We were lucky to catch up with Lauren Ivey recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lauren, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
In my 20’s, I began to have a lot of growing pains. Trying to figure out who I was post-college was a challenge for me. I began to question my career goals, doubt myself, and began to do a lot of negative self-talk. When the pandemic hit in 2020, like most people, I had to sit with my thoughts and I questioned who I wanted to be as I started to transition into my 30s.
I became severely depressed over the course of that year and completely lost who I was. I lost my relationship, lost friends, and began silently quitting my day job. I did everything to pull myself up to where I thought I needed to be and decided to put all my energy, good and bad, into starting something for people that are going through the same transitions as me.
I wanted to provide a sense of confidence not only for myself but for others as well. As my business FRAMED by Lo grew, I saw how my audience responded. I received feedback that I embodied affordable luxury and made them feel stylish.
After a while, I knew that my story could help others. I realized that serving others in a way that made them love themselves a little more is exactly what I was meant to do.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
FRAMED by Lo Ivey is a luxury eyewear company that I founded in 2021. I believe in a world where you should have total freedom to be you, without judgement. To experiment. To express yourself. To be brave and grab life as the amazing adventure it is. So, I want to ensure everyone has an equal chance to uncover all the amazing things they’re capable of – no matter who they are or where they’re from. I created Framed by Lo to give you the confidence to be whoever you want to be.
At Framed by Lo, our vision is to revolutionize the sunglasses industry with our commitment to affordable luxury. Our approach is to aspire to a diverse range of premium eyewear at budget-friendly prices, making luxury accessible to everyone.
We pride ourselves on quality, style, and affordability, empowering our customers to express their individuality with confidence, all while enjoying the utmost protection and comfort.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three qualities that were the most impactful in my journey:
1. Being an excellent communicator
2. Adaptability
3. Being self-driven
My biggest advice for anyone wanting to start an e-commerce business is to be open-minded and optimistic. Continuously educate yourself on areas that you know are your weaknesses. When it comes to running a business based on sales, understand your ideal customer in every aspect. It will make it a lot easier to create content, select inventory, and craft better messaging. Everyone is not your customer. Being a realist, one last piece of advice I have is to stay out of your feelings! In business, especially in the beginning, you will fall down a lot, you will have highs and lows when it comes to sales, and there will be days with no engagement. Do not let that allow you to stop moving along. Keep learning from what hasn’t worked out for you in the past. Always be a student in your industry.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
The person that helped me the most is my business coach, Jance Charte of The Boutique Academy. Over the last year, I have followed her journey and watched her grow and scale her e-commerce business to 6 figures and I have decided to join her accelerator program to better scale mine. My background before launching FRAMED by Lo was in public relations and I didn’t have a clue about the basics of marketing and sales.
Joining The Boutique Academy has helped me understand a number of things such as email marketing, SMS marketing, building strategies, and how to sell effectively just to name a few.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.framedbylo.com
- Instagram: @framedbylo
- Facebook: @framedbylo
- Twitter: @framedbylo
- Youtube: Framed by Lo
- Other: Tiktok: @framedbylo
Image Credits
Lachell A. Photography Valentino Caviar
