#735: Going Viral by Being Real: Building a Brand Women Believe In

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Business can be a lonely game. But it doesn't have to be. Welcome to Boutique Chat where we explore community over competition and how to scale your company with the balance and the happiness that we all seek. We'll hear from product based businesses of all types, retailers, e commerce and wholesale brands, along with industry experts shaping the future of our industry. I'm your host Ashley Alderson from the Boutique Hub and and I can't wait to chat.

All right. Hey guys. Welcome back to the podcast this week, Vets. I am so glad that you're here with me. Thanks for jumping on today.

I'm so happy to be here. No better place to be at 8am Better than the carpool line. That's for sure.

Better than the carpool line. You've got tea tell back to school season germs. All the things happening.

Yes. So my two kids, I have a fourth grader and a first grader and you know that back to school week I it's my week that I get a bug almost every year and sometimes I get fight it off. And this year she's really aggressive. But this is day two and I have a voice so I'm really happy. So bear with me everyone. If my voice cuts out, I'm not going through puberty. I am determined to talk to Ashley today regardless of this frog in my throat.

We're gonna make it happen. I think everyone who's listening that has kids can attest and agree that it is part of the back to school crud. So you've got a heck of a story. I came across your story through a mutual friend. I got to sample some of your products and I just love the why and the how of how things come together. So let's go back to the beginning. Tell me about the foundations of the product. How did you come up with the idea? And I mean, it's like a. It's a ballsy move for anyone to start a business, but it's a ballsy move for anybody to start manufacturing a product that doesn't exist currently. So take me back. How. How did this all start?

Very much so. I was a new mom in leggings all the time. It was actually Covid e years and I really find that working out can be my like, peace.

So I was running sometimes with a stroller and then once you're like exercising, you find yourself in leggings kind of all day. So I was wearing leggings all day like billions of women. I mean, being a mom is a workout alone. So anyways, we're in leggings a lot. And I was pretty sick of the fact that there was no organic cotton undie. Honestly, no undie at all. That was truly no show. I'm a grown woman. I'm not going to be going commando in any pant, thank you very much. So I had this kind of, like, idea. I was like, why don't I just put a panty liner in my pants and go for a jog? So I did that and it totally, like balled up and kind of separated the back separated from the front and it balled up and kind of went up my tush. And I was like, okay, well, I don't like that. Why don't I just invent something that's made for this? So I started calling manufacturers and trying to figure out what was in panty liners, which I'd actually never thought about what was in period products and found out that they all have a layer of plastic backing. They all have a center layer of powders that actually acts as a glue that holds everything together. Even from like the thinnest of pads to the thickest of overnight pads, they just have a varying amount of that powder. It's kind of like powdered glue. Once it gets moist, it. Oh, that's the world's worst word. Once it gets.

Used to be used for. Yeah, exactly. It sort of holds everything together. And that's where a lot of the toxins are and also keeps those products from. So I tried to convince someone to make a like, liner made like a panty or panty made like a liner. Something that isn't made to absorb. The world's first, honestly, cotton strip that isn't made to absorb isn't. Doesn't have anything to do with your period. It's just made to be underwear toxic free, plastic free. And nobody wanted to do it. They all thought I was crazy. They were like, why would you, like, tweak a period product? Why are you using a different adhesive? If women wanted that, they would just put a panty liner in their pants. I was like, well, it's a subpar experience. And, you know, people run marathons. People are Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, People are moms at Costco and then going to Disneyland, like, we want an undie in our pants that feels really comfortable. So I kept pitching it to manufacturers. And then one German lady who works for the oldest adhesive manufacturer in the world, she was like, I'd wear that. That is a good idea. And I was like, yes. So she said she just send Me, tech of what is, like, currently going through machines and, like, books of materials. And that's how I made my first prototype.

I mean, that. That's the thing is you found a woman, right? Like, I'm. I'm sure, like many things in the world made by men, they don't understand the experience, truly as a woman. So that's incredible. Now this is. It's always a chicken and an egg when you start a business, right? Like, do I start with the product first? Do I start with the following first? You know, how do I justify my order quantities as I'm getting started with an unproven product?

So how did you kind of walk.

That fine line when you first got started of testing out, you know, and finding prototypes and then just finding women to back you and be your beta testers?

So I always say building in public is so valuable, and I really think founders should build in public. There's that one element. Just file for your patent and your trademarks first. It actually doesn't take that long. So the moment you have. Yeah, amen. The moment you have that filed, build in public. So I, I really. I mean, I remember my first post was me in my laundry room with a bowl of noodles with, like, website stuff that I was working on. And it was like, this is what I'm doing. And it wasn't a pretty post. The lighting was bad. But I just decided if the world knew about it, I was held accountable and people were gonna want it. And that was about a year before our product went through the port. So I spent a year, you know, really talking about it on Instagram, getting that following and getting people excited of what was to come.

