The Bossticks - Annie Lawless On Wellness Practices, Autoimmune, Diets, Brand Building, & Entrepreneurship On Your Terms

Episode Date: August 14, 2023

#599: Today we're welcoming Annie Lawless to the show. Annie started her career by founding one of the largest organic cold-press juice companies in the country (Suja Juice) based on her personal experience with autoimmune diseases. Annie's personal passion for health and wellness, coupled with her fascination on the importance of how product ingredients affect one's general well-being, inspired her next company: LAWLESS Beauty. Today Annie sits down with us to discuss all things entrepreneurship, starting and growing a company from the ground up, and driving your company from a passion standpoint VS doing it for the money. She gets into how to choose a partner who will support your career & independence, what she learned from starting a business at a young age, & how she built the LAWLESS team. She also gets into her routines, how she balances motherhood and career, and why it's important to find a routine that works for you in regards to parenthood & business. To connect with Annie Lawless click HERE To connect with Lawless Beauty click HERE To connect with Lauryn Bosstick click HERE To connect with Michael Bosstick click HERE Read More on The Skinny Confidential HERE To subscribe to our YouTube Page click HERE For Detailed Show Notes visit TSCPODCAST.COM To Call the Him & Her Hotline call: 1-833-SKINNYS (754-6697) This episode is brought to you by The Skinny Confidential. Use code PINKICEQUEEN for 15% off the PINK BALLS Face Massager This episode is brought to you by Prolon ProLon is the first Nutri-technology company to apply breakthrough science to optimize human longevity, and extend life naturally. Go to ProLonFast.com/SKINNY to get 15% off your order. This episode is brought to you by Just Thrive These days, stress seems to hit us from every possible angle in any environment at any time, day after day. Enter Just Calm - the breakthrough new stress and mood support formula from Just Thrive. Get 20% off a bottle of Just Thrive probiotic + Just Calm supplement at justthrivehealth.com and use code SKINNY90 at checkout. This episode is brought to you by LMNT LMNT is a tasty electrolyte drink that has everything you need and nothing you don't. It contains a science-backed electrolyte ratio: 1000mg sodium, 200mg potassium, and 60mg magnesium. Get a free sample pack with any purchase at drinkLMNT.com/SKINNY This episode is brought to you by Caraway Caraway's internet-famous kitchenware is a staple for any home and comes in various modern shades to fit with any design aesthetic. Visit Carawayhome.com/skinny10 or use code SKINNY10 at checkout to get 10% off your next purchase. This episode is brought to you by Dr. Dennis Gross If you want to take your beauty routines to the next level with immediate and long-term benefits, go to ddg.skin/skinny to shop Lauryn's exclusive bundles up to 25% off. This episode is brought to you by Evlo Fitness Workout smarter, not harder. Visit evlofitness.com and use code SKINNY for one free month of Evlo. Produced by Dear Media.

The following podcast is a dear media production. This episode is brought to you by The Skinny Confidential. The only balls you want in your face are the skinny confidential pink balls. This face massager is going to sculpt the fuck out of your face. It contours, it chisels, but most importantly, it gives you that defined jawline and lifted cheekbones that we all want. I personally think it's crazy that people do a full skin care. and then put on makeup without even dealing with the foundation of the face. So what I like to do is I like to wake up. I like to get ice on my face. And then I like to put my products on and I like

to use the pink ball's facial massager to chisel and stimulate my face. This is lifting everything on my face and then I take it down the neck. I've had people tell me everywhere that they will not even put on makeup without using the sculpting device. It's such an important tool in your routine. Facial massage for me changed my entire life when I realized that it really was the key to facial puffiness. And get excited because today we have a code. You can use faceballs on shopskinnyconfidential.com for 20% off. We're just offering this code on the podcast. That's faceballs for 20% off on shop skinnyconfidential.com.

If you don't have the facial massager, this is a perfect addition to your toolkit. She's a lifestyle blogger extraordinaire. Fantastic. And he's a serial entrepreneur. A very smart cookie. And now Lauren Everts and Michael Bostic are bringing you alone for the ride. Get ready for some major realness. Welcome to the skinny confidential, him and her.

Once you have kids, business, husband, family, it was too much. And I finally realized I'm only happy when I'm doing what I want to do. And I was like, why do we have to do all these things that we're supposed to do? Like, I just want to have freedom. If I don't want to do something, I don't want to do it. And it opens up so many doors for creativity for me to just, like, bring down all of the expectations of things I'm supposed to do and spend my time doing what I want to do, what I like to do, even if it's alone, thinking about things, creating things.

That's when I'm most creative. Today on The Him and Her Show, we are welcoming Annie Lawless. She is the creator of Lawless Beauty. She also was a co-founder of Soudre Juice. This episode is so much fun. It's one of my personal favorites because it goes into entrepreneurship, how to grow a company, but also like wellness routines and beauty tips. I have known Annie, I feel like for 10 years. And to see what she's built is so incredible. She's truly built two empires. In this episode, you'll learn how Annie got started in the wellness world, all about her first company, Souda Juice, how her childhood made her resourceful, you'll learn about pivoting a career, how she grew her business, her struggle

with autoimmune disease, her advice to business owners, why it's important to expect failures to get success, and then you'll hear about motherhood, beauty, wellness, and skin. On that note, Annie, welcome to the Him and Her show. This is the Skinny Confidential, Him and Her. This is a podcast guests that so many people have asked us to have on for such a long time. It's someone that I've known, I want to say for like 12 years. The first time I met you, I will never forget this, was I got an email from someone at Soudra Juice, and they told me that they wanted me to come by and try a bunch of different flavors. You guys had not, like, had the company yet. And I go into this small office and I'm sitting there and someone had set up all these different little juices

in little pill-sized containers. And I'm trying these incredible juices. It's like an orange one and a green one and a pink one. And in walks Annie and she's like strikingly beautiful. She has bright blonde hair, rocking body, great personality. You walk in and I'm like, this is going to work. Because not only were the juice amazing, you also were like walking wellness. Thank you. Sure enough, it did work. We'll get into that. But I'm so happy to have you on because I am such a fan of what you've built.

I'm using your lip gloss right now. And I just feel like this is going to be a really great interview for anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur, but also a mom and a wife, because you do it all so well. So first, let's go back before suja juice when you're working. at the yoga studio. Take us there. So back to when we first met, you were like one of the first people I met in San Diego that I felt like I connected with because we were kind of doing the same thing at that time. But I was working at La Jollauga Center, which is now closed, and I was in law school. I moved to San Diego. I was from Phoenix originally, and then I moved to San Diego because I

went to USDA for law school. And I was like, I fucking hate this. Like, there's no way I want to spend my life being an attorney. I'm going to spend the first. first, like, 10 years being someone's research bitch and then not get to pick any cases I'm working on. It's going to be, like, just not what I had envisioned as, like, a hopeful college student studying philosophy. I was like, this is totally different. So I started teaching yoga to meet people outside of law school.

And also, my background, like, I had been doing yoga since I was 16 because when I was younger, I had horrible eczema, like all over my body, my face. And I was on steroid creams for years. And then finally, I did autoimmune testing because eczema is autoimmune. And a pediatrician suggested that I get tested because she was like, you know, a lot of kids have eczema, but it's really bizarre that you're this old and still have this terrible of eczema. And sure enough, I had celiac disease. And now we all know what that is. Like gluten free is a thing.

But back then, I mean, I'm 35 now. And I found out when I was 12. So this was over 20 years ago, which like is horrible to say. That makes me feel so old. I was saying we're doing a lot of dating ourselves on the show this time. Damn. But yeah, I mean, this was before there was whole foods, gluten-free products. It wasn't like you could go buy gluten-free bread, gluten-free pasta.

Like, it wasn't a thing. And I was a normal kid. Like, I was eating Pop-Tarts, you know, pizza, candy at school, like, all the things. And so when I cut gluten out of my diet, my eczema completely went away. So I kind of always had this underlying obsession with health and wellness. Because from a young age, I mean, I read every book on New Jersey. nutrition when I went through this. I got obsessed with juicing because I was reading about how it can really get nutrients to people. Hold on, hold on. How are, and I've always wondered this, how are you

reading about juicing at 12 years old? That's really profound to be reading about that at 12 years old. How did you even know to do that? I think because I just felt different and there wasn't anyone else to talk to. Like, this wasn't something my friends in grade school were learning about and the books I read. I mean, this is why I got into a specific type of juicing, which was cold pressing. There's a guy, Dr. Norman Walker, who created these books. Bought all the books because if you remember you're telling me this. Yeah. They're vintage.

