- 5 weeks ago
In a new episode of Go Off Sis, Beatrice Dixion sat with Erica Chidi, to unpack vaginal health, entrepreneurship, and the power of believing in yourself.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00So my first question is, before you were Beatrice Dixon, founder, CEO of Honeypot,
00:07take me back to who you were before.
00:10Yeah. The funny thing is, I feel like I am that person. You know what I'm saying? Like,
00:16I feel like I am the person. I was just a regular human. I'm just a regular human still,
00:23you know? I was a hard worker, which I still am. I think kind of prior to Honeypot, you know,
00:31life was interesting, right? I was married. I was kind of getting into my religion,
00:39my spiritual, not religion, but the spirituality that I practice. Before that, I was a person who
00:45just hung out, liked to have fun, was on the wild. You know what I'm saying?
00:51We all been there. You know? Yeah. I mean, it's healthy, right? We have to be there,
00:56right? But I think the through line from when I was four through now, right, is I've always been a
01:05hard worker, hustler, very motivated by being able to take care of myself, you know? Even when I wasn't
01:13taking care of myself, if that makes sense. Because take care of yourself means a lot of things,
01:19you know? But yeah, it's just a person having an experience like everybody else, you know?
01:25Still am, technically.
01:27Well, the thing that's interesting to me when you say that you feel like you are still
01:31the same person, you know, I've known you for many years now. I think the business you built
01:39was and is for everyone in a way. Bringing in, trying to solve a problem that not many other
01:46companies would really touch in the way that you do and continue to do. And so I'm really curious
01:53when I think about Honeypot and where it sits in the culture and what it's done for so many
01:57different women. I think that focus for you of still feeling like you're the same person
02:03impacts the products. I mean, because I think, and I don't know how often you've talked about this,
02:08but you were dealing with your own stuff in your own body. Like that's actually what brought you
02:14to even start this process. Can you talk a little bit more about where you were in your body and
02:18what brought you to try to figure out what was going on and bring it to others?
02:23Absolutely. I mean, I had bacterial vaginosis for almost a year amidst a million other things going
02:30on in life, right? But I think that that was really the impetus that helped to make Honeypot what it
02:36is
02:36today. You know, I dealt with that for almost a year. I tried everything imaginable.
02:42I tried Google, which is not what you should be trying when you're broken, right?
02:48Okay.
02:49But, you know, I lived on metronidazol or clindamycin, so lived on antibiotics. I tried
02:57every natural remedy that you could possibly think of, you know, from freezing yogurt and tampon
03:04applicators to wrapping garlic with cheesecloth and sewing a tampon string. You know, it's just
03:12like I tried everything that you can imagine. The thing that I didn't understand was that
03:19what I was doing on a daily basis, which is what was throwing my pH off consistently.
03:25I think the thing that I didn't understand was that what I was doing on a daily basis
03:29was what was messing me up. You know, I was using the same thing to wash my body every day
03:35that I was using to wash my vulva, right? Obviously, Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap should not be used on
03:42your vulva, right? Like now it seems like a nightmare. Like what was I thinking, right?
03:48Back then, I remember I would take baths and wouldn't necessarily rinse off. Like I didn't
03:54have any idea. You know what I'm saying? I didn't know what I was doing with myself,
03:58with my body. And I was just on my journey. It's not a bad thing, right? Like I don't want
04:04to say
04:04that as though I'm judging myself. And that's not necessarily always something that I discussed,
04:09but I just was going through a lot and trying to figure out myself. And I think that in addition
04:16to
04:17the things that were happening with my vagina, I was also going through a lot in my personal life.
04:23And also when you're dealing with a lot of stress, that can throw your hormones off too,
04:28right? And so it was an interesting time. And then I remember my grandmother.
04:33So the thing is, is that I've never met my grandmother in this life because my grandmother
04:38passed when my mother was a child. But my grandmother came to me in a dream basically and
04:43told me what to do. She handed me a piece of paper, had a list of ingredients. She told me
04:48to
04:48memorize what was on the paper. I literally repeated those ingredients like a hundred times.
04:53Until she told me to wake up. And at that time I was working at Whole Foods and Whole Body.
05:00And so that day I wrote everything down. I went to work. I got home that night. I bought all
05:05the stuff,
05:06which I was broke at the time, right? Maybe I was making $11 an hour. You know what I'm saying?
05:11It wasn't like I was making a lot of money, but I was in such a desperate time and space
05:16in my life
05:17that I just had to figure it out, you know? And I made myself, I didn't know what I was
05:22about to
05:22make myself, but it ended up being a wash. And I started using it right away. And I literally
05:29remember it was like maybe four or five days later, the odor had already went away by this time,
05:34but then the discharge went away. And I just remember the moment that I was just like,
05:39this is what I do now. You know what I mean? The moment that I realized that it had actually
05:44worked,
05:44that was the moment, you know? And I never really looked back.
