The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast - How To Launch Your Own Brand & Products With Lauryn Evarts Bosstick
Episode Date: June 7, 2021#363: On this episode Lauryn tells the story of why she launched a community-driven product off of her brand The Skinny Confidential and then walks the listeners through the last 4 years. It's a very ...BTS look at Lauryn's entrepreneurial journey. The entire process has been a long crazy road to say the least and she wante to show a real look into what it takes to launch a brand and product line. This is a must listen if you're a business owner, creator or aspiring business owner or creator. To connect with Lauryn Evarts click HERE To connect with Michael Bosstick click HERE Read More on The Skinny Confidential 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 The Hot Mess Ice Roller is here to help you contour, tighten, and de-puff your facial skin and It's paired alongside the Ice Queen Facial Oil which is packed with anti-oxidants that penetrates quickly to help hydrate, firm, and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, leaving skin soft and supple. To check them out visit www.shopskinnyconfidential.com now. This episode is brought to you by No Days Wasted Their hero product is called DHM Detox, which is the vitamin for people who like to enjoy their drinks. It’s designed to help you bounce back the next day. Get 20% off your order and free shipping in the US. Just head over to www.NoDaysWasted.CO/SKINNY and use promo code "SKINNY” at checkout This episode is brought to you by JuneShine JuneShine Hard Kombucha is the most insanely delicious, better-for-you alcohol. t’s made with real, organic ingredients and unlike other alcoholic beverages, they are transparent about every ingredient they put in their products. Best of all, it doesn’t leave you with that I’m-too-full-after-drinking feeling, but it does give you a lighter, brighter buzz. We’ve worked out an exclusive deal for Skinny Confidential podcast listeners. Receive 20% off PLUS Free Shipping on their bestselling variety pack. This is a great way to try all of their delicious flavors. Go to www.juneshine.com/skinny or use code SKINNY at checkout to claim this deal. This episode is brought to you by Sakara This year, turn your resolutions into reality. Whether you’re looking to try plant-based eating, build an empowered body, boost skin’s glow, or simply feel your very best, Sakara makes it easy to create rituals that last. Sakara is a wellness company rooted in the transformative power of plant-based food. Their menu of creative, chef-crafted breakfasts, lunches, and dinners changes weekly, so you’ll never get bored. And it’s delivered fresh, anywhere in the U.S. And right now, Sakara is offering our listeners 20% off their first order when they go to www.sakara.com/skinny and enter code SKINNY at checkout. Produced by Dear Media
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                                         The following podcast is a Dear Media production. It's thick, it's silicone. You can place your thumbprint in the perfect place so you can really
                                         
                                         press hard and get that lymphatic drainage. It's also so cute. I'm telling you, it's way bigger
                                         
                                         than those other ice rollers that break. And it's also, of course, pink. We launched it with an
                                         
                                         anti-inflammatory, icy, ice queen facial oil to tighten and soothe and cool the skin. They're
                                         
                                         really the perfect duo if you run
                                         
                                         puffy like me. And we are offering all Skinny Confidential, him and her listeners, a code.
                                         
                                         Use PINKICEQUEEN for 15% off. This is redeemable for the ice roller and the oil separately,
                                         
                                         not the duo. That is 15% off all regular items, PINKICEQUEEN. That's shopskinnyconfidential.com. You are going to be
                                         
    
                                         so snatched, my God. 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 along
                                         
                                         for the ride. Get ready for some major realness. Welcome to the Skinny Confidential, him and her.
                                         
                                         Hey, guys. What's up? You have Lauren. No, Michael. Just Lauren. I'm going to talk to you about why
                                         
                                         and how I launch product. I've been wanting to do this podcast episode for the last month and a half
                                         
                                         since I launched the product, but I wanted to wait to really wrap my head around this episode.
                                         
                                         It was really important for me to sit down and do a podcast episode on the why and why this product
                                         
                                         is the Skinny Confidential product. And also, I've had a lot of questions from listeners about
                                         
    
                                         how I even went about it, from marketing to investing to distribution to shipping to design,
                                         