Vintage. Yeah. So this was like old school material. This wasn't like I was looking it up on the internet. This was like old school books. And he created the first cold press. And so that was like the juicer that I bought, the Norwalk by Norman Walker. And it was like this idea, he was the first person that really pioneered this idea that you could

juicing to help absorb nutrients from food if you had any type of, you know, gut injury, whether it's celiac, whether it's chemo, or anyone going through something where you're not adequately able to absorb nutrients. This was a way if you drank juice from really organic, like nutrient-dense foods, you could absorb those nutrients easily because there was no digestive labor. There's no fiber. It would immediately get absorbed into the bloodstream. And I was like, oh my God, this is so fascinating. And he talked about curing all sorts of things and reversing things. And so for me, as a young person, I was like hopeful. I was like, oh my gosh, you know, if I just found out I have this thing I've never heard of, I can like offset a lot of the

symptoms I've been experienced by juicing and really flooding my body with nutrients. So I got obsessed. I was super into juicing. And then when I was about 16, I got really into yoga. and there was a studio that I actually was going to work at. I was looking for a job because when I turned 16, I had to buy my gas. My parents gave me a car, but they were like, you have to buy gas. And when I went in to look for applications, I just got obsessed with the idea of taking classes there. And I saw all the people that were going in and out, and they just looked so fit. And I was like, I'd never done yoga.

And I was so curious. And so I started taking yoga. And, I mean, I still do yoga to this day, like every single day. So yoga's been a huge part of my life since then. But that was really like the beginning of my journey in health and wellness was just from my own personal need to kind of like manage my own health from a holistic perspective. Did your parents, and I don't know if you've talked to them, talked to your mom looking back, think that you were like a prodigy? No. They didn't think that this is very rare that a 12 year old is reading all these books and you're juicing and you're asking for a juicer.

they didn't think that that was crazy. I mean, my mom was definitely very supportive of, I was a little bit of an obsessive kid. I would say I had a little OCD. Like, if it wasn't that, before that, it was like beanie babies or like I would go to beanie baby conventions. I didn't do anything small. Yeah. I did the whole thing.

Collector. Oh, she just sent me like the bins that I collected when I was younger for my daughter that all have like tag protectors, like I, cases. Did you have those big plastic ones where you were displayed? the display cases. Oh yeah, the display cases. You and Michael sound very similar. Are you a beady baby guy? No, no, I wish. Some of those probably have appreciated pretty nicely maybe. Or did they?

Or did they? Yeah. Your parents just thought this is another one of Annie's things. Like my things. Yeah. Like I didn't do anything a little bit. Like when I did gymnastics, I was like following, I think it was the magnificent since 7. It was like Dominique Mocianoo, Shannon. I know what you're talking about. But I like was obsessive. I got the mat. that was branded for the Olympics. Like, I was that kid that wasn't, like, a little passionate.

And you were in Arizona at this point when you were a little kid. I was in Phoenix. And my parents had a really terrible divorce when I was, it kind of started. I mean, they separated. And then, like, the divorce really happened around the time of, like, I was 11 to 14. And I think, it was a tough age. But it also, like, just made me really independent. My mom went back to work full time after being a stay-at-home mom for many years.

And I was kind of on my own in a lot of ways. But that was sort of when I grew up. Like I got really confident and independent and just figured out like, okay, I've got to like manage myself and like take my own path. Like no one's coming. My dad was gone. My mom was like working around the clock just to like pay the bills. So it was like it was like a bad and good time in the sense that looking back as an adult, I would be such a different person if I didn't have to grow up quickly and just kind of like, you know, put my big girl pants on and figure. out like life. And I think that was when I got, I got really obsessed with this idea of like

taking things into my own hands. It's funny because today, the theme of the podcast, the last two that we did in this one, it's, it's being resourceful. Yeah. And figuring something out when when other people would sort of just not figure it out. And it sounds like that's when you got your grit and that's when you started to really be resourceful and take it in your own hands. No, and we were talking even off fair and it's again part of the theme is like hard things happen to people in life and that's either going to propel you or really just kind of derail you right and it's like you I know people feel sometimes harshly about this but it really is a choice in a way which direction you decide to go right yeah and it's not easy like it's work I think people look at people like us that seem like we have

made it or have like built her businesses and think there's like some privilege to it or the fact that we may be in a better position now. But nothing comes easy. Like we all have a past. We all came from something that we had to work through. And I think that's what the missing pieces, you know, it's not easy. It does take a lot of work. And for me, bad things happening to me were actually a huge motivator because it was like, I need to get the fuck out of this. Like I have to like, I have to figure this out. And I love my mom. and she did the best that she could, but, like, seeing her after being a stay-at-home mom for 13 years have to go back to work full-time, like literally from dropping us off every day, picking us up every day, being PTO mom, doing the auction, all those things, and then having to, like, have a nanny, like, pick us up every day, make dinner. We barely saw her because she was leaving for work at eight. I was like, I never want to be in that position. Like, she had the rug pulled out from under her, and she had to, like, do stuff she didn't want to do. Like, she had to go back to. She had an MBA, thankfully, but she had to go back to like an accounting job.

And I was thinking, you know, that's what happens when you're dependent on someone in life. And like you bet on them and they screw you over or like they, you know, like my dad screwed my mom over after 13 years all of a sudden. And I was just like, I need to make my own life. There's just no way I ever want to be in that position. And I think that that is a really good lesson to learn at a young age because especially now, I think things do look with a lot of like the celebrity culture and social media culture like become easy. It's not easy.

It's really not easy. But when you get to the other side, you realize it's fun. Like putting the work in and like having a fire under ass to like build something is really fucking fun. Yeah, I was just talking to a woman that's close to me. But I don't want to go too much of detail. But I was basically talking to it. I was like, listen, like many. many men and women, they choose the path where like maybe they're not the main breadwinner in the house and they go, you know, they're reliant on whoever that person is man or woman. And what I asked the person, I was like, do you really want to put all of your eggs in that basket and not hedge it in any way and have your own thing? And again, I'm not passing judgment, but to your point, I think it's so important to have your own independence, right? Like Lauren and I together, you know, we're an entity, but we also have things separately and we work on separate things. And I think it's important for both of our independence, but not just that. Like, Lauren and I

Like, I never want my wife to feel like her stability in life is based on my success or vice versa. And so, like, I ask, you know, this woman, like, do you really want to do that? Because to your point, if you get the rug pulled out from under you and you don't have that support system anymore, you don't have your own thing, it's very scary. Yeah. And it's always harder to go back. I watched a very similar story with my mom. When you see your mom struggle and not have her own independence, it really lights a fire under your. ask to go make your own, not only money, to have your own leverage, to have your own power.

And like for me, it's not always even been about the money. It's about having my own life where like there's the opportunity. Like at least I have my own skills, my own passions, my own world that if I had to, I could go pursue that. And I like being a mom now that we're both moms, which I can't believe, but like it is the hardest job in the world. And like every stay at home mom out there where your husband works, I mean, I commend that because that is so hard. To me, that's way harder than going to a job every day, like being home with the kids. It's a huge undertaking. But also, for me personally, like, it's seeing it from my mom's perspective, she put everything into that. And it's scary when you realize there was no world outside of

that. And then all of a sudden, oh, shit. Like, what do you do? And so I think that there's also like a way to still like kind of be yourself, but also give everything to your family because like for me right now, my daughter is still my number one priority, but I wouldn't be as good of a mom if I weren't still pursuing my passions and my dreams and the stuff that I love to do. Like I wouldn't be able to function. Also, I think, you know, you're setting an example for her too by focusing on what you're building. That's like the most fun part. It's like a total new motivator is how can I show her? Like, how can I be the best example that I would want for her?

And it's like making me be better in every way that I can because I'm excited to give her the best possible, like, foundation. You know the reverse side of that, though, on the, on the male side, I had a mother who worked all the time when I was little. I remember she would come home sometimes really late at night. I remember being a kid watching. It's hard. They do it hard, but what I'm saying is like, from an example, standpoint, I in my life have been attracted because of that to very strong independent women, right? Where like women that have things that are doing their own thing. And a lot of men,

sometimes they get threatened if maybe there's a woman that's bringing in part of the income or half the income or is the breadwinner in the family. And I think for me, what is done on the reverse from an example standpoint is I've actually been more attracted to those kinds of women that have their own thing that are strong, that are independent, where many, like, you know, I've had friends that are sometimes intimidated by that. Does that? That makes sense? Oh, yeah. My mother was that example to me.

I'm sure. Jeff and I talk a lot about this and he's like, we wouldn't have our relationship if we weren't both doing our stuff. Like, he wouldn't, he doesn't want someone to just be like home doing nothing waiting around for him. Like that would just not be. That's just so not our vibe. Like, I don't even know what we would talk about.

And there's something really nice about the fact that like we have two different worlds. And then when we come together, like it feels like our really. Explosive problem. Yeah. And it's it's just like I respect and admire him and he respects and admires me. But like I don't even know what I would relate to him. Like if he's off doing all of his like stuff with his development projects in the hotel and his sports teams like. And then I was like. Well, yeah, I think I think you're married to someone who's incredibly multifaceted that I do want to get into to. But you also are so multifaceted. And when it comes together, it's just like a really. strong foundation for both of you. Yeah. And we're similar because from the time that we met you, you were with Michael when I met you. So you guys have been together like forever. But we're with guys that are really supportive. And I think as strong of women as we are and I never want to like give credit to a guy for, you know, like, oh, they helped me. But I do think having Jeff be so supportive

versus being in an unhealthy relationship from the time. I mean, I met him when I was 24 as a secure confident guy that like he was always pushing me like you can do that this is what I'm saying though is there's certain like some men would look at a woman like you and they would they get intimidated by it's like I don't know to hold you down a little bit so like Jeff is jeff's obviously not that hi Jeff but I think that's what I'm saying is like there it's because it's it's a dynamic that's different right it's it's not it's not something that many people grew up with like right you know most people grew up I mean it's going years back whereas like the man was a breadwin and the woman was at home and now you're seeing a lot of women enter the workforce and do phenomenal things.

