Podcast appearances and mentions of Sarah Lafleur

Countries around the world are asking whether it is in their best interest to align  more closely with China or the United States. Kurt Campbell helped guide US-  China policy through multiple administrations and was Deputy Secretary of State  under Joe Biden. He joins Christiane for his first TV interview since leaving  government.    Also on today's show: Director Marcel Mettelsiefen discusses his new  documentary on the Israel-Palestine conflict, “A State of Rage”; business owners  Debbie Wei Mullin and Sarah LaFleur on the impact of the Trump tariffs  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Retail Pilot, host Ken Pilot kicks off with a PreFlight segment featuring retail expert Jan Kniffen. They dive into the ever-changing sneaker market, discussing Nike's comeback, the rise of On Running and Hoka, and how brands like Skechers and New Balance are shaking up the industry.Following PreFlight, Ken welcomes special guest Sarah LaFleur, Founder and CEO of M.M.LaFleur, for an insightful conversation about how she built a brand that redefined workwear for women. From launching the company in 2013 to navigating the challenges of COVID and financial setbacks, Sarah shares her journey of resilience, innovation, and customer-driven design.Learn how M.M.LaFleur's mission to simplify dressing for professional women has evolved, how Sarah leveraged trunk shows and word-of-mouth marketing to scale the brand, and why she believes adaptability is key to entrepreneurial success. Plus, she shares insights on the future of retail, the role of AI in fashion, and her vision for M.M.LaFleur in the next decade.Key Takeaways:✈️ PreFlight with Jan Kniffen:

Today's guest is Sarah LaFleur, the Founder and CEO of M.M.LaFleur. We spoke at one of her NYC stores, in front of our first-ever LIVE podcast audience!Raised in Japan, Sarah worked in corporate consulting at Bain and had a short stint in private equity before giving business ownership a try.After recruiting designer Miyako Nakamura, the pair set off to create a brand of stylish, high-quality clothing for professional women. They launched M.M.LaFleur in 2013, and have gone on to hit revenue milestones in the tens of millions. Beyond her business story, Sarah's motherhood journey is something to behold. This includes raising “triblings”—a.k.a. three children who were born 7 weeks apart—thanks to surrogacy and her own pregnancy happening at the same time.It's a wild story that we can't wait to share with you. We hope you enjoy our first—but definitely not our last—live podcast recording!Follow Sarah at @mmlafleur and @sarahmlafleur on Instagram.Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!This episode is in partnership with M.M.LaFleur, an NYC-based fashion brand built on the core belief that when women succeed, the world becomes a better place.Today's episode is also supported by Hey Freya — use code MOTHER20 for $20 off your first purchase at heyfreya.co and follow along at @heyfreya.co on Instagram.For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on social.For more on Sarah's inspiring career + motherhood story, check out these great interviews:Marie Claire (article)How I Built This (podcast)Leave Your Mark (podcast)Inc. (podcast)Plucking Up (podcast)She Speaks (podcast)Drink Like A Lady (podcast)The Big Move (podcast)The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.  

*Recorded live at M.M. LaFleur in New York City on February 27th** Farnoosh interviews Sarah LaFleur, founder of the NY-based fashion brand, on how she pivoted the women's wear company during Covid, business lessons from her start-up days, the evolution of workwear, and more.More about Sarah: She founded M.M.LaFleur in 2013 with a mission to help women take the work out of getting dressed so they can focus on what matters to them. Before founding M.M.LaFleur, she worked at Bain & Co. in New York and TechnoServe in South Africa. Sarah sits on the Advisory Council of the New York Federal Reserve and is a board member of the Downtown Alliance of New York City. Most recently, she is a Henry Crown Fellow within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. She graduated from Harvard University. M.M.LaFleur is named after her mother, whom she calls her biggest inspiration. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this weeks episode of "do the work" Sabrina is joined by therapist Sarah Ann Lafluer to chat about inner child work, how to heal through abandonment/rejection and how unresolved childhood trauma seeps into every aspect of your dating life! Dont forget to follow Sabrina and Do the Work on instagram and Sabrina on Tik tok! Want to work with Sabrina? Click HERE Please support our sponsors! Want to shop Softwear? Get 20% off your first order with code- DOTHEWORK Get $1 steaks and meals for $1.49 on Everyplate with code- 49dothework HERE!

Virtual Fireside Chat with Sarah LaFleur, Founder and CEO of M.M. LaFleurHave you found your superpower?Do you listen to your clients and the zeitgeist?Sarah M. LaFleur, founder and CEO of MM.LaFleur clothing company, believes every successful entrepreneur must address these questions.Founded in 2013, MM.LaFleur clothing rose to prominence among executive women just in time for the 2016 election. Despite the curveball of a COVID pandemic that made work-from-home casual the new norm, Sarah's gift for perseverance and out-of-the-box thinking led the way to marketing campaigns that went viral.MM.LaFleur's mission, and Sarah's founding vision, was to help working women take the work out of dressing for work.She succeeded.In the process, making office attire so elegant yet comfortable—you won't want to take it off.Joya Dass, founder of a women's leadership platform, sat down with Sarah for a fireside chat. Here are 6 tips that speak to her leadership style and marketing savvy.Joya is currently enrolling members for strategy days in Paris Florence Barcelona Istanbul info@joyadass.com

Imagine carrying a women's fashion label dedicated entirely to reinventing workwear through a global pandemic that shuts down offices worldwide and makes “work from home” the new normal. “The only way through was forward,” remembers Sarah LaFleur, who founded the MM LaFleur womemswear brand in 2013. By relying on the purposefulness of their pieces and reframing their presentation, MM LaFleur was able to thrive through the hardest of times – and come out the other side more evolved. Now dipping her toe into the business coaching world, LaFleur herself is ready to share the hard-won strengths she's learned along the way. Listen in to this intimate conversation with CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour to learn her best advice for identifying your post-pandemic priorities and moving forward with clarity. Plus, the tips you may not know about how to dress for Zoom!   Free gift! Grab our new ebook, 5 Days to More Time for You! We've packed it full of our favorite time management hacks to help you conquer your to-do list and create more time for the things that matter most. Join us in NOLA: CoveyClub's Connection Convention   Connect with Lesley Jane Seymour & CoveyClub: Website Instagram LinkedIn Join CoveyClub  

