Behind Her Empire #28: Finding Your Dream Job & Unlocking Your Passion with Sarah LaFleur, Founder of MM.LaFleur
Sarah LaFleur is the Founder and CEO of M.M.LaFleur, a fashion company creating practical, inspired wardrobes for the modern, professional woman.
From an early age, Sarah was exposed to high-end fashion through her mother who worked in the industry. When Sarah graduated from college and started shopping on her own for work clothing, she realized the experience and clothes were lacking despite spending so much money on them. After starting her career at Bain as a consultant, Sarah moved to private equity but left abruptly because of cultural problems at her firm. At this difficult point in her life, Sarah felt like she had nothing else to lose, and despite having no fashion experience, decided to take a risk & create clothing that professional women, like herself, were looking for.
In this episode, we talk with Sarah about the windy journey that led her to entrepreneurship, how the business grew from -$2,000 in their bank account to a multi-million dollar company, how they tripled their revenue overnight from one specific strategy that ended up saving their company and how she turned the crisis of covid into a brand-defining moment.
In this episode, we’ll talk to Sarah about:
* How Sarah’s multicultural upbringing & family impacted the way she thought about her various careers [3:28]
* Sarah shares why her 20s were painful as she was on a constant search for the “perfect job” [10:03]
* Why Sarah decided to leave her dream job & how it was the lowest moment in her professional career [13:02]
* Sarah talks about she manages her mental health & how therapy has been a gamechanger for her [18:48]
* Early stages of the business & how Sarah created a brand for working women despite having no connections or experience in the fashion industry [21:37]
* Sarah talks about the early days of starting M.M.LaFleur and how serendipity led her to meet her co-founder & head designer, Miyako [25:25]
* Sarah explains how she thinks about constructing her clothing and how she thinks through the perfect fit for the modern woman [28:27]
* Sarah shares how she funded the business, the importance of a side hustle to help pay bills, and the most important lesson she wants all entrepreneurs to know [30:38]
* How M.M.LaFleur gained traction in the early days and created loyal fans of the brand [36:56]
* Sarah’s experience fundraising & lessons she learned along the way [39:32]
* The one strategy Sarah implemented that not only saved their business but generated millions of dollars in sales [45:06]
* How Sarah turned the COVID crisis into a brand-defining moment for her company [53:49]
Follow Sarah:
* Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmlafleur/
* Company Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mmlafleur/
* Website: https://mmlafleur.com/
Follow Yasmin
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
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