We were lucky to catch up with Lala Loves recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lala , appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I had spent almost a decade of my life slaving away in corporate America, working for some of the top companies in the fashion industry. Yet, after hitting my seventh or eighth year in Corporate America, I remember my favorite times of my job were the end of the day when I got to go home and the days when I didn’t have to be at work. I was in my late twenties and realized while I loved my career in digital marketing and merchandising, I needed a change because I was burned out. So, I decided to go back to school in 2021 to get a Masters in Business Administration and stay in marketing and the digital space but broaden my horizon and work within a different industry, whether it be health or tech.

After becoming tired of feeling underappreciated and underpaid as a Corporate America minion, I quit my job and decided to focus solely on advancing my education, and that’s when I had my aha moment. Like many millennials and Gen Z individuals, I’d found myself under a lot of crushing student loan debt that I didn’t feel was worth it based on my income and the mid-level jobs I had worked. Also, I realized that I needed to pivot, and that’s when I decided what better way to pivot in my career than to bet on myself. Therefore, I decided to use my past experience in the digital space and e-commerce, coupled with my master’s in business, to launch an unconventional business idea. I started Lala’s Bedtime Tales, a sexual wellness and liberation brand that empowers women-identifying individuals to feel more confident in their sexuality through erotica, s*x and relationship tips, and sexual health education.

One of the ways I chose to get my brand out to the masses was through an audio erotica storytelling podcast that has mental and sexual health benefits for women. I launched it in the Fall of 2021, and nearing the end of 2023, Lala’s Bedtime Tales: Erotic Stories podcast is ranked top 3% globally, is listened to in over seventy countries, and has amassed over one hundred and sixty thousand listens in a little over two years.

Lala , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I founded Lala’s Bedtime Tales, a sexual wellness and liberation brand, because I understand, as a woman, how traumatic and shameful you can feel about your sexuality. After suffering from sexual trauma and medical gaslighting and feeling alone in these moments in my life, I felt it was important to create a safe, secure, and judgment-free space for women-identifying individuals to learn medically backed, comprehensive, and accurate education about their reproductive and sexual anatomy, to have an educational easily accessible platform to learn expert relationship and s*x advice that’s pleasure-centered and growth-oriented with female sexuality at the forefront and to provide a fun escape through female-friendly erotic romance that also benefits your mental and sexual health.

Through Lala’s Bedtime Tales, I offer relationship and sexual health education workshops, sexual wellness products, an exclusive and inclusive community, and free resources like my YouTube channel, Blog, and podcast to fuel women’s sexual confidence and empower them to tap into their erotic power and fearlessly and shamelessly own their sexuality. The most profound moments in my work in the sexual wellness community are when women tell me that my brand has made them comfortable in embracing their sexuality and that they’ve been able to overcome their sexual shame, develop a sex-positive outlook on intimacy, and have found their voice in their romantic and sexual relationships with their partner(s). My mission is to destigmatize women’s sexuality as a dirty thing and encourage and educate women on ways to enjoy their sexual pleasure and feel confident and sexy in their sexuality. My goal is to create a safe and judgment-free space for everyone to learn about sexual health, sexual consent, and sexual enjoyment because s*x should be fun, beautiful, and intimate, never physically or mentally painful.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

One of the best and most free tools that we have available to us in entrepreneurship is the power of networking. For many years in business, we’ve always looked at others within our industry as competitors, but what if we saw them as niche buddies? There’s so much power and reach through collaboration with others within your same space, and an ability to reach people in your market that you may have never thought were out there and looking for a brand like yours. Therefore, cultivating relationships and shouting out to others within your industry can actually do more good than harm. I’ve received clients, work, and opportunities through the power of networking with other brands within the sexual wellness community. The people that I’ve met throughout my industry have helped me be able to build my reputation within the sexual wellness community. So, don’t look at everyone in your space as competition but as a networking opportunity for collaboration that can help build your brand and make you look more reputable to those within your target market.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

One of the most effective strategies I’ve experienced with growing a customer base is providing everyone the same experience across the board. Whether they’re a new client, a returning client, or a business lead who can only engage or come to free events, it’s important to cultivate the same relationship with everyone because you never know who might be your highest-paying client one day or who they may know that can help the trajectory of your business.

Word of mouth is something that can make or break a business; therefore, cultivating and nurturing relationships with everyone who shows interest in your business is of the essence as an entrepreneur. Humans always remember interactions based on how someone made us feel. Therefore, it’s important to always as an entrepreneur to ensure every impression you make with a client is a positive, lasting impression because a person can be a long-time client of yours, and one bad experience can cancel out the good you’ve cultivated in that relationship.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lalasbedtimetales.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lalasbedtimetales/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LalasBedtimeTales
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/LalasTales
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHM9VgLu0Xd5imR2jON-qnA
• Other: Podcast: https://www.lalasbedtimetales.com/lalas-bedtime-tales-podcast

Image Credits
Whitney B. Jordan Photography: https://wbjordanmedia.com/