05:49So thinking about the moment, the moment that you knew that this is what your life's work was going
05:54to be about. I'm really curious about who else knew it was the moment? Who was,
06:00who believed in Honeypot first and who took the most convincing?
06:06Hmm. I think my mom definitely believed in it. Simon, my co-founder brother, he definitely believed
06:13in it. My team at Whole Foods believed in it. I was doing all kinds of science experiments.
06:21Like I was trying to figure out how to go to the border and doing all kinds of crazy stuff.
06:25You know, the funny thing, Erica, is I don't even remember who didn't believe in it because it
06:29didn't really matter to me. Like if people didn't believe in it, then I couldn't even spend my time
06:35trying to get them to believe because I didn't have that kind of time, you know? So I can't,
06:40I can't even say who didn't believe in it. All I remember is who did and whoever did, like we
06:44were
06:45like, let's go. So, so let's jump into that for a second. Cause I think, especially as black women,
06:50what you just said that really hit me because this whole thing that you just said of like,
06:56I didn't have time. I didn't have time to think about who wasn't into this or who didn't believe in
07:02this. I just knew I had to get it done. Just what is that energy? What is that feeling?
07:07Especially for any other black women who are listening to this right now, who feel like they
07:10have something like you have something, like I had something and they're, they're dealing with
07:16that piece of like, well, I don't know if anyone believes in me. If no one believes in me, maybe
07:19I
07:19don't need to do this. What do you want to say? What do you want to say about that?
07:22You can't really care about who believes in you and who doesn't. The only person that matters
07:27that needs to believe in it is you, you know what I'm saying? Like outside of that,
07:33nothing else really matters, you know? And so I think that it's really important that there is
07:39like an undeniable, unshakable, religious, almost crazy, insane belief in yourself because you have
07:50to believe that you can do anything to do something like what me and you have been able to accomplish.
07:55You just have to, right? You, you, you have to know that like, there's nobody else in the world
08:01that can do this outside of me. Right. And you have to be willing to do whatever it's going to
08:08take to execute towards, towards the path. You know what I'm saying? And so, you know,
08:16I think if you spend your time focused on those who don't believe you're wasting time, you don't
08:26really have that kind of time, but you need to be focused steadfast on what you want to do. You
08:32need to have at the center in front of your mind, what you want to do, what you think it's
08:37going to
08:37take. And you have to be open and saying, yes, that doesn't mean that you become a yes man, but
08:47that
08:47means that you're telling the universe, you're telling yourself, I want to do this. So help me find
08:53the opportunities that are going to present themselves for me to take the opportunity to do
08:59this. The first things first, none of us know what we're doing. Right. And so you don't need to get
09:05wrapped up in, I don't know what I'm doing. We just did it. Right. And it's actually better for you
09:11if you don't know what you're doing. And I truly believe that because if you do, then you won't
09:17break the rules, but you need to break the rules. You need to like, not know what you're doing. You
09:22need
09:23to be a lot ignorant because when you don't know, you're willing to do things that you wouldn't have even
09:28thought that you would ever do. I think that when it comes to the people that are listening to this,
09:35right, you just have to move. You just have to say, yes, you just have to flow. You just have
09:40to
09:41keep moving forward and don't look back. It's almost like you're going to turn to a pillar of
09:45salt. If you look back, you can't look back. You just got to keep going. And it's hard to not
09:51look back
09:51when somebody tells you, you can't look back. The thing though, when you talk about there's, well,
09:58let me back it up. There's two things you just said. One is this idea of faith and this idea
10:03of
10:03like this religious commitment, because I think that's oftentimes what I don't think a lot of
10:11founders or people who want to become founders or want to build a business understand. It is this
10:17discipline, this commitment to this thing that doesn't even exist yet. And that's faith. And that's
10:23what a lot of us grew up around in one way or another. And I think that's, that's often not
10:27the
10:27advice, right? It's very much just, you know, go after your dreams, go get it done. But I do think
10:33this idea of pulling entrepreneurship into a sense of faith and then that faith being grounded in
10:40discipline is so important. And I just really love how you brought that forward. And then this other
10:46thing of not looking back, because I think that is so important to be able to just go and go
10:53and go.
10:53You'll get a break eventually. You will. Yeah. Some type of a break. It may not be
10:59the one that you thought that you wanted or that you would dream of. Right. And here's the gag.
11:07The more successful you get, the harder it is, you know, like the more successful you get,
11:14the more stress is created, the more, cause the stakes are higher. The mistakes are more expensive.
