If you’re anything like me, then you will have probably tuned into the Hills back when it was first on our screens! To say I was a fan is an understatement. I loved the intro music, the storylines, the drama of course, but most of all I loved watching and rooting for Lauren Conrad. The hills was centred around Lauren navigating a new city and developing her career in fashion, whilst living her life on her own. I loved the show, not because of the cliff hangers and arguments, but because I just fell in love with Lauren and her character. She was a great friend, motivated, driven and talented. However, it turns out the hills was only the beginning! In the years since leaving the show, Lauren has done so much and along the way has continued to inspire me.
A ‘Good girl’
One thing that most people would say during the Hills days, was that Lauren was a (for lack of a better term) ‘good girl’. A girl you could be proud to call your daughter, your friend or who you even aspire to be like. For some reason being a good girl isn’t always seen as a good thing, you can be considered boring, unexciting and particularly in Lauren’s field in the public eye, not easy to create stories about. But as someone who didn’t have much interested in being a rebel or a bitch, I always find it refreshing to see genuinely nice people to look up to. Of course there are plenty of others who fit that category, Lauren’s co star Whitney being one of them, but as a fan of the show, I was most definitely rooting for Lauren more than anyone. I wanted to have the class that Lauren usually carried herself with.
Business Woman
One reason I really admire Lauren is her work ethic. After the hills, some probably expected her to fade into the background, but rather than do that, Lauren really put her business woman hat on and dived in to building her brand. Fashion has also been her passion and Lauren has really established her brand in design and her brand. Not only launching a hugely successful line with Kohl’s, but branching out into several other brands under her fashion umbrella. Lauren has launched another successful line called Paper crown, as well as collaborating with Nordstorm and Blue Avocado. Her line with Kohl’s has expanded beyond just a core clothing line. Over the ten years that the line has been released, Lauren has created apparel, shoes, jewelry, accessories, sleepwear and bedding!
I think it’s extremely admirable that Lauren has taken something she is clearly passionate about, used the platform she had and created a long lasting collaboration and further lines beyond this.
Making her own rules
Though fashion was something Lauren was always going to pursue, what also inspires me about Lauren is just how much more she has created and what an example she has set to truly be an entrepreneur. Lauren wears many hats, not only in personal life as a friend, wife and more recently as a mother, but in business also. Lauren created LaurenConrad.com , a site that really was a hub for everything she loves, fashion, food, decor, crafting, makeup and a space for her own blog posts as well. I remember heading to the site often, admiring everything it had to offer. Before the explosion of blogs everywhere Laurenconrad.com really was one of the first to showcase a variety of content that appeals to many, offers something a little different and to inspire creativity.
Aside from her site, Lauren also became a New York times best selling author, which is no easy feat! Lauren has written the best selling ‘LA Candy’ which followed with two other books. This then resulted in a spin off series ‘The Fame game’. Lauren went on to write two fashion books, a beauty book and a book about celebrations and a guide to entertaining. All of her books went on to the New York times best seller list and yes of course having an already established name certainly helps, but that is not a guarantee for success. Lauren set a goal for herself to write a book and what that resulted in was a span of several best sellers and an extremely successful new venture.
As if all these business ventures weren’t enough already, this year Lauren also launched her podcast ‘Asking for a friend‘. Though only a few episodes in, I absolutely love her podcast. The concept is simple, Lauren brings in a variety of people to give their thoughts and advice on a particular topic. Lauren discusses everything from beauty tips, photography skills, organisational tips and so much more. I’m a big podcast fan in general and hope to even have one myself potentially one day, so it’s been amazing to see Lauren become a podcaster and do it well. Lauren speaks eloquently and relaxed, as she is often with friends during the conversation you really feel like you are one of the gang whilst she also still really engages the listener and asks the questions you would want to ask. Branching out into another field shouldn’t be all too surprising from Lauren, she is a woman that loves to create and its evident from everything she touches.
Of course Lauren added one more role to her ever expanding list of jobs and that was when she became a mother to her beautiful baby boy. I think Lauren would agree that being a mum is the job she loves the most. I admire that she doesn’t share too much of her son (and soon to be baby number two) online, but rather just a few snaps here and there. After living her life so publicly, I imagine this was no accident to limit how much she posts about Liam. Nevertheless, I admire Lauren in how she balances her home life and work life seemingly so easily, but I have no doubt it takes a lot of hard work. As someone who has a lot career goals in mind myself, it’s lovely to see a businesswoman like Lauren managing to find a great balance.
Giving back
One other business that Lauren has launched, I have yet to mention is the non-profit organisation ‘The Little Market‘. This is a business founded by Lauren and her good friend Hannah Skvarla. The little market is a website and more recently now a physical store also where customers can purchase goods that have been hand made and hand crafted by talented artisans around the world, but in a fair way. The little market enables these artisans a fair price and in the words of the Lauren and Hannah, a ‘meaningful income for the artisans and their families’. Lauren and Hannah started the little market after a trip to Tanzania and Uganda. They witnessed firsthand how female artisans and entrepreneurs were struggling to make ends meet, and so they decided to help make a change and the online platform was born! From the site the beautiful creations of the women were able to be showcased and earn the artisans a fair wage in the process. The items you can find range from gorgeous candles, beautiful woven bags, soaps, scrubs, kitchenware, food and so much more! This is an independent nonprofit organisation, Lauren and Hannah personally do not pay themselves a salary from this business venture, but rather invest in finding more artisans around the world to be part of this amazing venture.
I find this so inspiring, not only is Lauren continuing to broaden her business ventures, she is giving back in an amazing way. Rather than donating money to a cause, Lauren and Hannah are allowing so many talented artisans to earn for themselves, to be able to provide for their families and be independent in doing so. I happen to love this site for the gorgeous items they sell and I will definitely be purchasing from them in the future. Not only do you get to enjoy unique pieces, but you know you are doing good with every purchase.
I have admired Lauren Conrad for a number of years now and this admiration only continues. When I think about being an entrepreneur, a businesswoman and a working in the creative field, I honestly couldn’t think of a better example then Lauren. In a world where there are far too many reality shows to count and as a result many reality stars that come out of these shows. It is refreshing to see someone use such a platform, to make something sustainable; carve out their own career path and also someone who values giving back too. Lauren has always been a very classy woman and I truly admire all that she does.
As someone who hasn’t quite figured out exactly what I want to do in life, I can honestly say I hope to be even a little more like Lauren when I grow up…
*All images are not my own. Images used from Lauren Conrad , The Little market , Asking for a friend and Lauren ConradCo.
