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

Lauren V. , appreciate you joining us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

When I was 19 my boyfriend then, (who later became my husband, and now my ex-husband) and I dove headfirst into owning and building a legendary midwest record store and gift boutique called Culture Shock.

There I was, practically fresh out of high school, and I had no idea how to build a business. I followed my gut. We made a plan and cultivated experiences and a brand that people would talk about for the next 15 years. I fell in love with the customer experience and what would build relationships with our customers.

In the process, I started building my consultancy. It started small. Through the early years, I found myself with other entrepreneurs and small businesses alike asking me “How are you getting people to know about your business? What am I doing wrong?” I found myself being a counselor to business owners and entrepreneurs and that’s how Lauren Davis Creative was born.

I LOVED the planning and strategy behind building community and relationships through marketing and experiences, and branding. I changed my course, got schooling for design and marketing and started building my business in tandem with our shop.

At the same time, I knew local business owners needed our help in Rockford IL. This was around 2009-2010. We were coming out of a recession and “shopping local” wasn’t on the minds of many. I formed with the help of a select few other business owners, a local non profit dedicated to helping local businesses thrive in our community called Winnebago (County) Buy Local.

By this point I was obsessed with marketing, branding, and getting entrepreneurs from “overwhelmed” to confident with their businesses. I started to attend conferences, build my knowledge, and soon began making contacts with people who would later invite me to speak on their stages, host their masterclasses, or help them plan memorable experiences with their businesses or brands.

All of these events happened before I was 25 years old. To me, that in itself is a powerful story. When I tell this story, I look back and I still can’t believe it all happened the way that it did.

Fast forward to January 2022, the record shop and boutique are thriving, the not-for-profit puts together well-attended social media conferences each year. My consultancy is fulfilling me in so many ways as I get to help entrepreneurs and speakers all over the US. AND…. my husband and I decided to divorce.

It was not an easy decision nor what I planned on happening and part of my departure was walking away from any ownership in the local shop that we built.

At the time it felt like the clear option. But along with all of the emotions that are part of a life event like divorce, walking away from the record store and boutique that was *my baby* for so many years felt like walking away from part of my identity, something that I had focused on my entire adult life.

Many times throughout the years of building my business in combination with the store, I considered if I should close my consultancy and work only for our shop. Things weren’t always rosy. There were times when my business was in a “growing stage” and I had to focus on the shop so my revenue reflected that, and it was hard to not think “Am I doing something wrong?” But I held on, friends. I am so glad I didn’t shut it down. My business, the relationships, my clients, and my own path — truly listening to my own voice — saved me.

I think what I am saying, and what I hope you takeaway is that life is full of intense, magical, painful, and beautiful things that happen.

The “crazy” part for me is, what if I hadn’t listened to that “crazy” inner voice that told me to hold on? To keep going. To try something new. To lead even when I didn’t feel “old-enough” or confident enough to be a leader. If you are reading this today, keep going.

Lauren V. , 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?

How did I get here? If you asked, my parents would tell you a few things about me when I was little.

1) “She didn’t sleep,” would be first. It’s true. I still don’t. I would lay in bed each night thinking about the mysteries of life and death, the pain of others (empath here!), music, and journaling my next creative idea. It was only this year I learned that other people don’t think all night. (hahah)

2.) “She always had a project.” A protest sign, painting rocks, painting furniture, lemonade stands, garage sales, collecting cans, and doing odd jobs. I absolutely nailed every single school fundraiser or Girl Scouts cookie drive. The minute I understood that I could own a business (9 years old) I was hooked. I remember the piece of orange construction paper my dad scribbled out and helped me do the math of a “business plan” in the kitchen once.

He broke it down for a 9-year-old brain how much $X I could make if I stayed consistent with (whatever business it was at the time) and did it for X amount of weeks, and then X months, and then a year. What did I want to buy? Probably a gift for my mom or some Bonnie Bell chapstick at Claire’s. I just felt so empowered by being able to break something down, see how it could all add up, and then go out and build trust with “my customers” and trade a service or item for dollars. When my mom started a business when I was in middle school, I wanted to be involved in every decision.

3.) “She was a big emotion feeler.” When I was little I felt every single emotion around me, and I still do. I feel it more intensely as an adult because now I know what is happening and think of it as a superpower. When I was little I couldn’t figure it out. I felt every single sad character in my book’s emotions, every character on tv, and every friend’s problem was my problem. Even as my parents worked on their marriage I wanted nothing more than to alleviate their pain and try to do something to help make it easier for them.

When I think about this now, I see how every single piece of me fits into the story of my life.

1) I think through every single big thing in my life as I sleep (sometimes not productive for rest, but man, I can really work some sh*t out during those hours, haha!)

2) I love being a business owner. I love building trust with my clients and I love helping them build confidence to do the same. From the minute I understood how to build a 9-year-old’s version of a business I was hooked.

3) I am a highly-sensitive-feeling person and that has proven time and time again as a superpower to deeply hear the clients I serve and give them a sense of belonging in this messy world where they have chosen to do something hard like building a brand or business. I once thought it was a weakness and now I know it’s my greatest strength.

Today I work with entrepreneurs and speakers who are building their personal brands and need help building momentum and confidence around their businesses. When you speak on a stage, it’s not about immediate conversion. It’s about being on the radar of your next biggest supporters and creating breathtaking memorable moments.

When those supporters become ready to buy their first call will be to the speaker they remember, even if it is years down the road. As a speaker or thought leader, you cannot sell everything from one presentation. You need to start the relationship with your clients at that moment. Creating momentum from the stage that weaves a consistent thread through your website, your social media, your LinkedIn, and how you show up as a person is what you want.

I can help you build a presence on stage that doesn’t feel like a sales page, but rather helps you build natural connections the way you do in real life.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Remember that time I started a podcast about live events, conferences, and workshops, 2 months before a global pandemic ravaged everything we know about being in person with people? Yes! At one time my podcast was called “The Business Event Playbook” and I interviewed (for a few months) thought-leaders and entrepreneurs who created conferences and workshops, and why/how they did it. It was fascinating and quickly became irrelevant as we all questioned if we would ever be back to meeting in person with so much loss and pain around us all.

I pivoted my podcast and changed it to The Real Personal Branding Podcast, which allowed me to keep my initial episodes and move forward into a more versatile show where I could interview entrepreneurs about the ins and outs of marketing and branding their businesses.

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

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but you don’t need to be “useful” to receive love. I can find a consistent theme throughout much of my life where I taught myself that in order to attain affection, praise, or to do a good job at my work, I needed to make myself useful to others at all times. Learning to be kind to me, and knowing that sometimes “not being productive” is the most productive way to take care of my mind, has been an intentional process. You might as well start now.

Contact Info:

• Website: laurendaviscreative.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ldaviscreative/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LDavisCreative/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ldaviscreative/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/laurenevdavis
• Other: laurendaviscreative.com/show (Podcast!)

Image Credits
JDL Media RVP Photography Emily Henderson Photography