We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lauren Perna. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lauren below.

Lauren, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

The biggest risk I’ve taken is starting my business during the middle of the pandemic with no actual plans in place–just a far-off dream that I didn’t intend to execute for a while. But the universe had other plans, so I leaned in and made it happen.

My story begins long before 2020. It began around 2014 when I was about halfway through tenure at my long-time non-profit job. At the time, I was in a local leadership program, and we had an exercise that helped us identify our dream job. When I looked at my completed work, I realized I had written out my exact job. At that moment, I felt so proud of myself.

Perhaps that moment was my undoing, but from then on, my world slowly unraveled. I realized that if I had found my ideal job this early in my career, what else could I do? As a person living with depression and anxiety, I began to spiral into a dark place. I stayed for four more years, and each year it became progressively harder to be there and manage my mental health.

Most of what was happening was internal, but this was a time when companies did not talk about mental health, which only made things worse. I felt like I was walking into work every day wearing a very heavy mask.

Eventually, in 2018, I decided to take a huge leap of faith and leave without another job lined up. I spent 2019 finding myself and focusing on my mental health. I was doing small contract roles and trying to determine what I wanted to do with my career. I had it in my head that I needed at least one more corporate job before making the leap to entrepreneurship.

At the end of 2019, I thought I found that job. I ignored the bright red flags and continued with a marketing job that taught me what I didn’t want. In March 2020, my short-lived career at this place ended abruptly, and I was partially relieved but also frustrated.

My anxious little mind went in a million different ways. But then I decided that this was the universe’s way of telling me to do the damn thing. Less than a few months later, I started Lauren Perna Communications LLC, focusing on content and copywriting.

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.

I’m the CEO and Lead Writer of Lauren Perna Communications, a Boston-based firm that helps clients tell their stories through content strategy, copywriting, and LinkedIn work. Most of our clients are in the life sciences and healthcare industries, united by their passion for improving human health. We are also passionate about helping small women-owned businesses that contribute to our local community.
Before starting the company in 2020, I freelanced for various small businesses. Before that, I spent nearly a decade at a non-profit organization in the life sciences, helping companies raise their visibility in Massachusetts. After starting my business, I decided to focus on clients in the life sciences space. My network is very much in that space, and I wanted to tell stories of companies making an impact.

I also realized there was a gap in the market. Finding the perfect language can be incredibly challenging in a highly scientific field like the biotech or pharmaceutical industries. Companies want to appeal to their scientific audience without completely alienating a lay audience. With my previous experience, I have acquired the unique ability to turn complex concepts into compelling content. Today, we help companies create white papers, case studies, blogs, and other content marketing materials. We also help companies by writing their brand story and web copy.

In addition, we offer LinkedIn support. More people took an interest in LinkedIn when the pandemic happened and were relegated to their homes. Since I had experience on the platform, thanks to the life sciences industry, I became the defacto LinkedIn guru for my networking groups. After doing many trainings, I decided to expand and provide LinkedIn profile redos and content creation for businesses and personal brands. This work is similar to what I do for my life sciences clients but more focused on personal pages, not business.

Throughout my journey, I’ve also become a mental health advocate. I share my story of overcoming my lowest points and why entrepreneurship has improved my mental health.

I am most proud of my personal growth and leaning into my mental illnesses–now I use them as a superpower instead of being ashamed. I’m also proud of growing my business into a multi-six-figure business.

I want people to know that LPC is passionate about telling the stories of companies impacting human health and that we have the ability to turn complex concepts into dynamic digital content. On a personal level, I want people to know that I love sharing my mental health story so others struggling can feel empowered to make a big move.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

As an elder millennial, I grew up in a time when many people had “career” jobs, where they stayed with one company their whole career and had benefits, health insurance, and the whole shebang. When it came time for me to graduate college in the early 2000’s, that mentality was still very much there. Even though times had changed, my generation was focused on finding steady income from a job we could be in for a while.

For me, entrepreneurship was a far-off dream. I always knew I wanted to run my own business, but it felt like something I would pursue into my 40’s and 50’s. My priority was finding a stable job with great benefits and health insurance. So that’s exactly what I did. I had a few long-term jobs before starting my business. I did have a period of unemployment thanks to the great recession, but the goal was still always to get back to a full-time job.

When I decided to leave my long-time job in 2018, I decided to pause my job search. I needed to take time off for my mental health, which felt like the biggest leap of faith I could ever take. I didn’t see anyone around me making such a move, so while part of me felt brave, a larger part felt shameful.

I still even had it in my mind that I would find another full-time job once I got better. Entrepreneurship was still far off. I felt like I needed more time in a corporate role or two. Well, it turns out the universe had other plans for me. In 2020, when another corporate job was clearly not in the cards, I decided to open my own business.

I saw what GenZ was doing, leaning much more into contract roles and self-employed dreams, and began to realize the world was not the same. The world of finding one job for your life was a very distant memory, and even finding a corporate job is no longer the norm.

I had to unlearn that a full-time corporate job is the end-all-and-be-all. I had to unlearn that taking a break for your mental health or physical health is something to be ashamed of–sometimes, it’s the best thing for you. And I had to learn that happiness doesn’t come from a steady income or health benefits. Instead, it comes from following your passion.

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

One of the things that helped me build my reputation in my market was focusing on the life sciences industry—a space where I already had a good network and extensive knowledge. The challenge was that my network knew me from my previous role, so I had to educate and reconnect with people to let them know what I was up to. In addition, I joined a professional development group, which helped build my confidence and strengthen my offers.

Then, once the business picked up, my reputation strengthened because of the quality of my work. One of the tenets of my business is providing the highest quality of writing for my clients, no matter what it takes. My fastidious, detail-oriented nature makes it impossible for me to hand in work that isn’t up to my high standards. Clients learned this about me and spread the word.

When I hire writers, I make sure that their writing goes through “the Lauren test” before passing it off to clients. Nothing gets handed in unless I would put it on my own website. The professionalism and quality of work we provide make a difference. In a world of quick solutions, people recognize companies that put care and effort into their clients and that’s why I have a strong reputation in my market.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.laurenperna.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurenpernacoms
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/laurenpernacomms
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/laurenpernacomms
• Other: www.instagram.com/mentallyfitfounder

Image Credits
Jessie Wyman Photography Mariah Gale Creative