00:00Hi everybody, I'm Brittany Lewis.
00:05I am here in Cincinnati at the Forbes Under 30 Summit.
00:10I'm here with Beatrice Dixon, she's the co-founder and CEO of The Honey Pot Company.
00:14To start off the conversation, tell us a little bit about The Honey Pot Company.
00:18The Honey Pot Company is a company that is made for humans with vaginas.
00:23We really specialize in vaginal wellness and personal care.
00:27How did this shape into the traditional business world?
00:34You saying that out loud is striking to hear.
00:39How did you enter the traditional business space to begin with with that tagline?
00:45Honestly, we entered into the traditional business by going to market and selling our
00:51products.
00:52In the beginning, we were doing everything in our house.
00:56Then by 2017, we were able to get into Target.
00:59I think that's when we were really able to grow and see growth and have other opportunities.
01:05What did the traditional business world not really understand about the company?
01:11I don't want to say that the traditional business world didn't understand.
01:16I think that what we've done with Honey Pot is really, we've kind of built a new architecture
01:21for the way vaginal wellness, feminine wellness, and feminine hygiene works.
01:27We were the first ones to cross the aisle.
01:30We started out making washes and wipes.
01:33Then we were the first company that ever made washes and wipes to go into making pads.
01:38I think that we were never really afraid to take risks.
01:44Honestly, we were a little ignorant.
01:47I think that ignorance is good for you when you're a small business because
01:51you don't know the rules, so you're willing to make the mistakes.
01:55Talk to us about that.
01:56Where did that courage come from to trust your gut and just go for it?
02:03Maybe my mother, my upbringing.
02:05My mother always pushed me to do things, to make my own money, to go out into the world.
02:11If I wanted to do something, then I had to earn it.
02:15I've never thought that I wasn't capable.
02:18I've always just believed in myself and my team and my co-founder.
02:22I've always had really amazing people around me for support, for us to build this thing together.
02:30As we know in life and in business,
02:33one decision can ultimately change the trajectory of where you're going.
02:37What was that decision for you?
02:39I actually think the decision for me was,
02:42um, I had a dream with my grandmother and that's how the company even became to be a thing.
02:49I think me believing the dream and doing what she told me to do and
02:54seeing that it worked, you know, honestly, I think that that was the thing.
02:59And what was the biggest yes you ever got that really opened that door to make Honeypot boom?
03:05I think it was the yes that we got was us getting into Target,
03:09you know, um, we, and the yes, the first yes was my brother,
03:15Simon, who's my co-founder saying yes to be my co-founder.
03:20That was the first yes.
03:21And then the next yes after that was, you know, I mean, there was a lot of yeses, but
03:26I think the most, one of the most profound yeses was us getting into Target.
03:29Because it opened the floodgates for us to be able to go
03:32and get into other retail and actually grow to be the company that we are today.
03:36And talk to us about being a co-founder with your brother, because
03:40in life and in business, again, it's so important to surround yourself
03:44with people you trust and people who believe in you.
03:47So talk about that.
03:48I think that, um, it, it, we, we went through a lot being, being family and being in business
03:55together, but I think that it makes it easier when you're with your family because you know
04:00that you can trust them.
04:01You know what I'm saying?
04:03And we've always got each other's back, no matter what, even if, you know, even if things
04:08aren't all the way, right.
04:09You know, we still love each other.
04:11And so we're always going to be here for each other.
04:14And right now we are at the Under 30 Summit.
04:16There are a lot of young movers and shakers, a lot of young entrepreneurs in the audience.
04:21If you had to start over, what is the biggest piece of advice you would give them and you
04:26would do differently?
04:28Hmm.
04:29I think the biggest piece of advice, which isn't what people would consider business
04:34advice, but I think one of the biggest pieces of advice is to know how to take care of yourself.
04:39Talk to, talk about that.
04:40Because being in business is hard.
04:43It, I mean, it creates a level of stress that is just unbelievable.
04:48Um, you know, it can be very lonely.
04:52Um, it can be very taxing on your mind and your body.
04:56Um, you know, and so you caring for yourself, making sure that you're drinking water, that
05:01you're eating well, that you're moving your body, that you're getting help mentally, if
05:05you need it, you know, that you make sure that you have good people around you, that
05:10you have good friends, understanding when you don't have good friends and removing them
05:14from your life, things like that, you know, um, because when you actually want to do this
05:19and you get the opportunity to like properly do it, it's a lot, it's a big responsibility,
05:25especially when you're making products for other human beings, right?
05:29If you're not okay, then how are you making things for other people to be okay?
05:33Right?
05:34I just believe energy is really important and the energy that you put in is the energy
05:39that you get out.
05:40So, and did anyone tell you that when you were starting out or did you just have to
05:44figure that out on your own?
05:47I figured it out.
05:49I wouldn't say that it was on my own.
05:51I think I went through a lot of really rough stuff.
05:54You know, I was in a, in a, in a hard marriage.
05:56I was, um, wasn't happy.
06:00I was very, you know, I just, I wasn't in a really great place and I really had to kind
06:06of fall on my face, um, and get to a place where I was like, I can't do this anymore.
06:11And so I read a lot of books.
06:12I, you know, I worked really hard to change my life and, and, and I, and I think experience
06:20can be the best teacher.
06:21And now Honeypot is one of the leaders in the feminine care industry.
06:25So where do you see this industry going next?
06:28Any trends that you have your finger on?
06:32I, I think that where the industry is going is functional, right?
06:36Really useful and functional benefits.
06:38That's a medical term.
06:39So my team would kill me if they heard me say this, but I just think that that's where
06:44the world is going.
06:45You know, um, I think the, I think that clean is the new conventional, right?
06:50I think that, um, better for you is the new conventional.
06:54And I think through whether that's through skincare, through body care, through vaginal
07:00care, through whatever, you know, people making sure that they have the right ingredients.
07:05There's a lot of, um, you know, you've got things like Mochra.
07:08You've got all these, you know, you've, you've got, you've got Prop 65.
07:13You've got all these really amazing companies that are organizations that are really working
07:17hard to clean up the world of cosmetics and medical devices and things like that.
07:23And that's really good for us as companies because it keeps us on our toes.
07:26Right.
07:27Um, and you know, because human beings deserve beautiful efficacious products and services.
07:33Right.
07:34And so, you know, I think the world moving in that direction is really powerful because
07:39it makes it so that that's just homeostasis.
07:42Right.
07:43And so I think that's where it's going.
07:45Beatrice Dixon.
07:46Thank you so much for joining us.
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