We recently had the chance to connect with Saxon Cwalinski and have shared our conversation below.
Saxon, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
The first 90 minutes of my day consist of a short daily meditation focused on gratitude, followed by the gym and then either the Morning Brew podcast or listening to whatever sales or leadership book is the flavor of the week during my morning commute to the office.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Of course, my name is Saxon and I am the International Director of Sales at Smallwood’s Yachtwear. Smallwood’s is a multi-national, family owned leader in the yachting apparel industry.
The uniform space is becoming increasingly crowded but what makes Smallwood’s standout is our dedication to customer satisfaction. We hold ourselves to a higher standard than any other company trying to do what we do. Yes, we have top of the line products with the most advanced fabric technology along with the capability to create fully custom pieces but what makes us truly stand out is our team.
My family has deep roots in the yachting community with my grandfather, Jimmie Smallwood, being the former president of Bradford Marine, one of the oldest and largest shipyards in Florida, which he also helped build. My mom, Helen Smallwood, started Smallwood’s Yachtwear in 1981 with a passion for getting yacht crews fashion forward yet functional uniforms as easily as possible and that same passion is shared by everyone who works here today.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who taught you the most about work?
Definitely my Mom. From dealing with customers to leadership, she has helped me navigate the path I am on as the Director of Sales here. Most importantly to always lead with honesty and integrity and to come from a place of service. If those are at your core, the rest will fall into place.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
If you were responsible for creating the most well rounded human that had all the traits we strive for, strength, resilience, hard work ethic, intelligence, etc… you would make sure that they experienced everything they needed to in order to get there. Everyone wants those traits but not everyone is willing to endure what it takes to achieve them. Once you realize that the “suffering” is just the tax you need to pay to be successful, you start to see suffering in a different light. Suffering and hardships are necessary for you to become the person you want to be. Setbacks then turn into opportunities which you can be excited about because you know growth is on the other side.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
The biggest lie I hear repeatedly in this industry is that “there are always more customers”. That simply isn’t true. You can only turn away so many customers before you have none left. Even the most difficult customers need to be valued and treated with respect. Especially in a niche industry like this one.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
Oh man, fully stop caring what people think! I am nearly there lol but would definitely stop worrying at all about what people thought and would just do what I knew was best for me, my family and my team.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.smallwoods.com
- Instagram: @smallwoods_yachtwear
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10274218
- Facebook: Smallwood’s yachtwear
Image Credits
All images are property of mine.
