Meet Laura Fama | Fashion Business Mentor & Podcaster & Conscious Influencer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Fama and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, looking back, what do you think was the most difficult decision you’ve had to make?
That’s a great question. The most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make was to leave my fashion business after 12 years. After an exhausting yet completely fulfilling fashion journey, it was no longer serving me, and choosing to let it go was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my professional career. The capacity and ability to “let go” of something you’ve built from scratch takes courage, planning, fortitude, and support from others to leave your own business. It took me about 3 years to learn that I made the right decision of leaving everything I knew behind, moving to a completely new country, to take risks, and nothing is what it may seem and work in your favor. Now 3 years after the hardest decision of my life, I live with the true purpose of becoming a fashion business mentor and serving others fulfill their own dreams. I had to let go and make way for adventure, uncertainty, love, and starting over. It was the best decision I could have made in my late 20’s, now I am serving new clients, engaged to the love of my life, and living and studying Spanish in Madrid, Spain. Life is full of surprises, and the pain of leaving my business was also a beautiful reward of risk and uncertainty.

What should our readers know about your business?
Please tell us more about your business.

I have different types of business, but they all align with my purpose now. It is a full circle of business, leisure, enjoyment, and service to others. I am establishing a lifestyle brand and purposeful fashion business brand mentoring and helping discover they’re ‘why’. Through ‘Her Why’, my brand, I can mentor clients to help with their branding and establish their values and social media relationships.

I also co-host our top-rated self-development podcast called The Conscious Kitchen. The Conscious Kitchen Podcast is a program where together with their influential guests, we share brutally relevant topics on environmental issues, health and sexuality, emerging trends, and living compassionately. We also partner with conscious ethical brands for sponsorships per season to support the health and overhead costs of the podcast.

I also love to partner with other brands globally to showcase a conscious lifestyle through influencer partnerships. I’ve been doing that for the past 5-6 years, which is also very fun and creative. I’ve worked with Adidas, Beats by Dre, Apple, Puma, Outerknown, All Modern.com, Nike. Kalea compost, Almond Milk, and other socially conscious brands for sensitive skin sufferers like myself.

We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about.
What sets me apart from others is my diverse cultural experience in fashion and entrepreneurship. Within the last 13 years, I founded a cult lifestyle brand, Dimepiece LA, worked with dozens of international tastemakers such as Nicki Minaj, Missy Elliot, Cara Delevingne, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Kylie Jenner, Hailey Baldwin, Sophia Richie, Katy Perry, Becky G. I’ve been fortunate enough to design bold graphics and collections that sold in over 500 online & boutique stores worldwide. This experience has allowed me to infuse the knowledge into my current clients and creativity with the partnerships and collaborations I work with globally. All of this is what I’m genuinely proud of accomplishing during my 20’s. I’m excited to develop my new chapter living in Madrid, Spain, where I am currently. I am releasing a 56 card affirmations deck called “Awaken Now,” inspired by Filipino proverbs, and helping encourage creative blocks for creatives for my BIPOC community. It will be releasing Feb 2022. I’m also excited for Season 5 of the CKP podcast.

How did you get to where you are today business-wise. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges?
To start a fashion business at the age of 22 was extremely difficult yet exhilarating. We experienced a lot of growth and popularity within the first six years of business. Due to the development of e-commerce in the mid-2000s, social media and sites like Paypal were easy to collect payments from customers, which allowed us to expand globally to retailers and wholesalers and hire staff. I let go of my business at the end of 2018. It wasn’t serving me and my new vision of where I wanted to go and become a solo business owner. It was the most challenging obstacle leaving and dissolving a business of 13 years. I overcame the challenge by healing through personal therapy and letting go of my identity so closely attached to the brand and business. It has taken three years, but I am fully ready to embrace a profound change.

What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way.
The lesson I’ve learned along the course is to plan an end goal for any business or project you create. Most entrepreneurs get caught in the funding, conception, and excitement of building a brand or product. If it takes you a certain amount of time or has a business partner involved, develop plans for selling the business, how you will separate, and how many years you plan to invest. It helps in the overall planning, not just the initial business plan.

