photo by Sarah Small
A good argument could be made that Babeland founder and owner Rachel Venning has the best job in the world. Basically, her mission is your pleasure. She wants you to feel good, really good, in every way possible.
With business partner Claire Cavanah, Venning opened Babeland’s first store in Seattle in 1993 to fill the void of women-friendly sex shops in the area. For over two decades, Babeland has sold top-notch toys and delivered sex-positive workshops and advice.
She took some time out of her busy schedule to share the keys to her success with Lesbian.com.
What do you do and why?
Babeland is primarily a sex toy store with both retail locations and a good website, but we do a lot of sex ed as well. We promote sexual vitality every way we can, by creating a terrific store environment where folks can get information, encouragement, toys and all-around cheerleading as they venture on their sexual journey. And by doing outreach and supporting causes we believe in. A satisfying sex life makes life overall so much better and embodied pleasure feels so good. At Babeland, we love to help people get the most out of this aspect of life.
What did you do before you started your company?
I worked at a specialty candy company. From chocolate covered espresso beans to vibrators, I help people get their buzz on.
How did you come up with the idea for your company?
I needed it myself. Now, we are national, but we started up in Seattle (where I lived at the time). There just was nowhere for a queer woman to go that was fun for shopping for sex toys. It was a feminist thing, feeling entitled to sexual pleasure and wanting to get away from the idea that sex is dirty or that women are always passive partners or worse, victims. It’s been thrilling to be part of the cultural change where now so many women are very forthright and unashamed about their sex lives.
What’s the single most important piece of advice you received when first starting your company? What would you tell a young entrepreneur in turn?
I have lots of little slogans that I love and still use to inspire me to this day: Begin it now; A failure to plan is a plan to fail; Don’t let the best be the enemy of the good; If it’s worth doing it’s worth doing right.
What do you find most rewarding about owning your own business?
Setting my own schedule and not having a boss. I don’t like being told what to do, except in certain special situations.
But working for oneself is flying without a net: no unemployment or workers comp, no employer to back me up.
What resources would you recommend to someone who is contemplating starting her own business
The Small Business Administration has a lot of resources.
What would you say is the single most important key to sustaining a business long term?
Consistency. We try to make some progress every day. Some days it’s a mile, other days just an inch, but if we keep going we get there.
What obstacles did you face in establishing your company and how did you overcome them?
The three biggest difficulties were getting the information we needed on how to run our business, planning for inventory and things like that. Second was raising the money. Third was taking the leap.
So we had to do research to come up with a business plan, then we had to figure out where to get money. We started small and didn’t need investors, but we did borrow money and use our savings. Deciding to do it was exciting, partly because none of our friends and family thought it was a good idea. But signing that first lease was one of the greatest days of my life.
Is there anything we didn’t ask you about that you’d like to share with our readers?
Sex advice: Follow your curiosity and don’t forget the lube. Life is a banquet with the clock running so be brave and ask for what you want. Sex at home isn’t like the movies, so don’t be afraid to make a mess, laugh when the buttplug goes bouncing across the room and be kind to yourself. You are magnificent.
Learn more about Babeland and follow Babeland on Facebook and Twitter for the latest innovations in feeling good.
