6 March 2021|Latest Posts, Meet the Successful Founder
Lauren Webb is the founder of Yellow Eve, a female-led online space supporting young women in their careers. Lauren launched Yellow Eve after returning to the UK from Sydney, where she was the editor of Dynamic Business. Before moving to Australia, Lauren had several different jobs in an unplanned career which she describes as ‘unfulfilling’. Her own experiences ultimately inspired her to establish Yellow Eve. Since launching in September 2020, Yellow Eve has built a strong reputation for hosting high-calibre virtual sessions featuring more than 50 coaches. The online space offers free and trusted advice from experts and a membership community providing affordable access to career coaching and networking.
What would you love to share to encourage other women to start their own business?
Address your fears and tackle them head on; work with coaches and mentors to address your knowledge gaps, find the right people to support you and take practical steps – at your own pace – to start your own company. Commit to your reason why, which will look different for everyone. Although every reason for beginning an entrepreneurial journey is valid, I encourage you to focus on how the business venture will align to your own values and create a positive impact. Do this is instead of focussing on acquiring material wealth or the other benefits to being an ‘entrepreneur’ that are often over-glamourised.
What are your 5 top tips for entrepreneurial success?
Self-belief
You must back yourself because there will be days where you’re really tested. There will be failures, there will be rejection, people will ignore you and things won’t always work out the way you expect. You have to be your biggest supporter, you cannot rely on others for support.
Community / supporters
Build a friendly network of people like you that ‘get it.’ Don’t waste time on friends and family that are not supportive or entrepreneurially minded like you because it will drain you. Go to LinkedIn or other online communities and seek out the right people to learn from, swap knowledge and lean on.
Financial stability
Get a clear understanding of how you’re going to support your lifestyle whilst building this business and be realistic about how much time, energy and money you need to dedicate to it. You never want to make poor business decisions because you need to build revenue quickly to cover your household bills. Obviously starting a business involves financial risk, but make sure you look after yourself financially by planning ahead or getting advice from an accountant.
Patience/ realism
Usually, you see stories of entrepreneurs which are all about their success and fast growth, because those are the ones that drive the most interest from readers. But I would say in the majority of cases, business growth takes a lot of time, especially when you are not particularly well-connected or financially backed from the beginning. Overestimate the time it will take you to achieve your goals because patience really is a virtue in starting a company – it takes the pressure off!
Investing in knowledge gap areas
Be willing to invest in the areas where you lack knowledge but be careful with the people you work with. There are so many experts and coaches out there so have conversations with lots of people and be sure to build a solid rapport ; be inquisitive and selective. Perhaps this is identifying an SEO expert, a personal branding coach or an overall business coach to get the basics right. You can either dedicate time – and in some cases money – to acquire the skills yourself or pay someone to do the work for you. I think that in the beginning working with a coach is very helpful and will save time and money in the long run.
Who are the 5 women who inspire you the most?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill
Tina Turner
Emma Watson
Dame Mary Beard
What is your favourite saying/inspirational quote?
“I am the captain of my soul” from the poem Invictus. (I like the reminder of autonomy, particularly in the face of adversity.)
Website & Socials
Website: www.yelloweve.co.uk
Instagram: _yelloweve
Twitter: _YellowEve
Facebook: yellowevemedia
