Local OSUM graduate looking to build careers for women in the area

Lauren Schiffer remembers being a recent Ohio State University graduate working at an accounting firm in Marion, Ohio, with student loans piling up beside her.

Unhappy, yet determined to get these loans paid down, Schiffer was recruited to sell Mary Kay, a business marketed toward women interested in beauty and healthcare.

“I was motivated by the idea of being my own boss and having the ability to im

pact the lives of others,” said Schiffer.

Six years later, Schiffer looks back on her choice to make a bold change, and she has no regrets.

She purchased an office space on the 9th floor of the Chase building on Prospect Street and quickly revamped it with pink walls and glittery storage units to hold all of her product. She marketed prom makeovers and free facials if you brought a friend.

The word quickly spread, and Schiffer was well known with the local high schoolers, who also brought their parents, and the parents brought their friends. Soon enough, she had made a name for herself, and her loans were paid off in a year.

Soon after, Schiffer began a recruitment process to build a team of women ready to inspire other women in the community. She began creating workbooks and video tutorials on how to build a business in a town that is struggling to stay on its feet.

In the fall of 2016, Alex Sheridan, another OSU graduate, began revamping store fronts on Center Street and approached Schiffer with a space fit for a studio.

Schiffer quickly bought the store font, and with some help from her team, opened Studio Glam.

Complete with an office space for trainings, a room for private Mary Kay parties, and a makeover room, the studio was everything Schiffer and her team could have imagined.

Her team took off. Now ranked in the top 5 nationally for sales among all Mary Kay Studios, studio glam has earned three free cars continues to donate money back to Marion County, including $20,000 to the Turning Point, the local women’s homeless shelter. Schiffer was personally recently named No.5 nationally for Mary Kay directors.

Moving forward, Schiffer is looking forward to expanding into other states in the Midwest and opening a second training studio in Central Ohio.

“Our culture is unlike any other one that I have been a part of,” she said. “We put faith first, family second, and career third.”