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

Hi Lauren, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

As long as I can remember, I always knew I wanted to own my own business, I just thought it would be in the hair industry. I always had a passion to become a hairstylist and to own a hair salon. Fast foward I moved from Los Angeles to Atlanta to attend Clark Atlanta University where I got my BA in fashion design merchandising, once I was done with that, I went to cosmetology school where I obtain my license as a cosmetologist. I worked in the hair industry for about two years until I had my first child and realize that being in the hair salon from Sun up to sundown was not what I wanted. I went back into retail management and stayed in retail management for over 10 years. Eventually, I became a store manager, and at the time I was managing two stores and during Covid, and it was so crazy. The demands of being a store manager was overwhelming and I started to suffer from anxiety. I went on a medical leave and started therapy to see where the anxiety was coming from. It was just the overwhelming pressures of running two stores, being a wife, a mom to three kids and still trying to keep my sanity. One day I was taking a long hot shower, and to just to give you a little example. This is when I really get to get into my thoughts, talk to God and ask him what direction I should be going into. It was clear as day, I got my answer to open up my own natural skin care company. I realized that self-care was so important. I was taking care of my mental by resigning from my position as a store manager, and I started my business in skin care during Covid. This gave me the freedom to spend more time at home with my family, but also allowed me to work for myself and also provide a service to people who was into natural herbal skin care that helped cured many skin problems.

Lauren, 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?

My name is Lauren Williams owner and creator of Lablu Serenity skin care. I started my business in 2020 while working my full-time job as a store manager. I eventually left my job in 2021 to pursue my skin care business full time. I am a wife, a mom of one girl and two boys. I started my business because I seen a need in the skincare business for clean ingredients that was affordable, but also smelled amazing. I myself suffer from extreme dry skin and eczema during certain seasons, and the only products available for me that worked was products with chemicals in them. So I decided to start making my own products use a natural ingredients, and started to research different herbs that help cure different skin problems.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Last year was a bit tough running my business when it came to financing it. I believe so much in my brand, I went back to working part time to help supplement my income. I share this because many business owners go back-and-forth about whether they should go back to work when times get hard financially, and I’m just here to say it’s OK if you may have to work a 9 to 5 or work part time to stay afloat. Just remember that the end goal is to keep your business going.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Never to give up, no matter the good or bad.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.labluserenity.com
• Instagram: LaBlu Serenity
• Facebook: LaBlu Serenity
• Linkedin: LaBlu Serenity
• Yelp: LaBlu Serenity

Image Credits
LaBlu Serenity