Ivy Co Studio's Erin Lopez on Leaning on Her Network while Launching Her Boutique Growth Studio

Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business:

Hi! I run a boutique growth studio, Ivy Co Studio, focused on email and SMS strategies for beauty and wellness brands. We provide strategic consulting on how to scale your owned marketing programs and full-service management of email and SMS. I live in the SF Bay Area with my husband, kids, and dog. A native Californian, you can find me enjoying the outdoors in my free time!

What excites you about being an Entreprenista League member?

I'm very excited to learn from and connect with other business owners who are scaling their businesses!

What made you take the leap to start your own business?

I was burnt out from my corporate career and a tragic death in my circle put some much-needed perspective on my life. I thought 'there has to be more to work than just writing emails and filling out spreadsheets. I went back to my early roots of partnering with founders and building positive relationships - two key pillars of my business now.

What was your background prior to starting your own business?

The majority of my career was at Sephora HQ (in SF) where I was a makeup, nail, and fragrance buyer for Sephora.com and BECCA Cosmetics (in NY) where I managed eRetail accounts such as Sephora.com, Ulta.com, Nordstrom.com, Revolve.com, Beautylish.com

Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

No

Take us back to when you first launched your business, what was your marketing strategy to get the word out, and did it go as planned?

I took to reaching out to my network for informational interviews about consulting. It worked and it still does.

What is the biggest challenge you have encountered along the way and what did you learn from it?

I encountered clients that were not quite the right fit and sticking to my boundaries was a difficult but important learning process

What is the accomplishment you are the proudest of to date?

I love it when I can connect people in my network to other great people's resources

Do you believe in work/life balance? What are some of your best tips?

Yes - I never work after 5pm nor on weekends (unless it's Cyber Weekend!)

What's a piece of advice you can share that you wish you'd known when you first started your Entreprenista journey?

Not to worry because you're never alone in the journey.

What have you achieved recently that you'd like to celebrate with our community?

I re-branded and re-launched my website - everything from name, domain, and style!

What's next for your business? What can we expect to see over the next few years?

I hope to scale to employ at least one full-time team member. My ultimate goal is to have a 30-hour workweek with ample time to learn and educate myself and the team

Learn more about the Entreprenista League and join today!