Meet Lauren “Elle” B | Creative & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren “Elle” B and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren “Elle”, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process behind starting my own business is our mission statement: “Our goal is to create and produce a positive, creative, collaborative environment, where networking experiences are obtainable for Black&Brown people.” I’m a creative & wanted a space to create & be in company of creatives who were just starting or had established business, to collaborate with & patronize each other’s businesses.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Working in the “corporate world”, I never felt 100% myself or comfortable in that environment. Being a Black Woman & navigating your way through the world where you’re not encouraged by society to succeed gets tough. I did my best to go after opportunities I believed fit me & what I wanted to do, but the feeling wasn’t reciprocated. I’ve been turned down from companies stating that I don’t have experience or literally saying I wasn’t a good “fit” for them. Hearing that confused me because 1., I do have the experience & education (self-taught & undergrad degree) 2., how can one gain more experience to learn if they’re not granted the opportunity? It doesn’t make sense. Starting my own business reflects those experiences I’ve had by highlighting those who are creating their own opportunities because they have not been able to obtain them elsewhere. Has it been easy? Hell no. Dealing with imposter syndrome, anxiety & financing your dream makes it very difficult. I work contract/freelance jobs to pay bills & fund my business. The goal is to of course work for myself, but with that comes sacrifices. Being able to freelance gives me the flexibility to have time for myself to create & build my brand. I still don’t have everything quite figured out yet, but I refuse to give up. I do my best to research & learn as much as I can to put that into what I’m doing for my business.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My favorite things in the city are to always eat, especially Mexican food & sushi. There are a lot of great places to choose from so I don’t have anywhere in particular. I also love exploring new places via Yelp. Hitting up the beach on nice warm day is always fun. I love driving down PCH to Malibu, chilling at the beach there. Hitting up Leimert Park to go to Harun, Eso Won Books, Hot & Cool Cafe to name a few places. Anything that has to do with art too is always a good time; museums, galleries, etc. I’m pretty chill & go with the flow of things.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to shoutout all the amazing individuals who have been highlighted in the L0ASIS community. Without them, there would be no L0ASIS. We are here to support & learn from each other, & create networking opportunities by sharing our talents with one another.

Website: www.laurenxelle.com www.l0asis.com

Instagram: L0ASIS (zero not an O)