11:21There's a lot more eyeballs on you, which means that that's energy in your direction. And so,
11:27you know, it like, it is going to be astronomically hard. It's going to be like
11:33trying to get a watermelon out, out, out of like a little pee hole or something. But like,
11:39you just have to know that somehow, some way you're going to figure out how to open it up and
11:44get it out of there, you know, because you just have to, you know, and I think, I think that
11:49we
11:49need to ask ourselves what we're willing to do to get what we want, you know, because you're going
11:55to have to do a lot of what you probably don't want to do. And when you reach the success
11:58that you're
11:59reaching for, you're going to be living on airplanes. You're going to be sleeping in hotels.
12:03You're not going to see your family. You know what I'm saying? You're going to sleep in your bed
12:06every now and again. And that's going to feel really good. It's going to feel real good.
12:10Especially like two or three back-to-back nights. You're like, oh, my home.
12:16My home is great. You're going to be able to like eat your own food.
12:21So it's, it's interesting the things that happen when, when the there is there. And then you realize
12:29if there actually is no there, because you're going to just like, if you're a person like me,
12:33I want to work till I'm a hundred. And so because of that, you know, it's, this is what it
12:41is.
12:41The journey, the journey doesn't end. And I think that's also the thing too. It's not,
12:45there's no destination. It's actually just like multiple stops, you know, where you get off and
12:49you're like, oh, this is really nice. And then you get back on.
12:52This is nice. It's a pretty route.
12:53This is pretty. Maybe I'll come back here again. I don't know, but you know,
12:57it's giving a train. It's giving train. We're on like a long train getting off at different places.
13:02That never ever stops.
13:03Never ever stops. Yeah. So I want to look back, you know, we just said, we're not looking back,
13:08but I want to look back because specifically at the fact that for most black founders,
13:16retail, getting into big box retailers has been a closed door. I'm curious, like,
13:22what did it take for you to get there? What was the path? If someone is trying to figure out,
13:26okay, I have this thing, I know that it's great and maybe it's doing great D2C, but I really do
13:32want
13:32to have a presence in a big box store. What was your journey to get there?
13:36First of all, you have to be doing great D2C, right? Launching a business today looks a lot
13:41different than it did in 2014. But for us, we were heavy on the scene at festivals, at farmers markets,
13:51hair shows. That was like, we were on a serious circuit, right? Trunk shows, like anywhere where
13:58we could get in front of like 50 people or like thousands of people. We did it. You know,
14:04like I remember one year we went to Essence Fest. We didn't, we thought we was going to be inside
14:09the, the stadium. Nah, babe. We were outside on, in, in July on asphalt. And then the person
14:22that rented, that gave us the space, not gave us the space. Obviously we bought the space,
14:27didn't have the right permits. And so we had to move multiple times. It was wild,
14:31you know? But wait, let's, let me punch in on that for a second. So I just want to talk
14:35about
14:35Essence Fest for a moment because knowing that a big part of the business is built in festival
14:40environments. Like, what did it mean to be at Essence Fest? Like, what did it feel like?
14:44The first time it felt magical, but this is like a different essence. You know what I'm saying?
14:50Sure. But we can, but we can, no diss to what essence is. I'm just saying this was like,
14:56this was a different time at Essence Fest. You know what I'm saying? Just like Whole Foods was a
15:01different Whole Foods than what you would experience now. You know what I mean?
15:05But let's drop into that magic though. I want to hear just a little bit about that.
15:08Yeah. It was magical one because I had never been to Essence Fest before, but I had heard about all
15:15that was Essence Fest. It was our core customer, right? And it was just like one of the goals,
15:21you know, to go. And so I remember we were at one, you know, whenever you're at one hair show,
15:29they're selling you on the next hair show, right? So if you're at Bronner's hair show,
15:34then they're selling you on the Talia Waheed hair show and then whatever the next one is,
15:38the next one, you know? And so it was just, it was just a dream, you know? And I had
15:45never even
15:45heard of it before, which is wild. But then when I did and went down the rabbit hole, it was
15:50just
15:51like, we absolutely have to go, you know? And so there was just this excitement to be there,
15:56to be in the room, but then we got there and then there was no room. We were outside.
16:01But aren't we always outside, though? We are outside, like in our lives.
16:05I'm not, sister, but like outside in New Orleans.
16:09In the middle of summer.
16:10At the top of July.
16:12It's no joke.
16:13That's different, man.
16:14But how did people interact with the product? Because I think at that time,
16:17it was still really early days.
16:20It was.
16:20What was the feeling? Because again, you know, in our culture, I mean,
16:24you and I have been really, you and I have been a big part of removing the stigma and talking
16:29about
16:30our vulvas and talking about our bodies and sexual health and all of that. But, you know,
16:34our community can be a lot tighter about that. I'm just curious, how are you even bringing the
16:39conversation to say, hey, like this is for, this is for your vulva. This is what, like,
16:44how were you having that conversation?
