We recently connected with Laura Agakanian and have shared our conversation below.
Laura , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
The first component to become successful is integrity. Without your word, nothing gets accomplished. Integrity is twofold: one is the agreement you have with another; and two is the agreement you have with yourself. When we give our word, people count on us and that creates a promise of workability. When your word is broken, breakdowns occur and we become inoperable and chaotic. Can you imagine, for example, if an air traffic controller did not keep his word on directing aircraft movement? What disastrous consequence would happen and how many lives and families would be effected? Now I am not trying to scare anyone, but it is the importance of one’s word to themselves, their job, family, spouse, community, and all humanity that creates a sense of personal profit. And without that inside you, no one can be successful. And as a human, we all go back on promises. It is how one communicates thereafter that makes a difference. And that is still keeping your word. Without our word, we have no value.
The second element to success is value. My favorite quote about value is by Albert Einstein, which reads: “Strive not to be of success, but rather to be of value.” Now, knowing that value and success are relative, what can we rely on in ourselves that would be universal? If we each would weigh the importance of success as the worth of our own relationship to our collective community, would not that be of greatest value? When one person acts with value, it can result in a continuous flow of positive outcomes. It is a give and take and the entire exchange being made is of greater value. For example, if I am out to grab a cup of coffee and the person in front of me starts chatting nicely with me, I just received an exchange of value. Then if I get up to the register and the barista serves me with a warm welcome, then that is one more exchange of value. This makes the tiniest moments a success. And don’t we all strive for success in the shape of moments and milestones? It all comes down to perspective. And the more finite you define your value, the more successful one will be. Because value feeds integrity. And without integrity, no one would be successful financially, mentally, physically, or spiritually. It is that balance we seek to define our overall success.
The third constituent of what it takes to be successful is resilience. If one can practice their ability to not take a no answer personally, an opportunity to learn something can show up. A failed outcome is a chance to grow our capacity to recover quicker and quicker so that we can proceed to fulfill a goal. Tiger Woods says this perfectly: “It’s ok to fail. Failing does not shape your personality; it’s how you react upon your failure. Do you dust yourself off and mope or do you dust yourself off and come back stronger the next time? Eventually you will win. It may not happen the next time, it may take a little time but you will win in the end.” -Tiger Woods
I think if we all operated from a context of integrity, compassion, and care, we would all be successful in whatever we attain to, no matter what our goals are. I make it my mission and choice to practice mindfulness and gratitude everyday so that I can really be of value to others and also be present to those moments of value that show up reciprocated. And to me that is the biggest meaning of being successful. Like the saying goes, “You are never fully dressed until you wear a smile,” I would like to say that no one is truly successful without being of service and gifting positive energy to another human being.
Laura , 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?
As a woman who is committed to serving community, it was my goal to create a business around supporting women.I was always passionate about babies and pregnancy. I even took pregnancy biology classes as electives while I studied for my Bachelors in Business, back in college. In 2003, I launched my boutique called “Bellies, Babies and Bosoms” with the mission to empower new mothers during their parenting journey. For 20 years, Bellies served the Montrose community, Foothills area, and entire Los Angeles with a variety of services and products from the cutest baby clothes to lactation support to parenting classes. Bellies was a warm, intimate environment where all were welcomed whether a parent needed to change a diaper in our mommy lounge, or a grandparent searched for that special gift. Bellies served unconditionally for 20 years. I am very proud to announce that I joyfully retired Bellies in January 2024, and I was determined to have bits of Bellies live on. I chose to keep my brand name for future possibilities, and I was successful at selling off my assets to two wonderful business women who will carry on the legacy of my business in two ways: one, MILC (Mother Infant Lactation Center) will operate as a mobile lactation boutique and two, Little Sprout will occupy Bellies space in the Montrose community. What I am most proud of is how many families we served these past 20 years, and of the customers who visited us our last days in the boutique sharing their stories of how Bellies contributed to their parenting success. So many referred to Bellies as “A staple in the community that will be greatly missed” and “A Legacy who made a profound difference for all.” It was a privilege to watch all the families grow and an honor to serve every customer who walked into Bellies, Babies and Bosoms.
Can you talk to us about your experience with selling businesses?
Yes, I just sold my business by dividing it into parts that will live on in other businesses. First, it was an empowered choice that I made for myself. My business was thriving, and I wanted to be able to choose completing my business when I wanted to, not when I had to. The lessons I learned is that I can do anything I put my mind to. It was so important to me that I close my baby boutique, Bellies, Babies and Bosoms with pride and dignity. I truly accomplished this by assuring the services would still be offered in our community by another company. I also made sure that another baby store would occupy our space so that the Montrose area still had a baby store in the area. What I learned is that by adhering to my integrity to serve, my mission was accomplished. I sold off my business my way, and it was a success. I wanted to keep my business brand name and just sell off my assets, and I wanted to find the right baby store to rent the space, not because I had to, but because I cared about the community and the loss they would feel without Bellies, Babies and Bosoms being on the adorable corner in Montrose Shopping Park. So for anyone out there wanting to sell their business “their way,” my advice is start the process very early by research, support, and choose wisely for yourself, and do it while you are in the position that you can afford to. You will then be a double success, not only for the years you served people, but also for the success of your own choice to joyfully retire, just like I did.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I believe that your social media presence needs to be organic. How I built the audience for Bellies, Babies and Bosoms is by the quality and care we served our clients with. If we have a foundation of serving with compassion, kindness, knowledge, and authenticity, then we did our job. If the customer chooses to follow us and engage on social media, then we also did our job. My advice is to provide impeccable service and work on the management in your business, and the social media will follow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bellies.biz
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belliesbb/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bellies-babies-and-bosoms-montrose-2
Image Credits
Image credits: Vic Boghossian