From Conveyancer to Marketing Maven: How Lara Squires Built Consortium and The Professionals Network Around Industry Gaps

Lara Squires didn't follow a traditional entrepreneurial path. After working as a conveyancer and creating her own role within a law firm for eight years, she recognized a critical gap in 2012: professional services firms needed quality marketing support but couldn't afford full-time specialists. This insight led to founding Consortium, now the UK's leading marketing agency for the professional services sector.

In this candid Q&A, Lara shares her unconventional journey from estate agency to law to building an international business that recently expanded into Australia. She discusses the unique challenges of serving professional services firms, from balancing affordability with expertise to overcoming the mindset that firms either don't need marketing or require an internal resource.

Consortium's success lies in its strategy-first approach and team of specialists with in-house legal marketing experience. But Lara's entrepreneurial vision didn't stop there. After running Ladies Lunch Clubs for 18 years, she identified another market gap and launched The Professionals Network—a sector-exclusive networking community that caps membership at 24 per city to eliminate competition among members.

Lara offers practical advice for female founders on strategic diversification, emphasizing the importance of ensuring new ventures align with existing businesses and warning against expansion unless your main business is robust enough to withstand divided attention. Her story demonstrates how deep industry knowledge combined with entrepreneurial instinct can create lasting solutions for underserved markets, turning professional pain points into profitable opportunities.

Question 1: From Conveyancer to Marketing Entrepreneur

You worked as a conveyancer at a regional law firm before founding Consortium in 2013. What prompted your transition from practicing law to building a marketing agency, and how did your insider knowledge of the legal profession inform your approach to serving law firms and professional services?

So it all started a little before my role as a conveyancer. After leaving college I worked at an estate agents as a trainee negotiator, this was the best job ever for an 18 year old. A company car and a very fun work hard, play hard environment. After switching to recruitment then back to estate agency I decided I wanted to become a lawyer which prompted the move to a law firm. This was not an easy transition and it took me a long time to find a law firm who would take me. After working as a conveyancer for 2 years I decided I wasn't someone who could be strapped to a desk so I left  to go back into recruitment again. This was short lived and I was back at the law firm within the year - However, this was in a very different role....I was very fortunate to be given a brand new role within the firm where I got to write my own job spec and be a trailblazer. This worked brilliantly for 8 years before I realised I needed and wanted more (there is a bigger story here about part time working, becoming a mum and juggling everything). This is where Consortium was born in October 2012. 

Question 2: Solving the Professional Services Marketing Gap

You created Consortium after recognizing that many firms don't have the budget for their own marketing person but still need quality, flexible marketing support. How do you balance providing affordable services while maintaining the expertise and results that professional firms demand? What's been the biggest challenge in building a sustainable business model around this gap in the market?

By offering an outsources solution to firms marketing challenges we are able to provide a fully flexible solution based on each firms individual needs. We are able to manage the affordability of the services by having levels of seniority working with the clients and very clear agreed outputs. The 2 biggest challenges that we have are; 1. Either firms not appreciating that they need marketing OR thinking that they need an internal resource 2. Recruitment. All of my Account management team must have in house legal marketing experience. 

Question 3: Building Community Beyond Business

You recently launched The Professionals Network after running Ladies Lunch Clubs for 18 years and seeing the need for something different in professional networking. How do you balance growing your core agency business while expanding into community building? What advice would you give to female founders about when to diversify beyond your original business model?

The ladies lunch clubs were a passion project and never set up or built to make money. This became an issue as the agency grew as it took my time and effort in a non profitable direction.  The Professionals Network was carefully scoped out before launch to ensure that it filled a gap in the market as well as creating lead gen for the agency. I would caution female founders (and indeed any business owners) against diversification unless your main business is robust enough for you to take your eye off of it for a period of time. Also try and make sure that it aligns so that they can feed one another. 

Are you a woman leader with an inspiring journey to tell? Founded by Women is on a mission to elevate and amplify the voices of women making an impact.

If you're breaking barriers, driving change, or paving the way for others, we’d love to feature your story. Get in touch with us today!

👉 hi@foundedbywomen.org