                                         like how. And so I thought that not only would I talk about why I launched product in this episode,
                                         
                                         I thought it would be fun to sort of walk you through the steps. I'm sure that there are some people listening that are either creators
                                         
                                         or super business-minded that want to eventually launch product, or maybe you have product,
                                         
                                         and this episode will give you a couple tips and tricks. I am no expert in this. I obviously just
                                         
                                         launched product, like I said, a month and a half ago.
                                         
                                         But I do feel like this is something I've been working on for the last four years.
                                         
                                         So I've really been able to see the behind the scenes of what goes in to a successful launch.
                                         
    
                                         And so I guess I'll just get started. I want to take you guys back to when I launched the skinny confidential in 2011
                                         
                                         It's so crazy that it's
                                         
                                         2021 now, I can't believe it
                                         
                                         but I launched the skinny confidential because I
                                         
                                         Was going to san diego state university and I was so broke
                                         
                                         And i've told this story on a lot of podcasts, but I think it's important to tell again just to set the foundation of this episode. I joined a sorority and within a couple minutes, they told
                                         
                                         me that I owed $800. And I was like, oh, fuck no. I can't afford $800. I am barely making ends meet
                                         
                                         and I cannot pay $800 to have a community and friends. And so I remember walking around San
                                         
    
                                         Diego State in literally my pajamas with my
                                         
                                         trapper keeper and thinking, why is this so expensive? How do people afford this if they're
                                         
                                         working full time? How do they even have time for this? And so I was thinking about people's time
                                         
                                         and I was thinking about saving people money and I was thinking about a community. And the way that
                                         
                                         I found that I could do all those three things and do it everywhere was a community. And the way that I found that I could do all those three
                                         
                                         things and do it everywhere was a blog. And this is a time when blogging was not cool. And I'm not
                                         
                                         saying it's cool now, but it was just not in vogue. It was not something that a lot of people wanted
                                         
                                         to do. The monetization aspect of it was very blurry. There was no sort of clear road. And so I decided that I would launch
                                         
    
                                         a blog, a place where people could get all different kinds of tips and tricks from women
                                         
                                         all over the world, a resource, and a place where you could get the skinny. And that's
                                         
                                         where the name came from. Get the skinny, get the juice, get the details, confidential.
                                         
                                         And so I put that together and I really like
                                         
                                         seriously had a trapper keeper that was pink that had all these articles and tips and tricks that I
                                         
                                         picked up from friends and from doctors and things I had written down from books and even pages like
                                         
                                         taken out of books. And I put together this huge trapper keeper scrapbook that was essentially
                                         
                                         the blog. And you guys know the
                                         
    
                                         story if you've listened to the podcast, but I'll just sum it up quick. I got a poster board. I
                                         
                                         built the whole blog on the poster board from textile to how I wanted the audience to feel
                                         
                                         when they left. I just built a brand story. And I really thought long and hard about what I was
                                         
                                         trying to do. And that was trying to bring little tips and
                                         
                                         tricks, like I said, to a community where they didn't have to pay. So I launched the Skinny
                                         
                                         Confidential, like I said, in 2011 and knew I was building a brand. I did not make $1 for three
                                         
                                         years. I blog seven days a week. I tell this story a lot because I think it's really important for
                                         
                                         anyone out there who's listening who wants to start something on
                                         
    
                                         their own and doesn't know how to go about it and feels overwhelmed. I've heard this one so many
                                         
                                         times. The space is so saturated. No, it's not. There's a space for everyone, especially if you
                                         
                                         have a unique perspective with discipline and you know how to execute. And I remember going to the bar that I worked at in a very wealthy community and there was a lot
                                         
                                         of men at the bar and it was sort of like a boys club you know what I mean like they were all
                                         
                                         drinking chilled martinis with a blue cheese stuffed olive or a margarita with a tahin rim
                                         
                                         or a rusty nail and I remember telling a group of these older men
                                         
                                         that I was going to be a blogger. And this was in the early days of blogging, like I said.
                                         
                                         So they looked at me like I was a fucking alien. And one of them laughed and said,
                                         