Not just that sometimes become the main breadwinner. And a lot of men are like, what's this dynamic? They don't have the confidence to deal with it. Yeah. And I think that's definitely more more of like the norm. What you hear in relationships is like that traditional, the guy is the dominant one in the relationship, the breadwinner and the woman is more of like the passive, you know, stay at home. And I think that that's, there's such a need for like a really loving present

mother at home. And so, like, there's nothing wrong with that. But I just think for me, like, having somebody at a young age, especially when I was getting into my business ventures and, like, starting my life and creating things I really cared about, having a really supportive partner that was, like, not in any way wanting to get in the way of that. And if anything, like, telling me, you can do this, you can totally do this more. Keep going. Like, pushing me versus telling me to, like, slow down or that it was like, you know, getting in the way of our relationship or interfering. I mean, there was the time in our relationship even after we were married. I had a place up here and we live in San Diego because I was so tired of driving back and forth to beauty events.

And he was like, you should. If you want to start a beauty brand, you need to go to these events so you can meet people and figure out this industry. Like you need, like, there was no, there was never like a, why would you want to like get a place outside of being home and like leave? It was never anything like that. And he's always been like that. But I do think that that's the value. I mean, you guys know my husband's 22 years older than me. And when I first met him, you know, there's obviously so much judgment and even my friends didn't understand. But like, looking back, it takes a mature guy to be like, I want you to fly.

I want you to live your best life and pursue everything and maximize your potential and like live your life to the fullest because I see what you're capable of. Anyone that shits on age difference, Michael's parents are 21. 18 years. Oh, they are? And they are. They have been married. longer than anyone I know. Yeah. So the age difference thing, like, I feel like people need to

not give that energy. That's like, people need to get busy. And honestly, the most important thing is what you said. It's, it's a man that doesn't want to put you back in the jack in the box. They let you explode. And it's like, I'm seeing so many divorces right now from my, from, not good friends, but from friends, because the man is constantly insecure because the woman wants to soar. Yeah. And it's, it's insecurity. And like Jeff always finds it additive to our relationship because it's sort of like with friends, the more interesting my friends are, like the better that reflects on me because I'm hanging out with more interesting people. Like I want them to achieve. I want them to flourish. Like that's amazing because then I'm in better company. Like good for them. And I think that's how he feels is like our relationship is only better when I'm doing what I need to do to be happy, which is like, pursuing my dreams and my goals and like keep keep going because when you see a runway and you know what you're capable of there and you stunt yourself it's like this really painful tension between

like who you are versus who you want to be and life is so short like we literally have this one life there's no do-overs and I think we're wired to always think later next time maybe maybe in the future there is no future like it's now there is now like the future is not that far off We might be dead in like 60 years. So do it now. You've always been wise like this. And what you did with Sujia was huge, especially at such a young age. Did you know even when you said when you were 12, did you know that you were going to be entrepreneurial? Did you know at the yoga studio that you had these aspirations? No, no. I think with Sujia, it was really, you know, I was miserable in law school. and I realized I'm still at the age where I can pivot.

Like, I'm not locked into this attorney job where I'm at a firm and my family's dependent on me. And it's not like I've been doing this for years. I can still, like, change my course. I'm still in school. And then when I started Suja, it was Eric. Do you remember Eric? He was my boyfriend at the time, but he was an ex-Raw organic chef at a restaurant. And he had the same type of juicer that I met, which was how he related and even started dating.

He had. It's a wild way to meet. Hey, we got the same juicer. Let's get in a big relationship and start a company together. The yoga studio had a glass store and he like skated up on a longboard and had a juice in his hand in a glass bottle. And I'm sitting at the front drinking juice from a glass bottle. And he's like, how did you, where did you get that? And I was like, oh, I make it. I have a Norwalk press.

And he's like, oh, I have a Norwalk press. And that was literally like the love connection. The 25 men that listen to the show are buying skateboards and juices and going to start skating by every yoga studio they can find. It works. telling you it works so you when you meet him and you guys start doing this talk to us about the evolution of that because it's super interesting how you guys started a business together the business was organic literally and figuratively because it was completely unplanned and organic growth we met and we started juicing out of my apartment and his house that he was renting in wind

and see and everyone at the studio would just text us on sunday night their order we would write like what produce was available we would buy it off the shelves at whole full foods. Like, we didn't even have a retail account at this point. And so we would just go by the produce, let them know what was available, and they would let us know what they wanted. And so we would juice it. We would buy these coconut water bottles, strip the labels, steam them and, like, to sterilize them and deliver juice. And so that was how it all started. It was just, like, strictly local home delivery for the first, like, year. And then a couple of guys approached us who had tried the juice. their wives had kind of like brought them into it. And they were like, this could really be

something more. You guys should like think about taking investment and build this. We would love to, we would love to do that with you. And Eric and I were kind of like, oh, you know, we don't, we don't know if we really want to like do that. We love like the home delivery service. It's cold press. So it doesn't, we can't really like refrigerate it that long. It kind of needs to be like instant delivery. And so we met with them and they invested. We were juicing. out of the, do you remember stingery? Yeah, yeah. No, I think that's kind of when I met you. Yeah, right around that time. We were juicing out of the pastry kitchen there that was like not being used. It was like a closet. We got a commercial cold press. We started ramping up and we were doing more like,

we had a site at this point. So we were doing more like all like SoCal, not just like our little yoga network. So like raging nightclub at night and then like healthy juice in the morning. It was so funny. I would like pull up like with all my produce and like the bouncers would like let us in the more. It was like a full thing. After that, Whole Foods, I'm sure you guys have seen this. So Whole Foods where they have like a sign that says local and then the like miles away it was made in pictures of the people. They were just starting that. So they were looking for like these little local niche brands that were doing like quirky products that just weren't mainstream. And so they approached us and they were like, we would be super interested in like talking to you guys. We're like, oh, we only have a three day shelf life. We, we cold press.

And the same way, like, retailers, like Whole Foods and Big Grocery doesn't sell unpasteurized milk, for example. They just wouldn't sell unpasteurized juice unless it came from their juice bar, juiced on site, and, like, immediate consumption. So that was when we figured out, okay, we have to find a way to preserve the juice while keeping it raw. And then we were researching different food preservation methods, and there was one called HPP, which is now wide leaves, but it's high pressure processing. and they use pressure instead of heat to pasteurize the product. So this is like a really dumb down way of explaining it. But imagine like pathogens swimming around. So the juice would go in an ice chamber and then the ice chamber would get pressurized.

So imagine like crushing the pathogens. Like the pressure essentially like would kill the bacteria by like pressurizing it so much that nothing could live. And so but it was all done under 40 degrees. So it stayed raw. And in a lot of ways it was better than freshly pressed. juice because imagine you're juicing and you're like, oh, I just did a big batch. I'll put it in my fridge and then drink it tomorrow. That 24 hours with the oxygenation, the light, all of those like nutrients start to degrade. With HPP, it actually preserves all the nutrients because it

essentially like kills anything that could like kill it, kill off the nutrients and like degrade them. It takes out all of the extra air, all of the extra pathogens. And it just makes it so much more, I think at like 21 days, the nutrients that were from like first press to 21 days was like an insane amount. I don't even remember this many years later, but like an insane amount like almost 90% like intact versus like if you pressed it yourself and put it in your own fridge. And like you said, this is before anyone else was doing this. So this is really cutting it. So how long can it stay like that then? I think it was 32 days. We had a 32 day shelf life, I'm pretty sure. And this is this is when.

And just to give context to the audience, this is when cleansing was the hottest. The hot thing. Like you guys came out at the perfect time. It could not have been hotter. Did Tsuja kick off the cleanses or was it happening and then you guys happened to be there? Or was it like tandem? So there was one brand doing it kind of at the same time and that was Blueprint. If you remember Blueprint was kind of like the pioneer of that.

And I think that they were the first brand that figured out HPP. And we didn't know it at the time because Whole Foods hadn't launched them. yet, but they were going to, which is one reason they were talking to us. They were kind of figure out what brands. And so we were just kind of lucky, I guess, to also figure out each BP and figure out the shelf life question and the way to scale up and get in Whole Foods. And so they first launched us in the Southern Pacific region with Blueprint. So we were the only two cold press brands doing what we were doing. And Blueprint had already scaled like more of a national model of the home delivery service with boxes. They had like the ice packs in them and

the whole like cleanse system. And so we were also doing. doing that when we launched Whole Foods. And then we launched right around like, I think it was 2012. I remember we didn't have a seal on our labels. And it went in the HPP machine with the ice bath. And the ice like froze the ink. And then it all came off. So I go for the first time like check out my juice at Whole Foods.

And it's all like messed up. Oh my God. This is a nightmare. And it was like the first, it was like the first few stores. And then we figured it out quickly and fixed it. But yeah, we had like a really small start. It was like, I think, 15 doors in the Southern Pacific region. And then it went really well.

