#awinewith Laura Higgins
MEET Laura
Laura is the Founder of Lala Social Club.
Find Laura here:
Lala Social Club website or Instagram @lalasocialclub.co.
Transcript
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Oh my God. Okay, let's do this. Let's do this. Laura. Cheers. You're amazing. Cheers. Welcome. Cheer to you tv. I'm so happy to be here. Oh, it's so good to have you. I mean, just for everyone listening in, we had to call it because all Laura and I are just chewing each other's ear off already. We haven't even started the podcast, so we had to hit record so everyone could get looped into our amazing conversation. It's perfect. It's the best way to start. It's the best way. So, good. Well, speaking of starting, let's talk to everyone about Social Club. Have I pronounced that correctly? Yes, that's perfect. Perfect. Amazing. So why did you start this business and then how did you get to starting a business? Did you have a career beforehand, other businesses? How did you get here? Well, I started my business. I was 23 and I had no business experience at all.
(01:15):
I pretty much started from my bedroom, and I guess how I kind of got to be in marketing was I was making coffee at, I made coffee. I was a barista everywhere. I kind of worked at all of these different cafes and the coffee roaster that was supplying the coffee at the places that I worked. It was actually owned by my brother-in-Law and my sister. And so they came to me and they were like, Hey, do you want to come and work for us in sales for getting wholesale accounts on for our coffee? And so my job was essentially to go into cafes and to say, Hey, do you want to switch from the coffee provider that you have into Glee? Which was, it was called Glee Coffee. And they do amazing coffee and I love their coffee so much, but I would go into the cafes and I would seriously, I hated sales so much.
(02:18):
I was like, I don't even know why I'm in this role. And so I would go into the cafes and I would pretty much talk them out of buying the coffee essentially. I would be like, yeah, I was terrible. And so I would go in and I'd be like, should we have a chat about this? And then by the end of the conversation, I'd walk out with my bag of coffee and feel like the shame of being like, I'm terrible at this. Oh no. Oh my God. Which it's all part of the journey. So then they kind of went, look, maybe it'll be a good move for you to move into more of the marketing space. And I kind of dabbled in writing and photography. I was always creative, so I was like, okay, cool. I could probably give that a go. And this is when Instagram was just becoming a business tool.
(03:06):
So it would've been in 20 14, 20 15 maybe. And so I was like, we were kind of at this point where we could really grow our Instagram super organically and organic. I was able to really rapidly grow their Instagram account and then was working with them on their website as well. And it was all just DIY. I was just kind of figuring it out. And I think the thing that I loved the most was actually the fact that social media was this mix of writing, which I loved writing, and I loved figuring out clever or funny ways to talk about coffee, this thing that's part of everyone's day. I really loved doing that. And so it was like part of this job was writing, it was a bit of sales, it was a bit of strategy, but it was also look and feel and the design elements and photography.
(04:07):
It was this kind of cool blend of all these things that I was interested in. From there, I kept working with them and then I had different people approaching me being like, Hey, can you help me to do the same thing for my brand? And so then I started working in the hospitality industry, helping people to look good on the internet essentially. So that was how I started social club. I worked with people in the wine industry in coffee, and then I kind of started working with people in finance and then beauty, and it was like this wonderful eclectic mix of people. And from there I moved into, I was like, okay, well I can't be an expert in wine and coffee and finance and skin. I was like, I can't do this. That's very broad range. I'm like, I'm interested in all these things.
(04:55):
I really am. But I was like, I don't think I can do this. So that's when I realized it would be better for me to actually teach them how to do their marketing really well. And that's when my whole business changed because I moved from being on the tools and being twenty four seven, I was on my phone trying to figure out, is this going to the right place one time? A finance, no, a skin. I worked for this beauty therapist and a beauty therapist post went out on the Mortgage Broker's Instagram account. Oh my God, I love it. And I was like, mortified, this is not so good. So yeah, it was a lot of figuring it out. So then I moved into more coaching and consulting, which is what I do now. So I work with people on not just their social media, but how does your overall marketing presence help you to grow your business?