16:47Honestly, I was having that conversation just by starting out by telling my story,
16:51you know, and, you know, and that was the way to connect to people. Like, you know,
16:57this is what I dealt with. This is how I got here, you know, and, you know, and our whole
17:01reason for
17:02being is that we want to be able to solve this for everyone. And so, you know, and that tended
17:08to
17:09reach people because everybody's dealing with something. Everybody's going to have a vaginal
17:15issue at some point in their lives. But then the other thing was like, it wasn't just for people
17:20who had vaginal issues. It wasn't just about having a vaginal issue. It was also about being
17:26proactive about your health. And so, you know, it was, it was going into that. It was a whole spiel.
17:32And the funny thing, the gag is I can't even remember what the full spiel was, but it was a
17:36whole thing, you know, and then we had all the ingredients on the table and, you know, there was
17:42lavenders. There was apples for apple cider vinegar. There was like coconuts for coconut oil.
17:46There was roses. It was, it was beautiful, you know? And the cool thing is the, the first parking
17:52lot that we were in was literally right next to the door where people would go into the festival.
17:59And so everybody would walk by and see it, you know, but it was cool. You know, I think we,
18:05we ended up selling what we took. And I think that that's always the goal. You know what I'm saying?
18:11Yeah. But going back to the piece about you have to be doing really well D to C to really
18:16even think
18:17about into a big box store. Let's go into that. I think even today you need to be doing like
18:22a
18:22million online. You know what I'm saying? Like not everybody would agree with me on that,
18:28but if you're running a million dollars direct to consumer or anywhere between half a million and a
18:35million dollars direct to consumer annually, exactly. You have to have some understanding
18:40of logistics. You have to have some understanding of like making your products and how that works
18:46and preserving your products. You know what I'm saying? I think that if you're in a situation like
18:50we were, where we made our products, right? There was no way once we would start to have a conversation
18:57with target that we were going to be able to continue to make products. But the funny thing is that
19:01already maybe like six months to a year before we even had that, before that conversation was even
19:06thought of, right? I had already started looking at contract manufacturers because you have to have
19:14a contract manufacturer that has good GMP, good manufacturing practices, right? So you have to
19:19understand how you're going to be able to scale that business from you doing it to somebody else doing it.
19:25Who helped you find those people? Like the manufacturers?
19:29Google, Google.
19:31It's even better now because we have chat, we got Claude.
19:33We got chat, we got Claude and they know everything, right? And so it's just a lot easier,
19:39but it was literally Google. Like I remember I would stay up late, like really late to like
19:46three or I would wake up at three or four o'clock in the morning so that I could call
19:51manufacturers
19:51that were in other parts of the world. We were nowhere near ready to do that, but I was just
19:57seeking to understand. I was just trying to figure it out and willing to do whatever it took to do
20:04so.
20:05And I think that goes back to what we were talking about earlier. You just have to be in it,
20:10you know? And I feel like when you're in it, it's going to tell you what it needs. Like for
20:15whatever
20:15reason, something told me, like I say, six months to a year before we were even starting to have that
20:21conversation. For whatever reason, something was like, B, you can't be making this forever.
20:25And again, we didn't have the money for that, you know? Part of why we went into retail was because
20:31we didn't have the dollars to grow a D2C business. All the growth that we were experiencing, I think
20:36at the time we had done about two, between two and $300,000, right? And that was because of the
20:45way
20:45that we built the company. At first it was just a wash company, but then we were like, we can't
20:50just be
20:50a wash company because people are only going to come back every six to eight weeks. People coming
20:54back more. If you're in CPG, they got to come back. You can't have a product that's massive, like
20:59because you need people to need it. And so we figured out a way to get people to come back.
21:04We didn't make the products, but we found companies that made products and we wholesaled with those
21:09companies. And that was what helped us to really grow, that 8X our growth. That is relative because it
21:16was only 240,000. I think the first year we did 30, but still.
21:20Also the thing that you're talking about too, about getting into retailers, those large purchase
21:24orders are what allow the business to have true growth and true velocity. And so I think
21:30that's something that, you know, because to your point, I think doing a million dollars
21:34annually is definitely a bar to be at because it's a defensible bar, right?
21:39Right. Because you really want to be able to go in there and say, hey, this is what I've been
21:43able
21:44to do on my own, right? They almost need to like be coming to you, you know, because if you're
21:50going
21:51to them, they may think that that's too small, especially with all the things that have happened
21:55in the world. And, you know, but you almost need them coming to you because you need to be popping.
22:02I'm saying like people, your business name needs to be on people's mouth. You know what I'm saying?
