Running a Creative Businesss with Lauren Messiah

Lauren Messiah is a highly sought-after Personal Stylist who's been featured in numerous publications. She also serves as COO for School of Style, a boutique fashion school for aspiring stylists.


What is your fashion background and how did your styling and School of Style career begin?

I studied Fashion Design at Virginia Commonwealth University. At that time I swore I wanted to be a designer. After I graduated I got a nice little reality check. It’s called "just because you went to college, doesn’t mean you get your dream job." I ended up working retail for about year (which I highly recommend for anyone who wants to work in fashion) and let go of my dream of being the next Betsy Johnson or Marc Jacobs. As the saying goes, when one door closes another one opens. One of my clients at Betsy Johnson helped me get an interview at AOL, where I worked as an administrative assistant. Not exactly living the dream but my job at AOL introduced me to this new thing called blogging.

In 2005, I started a fashion blog where I styled people online and answered fashion questions. I knew then that styling was my calling. Four years into my blog, I decided to take my styling game offline. That is when I discovered School of Style, where I would later become Co-Founder and COO.


What did your transition plan look like from AOL to fashion?

I treated my job at AOL as a stepping stone and a learning opportunity. I wasn’t about to roll over and give up on my dreams completely, but I knew I had to move out of my parent’s house and learn a little something about the business world.

With every non-fashion job that I’ve worked (there have been many), I have been very vocal about what I really want to do. It’s a fine line but with tact you can get some amazing cheerleaders and mentors on your side. I put in two good years of fetching coffee, scheduling meetings, and all the other soul-sucking work that comes with being an assistant. To my surprise and delight, my, at times, difficult boss connected me to another AOL executive who moved me out to LA for a job more closely aligned with what I really wanted to do.

Today, that exec serves as one of my most supportive mentors. I continued this method of putting in work at different companies, connecting with amazing mentors, and moving along to the next adventure when the time was right.


Juggling two successful businesses has got to be overwhelming at times. How do you stay focused and in control?

Admittedly, I’m a bit of a workaholic so I thrive off of the intense workload. I have a hideous habit of going, going, going...until I crash. So I’ve been practicing daily meditation and attempting to add “downtime” into my schedule. There is also a lot of green tea involved.


What do you like best about owning your own business?

The ability to take something from idea to reality in a very short period of time. When I worked at AOL it would take forever for a new product to launch, if it even launched at all. In both of my business, we can launch something fairly quickly and if it fails then it’s on to the next one.


How do you stay motivated?

Money! I’m kidding, kind of, but seriously, the bank account does motivate me to work harder. Not because I want to go swimming in a pool of money but because the success of the business doesn’t only take care of me, and my business partners, but it also takes care of all of my employees.

It also doesn’t hurt that the work I do actually helps people. When I see our School of Style graduates out there working or I see the confidence of my styling clients boosted because of my work – that motivates me to keep this ship sailing.


You have a really active social media presence, how important has that been to your success? Has there been one platform that's been the most beneficial?

I owe a lot of my success to social media. School of Style and my styling business are both self-funded, so the monthly marketing budget is basically non-existent. Social media has been a great tool to get the word out and to build credibility as a business.

For my personal styling business, Facebook has been the most beneficial to me because I get to find out from real women what they want when it comes to fashion. What frustrates them, what advice they need, and where the industry is falling short when it comes to getting dressed in the morning. I’m also addicted to Pinterest. I collect inspiration for clients and create secret styling boards for them as well.


I love your positive attitude and work ethic. What are some key traits that have served you well in the business world?

I’ve been training my mind for the past 5 years or so to avoid negativity like the plague. Negativity can take you and your business out. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not Positive-Pollyanna 24/7 or anything, but I do think a great attitude can take you quite far. With that being said, I also don’t apologize for who I am in the workplace. I’m blunt, I work hard, I give praise when it’s earned, and I expect the very best from the people I work with. As women, I think it’s important that we don’t shrink down in the workplace for fear of looking like a “bitch”. I’m not saying you should be a bitch, don’t do that! I’ve tried that trait out for size early in my career and it doesn’t work. Be kind but be firm.


What is one lesson that you've learned the hard way?

Not using reimbursement checks to pay off my credit cards right away! That was a painful lesson.


What is your dream project?

Oh wow, that’s a tough one because there are many things I want to accomplish. I’d say having my own televised makeover show for real women would be incredible. Kind of like a more modern and honest version of What Not to Wear.


What is your advice for someone just starting out?

Slow down! I find that after working with dozens of assistants and interns that 99.9% of them want it now. Everyone wants to go from zero to Rachel Zoe in 60 seconds. It doesn’t work that way. Pay your dues and learn all you can along the way. Shut the heck up, put your head down, work hard, and the pay off will be pretty amazing when it comes.

Get in touch with Lauren on-line!
Facebook  •  Pinterest  •  Twitter  •  Instagram  •  YouTube


WeWork | Affordable, Attractive Flexispace for Your Business

Making money doing what you love in a jaw-dropping workspace with passionate like-minded people is the dream, right? Let me introduce you to WeWork. WeWork is an international membership-based workspace share for freelancers and small-business owners. Their mission is to make small businesses more successful by inspiring creativity in a space where meeting people and collaborating is organic. In just 3 years, WeWork has gone from a concept to more than 15,000 members in 26 locations and counting.

