When you don’t believe in yourself, you give your power away. This is the lesson from Michele Scott-Lynch, founder of curly hair brand Bouclème, and creator of one of the original beauty “communities”
Michele candidly shares her experiences in the latest "Learn from our mistakes" instalment.
I’ve known Michele for the best part of a decade, and throughout that time, I’ve seen her work tirelessly - not just to build a brand, but to create a true community.
“Community” might be the buzzword of the moment - the act of bringing people together and sparking a sense of belonging - but it’s far from easy to achieve, especially for a brand. Still, many marketers believe that if you can crack it, community can be the key to success. And for Michele, it’s led to the creation of a multimillion-pound company.
Michele recognised that people with curly hair were being underserved in the beauty industry. From a personal passion and a desire to embrace her own curls, she set out to create Bouclème - a beautiful line of natural, nourishing products designed to make curls of all types, tones and textures look and feel their best. But what she’s built is far more than just a product line: it’s a genuine community of advocates who love the brand for making them feel seen.
I spoke to Michele for the Learn From Our Mistakes series and appreciated how candidly she shared the lessons she’s learned over 13 years of running her business. Here’s what she had to say:
I would trust myself and believe in myself more.
When you embark on something new - particularly in my case, coming from a music background and raising my two girls - I didn’t believe I knew enough about running a business or making the right decisions. That led me to trust in others, often more than myself. And ultimately, I trusted the wrong people, which resulted in some catastrophic mistakes.
When you don’t believe in yourself, you give your power away.
When you conceive an idea - there’s a lot of power and energy in that - it’s coming from a really knowing place. Nobody else really understands your vision as much as you do.
When you’re new to business, it’s easy to trust in what others say, and believe them over yourself. There’s been times when I’ve been indecisive, unsure if what I’m thinking is correct, and taking that to someone else, and going with what they thought.
When you talk to other people, they don’t necessarily get your vision in the way you do, and so you can become influenced with their thoughts and their beliefs, which can sometimes not marry with your own. When I’ve lent on the opinions and decisions of others, that has ultimately ended in me making some really big mistakes.
If I could go back, I’d take my time. I’d trust my intuition more. I’d listen to others, yes - but I wouldn’t absorb their vision over mine. Because in the end, it was me who got myself out of those tough times. And if I could do that, I can do anything.
I was so terrified of making a mistake.
I’d never started or run a business before. I felt so out of my depth, and lacking in confidence, and just terrified of making a mistake and feeling stupid, humiliated, embarrassed - all those things. This fear led me to put my trust in people.
Looking back, I’d say, when you’re having conversations with people, really these conversations should inspire new thoughts of your own, and not necessarily influence. They can provide another way of thinking about something – but not to the point where you’re completely absorbing somebody else’s idea of what your business should look like, or what decisions you should be making.
We’re all afraid of making mistakes, but mistakes are where we learn. They’re what make someone a better entrepreneur.
Embrace them. Mistakes are part of running a business, and that’s okay.
My skills in hiring the right people have been way off.
People will sell you a dream, tell you what they can do, but you should take your time, vet them, go on your first instinct from meeting someone.
I have had an interview where the person walked into the room and my gut said no, but I convinced myself of the absolute opposite, hired them and lived to regret it.
Trust that first reaction.
Look at what someone has done, not just what they say they’ll do. Have they worked in a startup? Do they have an entrepreneurial streak? There’s a certain type of character that you need to have in a business as a startup. A corporate background might look impressive, but startup life demands agility, fast pivots, and creative thinking - skills not everyone brings from the corporate world.
If you’ve got the confidence to start a business, then have the confidence in yourself to run one.
Believe in you. Believe in your vision. Don’t let somebody else overly sway your vision into something that they see because it will take you off your path. That vision is yours for a reason.
If you can relate to any of what Michele is saying, give us a ❤️ below.
From blogger Estée Lalonde and pro makeup artist Ciara O’Shea to inclusive agency founder Charlotte Stavrou, you can find more from the “learn from our mistakes” series here.