Advice for starting a business
On Episode 01 of Formally Informal, Lynzee, Kayla + Paige deep dive the many ups and downs of starting a business. LEO + LAINE Founder, Lynzee, shares her advice to those thinking about starting a business and what it’s been like running a business that has experienced such rapid growth through a pandemic. Catch our full episode here, or keep reading for a recap!
What has been the most rewarding parts of launching a business?
Kayla: Surprising ourselves along the way with what our team is capable of doing and going places we never thought possible.
Lynzee: To me, it’s been seeing the fruits of our labor pay off. People want to buy what we’re selling and at the end of the day you realize you’re not selling anything at all, you’re simply pouring your heart into doing what you love and packaging it in a way that it can help others too.
What has been the hardest part of launching your own business?
Kayla: Learning as we go, we don’t know everything, and trying to run a business + manage a team all while communicating with clients can be really challenging at times. People only see what’s on the outside but they have no idea how much work, sweat and tears we really put in to keep improving and growing. You have to have thick skin to run a business and stick it out through the tough times.
Lynzee: Saying no. Because we do what we love, it’s hard not to want to do it for everyone. Slowly but surely though we’ve been really trying to define our niche, and through that, we’ve been aiming to grow the business with purpose. Kayla will tell you...I said “Yes” a lot to business when we were getting LEO + LAINE started but I recognize now that “No” isn’t a negative word, it’s actually a pretty important word when it comes to protecting your team, your business and yourself.
Oh...and of course learning all the administrative stuff. I’m a full-time creative, so business stuff like taxes, payroll, proposals, HR tasks and so on were hard to learn. And the perfectionist in me, wouldn’t let those things be sub-par… I didn’t just learn them, but I forced myself to be really damn good at them!
LEO + LAINE has experienced some rapid growth in the last year, what has that been like?
Kayla: All the emotions, so cool yet scary. Really telling ourselves to slow down and enjoy it. It’s okay to say no, and when you get a feeling that something isn’t right, it usually isn’t. We’ve got time. if we grew this much already, skys the limit for our future.
Lynzee: A mixture of feelings and emotions, truly the rollercoaster that people describe. Exciting, scary, overwhelming, rewarding, you name it, we felt it! Working for and running a company that is thriving is, of course, the goal, but when it started happening, we found ourselves having quite a few “Come to Jesus” moments in order to figure stuff out and make sure our entire team was prepared and ready. There have been and honestly still are, MANY conversations about improving processes that will help make everything flow better, discussions about how we can structure each person’s role and responsibilities differently, questions on whether or not we can take on any more business, etc. Kayla and I have both really balanced each other out during these, and while in one moment we’re pinching ourselves saying, “OMG, we built this!” -- the other we’re saying, “Ok, now slow down and don’t F this up.”
One piece of advice...!
Kayla: Stay true to who you are and embrace your strengths, weaknesses, and quirks. That’s what makes us and this business what it is.
Lynzee: GO FOR IT! I had been wanting to start my own business for 10 years and although I think the timing of everything has been perfect, I do wish I had started slightly earlier. I wish I trusted my gut, and believed in my confidence to just JUMP!