    
                                         you're not going to monetize that? How are you going to monetize that? And he's laughing. They
                                         
                                         were all in their own world. And I thought I'm onto something.
                                         
                                         When someone says, what are you talking about? You're crazy. You should examine it because
                                         
                                         there's something there. I later found out he was the CEO of Airbag. Again, I tell this story
                                         
                                         because I want to show everyone that just because your mom, sister, dad, a friend from high school
                                         
                                         tells you you can't do something, you can. And I kept going with it. I did it seven days a week,
                                         
                                         like I said, at the same
                                         
                                         time I had a schedule with it. During this time, and this all lends to the product story, I had
                                         
    
                                         jaw surgery. I've talked about this on Instagram. I had a full-blown identity crisis. I was so
                                         
                                         insecure after jaw surgery. It was a 16-hour surgery where I was essentially swollen for
                                         
                                         three years. And I mean swollen, you guys. Puffy, did not recognize myself, felt like I was essentially swollen for three years. And I mean swollen, you guys.
                                         
                                         Puffy, did not recognize myself,
                                         
                                         felt like I was wearing a mask.
                                         
                                         I couldn't look people in the eye.
                                         
                                         I even didn't like when people would get really close to me
                                         
                                         because I felt so insecure and just unlike myself.
                                         
    
                                         It was a real out-of-body experience.
                                         
                                         And the whole time during this chapter of my life, I was blogging. And it
                                         
                                         was horrible because I didn't want to put my face on the internet at all. So I had to get very
                                         
                                         creative. It was very humbling. I'm very glad I went through it now looking back. I think that
                                         
                                         it taught me a lot. And one of the main things that I did while I was going through this bloating and swelling of my face
                                         
                                         was find out ways and tactics to reduce the swelling.
                                         
                                         I tried everything.
                                         
                                         Everything that you can think of, pull out your scroll, I tried.
                                         
    
                                         From lymphatic drainage to jumping on a trampoline walking, to sleeping upright, whatever it is,
                                         
                                         I tried it. And nothing was really working. I mean, I had fluid in my face every morning I woke
                                         
                                         up for years. Finally, I started doing facial manipulation with ice. My friend Jules Wick
                                         
                                         recommended I try it, and it worked like a charm. I could not believe it. It
                                         
                                         was contouring my face, lifting my cheekbones, getting rid of the puffiness. I talked about it
                                         
                                         all the time. You guys know this. I couldn't shut up about it because it worked. And so I remember
                                         
                                         Googling on Amazon jaw surgery ice or something. And up comes this green and blue and white ice roller. It's so ugly. I can't
                                         
                                         look at it. I get it in the mail. I want to hide it, but I put it in the freezer hidden under my
                                         
    
                                         cheese and meat. And I started using it and it worked, but it only stayed cold for one second.
                                         
                                         There were all these pain points. It was too light. It wasn't sturdy. I couldn't apply enough
                                         
                                         pressure on and on and on and on and on. It also was so ass ugly, like butthole ugly.
                                         
                                         So I started sharing it.
                                         
                                         I noticed you guys all were dealing with facial bloat too.
                                         
                                         A lot of people were waking up puffy after one too many champagnes.
                                         
                                         Some people would sleep on the wrong side.
                                         
                                         They would wake up puffy.
                                         
    
                                         People run puffy after they get off a flight and no one was addressing facial bloat.
                                         
                                         And so I started to see a gap in the market. And this is when if you are in the business
                                         
                                         of launching product or you have product where I'm going to try to what was keeping me going strong in Cabo. We had a lot of margaritas,
                                         
                                         a lot of ginger margaritas, a lot of spicy margaritas, a lot of habanero margaritas.
                                         
                                         There was a lot of margaritas. There was beer. There was all kinds of stuff. But I had my No
                                         
                                         Days Wasted, which I am so excited about. I carried it in every
                                         
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                                         just throw in your handbag. I like to have a drink and then I'll
                                         
                                         take my no days wasted after that. And then maybe I'll have my next drink. And I'm feeling good in
                                         
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                                         first couple of drinks. I do mine after my first drink. You can do kind of whatever. So if you're
                                         