If you've ever been frustrated by the options for women's workwear, you're not alone. This week's guest, Sarah LaFleur, decided to leave her high-powered career in management consulting to launch M.M.LaFleur, an elevated clothing brand for working women. M.M. LaFleur is blazing a trail for a new kind of brand endorsement by dressing women running for office and the WNBA. In this Candid Convo, Sarah discusses how she launched her brand, the impact of COVID on M.M.LaFleur, and her experience dressing Cynthia Nixon throughout her gubernatorial race.These short “Candid Convos” will highlight the personal, the professional, and of a little pivoting along the way. Hope you enjoy!Be sure to subscribe, leave us a rating and share with your friends if you liked this episode!She Pivots was created in partnership with Marie Claire to highlight women, their stories, and how their pivot became their success. To learn more about Sarah, follow us on Instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast or visit marieclaire.com/shepivots. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the summer of 2021, Christine Lagorio-Chafkin interviews Sarah LaFleur, founder and CEO of womenswear brand M.M. LeFleur. Sarah discussed how she started, the lessons she learned from her mother, how she grew her business, and guided it through Covid-19's most turbulent period. 

As we do each year, we consider how we plan to design our summer. We also discuss a hack from a food-scientist listener about an easy way to have more fun with the sense of taste, and we talk to Sarah LaFleur, founder and CEO of M.M.LaFleur, about the pleasures of clothes. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shownotes Get the resources and all links related to this episode here: http://happiercast.com/431 Get Gretchen Rubin's newest book Life in Five Senses to see how she discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available - order here. Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.  Happier with Gretchen Rubin is part of ‘The Onward Project,' a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts— Side Hustle School, Happier in Hollywood and Everything Happens with Kate Bowler. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

M.M.LaFleur is not a women's workwear business — founder and CEO Sarah LaFleur says it's a company that supports working women. LaFleur talks about the distinction on today's show, as well as the brand's bricks-and-mortar strategy, how women are dressing for work in a post-pandemic world, what it means to “lead from the front” and her biggest style inspiration. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Sarah LaFleur is the Founder & CEO of M.M.LaFleur. Sarah founded M.M.LaFleur in 2013 with a mission to help women take the work out of getting dressed, so they can focus on the work that matters to them. Prior to founding M.M.LaFleur, she worked at Bain & Co. in New York and TechnoServe in South Africa. Sarah sits on the board of International Rescue Committee's Airbel Impact Lab and on the business advisory council of the New York Fed. She graduated from Harvard University. M.M.LaFleur is named after her mother, whom she calls her biggest inspiration.  Follow M.M.LaFleur: https://www.instagram.com/mmlafleur/ Shop M.M.LaFleur: https://mmlafleur.com/ The Moreland jacket: https://rstyle.me/+P4WUlfJILinTsAHsJkdQzA The Lilia Jacket: https://rstyle.me/+8UNSZxZQ-CF3_8qWOV0sQw The Porter Jacket: https://rstyle.me/+gv2ierWJgLT9KKnFuHfLOw *use code BIGMOVE to receive 20% off your M.M. order (full price items only!)  Follow Sarah LaFleur: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmlafleur/ Follow The Big Move on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/thebigmovepodcast/ Follow Host Em here: https://www.instagram.com/emroberts.m/ 

After a difficult 2020 and 2021, women's work apparel brand M.M.LaFleur is once again in growth mode. The company is investing in new stores and showrooms, and says that sales are picking up again after business cratered during the pandemic. "There were multiple times where I thought maybe we won't make it, maybe the business won't survive," said founder and CEO Sarah LaFleur. She joined the Modern Retail Podcast this week and spoke about the company's new focus on stores and how it's positioning its overall marketing going forward. M.M.LaFleur is celebrating its 10th anniversary. And its trajectory as an online business provides a great glimpse into the changing dynamics digital brands face. It first launched with a subscription model with the aim of bringing women into the fold and giving them a variety of options to try out every month. While the intent wasn't to solely be a subscription business, M.M.LaFleur was known as one for years. During this time, the brand relied on all the old digital acquisition strategies to grow. "I remember there was a time where we used to acquire customers for $16 per customer -- I mean, it was kind of crazy," LaFleur said. But then two big things happened: customer acquisition costs skyrocketed and the pandemic hit. Beginning in 2019, M.M.LaFleur stopped its subscription business. And it also worked to diversify its marketing budget. Now, LaFleur said that stores have become one of its best-performing customer acquisition channels. "The thought there was let's shift our acquisition channel to now be from something else, and [using] our stores [as] a source of acquisition," she said. The company uses two types of retail models -- showrooms and ground-floor retail. The showrooms have long catered to power M.M.LaFleur customers, giving them an intimate environment in which to shop. Meanwhile, the larger, ground-floor retail formats are intended to catch people's eyes on the streets. It recently opened a ground-floor store in the Upper East Side, is about to launch another in the Upper West Side and has plans to open two more similar stores by the end of the year. According to LaFleur, while these stores don't bring in the majority of revenue -- 90% of the company's sales still come from online -- this is where she really sees healthy growth coming from. "In terms of where I'm putting my energy right now, I'm really focused on making sure that the stores we have right now are performing well," she said.