(05:53):
Not how does it just help you to look good? How does it actually deliver results? How does it help you to really build your revenue and build the business that you really want? And the big thing that I work with people on now is I work with creative service providers. So I work with people like me, I guess, who are starting a business with no idea and who needed a bit of support on how the heck do I do this? How do I grow this? How do I sell really well without feeling that shame when you're like, crap, I just did something weird or awkward or undersold or whatever. So now I'm really working with people who, like me, when they started their business, they were like, I'm good at this thing, and now I've got to figure out how to market, how to sell, how to actually run the business.
(06:44):
And that's a skill, and it's one that you have to learn. And it's one that I had to learn. I don't know about you, but I was not, it was not innate to me. I didn't do a degree, even though I don't know how much a degree really helps you in real world, but I know. Yeah. So I don't know. I'm curious about your journey to Danielle, because I know that we're in such a similar space. And I guess how did you kind of start? Because I feel like my journey is this fumbling awkward little like, oh, I'm over here and I'm over here and I've arrived here and I love where I am now. But it's a funny, that's been six years. Wow. No, and it's so interesting because as I was listening to you talk about your, was it your brother brother's business getting the start there and them kind of going, we'll take a chance on you, we just need some help.
(07:39):
Can you kind of learn this on the fly? I mean, I think that's the best way to learn anything. So I studied fashion design at university, super helpful, clearly gone on to do big things with that. But that was over a decade ago, right? Social media wasn't even talked about when I went to uni. And I've created my whole career around influencer marketing more. So that definitely wasn't being talked about all the way back then. So it was all had to learn it on the fly as well. I became obsessed with blogging back then, and it was a total just teach myself how to do everything because I loved it and I was just so excited by it. And then that's kind of that blog turned into Scrunch, which is our influencer marketing platform. And then in 2020 Spark. So the female founder community was really in response to the pandemic.
(08:39):
And just seeing so many of my amazing women in my network struggling, I was like, how can I go out and raise money through grants and corporate sponsors to do amazing things for female founders? So again, but it's all been just trial and error, learn on the go, fail miserably, realize what I do and I don't like, and then try and create business out of that. Totally. And I think sometimes because I work, and I know it's so similar to you, you're connected to so many women in business. I find that a lot of women that I at least encounter have this thing of I need to know everything about how I want my business to be before I can even take the first step. And I need to have a business plan that's like I and Clad. And it's kind of this, my journey has been, oh, you can plan.
(09:36):
And I'm all about having a plan and a strategy, but I don't think those things should rule where your business journey takes you because there are seasons in your business. There are moments in time where I feel like the business it becomes, it's kind of weird to talk about, but initially when I started my business, it was me. And now the business is, it's more than just an extension of me. It kind of is its own thing. And so I'm kind of in this dance of, well, what does the business require of me in this season? And is it new offers or is it selling more? What actually does your business need? And I think it's really valuable to actually kind of hold it out away from you a little bit to go, I think this is when it becomes, it's me, it's my business, it's my identity.
(10:40):
Things start to get a bit weird and they start to get a bit confusing and overwhelming. And I think being able to hold it out a little more further from you and go, this is my business. This is what I do. It's not who I am. I think that journey, I just feel like being able to progress that is so valuable. I feel like I've gone on a tangent. No, no, no, no. It's just so funny. Isn't it hilarious how you always hear all the things come into your life that you need to hear at the right time? So I literally said this, I've gotten my first business coaching, so 10 years in business and I've just paid for my first business coach because I don't know, because a crazy person, I was like, well, if I need a coach, obviously I dunno what I'm doing.
(11:28):
I'm going out there telling everyone what they should be doing. And it was so good. And one of the biggest things that's come up for me lately is I don't know who I am outside of these effing businesses. So I love that you just said that. You actually do need to take a step back and ask the question. I love what you said. You're like, what does the business need of me not, I am the business and I think it's so important. I'm literally having this whole moment right now around this. Yeah. Who am I to my businesses, and then how is it okay for me to show up personally outside of that? So oh my God, that's the best exercise to go through.
