I always worked by myself, for myself, so I’ve been really lucky. The hard part about working for yourself is that you always have to be intrinsically motivated and believe in yourself, even when no one is around to give you feedback.
Lorena Canals is a home and lifestyle expert and the founder of the Spanish home design brand of the Lorena Canals. Her popular all-natural, machine-washable eco-chic rugs recently launched in the U.S.A. with a brand new Home Collection. Her mission is to offer families style, comfort, and convenience in every room of their home.
What inspired the launch of Lorena Canals?
One day, I was watching my two children playing on a rug and I thought: Why can’t we wash our children’s rug at home? I wanted to turn my idea into a reality and now I’m designing children rugs that are original, practical, and unique, that fit into in any environment.
What does your typical day look like?
I love going somewhere to have breakfast and read the news. Then I arrive at the office and talk about the pending things with my partner in India and my team. I use the early evening hours to design because I spend the entire day thinking about new ideas and prepping for my annual trip to India where our warehouse and manufacturing facility are located.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Connecting things that may seem discordant. I see rugs everywhere. When I go to the market, in a dress, at a restaurant. My brain is always working to create new designs and ideas.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
Right now, I really love monochrome black and white and designed a new Home collection with just black and white prints. I also love the summery colors and bright pastels, and flamingos!
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
Be happy and work hard!
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
I always worked by myself, for myself, so I’ve been really lucky. The hard part about working for yourself is that you always have to be intrinsically motivated and believe in yourself, even when no one is around to give you feedback.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
I would take more trips Asia to experience and understand all the process of the artisans’ work firsthand. That has been invaluable for me as a designer and I wish I had started doing this earlier.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Work hard and think big from the beginning. It’s important to see the big vision and work to get everything in alignment from there.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
Always believe in your idea and put more hours into the work than your competitors.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
Not exporting from the beginning.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
On-demand everything. We are headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, so on-demand services like beauty and massage would be great to have here.
Tell us something about you that very few people know?
I’m obsessed with lobsters!
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
I’m always online and run an international, global company with divisions all over the world. I need to speak with the factory in India on a daily basis so I would say Skype is the software I can’t live without.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
It’s not a business book, but ‘Naked Economics‘ by Charles Wheelan is a book that I would recommend since it changes the way you see the world and has a strong understanding of macroeconomic concepts that is so important for entrepreneurs.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
I have always been influenced by great designers and artists around the world. I wish I could spend more time studying with them when I was younger.
Connect:
Lorena Canals on Twitter: @Lorena_Canals
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Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.