In part 2 of our conversation with Sarah LaFleur, we dive deeper into the story of her life and building the iconic clothing brand M.M.LaFleur.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sarah LeFleur is the Founder and CEO of MMLeFleur, known for women's “power casual” workwear.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

That's not how fashionistas buy clothes, but we make and sell clothes for professional working women—a story about understanding your customer's needs and developing to their needs. Dave Young: Welcome to The Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I'm Stephen sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today's episode, a word from our sponsor, which is... Well, it's us, but we're highlighting ads we've written and produced for our clients, so here's one of those. [Tapper's Ad] Dave Young: Welcome to The Empire Builders Podcast. Dave Young here, along with Stephen Semple. Stephen, good day to you. Stephen Semple: Good day to you, sir. Dave Young: You want to say good morning, but you never know what time somebody's listening, so I don't know. So you told me the topic this morning and I got to admit I'm sort of stumped. When you first started saying it, I thought, "Oh, cool. We're going to talk about the 3M company." Because you said MM and then I'm like, "Oh, 3M. Yeah, they're innovative. They did some cool stuff. We're going to do Post-it Notes? What are we doing?" And then you said a French word, M.M.LaFleur. Stephen Semple: That's right. Dave Young: And you even gave me a hint that it has something to do with ladies fashions. And dude I'm stumped, this is my life as an unsophisticated hick from the sticks. I have... Stephen Semple: There you go. Dave Young: ... no idea what M.M.LaFleur is, but it sounds French. Stephen Semple: I will wet your whistle a little bit. 10 years after they founded it, they were doing over $100 million in sales. Dave Young: In just 10 years. You'd think I'd have heard of them. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So they were founded by Sarah LaFleur on June 1st, 2011. And as I said today, they're doing over $100 million in sales. And the thing that's really fascinating about this story is Sarah, the founder, had no background in fashion. Dave Young: Oh, well, she and I have something in common. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Here's how little background she had. At one point, they said to her, "We need to hire a pattern maker." And she said, "But I thought we were doing solid colors. Not anything with patterns." And a pattern maker is the person who lays out how this material's going to be cut so it could be sewn together. Dave Young: I would've actually had an edge on her at that point. Stephen Semple: Right? This is how little background that she had in fashion, but she was always interested in fashion and her mom had a jewelry business. And so she had this clear vision of what she liked. She liked things that were classic, and polished, and simple. And she had a number of professional jobs, she worked for Bain Capital for a while as an analyst there. Dave Young: Oh, wow. Okay. Stephen Semple: Wanted to look good, but she would agonize over what to wear. She would get up in the morning and she'd agonize over what to wear. And she found this was actually a pretty common problem. There's studies that show that women spend on average 16 minutes in the morning just thinking about what to wear, which is basically the length of this podcast. Dave Young: Wow. Just thinking about it. Stephen Semple: Yeah. And it's interesting. If we go back, in 2004 there was a book written, Paradox Of Choice, which talks about how, if there's too much choice, we actually become more anxious, and less happy, and it leads to less sales, and all those other things. And so what she decided was she wanted to create a line of clothing that was simple, and elegant, and not have too many options. That was well made, looked great, reasonably priced. Dave Young: This is a concept in male fashion that has been addressed a lot.

We are returning this week with another incredible guest, Sarah LaFleur. Sarah came up with the idea to create comfortable and fashionable, professional attire for women because she herself found that whenever she was searching for work outfits, it seemed that fashion would always be sacrificed for comfort. In this episode, we discuss the current state of the apparel market and how things have changed so rapidly due to the evolution of the internet and e-commerce, the future of DTC from the brand and consumer perspectives, and how previous work experiences influence a persons fashion choices. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:05 - What did Sarah take away from her college career, especially at Harvard?8:17 - What was the fashion industry like at that time of Sarah’s early career? 12:24 - What was the aha moment when Sarah knew that she wanted to become a founder?17:52 - What were some of the early supply chain processes of iterating and designing some of the first garments that were built for the “modern American woman?”23:07 - What advice would Sarah give to founders who are looking to raise today in retail and e-commerce spaces?23:34 - What advice would Sarah have to any founder today who might be thinking they’re going to disrupt retail?27:04 - What does Sarah think the future of selling directly to the consumer is?29:00 - Should women seeking to be mothers be freezing their eggs?33:33 - Who is a woman in Sarah’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

We are excited to welcome the Founder and CEO of M.M.LaFleur, Sarah LaFleur, to The Style That Binds Us podcast! M.M.LaFleur is a New York-based clothing brand celebrating women through thoughtfully designed pieces, personal styling, and engaging content. Prior to founding M.M.LaFleur in 2013, Sarah attended Harvard University, where she graduated with a degree in Social Studies, and pursued a career in international development before moving into management consulting. Sarah recently became a mom of 3 (congratulations!). M.M.LaFleur has been featured in Forbes, Inc., WWD, Glossy, The Washington Post, The Cut & many more. We can't wait to get the scoop on where she got the idea for M.M.LaFleur, how she went about making that a reality, how M.M.LaFleur has evolved since its founding, and what she's learned along the way. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/delia-folk8/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/delia-folk8/support