(12:13):
But it's such a journey, isn't it? Because like you say, when you're in this building phase, it's like everything is heightened. You have friends who your friends can kind of be like, oh, you never come out anymore, or you don't travel with us anymore, or things like that. And you're like, that's because I'm kind of tied to this thing. And it can feel a bit like, yeah, it can feel like I'm stuck with this thing and it's me and I can't separate myself from it. But I think as the business has grown and as we've brought on more people into our team, I've started to recognize, well, the business needs to, it not only needs to serve me, I also need to, it's reciprocal. I need to give the business what it needs, but also the business needs to serve and it needs to, and serve might be the wrong word, but it needs to, once you get employees, you're like, oh my gosh, this thing needs to provide so that these people can get paid.
(13:26):
They could give eating seriously. And then you're like, well, it's not just about me anymore. It's actually how is this thing that I'm leading, how is that thing going to actually allow the people that work not for us, but with us in building this thing, how does this help them to get to where they want to go as well? So it just becomes, as it grows, you start to realize it can't just be you otherwise it won't continue to grow. Yes. So yeah, that's been my journey. Well, and I love that too because you talked about going from very much social management and the done for you doing the marketing for different types of businesses to going, we want to educate people so they can run their own so that you don't have to be a subject matter expert in every industry. So I love that evolution.
(14:24):
And then what you just said in terms of the business changing again, where it's actually now you've got a team, so what you do for the business has then changed again as well. Talk to me about that mindset shift each step of the way. How did that feel for you each time you went, okay, it's not that it's not working, but we need to level up a little bit or grow or change. How did you navigate that? Oh, that's such a good question. So I think that there are iterations of Lala Social Club, I guess. So I feel like the first phase was really about, okay, how do I just figure out what I'm good at and just do it and how do I deliver? And it was very much the technician mode of like, right, we are going to do done for you. And at each kind of crossroad, I think there's been a tipping point where I've realized this needs to evolve and this needs to change, I guess.
(15:32):
So at each moment there's been, I don't know if you found this too, Danielle, but there's been one foot that has been like, this is comfortable, this is safe. This is where I want to live. I'm happy here. But there's another foot that is like, no, no, no, we should see what's kind of up here because there's cooler, more exciting things and also better ways that we can serve people. So it's this tension of, I've always, I think for me, I've kept one foot in the little safe zone until it gets to a point where I'm pushed and thrust into the new thing. And one of those moments was when I went from done for you into consulting and coaching, and that's when I was like, right, actually this isn't sustainable anymore. I can't actually deliver the results. If I keep increasing my prices, I'm just going to price myself out of the market and I'm going to be able to serve no one and help no one.
(16:33):
So that was like crossroad number one. The second tipping point was covid, because I went from doing a lot of face-to-face work, and then of course everyone, it was like, right, we have to go online. And for us, we were like, we had this course that we'd been working on, so we're like, let's just hit go on that. So that really thrust us into, okay, well now we need to go into this more of this coaching space, more of this one to many space. And the latest kind of little tipping point for us has been moving away from one-on-one altogether, and moving into the next level club, which is our group coaching program. And then we have my marketing playbook, which is our six week course. And that process again was this weird little juggle. And this is the dance of, I'm still doing one-on-one, and I'm getting really tired and a little bit feeling a bit burnt out on that, and I've got to do the leap, but I'm not sure how long it's going to take me to land.
(17:46):
And so I think that thing of like, oh, is it going to be a month? Is it going to be two months before this really actually works? How am I going to afford this? Those questions of how do we do that? So I feel like at each moment where the business has evolved and the business has gone to the next level, I cannot see how it could go to that next level without me personally doing a lot of work internally to prepare for that. So I don't think I could have gone into consulting without working with the coach to help me to do that. So I think it's also doing the work yourself, but also bringing people alongside who've done it and who are good at it. And then the covid thing was just kind, that was just tough. Cookies, swim, figure it out, jump in and you discuss. And then the latest 3.0 version I guess was really like, I've been wanting to do this for so long, and now, if not now, then, and I think now I just have this very much this focus of we've got these two things that we do and that's it.
