A mum of two who had £400 to her name and thousands of pounds of credit card debt after giving up her job as a teacher to look after her daughter, developed postnatal depression and was at an “all time low”, now has a successful fashion brand with a salary that “exceeds” her teacher’s wage. Lauren Todd, 31, a company director, who lives with her fiance, Alex Rook, 41, and their two children, Lottie, two, and Isabella, five, gave up her job as a teacher as she had “always dreamt” of being a stay-at-home mum.
But she was diagnosed with postnatal depression, finding it “really hard to function”. Lauren’s mood was worsened by the fact that she could not breastfeed in many of her clothes – but she had a lightbulb moment to sell wrap dresses for women who were similarly struggling and, using her final pennies to buy stock, her product line sold out overnight.
Despite having a second bout of postnatal depression after her youngest daughter was born, Lauren’s business continues to be a roaring success, with a six-figure annual turnover. She now designs a range of leggings for women of all ages, sizes and physical abilities, focusing her expertise on building the confidence of women – looking back on the last few years, Lauren “never believed that (she) was capable of managing this” but is “so proud”.