Does desperation paralyze or invigorate you? For founder and CEO Sarah LaFleur, it was both. After quitting her dream job after four months because, spoiler alert, it was not a dream, she decided she had no choice but to become an entrepreneur. In truth, her motivation came from her inability to explain her departure in a way that wouldn't permanently dent her career. Owning your narrative and shaping your story is something that many people struggle with, but for Sarah, her so-called failure spawned the birth of her company, M.M. LaFleur. Frustrated by a lack of women's workwear options that were stylish and practical, she teamed up with Miyako Nakamura and Narie Foster to launch M.M.LaFleur in 2013. Their mission is to help women take the work out of getting dressed, so they can focus on the work that matters to them. The brand is known for its functional design details, comfort (like go ahead and nap in these clothes), and no “dry cleaning necessary” pieces. The brand is also doing its part in supporting women where it counts most. Passionate about seeing more women run for office, M.M. LaFleur has loaned clothing to over 275 female candidates. Since 2017, they have partnered with Bottomless Closet o help disadvantaged women in the NYC area jumpstart their careers, making it possible for women to donate their workwear at either M.M. LaFleur store in NYC or DC. They also offer special discounts to the military, veterans, medical professionals, first responders (including government and public service workers), and teachers. In this episode, Sarah shares her origin story and the struggles she dealt with after thinking she had destroyed her career. She explains why sometimes the answer to depression is just to keep moving forward. We talk about how her mother is her biggest inspiration, how to use your clothes to send powerful messages, and much more. *** This episode of LEAVE YOUR MARK is brought to you by Ever/Body, a New-York based cosmetic dermatology business that exists to thoughtfully support every body along their beauty journey. Ever/Body is revolutionizing the cosmetic dermatology industry with a personalized, tech-driven approach that prioritizes client education and natural-looking results. Their curated service menu includes a variety of medically-tested face and body treatments such as Botox, filler, body contouring, laser facials, micro-needling and more. Their medically-trained team provides expert care and an experience you can trust - always uniquely tailored to you. Ever/Body's mission is to thoughtfully support everybody along their individual beauty journey. Book a complimentary consultation on everbody.com and follow them on instagram @everbody. They are currently located in NYC in SoHo (453 West Broadway) and Flatiron (16 West 17th St.). Start your beauty journey with a free consultation at everbody.com and use my personal discount code, Aliza10 for 10% off your first treatment.

When she was working corporate jobs in New York City, Sarah LaFleur hated getting dressed in the morning; the choices in her closet felt overwhelming, many items didn't fit right or wore out too quickly. So in 2011 she launched a line of clothing for working women that would be simple, elegant, and well-tailored. She had no experience in fashion but partnered with a top-line designer, Miyako Nakamura, to create M.M.LaFleur. Today it's a multi-million dollar company with loyal customers from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

Presenter: Burkland Associates helps you build the right systems that can keep up with your growth and can handle all the finance, accounting, tax and hiring services that consumer startups need to scale. For more information head to burklandassociates.com Presenter: Skillful runs online, immersive programs that help people launch and accelerate their careers in business roles in tech - Strategy & Ops, Product, Strategic Finance and Growth. Early bird applications for the Core Sprint are now open - use the exclusive code EARLYBIRD2021 if you apply before Dec 1 Click Here to Apply to the Next Cohort This is a recap episode of my conversation with Sarah LaFleur, Founder & CEO of M.M. LaFleur.

Presenter: Burkland Associates helps you build the right systems that can keep up with your growth and can handle all the finance, accounting, tax and hiring services that consumer startups need to scale. For more information head to burklandassociates.com Presenter: Skillful runs online, immersive programs that help people launch and accelerate their careers in business roles in tech - Strategy & Ops, Product, Strategic Finance and Growth. Click Here to Apply to the Next Cohort  Thank you Will McClelland for the intro to our guest today, Sarah LaFleur, founder of M.M.LaFleur. M.M.LaFleur creates luxury apparel and accessories with the same attention to detail as high-end fashion houses. This was a great chat about how to launch an apparel brand and as well as how to adapt during COVID and new market tastes. Without further ado, here's Sarah. Some of the questions I ask her: What was your attraction to entrepreneurship? Why did you decide to focus on women's workwear? What were the current options for women when it came to workwear and what did you set out to change? What were the first steps when deciding you wanted to found the company? How did you think about sourcing materials? What was your approach to production? How do you approach personalization to your customers? What was the launch strategy? How did you reach your target audience? Has COVID changed your business since people are not yet going back into the office? As we come out of COVID (hopefully soon), what do you see changing when it comes to formal wear (if anything)? When did you decide to raise capital?What was that process like?What was the most common reason why an investor would pass? What's one thing you would change about the fundraising process? What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?The Second Sex by Simone DebuarInternal What's one piece of advice for founders? What's the best piece of advice that you've received?

Sarah LaFleur is the Founder & CEO of M.M.LaFleur, a women's workwear brand that she launched in 2013. The company grew to be a multimillion dollar brand and darling of the direct to consumer fashion world. In this episode, Sarah and I talk about the big existential questions many of us found ourselves asking early in our adult lives (and hopefully throughout our vocations.) Sarah also shares about the many inflections of her career and personal life — from her experience of being biracial and her struggle to embrace that complexity, her journey with infertility, and how she rose and innovated after hitting rock bottom. --Check out quick, tasty, and healthy foods at Real Good Foods! Get $15 off a minimum of $15 purchase, just use promo code PLUCKUP15. https://realgoodfoods.com/discount/PLUCKUP15--Love the podcast? Please follow us or subscribe for FREE, rate, and leave us a review! Follow Liz on Instagram: @lizbohannon @ssekodesigns.This podcast is produced by Hueman Group Media. Follow us on IG @huemangroupmedia and Twitter @hueman_media.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pluckingup/message Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sarah LaFleur is the Founder & CEO of M.M.LaFleur, a women's workwear brand that she launched in 2013. The company grew to be a multimillion dollar brand and darling of the direct to consumer fashion world. In this episode, Sarah and I talk about the big existential questions many of us found ourselves asking early in our adult lives (and hopefully throughout our vocations.) Sarah also shares about the many inflections of her career and personal life — from her experience of being biracial and her struggle to embrace that complexity, her journey with infertility, and how she rose and innovated after hitting rock bottom. -- Check out quick, tasty, and healthy foods at Real Good Foods! Get $15 off a minimum of $15 purchase, just use promo code PLUCKUP15. https://realgoodfoods.com/discount/PLUCKUP15 -- Love the podcast? Please follow us or subscribe for FREE, rate, and leave us a review! Follow Liz on Instagram: @lizbohannon @ssekodesigns. This podcast is produced by Hueman Group Media. Follow us on IG @huemangroupmedia and Twitter @hueman_media. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pluckingup/message

