A woman who started her own business with just £10 says she is now making six figures.
Entrepreneur Laura Schmidt founded Lovendu, which creates journals and planners to help with wellbeing and mental health. The company is now worth a stunning six figures, after having a modest beginning.
The 27-year-old, who used to work at Domino's Pizza after dropping out of university, has also credited social media platform TikTok for the success of her business. Laura revealed to the Daily Star she came up with the idea during the pandemic, while struggling with her own mental health.
Read more: 'Trying for a baby led to news that saved my life - but it's heartbreaking too'
She said: "I have always struggled with my mental health since childhood. 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."
Talking about getting her business going, she added: "I started with £10 for the business, beginning things on Etsy where I printed on demand. 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."
Laura added that TikTok has been a big help in boosting her business, saying it "just takes one video to go viral to get crazy sales". She also said she's worked on developing her knowledge of e-commerce and tried to design products that benefit her customers as much as possible.
Laura said her customers know what they want too. She said: "They are the ones to suggest an ‘Overthinking Journal’ – and it sold out within two days of the launch. It is now one of my bestsellers."
Her thriving business is a far cry away from her former life, with Laura formerly working at Domino's Pizza after dropping out of university. "Before the business, I was meant to be starting my PhD in psychology," she said.
"But I got cold feet and my mental health was worsening. I tried working part-time at Domino's Pizza whilst I figured things out but my mental health stopped me from working. So when I started the business I was actually unemployed."
Giving advice for anyone wanting to start their own business, Laura advised to stop caring what other people think. She said: "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."
Laura also recommended not comparing yourself to businesses who 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:
'I turned my whole family into models - we get trolled so badly we've had to move twice'
- Teenager has TikTok account shut down because her acne was deemed ‘gruesome content’
- Life on Lancashire's cheapest street where houses sell for £25,000
- Dad reaches New Year goal by shedding five stone using this trick