And within six months, they plused us out nationally, which is not usual. So usually in Whole Foods, each store, like, has their own buyers that kind of like mandate what they're going to bring in. And, I mean, I know you're in Austin now. That's where we would go all the time to meet with, like, the head people there. But that was when they plused us out, which is when corporate mandates, like, this product's going in all doors. And so that happened pretty quickly.

and then later Costco and Target and it just kind of exploded. Is that weird being so young and so inexperienced in business at the time? And like you have these investors. Like it's there's at the time like it's not like you could have called me or any of your friends who are our age. We didn't we didn't have any advice.

Like how did you even contextualize everything that was happening? Because you guys blew up. It was quick. It was quick. It was quick. Right. I mean, I hate to say that because I know there was tons of hard work.

But people got the product in their hands. Like from the size it got to, it was quick. By the way, tons of work before that and to get there. But people, when they got their hands on it, they were like, get me more, get me more, get me more. In the scheme of like a business and the growth trajectory, it was fast. Like a lot of businesses, it takes years to get to the point where you explode. And I think we, it was the right place, the right time. I mean, look at what happened with food in general, not just beverage, but like the

organic food movement, like all of the brands that you see now. I mean, that was like a moment in time when all of this was just like really taking off. And it was also nascent and it was exciting. And I think at this time, I didn't really have like a ton of people to turn to, but I was so in it. And the group of people, like my ex-boyfriend at the time, but I mean, we decided we were going to remain, we're still friends. I mean, we decided we would remain friends to get through this and like we were going to be friendly. And we wanted to see this through. And we created it together and it was like kind of this thing no one else could understand and that was like why we always had this common bond and I think I was sort of just in this point where I didn't really need to have

a lot of friends at this time or a lot of people to turn to because it was happening so quickly and we were so in it that it like all of my energy and attention was I was like head down like in the excitement of it that makes sense and also don't discredit the fact that you are walking advertisement for the brand. I mean, you just said it. You're, you guys' faces were, I remember going into Whole Foods and seeing you guys' face in front of the sewage juice. Yeah. So not only did they have all the things, like they had the timing and the cleanse and it was a great product, et cetera, et cetera. They also had you as walking advertisement and you doing media. Yeah. And I think the key to that is the authenticity, which is like what makes any

brands so much more special because for me, I truly do have autoimmune issues. I mean, like two years ago, I was diagnosed with Crohn's. Like, this is an ongoing thing in my life. I have some genetic predisposition to autoimmune issues. Have you ever figured out what, what that is or it's just a genetic thing? No. I mean, when I was younger, I had a ton of ear infections and my grandfather was a pediatric surgeon. And kind of at this point, the easy fix was antibiotics. And I just remember being on antibiotics, like consistently as a kid. I think so. I think So that's like my GI doctor now, my gastroenterologist, she believes that because I was on antibiotics for such a long period of years, I mean, this was like back to back, back, back, back, like a moxacillin after round after round after round. Like it was like a normal part of my life.

I think that messes up your body's ability to create its own antibodies. And so your body attacks when you have no antibodies to things. So when you get foreign invaders, your body just attacks because it doesn't know what those are. It hasn't been exposed. And so a lot of overuse of antibiotics can really lead to your body attacking itself because all of your antibodies have been underdeveloped and you just don't know how to deal with like normal, you know, cell mutation and things that are in your own body. Your body doesn't recognize that as its own.

And so I think for me, you will never know. Like, I'll never know the real cause of it. But even as an adult, you know, I've had new things crop up. So it's not like I just decided, juicing's cool. And this is like a trend. And this is an opportunity. Like, for me, it was never even about juice cleansing. Like, I don't even believe in juice cleanses.

I think that they're really bad for women, especially hormone health. Like, I don't think that's even something that people should want to do. For me, it was more of a way to quickly get nutrients into my body in a way that I could absorb them after having like so much malabsor. from undiagnosed celiac for many years. And then just having all of these like symptoms of things and deficiencies and not really understanding why. And then figuring out, oh, I'm not absorbing food. Like I'm not actually able to like get nutrition because I can't break food down the way that other people can. And so I think that that's the key like suja and then big picture. I think just with any brand, an authenticity behind what you're doing. Like everything I've done, even lawless now,

It's all from a personal need for me. It's like a passion. It's not just an opportunity where I see something maybe happening and I want to like make a business out of it. I think that's where these brands with just like no founder behind them, a bunch of like investors and business people that want to try to like seize an opportunity they see in the market or a white space end up either like exploding and then failing because they pour a ton of fuel on the fire of whether it's marketing and, you know, getting the word out and awareness. But they can't sustain that because there's no. No passion. Passion. Passion and brand story.

I was introduced to Prolon by Tinks. She was talking about it on her Instagram story. I immediately went and checked it out. And I have tried their fast twice. I did it right before I went to Cabo. And then another time I just needed like a reset. And recently I've learned about the Prolon fasting shake. So it's funny because we had Peter Attia on who is a wealth of knowledge.

And he was also talking about how he's. such a fan of prolon. This fasting shake is amazing because it can help replace breakfast or replace lunch or dinner. So if you're looking for something that's just made with really clean quality ingredients, it also has 21 vitamins and minerals, then this is a great shake to try. It's vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and non-GMO, of course. It's scientifically developed to keep the body in a fasting state without skipping blood sugar. You should also know it's vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and non-GMO, obviously. I was really interested in trying this because I had done the fast twice, and I have to tell

you it's delicious. So you know we talk a lot about the benefits of intermittent fasting. This is a great place to start. See what the difference the prolon fasting shake can make. Right now, the skinny confidential listeners can save 15% on your order. You're going to go to our special URL. That's prolonfast.com slash skinny. That's 15% off at pro-l-o-n fast.com slash skinny. Get started today at prolongfast.com slash skinny. This one is for all the people out there that are like me, who sometimes get a little bit too stressed, a little too overwhelmed with life and just need to calm down.

We have a partner on this show that we've been talking about for years that has two incredible products. And that is from our partner, Just Thrive. We have had Tina, the founder of Just Thrive on this show multiple times talking about the benefits of gut health, how important it is, and how important it is to get the right probiotic. more a nice probiotic of choice is the Just Thrive probiotic for many reasons that I think they make one of the best ones in market.

We have been doing this for years now and it's been an absolute game changer. JustRive probiotic is like the little gardener of your gut. It safely eliminates bad bacteria and replenishes the good and it actually produces antioxidants too. It can be opened and sprinkled into any food or drinks. It's the perfect probiotic for the whole family. We give it to our kids and they also have it for pets. Here's what it's going to do. It's quickly going to promote healthy response to everyday stress.

It's going to encourage a steady, serene, and balanced mood, drive mental clarity, focus, and alertness, and even support great energy and optimal sleep. This is true stress management built for our modern day stress-filled world. So if you're ready to up your wellness game and beat bloat, digestive issues, stress, and more, you can get 20% off a 90-day bottle of Just Thrived probiotics and JustCom at Justthrivehealth.com with promo code Skinny 90. While you're there, check out all of their research-based products for optimal gut immune health. That's Justthrivehealth.com.

and then use promo code Skinny 90 for 20% off. JustWivehealth.com, promo code Skinny 90. Element. Element is the perfect product to help you replenish electrolytes. This can be after having a few glass of wine. It could be done after having a workout, even if you just have an active lifestyle. For those of you that are unfamiliar,

Element is a tasty electrolyte drink mix with everything you need and nothing you don't. That means lots of salt with no sugar. It contains a science-backed electrolyte ratio of 1,000 milligrams of sodium, 200 milligrams of potassium and 60 milligrams of magnesium. It's got none of the junk, no sugar, no coloring, no artificial ingredients, no gluten, no filler, just no BS.

And it's formulated to help anyone that needs electrolytes in their system, which is everyone. Element can also help prevent and eliminate headaches, muscle cramps, fatigue, sleeplessness, and other common symptoms of electrolyte deficiency. It's very simple and easy and effective to use. You can travel them. They come in these little single serve packets. You just tear open and then dump into either a bottle of water, glass of water,

however you drink your water. And like I said, I take it daily. Anytime I feel like I just need a little bit of replenishment. And you can too. Right now, Element is offering our listeners a free sample pack with any purchase. That's eight single serving packets free with any Element order. This is a great way to try all eight flavors or share Element with a salty friend. Get yours at DrinkElement.com slash Skinny.

This deal is only available through our link. You must go to D-R-I-N-K-L-M-N-T-com slash Skinny. Element offers no questions asked refunds. Try it totally risk-free. If you don't like it, share it with a salty friend, and they will give your money back. No questions asked. You have nothing to lose. Drink element.com slash skinny.

You are so right about what you're saying for Lawless because when you came over to film a YouTube video, you came over to Michael's house six million years ago. I think I sent you that front of. And I was like bragging. I was like, I just bought banana powder. No one can get it. Banana powder was this under eye situation. Yeah, the pregnanter.