“If you could think of any business to be in, in 2020, it definitely wasn't women's work apparel. And yet that is the business that we have. So it was just a lot of ingenuity.” How do you create clothing that is high-quality but still affordable? Our guest today is Sarah LaFleur, founder and CEO of M.M. LaFleur, a terrific women's clothing company that makes incredible business attire. And how do you pivot quickly when the world decides to work from home? You figure it out. Listen to Sarah's entrepreneurial journey and lessons she has learned along the way on this inspiring episode of #TheKaraGoldinShow Enjoying this episode of #TheKaraGoldinShow? Let Kara know by clicking on the links below and sending her a quick shout-out on social or reach out to Kara Goldin directly at Kara@drinkhint.com Follow Kara Goldin on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karagoldin/ Follow Kara Goldin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karagoldin/ Follow Kara Goldin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/karagoldin Follow Kara Goldin on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KaraGoldin/ Check out our website to view show notes: https://karagoldin.com/podcast/193 List of links to resources mentioned in episode, suggested reading & social media handles: Website: https://mmlafleur.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-miyazawa-lafleur-530ab1a/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmlafleur/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/smlafleur

Fertility can be kind of a paradox - sometimes it seems like getting pregnant is so easy (it even happens by accident!) but sometimes despite our very best efforts, it can take a ton of time, money, and our emotional and physical energy with no guarantee of a baby. With more and more women choosing to delay motherhood to make time for careers and other interests, complex fertility journeys are becoming more common. We share our own fertility journeys and talk to Sarah LaFleur, founder and CEO of M.M.LaFleur, a company she founded in 2013 to help women take the work out of dressing for work. Sarah previously talked to Marie Claire's Editor-in-Chief Sally Holmes about her multi-year fertility journey and discusses it with us on this episode.

On this episode, Christine Lagorio-Chafkin interviews Sarah LaFleur, founder and CEO of womenswear brand M.M. LeFleur.

On this episode, Christine Lagorio-Chafkin interviews Sarah LaFleur, founder and CEO of womenswear brand M.M. LeFleur.

Sarah LaFleur, CEO, and Founder of M.M. LaFleur, sits down with us and shares her unlikely journey to become the head of a fashion company. You’ll hear how the pandemic has shifted her business model and the way we will look at fashion going forward. Sarah talks about why she leads her company with empathy, the special connection that inspired her, and how she takes time for self-care. You can find Sarah on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sarahmlafleur/ and https://www.instagram.com/mmlafleur/ Be sure to also check out M Dash, M.M. LaFleur's Digital Magazine https://mmlafleur.com/mdash. 

Workwear was different when CEO Sarah LaFleur launched M.M.LaFleur, her fashion brand targeting working women. “Dresses were the majority of our business [in 2013],” she said on the Glossy Podcast. “We didn't even have pants until 2016.” But now that working from home has become the norm, the brand has fully embraced casual wear. “The Power Casual category [that includes joggers, hoodies and tees] was probably 15-20% of our business going into 2020. But Covid hit, and -- boom. It's now over 50%,” she said. Tackling change is a growing trend for the brand. In late February, it will introduce M.M. Second Act, a peer-to-peer resale program that's been on the backburner for years. “I always saw M.M.'s purpose in the clothing world as being not just about selling, but also about showing women how to wear it. And actually teaching women how to take care of their clothing. The final piece in clothing's journey is retiring that piece, if you're not wearing it,” said LaFleur. “It wasn't until recently, when the technology really caught up with this brand value, that we've been able to lean into [resale].” LaFleur also discussed how Slack is fueling the brand's community and why now is the time to redefine the workwear dress code.

Sarah LaFleur is the Founder and CEO of M.M.LaFleur, a fashion company creating practical, inspired wardrobes for the modern, professional woman.From an early age, Sarah was exposed to high-end fashion through her mother who worked in the industry. When Sarah graduated from college and started shopping on her own for work clothing, she realized the experience and clothes were lacking despite spending so much money on them. After starting her career at Bain as a consultant, Sarah moved to private equity but left abruptly because of cultural problems at her firm. At this difficult point in her life, Sarah felt like she had nothing else to lose, and despite having no fashion experience, decided to take a risk & create clothing that professional women, like herself, were looking for.In this episode, we talk with Sarah about the windy journey that led her to entrepreneurship, how the business grew from -$2,000 in their bank account to a multi-million dollar company, how they tripled their revenue overnight from one specific strategy that ended up saving their company and how she turned the crisis of covid into a brand-defining moment. In this episode, we’ll talk to Sarah about:* How Sarah’s multicultural upbringing & family impacted the way she thought about her various careers [3:28]* Sarah shares why her 20s were painful as she was on a constant search for the “perfect job” [10:03]* Why Sarah decided to leave her dream job & how it was the lowest moment in her professional career [13:02]* Sarah talks about she manages her mental health & how therapy has been a gamechanger for her [18:48]* Early stages of the business & how Sarah created a brand for working women despite having no connections or experience in the fashion industry [21:37]* Sarah talks about the early days of starting M.M.LaFleur and how serendipity led her to meet her co-founder & head designer, Miyako [25:25]* Sarah explains how she thinks about constructing her clothing and how she thinks through the perfect fit for the modern woman [28:27]* Sarah shares how she funded the business, the importance of a side hustle to help pay bills, and the most important lesson she wants all entrepreneurs to know [30:38]* How M.M.LaFleur gained traction in the early days and created loyal fans of the brand [36:56]* Sarah’s experience fundraising & lessons she learned along the way [39:32]* The one strategy Sarah implemented that not only saved their business but generated millions of dollars in sales [45:06]* How Sarah turned the COVID crisis into a brand-defining moment for her company [53:49]Follow Sarah:* Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmlafleur/ * Company Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mmlafleur/ * Website: https://mmlafleur.com/ Follow Yasmin* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/* Stay updated & subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.behindherempire.com/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

M.M.LaFleur's co-founders Sarah LaFleur and Miyako Nakamura launched their women's clothing brand in 2011 — together with adviser Narie Foster — to help women harness the power of self-presentation, and to rethink the shopping process altogether. The business' lightbulb moment came while Sarah was working in finance in both New York City and Paris, during which she dreamed of a more practical and inspired wardrobe for herself and all professional women. But the brand wasn't in motion until Miyako came on board as creative director (via a recruiter!). We're thrilled to welcome Sarah and Miyako to this episode of The Partner Ship to share more about their path to reimagine the workwear category.

