+1 Entrepreneur Interview: Lauren Caggiano
+1 Entrepreneur Interviews celebrate Fort Wayne area entrepreneurs who deserve an upvote. This post celebrates serial entrepreneur Lauren Caggiano.
Imagine that you own two businesses, each of which feeds one of your personal passions and lifestyle. You have two solid income streams and spend your time doing work that you absolutely love. Sounds like a charmed life, doesn’t it? Meet Lauren. It’s her life.
- Company 1: WriteOn, LLC — Crafting Powerful Narratives
- Company 2: New Heights Fitness, LLC —Taking you to New Heights
The People
It was inevitable, I’ll argue, that Lauren would be an entrepreneur. She is, in fact, a fourth generation entrepreneur. Her great grandmother owned properties and bed & breakfasts in Niagara Falls. In a move that was stunningly independent for those days, she negotiated a business loan in her own name while in her 80’s. Lauren’s grandfather operated an accounting practice, and her great uncle ran a Niagara Falls sign shop.
A little closer to the present, her father was active in broadcast radio for 30 years, owning several stations. For you Fort Wayne listeners, Chris Cage (the memorable and well loved on air name for Christian Caggiano) brought The Bear to Fort Wayne. Later, he acquired local market research firm Dennis Research (were you ever surveyed at Glenbrook Mall?) and operated it for 15 years.
So, you see, Lauren grew up with entrepreneurs who told stories (on the radio), literally painted pictures with words, conducted market research and accounting, and provided hospitality — all acting independently throughout their lives. None of us should be surprised that when one of her job positions was eliminated, she just cranked up the gain on her freelance work. Doing it the way she wanted — just like her family had always done!
The Business
Beyond becoming an entrepreneur, becoming a writer was also probably inevitable for Lauren. She has always been a good writer — and loved it. She’s known this about herself since 5th grade! At the University of Dayton (go Flyers), Lauren studied Journalism and French. As you might imagine, she wrote for the yearbook and newspaper.
She graduated in 2007 just before the recession began. Lauren quickly established freelance writing and translating as a side gig, incorporating her first company, WriteOn, LLC in 2008.
WriteOn, LLC “helps people tell stories in ways that grip people and gain attention.” Lauren writes for companies that respect the value of a professional researched and well written marketing story. Her payoff extends well beyond her fees. She has a front row seat to watch her clients’ engagement, readership, and business success rise — as a result of her work.
After an initial struggle through the normal startup challenges, Lauren has found her niche, her tribe, her target market segment. Professional writing is not without its challenges. People tend to perceive freelance writers (no matter how full time and professional) as just goofing around with their hobby or, at best, kinda/sorta/maybe working on a relatively unimportant side gig. And the overseas price competition from services like Upwork or fiverr.com is brutal. That said, Lauren chose to skip the “race to the bottom” and build out a client base who truly understand the value of a professional writer. As the years have passed, she has become even more and more selective of the clients she accepts, and today I am pleased to say that her reputation as a valued professional is well established.
On a pivotal day in 2013 WriteOn established a contract with what would become its anchor client. That client has continued as her anchor since then (quite a good run!) and that base revenue was what enabled her to go full time as a writer (and French translator). Today, Lauren now finds work mainly by referral from trusted like-minded people, often graphic designers or videographers — people like Aaron Robles of Founders Spark or the Voglewedes at Lofthouse Creative.
In addition, Lauren has written for online magazine Input Fort Wayne since its inception in 2018. She’s contributed over 130 stories about economic development, community development, and arts & culture. Two of her very favorites were an interview with Fort Wayne music scene icon Julia Meek (who doesn’t love Julia?) and a profile of Golfo di Napoli Dairy in Warren, IN, a cheese production and caffè that appeals to her Italian heritage.
But [as they say] wait, there’s more!
Not an athlete, Lauren had always been physically active and worked out together with her father. In 2013 she committed to a workout program in order to actively address a hyperthyroidism condition, a condition that tends to promote weight gain. Her commitment to a lifestyle change that included some kickboxing and then added strength training was challenged for a bit in 2015 when her father passed away.
When she recommitted, she went in big. In April of 2018 she passed the American Council on Exercise’s exam and was certified as a personal trainer. And her second business, New Heights Fitness, LLC, was born!
Since then Lauren has provided personal and small group training, sometimes in a semi-private setting at Absolute Results Fitness — and also in collaboration with Erin and Zach at LONGevity Fitness.
She is proud of the wins that go beyond just helping someone “lose 20”. The big payoffs for Lauren are those times when clients tell her that she has made an impact on their lifestyles (just as she has made on her own).
The Future
WriteOn is in a groove. It will continue being selective and working with clients who recognize professional value, maybe even becoming more selective. It will branch out to meet, work with, and be referred work from more creatives. A one person company, it is somewhat possible that WriteOn may add high quality subcontractors at some point.
If New Heights expands, it would likely be toward one or two new services. First, thanks to COVID-19 and social distancing, Lauren may develop some online training programs sooner than later. Second, it would be very natural for her to obtain a nutritionist or dietician certification and add nutrition or dietary services. Lauren has eaten a vegan diet for many years, so she understands diet and nutrition. Plus, she knows that for her clients who seek weight loss, diet will be the majority of the solution.
Wherever her businesses take her, whatever she decides to add to the mix, I’m confident it will fit the paradigm of mirroring her own interests in a way that is integrated with her own life. As Lauren says,“I help people do good in their business lives and their personal lives, because that’s what I do.”
Favorite Northeast Indiana Entrepreneurs
Let’s start Lauren’s roll of favorites with a familiar name, her father Christian Caggiano (or Chris Cage for you radio listeners), admired for his entrepreneurial skills but most of all for what he gave back as a volunteer with Ad Fed, the Boy Scouts, the United Way, and Rotary.
Jason Minnich at Catalyst Fitness, where Lauren is a member, for the high quality and professional not-a-race-to-the-bottom services they offer.
Mocha Lounge, for expanding coffee-related goodness to their 2nd location.
Caliente Cuban, for an inspiring immigration story (and some tasty vegan fare mixed in with the rest of the menu).
To the Cheesebrew’s, who created Bird and Cleaver, because they took a risk and didn’t compromise on anything!
To Bo Gonzalez from Bravas, another entrepreneur who took a chance, starting with just that hot dog cart, and then growing from there into a loved Fort Wayne brand.
To Robert and Yvonne Johnson, for their immigrant story and for the comeback story of Bukál Beverage.
Advice for New Entrepreneurs
Lauren’s advice to entrepreneurs is direct and to the point. Do it! You don’t have to quit your day job, but you do have to start. Start humbly, but start!
Finally, let me add that Lauren leads by her example. She is a very active volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Lauren, like her father, believes in giving back and would recommend that to everyone (entrepreneur or not).
Emulate Lauren Caggiano and find your version of a charmed life!
