Irish entrepreneur Louise Stokes shares her secrets to success

As an entrepreneur and parent, what are some productivity hacks you’ve learned?

Limit your phone and email. I used to run my life by my email on my phone, but that’s other people’s agendas, not yours. If you have to get something done, put your phone on aeroplane mode. (And by the way, this is a work in progress for me – I live on my phone.) 

Create a bite-sized list. I used to write down to-do lists with tasks like ‘grow my brand internationally’. Well, how are you going to do that on a Monday morning? Write bite-sized things down instead that will get you to your ultimate goal. 

Plan, plan, plan. As an entrepreneur, I struggle with anxiety and worry. Sometimes your brain won’t stop running so planning helps with that.

Do the nasty (or creative) jobs first. It sounds boring but I learned that from basic business training. I do those in the early morning. I’m no good on Fridays and I don’t do meetings or designs in the afternoon – they have to be first thing. 

Enforce boundaries. I used to struggle with balance, but I have a family now so in the early evenings, I spend time with my kids, helping them with homework and other things. For years, I spent that time answering emails, but it’s good to remember that I’m not a cardiologist so that can wait till the next day. I remember one Christmas, we were having delivery problems, so I was glued to my phone and my daughter grabbed it and threw it at the window. That was a wake-up call – you can only focus on one thing at a time. 

Create time for yourself. If I’m working all day and then I’m with the kids, I need a little bit of quiet time to myself. I used to work crazy hours, especially in the US. I’d go to work at 8am and come home at 11pm or 1am if we were prepping for a show. But you’re just not productive after a certain time, so I don’t believe in that anymore. 

What does your average workday look like? 

Well, every day is different. I have design days, which I block out, and those are super quiet. I usually spend them in my tiny home office but it’s a nice space I can create in. I have my shop days, which I love because that’s me talking to my shop team, meeting the customers, seeing the jewellery and hearing what people like. 

Creativity is so important for us, so I would also have creative days with our team, looking at online and social. There’s a lot of planning that goes into shoots and content. Then I’ll have accounts days, which is what keeps us in business. My eyes glaze over during this sometimes but it has to be done!

Did you have a mentor throughout your career?

I’ve had a lot! I did Going For Growth and I had Louise Phelan as a mentor when the business was 10 years old – that was instrumental for me. I wouldn’t have grown our online store and I wouldn’t have been able to deal with all the challenges we faced if I hadn’t done that program with her at that point in my career. Everyone talks about starting. No one really talks about growing and scaling at certain points. That ten-year mark was really important. 

I also have a life coach, but she’s more of a therapist in a way. I’m a female entrepreneur that’s a creative so I have to lead by example. When it comes to work/life balance, I have to do the work on myself. A lot of the time business is so focused on training and camps, but really it’s human, you’re dealing with human beings. So for me, it was about establishing boundaries, learning to be enough and that my self-worth can’t be tied totally to work. I started sessions with her, so she could help me grow a team and we ended up working on me. So I work with her a couple of times a year and it’s really healthy and important. It keeps me and my team in check, especially with empathy – understanding what people are going through. I think it makes me a better person and a better boss. 

Then my financial director is my stepdad, so he’s my most long-standing business mentor. He gives all the tough advice – as he described it, it’s his job to stop me from falling off a cliff before I’m too close to the edge because in business these days one wrong move is catastrophic. So you have to know your figures and what’s going on all the time – currencies, what’s happening in the market, etc.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Louise Phelan said, ‘Go ugly early’, which I wish I had always done. When you make a mistake or a bad decision, pull the plug. The time you waste trying to fix it – you’ll never get that back. Plus, the actual pulling of the plug is never as bad as you think it’s going to be. 

Looking back, I wouldn’t listen to so many people. As you grow, people will say ‘You should do this’ or ‘You should do that’ but listen to yourself first.

Also, my stepdad said, ‘You have to make it to spend it’. In the luxury space, there’s no budget for what you could spend on everything. It’s so competitive, but it’s about picking the right things and investing in long-term things. A simple, tiny example is that in our store, I invested in the carpet because it immediately feels luxurious when you walk in. Sometimes business advice can feel so intangible, but if you’re thinking about building your business, you need unique little nuggets of advice. So when you’re opening a shop and you want something fast, just pick one texture and go with that, rather than trying to have everything perfect.

What has been the greatest high in your career journey to date? And the lowest, toughest moment? 