When Sarah LaFleur started M.M.LaFleur, she wanted to help women dress efficiently and comfortably for the office. Now that most of her customers are working from home, Sarah has to rethink her brand and her marketing to stay relevant. These conversations are excerpts from our How I Built Resilience series, where Guy talks online with founders and entrepreneurs about how they're navigating these turbulent times.

When she was working corporate jobs in New York City, Sarah LaFleur hated getting dressed in the morning; the choices in her closet felt overwhelming, many items didn't fit right or wore out too quickly. So in 2011 she launched a line of clothing for working women that would be simple, elegant, and well-tailored. She had no experience in fashion but partnered with a top-line designer, Miyako Nakamura, to create M.M.LaFleur. Today it's a multi-million dollar company with loyal customers from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. PLUS in our post-script "How You Built That," Taylor Mali explains how he created Metaphor Dice, which ease the pain of writing the first line of a poem.

Sarah LaFleur, CEO & Founder of M.M. LaFleur, shares her journey on becoming "The Unlikely CEO" of her own company. Sarah chats with us about leaving her career in finance to launch her clothing line, the ups and downs of running your own company and how to focus on your mission.

Sarah LaFleur is founder and CEO of M.M.LaFleur, the popular clothing brand that transformed the way women shop for work. She tells the Wall Street Journal's Veronica Dagher how women can succeed in the workplace by embracing their individuality.

For most startup founders, they are guided by the advice to never give up. For Sarah LaFleur, the  CEO of M.M. LaFleur -- a Luxury-Quality Clothing company via a Seamless & Direct-To-Consumer Stylist Experience that takes the work out of...

For most startup founders, they are guided by the advice to never give up. For Sarah LaFleur, the  CEO of M.M. LaFleur -- a Luxury-Quality Clothing company via a Seamless & Direct-To-Consumer Stylist Experience that takes the work out of dressing for work -- her own mantra amounts to this: when it scares you just keep going. She joins Socialfly co-founder Courtney Spritzer for a conversation about building her business and career, and her journey to success. Plus, a surprise and a brainstorm. In this episode: How Sarah transitioned from a finance career to following another calling—filling a need for high quality business clothing for women —with better quality and a better  experience The challenging path of raising money Launching a company at trunk shows How her business model evolved after a wake up call How M.M. LaFleur lives by ten Values every day How Sarah and her team successfully and positively navigated the departure of a co-founding executive And—the launch of a campaign inspired by a fourth grade teacher that features women of political influence, and asks the question:  What are You made Of?

As DTC brands grow up, they begin to look a lot like traditional brands. The challenge then, is differentiation. The solution: better data management. MM. LaFleur, the “bento box” pioneer of women’s workwear is one of those brands that uses data to differentiate itself. LaFleur discusses fighting the downward price push in the e-commerce space, how the bento box came about, diversifying customer acquisition channels and more.

In this episode, Meryl Bernstein, Partner and co-head of Hogan Lovells Global Retail, Consumer Products, and Fashion group chats with Sarah LaFleur, Founder and CEO of MM.LaFleur, a cutting-edge wardrobe solution for women in the workplace. They talk about the future of retail, the role of data in customization, and forces that are transforming how we buy clothes.   

She wanted to be an aid worker in Zambia but after college, got sucked instead into management consulting.  After she quit, she couldn’t find a job but noticed her $300 interview dress was burning a $1000 dry-cleaning hole in her budget. Sarah LaFleur, CEO of MM.LaFleur, talks with CoveyClub founder, Lesley Jane Seymour, about how that simple problem prompted LaFleur to explore and create a multi-million dollar fashion  business based on her “idea for better workwear for working women."

Sarah LaFleur was working in private equity when she came to a realization that'll ring familiar to most professional women. “I had a really hard time shopping for work...I'd spend [time] stressing out about what to wear in the morning,” she admitted.   But that dilemma sparked inspiration: Sarah had witnessed companies like Bonobos, Warby Parker and Cuyana successfully launch direct-to-consumer concepts, and she decided to create something similar geared towards working women — and that's how her company, MM LaFleur, got off the ground. Success didn't come right away. In fact, about a year after she launched, Sarah feared she may have to fold her business. But one seemingly small decision allowed her to triple her revenue overnight...and proved pivotal in her company's success story. Listen in to hear about Sarah's incredible journey, her thoughts on the biggest mistake hopeful entrepreneurs make, and how Sex and the City's leading ladies informed her approach to her business. 

Sarah left what was once a dream job of going into management consulting to turn her dreams into product at MM.LaFleur. Though Sarah's mother worked in high fashion, Sarah had no experience in the field. However as a woman working in corporate America, she saw the need for change and disrupted the industry of women's business clothing. In this episode, we talk with Sarah about how her business grew so drastically over the past few years, their “bento box” that tripled company revenue overnight, as well as the importance of company values and staying true them even as a start-up.

Sarah left what was once a dream job of going into management consulting to turn her dreams into product at MM.LaFleur. Though Sarah's mother worked in high fashion, Sarah had no experience in the field. However as a woman working in corporate America, she saw the need for change and disrupted the industry of women’s business clothing. In this episode, we talk with Sarah about how her business grew so drastically over the past few years, their “bento box” that tripled company revenue overnight, as well as the importance of company values and staying true them even as a start-up.

