I'm about to become a walking advertisement for a face mist, and I'm not even sorry about it.

In this episode, which is literally the longest I've ever uploaded, I sit down with my friend Sabah, founder of Calling Beauty. I helped name this brand YEARS ago and wrote the copy that's literally on the Face Fog bottle right now. (It's the best face mist on the market and I will die on this hill.)

We're talking about the unglamorous stuff nobody tells you about building a physical product business — supply chains, Brexit drama, why free shipping isn't actually free, and how to get from lab samples to someone's bathroom shelf. Plus the glamorous stuff like PR boxes that stop industry execs in their tracks and cold-emailing Taylor Swift's makeup artist.

TOPICS & TANGENTS

— The boost folder every founder needs (and why you should steal this idea)

— The 70+ phone calls that built an entire brand strategy

— Dating advice that made my editor Adrienne say I need a dating podcast

— Why Sabah needs to start a podcast immediately

— Why men steal Face Fog for football practice

— Why we're never shutting the fuck up about astrology charts

POINT OF THE STORY

You can't micromanage your way to success. Whether you're building a beauty empire or just trying to figure out your life, the magic happens when you show up consistently but stay flexible enough to let things unfold the way they're meant to.

GIVEAWAY

Want a free order of bean water on me? Tag me @btlcopy and Sabah @sabahyaqoob on your Instagram story while you’re listening, and one lucky winner will get TWO caffeine fixes on me!

AND — count how many times we drop the F-bomb in this episode. DM me the number, and you could win a prize!

Love you, mean it. 🖤

SABAH LINKS

— Follow Sabah and Calling Beauty on Instagram

— Follow her on Tiktok too

— Check out her website

— Her community for Muslim women navigating dating and marriage

— Her product that Sara is absolutely obsessed with

— Sabah’s walkout song

BTL LINKS

— Use code "MILLIONAIRE" for $100 off my website copywriting course, Site Series Sprint.

— Join the Point of the Story community on Slack.

— Leave feedback or episode requests in our Suggestions Box.

— To stay up to date with all things Point of the Story, follow on Instagram and Substack.

— Follow me on Instagram, Threads, and Substack.

— Subscribe to my newsletters Tuesday Table of Contents for one marketing tip, once a week and Millionaire Moment for the insider tea on how I plan to make $1 mil in sales by my 31st birthday.

— Check out my website betweenthelinescopy.com.

OTHER LINKS

— Podcast episode: What Even Is A Quantum Leap? with Kaitlyn Kessler

— Newsletter: TOC #119: So, We Got Tattoos Together

— Cosmetic Executive Women

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

00:24 Meet Sabah, Founder of Calling Beauty

04:18 Rapid-Fire Squirrel Brain Questions

19:21 How to Cold Email Taylor Swift's Makeup Artist

24:16 Sara's Obsession with Face Fog

28:19 Makeup, Body Image, and Self-Love

37:57 The Only Origin Story You'll Hear on This Podcast

49:23 The 70 Phone Calls That Built a Brand

58:44 The Unglamarous Side of Creating a Beauty Product

01:05:09 Even Men Love Face Fog

01:09:08 Fulfillment Centers, Brexit, and Shipping Costs

01:17:31 The Role of PR in Brand Visibility

01:21:33 Sabah's Long-Term Goals

01:29:08 The Moment This Became a Dating Podcast

01:39:56 Closing

This episode was edited by Adrienne Cruz.

Mentioned in this episode:

For $31/mo, get FIVE personal story prompts a month for your newsletter!

Sara's Swipe File: A Newsletter Storytelling Subscription