It Starts Now with Juanita Dillard

It Starts Now with Juanita Dillard

What are you officially too grown for? In this birthday-week solo episode, Juanita Dillard brings the laughs, the honest truths, and a few hard-earned lessons about friendships, boundaries, aging, and beginning again. It’s a birthday rant with heart.

The Birthday Rant: Aging Out Loud, Saying No, and Ditching the Thirst Trap

On the day after her birthday, Juanita Dillard goes solo for a candid, funny rant on friendships, boundaries, menopause, reinvention, and why she's done with textationships and thirst traps for good.

A Birthday Rant Begins

Juanita Dillard opens this episode of It Starts Now the day after her birthday, joking that she will not reveal her age but that the tree of her life "has a lot of circles." She explains she posted a question on social media asking followers what they feel officially too grown for, and she loved the funny, honest answers she received, including one listener who says they are too old for Halloween trick-or-treating, though Dillard admits she will still knock on a door for candy if she knows the homeowner. She frames the hour as her birthday rant, a list of ten things she has decided she is done tolerating as she gets older. She promises to work through topics on friendships, boundaries, dating, aging, and reinvention, setting a tone that mixes humor with hard-earned honesty about what no longer serves her.

Friendships and the Gift of No

Dillard moves into a frank discussion of friendship and boundaries, saying she no longer calls a lost friendship a mistake, preferring to call it a lesson learned. She admits that most friendships she has let go actually let go of her first, because they stopped serving a purpose or feeding what she calls her emotional rediscovery, and she accepts that former friends likely feel the same about her. She confesses she has always struggled with saying no, calling herself a people pleaser who used to throw parties and welcome drop-in visitors the way her grandmother once did. This year, for her birthday, she decided to practice saying no, turning away unannounced guests and impromptu drive-bys unless people call first. She calls no a complete gift to herself, explaining that she would rather plan a visit properly, with snacks and drinks ready, than be caught unprepared and unmoisturized at her own front door.

Aging Out Loud Through Arthritis and Menopause

Dillard turns to what she calls aging out loud, the freedom of saying plainly what getting older actually feels like instead of suffering quietly. She jokes that she inherited her mother's arthritis and now understands, too late to tell her mother so, exactly what that daily pain and stiffness feels like. She describes losing her old confident walk but insists that if she falls, at least her moisturized face will look cute. She talks about menopause taking over her body and argues that women are forced to be vocal about aging because the medical industry and insurance rarely cover menopause treatment, leaving them to pay out of pocket just to feel better. Still, she insists arthritis and menopause will not stop her, noting she may rise slowly from a low chair but she is still rising, still walking, and still very much alive, with her old sense of style and confidence fully intact.

Reinvention and Influencers Over Fifty

Moving to reinvention, Dillard says she refuses to keep picking herself apart over what her body can no longer do, like running or jumping hurdles the way she did when she played real tackle football and tennis. Instead she chooses to celebrate what she can still do, joking that she will walk fast enough to flag down a bus while playing the part of a sweet old lady with an umbrella if she has to. She insists her story has not ended but is actually beginning, pointing to reinvention in work, home, relationships, and dreams as always available regardless of age. She praises the wave of influencers in their fifties, sixties, and seventies whose style and strength she admires, arguing that older voices carry unmatched wisdom about life, beauty, health, and fitness compared to younger creators. She adds, without shading millennials or Gen Z, that older generations have already lived through the mistakes younger people are still making and can offer real, tested warnings.

Textationships, Thirst Traps, and Matched Energy

Dillard shifts to dating, introducing what she calls the textationship, a half-relationship built on a single good-morning text with no real follow-up the rest of the day or weekend. She declares she has ended that pattern for good, saying she now blocks and mentally erases anyone who only texts once a day while claiming to date her, though she draws a different, looser standard for simple hookups. She describes herself as a generous partner who wants whoever she is with to feel like the most important person in the room, but insists she now operates on matched energy, responding to effort with equal effort and to silence with silence. She warns women against what she calls the thirst trap, arguing that chasing a man by staying constantly available only creates chaos and makes a woman look desperate. Her advice is to become so exceptional that others do the pursuing, trusting that men enjoy the chase and that the right person will eventually call.