(19:08):
But that little dance, it's such a tension of, and it's a little faith step. You have to go, do I believe in this thing and do I believe it's going to help people? And if I really believe that, I've got to believe in it myself enough to take the risk. And it's been incredible for our business, but because I've done those tipping points a few times, I know in myself, oh, I'm doing that thing where I'm trying to keep one foot on the little safe spot, the safe pledge. Yes. Yeah, totally. And then jump. Yeah. So I, and there are things that go wrong in that process, and I'm sure that we could calculate things more and we could probably use more data to figure out how long is it going to take us to get to the goal that we want. But I mean, for the most part it's just jump and figure it out.
(20:07):
I love that so much too, because I actually love the keeping one foot on the little safe zone in the safe zone because I do feel like sometimes people don't start anything altogether or never make the leap that they need to make because they kind of think they have to be all in from word go. And whilst we kind of go and poke fun that we're doing the juggle or doing the dance, I don't think that that's such a bad thing to have a little bit of a little part of you that's kind of just going, yeah, we've got everything set up as well as we can. I mean, you're right, nothing's ever going to be perfect. There's going to be issues you make a big change or just things that you don't foresee. So I perhaps don't think that it's a bad thing kind of going, oh, I'm just going to keep one foot back here for a minute while I assess what's going on out there.
(21:01):
I totally agree. And I think we also have this the all in mentality of like, well, I've got to be only this. And it just becomes a bit one dimensional when we make it like, well, we do this and nothing else. And if I'm going to do that, I need to be all in. I need to be focused. When I think you're right, the process, it's an evolution and it's not a, oh, I did this and now I'm over here. I think on the outside it can look like that, but I do think on the inside it's like baby steps, baby steps, baby steps. And then you go, I'm just got to do the final baby step. That's like woo off the little ledge. And then I've made the mistake of hanging out on the ledge too long and kind of stayed in one foot, in one foot out.
(22:00):
And it meant that I wasn't serving either, particularly either part. Well, but I also think you're right, you have to do a big mistake I think a lot of people make is they build products they think people want, and then when they realize they've not tested it, they've not figured out, do people actually want this? And they think, I'll tell the market what it wants when it's like, no, the market will tell you what it wants. And you could spend a lot of time and a lot of money building something that no one wants. So the baby steps and the teachering, having one foot in both is valuable when you're like, I still don't know if this is what people want yet. And so that's really valuable because if I went all in on something and there's heaps of ideas that I've had that I'm like, that's brilliant.
(23:05):
Let's change our business overnight. And then it's like, no, no, no, we shouldn't do that. And that has been so good that we didn't do that because it wasn't what people wanted. It was what I thought people wanted. I love that so much because I was a slow learner on that one. So in the very, very early days of scrunch, oh my God, we wasted so much time and so much money building crap that people didn't want. It was a really interesting, silly, hard lesson to learn. But you are so right. I literally now have a philosophy that the only time I will invest into a new idea, product, service, whatever is a landing page, I can whip up a landing page in an hour or so. And I'm like, that's as much as I will invest into something. I'll try and sell it. If it sells, then I scramble.
(24:02):
If it doesn't sell and we can't sell it and people aren't keen, they don't want to know more, blah, blah, blah, then it gets no more airtime. Oh, I love that. That's such a good filter to be like, if this simple landing page doesn't do the thing, and if it doesn't get people excite people, then it's not a thing. And it can be, it's so interesting because the next level club, which is really our core offer now, we don't even have the sales page for it. I just had phone calls with all of my past clients, people who've done my programs and was like, Hey, if I were to put something like this together, would you be keen? And I just had phone call after phone call to be like, wow, I love that. Is this the right fit? And even now I'm like, we don't have a sales page for it, but we've got people joining every month because I think it has the, well, it solves a problem, it solves a problem.
