Welcome to Antwerpreneurs!

Each month, we share inspiring stories of entrepreneurs and business owners in Antwerp.

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Average reading time: 5 minutes

What’s on the Menu?

• 🍦 Scoop: Balenciaga’s Zero

• 💬 Words of Wisdom: From the mind of James Clear

• ✋ Antwerpreneur: Discover how Astrid Lefèvre transitioned from the fashion industry to coaching and founding the podcast We Love Belgian Brands, the lessons she’s learned along the way, and her mission to empower creative women in business

• 💎 Quiz Question: Can you guess the group of designers?

🍦 Scoop  

The Balengiaca’s Zero shoes will be part of the label’s Fall 2025 collection.

They’re basically ultralight, 3D-molded EVA foam shoes designed to make you feel as close to barefoot as possible.

Retail price? Looks like it will be $450.

I don’t know about you, but if the goal is to feel barefoot, I might just… go barefoot. For free.

💬 Words of Wisdom 

And now, let's move on to our Antwerpreneur!

✋ Antwerpreneur: Astrid Lefèvre

Meet Astrid!

Born in Paris, but for 17 years, she’s called Antwerp home.

She spent two decades in the fashion industry, working with brands such as Paul Smith, Burberry, Chloé.

In Antwerp, she worked at Yohji Yamamoto and spent 11 years at New Look Fashion Deal, where she learned about the Benelux wholesale market.

But in 2020, she hit reset. Astrid became a business development and sales coach— check her website here!

The Messy Start of Entrepreneurship

Astrid’s first year as an entrepreneur? Tough.

She was exhausted and directionless and said yes to everything out of stress and fear.

She started doubting herself.

Instead of quitting, she joined a 6-month coaching program of Jenny Chammas. That was her wake-up call. It taught her what she’s good at, where she can improve, and, most importantly, what she stands for.

Finding Her True Passion

While consulting at MAD Home of Creators, AWEX, and WBDM, Astrid was helping creators with their commercial struggles when she realized something.

After each session, people kept coming back for more advice.

That’s when she knew coaching was her thing.

Since then, Astrid’s helped 40+ creative women get better results.

But, running a business is hard.

Doing it while raising kids? Another level.

For Astrid, it’s a constant balancing act. She’s learned to value time, focus on what matters, and embrace the fact that trade-offs are part of the deal.

The Art of Selling

Astrid knows communication is key, especially with social media.

“Having a great product means nothing if you can’t sell it. Most entrepreneurs, especially women, struggle with this. They undervalue themselves and freeze when it’s time to set prices or pitch their vision.” Astrid says.

Astrid’s mission? Help them ditch the doubt and own their worth.

Her coaching style? High-energy, no bulls*t, but with a soft approach.

Astrid works with creative women who struggle with organization, prioritization and grow their business.

They have big plans but need help turning ideas into action.

She gives them the tools to make those dreams a reality.

Her ideal clients aren’t beginners—they’re women ready to grow.

How We Love Belgian Brands Podcast Was Born

In 2022, Astrid created We Love Belgian Brands, the first podcast about Belgian fashion.

It’s a bilingual podcast in French and Dutch, where fashion leaders share their stories, struggles and successes.

Co-hosted with Lien De Grom, the podcast has over 105 episodes and 33,000 listens and is now one of the top 5 fashion and beauty podcasts in Belgium.

In 2024, Astrid also became the host of Landing Partners, a French podcast about digital trends in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle.

Her dream guests? Dries Van Noten, Pieter Mulier, and Morgane Sezalory.

Preparation, Hosting and Podcast Milestones

Before each episode, Astrid’s VA (Virtual Assistant) does the research.

Astrid’s job as the host is to keep the conversation dynamic and engaging.

Her advantage? She knows the fashion world inside-out, resulting in lively, interesting conversations.

We Love Belgian Brands hit 100 episodes last November.

To celebrate, Astrid and Lien hosted a live event in Brussels in front of 100+ people.

In French, they interviewed Esfan Eghtessadi (CEO of Essentiel), Marion Schoutteten (Founder of Orta). You can listen their episode here.

In Dutch, they spoke with Helga Meersmans (Founder of KAAI), and Pieterjan Van Biesen (Head of Marketing & Communication at Natan). You can catch their episode here.

To promote each episode they use a cross-promotion strategy.

They create reels, posts, and stories and encourage their guests to share and collaborate.

This strategy has helped grow listeners and engagement.

This year, they’re rebranding the podcast to lean harder into sales and entrepreneurship. To make it a platform that showcases Astrid’s expertise.

Why Creatives Need More Than Talent

Her mission is clear: Creatives deserve to make a living doing what they love.

The fashion market is packed with talent, but most creatives aren’t taught how to sell at school.

Astrid believes this needs to change.

“People think creatives should work for free or that their art isn’t ‘real work,’” she says.

“Ask yourself: Would you question a doctor’s salary? No. So why question a designer’s? It’s time to change how creatives are perceived, they deserve to make a living doing what they love” Astrid says.

Astrid's Upcoming Sales Coaching Program for Creative Women Entrepreneur

This year, Astrid is prioritizing focus.

She wants her daily actions aligned with her mission: helping women sell, grow, and create impact.

Her goal is abundance, filling her projects with happiness, joy, and success.

Her biggest project? A group coaching program launching this spring.

For 30 women and it will include five modules:

1. Clarifying vision.

2. Defining identity, values, and mission.

3. Building sales confidence and pitches.

4. Exploring distribution channels.

5. Developing self-esteem and empowerment.

Each module will include actionable PDFs.

On top of that, she’s working on new income streams to keep things steady and growing.

Astrid’s Golden Advice For Aspiring Entrepreneurs and Coaches

To starting entrepreneurs: “Try to look at the cloudy side of the business. If it still excites you, go for it.”

To aspiring coaches: “Be aware that your clients have a lot of pain, frustration, and mental blocks. You need to be ready to guide them through.” 

To her younger self: “Don’t take yourself too seriously. Enjoy and trust yourself.”

Astrid’s journey is proof: Success isn’t just about having a product.

It’s about selling yourself. Your values. Your vision.

And that’s exactly what she coaches women to do.

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Astrid’s Recommendations

• People: Emilie Duchene and Clio Goldbrenner for their “let’s share our rollercoaster” events & community. Emilie Hawlena who talks about financial education for women.

• Books: Atomic Habits by James Clear and Cessez d'être gentil, soyez vrai ! by Thomas d'Ansembourg

• Currently listening: Ben Mazué - Des nouvelles and Anne Sylvestre - Les Gens qui doutent

• Favorite spots in Antwerp: Vrijdagmarkt and Hendrik Conscienceplein

Antwerpreneur-to-Antwerpreneur

If someone offered to buy your company tomorrow, making you financially independent, would you do it? Why or why not?

Astrid’s answer: “I wouldn’t. I’m having so much joy working on my business. I’m not ready, yet because doing this has much more value for me than selling it right now.”

Want to Connect with Astrid?

You can find her on Instagram, LinkedIn, or reach out directly via email at [email protected].

💎 Quiz Question

Which group of designers famously put Antwerp on the global fashion map in the late 1980s?

A) The Belgian Avant-Garde

B) The Royal Academy Collective

C) The Flemish Seven

D) The Antwerp Six

_{You can find the answer at the end}

Pura Vida! 🦥 

Jose

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Answer: D) The Antwerp Six:

• Dries van Noten

• Dirk Bikkembergs

• Marina Yee

• Dirk Van Saene

• Ann Demeulemeester

• Walter van Beirendonck