Girlfriends Business

We Talk About:

• Being a blank slate
• Recognizing what you don't know and aren't good at
• The importance of being direct
• The stresses of running a business

Resources:

• becketandquill.com
• Instagram: @meredithlquill
• Follow Alli: @alliwebb
• Follow Lori: @loriharder
• Follow Brittany: @britdrisc

Show Notes:

In this round table episode, we have a special guest: Co-Founder of Becket + Quill, Meredith Quill! She's going to talk about what to expect when you're starting a new business and all of the ways it's different than you'd imagined. Find out why Alli decided to partner up with her, what she got wrong, and the importance of being open-minded.

Question Highlights:

• What didn't you know about starting a business?
• What was the biggest eye-opener when starting your business?
• What things keep you up at night?

Guest Bio:

At the age of three, Meredith wore her mother's engagement ring to preschool and told the teachers that she had gotten married. This was the start of a lifelong passion for jewelry. As a teenager, she started making her own pieces, learning how to solder and set stones using a variety of metals.

After actually getting married and having three kids, Meredith saw a hole in the marketplace for reasonably priced, beautiful jewelry. She started beading bracelets and necklaces for her family and friends and, through word of mouth, the business quickly took off. Her line of affordable, classic pieces could be seen on celebrities like Busy Philipps and, also, on regular moms like herself!

She recently joined forces with Dry Bar founder and entrepreneur, Alli Webb, to form Becket + Quill: an affordable, luxurious brand of jewelry that brings a little sparkle to everyone.

We Talk About:

• Setting clear expectations
• Communicating your priorities
• Making calls over texts

Resources:

• Follow Alli: @alliwebb
• Follow Lori: @loriharder
• Follow Brittany: @britdrisc

Show Notes:

In every aspect of our lives, we have expectations of certain people: Ourselves, our partners, our kids, our family, and our friends. But expectations can be harmful, especially with friends. When you're starting a business, it can feel like we expect those close to us to show up and care as much about the business and what we're doing as we do. Of course, you want the people in your life to do so, but the communication that unlocks this kind of participation and support is all on you. It's up to you to let them know how much it means to you.

We Talk About:

• The inspiration behind her business
• Managing your expectations as an entrepreneur
• Meeting customers where they are
• Finding win-win partnerships
• The insecurities around hiring

Resources:

• karagoldin.com
• Instagram: @karagoldin
• Read: "Undaunted"
• Follow Alli: @alliwebb
• Follow Lori: @loriharder
• Follow Brittany: @britdrisc

Show Notes:

Kara Goldin is an inspiration. In her new book, "Undaunted," she gives people the courage to own their dreams and move past their fears. After cooking up a massive beverage business in her kitchen, Kara was called "fearless" and "unstoppable" by those around her—even though she felt far from it on the inside. She shares the stories of her own doubts and fears, the challenges she faced along the way, and how she overcame them. Her advice in short: be undaunted.

Question Highlights:

• Can you tell people about where you were and how you got the idea for Hint?
• How did you handle expectations in the early days?
• What are the universal lessons you learned as you went on your path?
• What's something you wish more people asked you?

Guest Bio:

Kara Goldin is the Founder and CEO of Hint, Inc., best known for its award-winning Hint water, the leading unsweetened, flavored water. She has received numerous accolades, including being named EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 Northern California and one of InStyle's 2019 Badass 50. Previously, Kara was VP of Shopping Partnerships at America Online. She hosts the podcast "The Kara Goldin Show." Her first book, "Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters," was released in October 2020 and is now a WSJ and Amazon bestseller. Kara lives in the Bay Area with her family.

We Talk About:

• Highlights/lowlights
• Figuring it out as you go
• Making the time to network
• Finding your voice
• Believing in yourself

Resources:

• Follow Alli: @alliwebb
• Follow Lori: @loriharder
• Follow Brittany: @britdrisc

Show Notes:

Do you ever wish you could go back in time and give yourself advice knowing what you know today? Don't we all! Barring the invention of time travel (which we're still holding out hope for), the next best thing is giving that advice to people who are in a position to learn from it. We're going to weigh in on what advice we'd give ourselves twenty years ago and then more recently, maybe three to five years ago.

We Talk About:

• Why mindset is so powerful
• Control what you can and ignore what you can't
• Adopting an abundance mindset
• Fighting perfectionism
• A mindset-priming morning routine
• Seeking professional help

Resources:

• Instagram: @girlfriendsandbusiness
• Instagram: @britdrisc

Show Notes:

Our mindset is truly powerful. It offers so much control over how we respond to our situations. When you have your mindset in check, circumstances that once caused crippling shame or anxiety can instead become powerful moments of learning and opportunity. If you embrace these three principles, you can shift your mindset for the better.

We Talk About:

• How hard work sometimes looks like luck
• Drowning self-doubt
• Trusting yourself
• Doing big things

Resources:

• jamiekernlima.com
• believeit.com
• Instagram: @JamieKernLima

Show Notes:

Jamie Kern Lima is a force to be reckoned with. You may know her as the founder of IT Cosmetics, one the biggest and most successful makeup brands out there. More recently, she released the new book "Believe IT: How to Go From Underestimated to Unstoppable." She talks about her personal struggles, how she got where she is, and how she's relied on faith and belief when things get hard. She's a phenomenal woman with a phenomenal story.