22:07And you just need to be the one, you know? And so it's not just the money. It's also like
22:15you're popping on social, like people know who you are. You know what I mean? It's just a different
22:21time. You know, I feel like back then they were going through a lot of changes, especially with
22:26Target. They were shifting and wanted to be the cool, hot mass in the mass market. They wanted to
22:32be the leading, you know what I'm saying? When it came to innovation and new stuff and, you know,
22:37and I think that that worked for us, you know? And so it's important because that you're
22:44at that number and not really below it, you know, and I'm kind of going back on what I
22:49said earlier, but it's really important that you're kind of at that million dollar number
22:53because you also just, if you're doing a million dollars or more in business, you're probably
22:59already having somebody make your stuff. Cause those purchase orders come in every week
23:03and they're, they're not a joke. Like they are like real, you know what I'm saying?
23:08And also the thing I want to say too, and again, it's like, I think I want to say this
23:13in a, a loving and supportive way. Right. But I think as black female founders, that million
23:20dollar annual run rate actually lets you say that there's not much you can say about what
23:26I'm doing because we're at. And I do think if we're thinking about for black women who
23:31want to go into big box retailers, and we're thinking about all of the hoops and all of
23:36the roadblocks that can come up, if you are running at that number, not really much can
23:41be said because you have what you have.
23:44Yes. And the other thing that has to happen, which I don't want to skip over this because
23:49it's such a real thing. You have to have access to money. So you need to be out fundraising,
23:54right. You know, if you've managed to figure out how to make your first million, which is the
23:59hardest to make. Right. And especially if you have the attention of a, of a, of a mass market
24:05retailer, it kind of creates a situation where, cause it's all, you know, CPG is not really the
24:14investment craze right now. AI is in technology is, you know what I'm saying? With all the things
24:20that happen in the last, call it like five, six years, CPG has become more of a risk to
24:27invest in. Right. And so the stakes are a lot higher. The fact that you're a woman, you
24:33know, the fact that you got a vagina between your legs, the risk for them is higher. The
24:37fact that your skin is melanated, the risk becomes even higher, right? The numbers for
24:44humans of color, not just black women, but humans of color to be raising money right now
24:49is even worse than what it was just a few years ago. And so like, you have to be doing,
24:57you have to come to the starting point of like having these conversations with success,
25:03you know, and that doesn't mean it took you 10 years to make a million dollars. No, that
25:08means like, you know, you were able to make a million dollars in like a couple years or
25:12a few years. And it's wild that this is the case, but it's just, it is, it's the case.
25:17This is what it is, you know? Well, let me, and yeah. Well, the thing, the thing I want
25:22to also push into is once you're there, you're in Target, you're in the big box store. What
25:28does it take to stay there? Because I think that's the thing I don't really hear a lot
25:32about. And I think that from an entrepreneur, this is a good question, sister. How do you stay
25:36there? Because it's actually easier to get there than it is to stay there. In order to stay
25:42there, you have to, first of all, you have to make sure that you can keep up with demand,
25:47right? And even bigger than that, you have to have demand. There's a minimum order. There's
25:53like a minimum velocity that you have to meet, right? You know, I think for us at this point,
25:58it's like they want every store to be doing $20, right? So that's like, what, two units per store
26:06per week, right? When you're just starting out, they may say that they want you to move
26:111.2 units per store per week, right? But they're not going to pay you a dollar until like, especially
26:18when you're first starting out, until like 60 to 90 days after they gave you that purchase
26:23order. So when you're out raising money, don't think for a second that you're going to be able
26:27to get Target to give you any money upfront. Because if you've gotten into a Target or any mass
26:35market retailer, whether that's drug, grocery, which is going to be hard for you to get drug or
26:40grocery, right? Because drug or grocery comes later because they need to see what happens in mass
26:45first, right? And so like, if when you're out in the world and they've decided that they're going
26:54to put you on their shelf, they're going to treat you like everybody else. So you have to understand
26:59that. Don't go in thinking, well, they're going to look after me a certain kind of way because
27:03they know my business is small. That's not the case, right? If they gave you real estate on their
27:08shelf, right? Then they gave you real estate on that shelf. That shelf real estate has got to return
27:15every week, right? They may be a little more patient with you, but they can't be too patient,
27:23right? Like you're not going to get multiple years of trying to figure out how to meet your minimum goal,
27:29right? They're going to be looking at you in three months. They're going to be looking at you
27:33in weeks, right? They're going to be looking at you six weeks, eight weeks, nine. You know what
27:38I'm saying? They're going to be looking at you within the first few months to say, hey,
27:43either you're meeting this threshold or you're not. So what do you want to do in those first few
27:48months when you're in those environments? Like what's the marketing strategy? What are you asking
27:52for when you're coming into environments? It depends because if you've only gotten a small door count,
27:58it doesn't make sense for you to do retailer marketing programs with them because they're
28:05too expensive, right? The only way that you do marketing retailer programs is when you're in
28:10every single door, right? So you need to be beefing up your social. You need to have some sort of
28:16ad
28:17campaign going through the socials. You need to be working through your organic socials. You need to
28:22have an influencer program. You need to have a TikTok program probably. You need to be reaching for the
28:28stars to get as much organic marketing as you can. This is why your product needs to be popping
28:33before you go in, right? You don't need to be trying to get popping once you end. You need to
28:38be popping
28:39so when it comes out that you're actually in there, people are looking and they want to support you.
