Women Who Are Crushing It! 💃🏽 Roslyn Fawns, Furlough Co-Founder

Name of Owner: Roslyn Fawns

Name of business: Furlough

Years in business: 2 years, 5 months

Location: I am based in Scotland, but Furlough is accessible worldwide

Source(s) of funding: (bootstrapped, friends and family, revenue-generating, angel investors, VC, etc.): Bootstrapped

Type of business : Digital Marketing

Website: Furlough.com

Social media handles:

LinkedIn: Roslyn’s personal: www.linkedin.com/in/roslyn-fawns-41983b189?originalSubdomain=uk

Furlough’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/furlough

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What was your “why” for starting your business? 

Furlough was founded with the purpose of creating a community of digital professionals — specifically in the marketing and personal brand spaces — that could foster growth through collaboration. The idea was to provide a digital ecosystem where professionals could learn from one another and do business together, regardless of their physical location.

What is the significance of your company name? 

Furlough’s community was born out of the COVID pandemic, when workers across the globe were forced out of the office — and in many cases, out of a job. With so much talent on the sidelines, our founders dreamed of creating an ecosystem where digital professionals, especially those who were laid off (or “furloughed”), could reimagine their career paths.

Considering the fierce competition in today’s business world, how would you highlight your company’s competitive advantages?

Furlough is unique in three ways: 

1. Eliminating barriers to entry: At Furlough, we provide opportunities regardless of your location, financial situation, or educational background. We do this by removing common barriers to entry that exist in digital marketing and brand/agencies: physical location, money, and educational requirements. 

Furlough’s digital community is free and can be accessed from anywhere. Also, Furlough does not discriminate against people who don’t have a traditional higher education. We believe success is the result of a work ethic and willingness to learn. I’ve lived this. I never attended university, but I’ve found ample success as a digital marketer. At Furlough, we provide an opportunity for anyone who is willing to learn and put in the work. That hands-on opportunity is difficult to find elsewhere.

This “open-arms” policy strengthens us by creating more diversity. We have a strong presence in traditionally overlooked markets worldwide, such as the Philippines and Lebanon, for example. Our community creates long-lasting, mutually-beneficial relationships among digital professionals globally.

2. Providing value for all, regardless of background: Furlough is also unique in its ability to provide real-time collaborative value for everyone, regardless of experience level or professional background. Whether you’re launching a brand and don’t know where to begin, or you’re an industry veteran with decades of experience, Furlough can provide you with value.

3. Near-instant impact: As an ecosystem with a life of its own, Furlough isn’t reliant on a few select individuals to provide content or value. Instead, collaboration occurs naturally across Furlough’s range of niche channels on Discord and through regularly scheduled live events aimed at professional development, collaboration, and more.

What makes your business stand out from the crowd?

Most online communities struggle with one of two issues: They lack engagement and therefore can’t provide value, or they’re predatory and exist only to sell or profit from their members. Furlough does neither. For starters, our community connects people and encourages collaboration. When a digital professional joins Furlough, we don’t aim to simply expand their network. We focus on creating meaningful opportunities through new business, education, and professional development. And of course, Furlough is free: We survive by providing value to our members — not selling them things.

How would your family and friends describe what you do?

They would describe it as “working in the U.K. but being able to do business with people worldwide without restriction.” They also would refer to me as an email marketing specialist with a knack for ecommerce. 

Who is your greatest support when facing hardship in business?  

I’m lucky to have supportive people who share a similar ethos. My business partners, Joe Casanova, and Ophir Gadot, have been incredible mentors and supporters of my personal journey, even before we became business partners.

Whenever a challenge comes along, we have a similar approach. We say, “Okay, this happened now; how do we solve it? And how do we use it as an opportunity to get a favorable outcome?” The thing with hardship is it provides an opportunity to grow, refine your processes, and work toward a better future.

In my family life, I would say my partner, Steven, has never once stopped or discouraged me from achieving my goals. We delegate financial and household responsibilities in such a way that allows us to take calculated risks. This setup gives me flexibility in my career, and I’m grateful.

Have you experienced any challenges as a woman-owned business?  

In the past, I had a few people try to rip me off when it came to deals. In those situations, being disagreeable comes in handy.

“My tip: Don’t be afraid to say no (politely) and ask to negotiate a mutually beneficial outcome.”

What advice would you give to your younger entrepreneurial self? 

My number one tip: “Don’t try and do it all yourself.” This will slow down your growth significantly. Not only that, but being an entrepreneur is a lonely road if you don’t surround yourself with other people that share similar experiences and values. By isolating yourself, you’re cutting yourself out of opportunities to earn more money.

Does your business support any causes/charities?

Furlough provides free training, workshops, and master classes to all its community members. We also bring elite marketers and business professionals to these events as speakers to provide the most in-depth, up-to-date information in the marketing/business sphere. This is in line with our ethos: More deal-flow and career/business growth cultivated in our community means that everyone benefits financially.

What has been your biggest entrepreneurial win?

My biggest entrepreneurial win would be the impact I personally provide our marketing clients and the wider Furlough community. Whether it comes from exceeding a brand’s revenue goals or connecting a community member to an opportunity, the drive is always there to keep pushing the bar higher.

For reference: This is an achievement that makes me proud: The image to the right shows a before and after comparison of revenue earned from an email marketing effort for one of the brands we work for.

Update: We ended up beating March’s numbers. 💰💰💰💰💰

What’s your favorite metaphor for describing entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship is like being a ship captain navigating in uncharted waters. Similarly, an entrepreneur navigates the uncertain and ever-changing business world. Both require careful planning, quick thinking, and adapting to unexpected challenges. In both cases, the journey is unpredictable, often risky, but the rewards are worthwhile if you stay on the path.

Would you rather have more time or money and why?

More money, so I can use it as a resource to maximize my time.

Top three places on the globe you WILL visit someday:

Japan, Greece, and Hungary

Top three web or mobile apps that make your work more effective:

These aren’t apps, but they are fantastic sites for checking out email marketing competition:

• milled.com

• Fantastictexts.com

• And finally, the “IG Downloader” (Instagram downloader) Chrome extension for collecting user-generated content.

Favorite woman-owned business (other than your own!)

Canva, for making graphic design more accessible, especially to small business owners that don’t have huge budgets for designers.

If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be and why?

100 percent Kris Jenner to speak on all things business.

Who would you like to portray you in a movie?

That’s a tough one! Probably Kristen Stewart; I’m sure she could embody the essence of a recovering awkward person (and I say that as a compliment to her). 

What is one thing people are surprised to find out about you?

My 2022 goal was to get rejected as many times as possible on sales calls. This was to build muscle and face my fear of rejection. By the end of 2022, it worked! Not only that, but my closing skills were much better than at the beginning of the year as a result.

The key is how I framed the “no.” I’d tell myself, “You could be 20 nos away from a yes. So that means you’ll want to get through those 20 nos as soon as possible so you can reach a breakthrough.”

Anything important we did not ask that you think is important for other female entrepreneurs to know?

1. Showing up is half the battle. I see people who come across opportunities yet don’t take them because they put limitations on their success and ability.

2. One of the most important life choices you will make is if you choose to have a romantic partner. As cold as this may sound, love is not enough to make a relationship work. You owe it to yourself to partner with someone that not only loves you but works with you to achieve a better life for you and your family.