(25:07):
But there are heaps of things that were similar to the next level club that I'd wanted to start over the years that just did not get the traction. And it's interesting, it's like a timing thing. It could be a messaging thing. It could be the types of leads or clients that you're attracting at that time don't work for that particular offer. So I love that landing page test idea. It's not a big investment of your time or energy, but the thing, it's so true, once we get our heads on to something, it's so easy to run away with an idea and then you're like, oh my God, what have I done? I know. Oh my God, tell me about it. Tell me it. But I mean, I think that's also why we're successful business owners because we are so passionate about what we do, and it's just like it's funneling.
(26:02):
It's funneling that energy and passion into the stuff that people actually want. Yes, we could have a hundred ideas before close of business, but which one will solves a problem? Which one do people want to pay money for? What excites people and also us in business, and then channel the energy into those things. But I love that you said that you actually called and talked to people. I think that is so underrated. People don't want to talk to people on the phone these days. They don't want to pick up the phone and have a conversation. I'm like, well, that's when you uncover interesting things. People can ignore emails. People can ignore LinkedIn outreach. If you are on the phone to somebody that you have a relationship with and you've got that opportunity to ask them questions about the problem that you solve, holy crap, that is valuable data.
(26:58):
And it is because you can actually hear, you don't get tone in email or a survey or whatever, but you get tone by being able to say, Hey, so you kind of struggle with this thing. How does that make you feel? And you can hear when people go, oh, well, do you know what actually makes me feel like I'm missing out or I'm not living up to my potential? And then you can actually go, oh, okay, this is telling me what this is, what the problem that I need to solve first. It is B, it helps you in your marketing and your messaging. You can use that language. Totally. Yeah. Seriously. I think I reckon communication and just simply having conversations with people is one of the most underrated skills that a business owner needs. Well, I love that you said that because I am a closet salesperson, and I love how you said at the beginning you're like, you didn't love the sales gig, but I think that sales is just conversations.
(28:09):
So I think that's why I like it because it's, I will chew anybody's ear off about the problems I solve. So it's like if I just talk to enough people, I will get the amount of sales that I need or want. So if you can reframe sales to conversations, and I love how you just framed that, it's just being the best skill a founder should have, then I think that that sets people up in really good stead for their business. Totally. And I really believe that the best communicator wins. I think you could have the same offer as someone else down the road, but if you communicate with more clarity or more empathy or more precision to your dream client, you win all day because it's like that person is like, oh my gosh, Danielle's speaking to me. And it's the tone and the actual care factor, I think.
(29:13):
And I feel like it would be the same in sales. It's like actually, if you could just ask good questions and actually care about the person you're talking to, totally, seriously. Oh my God, I love it. So Spark has a sales course, and it's like, yes, you can learn all of the technical things around sales, you can learn about funnels and how many people I need and my conversion rates and blah, blah, blah. But it's like if you just ask good questions, so that person actually has the problem that you're trying to solve and has money to solve it and cares about solving it, and then you are willing to talk to enough people and build relationships, there's the trifecta, you're done. Yeah, I love that. And the other thing is I think we underestimate, I think we underestimate how long we want things that are instant, right?
(30:11):
We're like, wait, I want that to be money by next week kind of thing. But it's like, thanks. Yeah, sounds glorious. But just the other week I had someone who signed up to the next level club. She's like, great, I'm a hundred percent in pay for the whole year in full on the phone. She was like, I'm in. And I was like, so tell me how have you kind of been around us for? She's like, oh, I've been on your mailing list for two years and I've been listening to you on podcast for a year and a half every week. Wow. Oh my God. And I'm like, well, that's pretty crazy. I think we think, oh, if it's not a sale today, it's never going to be a sale. But if we approach people like that, I think people can tell, oh yeah, totally. It's a bit yuck.
