Trust Your Gut with Lucy Aylen
From starting ‘NeverFullyDressed’ in the markets in East London to becoming a household name worn by the likes of Beyoncé and Kendall Jenner, Lucy Aylen has created an iconic brand. We first met Lucy in Issue 4, and more recently she joined us for our Female Founder Instagram Live where she shared her journey and the lessons she has learnt along the way.
Photography By Ester Keate
Teamwork makes the Dream work
Building your team is something that can make or break the strength of your business. It should happen organically and if the decision you're making doesn't feel right, it isn’t going to be. Trust your gut! In the teams we build, we have a responsibility to not only direct but to also build our colleagues up and encourage them to pursue the areas of the business they are passionate about. If someone is happy in their job, it makes for a happier environment. We need to also remember that some things will happen naturally and that is the stuff that will work and last.
Delegating
This can be a hard task, especially if we are working in a friendly environment but we need to remind ourselves that we aren’t going to be able to do everything and actually it is crucial for us to know where our skills are and where they aren’t. We need to trust those around us and believe that what they are doing and bringing to the table is key to the business. We should never ask someone to do a job, that we would never do ourselves. There will be some circumstances where you will need to manage your team as a friend, and then sometimes where you need to be the boss.
“Sometimes you need to manage a team as a friend, and sometimes like a boss.”
Challenging Seasons
There will be different hard things for different reasons. As Female Founders it can sometimes be that all decisions lie with us, this can be a blessing but it can also leave us constantly questioning the decisions we make. It can bring a lot of stress particularly when we are making decisions in areas we don’t have a lot of knowledge or previous experience in. To tackle this, it is important to be honest and ask for help when you can. We need to also remember that these present challenges won’t last forever and to not be too hard on ourselves. we are all a work in progress and that’s okay.
Just Do It
We can often feel fearful about the desires we have and want to start as we are scared we will regret it. When in actual fact, we should live to regret the decisions we make, rather than the decisions we don’t make. If something is calling us, do it. Also if all we are ever doing is talking about our idea, we will never do it. We should just do it and learn from everything. If we fail, we fail but we should be trying to fail better.
“If you’re doing something good, there is someone out there who wants to see it.”
Where is our motivation?
What motivates each of us will be different, depending on our circumstances. For Lucy it has been to question herself with ‘What world do you want your kids to be in?’. And then to act accordingly and make honest decisions that reflect that. It can also be helpful to remember the security we have - that no matter if the risks and decisions we make are fruitful, our friends and families will still support us and love us.
WORDS BY
Priya Raheja