    
                                         having a bachelorette party or a wedding party, it was just Memorial Day weekend, whatever it is, they are here to help. I'm about it because like I said,
                                         
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                                         know you're going to love it. I really am such a fan. It's something that I have been taking
                                         
                                         every single time I drink alcohol and boy, oh boy, does it work. Okay. I honestly don't want to have a drink without it.
                                         
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                                         drinks? You deserve to have your cake and eat it too. So do I. And of course, we got you 20% off
                                         
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                                         you, they are the best party favors ever. I really looked for a space that could meet the audience. I didn't just want to slap my
                                         
                                         label on something. I didn't want to white label something. I wanted to make sure it was something
                                         
                                         that you guys needed that I launched that was not white labeled, that was created
                                         
                                         out of my head, every little detail, that the packaging was so fun that when you opened it,
                                         
                                         you got excited about just the packaging. Maybe even some of you hopefully saving the packaging because you love it so much.
                                         
                                         I've heard a lot of fun ways to reuse the packaging, which we'll get to.
                                         
                                         I wanted the whole thing to be an experience.
                                         
    
                                         And so what I did is I first found someone who could design my vision that was in my head.
                                         
                                         And I worked with someone to design
                                         
                                         every little facet of an ice roller. And I really focused on what the pain points for me of the
                                         
                                         regular ice roller was. And I flipped the script. I was like, I need to disrupt this space.
                                         
                                         There was either ice roller that I was using, which was like plastic and not sturdy, or there were these like very holistic spa-like rollers that were crystal.
                                         
                                         And I wanted something that was flamboyant and loud and heavy and sturdy and all the
                                         
                                         things and different material.
                                         
                                         And then from there, I went to a lot of trade shows, which I would recommend, but I wouldn't
                                         
    
                                         put all my eggs in one basket.
                                         
                                         And through the trade show, I met someone that did manufacturing. And then I met another person
                                         
                                         and another person. And I sort of interviewed all three of them and found the best fit for me.
                                         
                                         And then from there, I started really looking at the kind of designs that I wanted. And I found
                                         
                                         someone who had a unique, youthful perspective to design the website and the packaging and the experience.
                                         
                                         But I wanted to be incredibly hands-on.
                                         
                                         So that was very important to me as well.
                                         
                                         Obviously, I didn't want to micromanage too much, but I wanted to be along every step
                                         
    
                                         of the way from the fonts to the colors to the feel.
                                         
                                         Is it matte?
                                         
                                         Is it shiny?
                                         
                                         How big is the box?
                                         
                                         How big is the postcard?
                                         
                                         I wanted to be incredibly hands-on the website I
                                         
                                         was psycho about I wanted the consumer to be able to come to a site that was very clear right of
                                         
                                         what they were getting and so simultaneously while I was working with the manufacturer
                                         
    
                                         I was also working with the designer and working on all of the elements that came in the box. So it was definitely a 360 approach.
                                         
                                         This was interesting because I was also running the blog
                                         
                                         and the podcast and my Instagram account
                                         
                                         and my business at the same time.
                                         
                                         And so if you're out there and you're a creator
                                         
                                         and you're feeling overwhelmed by product,
                                         
                                         but you don't want a white label,
                                         
                                         I would tell you to put an hour on your calendar,
                                         
    
                                         five days a week.
                                         
                                         This is such an easy tip.
                                         
                                         And only focus on product for that hour.
                                         
                                         For me, I did two hours a day, five days a week,
                                         
                                         and it took four years to launch,
                                         
                                         which maybe in retrospect was too long,
                                         
                                         but I really just wanted the whole experience
                                         
                                         to be right for you guys.
                                         
    
                                         There was many opportunities
                                         
                                         where I could have partnered with another skincare brand, had them do all the work and just give them my colors and fonts, and
                                         
                                         it would have been up in six months. Simultaneously, as all this is going on,
                                         
                                         I was deciding how I wanted to structure my business. So did I want investors? Did I want
                                         
                                         to go D to C, which means direct to consumer? Or did I want to have a retailer? All those little
                                         