From -$2,000 in her bank account to generating a projected $75 million in sales, entrepreneur Sarah LaFleur is on the show today sharing her trials, tribulations and tips for living your best financial life. Sarah is the founder of MM.LaFleur, a new women’s fashion brand that CNBC says is “shaking up retail.” Sarah started the company in 2011 after quitting her job in private equity. With $35,000 in savings and another $35,000 in loans from her parents she launched what would become one of fashion’s hottest new clothing lines for professional women. To learn more visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

When we think of exclusivity, we often see sales pages that seem to have these ticking clocks. They're creating urgency by forcing our hand. And as small business owners, we often buy into that urgency. Yet, you don't need to resort to these cheap gimmicks when you have the twin factors of exclusivity. So how do you use these twin factors to your advantage. Here's Part 2 in a series of 3 on "How to Create the Irresistibility Factor". In this episode Sean talks about Part 1: The Power of Product Exclusivity Part 2: The Benefit of Working with Smaller Numbers Part 3: The Myth that you have to be Big to be Successful Right click here and ‘save as’ to download this episode to your computer. Useful Resources 5000bc: How to get reliable answers to your complex marketing problems The Brain Audit: Why Customers Buy (And Why They Don’t) Special Bonus: How To Win The Resistance Game ================= What Are The Factors in Play Behind An Irresistible Offer: Part 2 of 3 The Power of Exclusivity There’s an anecdotal story about the late Gary Halbert. Gary Halbert was one of the best known direct-mail copywriters on the planet and so he decided to have a copywriting workshop. Even those he charged nose-bleed prices for the workshop, it was absolutely full. So he hosted a subsequent workshop. That too was full. He was on a roll, so another workshop was announced. Yes, it was full again. And then it went quiet. Deathly quiet, in fact. You’ve probably figured out the reason why the workshops stopped filling up My guess was that Gary ran out of people to attend his workshop. But remember this—Gary was super well-known. He had a list of thousands of subscribers. What he ran into was a problem of exclusivity. The workshops were being held at such a high frequency, that it seemed easy enough to put off attending the next workshop, because another one would always show up. This is why we last had the Psychotactics Headlines course in 2013—then nothing until 2015 The headlines course is extremely popular—and hence full every single time we announce it. It’s not hard to see why, either. As a business owner you’ve got to send out newsletters, possibly make a presentation, write sales letters for your product or service, and if you produce podcasts or webinars—yes, you need headlines. Almost all marketing activity is directly linked to writing great headlines. Instead of guessing whether a headline is outstanding or just average, you know precisely why it works and how to fix it. The question to ask is this: Should you conduct the course on a frequent basis? The answer depends on whether you want to create exclusivity or not If you want a product to be exclusive, you have to create scarcity, because scarcity creates exclusivity. This exclusivity is exactly what Studio 54 used to their advantage. It’s what caused people to want to jump that “velvet rope”. There was a sense of desperation to get into Studio 54 night after night. If you don’t or won’t have exclusivity around your product or services, you’re telling clients they can have it at any given time. As you can tell, that lack of exclusivity reduces urgency. The client can come in any ol’ time and get the product or service—and often they do. They put off the purchase until later. At Psychotactics, we haven’t tried to reinvent the wheel… Instead we work on just two parameters to create a factor of exclusivity. 1) Reduce frequency 2) Work with small numbers. Reduce frequency If you look at the courses we host online (for e.g. the Article Writing Course, headlines course, copywriting course etc), they’re all held with a substantial gap. That gap is at least a year apart. It means if you miss signing up for the course, you have to wait at least a year, sometimes two. There’s no guarantee that the course will be held on a recurring basis, and this creates a factor of exclusivity. Let’s take the Article Writing Course for instance. Let’s just say we’re going to have a course in May next year (and right now we’re in November). When will we have the next course? We don’t know for sure. All we know is it’s not going to be in June, or July, or August—or even in that year. But won’t that drive clients away to the competition? There’s always a possibility that the clients would want to learn a skill desperately and hence head elsewhere. And yet, that’s not what a lot of our clients do. They’re clear they want to do the course with us, and so they wait for the announcement and they sign up. As you’re reading this information, you are clearly being pre-sold for the Article Writing Course being held next year. You are aware that there’s a sort of sales pitch in what you’re reading and yet you’re also keen to know why the course is so exclusive. Why would clients wait? Why would they pay a hefty fee of $3000 for the privilege? Why would they sign up for something that’s known as the “toughest writing course” in the world? It’s not like clients won’t try the competition. Even if you have the best products or services in the world, the clients will still buy into competitor’s products or services. Yet, we all want something that’s exclusive—something we can’t have. Make no mistake Just putting a tag of exclusivity on a product or service isn’t going to help you sell better.Your product or service has to be top-notch. No client is silly enough to spend $3000 on a course. They’re not going to get on a plane, take a whole week off from their work to get to your workshop. They certainly aren’t going to just throw money at whatever product you’re selling, if it’s not top notch. And while all product or services start off a bit less than great, with time they can all become exceedingly good. That’s when the demand starts That’s when you need to put a “velvet rope” around the product or the service. The greater the demand the more you’ve got to protect your property. Instead it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to make our product or service easily available. Yet, in some cases, availability is exactly what’s needed. Some products or services may need to be put in place so that clients can get to them at any point in time. These products and services provide a doorway to your business. In our case, The Brain Audit is the doorway Prospects find The Brain Audit on Amazon.com or on our site. And once they read it, they go on to buy more “doorway products”. We know this to be true because we track their progress. They’ll buy books such as “The Secret life of Testimonials” or “Chaos Planning” or “Story Telling”. Then they move up to buying more expensive products such “Black Belt Presentations”. But then they hit a wall. To join 5000bc, they can’t just waltz in. They have to pay to be on a waiting list. Who pays to be on a waiting list? It’s just $10, but you have to get on the list and then after we check out your history a bit, we let you in after 3-4 weeks. The same applies to any of the workshops or courses. Not only are they less frequent, but our members at 5000bc get the first chance to sign up. There have been numerous occasions where the product or service is sold out before the rest of the list can even have a crack at it. The more expensive the product or service, the less the frequency of availability. So yes, you want to start with looking at your product or service Is it a doorway product? If so, it may not need that tag of exclusivity. But as it goes up in price, create a barrier—create several barriers—and make it exclusive. Even if you have a digital product that should be easily available, you can offer it only once a year and make it exclusive. This takes us to the second factor: working with small numbers. Working With Smaller Numbers A 947 person waiting list. That’s the Tory 2.0 dress by MM LaFleur. MM. LaFleur is a direct-to-consumer fashion retailer started by a former financial consultant Sarah LaFleur and Zac Posen designer Miyako Nakamura.  At $235 it’s not cheap, but the very fact that you can’t get it right away—that’s causing the waiting list to keep soaring. The same applied to my Nakaya Naka-ai in Araishu pen The pen is handcrafted from ebonite and Urushi lacquer, and comes a solid gold 14k nib. I ordered this handcrafted pen from Japan back in May 2014 and it arrived a year and a half later. My wife, Renuka, jokes that there’s some wizened old man in Japan somewhere working day and night bent over the nib. The price? After all the taxes, it hovered close to NZ$1000—for a fountain pen! And yet, there’s a waiting list. As if to underline the Japanese connection, here’s a third example Jiro Ono runs a sushi restaurant under the Ginza railway station in Tokyo. Jiro has been honoured by Michelin—and gets Michelin’s highest three star rating. A meal costs approximately US$380 per person. So how many people would you expect to see at Jiro’s restaurant? A hundred, fifty, thirty—perhaps? The correct answer is ten. Night after night only ten diners sit in for a twenty minute meal. So does a restaurant that makes over $1 million a year sound like a good business? It’s a myth that you have to be big to be successful In reality, being small—and having small groups as your clients can be as, or even more successful than getting bigger all the time. This in turn creates an enormous amount of exclusivity—and makes your business irresistible. If you’re a woman who’s keen on a superb office dress, you’ll be checking out the Tory 2.0 dress. The foodie in you would want to experience Jiro’s food and the pen—no you can’t have it. There’s only one kind of it on the planet. In short, smaller numbers play a massive role in creating exclusivity. And this factor of working in smaller numbers has a big, almost-guaranteed benefit Let’s take the membership site at 5000bc, for example. 5000bc has been running since 2003 and yet it has fewer than 400 members. That may, at first, seem like an awfully small number when you consider that the Psychotactics list runs into several tens of thousands. Yet, that small number is responsible for generating almost 90% our income. The members know the benefit of being a member. They get first access to the courses or workshops. They get personalised attention. Being a member has its privileges both for the client as well as for the person running the membership site. The moment the membership site gets big, it almost always gets hard to handle. There are no personal relationships, everyone is trying to hawk something to someone else and there’s a constant show up of upmanship. This concept of having smaller numbers applies not just to services, but training as well At Psychotactics, we may boast that we don’t do joint ventures, affiliates, advertising etc., but why have we been able to get away with this for so long? The reason is because clients keep coming back. On average, if a client does one workshop (at a venue) or one live course online, they come back to do as many as four-five courses, buy several products and services. Even the clients who don’t do many courses, end up doing at least a couple. I think you know where this line of thinking is going The smaller numbers cause the product or service to be exclusive. The exclusivity leads to urgency. Add a good helping of lesser frequency and you have an even higher factor of irresistibility kicking in. But more importantly, this tiny number also allows you to pay closer attention to the needs of your clients. And if you’re reading this, there’s a pretty good chance you’re not even remotely expecting to rule the world. Your core goal is to live a comfortable, satisfying life; to have really good clients; to have a solid cash flow and money reserves. But you can have your cake and eat it too All your products and services don’t need to be out of reach. Some products may be produced in larger numbers. You may choose to have some events with 500 people—while others are just for 25. Not everything needs to be small, but you can put a ring around some products or services and decide to keep them small forever. Or, like Jiro Ono, you may decide you never want to have 11 people for dinner. Smaller numbers work magnificently well to create a factor of exclusivity You get to live your life on your terms—and because you have such small numbers your product or service is always in demand. Go smaller, not bigger. Reduce frequency, don’t increase. These are the keys to creating a real exclusivity for your product or service. This takes us to the third element: Build Up Have a look here—for the continuation on How To Make Your Product or Service Irresistible: Part 3 and 3.