(31:08):
But I think if we approach it, okay, cool, it sounds like this isn't the right time for you or you're not ready yet, and that's totally okay. If we can continue, if sales is just a conversation, we can continue the conversation through our marketing with them. And I think that's why sales and marketing are the two best friends because the two of them, they support each other and you can't have one without the other, really. So it's like, I just think that really showed to me, oh wow, us sending it weekly newsletter actually means something. And we kind of think, oh, is it doing anything? It totally is. So I mean, for anyone listening who was like, I feel like I'm plugging away at the things and I'm just, I'm showing up and I feel like I'm doing the right things, you'll be surprised at the people that come out of the woodwork who are like, I've been on your email list for nine months or for two years or for however long, and finally one post or one email, they go, alright, I'm going to take action on that.
(32:17):
I love that so much because a lot of people, I find in the small business content community, you see so many people that are just create viral reels and you'll sell a million dollars worth of things. And I sometimes feel like business owners are like, what is it? What am I missing? Because I'm doing the reels thing, or I am a TikTok star and the sales just aren't coming. And I think you are spot on. It is showing up consistently and meeting people where they are because you are totally right. Someone may not need to solve the problem today, or they may have the problem, but they might not have the budget or whatever it is. But if you keep showing up and serving them and adding value and building a relationship and having a conversation, you just never know when they will be ready to pull the trigger.
(33:15):
And I love the fact that you were like, that person was, oh yeah, I'm definitely in. I'm so in. They didn't need convincing because you've spent two years convincing them that you know your shit. Totally. And I think I can sometimes come across, I hate dancing reels and things like that, and it's not that I hate dancing reels, I hate dancing reel. I refuse, refuse to ever do a dancing reel. My thing is I do not the idea that smart, intelligent, ambitious, particularly women, because I dunno, maybe it's just the algorithm, but I don't see that many dancing guys out there. I dunno, that could just be my algorithm, but I just don't like the idea that we have to dance for money. I'm just like, listen. Oh my God, I've never heard anyone say it like that. That is so hilarious. I don't want to hilarious.
(34:16):
I don't want to have to dance for money, actually. But the other thing is, if you do want, that's actually your thing, then Im totally do it. But the issue that I have is that people who it's not their thing are left feeling like I've got to become something I'm not in order to succeed and that I have an issue with because I think you should not have to do, you should not have to do x, y and said, because it's a trend. And I think there's total value in if that is what you want to do, a hundred percent I'm, I kind of wish it was what I wanted to do because it'd be cool and it'd be funny, but I think it's just not my vibe. And so that's okay. And the amount of people that come and I don't know, you must get the same, but the amount of people that come to me, and they're actually the amount of people that when I've posted saying, Hey, you actually don't have to dance on reels to have a successful business.
(35:20):
They actually are like, thank you so much for saying that. I felt like I did. And it's like, no, no, no. It's just you can do that. You don't have to do that. I think it makes me frustrated when it feels like you have to become something that you're not in order to be successful. And that goes for everything I think. Do you have to have a masculine energy of just being like, well, you suck and you are not good enough and we're going to hustle and grind. Do you have to have that energy? No, I hate that. That feels like that has to be the energy. I know. So it's like you don't have to show up in the way that other people do that. If that works for them, that's awesome. But if it doesn't work for you, then that's okay. And I think there are still people who are like, you don't need to dance for me to get the message of what you're saying.
(36:20):
It's so true. And it's really interesting because I think it's that how do you want to show up and how do you want to run your business? And yes, you do not have to do things you don't want to do. And it's also think about your customers as well, depending on what market you are serving, showing up dancing might actually not connect very well your customers. And I totally agree. People come to me all the time too, and they're like, I want to sell, but I don't want to do reels, or I don't want to be a TikTok star. And I'm like, well, that's cool, because that's not what sales are. Reels and TikTok are not a sales strategy. They are one channel. They're one way to reach a customer. Sales and marketing strategy actually starts somewhere completely different. It is actually about understanding who your customer is and where they are and what they care about.
