We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lauren Fractor a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lauren thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

I started my Facebook community social group, Ladies of Los Angeles, in May of 2018. The idea was simple and small; make new friends in LA. It was an easy concept and I never thought in a million years that it would grow from 1 member (me) to over 23,000 members in 5 years. Over the course of 4 years, I had a feeling I could go beyond an online social group and try to branch out by using this as a way to take my passion for creating community and hosting event to a new level. Even though I am still getting my footing and learning what it is like to be a business owner, I felt compelled to take the community to a larger scale by hosting events. I launched the group as an official business in September 2022 and have been building ever since!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

In May of 2018, I started my Facebook social group “Ladies of Los Angeles” to create and foster community in Los Angeles. I have always been a social person and meeting new people has always come very natural to me. I know the reason I was put on this Earth was to help others, by trade I am a licensed marriage and family therapist, but I saw myself wanting to do more. For women who want to make other connections and friends, Ladies of Los Angeles, is one of the best social groups to do that. From recommendations, networking opportunities, events, and emotional support, the women in the group have been nothing short of fabulous. I am most proud of the way my moderator team and I run the group and how we set boundaries for ourselves and how those boundaries are respected. Being in the mental health field and having training in various ways of life has helped me tremendously to communicate effectively with other women. With social groups or any social media presence, you will get spammers, scammers, and members who try to bend the rules, but due to the efficiency of how the group is run, we take pride in making it a safe space for women. We host in-person events monthly to have women meet one another in real life and are one of the top social groups in Los Angeles!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I am currently unlearning is to not take everything so personally. When women do not show up to my events it is not usually a direct dig at me. People have their own challenges that can interfere with the way they show up for others and how they respond to real life issues. As long as someone is not rude or disrespectful, I have been learning that not everyone will be able to show up the way you might want them to. The ones that show up to cultivate these relationships are the ones you want to form relationships with and that is my main focus moving forward. It is a hard lesson to unlearn, but I am determined to get better at it.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I chose this question because it was very easy for me to build my Facebook following. I noticed my following grew very quickly during the summer of 2020 due to the pandemic. Once I rebranded and chose a well-fitted name for my group, the group sold itself! Women wanted to make friends in Los Angeles and Ladies of Los Angeles is the group where others can meet female friends in LA. My moderator team and I run a very well-oiled machine and have done such a fantastic job of moderating in a fair, yet genuine way that we have been able to continue to grow and have expanded the group since that summer from 2,000 to over 23,000 just by maintaining the group, planning events, and remaining true to why the group was created.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ladies_of_losangeles
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ladiesoflosangeles
• Other: hey-lo: ladies of los angeles