We recently connected with Laurel Smith and have shared our conversation below.

Laurel, appreciate you joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

When we decided to pivot to planners from jewelry in 2022, the planner industry and online product sales industry in general was pretty “buttoned up” and serious and not super approachable. There were, of course and as always, exceptions to that rule, but I knew that I wanted to show up how my favorite content creators were showing up which was different from the type of things I saw the planner and organizational experts doing online. I wanted to attract people in a relatable way that celebrated how life feels chaotic sometimes and that’s okay and here are some systems that work for me instead of presenting the perfect type A organized planner gal.

Laurel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Laurel Denise started in 2005 as an inspirational jewelry line that featured Laurel’s unique handwriting engraved into glass, leather and fine metals. While working in a corporate job, I had a dream where I was using tools to create beautiful jewelry with my handwriting. Skipping ahead a year and lots of late nights, I had a website and Laurel Denise was born. That business grew to sell millions of bracelets nationwide and employee a dozen people.

Seeing a need in the industry when I was desperate to get my ideas under control, I designed our flagship planner layout that lets you view everything at once. After a few launch attempts – one before social media was even a thing! – we launched in 2020, connected with our audience online and the planner quickly took over the brand that fully pivoted from jewelry to planners in 2022.

Today, we make planners for the way you think. We are committed to carrying our customers beyond the purchase with a splash of personality, resources, ideas and inspiration on how to use the planners, and accessories that will help you get things done and reduce life’s overwhelm.

The population of people with adhd and neurodivergent minds is on the rise is and we are here to create products that are thoughtfully designed for minds that think in unique ways. We offer planners + accessories that serve an audience that has been largely ignored in the design world and consider it our mission to provide good design to a customer base desperate for functional organizational products. Since 2008, our unique, patent-pending planner design helps you get organized and live your best life by giving you a broad and detailed view every single day of the month. Our planners, planner accessories, journals, tools and gifts are designed to think like you do and encourage you along the way.

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

I think, as entrepreneurs, you try a lot of things because you are passionate and probably interested in a lot of things which is so fun (and maybe sometimes a little distracting), but I think we can beat ourselves up about this a bit. I know that when I started a family and had to make a choice between jewelry and planners in 2012, I could easily look back and think that I made a mistake by choosing jewelry. I could look at the success Laurel Denise planners are having and think how that might have been easier than the uphill climb that jewelry felt like sometimes. But, I learned SO MUCH with my jewelry business – about me, about business, about marketing, about everything! – and my pivot came at the exact right time for the brand. It wasn’t a mistake, it was experience.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

After pivoting from jewelry, I made a commitment to myself to only show up as myself on the internet. That doesn’t mean that I needed to share what strangers don’t need to know about, but I was going to be unapologetically me. Chaotic and fun and quirky and silly and HONEST and relatable. And I was going to have fun doing it. I think when it seems like you enjoy social media (I try to only consume content I enjoy) and you’re just being yourself, good things happen there. I mean, look at Elyse Myers! She’s a prime example and inspiration for me.

It’s refreshing to see people just being themselves sharing the things they are passionate about.

Fun side note: I can still remember when my employee and I finally got to 10,000 followers on Instagram. We were at a retail show at Magnolia Market in Texas and we jumped up and down because that 10,000 followers meant we could finally link to products in our stories (because IG didn’t let you do that back then unless you met a minimum follower count – so silly.)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.laureldenise.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laureldenise/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/laureldeniseloves
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@laureldenise/videos

Image Credits
Credit Sarah Cramer Shields (https://www.sarahcramershields.com/) and Laurel Denise.