So it started on Instagram, building up anticipation. What did that first year look like? Like, what did you end up with? With a community or followers? Had you already moved to TikTok before the product landed stateside or kind of where were you at right before the product hit the country?

So I was blessed that I was able to hand make the product for a core group of subscribers pretty early on. The reason why, being that our manufacturer, our shape is unique. It's smaller in the front than in the back. It's sort of hard to tell, but if you were to hold it up next to a period product, you can tell.

That cost $25,000 to have your own mold. And also it requires product to come through the port. You can't, because you're going to be ordering such a large quantity, you can't just have people mail it to you. So anyways, I had our manufacturer making it the way we needed to without those absorbency layers, without plastic mailing it to me. And then I would hand cut it into our shape. So I did have a small customer base going while I was building in public and I was creating content of me hand cutting skimpies. Content of me handing it to people like Rachel Bloom and other people, I won't say, but like handing it to people who are kind of have notoriety and then they'd wear it and they try it on the red carpet in their Spanx and they do it. So I was kind of getting a little bit of good juju just within, you know, the Instagram community. That did not answer your question though, at all. When the product came through the board a year later, the product came through a port a year later. I had never even been on TikTok. I had our handle, but I had not posted anything. I was, you know, I'm a millennial mom. I was on Instagram and Now I'm a TikTok person all the time, but I wasn't there just yet.

So how did that start? Like, when were you like, okay, all right, you probably made reels on Instagram and you're like, it's time, it's time, TikTok. And then it blew up. What was that like?

Oh my goodness. Crazy. So it was December. Our shipment came in last September. So we've been in business for almost a year. So cool. Um, and then that December, I was like, why am I not putting all the content I create on Instagram Just on TikTok and seeing what it does. So I'd made this video about like a front wedgie and I put it on TikTok. Then I was like, you know what, I should make this video eight seconds long. I'm gonna do the exact same video and I'm just gonna cut everything else out of it and you to see what happens. And that video got 6 million views and that video doubled our at that time, lifetime sales. And I was like, I mean, for us at that stage, like four figure sales on a video were crazy. So I was like, okay, people have their credit cards out on TikTok, and I love people who have their credit cards out. That's lit. Let's, let's see what these people are talking about over here.

So then were you all of a sudden like, okay, let's just test it out. You knew that worked. And I understand you have a background in comedy, so that also had to like come into play somehow as well, right?

Absolutely. Ashley. I think my comedy background is such a blessing and it doesn't mean that it's not hard, just like it's hard for everyone to. Being a, for being a forward facing founder is challenging, but it's also really beautiful because I don't pay influencers. I never have. I'm the influencer, which means I can put that money towards giving, like our customer the best, we call them the skimpy sister. The best experience, the best price, all that stuff. But it is helpful to be a comic in the sense that I'm willing to test, and I tell this to people all the time, I'm willing to test the way you would test a joke on a stage. I'm willing to test things in real life in public, like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. And the beauty of social is that you can see on TikTok especially you can see the moment in a video, someone adds your product to their cart. Like you can see what talking points really jive with people. And then that's. That's the honey. That's the good part. Take that honey and put it in the next thing or just do that same thing over and over again. Um, so I really wanted to use the platform as a way to speak directly to the skimpy sisters and a way to see what they wanted to hear.

So how much would you say, like, when you think about content you're creating now and you're kind of like making a plan for your week, when you're formulating your plan, how much do you feel like is like directly content related to selling the product versus how much is just lifestyle content, relational content, like you just building that sisterhood with your community.

I post every day on TikTok and it does need to be a shoppable video. That's part of our ad strategy. We're doing GMV Max right now. So Anyone who's a TikTok brand or TikTok nerd, I'm sure they're like, okay, me too, or I'm starting that. And I think the crux of making GMV Max successful is to post every day. I've. I've had weeks where I haven't and it isn't as successful. So we do post a shoppable video every day, which requires you to really see the product and talk about it. However, the lifestyle is just as important and I've talked to our account manager at TikTok about this. I additionally try to post at least two to three times a week on TikTok clips from my TED talk at Stanford, clips from me and the kids working out, just stuff like that. And then on Instagram, I am just now this month starting to take our TikTok videos and put them on Instagram. So it's funny how it swapped. Originally I was doing Instagram on the TikTok and now I'm doing TikTok and Instagram. I will say that I think it's really important. I don't have a funnel. I don't have like a service that posts every the same video to YouTube shorts, Instagram, TikTok. And a lot of people do. I think that's the wrong strategy. My girl on Instagram is very different than my girl on TikTok. And so I custom make every video for each platform and it doesn't take that long, but I am tweaking. It's going to be a little longer on Instagram. It's going to have a little bit more.

