Episode 18: Building Your Own Path – Young Entrepreneurship and the Rise of Boss Babes
What does it really take to build your own business when you are young? And behind the success stories we see on social media, how much failure, sacrifice and hard work does entrepreneurship actually require?
In this episode of We Can Work It Out, I am joined by Megan Jones, founder of Boss Babes Aesthetics and co-founder of By Babes, for a candid conversation about entrepreneurship, ambition, resilience and creating your own path into the world of work.
Megan’s journey is anything but conventional. After starting at the London College of Fashion, she quickly realised university was not for her. Training in lash treatments to earn some additional money gradually developed into a growing business and ultimately the foundations of Boss Babes.
Megan talks openly about the reality behind that success. She experimented with different businesses, invested in training and coaching, launched products that failed and experienced the financial pressures of trying to grow too quickly. We discuss why there is rarely such a thing as an overnight success and how social media can hide the years of work that happen before anybody notices.
A major theme is resilience. Megan explains why consistency, persistence and delayed gratification have been crucial to her success. We also explore the sacrifices involved in entrepreneurship, from long working hours and financial risk to the impact on friendships and social life.
We discuss the values behind Boss Babes Aesthetics, including Megan’s belief that honesty and client trust should always come before short-term profit. She explains why empowering women and helping clients feel confident, rather than simply selling treatments, has become central to the business.
Our conversation also looks at young people and the changing world of work. Are more young people questioning traditional career routes? Should schools and universities do more to develop entrepreneurship, financial literacy, confidence and resilience? And could self-employment offer another pathway for young people struggling to find their place in the labour market?
We also explore the impact of artificial intelligence. Megan believes AI is dramatically reducing some of the barriers to starting a business, but argues that the people who benefit most will be those who use it to increase their productivity and ambition rather than simply to work less.
The conversation becomes more personal as Megan discusses mental wellbeing, finding purpose through her business and the influence of her father, whose own experience as a business owner helped shape her attitude towards hard work, risk and persistence.
Building Your Own Path is ultimately about much more than entrepreneurship. It is about challenging conventional definitions of success and recognising that there is no single route into a fulfilling working life. Enjoy the discussion.
