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

Lauren, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with 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 became a Registered Nurse in 2017 while my boyfriend (now husband) traveled around the country to chase his dream playing professional baseball. We didn’t have a ton of money at the time, but I had the heart of a creator and knew I wanted to do something different than my nursing job. I saved up any extra that we had, quit my job and bought a 1963 vintage travel trailer in hopes to turn it into something magical! I created my first LLC at age 24. An entrepreneur at heart, I designed and renovated the trailer, named her “Sweet Cheeks” and owned the most adorable, PINK spray tanning business on sorority row in Austin, Texas.
It was a risk! But turned out to be such a fun adventure that taught me lessons I’d never learn in school. I became street smart with her! I learned to negotiate, market myself and I gained confidence I never knew I had.
The business became a smashing success on campus! We ended up selling the business as a whole a few years in, to chase other business ventures!

Lauren, 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?

My name is Lauren Robertshaw. I am old-fashioned with a passion for my southern roots and all things classic.

I am a mother to two sweet little girls named Charlotte James & Olivia Drew- the “why” behind Secrets ‘n Such, my online platform. Before I was even pregnant, I began to compose a notebook for my future daughters- full of love letters and tidbits of wisdom that I learned over the years. I often caught myself thinking “what if I forget to teach my daughters this?” So I was determined to write everything down for them. The notebook is all scribbled in and has absolutely no organization to it! I would write about a life lesson I learned on one page, then jump to a yummy cinnamon roll recipe on the next. In the beginning, it was my dream to provide my daughters with anything and everything that she would need as a southern lady, passing on traditions from the generations of women before me. As the notebook developed and the ideas grew, I decided to bring my pen & paper to life and share them with the world!

Voilà! Secrets ‘n Such is born.

I now share all things southern lifestyle on Instagram, my website and Pinterest. My goal is to preserve and honor the sweet art of southern hospitality.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I don’t want to look back on life and remember all the “ideas” I had. Anyone can have a good idea, think about it for years and never act on it. At that point, it’s just a weightless thought. I want to DO. I want my hands in everything. I want to learn for myself. I come alive when I’m in the driver’s seat, not when I’m reading about it.
I don’t spend a ton of time talking about things, which can be a good and bad thing. If I have a good idea and feel on fire about it, I almost immediately act on it. I think that’s why I’ve been able to so many of the things at a young age like start businesses, capitalize on investments, buy our dream property + build our family’s home in the country, and have 3 kids by the age of 29.
My careful and analytical husband might argue that I could spend a little more time weighing options! And he’s right sometimes, oh Lord have I skinned my knees. We make a really good and balanced team.
It’s in my blood. If I am going to find out something is a bad idea, I want to live it, and experience it on my own and be able to tell about it.
I don’t want to leave any stone unturned, that’s what drives me.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I started all forms of social media for my brand in 2020 and I’ve had a good amount of growth since then! My advice would be that social media isn’t just a fun option for most businesses and brands anymore. It’s vital. It’s taken the place of TV commercials and billboards. So treating a brand’s social media page like a personal page, where you casually post here and there will result in slow growth. It can sometimes be a job in itself. It takes consistency. It’s not something that happens overnight, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t see insane growth in a short amount of time. Pick a goal that’s realistic and try to hit quarterly milestones. It’s a marathon!
A good resource that helped me understand the back end of Instagram is a book called “Influencer: Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social Media” by Brittany Hennessy. That book helped me out a ton in the beginning stages of starting social media!

Last piece of advice, if you’re going to try and grow your social media presence, you have to go at it with an insane amount of confidence and let go of any fears you have of receiving judgment. People can smell insecurity and they’re not drawn to it. Even if you don’t have it, fake it! Act like you’re so confident in yourself and people will believe it. Eventually, you’ll gain genuine confidence in yourself.
Think of it as your job. You wouldn’t be embarrassed to go do your “normal” job, so there’s no reason to be embarrassed to share what you have on social media. People are making great money from social media. So when you think of it as your income, it’s easy to feel like “judge all you want, but I’m making money doing something that’s fun and I love.” And even if you’re not yet, you’re on your way there!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.secretsnsuch.com
• Instagram: @secretsnsuch
• Other: TikTok: @secretsnsuch Pinterest: @secretsnsuch