S4 Episode 6: Self love, body positivity and the realities of running a business as a mum with Laura of Mallows Beauty
This guest episode is one of my favourites so far! I had the pleasure of speaking with Laura Mallows from Mallows Beauty and my goodness what a conversation. We dive into Laura's business journey, how her ideas were brought to life, her creative and colourful branding, going viral on TikTok and becoming a mother whilst running her business. She wanted to create a beauty brand that was brutally honest with no filter, all about body positivity, and female empowerment. Having suffered with severe acne Laura became obsessed with researching skincare and spending all her dosh on testing new products so she developed her own! And because she's all about self love she even donates 5% of all profits to mental health charities, what a total boss babe!
[0:53] - Intro
Welcome Laura Mallows from Mallows Beauty to the podcast, a quick introduction to the TikTok sensation!
[2:34] - Where to Start
So many questions to ask Laura but let's start at the beginning of her entrepreneurial journey! She moved back to Wales and decided to start her own skincare brand because of her own journey of acne and the self confidence issues that came alongside that.
[13:45] - How it all Started
Sitting round Laura's dining room table she had her vision and knew how she wanted to kick start it but obviously the pandemic had a huge impact on that, but she did not let that stop her and the brand just went wild!
[24:30] - Owning Your Own Shop
Laura didn't realise how tough owning a shop would actually be, she tells us the struggles, what it means to lose employees you wish you'd kept hold of and how supportive her parents have been throughout.
[30:30] - Going Vegan
Laura is baffled as to why you would put animal products in any skincare products anyway so making her products vegan was always a must for her. It's not only about animals but the environmental impact the products have on the planet and the amount of chemicals put on our skin.
[35:57] - Mallows Products Viral on TikTok
Laura was kind enough to send me some products and my goodness their amazing, we talk in more depth about her products.
[39:53] - Standout Branding
Laura tells us all about her creative and colourful branding and why she decided to go down that route and not follow the norm. She wanted to create a product that she would buy and for similar people like her.
[43:58] - Viral on TikTok
Laura was able to grow on Instagram pretty quickly to start with but that now seems to have slowed and become quite difficult even though her community on Instagram is great but TikTok absolutely catapulted them to the point where it sold out her warehouse!
[50:06] - More Support for Working Mothers
Being a mother to a beautiful daughter, Laura tells us the struggles of being a new mum, only having 3 weeks maternity leave and running a business at the same time.
[59:34] - Mallows Beauty in 2023
Laura tells us what's happening in the Mallows Beauty world this year! Including hopefully securing investment which means a new larger warehouse, building a larger team and creating new products! Watch this space.
[1:01:53] - Three Fundamentals
Laura tells us what three fundamentals she could not live without to run her business, including Ronnie her fiance and business partner.
[1:03:58] - What Does Entrepreneurship Mean to You
Listen to Laura's answer on this final question we ask all our guests on the podcast.
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Mallows Beauty
So, guys, I hope you enjoyed this week's episode of The Content Collective. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast, and we would love for you to leave us a review and let us know what you thought!
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Happy listening!
Lauren xx