                                         details. And what I ended
                                         
                                         up finding out is that a lot of men in suits told me, no, they didn't get it. They didn't
                                         
                                         understand the vision, which is totally fine. And I started to decide I wanted to have a couple
                                         
    
                                         women on board, really smart, savvy women that get the beauty and wellness space. And so I started having
                                         
                                         conversations with women I respected in this industry. And my advice here, if you're looking
                                         
                                         for investor, is don't go asking someone for money, right? Bring your deck. I had a deck
                                         
                                         that showcased everything I wanted to do with your projections and your numbers and approach them asking them for advice.
                                         
                                         I feel like when people just go wanting money, the investor gets turned off. So there was like
                                         
                                         hundreds of conversations I had where I was just asking for advice. Listen, so many people said no
                                         
                                         and you guys, so many people have said no my entire journey. I cannot tell you how many people I've DMed or tweeted or emailed that have told me no.
                                         
                                         No, I can't come on your blog.
                                         
    
                                         No, I can't do that.
                                         
                                         No, I don't want to come on your podcast.
                                         
                                         And with building the product, I was told no 100 times by people too.
                                         
                                         But there's a few that say yes.
                                         
                                         And that's the magic spot.
                                         
                                         So if you're launching product, don't let anyone say
                                         
                                         no. You know your vision better than anyone. You know yourself better than anyone. Don't let a door
                                         
                                         slam in your face and let that door be the last door you go to. You have to keep pounding down
                                         
    
                                         doors. And with this product line, I'm telling you, there was a lot of micro struggles, right?
                                         
                                         There was a lot of no's. There was a lot of this isn't going to work. I cannot tell you how many
                                         
                                         prototypes I went back and forth with with the manufacturer for the ice roller. It was so much
                                         
                                         back and forth, but we finally got it right. I cannot tell you how many times I went back and
                                         
                                         forth with the oil that I launched too. It had to be the right ingredients. It had to be ingredients that I would use every single day.
                                         
                                         And it had to be a product that I was proud of that I knew you guys would love. So during this
                                         
                                         process, if you are launching product, understand there's going to be a lot of no's. That's a big
                                         
                                         takeaway. It's part of the gig, right? Anyway, so I set out to create the Bentley of ice rollers. I set out to create
                                         
    
                                         an oil that would tighten the skin while also fighting fine lines, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation.
                                         
                                         And oil has always been something I've turned to as a makeup remover. I think it's the key to youth.
                                         
                                         I really do. I think it's one of the most useful things you can do for your skin. I have been using oil, as we know, since I was like 14 years old. It's been my go-to skin product.
                                         
                                         When I was in high school and couldn't afford fancy, smancy, like La Mer and all the things,
                                         
                                         I would go to Costco and get a huge thing of grapeseed oil and use it to remove my makeup.
                                         
                                         I would use it after my makeup was off, douse myself in it like a wet rat. And one of those oils that I always would use in high school,
                                         
                                         it's so random, was organic 100% pomegranate oil. It's such a secret oil and no one talks about it.
                                         
                                         It's full of vitamin C. It's full of all different kinds of vitamins. It's full of antioxidants.
                                         
    
                                         It fights free radicals.
                                         
                                         It does all these incredible things.
                                         
                                         Another fun fact, pomegranate oil also has been shown to provide UVA and UVB-induced
                                         
                                         damage control, which is so incredible.
                                         
                                         And it also rejuvenates the skin.
                                         
                                         So I was so adamant on having as pomegranate oil as my hero
                                         
                                         product. In it, we wanted to mix raspberry seed oil, which also is incredibly high antioxidants.
                                         
                                         And this is another fun fact. It actually has the highest antioxidants of any vegetable or fruit.
                                         
    
                                         And together, it just goes together. I can't even explain it. It also has vitamin E in it.
                                         
                                         And then we added a little bit of blueberry seed oil, which is this really powerful antioxidant. You can tell I love antioxidants,
                                         
                                         and it just hydrates your skin. All three of these together, though,
                                         
                                         improve the elasticity. And that's why I think it's so youthful. My product is vegan. It's
                                         
