A Conversation with Entrepreneur Lauren Derrett
22nd October 2020
This is the twelfth in a series of interviews with creative and inspiring people, chatting all things human and what it takes to ‘be’. The aim being not only to promote their work but to uncover their journey, learn about technique and pass on tips and advice. I’m hoping these conversations will inspire others to be unique, take risks and understand the beauty in failure …… We have but one life, lets make it creative !
Lauren and I met 3 and half years ago at a launch party for our mutual friends Sass & Yosh. I was a little outside my comfort zone being 6 months into a year challenge of not drinking … going solo and sober to a public engagement still filled me with dread so when Lauren and I started chatting I felt I’d hit the jackpot. She’s incredible real with a wicked sense of humour, we skipped the small talk and start talking about things that matter. When meeting Lauren and prior to her business, Wear Em Out Pads, she had a platform and book called ‘This Girl Is enough’, she was a public speaker empowering women to appreciate all that they are, she opened up the conversation around domestic violence and enabled other women to find their voice by sharing personal stories. It was a stroke of luck meeting her and we’ve been following each other ever since.
In July last year Lauren started on an entrepreneurial adventure with a product the world is literally crying out for, washable sanitary towel that are usable for up to four years when cared for correctly. Just think of the amount of landfill reduced even if a small percentage of women invested in her product. Lauren has big plans for Wear Em Out Pads and I have no doubt she’s going to make a huge impact not only on the comfort of women using her pads, the planet but she also supports a charity in Tanzania called Champion Chanzige. They provide empowerment and equality workshops to young women and the chance of better schooling with Wear Em Out Pads, most girls stay off school during their period … can you imagine the impact that has on their education ? Now they have protection that can be hand washed theres no need for them to miss school. If thats not a legacy I don’t know what is.
It was a real pleasure interviewing Lauren, I have a deep respect for her entrepreneurship and drive. Here’s a few snippets from our conversation but I highly recommend you watch the full IGTV , especially those wanting to start their own business adventure.
top take aways
I think the biggest thing you need to learn for any business, and I’m just getting going myself really, but the biggest lesson I’ve learnt so far is delegate. Don’t waste time, you know what, there’s so much about ego in business , you can not have an ego in your own business, you just can’t because some people aren’t gong to like it, and you can’t be sensitive to that and also you don’t know how to do everything so delegate to the people that do. I’ve got a team that iI can rely on. It’s a team effort.
We’re just so conditioned, after a survey it takes 4 months from someone seeing the concept to buying the product.
Marketing was done between July and January with no physical product. Sold out in 4 days and that was just down to marketing a product that no-one had seen .
All conversation typed verbatim
Sam - To be using a product and them to think, you know what I can do this better myself , I mean that takes balls doesn’t it. Because I just know from production to fabric sourcing and all of these things , it’s a bit of a mine field.
Lauren - It’s a total head fuck for sure… and it’s the biggest risk, theres a massive risk in bringing any product to market because when you’re making a physical product its that initial financial outlay. There’s no promise that you’ll get your money back, it’s a total gamble. And when you’re dealing with fabrics and design and actual physical mass production thats a lot of money up front that you’re risking….. and i felt every penny of that.
But do you think that kind of gave you the drive, you know , you’ve just bleeding ran with it.
I had no choice, I was too far in, I was up to my actual neck in it. Financially we’d invested everything we had and I remember sitting there with my husband and him saying we can’t , we can not invest anymore in this , right towards to point of launching, I said we just need another five grand, just need another five grand. And he was like we cannot do anymore. And i just remember saying to him I promise you I’m going to make that money back, I promise you its going to come back to us and he reluctantly at that point, oh god one last hurrah, go for it then. And thankfully, bless him, touch wood, touch everything around me, we’ve pulled it off to this point. ( stocked by major High Street stores, available 17 countries and a thriving website)
Where did you place your initial investment ?
The things that we invested in right back in the beginning was a branding expert because I know for this product to spark a curiosity in the mainstream it has to be on brand, it had to be something that you could see in stylist magazine, that was the market I was targeting so I knew that’s where a lot of the money had to go on branding. And we spent money on that and on the actual design. We paid for a designer, each of our pads have been designed independently , they’ve all got a different construction inside them so we can keep them as thin as possible but highly absorbent. There was a lot of money spent at the beginning, a lot of investment went on getting the brand right.
…. for so much more wisdom on business and family life go watch the full conversation on IGTV