Despite having a great career and a loving family, lawyer John Clark (Richard Gere) is missing something in his life as he meanders listlessly from day to day. On his commute back home one night, Clark notices a stunning woman (Jennifer Lopez) in a dance studio and decides on a whim to join a class for ballroom dancing. While Clark finds a new spark in his life, his wife, Beverly (Susan Sarandon), grows suspicious of his frequent absences, since he decides to keep his dancing a secret. Stream online: https://amzn.to/2ypS463 Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/mfrbooksandfilm?fan_landing=true

Despite having a great career and a loving family, lawyer John Clark (Richard Gere) is missing something in his life as he meanders listlessly from day to day. On his commute back home one night, Clark notices a stunning woman (Jennifer Lopez) in a dance studio and decides on a whim to join a class for ballroom dancing. While Clark finds a new spark in his life, his wife, Beverly (Susan Sarandon), grows suspicious of his frequent absences, since he decides to keep his dancing a secret. Stream online: https://amzn.to/2ypS463

Man-eating crocodiles return to the lake, as two males and one aggressive female crocodile protecting their nest, wreak havoc on the locals. Director: David Flores Writers: Todd Hurvitz, Howie Miller, David E. Kelley Stars: John Schneider, Sarah Lafleur, Sam McMurray See more » --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/gruesome-hertzogg/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/gruesome-hertzogg/support