                                         cruelty-free, gluten-free, synthetic fragrance-free. These were all important things to me. Okay.
                                         
                                         So I wanted to make sure everything was done with you, the audience in mind.
                                         
                                         This is so fitting because the other day I popped open a June shine, which is hard kombucha. And I sat on my porch
                                         
                                         and I read the Skinny Confidential book cover to cover while I sipped on my June shine.
                                         
    
                                         It was so delicious. It's light, it's refreshing. And it was like the perfect drink.
                                         
                                         This is known as the champagne of kombucha. And they use this like green tea and honey,
                                         
                                         as opposed to most brands that use black tea
                                         
                                         and sugar. And it gives you this smoother, less acidic taste. We actually had the founders on our
                                         
                                         podcast and I got to learn all about how they make it, how it's sustainably produced. They're
                                         
                                         committed to becoming 100% carbon neutral. It's so cute. I was drinking it the other day in a wine
                                         
                                         glass, like a bougie wine glass. And I put a bunch of ice in there, some Meyer lemon and a sprig of basil. And it was absolutely delicious.
                                         
                                         I was recommended to this brand actually by my sister-in-law, Jordan. And she turned to this
                                         
    
                                         over like beer and hard alcohol because it is so low sugar and it's organic. It's all real
                                         
                                         ingredients. And also kombucha has probiotics. So it's all real ingredients. And also, kombucha has probiotics,
                                         
                                         so it's a real win. As always, we've worked out an exclusive deal for Skinny Confidential
                                         
                                         podcast listeners. Receive 20% off plus free shipping on their best-selling variety pack,
                                         
                                         which is the one that I recommend because you get to try all their delicious flavors,
                                         
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                                         So you're going to go to juneshine.com slash skinny
                                         
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                                         That is J-U-N-E-S-H-I-N-E.com slash skinny.
                                         
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                                         Grab yourself my
                                         
                                         book. It's called Get the Fuck Out of the Sun and a June Shine, Blood Orange Preferably. Sit out on
                                         
                                         your porch and read it. It's the perfect drink. And the book reads like you're at happy hour with me.
                                         
    
                                         Cheers. So I started asking you guys all these like secret questions on Instagram story. And it's funny
                                         
                                         because you guys are actually such a big part in creating this brand. These are all things
                                         
                                         that you were looking for. And so the beauty industry, and we talked about this earlier
                                         
                                         about saturation. Everyone says, oh, it's so saturated. Like the skincare industry is so
                                         
                                         saturated. I think that if you can't go through any door in the house, you got to come down the fucking chimney.
                                         
                                         And this industry in particular, the beauty and skin and wellness industry, I think needs a shake
                                         
                                         up. It's a little conservative. So I wanted to come at it from a really flamboyant perspective.
                                         
                                         So if you're launching product, I think one of the questions that you should be asking yourself is what is your point of differentiation? What makes you stand out? How are you different? How are you unique? Ask yourself these questions. for your brand is a brand story. Michael talks about this all the time. It's a very powerful book
                                         
    
                                         and it will help you get clarity on what your brand is. Okay, so back to the product. So after
                                         
                                         four years of working on this, creating a distribution of making sure the shipping was
                                         
                                         ready to go from the boxes that you guys get to the postcard. I did
                                         
                                         the photo shoot that took about two weeks to get everything organized with that. I was ready to
                                         
                                         launch. And I think your launch strategy, if you have product is incredibly important. And so
                                         
                                         how I launched was I sort of teased the audience in a way that got them excited. But I didn't want to create a 10-week anticipation.
                                         
                                         I think I launched the brand slowly over two weeks, maybe. And then after two weeks,
                                         
                                         we decided to launch it out. And instead of sending my product to all these influencers
                                         
    
                                         and celebrities, I decided I wanted the product to be in the hands of the people that have supported my platform
                                         
                                         for the last 11 years. And that was you guys. So I thought, I'm not going to send this out to anyone
                                         
                                         right now. I'm going to wait. I'm going to just do GDC, which is like I said, direct to consumer,
                                         
