Interview with
Linda Hipp
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CAREERS IN GOLF
Interview by Nancy Berkley
Linda Hipp was born in Vancouver, Canada in 1967 to a family that loved sports. In fact, according to Linda, her dad would have been thrilled if she had become a professional golfer. But that’s not what happened. One day, a thought “hit her like a brick.” She loved golf, she had a flair for fashion and she had always wanted to start her own business. And that’s when Linda’s career as founder, designer and President of LIJA was born.
Careers paths are not always straight. There are detours along the way. But if you ever wondered what role golf might play in your career, here’s an interview that should inspire you. Whatever profession you choose, after reading about Linda, I know you will want to keep playing golf.
Linda, when, where and how were your first introduced to golf?
I have to give you a little background first. Both my mom and dad were very sports-oriented. And they encouraged my older brother, David, and me to try everything, including team and individual sports. My dad was – and still is – an avid golfer. When my brother and I were little, my dad’s idea of a holiday vacation was to take our family to visit golf courses where the PGA professionals were playing. But I don’t remember those tournaments very well.
My first recollection of actually playing golf was when I was about 8 or 9 years old, during a family trip to Hawaii. I wouldn’t play a whole round. My parents would just let me hit a few balls on each hole. What I remember most is that I LOVED driving the golf cart.
I took some formal lessons, but my dad was my best teacher. He would take me out to a big grass field behind our family’s summer cabin, and we would hit balls on our own private practice range. My dad has a beautiful and very natural golf swing. My swing is still a lot like his.
How serious were you about golf as a junior golfer?
I enjoyed golf and enjoyed the competition, but I didn’t play in that many junior tournaments. Even though I was a strong player and could drive the ball well off the tee, I wasn’t totally confident about my game. More importantly, none of my girlfriends played golf. I guess that’s why I started becoming disinterested in the game. Like most teenage girls, I felt the need to spend more time with friends. My parents did not push or nag me about playing more. I think they ultimately knew that I was going to come back to golf someday.
It’s not unusual for girls to lose interest in golf in high school. Why do you think that happens?
There’s so much going on when girls get into high school. They are so impressionable at that age and are being introduced to new people. There’s more peer pressure with what they’re wearing, who they hang out with and where they hang out. I guess life becomes more complicated for young girls, especially during high school.
Do you have any advice for our readers about peer pressure?
My advice is to be your own person! People will have more respect for you in the end if you stand for something. Whether its sports, fashion, studying or whatever, follow your passions and don’t fall to peer pressure.
Where did you go to College? What was your major? Did you play golf during college?
I went to Capilano College in Vancouver, Canada, and majored in Marketing. Golf was still important in my life, but it was something I did mostly with my family on weekends and holidays.
What is Marketing?
Let’s say you and a friend decided to make and sell beaded bracelets. You would have to decide: WHO your customer is, WHAT kind of bracelets they would like, at WHAT price you would have to sell them in order to make a profit and HOW and WHERE you would sell them to customers. Those are all marketing questions. Marketing is different from sales although the words are often used interchangeably. Marketing is all about understanding what your customer would like or might need; whereas, selling is all about convincing a customer that they need the product you already have made. Some people are better at marketing – others shine at sales. Marketing is a popular major at many colleges and usually includes classes in sales skills. If you think you might like a business career, marketing is a good major.
What did you do after college?
My first job out of college was with Western Living Magazine – a life-style magazine. I was selling advertising space in the “dining” section. I would visit restaurants all over the city and try to convince them to buy advertising in the magazine. It was a really good first job because I had never been in sales. It got me out of my comfort zone and taught me how to be focused, confident.
Then, in my mid-20’s, I got very serious about golf again. I even thought about going on the professional golf tour. Most people would say that twenty-five is too old to get started on the tour. But I feel that if you are truly focused and dedicated, you can do anything. Ultimately, I decided on the business route rather than the athletic route. I have to admit that sometimes I still think about making it on the Women’s Seniors Tour one day. It’s fun to dream about that, but I’m very happy with what I do now.
And then what led you to start your own business?
Well, my next job was closer to the sports world. I worked for Orca Bay, the company that owned the Vancouver NBA basketball team, the Vancouver Grizzlies, and the NHL hockey team, the Vancouver Canucks. My job was in Business Development. I would work with sponsors like Coca-Cola, the official beverage sponsor, or find advertisers for the hockey boards around the rink.