28:44You also want to maybe, you know, with your first mass market retailer, you want to kind of dial it
28:50back
28:50a little bit. You need to be conscientious because you have to be doing enough numbers to be able to
28:56support. So you don't want to just go, I'm going to go into the very next year. You know what
29:01I'm
29:01saying? Give it a couple of years so you can get target under your belt first, get to your minimum
29:06order quantities. You just have to have an everyday low price strategy and you also have to have brokers.
29:12But, you know, let's say you get into a target, right? You just want to give yourself a couple
29:17years to get it under your belt, to feel good about it, right? Because you got tradesmen,
29:21you got chargebacks, you got so many things that are happening and coming at you all the time.
29:26You need to make sure that you're delivering on time in full, right? You need to make sure that
29:32delivering on time in full, delivering all the product that you promised, right? All the units.
29:37Yes. All the units. If they order 10, right? They want their 10. They don't want eight. You know what
29:43I'm
29:43saying? And if they want it there, if the MABD date, which is, I forget what MABD stands for,
29:50but basically that is the date that they wanted in their facilities, right? You don't want to get it
29:57there before and you definitely don't want to get it there after. You know what I'm saying? And so
30:01you need to get a lot under your belt before you go on taking on much bigger retail and more,
30:08right? And that gives you a great opportunity because it gives you an opportunity to
30:12create, which you need to create in the beginning is an innovation partner, a partner that you can
30:17partner with and give them an exclusive, which gives them the opportunity to have it first,
30:23which actually works out for you too in the beginning because you don't want to be everywhere,
30:28right? And so there's so many levels to it that that's why you don't want to be hasty and just
30:34go.
30:35You really, you know, when it comes to staying there, it has to work. It needs to be moving.
30:41There has to be velocity. You have to be, you know what I mean? You have to be selling units
30:46and you
30:47also want to put your best foot forward when you're going into these retail, especially in
30:53the beginning. So that doesn't mean going to them with six items. That means I'm coming to you with
30:58two or four of my best items. Like these are the top notch products, right? And you want to think
31:06about retail like that anyway. When you get to the size that we're at, we can discontinue something
31:12and say, okay, we failed on that, but it's hard to do that when you're small. So it's really important
31:17that you're just moving with your number ones, number twos. Well, you know, it's interesting
31:22hearing you talk about not wanting to be hasty and this idea also of wanting to have your number one
31:30and your number two, knowing you for as long as I have known you. I know that there is a
31:35spiritual
31:36component to how you lead, to how you think, how you figure out what is the one, what is the
31:41two,
31:41how you don't move in haste, how you revisit things. And I think kind of as we're rounding up
31:47this conversation, I want to understand a little bit about how you make room for spirituality
31:52and how does it impact how you lead, how you show up day to day, because this work is very
31:57hard. And I
31:59think oftentimes we don't really talk about the, yeah, just the thing that's actually anchoring us
32:06and keeping us going. You know, the thing that actually is showing up for us to help us show up
32:11for
32:11ourselves. Yeah. Well, I think the thing that's most important to remember is that if we're making
32:17products and we're putting them in stores, we're serving humanity. That is a very spiritual
32:22thing to do. Right. To me, that, that, that is creating a spiritual or soul tie between you
32:30and the community that you're serving. Because at the end of the day, especially if you're a black
32:35woman, right, whatever happens, it's your fault. You're going to be held to a standard that most
32:41people are not held to. Right. And it's just the way that it is. It doesn't matter if it's fair.
32:47It doesn't matter if it's right. It's just the way that it is because there haven't been enough of us
32:54that have made it. So it's no different than when we were kids. Right. Every black woman,
33:02every black person I know, our moms were like, look, do you got clean drawers on when you leave
33:06this house? You better. Cause if, cause what, cause what, Erica? Cause what? If you,
33:12if you fall out on the street, don't embarrass me. Period. Don't matter what culture you're coming
33:20from. Diaspora from here. It's the same thing. It doesn't matter. My mom is saying the same thing.
33:27So, so that energy is just in our blood and, and, and that is how the community is going to
33:34treat us.
