistently reinvent things.
4. Focus on a culture that supports your vision. People need to understand and believe in the purpose of a company in order to achieve success. Like I’ve said, I think culture will always outweigh cash flow and it’s important to have employees that really care for your brand and products. They must desire to see it succeed too.
5. Understand your true customer. Search deep into who the customer really is. For example, LiveTrends Design Group caters to each customer in a special way. First, are our employees. It’s important to instill a good culture in the company and focus on good people. Next, is the retailer. It’s important to please the retailers that you’re working with and always ensure they’re happy with your brand and products. Last, but not least, is the consumer. The consumer is the one who will enjoy the product and really utilize what we offer in their life.

Super. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

If I could inspire a movement, it would be something that has to do with nature and art. The trends in our lives are starting to consist of smaller, but more expensive houses. We have less ability to deal with mental health crises. Burnout and stress are on the rise, and we wonder if social media is playing a good or bad role in it all. All these issues, which we face in our lives disconnect us from nature. The benefits of bringing nature into your home are so important. It is my hope that nature will help alleviate some of the negative feelings people may experience on a day-to-day basis.

Another thing I’d love to do as we grow, is help children, but more specifically underprivileged children. Usually, in underprivileged homes, children don’t get to experience the benefits of plants in their homes. I’d love to give them access to this positive experience. Brands usually provide underprivileged children clothing or shoes — and while that’s super important, there’s still a piece missing. No one addresses the lack of art and nature in their lives. I’m confident that by experiencing art and nature in their homes on a day-to-day basis, children will strive for better throughout their life.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Well, it would definitely be Steve Jobs. He was an inspiration to those who love design and innovation. He reinvented industries in his short life. He allowed people to learn more and learn creativity. Then, it would be Steven Spielberg or George Lucas, and not because I’m a huge fan of Star Wars, but because they molded what movies are and how they’re made. They’re consistently inspiring people, which is what I strive to do!

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.