Situation. And I was so, I thought you were going to be like, where'd you get it? I thought everyone was going to think I was so cool. And you're like, ew, that has paraben's in it. Now, this was, this was so long before anyone knew anything about clean makeup. Like, this is, you said this like so long ago. And I was like, oh, and I never used it again after you said that. I didn't even know really what parabins were.

I just knew that you knew what you're talking about. So I just didn't use it. But cut to, you know, 10 years later, 12 years later, whatever, and you launching a clean makeup line, like, you had the same vibe and thoughts about makeup way back then. So that makes total sense what you're saying. And you really do live by that. Yeah. Ingredients. Like I'm, and I'm not a psychopath.

Like, I like to enjoy my life. I'm not like living in the woods, drinking only filtered mountain water. and like, you know, only every, like, I'm not that person. Some of the former guests feel attacked right now. We have a lot of those people. I mean, if you can do that, more power to you. I'm just kidding. That's not who I, that's not who I am as a person.

Like, I like to enjoy my life. I want to be, I want to live in a way that's sustainable for me. And that is like, I mean, you know, my husband's in the restaurant, hotel and just be like, I want to be able to go out and eat food at a restaurant. If you can't have a margarita. If I can't have a margarita, what am I doing? I almost brought you one. I texted Jeff because he was working out this morning.

And I was like, if you're coming from the hotel, will you get a bottle of Lawless for Lauren? He's like, no, he was swimming. He's trading for an Iron Man. My favorite, though, is it used to be a Lawless Margarita, but now it's changed to a ranch water because you've evolved. You've evolved it. And it's so funny, I went there. We bought a place in Cabo and everywhere I went when I would order a tequila soda. They were like, oh, a ranch water.

And I was like, yeah. Okay, we'll just make a rancho water. It's so good. The crushed ice. It's so good. Go to Rancho Valencia if you're in. San Diego and order a lawless ranch water, you guys. So I have a question that I've never actually been able to ask you. When you decided or did you decide that you wanted to sell Suja,

was there people that approached you or did you guys go out and approach the buyers? So we hit a point in sales where it was like pretty obvious to all of us. We hit the point where we were like, we're ready. This is all of our end goal. How many years just for context to be honest? So we started the brand in, well, Eric and I kind of loosely started it in 2012. And then we really really like officialized it got investment everything in about 2013 and then we sold half the business in 2015 quick quick quick i also think though like right now with lawless it's just me which i love because i don't really have anybody else's motivations intentions dollar goals so i can sell whenever i want i can build the business however i want i can not sell if i want i can maintain full control of the products

we're putting out like there's total pros and cons of both i was going to ask you without obviously you know throwing shade at anybody, like looking back on that experience, and obviously you've done it different with this one, for people that are thinking of starting their own business, capital, partners, is that, are there things that you would tell them to maybe watch for or do different than maybe you did? 100%. I mean, I wouldn't say do anything different than me because that would be remiss to like say that I didn't have an incredible experience. I was trying to pose the question away again, like to not throw shade. But I guess I guess, I guess, what I'm asking is like things that if you were going to like in hindsight do differently.

You can get money from a lot of places. Let's put it that way. So investors can come from many different perspectives. You can find all sorts of different firms, whether it's a VC, a private equity, angel investors. There's so many places you can get money. So if somebody wants to invest, you have to think of it like a marriage. You need to interview them. You need to date them. you need to make sure your goals are aligned. What is the exit look like? Are we all going to want this? What do we see the brand being in five years?

And I think that that I was so young and I wasn't even thinking of building a business. So when that opportunity came, I jumped. We were excited. We didn't even think we should shop this around. And so when you get to that point then where you have a terms or whatever. Yeah. No, none of that. We were like.

It looks good. That's what you do when you're young and inexperienced. And I think a lot of people get sucked into that because they get excited and rude by the dollar signs, but you can get a check from anywhere. There's so many different avenues to go. I mean, not anywhere. Raising capital is difficult, but it's also not the first offer is not always the best offer. You're saying if there's people that are excited about your idea and there's one person that's super excited,

there's likely to be other people that do the same thing. That means you've got a concept that is proven to be, you know, attractive for reasons that it's either. filling a white space. You know, your brand is obviously, whether it's the aesthetic, the vibe, the products, something's working. And so that means you can attract more people. And I think in my scenario, I mean, I ended up leaving the brand after we sold half because we got to the point where we were getting so commercial that we were selling products

that I wouldn't even drink. They had so much sugar. And I still love the brand. But it just got to that point where if I had maintained control, I would have never put this shit out, you know? like this just isn't what. So what exactly happened? You guys sold half you exit it.

Yeah, but even before we sold half, I was ready to kind of like move on just because I think we were the goal became about like scaling the brand into airports, you know, and even Target and all these places that were amazing and they launched our core line. All of these like, it kind of became like odd walla and naked knockoffs. And I was like, I just would never drink this stuff. And it's to me, I saw the brand evolving into a place. that wasn't what I initially, what we created. So talk to me about when you leave.

When you leave, what do you, again, it's like, who do you even talk to? I mean, I guess you talked to your husband. Yeah. He's very, very good with business. But when you decide to leave and you, do you have the idea for Lawless? Are you, like, depressed? Like, what is that like? I took a year between.

No, I wasn't depressed at all. I think we got to the point where we have. obviously went through the deal and I would have I saw that through I mean I wasn't going to like leave before we did a did a deal but I kind of just I had already known like this is going in a direction where this brand is scaling to a place like even even the marketing materials everything just started to shift and it was like for me it was this really special thing and then it just kind of became this really like commercial mainstream and I was like you know I think I've done what I'm going to do here like I still love the brand I still buy it I still have

of amazing feelings towards it, but it was just like, I can't really bring my passion to this anymore because it's not what it was. And I had been talking to my husband about it a lot, and I was on, I was leaving for a trip to Bali. We were going to Bali, and I'm on my way to the airport. And I got into an argument on the way to the airport with one of my partners about, I don't even remember at this point, something so stupid. And I remember he was like screaming at me. And I was on speaker. And that was when my, my, husband was like, why are you doing this? And I was like, I don't know. And so I literally, that moment in the car, we hang up the phone. I write an email. And I just was like, I am, I'm out. It's been amazing.

Love you guys, but I can't do this anymore. I have other things I want to pursue in life. I'm done. And then we went through a lot of talking back and forth about staying on and blah. And I just realized, like, there was no offer at that point. And that's when you kind of know. There was no offer or like situation or, you know, relationship that we could figure out that I even, it couldn't have gotten good enough for me to want to stay. And that was when I realized it's not really about anything, but just I'm done. I just want to move on and do something I'm passionate about it again. I want that feeling like I had in the beginning where we were building something so special to me and I was excited every day. And I just didn't have that anymore. And it sounds like it's, I mean, now you're

already a confident person before Suja and now after Suja, you're even more. confident that you can build it, which you have. But it's almost like, for lack of a better words, you don't really need partners and investors, kind of. I think when I was young, I did. I did. Like, it was like a, it was a whole education on how to build a business, the right and wrong things to do, the things I would have done differently I learned, which was a really great thing to do at a young age when, you know, the stakes are low. I didn't have a lot. I didn't have anyone depending on me. I could have made every mistake in the world not would have really mattered. And I think that also, like, you know, I respect how hard it is to build a business. So going

into a business, like I said earlier, I think a lot of people from the outside think it's easy. And so knowing I wanted to start a second one, I was like, all right, like step up. It's time. Like, this is going to be a rough couple next years, like getting this off the ground. Like, it's games over. It's time to. And I think that was a. really, I wouldn't have known what goes into that if I hadn't been through it once before. So I think it was a really, it was a really great thing. And I appreciate that I had partners. I appreciate them.

I respect them. I don't necessarily agree with them. Some of them I would never care to talk to again. But I also am so grateful for the whole experience. And I think that's like the beauty of growing up and learning and going through something like that. I mean, go ahead. No, no.

I was going to say, you know, that one obviously really worked out. but we just did this episode on like five things we wish we knew earlier in our career when we were younger before kids, before marriage, before like, you know, he had to worry about other people than ourselves, right? Because it gets crazier, as you know, and gets busier and you have less time in a way. Even if you went through that whole experience and there was nothing to show it, just the experience alone. Like I was telling people like, you could go from 20 to 30 and just completely crash and burn. Yeah. And that's fine.

You'd still reinvent yourself at 30. Like, nothing happened. And I think a lot of young people put so much pressure on themselves. I was like they got to figure it out right in that window of time. But like honestly, you could just like fuck off for 10 years trying to figure stuff out and still be fine. You can like start over at 50. You know, it's never too late. Yeah.

I think also like expect to fail. Like don't think that everything's just going to be a straight shot to success. People are so uncomfortable failing. And it's like that's one thing I really connected with you when we first met and became friends is you were like blogging, putting yourself out there. And you didn't give a shit. Like you did not care what people thought of you. No, but you like really, you would post like any, about any topics you wanted. But I really admired that because it's not that easy to do. And when you do it, you realize how powerful it is to just like put yourself out there because things happen. That's the biggest thing is getting over the hurdle of like being vulnerable, putting yourself out there, trying. Like, it doesn't matter if you fail. You can start over. You can get back on the horse. Like you can reinvent yourself. It's not over just because you mess up one time. Like, you things happen. Businesses blow up all the time. More businesses fail than make it by tenfold.

