Bookworm to Business Woman

Not everyone is fortunate enough to turn his/her passion into a career, but that’s exactly what 20-year-old bookworm Lauren Ward did.

She took her passion for reading and turned it to a successful completely online store called Bookworm Boutique where she sells merchandise that fellow bookworms can enjoy. She also runs a very popular Instagram account with over 60,000 followers, is active on about all social media outlets, and has just started her own blog.

Her online boutique has only been around for a year, so there is a lot more that can be expected from her in the future. She currently lives in New Zealand but ships products worldwide.  Ward actually ran a successful fandom-based business from 2013 to early 2014 before she got involved with Bookworm Boutique. However, she said she felt like her first business had lacked originality.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for me to feel like ‘one of the rest’, it was hard to come up with new and original ideas that hadn’t already been done, or that were interesting enough to turn heads, so I shut that business down.”

She said she had always been a big lover of books and found it difficult to find simple but eye-catching merchandise that complemented her love for books so she decided to create her own. That’s how Bookworm Boutique got started. At the time Society6, the website that she collaborates with to sell her products, did not have any just book-related shops so she said she decided to take a jab at it. She had some previous bookish designs from her previous store and those were the first products to go up on the site.

She said she definitely did not expect her current business to take off as much as it has. As of January of 2015, she had a humble 3,000 followers on Instagram and now has over 61,000 followers. She contributes her high following to Bookstagram (the bookish part of Instagram) and her Tumblr followers. Even though Ward has a high following on Instagram, she does not let that get to her head. Her friend Julie, who runs the Instagram account @authoredadornments, posted a photo a couple of weeks back that read “Community over Competition” which Ward said resonated deeply with her. She believes it is important to value the community you are building when running a business and not necessarily compete with other businesses over popularity.

When talking about her social media community she says, “We’re all very supportive and kind to each other, I often ask my followers what they think of a design in the making, or ask for advice/suggestions for new designs, and they’re always at the ready to lend a helping hand.”

A typical day for Ward is busy and productive from the moment she wakes up to the moment she goes to bed. She always starts with checking her social media sites and answering any questions or concerns that have come up over the night. She then answers emails and fits breakfast in before taking on whatever task had been specified for that day. Sometimes it’s writing blog posts or coming up with more designs for her products. The most time consuming part of her job is uploading designs to her websites. Recently she spent 12 hours uploading about 16 designs up on the Society6 website. Developing the designs can also be difficult because she said she is picky when it comes to perfection. Since she sells her products through another party, Soceity6, she doesn’t have control over all the quality of the products. Luckily for her, she explains how Socitey6 sells beautiful products and mishaps rarely occur. She also explains how being active on social media can be very time-consuming. She has an agenda on when to post content to her social media accounts. She loves the interaction she gets with her buyers and friends and that’s why she puts so much time into social media. The behind the scenes of Bookworm Boutique is basically just Ward managing everything.

She jokes, “This is a one woman operation that could probably use an extra set of hands for sure!”

Although a lot has been accomplished this past year with Bookworm Boutique, Ward still has many goals she’s striving to complete. She made the decision last month to put her degree on hold knowing she can always go back to it whereas if Bookworm Boutique were to be left unattended, it could fade away. With all her attention on Bookworm Boutique, she plans on trying to get her products sold on other sites besides Society6 and Redbubble. She’s in the process of organizing items for subscription boxes. She’s also collaborated with a local musician by helping with social media, designing lyric booklets and graphics, making posters, filming videos, etc. Getting involved with more collaborations is something she wants to do in the future. Getting involved with more publishing companies is something that is also on her bucket list. Three publishing companies already work with her by sending her books to review/advertise, but she wants to start being included in book events and interviews with authors.

People may be wondering if this lover of books has any plans of writing a book herself.  She replies “Of course I do, I don’t think you could ever be this involved with books and not consider writing one yourself.”

Ward is working on a few children’s books at the moment. Her mom is an early childhood teacher who has been a great asset when needing help with where to take the storyline or what pictures should be included. She has a book in the editing phase and hopes to see it published by next year.

When Lauren concluded her interview, she mentioned some words to live by. The words she lives by are, “Do what you love”, because life’s definitely too short!” From bookworm to boss woman, Lauren Ward is a great example of taking one’s passion and making it into a career.

Q & A With Lauren. 

P.S. Her responses are so cute!

If you could get a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world where would it be?

Right now, it’s definitely Florida, I am an insane Disney and Harry Potter addict, and feel as though that’s the best place to handle both of those loves. My fiancé and I often plan out trips there because the excitement is too real. I actually lived in Florida for a year growing up, we left in May 2009, and I’m pretty sure that in that June or July they completed the Harry Potter section of Universal Studios… I was heartbroken.

Dare I ask, favorite book?

A really tough one that I’m not 100% sure I could answer, mostly because it changes each day! My favourite Harry Potter book is Prisoner of Azkaban, though… That’s as close as I can come to picking one favourite of something, sorry!

Favorite book turned into T.V. series or movie?

I think in this section of the interview, all I’m going to talk about is Harry Potter?  Haha! Again, it’s Harry Potter. I don’t think that it’s the best adaptation of a book that I’ve seen, but getting to see my favourite childhood characters on the big screen was pretty fantastic, and I definitely cried when it was over.

Words to live by:

“Do what you love”, because life’s definitely too short!

Tea or Coffee?

Tea, without a second thought. Interesting fact about me, I’ve never had a cup of coffee or an energy drink in my entire life, and I don’t think I ever will. I like the smell of coffee, but can never bring myself to take a sip.

Signature supper?

I come from a family who loves to cook, on both sides, so the range of dishes is sort of odd, haha. I’m a big lover or Italian food, but cooking in general is a real passion of mine. There’s nothing better than spending the time to make a meal from scratch and see your family and friends enjoy it.

Lace or cotton?

Cotton!

Poems or plays?

Plays, for sure. I once took a poetry paper for University and man did I suck! I took drama in high school and loved it, especially the theory side of it. It’s one of the classes that I wish I could go back and do again, even if the improv was entirely embarrassing.

Top 3 books you would bring on a deserted island?

I’m stuck between picking incredibly long books or books that I completely adore. I think that I’d choose Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, The Hobbit, and Throne of Glass… Because apparently I only need fandom influence to survive. – My fiancé has pointed out to me that I should have probably chosen a survival guide, but I stand by my choices, haha.

Most Challenging or life-changing read?

This is a really hard question since I generally read fiction and Young Adult books, but the most challenging read for me personally has been “Atonement”. I had to read it for a University paper and had heard nothing but good things, but it took for three months to finish part one and totally caused a reading slump. I knew that I had to read it, but it was literally sucking the reading life out of me. I spoke to a friend of mine who told me that part one causes those feelings for a lot of people, and part two and three were much more entertaining, and she was completely right! I ended up quite enjoying the book, well, most of it. It kind of made me feel as though I should have pushed through more of my DNF (Did Not Finish) books on my shelves.