Lessons Learned and the Season Ahead

Closing out the rant, Dillard reflects on the lessons this past year has cost her, including a few friendships she let go of once people showed her who they really were. She says those endings will be quick and reciprocal from now on rather than dragged out for years, describing herself as someone who will happily cut people off at the ankles when the relationship stops being honest. She vows to stop being everything to everybody, choosing instead to enjoy her own company, spend a little extra on good makeup and good liquor, and demand to be treated like the queen she says she has become. Dillard then steps outside the rant to thank her roughly two thousand subscribers, noting with surprise that most of her audience listens from Europe and Canada rather than the United States. She invites potential guests and sponsors to reach out through her booking contact, Clara, before closing with her signature line that it truly does start now.

It Starts Now with Juanita Dillard

WHEN TALENT ISN’T ENOUGH: From Salon Roots to Tech Founder

What happens when the world you grew up in becomes the inspiration for the business you were meant to build?

On this episode of IT STARTS NOW, Juanita Dillard welcomes Ludny Jules, founder of Pink Gossip, for an inspiring conversation about reinvention, entrepreneurship, visibility, personal branding, and creating a business people remember.

Growing up in her mother’s hair salon, Ludny witnessed firsthand the talent, passion, and hard work required to build a beauty business. When the salon eventually closed, she learned a lesson that would remain with her throughout her entrepreneurial journey: talent alone is not enough to create a successful and sustainable business.

After nearly ten years of helping beauty professionals market themselves, her journey evolved into technology. She became fascinated with what happens after marketing brings a client through the door—and how a memorable client experience can turn satisfied customers into a business owner’s most powerful marketing strategy.

I discuss what it takes to reinvent yourself, enter a constantly evolving industry, build a trusted personal brand, and become more visible without losing your authenticity.

They also explore how Pink Gossip helps beauty entrepreneurs transform real client experiences into visibility, trust, loyalty, social proof, and repeat business.

Because your clients aren’t simply customers. When you give them an experience worth remembering, they become the people who tell your story.

Learn more about Pink Gossip at pinkgossip.ca.

Personal Branding, Client Reviews, and Reinventing a Beauty Business with Ludny Jules

Juanita Dillard opens the fall season of It Starts Now with Pink Gossip creator Ludny Jules, tracing her path from her mother's salon to building a tech platform that turns client experiences into visibility, trust, and word-of-mouth marketing — and what reinvention really costs.

A New Season Begins

Juanita Dillard opens the fall season of It Starts Now after a month-long hiatus, marveling at the show's new intro music and crediting her director, Doug, for the upgrade. She welcomes listeners back to a season built on honest conversations, reinvention, purpose, and aging out loud, then previews today's theme of talent, entrepreneurship, visibility, and what happens after a client walks through the salon door. She introduces her guest, Ludny Jules, who grew up in her mother's hair salon and later spent nearly ten years helping beauty professionals market themselves before moving into technology to build Pink Gossip, a platform that turns great client experiences into visibility, trust, loyalty, and word-of-mouth marketing. Dillard says the story reminds her of her own mother's salon. Jules thanks Dillard warmly for the introduction and compliments the new intro music before the two ease into a conversation about beauty, business, and reinvention.

Growing Up In Her Mother's Salon

Jules describes growing up in her mother's hair salon, first in France and later after the family relocated to Canada, where her mother continued building a beauty business. She tells Dillard the salon taught her that the work is about far more than services; it is about connection, sisterhood, and listening, with her mother often becoming a kind of therapist to the women who came in, sometimes just to talk. Dillard connects immediately, recalling how she had to close her own business during COVID and felt the same loss of connection with clients, prompting her to start Zoom calls teaching women makeup for video interviews just to stay close to them. Jules agrees, describing the relationship between stylist and client as an exchange of energy that goes far beyond the chair. She adds that losing that connection was especially hard on her mother when her salon eventually closed, a moment that later shaped Jules's own career path.