And I think the biggest thing is like stepping up and doing it. Like do something. Get out there. Like if you have an idea, if you have a passion, if you have like a vision for something, you're never going to get there if you don't just start. And you might fall on your ass, but you also might not. And you'll never know if you don't do it. Yeah, the execution element is the most important element. Is that what you've seen as being a founder? is, I mean, that seems like that's really the secret sauce, is execution. Yeah, and I think building a really good team. Like, that's been one of the biggest things with this next second business is figuring out, like, we've kept a really lean team.

Even now, we're five, we're almost six years in in October. We're in, you know, Sephora. I sell in QVC. We are like still under 20 people. And I think like every hire has been so thoughtful. The first two years I had zero employees. I launched Sephora with no employees. And then my brother, who was an investment banker, came on to help me as, like, interim CFO to just, like, help me with the back end of all the finance piece because then we were getting retail accounts and figuring out, like, inventory management. And now he's back in investment banking. But he was with me for, like, two years just helping. And then it wasn't until, like, the third year midway through.

So, like, three and a half years that I hired a president. And I started, which a lot of businesses, I think, do, like junior hires. And then I started from like the top person like, okay, if I'm the CEO, then I need a president. And then the president can help build the team under her. So then it was our CMO, our CFO. And so like we are such a lean team. And I think that's part of like the beauty of execution with Wallace is there's not too many cooks in the kitchen. And we really are like a strategic, a strategic little entity where everybody there has like a

role. They do probably more than their job. They do several jobs. But we're all so interconnected that there's not so much overhead. There's not too many voices. There's not too many people to manage. Like, and I've even, we've talked a lot with like some of our more like higher level executive hires like CMO, CFO. They don't even want big teams because they like that would annoy them at this point because we're so integrated into like a whole of the day to day things that we're managing and doing, that it feels so efficient that having so many people feels like it will mess up the efficacy of the whole ecosystem that we're, we've kind of achieved. I totally agree with you about a lean team. I think that people where how many people they employ is

almost like a badge sometimes. Totally. And it's like actually a sign of like you don't know what the fuck you're doing. So you're just bringing more and more people like let's let's just like she can do this and then okay, we'll fix that like more bodies. And it's a lot of. of them are, what's that thing that you said the other day? What's it the, the quit thing? What's it called? The quit. They quit while they're working. You just told me this the other day.

I don't know if I use that word. Yes, it's, it's they're working, but they're quitting. What are you talking about? You told me that there is this thing. No, we don't talk about quiet quitting. That's a whole different concept. No, no, it's not though, because a lot of people, if you have a huge team, it's easier to quiet quit because

it's easier to blend in. No, but there was a different concept. But no, but quiet quitting means you, you literally just quit and you don't show up ever again, but you don't tell anybody. You just literally ghost to people. I was talking about the quitting that you quit while you're working. It would be quiet quitting and be like if Taylor just left right now but didn't tell us and you're never see her again.

What with the big team you do have to be careful because you're right? When everyone's so invested, that's the thing. When you build the team and you get all these junior people and these big teams, they're so much less invested. The dangerous thing in my experience and maybe you've experienced as well is when the team gets in the habit of when there's a problem, the first answer is, oh, just hire. Yeah. That's a problem, right?

It's like, well, like, are we doing this the right way? Do we need a question? This is like, if the first answer is we just need to hire more. We talk about this all the time. Yeah, that is, in my experience, that's some shaky ground because that can't be the only solution. It's not sustainable. That should be like the last thing.

And it's also just more money, more money, more money, more bodies, more people. It's like, that's not a way to build a sustainable, healthy business. Like something's broken that you need to bring more and more people into. fix the problems that keep somehow cropping up. And like even when we have our board meetings and like we bring up the org charts of like where we need to be in the next year and then there's like more headcount, I can already see everyone on the team like kind of like getting uncomfortable, which makes me feel good because it's like we're a family. We really are so integrated that like it's not like no new people, but we're kind of like no new people because it's working so well.

And I think as we scale, we'll have to figure that out because we are going to need more people. Like that's just the nature of growing. Like we can't do everything with under 20 people. Like let's say, you know, we want to get to a $100 million brand at some point. You can't do that under 20 people. Or maybe you can. We'll see. If you can, then we got to invest.

Yeah. I'll be back to tell you my secrets. I have a question for you that's kind of like maybe a personal question that I would ask you off air, but I might as well ask you now. When you build your team strategically, where do you look? Do you guys go to Instagram? Do you go to LinkedIn? Is there a recruiter that you get? what's the way that you find this incredible team? Everywhere.

But most of our key hires have been network. So like my president comes from the beauty industry. She was at a couple of different beauty brands. Bobby Brown. So is it like a poach? Kind of a poach. But being honest, it's a little bit of a poach. One was a bit of a poach.

And they came in a pair and they're like the dream team. So that was amazing. I love a good poach. But they're looking. They're looking. It's not like we, you know, it was. The energy's out there. Yeah.

And then even just from going to things, like if I've spoken on a panel or something, like people reach out on LinkedIn, like, oh, I'd love to work for a brand someday. And I always file those. Like, that's one, that's one tip is don't ever, there are a lot of like spams, but don't negate all those people that are interested in working for you because there's some gems in there. And like I've sifted through for every like hundred like, you know, where you look at their profile, like, oh, you don't have, you've never even done this. Why are you telling me you want to do this job? You have no experience. There's like some really great people. That's a good tip.

And so, like, you don't count them out. I mean, read those messages, occasionally, you know, set once a month go through them because there are some gems in there. And that's how I found some really great people is like through reaching out organically. But then I look into them and I'm like, oh, shit. Like they, they're perfect for this. They are working at a major brand right now. They're doing this exact job. I can see all the success that has occurred from their time there. 100% we should talk. So that's another way. And I also think, like, a recruiter, I hate paying recruits. cruder fees. But sometimes if it's an important enough role, it's worth it. Okay. So it's a little sprinkle of everything. We've seen here and this in Dear Media some of the most success from some people that may not have the strongest resumes, but they are the most passionate about coming in hungry. And they just want to learn and prove their value. Where on the flip side, sometimes we've taken someone that's very qualified but does not care about the business at all and is not passionate about it. And like their skill set is there, but we just crash and bring. with them because they don't like or care about the business. And they expect a lot. They come in with

all this experience. They may come from a bigger entity. And they're they and it's like, oh no, like I still consider us a startup. So it's like we're living like a startup. Like if you're coming in from Estee Lauder, you don't have your little like desk with a view and your expense account. And like, it's not like that here. And I think that's the, that's the balance is like you want a certain level of talent, but you want a certain level of hunger. And I do love. the idea of like kind of under hiring in a way, like people that may not seem on paper, like they're like the guy for the job. But those are the people like all of us.

Someone had to like bet on us. We kind of bet on ourselves. But I mean, someone had to like believe and open the door for us and like believe in our idea or, you know, give us an ear. And I think that's like where we are now is those are the people that we need to like see ourselves in that are hungry and ready and can make those leaps and kind of step up to that role. I also think it's a little bit of a healthy balance between recognizing there's a ton of great legacy businesses or established businesses that have operated a certain way for a certain period of time. And many people there with experience can do a lot. But you also have to acknowledge that business has done a lot differently now than it was 15, 20 years ago. And so it's like archaic to do it.

Yeah. And so I'm also like I think sometimes that can be a weakness where it's like you come with this big expense account and all of these support staff and you've done things a certain way. It's like, no, we need to get scrappy now. Like you got to hit these social channels and you got to be able to reach out and DM people and do things that you probably don't like doing because that's just the way business gets done now. 100%. Non-toxic cookware. I switched when I moved to Austin. And the brand that I use is Caraway.

I went on their site. There's so many color options that I was like out of my mind. I couldn't make a decision. I was like texting my friend Weston. I'm like, which one should I get? I landed on the classic cream. It's this really pretty cream and it has like silver details. But the point is, is that it's non-toxic. I have learned so much about cookware. I love this too because it's made with non-stick P-F-AS coatings. And what the best part is is like when you're cooking

something, it kind of like slides off. So you're not like scrubbing the pan. Everyone knows what I mean. I really like the convenience of the non-stick. So if you're looking for something that you don't have to worry about that looks beautiful, it's literally the prettiest cookware I've ever seen, then you have to check them out. Caraway's internet-famous kitchenware is a staple for any home, and it also comes in various modern shades to fit with any design aesthetic. You should know that Caraway's non-stick chemical-free ceramic coating makes it easy for cooking and cleanup, which we love. visit carewayhome.com slash skinny 10 to get 10% off your next purchase. That's 10% off at carewayhome.com slash skinny 10. You can also use code skinny 10 at checkout. Careway, non-toxic cookware made modern. I recently recorded a master class with Dr. Dennis Gross. I cannot stop with this man. He is such a wealth of knowledge and his products deliver results.

I think I've been talking about him since, I want to say, like, 2014. I first fell in love with him because he has this incredible facial steamer. And after that, I just stocked him. I started using his vitamin C. Our relationships developed since then. He even did the foreword of my book, get the fuck out of the sun. Anyway, we did a master class and we talked all about lips. Okay?