Conversation versus TikTok. You really have a second to get someone's attention and you need it front loaded versus Instagram. I think people are a little sick of being sold to and they just want to, they just want to have a friend.

That's so true. It's a different. They're sisters, they're not twins.

They're.

They're different. What about like, how do you find you're showing up like even in Instagram stories different versus what you're posting in terms of reels and on your feed on Instagram?

On Instagram, I think I'm much more just me. Like the Skimpies brand channel is an extension of my right Becky handle. And so people really do get to see a lot more of my house, my home. Like yesterday I was posting like sick content.

Because I was like, can you believe this? I had such a busy there. I was like, no, there's nothing worse than being sick when you don't want to be. It's like, I can't sit here and Real Housewives, I'm. This is torment.

So I was posting sick content and I was actually thinking, I was like, wow, this channel really like this. The skimpy sandal is really just the bat handle too. And I do have people who work for Skip Beast and they post and they're awesome. It really feels like a place where you know the Voice and the Voice is a mom who runs a brand and loves you and wants you to feel really good in all your clothes.

Yeah, it's all, it's all relationship based content. Like there's no Just product based, just selling. Like it has to be such a combination of all the above. Do you ever feel like. Because sometimes I think the people who are listening, the retailers who are listening, that sell multiple products, right, they, there's always something different to talk about. But even in that case, they might feel like they get sick of saying the same thing again and again. When you have like one core product, does that doubt ever enter your mind? And how do you combat that when you're like, gosh, people have already heard this, people already know this, but I'm just continuing to be, you know, talking about the same product. How do you battle that and show up for the brand new follower who just found you that day?

I would suggest to every retailer who's experiencing that problem because I have one product, literally we have shirts that you could only buy on our website. I don't even sell them on TikTok. I would suggest to try live selling. Just try it and bear, bear with me for why I think you should. We're a huge live seller. That's actually where we went right after our first video went viral. We created a big live selling following.

Because when you're live selling, you have to stand in front of the camera for hours and you have to say the same thing over and over again because people come on and the average watch time for most people is about like five seconds. For us it's like a minute, hello. But people are going to come on and they need to know what your product is, but you need to be able to keep the people who are going to watch you for three full hours as well. So it flexes that muscle of learning how to say the same thing, different or passionate or from a different pov. The why can be different, but the how can be the same, you know, and so it teaches you how to do that. So I'd really suggest for every retailer to just try live selling themselves. I know not every founder feels like they can, but at least be there in the room because it's really valuable, it's a really valuable skill to be able to sell the same thing. Because the truth is you're not selling a product. You're. If your product isn't helping someone, then it's not for them. So you're showing something, something that's going to make their life better and let the people go who that doesn't work for and then embrace the people that it does and figure out different ways to keep them, you know, feeling like they're being understood and talked to.

Yeah, that's so you're solving problems. Every successful business, the thing they have in common is they solve a problem. And whether it's through skimpies, whether it's through apparel, like, you're always solving a problem. That's key. Or what about. So when you first got started, I mean, yes, it. It took off right away, but there was still those moments where you were showing up and there was very few people watching or maybe it was a down day. How did you continue to ride that wave? Because live selling is a lot of ups and downs. So how did you keep showing up when you felt like maybe it wasn't as successful as you wanted it to be?

Oh, Ashley. It was not successful right away. Trust me. Trust and believe.

Completely. So we had our video go viral, and I just felt this calling. Honestly, it was a God moment. Like, I just prayed on it. And I felt because I have to pray before I make any viral video BT doves. Probably not the coolest thing to say in a. In a business podcast, but no, it's true.

I like it.

It takes so much energy, and you make yourself very vulnerable on the Internet. And so I really get that guidance from, you know, a higher power of, like, you got this. You're protected. Let's go. So I was praying on it, and I just felt this calling to do live selling. I'd never done it before, except for in my bathroom mirror with my hairbrush since I was 4 years old. I loved QVC when I was little, so I'd be like, and this hairbrush is a limited quantity.

