--- title: Lorna Jane Clarkson — From Inventing Activewear To Global Empire description: This episode of The Make It Happen Show features Lorna Jane Clarkson and how she went from inventing activewear to building a global empire. Listen now. image: https://www.the-entourage.com/hubfs/MIH_YT_Thumbnail_LJC-v2.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/lorna-jane-clarkson#main-content) [Featured](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/tag/featured) [Entrepreneurship](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/tag/entrepreneurship) [People](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/tag/people) # Lorna Jane Clarkson — From Inventing Activewear To Global Empire 38 minutes [**](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/lorna-jane-clarkson#podcast) ##### [Previous How To Create Attention Grabbing Marketing with Melissa Rosenthal](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/melissa-rosenthal) ##### [Next 5 Things To Do To Build A Million Dollar Business with Caleb Marshall](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/caleb-marshall) [ Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/107-lorna-jane-clarkson-lorna-jane-how-the-accidental/id1448453250?i=1000576299493) [ Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4F1LCtNYNXNZaznNa3qJMf) [ YouTube](https://youtu.be/5jfBfXRrRSk) ## How this 'accidental' entrepreneur grew a multi-million dollar business over 30+ years in business Did you know that 1 in 3 new small businesses in Australia don't get past their first year of operation? With ever-changing markets and consumer demands, to recessions and pandemics, there's no question that running a successful and profitable business long-term is challenging. So, how do you become a part of the 1% in business and actually succeed? This week's episode of The Make It Happen Show features a legend in the Activewear space, Lorna Jane Clarkson, who spills all on exactly what it takes. Credited for creating the Activewear category as we know it today, Lorna’s story in creating Lorna Jane Activewear began nearly 33 years ago when she couldn’t find fashionable, functional pieces to wear that fitted her active lifestyle. So, she decided to make her own. She’s since become the most awarded Activewear Designer, a 6 time author, and shared with us exactly how she became one of the most influential figures in the health and wellness industry and recognised as a global business leader too. This is not one to miss. ### Questions asked in this episode: - **1:00** - Over 30 years, you've gone from coming up with the concept of activewear to over 100 stores and retail all over the world. How have you made that happen? - **2:27** - What if a business owner isn't fully aligned with their passion and what lights them up? - **4:43** - How do you get more people in your team to be champions of your team's culture? - **5:19** - Do you think gut feelings come from intimate knowledge of all parts of the business or can you develop it? - **6:22** - How do you make the right choice more often when hiring new people? - **8:46 **- How do you get your new hires set off on the right foot in the beginning? - **10:47** - When did your HR/Peoples department come in? - **13:50** - What was the thought process behind buying back the business after it had been sold? - **22:12** - What are your philosophies on running a good, profitable, stable business? - **23:57** - The last few years have had a lot of change in the business. How much was a focus was on retail vs ecommerce before COVID, and how has it changed? - **26:20 **- What can retail do as we open back up to inject more flair and fun? - **27:31** - Have you had to change your footprint in your stores at all? - **29:50** - Do you have a couple of go-to levers that you can pull to get back on target when targets fall behind? - **32:15** - Have there been particular trends that have come, gone and come back again in design? - **33:36** - Make It Happen In A Minute   ### In this episode, you will learn: - The 2 types of business owners - Who's responsible for the culture of a business - Why you need to facilitate your team's growth potential - The 7 year slump most entrepreneurs face - The #1 investing advice for business owners - The pros & cons of bootstrapped businesses vs. investor-backed businesses - How the retail and ecommerce industry looks in 2022 - And more! ![Headshot of Lorna Jane Clarkson, Founder of Lorna Jane Activewear, for The Make It Happen Show](https://www.the-entourage.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Mid_Podcast_1_LJC_16x9.