From Salon Struggles To A Tech Platform

Jules explains that after watching her mother's salon close for lack of business skills like sales, marketing, and branding, she launched an agency called Dolls Media to help beauty professionals avoid the same fate. Nearly ten years later she turned that marketing know-how into Pink Gossip, an app that automates what she used to do by hand for clients: generating content, boosting bookings, and collecting reviews. She tells Dillard the platform is built around word-of-mouth, letting clients share before-and-after photos and video reviews that function as user-generated content more persuasive than any paid ad, while clients earn reward points for every post. Dillard, who runs her own beauty business and only learned marketing after formal schooling, says she wishes something like Pink Gossip had existed when she was starting out. Jules agrees that visibility, not talent alone, is what keeps a beauty business fully booked, calling visibility the real currency of the industry.

Handling Reviews And Setting Expectations

The conversation turns to reputation management, and Jules tells Dillard she encourages salon owners to embrace both good and bad reviews rather than hiding them, since customers grow skeptical of a page with nothing but praise. She says people searching for a salon want to see how an owner responds to criticism, and that response often matters more than the original complaint. Dillard shares a personal story about a makeup artist who once tried to smear her online, only for loyal clients to defend her publicly. Jules advises against snapping back at negative comments, urging a pause of up to twenty-four hours to answer professionally rather than personally, since the reply itself becomes part of a business's public character. Dillard likens the approach to Michelle Obama's line about going high when others go low. The two also discuss businesses that promise a VIP or luxury experience but deliver nothing extra, agreeing that such mismatched expectations quietly damage a brand's credibility.

Reinvention Through Divorce And A Fresh Start

Asked what reinvention has taught her, Jules opens up about her own upheaval: after building a career in marketing and real estate in Toronto, a divorce forced her to move back to Quebec and rebuild from nothing. She spent two years working a nine-to-five job because she lacked the energy to restart her clientele, learning that reinvention takes real time rather than a single overnight rebrand. She tells Dillard it involves clearing out old mindsets and letting go of what no longer serves a person to make room for what comes next. When Dillard asks what advice she would give women who feel intimidated entering a new industry later in life, Jules says an idea that keeps someone awake at night is one worth pursuing, since the time will pass regardless of whether the work gets started. She describes her own approach as selling the fur before killing the lion, building demand and trust before a product or service is fully ready.

Rapid Fire, Pink Gossip, And A Warm Sign-Off

Dillard closes with a rapid-fire round: Jules names cheese as her favorite food, says her biggest pet peeve is people who discourage others from dreaming, and confirms she is a Pisces who jokes about trying to feel less of everyone else's energy. She picks red wine over cocktails and tells her younger self she turned out to be a good mother, something she once worried about. Dillard asks how listeners can find Pink Gossip, and Jules directs beauty salon clients to search for the app's butterfly icon on the Apple Store and Google Play, noting it is free for users, called gossipers, who earn points for sharing their salon experiences, with the company expanding across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Dillard praises Jules as a wonderful guest with a gorgeous presence, and Jules compliments Dillard's calm, confident voice. Dillard closes the show with her signature line that it really does start now, before the outro plays.

It Starts Now with Juanita Dillard

Retirement Planning, Funeral Humor, and Choosing the Right Advisor with James Holloway

The month of September is where we start fresh. 0n today’s show we are going to do just that. My guest is James Holloway, Esquire to talk about retirement, savings and the one thing you be doing now. Most of us are living longer. Longer than we have anticipated so you don’t wanna miss this show. James Holloway can be reached at: [email protected]

Juanita Dillard sits down with attorney James Holloway, Esq. for a funny, frank conversation about funerals, Social Security timing, 401(k)s and Roth IRAs, and how to find a financial advisor who actually has your best interest at heart.

Setting a Lighthearted Tone for Retirement Talk

Juanita Dillard opens the episode by explaining why she started the podcast: she likes to talk, share information, and keep serious subjects light. She frames today's topic, retirement, as something people dread but says she wants to approach it with humor instead of dread. She introduces her guest, James Holloway, Esq., praising his unexpected sense of humor and warning listeners that a Wi-Fi disconnection interrupts the interview partway through, so the conversation will noticeably drop off and then pick back up. Dillard previews the ground she and Holloway plan to cover: what to look for in someone who helps with retirement decisions, what age is a good one to start planning, whether Social Security will still be there, and, only half joking, whether Mama will still be able to eat steak instead of tuna fish. She closes the cold open with the show's tagline before bringing James into the conversation.