The biggest high has been growing our fine jewellery. I never set out to do that so, it’s been surprising and super rewarding, and I feel like it’s my passion now. We also had a piece worn by an amazing German creative Mirjam Flatau (aka @mija_mija), who shot campaigns for brands like Bulgari and Tiffany & Co, so that was massive for our tiny brand.

One of our toughest moments was during Covid. When that announcement came about the city closing, our online was still very small. I was facing losing my business; I didn’t know how we’d make it through. I took all the stock home before lockdown came into place; I got an Ikea shelf; and I worked 92 days straight. I had full-time staff as well, so that was terrifying.

Looking back over your career so far, is there anything you would do differently? 

I wouldn’t listen to so many people. For example, during Covid, there was no rulebook, so it was a lesson in going with my gut. Sometimes you can overthink it and you feel like everyone else knows better. In Anya Hindmarch’s book If in Doubt, Wash Your Hair, she shares great insights and talks about how she hired a CEO but then took the role back. As you grow, people will say ‘You should do this’ or ‘You should do that’ but listen to yourself first. 

Also, your growth should align with your own personal values. Do you really want what you’re doing? Do you ever stop and think? Does this growth reflect your brand’s values? Sometimes, you go on a trajectory and it becomes a hamster wheel. You can go far down the ‘this is what I’m supposed to do’ line and be unhappy.

Running your own business, you have to be a jack of all trades – across sales, marketing, HR, admin… how did you manage that? Any tips?

You have to outsource. In the beginning, it’s very hard because you don’t have the money and you’re trying to do it all yourself. But as soon as you start growing and get the money in, get out of that role. One day, I was merchandising the window hanging glass bottles and my friend came over and said, ‘Really? Do you need to be doing that?’. I was doing it because it’s nice to do a job in your business that actually has a beginning and an end, whereas as an entrepreneur you can’t see what I’m doing a lot of the time. 

So, get out of the day-to-day role and outsource. There are so many resources available. You don’t have to have a full-time person – you can work with someone in Australia who’s your HR or web designer. You can have a shoot in New York. With technology now, there’s so much you can outsource.

Are there any resources you’d recommend for others just starting out?

Going for Growth has a beginner programme called Acorns. I think that’s for start-ups and smaller companies. I can’t recommend it enough; it’s such a great thing to do for yourself and to learn how you’ll run a business. Your local enterprise board is also brilliant. When I was starting online, I went to their talks. Then, business networks are huge – I spoke at an IMAGE Business Club event in November and ended up talking to 20 people afterwards. Being on the panel and hearing from others was great too. Getting out of your own industry and learning what other people are doing is invaluable.  

What do you listen to for business advice and inspiration?

I love podcasts and I listen to different ones all the time. I love Fearne Cotton’s podcast “Happy Place” because it’s very real and I’m very interested in personal growth and wellbeing. I love Elizabeth Day’s “How to Fail” because we need to talk about that more, especially as entrepreneurs and creatives. If there was less of a fear of failing, then we’d have more businesses.

In the early days, I enjoyed listening to “Diary of a CEO”. Steven Bartlett had some really interesting people on in the older episodes. I also enjoyed Rick Ruben’s book The Creative Act: A Way of Being – which changed my year last year. I do a lot of reading on different topics so anything that you can help yourself with and pick up ideas from is great. 

What sets apart Loulerie from other businesses in the industry?

We’re female-focused. When I was working in New York, there was a lot of wedding jewellery, but what about the everyday woman? What if she just wants to wear minimal jewellery, like a simple diamond necklace with a cashmere sweater, then she’s going to the south of France on holiday and wants cool statement earrings – that’s who we are all about and who is at the forefront of our business. We’re elevating individual styles and doing something a little different so that there’s something for everyone.

What do you do in your downtime that recharges you? 

I need time by the sea. I also started hot yoga after an injury about two years ago with a wonderful teacher Sile at The Body Whole. She runs these amazing yoga nidra classes, sound baths and cacao ceremonies. I’ve done some yoga retreats with her too. I’ve never been a yoga person before but I find that intense yoga and hot yoga really suit me. It’s a lovely way to set up your day. 

What’s next for Loulerie? Is anything exciting in the works?

We are working on two really exciting design projects that are hopefully coming out this summer. We launched our signature scent, which is a brand new thing for us. It’s great to have that in people’s homes and in our e-commerce space, where people can open their boxes and have the whole experience with the smell. We’re also focused on more community-building events and getting back in touch with our customers post-Covid.

This series is in partnership with Range Rover. Together, we are spotlighting seriously successful women like Loulerie founder Louise Stokes. To learn more about Range Rover, visit landrover.ie.