Once you get into the corporate world, people play golf. It’s hard to pick up a sport when you are older, but if you learned to play golf when you were young – like I did –you can step easily into that mostly-male corporate golf game. I think that being a good golfer was a real advantage for me.
But I always knew that I wanted to work for myself. I just didn’t know what it was going to be. Then, one day while I was working at Orca Bay and thinking about golf, I realized that all the women’s golf clothes catered to older women – skirts were shapeless with unattractive front pleats and the ladies shirts looked like miniature-men’s shirts.
I loved golf, I loved fashion and I loved business. It hit me like a brick that I should start my own company. That was July 1997. My family was thrilled for me. My dad had started his own engineering business so I think I got some of my business skill and entrepreneurial spirit from him. There were zero employees for the first three years. It was just me and my partner. Now we’ve got twenty-three employees and about twenty sales representatives throughout the U.S. and Canada.
I know your company changed its name along the way. How did that happen?
The original name of the company was HYP Golf. My last name is Hipp but HYP stood for its “How You Play”. We said to our customers, “It doesn’t matter how you play – we just want you to look good while you play.” A few years ago when we decided to move beyond designing clothes just for golf, we changed our name to LIJA. LIJA is really a spin-off on the word “leisure.” We know that we are always going to bring sport and fashion to leisure clothes that work on the golf course and other places, too.
For our readers who are thinking about a career in business, what skills do you think were important to your success?
I have really good people skills. I like people, like talking with them and making friends. When I was out traveling and selling my first line of golf apparel at trade shows, I had to engage with hundreds of people every day and build rapport with them, gain their trust so they would believe in my product. Being a good communicator was and continues to be very important not only with my customers but also with my employees.
Sales skills are important also. Whether you are selling a product or selling yourself to win a job interview, you need to learn how to be confident and focused in order to convince others of something they may not know.
Wasn’t it hard to start your company since you did not have any fashion-design experience?
Actually, I think it made it easier. If I had studied design, I think I would have been intimidated by all the fashion competition. I knew what women would like to wear playing golf and found a good pattern maker that helped me translate my vision into actual clothes. I think my business experience and marketing background were probably more helpful in starting a business than if I had formally studied fashion design.
Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
Inspiration comes from many places. I really look carefully at the new fashions in Europe and London which come out earlier and are trendier than in the U.S. I take details from the newest styles and integrate them into the golf apparel. For example, one of the new trends I see in women’s fashions is what I call “voluminous.” There is more volume to clothes: They are looser with bigger sleeves. So you will see that my new golf shorts will be shorter, wider and have bigger cuffs.
Although the primary target customer for LIJA are women age 25-45, Linda knows that teens also wear her clothes. She does not design for the “young” or “old” – but thinks of clothes as a mindset – for all active women and teens. Her top sizes begin with XS and go all the way to XXL and bottoms begin with size 0 and go to size 16. To see Linda’s styles, Visit her website www.lijastyle.com.
Our golfer girls looked great in LIJA in our Winter 2007 issue. You can see them at www.golfergirlmagazine.com – look at the fashion pages in our Winter issue.
What has golf meant to you?
I think golf builds confidence, honesty, and integrity. For me, golf is also a lot about spending time with my family. Being able to play golf helps my work-life balance. Golf allows me to go from the fast pace of my business to a beautiful setting where I can relax. It’s a sport that challenges me individually and at the same time provides some fun and competition with friends. It’s a game with a lot of history, and I feel that when I’m on the course.
What’s your advice for our readers?
You have to love what you do or you won’t succeed... especially if you want to be an entrepreneur and start your own business. The first few years are long, hard and not very rewarding. There can be disappointments as you are building a company so you have to be prepared and strong enough to get through the difficult times. If you have the drive and passion for what you are doing, you will be an incredible success!
And finally, keep your head down and do not look at what anyone else is doing. Play your own game!
Nancy Berkley is the author of our career-interview series. She is also the Chair of the Advisory Board for Golfer Girl Magazine. Nancy has written several books about marketing golf to women and one book specifically about careers in the golf industry. For more information see www.nancyberkley.com. |
