No-Fluff Business & Marketing Insights

Hey Reader, A big insecurity of mine has been my age. In the past, I've often felt like I've had to work extra hard just to be acknowledged as an equal to those older and more experienced than me. To my younger subscribers: you ever felt like that before? I've been told more than once by family and colleagues not to worry about it, to not give others any reason to believe I'm not competent in my abilities with the work I do. But what do you do when people mistake a young face for inexperience...

Hey Reader, How do you know what "works"? This is something I've been thinking a lot about lately—how do you get to a place with your brand/business that feels like it actually works? Figuring out what your "thing" is like dressing up as Cinderella and trying on ten thousand pairs of shoes until you find the one(s) that fit. And how long will that take? I don't know. 🤷🏼♀️ How many shoes will you have to try on to find the one that fits? I don't know. 🤷🏼♀️ Honestly, it's different for everyone...

Hey Reader, Five years ago, in 2020, I was teaching sixth grade in the middle of COVID at a low-income school. I was living in my parents' basement and experiencing so much daily anxiety I once had a full-blown panic attack in the school parking lot at 7am. That's me in the middle with the jean jacket. I had no social life, my diet was a mess, and I was making roughly $35,000 a year (not to mention all the extra cash that went into funding my classroom). All I knew was that this lifestyle...

Hey Reader, I recently came across a really interesting video with a guy named Justin Welsh (know the name?), who created a multi-million dollar business totally on his own as a solopreneur. At first I was like: 🤯 And then I was like: 🤔 I mean like, naturally I'm intrigued, right? I thought success was being able to say you had a team behind you or you recently hired someone. So this really scratched my borderline-hyper-independent brain. The 23-minute mark was my favorite part because the...

Hey Reader, Recently, I did a little homework on myself and took a super deep dive into who I've been attracting (business-wise) for the past year or so. What I discovered were three recurring my top clients and prospects had: Strong reputations Word-of-mouth demand Viewed marketing as an investment (not an expense) With these findings, I dug deeper into their pain points and realized they didn't necessarily want more demand for what they did but a structure to sustain it. Think about it: if...

A Note from Lauren Hey Reader, Thank you for sticking around for the Launch Series we recently did, introducing the newly-revamped Onwardbound newsletter! Marketing doesn’t have to be overwhelming, and I’m here to make it more approachable, strategic, and even fun. Whether you're growing your audience, refining your message, or scaling your business, you can expect to receive bi-weekly newsletters packed with: ✅ Quick, actionable marketing tips to keep things simple and effective. ✅...

Hey Reader, If you've ever wondered whether you should handle your own marketing or hire someone to do it for you, you're not alone. It's a big decision, and (unfortunately) there's no one-size-fits-all answer. In fact, I recently created an entire video addressing this question! ⬇️ Watch the Full Video Here's the short answer: you need to be involved to some degree. When to Do It Yourself (DIY) Here are the benefits of managing your own marketing efforts: ✅ Cost Savings: When you're just...

Hey Reader, I wanted to take a moment to interrupt this email series I've been send out to share a little more about my journey and how it’s shaped what I do today (since this whole "digital marketing" thing may have caught you off guard). You might know me as someone who used to talk a lot about books—publishing them, marketing them, and everything in between—but over time, my focus has expanded in ways I never expected. If you’ve ever wondered what sparked this shift or how my work now...

Hey Reader, Let's be real: marketing sucks. I mean, it can if you're balancing ten million other things, like pets, family, school, work, projects, business operations, you name it. Curious, have you ever dealt with any of these specific fears or challenges? Not knowing how much you should be doing Not knowing what kind of content you should be creating Coming off as too "salesy" Unsure if you should even be on social media at all (raise ya hand if you're a writer 'cause I KNOW some of y'all...

Hey Reader, If you've been following me since the days of The Finer Things Club and Bookstagram, you may have noticed that things have been a little quiet on my end. That's because over the last few years, my work and focus have evolved in new ways, and it's finally time to bring you up to speed... While my roots are in storytelling and creative expression, I've shifted my focus to helping businesses build their brands, streamline their marketing, and connect with their best audience....