                                         no retailer. And I am going to allow the audience to get their hands on the product first.
                                         
                                         And off we went to the races.
                                         
                                         You guys have supported the brand.
                                         
                                         It's been incredible.
                                         
                                         And now I'm starting to think maybe about working with influencers.
                                         
    
                                         But my strategy is different than just sending it to a bunch of influencers.
                                         
                                         I'm very interested in micro-influencers.
                                         
                                         I think that they have a unique perspective.
                                         
                                         And I think that they have a unique perspective and I think that they have an
                                         
                                         emphasis on community. I think as influencers grow on Instagram, sometimes they don't have the same
                                         
                                         kind of community. And maybe you guys can weigh in on this, whether it's like DMing me on Instagram
                                         
                                         or commenting or emailing me. But I just feel like micro influencersinfluencers are very, very hot right now.
                                         
                                         And I think that they deserve a moment. This is so fitting for my solo episode because I am such
                                         
    
                                         a fan of the brand Saqqara. The girls have both been on our podcast and they have really created
                                         
                                         this incredible plant-based eating
                                         
                                         delivery system that is all about empowering the body, boosting the skin's glow, and simply
                                         
                                         feeling your best. I have talked to so many women all over the world and they are so obsessed with
                                         
                                         Saqqara. They have these amazing organic ready-to-eat meals that are made with powerful
                                         
                                         plant-rich ingredients and they're all designed to boost your energy
                                         
                                         and improve your digestion.
                                         
                                         I have to say, I 100% think
                                         
    
                                         it is the best plant delivery meal system that there is.
                                         
                                         Like there is nothing better.
                                         
                                         They have rave reviews from Vogue, Goop, New York Times.
                                         
                                         The women behind the brand have put so much thought
                                         
                                         and detail into the menu.
                                         
                                         It's always delivered fresh, you guys.
                                         
                                         When it comes to my
                                         
                                         door, it's a beautiful meal. And they also have daily wellness essentials that are all about
                                         
    
                                         supporting gut health, energy, immunity. They have these beauty drops that are so major.
                                         
                                         You take them and you put them in your water and they're all about glowing from the inside out.
                                         
                                         I'm also a fan of their chlorophyll. They have a lot of incredible wellness essentials. So what I do when I order from them is I get a couple of their tinctures
                                         
                                         and then I get my order for the week, my meal plan. It's absolutely amazing if you're a busy
                                         
                                         mom on the go and you want to be more purposeful in what you're eating. I think it's really great
                                         
                                         for someone who is busy and just wants it straight to their door, but also wants to eat healthy. Right now, Sakara is offering all Skinny Confidential, him and her listeners,
                                         
                                         20% off your first order when you go to sakara.com slash skinny, or you can enter code skinny at
                                         
                                         checkout. That's Sakara, S-A-K-A-R-A.com slash skinny. You're going to get 20% off your first
                                         
    
                                         order. Sakara.com slash skinny. Make sure you get the
                                         
                                         tinctures, the beauty drops, and the chlorophyll. And also check out their plant-rich meals. You
                                         
                                         are going to love them. What's been really cool is that the content that's been created
                                         
                                         has been from you guys. It's been from so many people that have supported the
                                         
                                         brand and I could not even ask for better content. And I think that lends itself to the community.
                                         
                                         Community should be number one if you're creating a product. And I think if you are creating a
                                         
                                         product now, I would tell you to first create the community and platform before you launch the product.
                                         
                                         And not a lot of people want to hear that because it definitely is a longer game strategy,
                                         
    
                                         but I've found it to be the most effective. One of the reasons I wanted to do this podcast is I've
                                         
                                         been doing a lot of interviews for press on other podcasts. And I thought, this is something I want
                                         
                                         to talk about on my own podcast because maybe there's someone out there listening that is in a job that they fucking hate.
                                         
                                         And they're listening to the skinny confidential him and her at their desk. And they want an out.
                                         
                                         And what I would tell you is that use the internet to create the out. Create your own future, whether it's microblogging on Instagram
                                         