33:35Don't have us out here looking crazy. Don't mess up the products that I like. Don't sell to the wrong
33:41person. And they're right. Right. Like it's wrong. And it feels, it feels hard to be held to a
33:49standard that nobody else is being held to. And at the same time, they're right. Right. They're
33:55right. Because we have to be responsible with what we have and we can't get up for everybody. We just
34:01can't, you can't. And, and, and, and because it's very easy for us too. Right. And so like,
34:11so you have to understand that this is personal. It's not business, even though it's business,
34:18when it comes to the communities that we're serving, this is personal for them. Nobody that's
34:25starting a business these days is coming out with a product. That's not better for you. That's not
34:29clean. That doesn't have a substantial cost to it. Even if something costs $10, that can still be
34:35substantial for somebody because they can go and buy something else that looks like what yours looks
34:40like. It may not have the same type of ingredients or the cute packaging or whatever, but they might
34:45can buy something that will at least scratch the itch or do the thing they need to do for half
34:50of that.
34:51Right. And so, especially in times like these, where people have to make real choices about what
34:58they're using. Right. It's, it's, it's a different time right now. And so you have to understand
35:06that when it comes to humanity, it is a spiritual act to make products for people to use on themselves,
35:14on their kids, on their body parts, to put into their body. So you understand this is not anything
35:20to take lightly. So I think that it gives me chills because this is how much it means to me.
35:28If we're going to be doing things for people, we have to do it properly.
35:33Don't be, don't be out here acting like this doesn't matter. It matters. And so there,
35:39so everything that we do, whether you are conscious of it or not, whether you believe in it or not,
35:45there is always an energy that is walking with your brand. There just is. And if you don't choose
35:52to see it or invest in it or believe in it, that is the energy, bro. Like it's still a
35:59choice,
36:00not making a choice. Right. And so I think that, but also what that does, when you respect the energy
36:09that comes with your brand, when you respect the people that buy your brand, when you respect the
36:15ingredients that you put in your brand, when you respect the process, when you get to a place in
36:20your business where you can test your products and scientifically understand them and understand
36:25their efficacy and how they work and how they make people feel, because all that costs money.
36:30Right. When you get to that place, and I pray that we all do. Right. Even though it costs a
36:37lot of
36:37money to do it, the energy that you get back from investing in your products like that,
36:43understanding how they work and wanting to ensure that people have the best experience
36:48with them possible. Not everybody's going to have the best experience possible, but if most of them
36:53can, that's what matters. Right. Cause some people, you just can't, some people are allergic to the
37:00thing. Some people just aren't happy. So there's nothing you can do for them. Some people may have a
37:06reaction. Anything can happen. You know what I'm saying? But if you're grounded in the fact that you
37:13are here to serve them, whatever happens, you have to know that like, they come first.
37:21They come first. Right. And because again, whether you believe it or not, we're all walking around with
37:28ancestors guides. We're all walking around with all these things all the time. Right. We're all using our
37:35intuitions all the time. We're all tapped in, in one way or another all the time. And so if you
37:42can
37:42just pay some respect to the fact that you have something that has success and that there's things
37:52that are happening that you may or may not understand that have given you the ability to be
37:57successful, it helps because there is a spirit in every single thing that we do. So it's very important
38:03that you're grateful. It's very important that you respect it. It's very important that you understand
38:09that you're serving humanity, even if you're just selling it to one person. You know, it gives you the
38:15ability to be who you are and not have to show up in the world as a representative of you
38:21when you can
38:22respect the thing and respect yourself and respect all the things that are coming along, all the people
38:28that you have to hire on your team. Right. There just has to be a level of respect, appreciation,
38:34gratefulness, humbleness. I think in this world of business, you don't, you don't want to be running
38:41a business that is bereft. You just don't want to. I'm telling you, you don't, you don't want to be
38:51in
38:51business unhappy. You don't want to be in business, not really giving up and just caring about the
38:56money. Can't do that because the money will come when you do it right. It just will, you know? And
39:03so
39:03I'm sorry for the tangent, but this is so important to me because this is all I know, right? This
39:10is how
39:11we built our business. And I truly believe this is how we were able to shift culture, right? This is
39:17how
39:18we were able to create the way that most vaginal wellness brands that are new are coming into the
39:23market. You know what I'm saying? Like, this is how we've been able to do it, you know? And I
39:29don't
39:29know that this is the blueprint for everybody. I'm not saying that, like you have to do what's best for
39:33you, but you're asking me what I think. And so this is what I believe, you know? Yeah. So my
39:39last
39:40question, and it really ties into everything that you just shared, which was not a tangent,
39:43by the way. Thank you. And I got chills too, because, you know, we really know each other
39:49and I know, we know the rooms we've had to be in, the conversations you have to have. And also
39:55we, you know, ancestrally, I think we're brought here to shift culture around the things that
40:00have been able to move. Ashe, so not a tangent at all, but my, so the question I want to
40:08close with
40:08is what is your honest advice for any woman who's holding a remedy, a recipe, an idea,
40:15but she hasn't started yet. She kind of like is thinking to herself, I'm not sure. What would you
40:21say to her? I would say really ask yourself is, is, is, cause sometimes you could have a remedy and
40:27that could just be for you. You know, I don't think that every woman that has a remedy should be
40:32in
40:32business. And I don't mean that to be me. I'm just saying, cause that's just a real thing.