He has this device. You've heard about the device that's the facewear pro LED device. and that's like the daily red light therapy that you use on the face. I've been using this for years when I meditate. But they just came out with a new device. And this device targets the lips. It's called the new lipwear pro. It boosts collagen on the lips not only for preventative anti-aging,

but also for immediate plumping. They launched this device with a lip treatment too. And the lip treatment's perfect for plumping. So I've been using it and it's like incredible what it does to your lips. This is so great to take your beauty routine to the next level. You'll get immediate and long-term benefits. Go to DDG.Skin slash Skinny or click the link in the description to shop my exclusive bundles. This features the new lip products and some of my other all-time favorites for up to 25% off.

DDG.combe slash skinny. I think muscle is so amazing as you age. It melts fat. There's so many benefits I could go on and on. if you are looking to build muscle at home and you're looking to save time, you have to check out EVLO. The creator, Dr. Shannon, was on our podcast. It was one of my favorite episodes when it comes to health and fitness.

And she talks about how important it is that women build muscle. You guys should all go back and listen to that episode if you have any questions. But she has this platform called EVLO. And basically, it's workouts that are effective for building muscle, but don't fry your nervous system. So it's not super cortisol inducing, but it's going to help you build that muscle that we're all looking for, especially as we age. I think a really good place to start, too, is her Instagram page. She has so many different workouts on her page that you can sort of get like a glimpse of exactly what EVLO is. But you should get very excited because Evelow is giving our listeners one month free.

So now there's really no excuse. You can build muscle from your house. Super easy. These are quick efficient workouts. You can use Code Skinny at checkout and like I said, you get one month free. Visit evelofitness.com to learn more and try their membership for 30 days with code skinny. Evelow is giving our listeners one month free. Super easy. These are quick efficient workouts. You can use code skinny at checkout and like I said, you get one month free. Visit evelofitness.com to learn more and try their membership for 30 days with code skinny. Workout smarter, not harder. I want to know as a mother and a wife, how you're balancing your day. You know, I'm obsessed with routines. Like, what does a normal day

look like for you? Yeah. So when I had Daisy, I think the first like two weeks, I was in a hormonal fog of like, I'm done. I don't want to work anymore. I just want to be home with her. And then I like snapped out of it. And I was like, okay, I need to figure out like, I really do need to get out of the house. I want to like go back to being me. And the last couple years has been a bit of like a juggle because I do work from home. I'm the only one in San Diego. The whole team's in L.A. They meet weekly. They're all together. And I'm not. And I think for me, it's really about like segmenting out the day. So our nanny comes at nine. And from like seven to nine, I'm like mom. Like I'm with Daisy. I barely even checked my email. I like wake up at six, shower, get myself ready for the day, do breakfast with her hang out. And then at nine when the nanny comes, I'm like off to the races. I don't see her to lunchtime. I'm completely in my mode. I plan most. of my zooms for the afternoon, but like sometimes in the morning, but it's mostly like email admin. Are you working at home? Yeah. How do you do this? You got to give us some tips because I try to work from home and Zaz is hanging from the chandelier. Yeah, I like have a lock on my door. And I like,

my room is completely off. My office is like completely off downstairs. Like she doesn't see you. She doesn't see me. That's the key. If she sees me, it's over. Like I'll even say like if I need to get something to her, I'll like tell Jeff or something. Like I can't see her because she's, She'll just go crazy. That's where I go wrong. Yeah. I can't see her. It's even like she has swim every day.

She does like IRS. If there's a day I can't go, even if I'm home, I can't say bye to her. Because if she sees that I'm home and I'm not going, she'll have a complete meltdown. And I just have to like, I'm dead to her. Like mommy's not here. That's a good tip. Yeah. Because when they see you.

No, both of us don't do that. We need to do that. We're renting this house. And by the way, I'm never renting a house anymore. I'm staying at Ranch of Blanche. Yeah. It's just. You know, we have the houses at Rancho Blancheville.

We just stayed there for two weeks. Okay. I need... I'm just going to have a meltdown. Don't tell him that. Okay. But anyway, so we're staying in this office. We'll take great care of you, Michael.

Well, I'm there pretty much every day. By the way, Saturday. God damn it, Michael. We have like five bedroom houses. Okay, well. Yeah, Jeff bought up. He's sweating. He's so mad he didn't know the house.

Maybe the Rancho Valencia marketing team could let us know that a little more. I was just kind of just going. We were probably in the house when you were there. Probably. Because we saw you guys. Saturday prime rib. Anyways. But so I'm in this office right now and I'm working in this house.

that we're in and it's got this huge glass window and she sees it and she's throwing a huge hand and you feel bad because you do feel bad like we're wired women against the car that's like fucking she thinks she thinks if you guys don't know that go watch that scene

that is Zaza screaming it's such a drama it's devastating we're the most important people in their lives yeah and I don't want her to think the work is more important but I'm like on a Zoom talking to people and this moment it is Okay, so you're hidden in the house.

I'm hidden. Then at lunch. I have lunch with her every single day. That's really cute. So I eat three meals a day with her. I can count on one hand in the last, I want to say two years, the last two years she's been alive that I have not eaten three meals a day with her. That's like a huge goal for me.

I haven't traveled that much. The beauty of COVID and having a kid during 2020 is like she was born in 2020. That will change. But for the last two years, I've been super lucky that life has been mostly at home. But I then around 1130 she eats. I make her lunch every day. I sit and eat with her. Then she goes down for a nap.

I give her big nap hug. Put her in her crib. Saganite. And then from like basically 12, 45 to 3, I'm completely working. Like I can do all my zooms, all my meetings, everything. And you're still hiding if she wakes up. Just in case if she wakes up your house. I am hiding.

And I'm downstairs in her room's upstairs, which is amazing because if she wakes up, then you'll play with her. Like she doesn't, I'm not like up there. So a lot of zooms. A ton of zooms. A lot of Zoom. Mostly all Zoom's right now. And then at three, are you done working? No. Three is her snack time.

Got it. So she comes down, has a snack. I say hi. We play for a little bit. And then my actual favorite time, like, I try to plan most of my meetings between like four and six. I don't know why. She's so organized. This is why I asked her this. I just really like that four and six period because I feel like I've got most of the shit done for the day. I know other people are ready to get done so meetings won't drag on. Like, I feel like COVID really messed up the world of calls. Now everyone wants to Zoom. And it's not necessary. But now. Don't even get me started on that.

Because we all started zooming. Let's just zoom. Like, I feel like I'm at the point where I'm going to call like takeout and then really can you zoom it in? Like, everyone wants to zoom. I don't get on camera. Let me tell you. Zoom's are more awkward sometimes to get off than calls because you're sitting there.

I'm actually more late to zooms than I am to in person meetings. My friend puts a Zoom camera right to his face like this when he zooms. And it's hysterical because then no one wants to zoom with him. Everyone's like, I'm done to camera is up to here. It's giving them anxiety. So they just want to be done. Okay. So at six years.

you're usually done working. Six, I'm done. Six is dinner. I'm done. Done. Done. And then, fully done. And then is there, like, I'm sure you have specific things you do to wind down. Okay, so right, Jeff and I have a, we always have a show. That's like a really important part for us. So we play with Daisy. We either take her to get ice cream. We get in the pool or we, right now she's in this thing, throw toys where she likes to take all her toys out and throw them all around the house. And we like, ha, ha, ha, ha, put music on. It's like, so down a little dance. But it's like, it's a real thing. So that's like, we do like those types of activities. We put her down at seven. We try to do 7.30 sharp by 8. Jeff and I, he always makes a decaf coffee for both of us. We get in bed and we watch a show. Right now we're in Ted Lasso. We're late to the game, but we're mid-season two. We're obsessed. A decaf coffee. Yeah, we do a decaf coffee every night. Why? Because you just like coffee. I don't know. It's like at night now. We don't really drink at home on weekdays. Like we drink when we go out, but like we don't really drink at home. So it's kind of like our version of like a nightcap, I guess. Like it's a treat. It's iced. Just unspeaten almond milk, decaf coffee. We get in bed. We watch our like show whatever it is at the time. And we do that for like,

we watch like two to three episodes when I're watching. And that's kind of it. Like that winds me down. I don't like getting on my screen. I barely answer emails. Like a phone, that's not my thing at night. And what about washing your face and your skincare? Sorry, Michael, you got to give us. Oh, that's like a whole hour. It's an hour. Not an hour. I would say like 30 minutes. So what's what are some products? Sometimes I've even shower before bed. You always have such good product recommendations because there's not a lot of chemicals in it, right? A hundred percent. I'm so OCD about what I put on my face. So what? Okay, right now I'm in a biologic Rescherish moment only because not every product that they have is clean, but most of them are. Like, if you look at the ingredients, it's all the skincare stuff. Like, it's like clinical grade skin care. Like,

if you look at a serum, like let's say it's a, I'm just making this up, a hyaluronic acid serum or the collagen serum. I use their collagen serum, I love. Like those are the ingredients. It's not like all this filler crap. It's like the skincare is the ingredients. And then some of their creams do have fragrance, which I don't love, but it's cleaner. Like, it's one of the most clean. But what I love about that brand, I only got exposed to it really because Rancho Blenzio, like, switched. They were using, I think, natural Bese. I remember that. And then they started using biologic research. And I had heard so much about that P50 toner. Yeah. And I was like, I want to try this. And I was like, holy shit, this works. Like, my face was tingling and burning a little bit. And I was like, oh, I like that. Like, I like when I feel like something's working. I'm like, if it heard. hurts. I like it. And then I got like just upset. I've never even had a facial because I'm OCD about people touching my face. Yeah. Never had a facial. But I have one once a week. You do? I have a girl that you should go. If you want to go to a girl in San Diego. I'm so weird about it. Like even when I first met Jeff, like even if you get close to my face, like I'm just

weird about it. What if the person touching your face is literally like the best? I mean, I might try. I'm just going to give you her info. I've never done it. I'm scared. This is who you do it with if you're going to do it. I just feel like it's a control thing. Like laying down having somebody touch my face. I feel so intimate.