(37:13):
So I do love that you said we don't have to do those things if they're not right for us. Yeah, I just am wanting to be a Woo girl right now because I feel the same. I'm like, yes, everything you're saying, and that's the thing I think where maybe we've gone wrong is thinking that Instagram is our sales channel when it's, or it's our marketing strategy or our marketing plan. And it's actually like, well, when you kind of follow that idea through, you kind go, oh, do I have to then, if that is my sales strategy, and then if that is my only marketing plan, my only marketing avenue, and my only way to connect with my audience, then it becomes about, well, what is going to get seen? What's going to get engagement? And it becomes, it's like a race to the bottom then because it becomes, well, okay, well, I've got to do the things.
(38:09):
I've got to play the game. Whereas if Instagram or TikTok is part of your sales strategy, part of your marketing strategy, it takes the pressure off because you're like, oh, okay. If I just consistently show up, it doesn't matter if this gets 30 views or 130,000 views, it doesn't actually matter that much because it's, the thing is, one of my reels just randomly got so many views. Did I see an impact on my bottom line whatsoever? No, I didn't. I'm shocked. I'm shocked. I'm shocked my whole strategy, but seriously, it's like, did that impact me in any way? I didn't even know. And then I looked and was like, whoa, that one's way different to the others. So it's kind of like, yeah, we're chasing after this thing that is like, you've got to go viral. And it's like, yeah, but what for? Oh my God.
(39:13):
All right. So you are amazing. And we could sit here all day and we'd need a top up of our wines. I agree. I would love for you to share just one last tip. So the people that tune in to Spark TV and listen to your amazing story in business are usually early stage founders. So they're wearing all the hats. They might be a little stressed out and maybe wondering why they actually took the leap into business. Is there any words of wisdom, anything that got you through when you were just starting out or that you've learned over the years that would be important for a woman in business to think about?
(39:58):
Do you know what? My mom and I was just talking about this today actually. My mom is, she's just like one of these, I'm quite tall and she's so small. She's this little tiny little, I don't know, she's just a very sweet, very kind little person. Yeah, we love her. She is one of the sweetest people I know. But she has this streak of you don't mess with her, and she just has this thing about her and she's got this velvet sledge hammer thing that she got. She does. So she'll say something that's really direct, but she'll say it in this really soft kind way. And you're like, do you know what? I needed to hear that. That was good feedback. But she sat me down one day and I was so stressed out about the business, and honestly, I was in tears. I was at my sister's place and I was like, I dunno what I'm doing.
(40:54):
What is going on? I dunno if I've got this in me, I don't know what I'm doing. And it was to do with different relationship dynamics of people wanting me to do things that I was like, I don't want to do that as a service anymore. And I was in this point where I was on the precipice of like, I don't think I want to do that anymore, but people keep asking me to do it and I feel bad saying no. And she looked me dead in the eye and she said, Laura, the people pleaser must die.
(41:34):
That's amazing. And so it's as my wallpaper on my computer, and honestly that has been, and I need to tell her that that was a very pivotal moment for me. But it really was because when you're wearing all the hats, when you're building something and when it is, so you're protective of it because it's your baby and you love it and you don't want anyone to tell you, oh, this isn't going to work out for you. So you put your little blinkers on and you can kind of just press on and accept things or show up in a way that you're like, I don't really want to do this anymore in this way and I want to evolve. And so I think that advice of the people pleaser must die for any women who are founders who are at that point where I was at, where I was like, I cannot do this.
(42:33):
That would be my biggest piece of advice is what are you doing that is purely to please other people? And that's not actually what you in your core know the business needs and know that you really want to be doing in your business. Oh my God, you are amazing. Thank you, Laura, for sharing your insights with the Spark community. I am so grateful that you spent your time on the podcast today. Oh, thank you so much for having me. And also, I will say if my filter was way off, as in if I was just being very straight, it's because I'm, that's why we have wine. No, seriously, that is why I say brewing a wine because I'm like the people dialing in. They want to hear the truth, they want to hear the honest insights. We're here to shortcut people's success. And you can only do that if you share the warts and alls. I love it. Thank you, Danielle. And what you do for your community is honestly so great and beautiful, and I'm honored to have been on the podcast. So thank you so much for having me. Anytime. Anytime.