A Comic Detour Into Funeral Planning

Back from the break, Dillard welcomes listeners to what she calls a retirement 101 course and reintroduces James Holloway, Esq. She talks about her sister, whom she calls her shero, who retired in her fifties and inspired Dillard to think about scaling back her own workload, even though she loves what she does. The conversation slides into a long, comic riff on funerals: Dillard says when she dies she wants a proper memorial with food, champagne, and a pastor bragging about her, not a bargain casket people whisper about. Holloway plays along, imagining mourners asking whether that was all she could afford or why there was only one limousine. Dillard recalls that her own mother planned her funeral down to the potato salad, banning raisins on pain of returning to haunt the family. The exchange sets a warm, joking tone before the two turn to the serious business of retirement planning.

Why Everyone Needs a Retirement Strategy

Asked directly why a retirement plan matters, Holloway tells Dillard that retirement only happens once, so there is no do-over if someone waits too long to start saving. He says the biggest mistake he sees is people failing to build a real strategy, paraphrasing the old line that people do not plan to fail, they fail to plan. Dillard turns the conversation personal, noting she has no children and only her sister to leave anything to, and asks whether she should sell her paid-down house for a low-maintenance condo or keep doing her own yard work. Holloway says the real starting point is always a sit-down conversation about goals, finances, and how long someone can keep working, since some jobs become impossible at a certain age while others allow decades of consulting. He warns that selling a long-held home can trigger capital gains taxes unless the sale is structured carefully, a detail Dillard had not considered before asking.

Picking a Trustworthy Fiduciary Advisor

Holloway steers the conversation toward how to choose financial help, telling Dillard he has spent thirty years competing against advisors who are really just selling products for a commission. He describes annuities and other instruments dressed up as advice when they actually carry high fees, years-long lockups, and penalties for withdrawing one's own money, and says people rarely read the fine print closely enough to catch it. His advice is to seek a certified financial planner or, more specifically, someone with a fiduciary designation through FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, since a fiduciary is bound to act in the client's best interest rather than their own. He compares it to getting three quotes before hiring a contractor, urging listeners to seek recommendations from people they trust rather than picking an advisor at random. Dillard agrees, noting a friend had told her the same thing after hearing Holloway's advice secondhand, which is part of what convinced her to book him for the show.

Retirement Accounts and Social Security Timing

After a brief call disconnection that the two joke about on air, Holloway walks through the mechanics of retirement accounts. He urges listeners to max out an employer 401(k), 403(b), or 457 plan, at least up to any employer match, then explains the difference between a traditional IRA, which reduces taxable income now but taxes withdrawals later, and a Roth IRA, named for a former Delaware senator, which taxes contributions up front but lets savings grow and come out completely tax-free with no required withdrawal age. Dillard asks about Social Security, and Holloway explains that benefits shrink for every year someone claims before their full retirement age, historically sixty-seven and a half, while waiting increases the payout, though seventy is when withdrawals become mandatory. When Dillard asks about becoming disabled before retirement, he clarifies that falls under Social Security disability, or SSI, with benefits depending on the specific disability, prompting another round of the pair's running jokes about Capitol Hill and lost minds.

Lifestyle Adjustments and a Promise to Return

Holloway shares an observation from thirteen years of advising government retirees: almost everyone who retires in their fifties or sixties with a comfortable pension ends up back working within a few years, because even a healthy six-figure nest egg does not stretch as far as their old salary once they keep traveling, golfing, and attending conventions and jazz festivals the way they always did. Dillard laughs that she relates, describing her own swings between feeling flush and eating tuna instead of steak. She jokes about James's astrological sign, noting that Leos, like her own sister, tend to be careful savers unlike herself, then wraps the interview, thanking Holloway and praising his unexpected sense of humor. She promises to bring him back for a second conversation focused on long-term healthcare costs and whether policies like Aflac are worth buying, and he agrees readily. The episode closes with Dillard, speaking as herself, thanking listeners for supporting the show's second season and asking them to share it with friends.

