Happiful September 2020

Forget perfection
keep your promises
Lara Morgan, co-owner and founder of Scentered, has a head for business
and a passion for personal development. As she shares here with Happiful,
perfection isn’t possible, but all lessons in life and business are valuable
Writing | Lucy Donoughue
Stop. Inhale. Reset. These
are the guiding words used
by the aromatherapy brand
Scentered. The concept is
that we can all adjust our mood,
focus, and direction if we take a
little time out to smell the roses –
or lavender, sage, and citrus. And,
in my humble opinion, it really
works.
The founder of Scentered, Lara
Morgan, is deeply passionate
about her products, although I
suspect she rarely takes a moment
for herself to practise what she
advises. Our interview takes place
over a hands-free phone call as
she’s driving her daughters to
an event, before heading off to a
business forum and, after that, a
plethora of work commitments
follow.
During our chat, I get the strong
sense that Lara thrives on the
pace she lives and works at. Her
favoured method of relaxation, she
says, is running with a friend. It’s
all about the forward momentum
for her.
In a time when so many of us are
contemplating our careers, and
a change of lifestyle, prompted
or necessitated by the global
pandemic, Lara’s experience and
drive is incredibly helpful.
Here, for anyone who is
contemplating starting their own
business, Lara shares just a few of
the lessons she has learned about
the realities of entrepreneurship.
Keep your promises
My father was ex-military, so
it made me disciplined and
organised, because if I turned up
late, I might go without. He always
believed that you did what you said
you would, so it became important
to me to never make a promise I
couldn’t keep.
My mum was unbelievably
people-focused, naturally
engaging, and terribly generous
with all her time – probably too
generous. I inherited a little of
both their traits, and I believe that
the more you put into life, the
more you get out.
Learn the value of money
When I was a child, my parents
were gradually going bankrupt, so
we were taught that if you looked
after the pennies, the pounds
looked after themselves.
Living with scarcity, and learning
to budget as a child, meant that
we really valued what we could
spend, and where we spent it.
That appreciation of money and
possessions continued into my
business – my first laptop and brick
of a mobile were the most precious
things I had!
Be honest and be humble
I was very lucky that I arrived
in business in the middle of a
recession at the age of 23, without
any qualifications – so there was no
lack of humility, as I had nothing to
stake a claim in, other than I was a
good salesperson.
When my career took off, I
employed people who were more
talented than me in many areas,
and I was very clear where my skills
lay so I could drive the growth of
70 • happiful.com • September 2020