                                         or creating a TikTok or a clubhouse or a podcast, whatever that is. Use a platform on the internet
                                         
                                         to build a community that speaks to you that you can speak to. And be slow and be thoughtful and
                                         
                                         keep that job you hate for a while, but work on your side hustle.
                                         
    
                                         Because I really think that no matter who you are, where you are, you have the power
                                         
                                         to design a strategy for your work.
                                         
                                         People that are doing what they hate nine to five should be creating some kind of out
                                         
                                         for themselves because you don't want to be having to do work every single day that you
                                         
                                         hate.
                                         
                                         So I guess that's what this episode is about. It's about creating your destiny, creating your
                                         
                                         own future. Like I said, I'm no expert on product. I just wanted to share the journey of it with you
                                         
                                         guys. I also think it's important that if you're launching product to immerse yourself in it. So
                                         
    
                                         what I mean by that is I decided during COVID that I would
                                         
                                         have the quarantine situation work. How I mean work is I mean I wanted to not let quarantine
                                         
                                         run my life. I wanted to run quarantine. So I started writing a book based off a book proposal
                                         
                                         I had wrote that had all to do with skin. And I knew I was launching a skincare line, so I really
                                         
                                         wanted the book to come out close to the skincare line. And the book is coming out June 15th. It's on Amazon Target
                                         
                                         and Barnes & Noble. And of course, we're all small books are sold, support the small bookstores.
                                         
                                         And so the product launch sort of happened simultaneously with the book, which was great
                                         
                                         because I was able to have this book, this asset that I had worked on
                                         
    
                                         as a skincare resource launch with the product that you guys have helped me create. So it really
                                         
                                         went together, if that makes sense. And this is another tip. If you're a content creator
                                         
                                         and you are going to launch a product, make sure it makes sense to your story.
                                         
                                         There's nothing worse than someone who's been known for fashion randomly
                                         
                                         launching a makeup line or someone who's been known for home decor suddenly launches a merch
                                         
                                         line with their label slapped on it. Really be thoughtful about how this lends to your story and
                                         
                                         why it makes sense to your community. Anyway, this, like I said, is a podcast I've wanted to do for a long
                                         
                                         time. I would love to open this up to questions because I want to know if this is even of interest
                                         
    
                                         to you. Are you guys interested in seeing the behind the scenes about how I really built the
                                         
                                         line, wrote the book, do the podcast? I would love to know if you're interested in those micro details.
                                         
                                         This show is a lot of interviews, but it's also a lot of solo episodes. So I get really inspired when you guys tell me what you're looking for. Definitely let me know on my latest post
                                         
                                         at Lauren Bostic. And we're going to offer you guys a code for the product. It's on shopskinnyconfidential.com and the code is snatched at checkout. That's S-N-A-T-C-H-E-D
                                         
                                         at checkout, shopskinnyconfidential.com. So you can use the code on the hot mess ice roller or
                                         
                                         the ice queen facial oil separately. So not the bundle, just separately on each product. And I would love your feedback. DM
                                         
                                         me. If you do fun Instagram stories, I would love to post it on my stories. And I also wanted to
                                         
                                         take a minute to just say thank you. Because I say this all the time, but it's so true. I would
                                         
    
                                         not have any of these platforms and I would not be able to create if it wasn't for the people who have been supporting me. I'm very grateful and there is a lot more products coming. They are
                                         
                                         all products that I think will add flair to your beauty routine and will always try to make sure
                                         
                                         they're unique and different and shaky and fun and flamboyant because at the end of the day, I feel like it's
                                         
                                         time to shake up the beauty industry, like the Howard Stern of beauty, okay? Thank you guys for
                                         
                                         listening. Before I go, I want to do a giveaway for my new book, Get the Fuck Out of the Sun.
                                         
                                         All you have to do is tell me your favorite part of this episode on my latest post at Lauren Bostick
                                         
                                         and I will send one of you my new book.
                                         
                                         My new book comes out June 15th. Like I said, it's on Amazon, Target, Barnes & Noble,
                                         
    
                                         and all small bookstores. Thank you guys again for all your support. You are the best. Peace out.
                                         