So I wasn’t sure about the laws regarding THC and CBD and the Maryland Farm bill. also, can I travel with weed Gummies even if I have a medical marijuana card? I went to the only person that I knew could answer all these questions. Martin Mitchell, “The Cannabis Councilman” talks about this and all things regarding this Subject Matter. Councilman Mitchell contact information: @martin@mcfly21 on INSTAGRAM.

Beautiful Skin. Bold Reinvention.

What does it really mean to age beautifully? Is great skincare about expensive products—or understanding the science behind healthy skin? My guest, Ann Mattingly-Lowe, founder of Generations Skincare, for an inspiring conversation about entrepreneurship, healthy aging, confidence, and creating a skincare line backed by science—not hype. After a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry, Ann reinvented herself by launching a company dedicated to helping people of every generation achieve healthier, more radiant skin with affordable, effective products.

Join us as we discuss:

The biggest skincare myths

Science-backed ingredients that really matter Healthy aging from the inside out.

Reinvention after 50

Building confidence through self-care

Why it's never too late to start something new

Whether you're looking for healthier skin, inspiration for your next chapter, or practical beauty advice you can actually use, this episode will leave you feeling empowered to embrace the best version of yourself.

Juanita

The Media Groomer 💋

The Encore Collection: Get Rooted with Pain Management

From Our Vault to You...

Some conversations are simply too valuable to be heard only once. This week on It Starts Now, we're proud to present the first episode in our Encore Collection—a curated series featuring timeless conversations that continue to educate, inspire, and empower. I revisit an insightful discussion with Lynn Dudley of Lera Health about looking beyond pain medication to better understand the underlying causes of chronic pain and inflammation.

Together, they explore holistic wellness strategies, lifestyle choices, and practical approaches that may help support mobility, vitality, and long-term health. Whether you're living with chronic discomfort or simply want to learn more about proactive wellness, this conversation offers information that remains just as relevant today.

Because great conversations don't expire—they deserve another listen.

Juanita

The Media Groomer 💋

Who says coffee can’t be good for you? My conversation with William, Kane, international best selling author, decided to write a book titled, “Coffee, the Nectar of the Gods or Dangerous Brew”. He breaks down all things coffee with a big surprise at the end.

For more information on this informative reference book, contact Willian Kane at @[email protected].

This week on It  Starts Now I dive into a candid and empowering conversation about menopause, intimacy, hormone changes, and why women are finally refusing to suffer in silence. Joining the show are Kate Wells of Parlour Games, the women’s wellness brand boldly “saving the world one vagina at a time.” We discuss the realities many women experience during menopause, including painful intimacy, dryness, hormone shifts, confidence changes, and the lack of honest conversations surrounding women’s health.

With humor, science, and unapologetic honesty, this episode explores solutions, self-care, aging confidently, and why women over 50 deserve pleasure, wellness, and real answers.

Juanita

The Media Groomer 💋

☀️ Is Your Body Ready for Summer? As we transition into the summer months, many of us focus on vacations, outdoor activities, and spending more time with family and friends. But how often do we think about preparing our bodies for the season ahead? We discuss practical ways to support your health and wellness this summer on this subject matter. My guest, Kelly May Sullivan-Willett from Dunkirk Aesthetics. We'll explore:

• Hydration and nutrition

• Skin health and protection

• Maintaining energy and vitality

• Wellness habits that support healthy aging.

Juanita

The Media Groomer 💋

Sis… You’re Not Broken: The Truth About Menopause. We are re-airing one of the show’s most important conversations about menopause, hormones, aging, and women’s health. Joined by Dr. Kelly Casperson, the discussion tackles the misconceptions surrounding menopause and why so many women feel confused, dismissed, or unprepared during this stage of life. From hot flashes and intimacy to confidence, hormonal changes, and emotional wellness, this empowering conversation reminds women that menopause is not the end — it’s a transition that deserves understanding, education, and support.

A powerful replay for women navigating midlife and beyond.