Question Highlights:

• How did you start IT Cosmetics?
• What do you say to women who don't trust their gut?

Guest Bio:

Jamie Kern Lima is a best-selling author and Founder of IT Cosmetics, a company she started in her living room and grew to the largest luxury makeup brand in the country. She sold the company to L'Oréal in a billion-dollar deal and became the first female CEO of a brand in its 100+ year history. Her remarkable authenticity, love of her customers, and conviction eventually landed her on the Forbes America's Richest Self-Made Women list. She's the author of the new book "Believe IT: How to Go From Underestimated to Unstoppable," an instant New York Times, USA Today, #1 Wall Street Journal, #1 Amazon, #1 Publisher's Weekly, and #1 Barnes & Noble best-seller. She's a mother of two and an active investor, speaker, and thought-leader with passion for inspiring and elevating women. An active philanthropist, who has donated over $40 million in product and funds to help women face the effects of cancer with confidence, she's also donating 100% of her author proceeds from "Believe IT" to Feeding America and Together Rising.

We Talk About:

• Highlights/lowlights
• The importance of hustle
• Leaning into feminine energy
• Recognizing burnout
• Taking consistent action
• Working smarter, not harder
• Talking to yourself

Resources:

• Instagram: @thefeelgoodco

Show Notes:

Let's talk about hustle. There's so much talk about taking the "feminine" approach to business — not going as hard or giving yourself grace. But with so many entrepreneurs hustling to get where they are, is it misleading to tell all these up-and-coming entrepreneurs to not overwork? There's a couple of problems with this assumption, not the least of which is assuming hustle is a masculine trait. We're going to hash it all out and lay on the table what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur without burning yourself out.

We Talk About:

• The PINCH tool
• The 80/20 Rule
• Why it's important to do the hard things first

Resources:

• Follow Lori on Instagram: @loriharder

Show Notes:

What if there was one simple tool that could drastically change your life, improve how you feel about yourself, and completely transform your business? This really basic technique is completely rocking our worlds right now. If you're feeling stuck or feeling like you're not getting any momentum in your business, doing this one thing for one month will completely change your life. Let's talk about how PINCH (Post-It Note Computer Hack) can turn everything around for you!

We Talk About:

• Starting with a vision
• Bootstrapping a business
• Building a network early
• Making face-to-face connections
• The power of saying "no"
• Delegating your weaknesses

Resources:

• klur.co
• Instagram: @klur.co
• Instagram: @luvlesley

Show Notes:

When Lesley Thornton set out to found Klur, she wanted to create something that she had never seen before. The standards that she expected just didn't exist in other businesses. Fed up with not feeling represented in her industry, she created a passion-driven skincare line with a purpose. Lesley's goal with Klur is to carve a space for people of color in the clean beauty industry and show that the community has value.

Question Highlights:

• What drove you to start Klur?
• What's the meaning behind the name?
• What have you learned from bootstrapping without startup support?
• What products were you focused on in the beginning?
• How do your customers find what's right for them?
• What's your go-to skincare routine?
• What are some time-saving hacks that make you feel more productive?
• How does your team collaboration work?
• What's on the horizon for you?

Guest Bio:

Lesley Thornton is the founder of Klur, a purpose-driven, eco-inclusive, botanical skincare line. Before founding Klur, Lesley made her way across the full spectrum of the beauty industry, beginning at Estée Lauder as a beauty trainer. She then transitioned to working as a freelance makeup artist, specializing in editorial and advertising. From there, Thornton was cast as an on-air beauty expert for the TLC network. After a decade in the beauty industry, she realized that there was little-to-no representation for people of color in the clean beauty space.

In 2010, she obtained her esthetician's license and started her own, private practice. After years in the industry, she remained equally frustrated by the harmful, but hard-working, conventional beauty products, not to mention the lack of rigorous R&D and science behind green beauty products.

She realized that the real issue lay in the lack of consideration for facts and data, prioritization of eurocentric beauty, and absence of education available to most consumers, so she quietly built Klur from top to bottom. Relying on her own relentless desire, she was able to create responsible products that deliver consistent results through elegant and luxurious formulations, despite having no team and no funding.

Klur is a skin-wellness brand, cultivated to reflect the values of clean, ethical, and inclusive beauty. Based in Los Angeles, Klur integrates the principles of high-performance technology and botanical sciences to create the most efficient, effective, and eco-conscious line imaginable.

Klur's formulas are made by implementing low-impact practices, advanced green chemistry, and compositions of 100% biodegradable ingredients, as well as bio-identical and lab-derived materials, when necessary to advocate for the preservation of the natural environment.

Klur passionately (and sustainably) manufactures their entire range of goods in the United States. Their careful attitude resonates greatly with their eco-conscious customers, thanks to their decision to choose every component of their product-offerings with significant thought toward post-consumer, recycled, and biodegradable materials.

We Talk About:

• Wins and challenges
• Fear of the unknown
• Fear of what others think
• What you learn from failure

Show Notes:

When it comes to achieving your dreams, fear can be the biggest obstacle in your way. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of what others might think of you. If you didn't let fear dictate your decisions, you'd already be out there, achieving your goals.

The best way to take control is through direct action. Feel the fear, but do what you want to do in spite of it. Once you come to terms with the worst possible outcome, you'll probably realize that it's not actually that big of a deal. Then, you'll realize that what's really scary is never setting out to do what you're meant to do.