It's fucking amazing. I can't believe you've never had a facial. No. I'm going to text you. Not even at Rancho Valencia. Like Jeff gets facials and I don't even get facials. The facial at Rancho Valencia is great too. Well, I had them make me a card.

I was like, I went through it with the girl like of what my skin care concerns were. And she was like, why can't I just like show you? And I was like, I really don't want to get a facial. also she wrote it all down for me and I bought everything and I was like this brand. It's like the only skincare I've used where I actually see something. Okay, I'm going to look at this brand. You know, I feel like a lot of skincare. Like it's fine. It works. But like when I was using this toner, the first thing I noticed was like I have these little like texture bumpies, not acne, but like sometimes I'll get like, like, I don't know if it's clog pores or what. My texture went away. Like just little things like

that that I was like, oh, this doesn't happen with my other toner. And then I started buying more and more and now I'm like fully. What are other wellnessy things that you're doing? Okay. So my other thing that I think really makes a difference for my face is spirulina in smoothies. And I don't love doing like super sweet, like crazy like massive smoothies. But in the morning I always make one for Daisy that we split. What's the smoothie? We got I we got it. It's kale spinach. I do frozen blueberries, frozen cherries for her. That's her thing. Sparolina collagen powder. And then I do vitamin D drops. What's the collagen powder? I think it's called like, like, Great Lakes. It's in a, it's hydrolyzed

collagen. It's in a green thing. I know what you're talking about. You can't really go wrong. Like you just get collagen powder. I know. I just like to know the brands. Yeah. I'll send you it. It's like a green thing. It's like an organic collagen powder. It's like a beef collagen. But I really think the spirulina

because I notice there's something about, I think I absorb like hydration better when I'm having spirulina. I don't know what it is. And are you, I think when I first met you, you were pescatarian. I want to say. I was pescatarian. And now are you eating meat? Yeah.

Now I eat like everything. You eat everything. I don't eat gluten, obviously. And I don't eat dairy. And do you feel better from going from Pescitarian to eating meat? You know, I don't really notice a huge difference. But I've been like all over the place. I kind of just go with what I feel like.

Like when I was pregnant with Daisy, I was completely vegan. I did not eat a single. I didn't eat fish. I was so sick and disgusted by all meat. And I remember even being worried. Like, is she going to be okay? there. I just like could not. I was like 100% carbs. I was eating like rice, pasta, bread. Like, it was just what my body wanted. And I feel like that's why like maybe I don't notice a huge shift is

like I don't really follow a diet. I kind of just go with what at that time is like feeling good to me. And there's been times where fish like appeals to me but meat doesn't. Then when I was pregnant with her like I couldn't eat chicken, even eggs. Like if eggs were even being cooked around me, the smell is disgusting. That's so weird because I feel like, I feel like you love eggs. I do. I was just, I couldn't. I got recipes off blonde a million years ago. Yeah, I loved eggs. I still, I eat eggs all the time now. But when I was pregnant with her, like that whole period. And then after having her, like, I kind of went back to really craving meat. So I started eating meat again. So I kind of just like. It's intuitive. It's intuitive.

Leave us with a hack. And then maybe we can do a lawless giveaway too. Leave us with a hack that has changed your life. It could be work, beauty, wellness, anything. Oh my God. Probably, like, the biggest hack is just, if it's not hell yes, it's hell now. Like, I feel like I have a huge level of boundaries now that I didn't have, like even five years ago. And that has changed my life in so many ways because I'm not a pleaser anymore. I don't feel pressured to say yes to anything. I don't really care about not going to stuff, showing up for stuff, doing stuff. How do you say no? Just tell us really quick. So say a a friend texts you and wants you to go to her cousin's niece's son's birthday. Sorry, I can't make it.

I hope it's amazing. Have a great time. Wow. That's the way you do it. Don't you be people, they get in trouble with excuses or reasons. Yeah. And I do think like there's something not to be sexist, but I do think especially women were hardwired to be pleasers. And like I used to, once you have kids, business, husband.

family, like, I was dragging myself, like, I was just, I was, it was too much. And I finally realized I'm, I'm only happy when I'm doing what I want to do. And I read, when I was in grade school, I was homes, I wasn't ditching. I was truly homesick this day, but I watched Ferris Bueller's day off when he does ditch. And I think that's like one of the most pivotal, like, pieces of content I've ever consumed because it's such a dumb movie, but it really was the first time I saw, like, this idea of doing something other than what you're supposed to do in life. And it was like he left, he ditched school this day. He laid by the pool, stole his dad's car, like did all these things. We saw a movie. And I was like, why do we have to do all these things that we're supposed to do?

Like, I just want to have freedom. If I don't want to do something, I don't want to do it. And it opens up so many doors for creativity for me to just like bring down all of the expectations of things I'm supposed to do and spend my time doing what I want to do, what I like to do, even if it's alone, thinking about things, creating things. That's when I'm most creative. That is a great way to in the podcast. That is a great tip. Freedom and doing what you want to do.

Lawless, I am personally obsessed if you guys are going to start with a product. I'm sure you've already tried her line. It's everywhere. But if you haven't, I love the forget the filler overnight limping mask, but I don't just use it overnight. I'm sure you've heard this before. I like all the flavors. I don't have a, I mean, I like the birthday cake one, the juicy water.

I put Zaza uses it. I'm such a fan of this. I also like the lip glosses though, too. Yeah, the lip gloss like kicked it all off. That was the forget the filler like original hero. And then we put more maxi lip, 50% more more shade butter. We were like we have to just do this in like a serum for him where it's like concentrated for overnight. I use this for makeup prep. I use this when I'm working out. I use it on my eyelids too. Oh, you do? Yeah. For gloss. Everyone on our team does it right here too. It's really, really nice. It's clean beauty. Tell us where we're we can find everything you're doing where they can buy. If you want to do a giveaway or a code, you can let us know. 100%. We're exclusive to Sephora. So saffora.org, lawless beauty.com. And then I also sell on QVC. So everything's available on QVC.com. Are you going on QVC yourself? Yeah. I'm going on on Friday. Yeah, I go on like a couple

times a month. And do you just go on like not looking at a script or anything? You just walk out. No, it's live TV. So you have like a plan. It's actually really amazing. It's really fun. They're really easy. The hosts are like super fans. They don't bring brands on. Like the host knows what they're doing too. It's not like they're like, hi. So tell me about the hosts, you're incredible. How many hours are you on when you're on? I've done like full hour, full branded lawless hours. But usually you're in like a beauty show. Like this Friday it's Dare to share with Sean. And then there's Girls Night in. There's like those types of shows. Get ready gorgeous. It's for anything you're doing in your life too to be through. I mean, that's a lot of work. It's so much work to do like a QVC hit. You think like, oh, I'm getting. to be on for 10 minutes, but the prep that goes into it. But once you do it, you feel like so good. And it really has helped me, like, when I'm talking about my products out loud, like to find those nuggets. Like, why did I create this? What is the main thing that I love about this? What was the main? So it's a really good way to like nail those things down. And I love it.

It's just like a way to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Can we give away all your favorite products? Yes. Okay. Follow at Lawless on Instagram. And then tell us your favorite takeaway from this episode on my latest post at Lauren Bostic. And then I don't, I didn't even ask you this before, but do you want to do a code on lawless.com? Is it lawlessbeautcom? Yeah, lawlessbue.com. Do you want to do a code on lawless beauty. Okay. Can we do code skinny? Sure. Love it. Code skinny. You see the percentage. 20? 20% off. Go run and get the forget the filler. Lip gloss. You can not go wrong. It's so good. Get the lip gloss and also get the lip pumping mask. That's what I recommend. Annie, you can come back anytime. I could have taken.

making this interview in so many different directions, but this was a good foundation. I know. I feel like I could have just like off air caught up with you guys because I haven't seen even so long. Like for real for real. We'll catch up. This episode was brought to you by the Skinny Confidential. Be sure to use code faceballs for 20% off the entire site on shop skinny confidential.com. That's code faceballs for 20% off. If you want to watch this episode, you can check us out on YouTube. We have the video version, which is always fun. Make sure you enter that. the Lawless Giveaway and definitely check out, forget the filler. It's my favorite.