Bryant Park | New York

Bryant Park | New York

Fulton Center | New York

Fulton Center | New York

WeWork spaces are accessible by keycard 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Amenities include fully furnished work spaces; fast, reliable internet; free coffee and fruit; lounge areas; frequent workshops and events; conference rooms; outdoor spaces; editing bays; recording studios; screening rooms; event spaces; writers' rooms; print services; mediation rooms; and much more. Membership also includes access to the WeWork online community, where you can connect with other small-business owners outside of your own city. WeWork has also leveraged the size of their company to offer great health insurance plans to their members, which is a major perk.

South Lake Union | Seattle WA

South Lake Union | Seattle WA

These spaces range from $325-$600/mo. for a lab desk to $525-$950/mo. for a private 1-person office. Prices go up for multiperson offices. These flexible month-to-month spaces are absolutely beautiful and so flexible for a growing business. Once you become a member, you have access to offices in every city.

Wonder Bread Factory | Washington DC

Wonder Bread Factory | Washington DC

In Washington, D.C., alone they have 3 locations in Chinatown, Shaw, and Dupont Circle. I stopped by the Shaw location, located in the historic Wonderbread/Hostess Factory and voted one of the world's coolest offices by Inc. Magazine. This 33,000-sq. foot, 2-story, uniquely designed space was absolutely beautiful and bustling with activity. While waiting in the lounge/kitchen area with a complimentary fruit-infused water, I couldn't help but notice two large glass-pained garage doors that opened onto the expansive outdoor patio. The patio was beautiful and modern and had large and small tables to work outside. There was so much natural light and so much activity happening in just that one area. After the tour started, I walked through the hallways lined with individual glass offices branded with each businesses logo, and I was able to catch a glimpse of companies hard at work. There were event planners, photographers, web developers, designers--all with various sized spaces. According to my tour guide, a lot of companies had started with a small space and had expanded at WeWork, some now even occupy 16-person offices. There are currently 300 small businesses, the majority of which are creative businesses, that operate out of the Wonderbread facility, and it's growing quickly. 

Wonder Bread Factory | Washington DC

Wonder Bread Factory | Washington DC

Wonder Bread Factory | Washington DC

Wonder Bread Factory | Washington DC

WeWork is so much more than stunning offices. It's space, community, and services that help propel you to build a sustainable business doing what you love in a fresh, exciting way.

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Running a Creative Business with Lauren Paradise

Lauren Paradise is the co-founder of kelly+olive, a Chicago based interior design business. Lauren is juggling running the business while also perusing a masters degree in interior design.


What is your design background and how did kelly+olive begin?

I have always been interested in art and design, though my undergrad studies were in theatre. In 2008, while trying to work as an actor in Chicago (mostly working at an unfulfilling day job), Courtney and I began talking about creating our own home styling business. We shared a knack for and interest in interior design and had recently helped a friend redecorate her apartment on a tiny budget. The project was a success, and we worked together well so we thought this would be a fun fulfilling way to make a little money! We dove right in and things have grown bit by bit over the years.


Offering interior design through an on-line service is pretty unique, how did you decide on this format?

We were looking for a way to offer a service that would be affordable and accessible to almost anyone. Hiring an interior designer is still seen as something for the wealthy or frivolous. We know that everyone deserves and can benefit from a well-designed home, and working with clients online is a great way to reach all sorts of people while keeping costs low.


What have been the benefits of working with a partner?

For me, there are nothing but benefits. It's so helpful to have someone to bounce ideas off of, to hand projects over to when I get stuck, to split the workload of the boring stuff, to hold the other end of the tape measurer. Plus it makes work super fun because I get to do it with my friend!


What do you like best about owning your own business?

Independence and flexibility. Owning my own business lets me tailor my workload while I'm pursuing my Masters Degree in Interior Design. Courtney and I have both been able to be flexible with the number of clients we take to suit what's going on in our lives. 


What is one lesson that you've learned the hard way?

Get a good accountant! We can't all be experts at everything (I have no desire to be a tax guru), but small business taxes can be really complex and you don't want a scary letter at your door.


You two have been featured in magazines, newspapers and news segments. What's your secret?

I don't know if there is a secret! Just a combination of luck and timing. We reached out to a lot of people when we first got started and got a connection that led to a magazine profile. Press people are always looking for new content, and if you can frame it in a way that seems cool and current, they'll pay attention. In that way I think the recession helped us out. We were offering a new, budget-friendly way to decorate and that really fit with current needs.


How do you stay motivated?

I've found working for myself and working from home to be a little isolating at times. It's hard to be a totally self-motivated creativity/productivity machine. In the past I've tried to schedule field trips into my week, take a walk around the neighborhood, or hang out with some other business-owner pals. Now, being in school and having new ideas, new faces, new skills around all the time keeps that part of my brain humming. 


What is your dream project?

I'd love to work on a restaurant or hospitality project. There's an opportunity to do something there that is really dramatic, iconic, or thematic in a way that wouldn't quite work in a residence. 


Do you have any advice for someone just starting out?

Don't be afraid to reach out. Early on, we made a list of magazine editors, bloggers, and fellow designers and sent emails introducing ourselves and our business. As long as you're friendly, professional, and don't seem to be asking them for anything, people are receptive. We made some amazing connections and got great press just from saying 'hey, I thought you should know about us!'

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