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&name=Mid_Podcast_1_LJC_16x9.jpg) "You've got to do scary things in business and you won't do those scary things if you're worrying about paying the bills." — Lorna Jane Clarkson ## DID YOU ENJOY THIS PODCAST? PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW ON [ APPLE](https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-make-it-happen-show/id1448453250?utm_campaign=Make%20It%20Happen%20Show&utm_source=website&utm_medium=podcast-episode-page&utm_content=apple-logo) [ SPOTIFY](https://open.spotify.com/show/541ONu8FWkeg2r6i2iTSMs?utm_campaign=Make%20It%20Happen%20Show&utm_source=website&utm_medium=podcast-episode-page&utm_content=spotify-logo) Topics: [Featured](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/tag/featured) [Entrepreneurship](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/tag/entrepreneurship) [People](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/tag/people) [Business](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/tag/business) ## RELATED PODCAST EPISODES [![](https://www.the-entourage.com/hubfs/YT_Thumbnail_Caleb_108_1%20copy%20(1).png) ](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/caleb-marshall) [Entrepreneurship](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/tag/entrepreneurship) 1 min read ### [5 Things To Do To Build A Million Dollar Business with Caleb Marshall](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/caleb-marshall) August 24, 2022 [![](https://www.the-entourage.com/hubfs/YT_Thumbnail_Melissa_106_2%20copy.png) ](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/melissa-rosenthal) [Marketing](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/tag/marketing) 1 min read ### [How To Create Attention Grabbing Marketing with Melissa Rosenthal](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/melissa-rosenthal) August 10, 2022 [![](https://www.the-entourage.com/hubfs/1.%20YT-MIH_Thumbnail.png) ](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/tim-fung-best-business-advice-from-most-successful-aussie-startup) [Featured](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/tag/featured) 1 min read ### [Tim Fung — Best business advice from most successful Aussie startup](https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/tim-fung-best-business-advice-from-most-successful-aussie-startup) January 21, 2021 #### TOP 10 BUSINESS PODCAST ON ITUNES **Great insight for business owners and super practical takeaways!** **Bruce Casanovic** Amazing guests, great insights into their journey and what has helped make their businesses successful. Great to hear how some of the guests have navigated challenge as well. Loads of good practice takeaways. **Perfect for the Monday commute** **innov8me** Great to listen to on the commute to work on Monday mornings. Great content, well delivered and plenty of insights from industry leaders in a variety of fields. Good to see the entourage getting out there with a podcast series **Top-shelf guests. Top-shelf conversations.** **podcast_junkie_18** This is so awesome, so helpful, and so fresh. Right from the get-go, the team at The Entourage have brought out the big names in the Aussie entrepreneur and business space to have conversations that every business owner should listen to. I can't wait to see who they bring on next. **Amazing guests** **Komesy** Loved the episode with Tim Fung, Airtasker CEO! You guys are getting some awesome guests in! Thank you! **Entourage on point again!** **Adz Rodger** Great content again from The Entourage! Particularly like the 1st episode and the points Tim Fung made about making sure you make time to map out the future and don't get stuck on day to day 'work', as well as the observation that you really need to be strategic about your people management and not just try to save money. Two awesome take homes I have already taken action on! **For entrepreneurs and non-trepeneurs alike** **kylie_73** Well this was one of the best things I’ve heard in a while. I’m by no means the target demographic, having zero business or entrepreneurial experience at all. Luckily the advice given for business growth and success is remarkably applicable to personal growth and success. Loved the conversational style, by the end of the podcast I felt like I knew both Tims personally, which is a great mark of engagement. And I loved hearing about the humble beginnings of Airtasker from the founder himself. Give this a listen if you’re craving a bit of personal or professional inspiration. ## SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST. Your Entourage journey starts here. Join Australia's largest community of over 500,000 business owners and entrepreneurs, and receive instant access to the newest podcast episodes, exclusive resources, and all updates delivered straight to your inbox. ![The Entourage Footer](https://www.the-entourage.com/hubfs/Entourage_2020/images/footer/footer-logo-bg.png) ##### Building a business is a skill, let us show you. #### Services #### About us ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Ryan Terrey", "url" : "https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/author/ryan-terrey" }, "dateModified" : "2022-08-16T22:56:34.371Z", "datePublished" : "2022-08-16T22:56:34.000Z", "headline" : "Lorna Jane Clarkson — From Inventing Activewear To Global Empire", "image" : [ "https://www.the-entourage.com/hubfs/MIH_YT_Thumbnail_LJC-v2.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.the-entourage.com/the-make-it-happen-show/lorna-jane-clarkson", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.the-entourage.com/hubfs/Ent%20LOGOMARK.png" }, "name" : "The Entourage" } } ```