A woman who quit her job at Domino’s Pizza and started off a new business with just £10 has revealed how it’s turned into a big success story. Laura Schmidt’s business Lovendu sells journals and planners designed with wellbeing and mental health in mind - and she says how it now makes six figures.
The 27-year-old has herself struggled with mental health issues - the reason she quit her pizza job - and found that writing a journal really helped. She told the Daily Star: “I have always struggled with my mental health since childhood,” she said. “So when the pandemic hit, like a many other people, I was really struggling. I was in such a dark place that I decided to start journaling, hoping it would help in any sort of way.
“Over the weeks, I found that I was sleeping better (I had pretty bad insomnia before), was more productive and just felt generally better. I wanted to share this with the world as few people journal for their wellbeing.”
Read more: I saved £594 on my Sky bill in just 15 minutes and it was so straightforward
It was a low key start - she used her £10 to set up a shop on website Etsy and was just making her products to demand. She explained: “I started with two journals and the £10 was to order myself a copy each for me to take photos and use for TikToks.
“It took a week or two before I had my first sale and ever since then, it hasn’t stopped! I used the money from the first few sales to pay for more stock and packaging.”
“I was meant to be starting my PhD in psychology. But I got cold feet and my mental health was worsening. I tried working part-time at Dominos Pizza whilst I figured things out but my mental health stopped me from working.
“So when I started the business I was actually unemployed.” Laura says that TikTok has been a big help in boosting her business, as it takes “just takes one video to go viral to get crazy sales”. The founder also draws inspiration from her customers, who clearly know what they want.
“They are the ones to suggest an ‘Overthinking Journal’ – and it sold out within two days of the launch,” Laura revealed. “It is now one of my bestsellers.”
Sharing advice for anyone hoping to start their own business, Laura said entrepreneurs should stop caring about what other people think. “That’s something that held me back for so long and I know I would have regretted it so much if I let the opinions of others hold me back from my dreams,” she said.
Laura also recommends not comparing yourself to businesses that claim to achieve six figures in two minutes. “It’s amazing and so inspirational, but that’s what it should remain as,” she said. “Give yourself a realistic and fair timeline.”
Read next:
- Single mum transforms kitchen for £70 in 20 hours while child slept
- Met Office predicts snow could fall in Nottinghamshire today
Chris Eubank Jr punches Ben Shephard for 20 seconds straight on GMB
GMB slammed for giving Shamima Begum air time for her new BBC podcast
New series of The Traitors landing on BBC iPlayer this week but there is a twist