40:37You know, what it takes to be successful in business is, is, is a lot. It takes a lot of
40:43stuff.
40:44You know, there's some things that you can learn and there's some things that you just can't,
40:49you know? And so if you're a person who knows that you can do it, you know, that you got
40:55it in
40:55you and you're not scared. I would say, let's go, go. Right. If you're a person that's like,
41:01oh, it's, it's already been done. Right. If that's your first thing that somebody's already
41:07did it or thinking of all the reasons why you shouldn't do it or thinking about why you're
41:13afraid or thinking about all the things that can go wrong. I would say, sis, you probably need to
41:18like rethink it. If you want to dabble in it, dabble in it, but keep a job. You know what
41:24I'm saying?
41:25You know, I would also say, even if you're the person that's like, let's go, still keep your job.
41:31Don't quit your job until your company can pay you and support itself and support employees
41:38and pay you what you're making or more. If you can't do that, it's not time. You still have to
41:45work and that's okay. Right. And know that you might be paying somebody else on your team more than
41:52you're paying yourself. And that's okay too, because you need people on that team that are smarter than
41:57you. And those people cost money. Right. Don't be asking somebody to do for you this free. You got
42:05to give them something. And if you can't give them something, it's not time, babe. It's just not.
42:10And you need to be okay with that. If you feel like you got to be bartering all the time,
42:15that's not the
42:15move, man. Because people need to pay bills. Right. And don't be a taker. You know what I'm saying?
42:21And the last thing I would say is don't just put your remedy out into the world and just start
42:28selling it. Test and learn on that remedy and make sure that other people are having the same thing,
42:34which means that you probably need to give it away for a little while. But again, this is just me
42:38projecting how I think about business. Right. To this day. Right. Nothing goes out into the world if it
42:47hasn't been tested. And that was even when we started this business. Right. We gave it away
42:53and we had our little hood clinical trial going. You know what I'm saying? And, you know, and that
42:59was just people keeping a journal and saying what they liked, what they didn't like. Did they use it
43:04on their children? Did they, you know, whatever. Right. Don't just put your product out in the world
43:09and start selling it. Right. Make sure that a hundred people think that it's good. Like a hundred people
43:14need to be like, man, you need to be selling this. Right. If that's not the case, don't do it.
43:20It's
43:20just not responsible. You know? And the last thing that I would say is that you need to care for
43:27yourself. You need to know how to take care of yourself. You need to go to bed. You need to
43:35eat
43:35well. You need to go to the doctor, understand what your numbers are, what your levels are. You need to
43:42understand what your supplements need to be. You need to understand what you're allergic to and not
43:47allergic to. And it may sound crazy, but health is so important when you are an entrepreneur.
43:56It just is because the cortisol and the, just the intense stress that you're about to put on your body
44:07is insane. And you have to know how to manage that. And you, I think you also just need to
44:19take
44:19care of yourself. Right. Like, like, and I've, I've been saying this for years, whenever I'm on a
44:24podcast, if you need to go to the doctor to talk to somebody, if you need to be on medication,
44:29like
44:30whatever you got to do, you just need to do it. Right. Because you have to be okay. Because you
44:37are the person that's leading the thing. If you don't believe in it, if you're not okay, and there's
44:42going to be moments where you're just not okay. Like, don't make me wrong. Right. But at least you
44:46can be proactive to try to make sure that you're setting yourself up to be successful. Right. You know,
44:55and that includes vices, right? This is something I also talk about a lot. Be careful with your
45:00vices, man, you know, or, you know, you have others. Like, I just think you need to get yourself
45:05in check. Right. Like now I'm in the perimenopause now. That's a whole nother conversation, ma'am.
45:12That is absolutely a whole nother conversation. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? I feel you. It's just
45:16like you have to take care of yourself, be motivated in that, be diligent in that because it's a part
45:22of
45:22your success. Well, I love you. Thank you for everything that you've shared. I'm so happy to
45:28see you. We actually need to have a proper phone call. And like a time together. In person, in
45:34person. In person. It's crazy. Yeah. But we got to do it now. Life had to do all the things
45:38needed to
45:38do. And now I feel like we're in a place, but I feel like this is going to support so
45:42many women
45:43listening to this. So thank you for sharing your heart.
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