I started my side hustle with just £10 from my bed – now it’s a six-figure brand and I made £50k in just one month
STARTING a journal completely changed 28-year-old Laura Schmidt’s life.
Before picking up a pen and working through her thoughts and feelings on paper, Laura Schmidt, 28, Staffordshire, felt completely stuck.
She had struggled with her mental health and emetophobia, a phobia of vomiting, since she was just a little girl.
But as a result of her personal battles, Laura became increasingly interested in psychology and mental health.
She shone academically and pursued both a BSC in Psychology and an MSC in Forensic Mental Health, where she graduated at the top of her class.
Throughout her years at university, Laura knew that her personal calling was to help others with their mental health.
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As such, upon finishing university Laura worked as an NHS practitioner at the IAPTs (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) and at the beginning of 2020, was accepted into a prestigious PhD programme to further her study within her field.
However, news regarding the severity of COVID-19 and the looming national lockdowns caused Laura to get cold feet - and that’s where was born.
Stuck at home, Laura’s mental health reached a low point and she began journaling, which soon led to the emergence of Lovendu - a wellness brand that creates a range of journals and products that are designed to support people with their mental health.
Laura told Fabulous: “Lovendu came about during the pandemic, during lockdown.
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“In April 2020, I was at my lowest point mentally. I felt stuck hit rock bottom.
“I began journaling in the hope that it would improve my mental wellbeing, and I soon found that I had more self-awareness. I was sleeping better and being more productive.
“Quite quickly, I began to realise the benefits of journaling and wanted to share this with others.”
Laura started her business with just £10, and the belief that her products would truly help others.
She noted: “I was unemployed and not working, like a lot of people during the pandemic.
“I was spending all day, every day, in my bedroom so I started the business from my bed.
“I came up with the idea of creating journals that were beneficial to mental health, but also beautiful too, because what was on the market was very clinical or a bit childish and not to my taste, so I wanted to create journals that were really helpful, and beautiful.
“I started the business with £10, in July 2020, when I was 25-years-old.
“I didn’t know much about running a business. I’d never had a business or anything like that, it was all brand new to me.
“I started by designing the products on Powerpoint Presentation. I had no experience in graphic design.
“I designed the journals and then created two samples to begin with - the Wellbeing and the Self Love and it cost £10 for the two samples.
“I then photographed them and posted them on social media and my TikTok account is probably what has led my business to where it is today.”
Laura explained that she started off with a print on demand model and was packaging orders from her home, where she lives with her mum, but things soon snowballed.
She noted: “I did print on demand when I got orders, so it meant I didn’t have to invest in any inventory or anything like that.
“Once I had a few orders, I saved the money from the orders to have inventory, but I do have a supplier now.
“Back then I was ordering in batches of 20 or 50 but now I order in batches of 1,000.
“I kept the business a secret for the first week or two and then when I started getting orders I did tell my mum.
“In terms of the rest of my family, for the first two years, they didn’t really take it seriously. They thought it was a side project.
“I kept it secret from all my friends for about six months and it was only when I started getting a lot of orders that people started to take it a bit more seriously.
“Before I got my first order, I would’ve been happy with a few orders. It was only when a TikTok video did really well and then it didn’t stop. Since then I haven’t had a day where I haven’t made a sale.
“Within a month, I really thought ‘I want this to be a successful business.’”
In just two short years, Lovendu has grown to become a sizeable business and has had £50,000 months and has generated £210,000 in just six months.
Now we are halfway through the third year and we’ve done £210,000 already, so we're doubling in growth every year.
Laura explained: “The first year we made about £50,000 in revenue.
“Towards the end of our second year was when we really boomed. We went from making £50,000 in the first year to £100,000 in the second year.
“Now we are halfway through the third year and we’ve done £210,000 already, so we're doubling in growth every year.
“At the minute we average £30,000 a month. In March we did £50,000 and ran out of stock.
“Now I’ve got Amy who helps me with social media and marketing and my mum helps package orders - she’s not an employee but is just helping out and then there’s me, so we’re a team of three at the minute.
“We’ve just recently got our own warehouse and this is where we're fulfilling all the orders from.”
But Laura explained that it hasn’t always been plain sailing and there have been challenges along the way.
She added: “I have had plenty of sleepless nights.
“We didn’t really have a Christmas last year because we had so many orders between Christmas and New Year.
“We had 100 orders a day so we were packing till really late. I would stay up until 6am in the morning getting through work.
I do feel like I’m scamming life a bit. It doesn't feel terribly hard. I enjoy it.
“I now work between eight to 12 hours a day and work seven days a week. I don’t have a day off. On a Sunday or a Sunday I might reduce my hours, but I work every single day.
“It’s been challenging but I’m getting through it.
“I do feel like I’m scamming life a bit. It doesn't feel terribly hard. I enjoy it.
“We started off with two products - we then expanded and we now have 11 journals and planners.
“Our best seller is the Anxiety Journal by far - everyone’s got anxiety.
“It went viral on TikTok quite a few times and I have to buy them in units of 2,000, which is almost double compared to some of the others.”
If you are thinking about starting your own business, Laura has shared her top tips.
She advised: “Go for it. Don’t let others’ opinions hold you back. I was scared of what people would think, but just go for it and stop caring.
“Find a gap in the market and find what makes your product special and unique.
I think there’s a stigma that if you have difficult mental health issues that you can’t run a business, but I want to break that stigma and show that you can.
“You need to be passionate about your business in terms of what you’re selling. I’m a massive stationery addict and I’m well knowledged in mental health.
“You need to be resilient 100%. You will get knocked down and there will be setbacks but you need to be able to push through them.
“You need to learn how to deal with mistakes and how to get through them.”
Not only this, but Laura discussed being able to juggle her mental health issues, alongside being a successful entrepreneur.
She revealed: “I’d like to be an advocate that you can have mental health issues and be successful.
“I think there’s a stigma that if you have difficult mental health issues that you can’t run a business, but I want to break that stigma and show that you can, and you can do well.”
Reflecting on her journey from a struggling student to an empowered six-figure business owner, Laura concluded: “Things have been challenging - it’s been difficult trying to find my footing in a post-pandemic world.
“But I’m so pleased that Lovendu has really continued to grow.
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“We have definitely made the brand stronger and have really loyal customers.”
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