By Christiana Dillard

Lauren Lindley believes in trusting her gut. The junior communication studies major recently started a successful wall kit business on the vendor website Etsy that has now reached over 1,000 sales. As a transfer student, she says that her experiences at Klein College of Media and Communication have helped her improve her business practices.

Lindley began her college career as a music student at Belmont University in Tennessee. She is a jazz vocalist who still has aspirations of working professionally in the music industry, but she felt that Belmont was not her preferred environment. However, the school was where she began LINDLEY Wall Kits in January of 2019. She was inspired by an Instagram user who sold expensive wall kits, or collections of photographs and posters that buyers can arrange into a custom decorative collage, but Lindley figured she could emulate the collage art model and offer more affordable prices. She gathered images she had on her computer and used some of her mother’s photographs to assemble the wall kits and printed out enough copies to sell. 

But the West Chester, Pennsylvania native wanted both her work and school life to fulfill her, so she decided to transfer to Temple University this fall. She believes the communication studies program encourages versatility and skill-building for whatever she decides to pursue after college.

“I thought communication studies would be a good major to be well-rounded in when I graduated,” she says. “There’s so many different things that you can do with a communication major.”

At Klein College, Lindley found that the communication studies program allows enough flexibility to take classes that help her broaden her understanding of business management. Enrolling in a brand strategy class and classes within the communication studies department have taught her how to effectively market her business and interact with the people buying her products. She advises aspiring or current business owners to make an effort to listen to the needs of their customers.

“Listen to the consumers or the customers,” she says. “Whoever you are targeting or whoever you are working with or working for, they’re always going to tell you what they actually want.”

The attitude that has led to most of Lindley’s success is her willingness to go after what she wants. She says she would have never brought her business to life unless she took a leap of faith and believed in her own creative and entrepreneurial aptitude. She hopes to keep expanding and improving her business as a student at Klein College.

Shop LINDLEY Wall Kits on Etsy.