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

I want the world to know that you are not alone in this business journey or discovering your purpose to get out of bed in the morning. I created a brand when I was young, and the brand has a strong message. I help others find their voice when they can’t find their unique voice and place in the world. Through Dimepiece, I was able to see that absolutely ‘anything is possible’ in this lifetime. You just need a mentor or platform like HER WHY to help guide you. Also, check out our podcast, The Conscious Kitchen podcast, to learn and grow with us on all streaming services worldwide.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m based in Madrid, Spain.

My true joy in life is eating my way through a city. Even if you’re unaware of the prices or the Yelp reviews. Madrid is a magical unpretentious city to dine and you can truly enjoy the rituals of a full course meal. Extremely reasonably priced and it’s not fully mandatory to leave a tip. But I do make sure to tip at least a few cents in euros. Also, don’t like the exterior of a restaurant fool you, it might look outdated or old school, but the inside kitchen and the actual food might be a different story. They seem to put food at the top of their priorities here in Spain. I mean the vegetables & fruits seem extremely fresh and the Mediterranean diet that revolves around the lifestyle here truly shows. Maybe it’s something in the gazpacho or paella, as Spain just surpassed Italy to become the world’s healthiest country of 2019.

Food

Juana La Loca
Neighborhood – La Latina

Why? In the most authentic and popular Madrid, right in the center of the capital, JuanalaLoca is one of the classics of the La Latina district when it comes to serving exquisite pintxos and tapas. It has been doing so since 2001. It is a cheerful and lively place that now, thanks to the restless and innovative spirit of its owners, has taken a step further in its style and decoration. It’s has the best tortilla of the city, it’s a caramelized onion tortilla egg dish. I’ve visited this place at least 4 times. Be sure to make a reservation.

PLAZA DE PUERTA DE MOROS,
4 – 28005 MADRID

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Bunny’s Deli
Neighborhood – Chueca

Why? Bunny’s Deli, the first delicatessen in Madrid with traditional recipes and 100% vegan, and the dishes are actually delicious and well balanced in flavors. Soups, salads, traditional stews and sweets, which are the undisputed star of the place, like the New York style cheesecake, the lavender cheesecake or the thyme and cranberry scones. The avocado toast is always kept, not only for breakfast, and one day you can have quiche and another one a polenta. To understand that the vegan kitchen is neither boring nor expensive (on the contrary). Because they have created a cozy and cosmopolitan space. Because every week you will be surprised with new recipes. Because you can eat there or take it home. And for their homemade infusions. Be sure to make a reservation or come early. They also have vegan cooking classes which I’m excited to check out next month.

San Gregorio Street, 17
28004 Madrid

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Shopping

El Rastro – Sundays
Why? It’s Madrid’s most popular street market.
There is no market in Madrid that exceeds the reputation of the Trail. If you want to live an authentic Madrid experience, do not hesitate to go to Cascorro Square and the adjacent streets on a Sunday to browse the new and second-hand items that are for sale, from extravagant clothing to stamps, even electronic devices. It is an ideal place to go for a walk on a Sunday morning before going to eat in one of the innumerable tapas bars and restaurants in this neighborhood full of life. However, you must be alert, as pickpockets take advantage of the crowd to make their own. Watch my El Rastro video here.

Hours: Sunday from 09:00 to 15:00.

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Shopping

Misia
A new and small multi-brand store that carries independent contemporary designers & brands. I met the owner Cándida Ledo and she was lovely and helpful. I loved the range of designers she had and the layout of the space was unique and modern. In this new shopping temple in the Conde Duque neighborhood, the most famous pearl bags in the industry, the favorite ‘mary-janes’ of Alexa Chung and the New York firm that made fashionable the dresses inspired by La Casa de la Pradera They share space. via Vogue ES

Calle de Amaniel, 19, 28015 Madrid

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to shout out my mentor Leslie Levito at CutClass.com she help me find the brand voice and the support I needed to start my brand new personal business HER WHY. Also, a great book that I love is called, Skip the Line by James Altucher where he discusses ingenious simple strategies to propel yourself to wealth, success, and happiness. A special group that is near and dear to my heart is Pinaysphere is art foundation program around the Filipino community. Pinayshere is providing culturally based narrative through mentorship, education, and art, using a decolonial framework.

Website: https://www.herwhy.world/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurafama/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-fama-1532b8218/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurafama

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAaG42RB_hkEBP8C8LE51qQ

Other: Podcast: https://www.consciouskitchenpodcast.com/