So I just felt this calling to do it. So I remember the very first day I live sold in our bedroom. My son and my kids, my daughter and my son went out for burgers with my husband because I was, like, nervous about them even overhearing me. I thought they were going to think I was insane. I set up a table in our bedroom because it had the best, like, overhead lighting. It was nighttime. I heard the nighttime was better. And I did it for four hours. And three people were the max amount of people that were in that video or in that live sale. Oh, man. I just decided to keep going. I don't know where I, like, got the gumption to do it, but I wanted, for some reason in my head, I wanted to clock 24 hours of live sales and just see what happened. If I can do it for 24 hours and nobody likes it. And then I'd say about the third time I did it, I did it from a gym. I was doing a Live, like thing, promotion thing at the gym. And when everyone was taking their class, I started selling and I started seeing little dings and I was like, oh my gosh, people are buying. I was like, wait, this is so cool. And then ever after that, it just sort of took off. But it doesn't mean we don't have down days. People are stressed and a lot of people come to the skimpies lives honestly for like a pick me up. It's just a really good vibe. It's. I tell people all the time when they're in the sales. Like.

Just because you're at this live doesn't mean you have to buy. You are here because you are wanted. Like, stay, we're going to chat. We're gonna have the best time. We're gonna laugh. Like, do not feel pressure. I always try to take the pressure off the girls. And honestly, usually people come back and they want to because they like the product, but if not, that's okay. If we can bring value to their lives because we're fun to hang out with, then that's great. But you do have to find that courage from within to keep going. Which was your question. Uh, I find that through like prayer meditation, that really helps me. But I think having a plan and I knew I wanted to clock 24 hours, I was going to do it whether zero people bought or not. Because it takes a while. It takes a while to find your voice. And it reminds me of that Garth Brooks song, thank God for unanswered Prayers, that one. Because if people were crazy, if I had thousands of people in my first live, it'd be like, I'm never coming back. This girl doesn't know what she was doing. Like the light bad, the outfit's bad, you know, whatever. So it's it. You usually go viral when it's meant to be. You just have to put in that work in the beginning and be delusional. You are great. Doesn't matter if no one's watching. That's so good. It's just all.

It's the practice of all of it continuing to show up. I wonder this just thinking about like your content, your videos. Something that I, I know is true about myself is sometimes I'm a little unhinged. Like sometimes I like to talk about things that are inappropriate because I think it's just relatable. I think as women, like, we go through a lot of stuff that other women can relate to. And I think that there's like this millennial viewpoint that you have to be instagram worthy. And it has to be perfect. And you can't talk about off color things like, I don't know where this came from, but some business owners have this, like, kind of mask. I will say I feel like I have become more successful the more I've been able to take the mask off and just say the unhinged things that come out of my mouth. I'm wondering if that seems to be true for you. You're talking about something that is so intimate and so personal and you make it funny. If that's the thing that connects your community even deeper is because they feel like they can be so real and unmasked with each other and with you.

Absolutely. It is the crux of our content. To be honest, I. The very first video that went viral was a front wedgie. Before and after. Actually, I have. Do I want to tell this story?

Be it exclusive? Yes, you do. I was kind of. This is what I'll say. I was kind of like, disrespected, I guess I would say, by.

Someone in business who had invite. I was disrespected by someone because they, like.

They took a screen grab of one of my videos and sent it to some mom friends to make fun of me.

Oh, so I know, right? So that actually, like, hit me like a ton of bricks. So let me back up a little bit. It is hard to create that content sometimes that, as you would put it, is unhinged. That was really honest. But I think the beauty of TikTok and I think where Instagram is going to start going, is that people are a little more unfiltered and they're a little more real. And the truth is, all of us women have discharge. It's true. It doesn't make you, like, thank goodness if you didn't. You're not a human woman. And I don't want to not be a human. I want to be something. I want to wake up people. Put makeup on. If you saw me 30 minutes ago before I put this makeup on, you would scream. So I. I love who I am. And that is a part of me that is. That is a precious, sacred part of me where my children came. And I want to take care of my entire body. And there is no shame in having discharge and being a woman and needing a layer of cotton in your pants and having a mommy sneeze when you sneeze. Hello. We've all been there. Not being able to be on the trampoline. Hello. I've been there for years. These are all, like, normal Beautiful parts of us. Right. And I think being an aesthetic Instagram person is not relatable to me. If your entire house is beige and you only drink beige lattes, we don't. We probably would get along. But also, like, would I seek you out? I don't know.

Probably not.

Probably not, right? I don't find that relatable. So I accidentally kind of fell into making relatable content because I was just talking about the why of why I invented this product for. For me. Right. But then, like you said, it. It is. It isn't picture perfect. And when you. When you're not making things that are picture perfect, and I think why people always want to make picture perfect stuff is because there's nothing to make fun of. The Internet is a scary place. You bet. You bet. You know, you have a successful podcast, you put yourself out there, and people are going to comment. And I'd say the positive comments always, always outweigh the negatives. But the negatives can really hurt.

They can hurt. And so when that mom screen grabbed that and sent it around, I was like, wait, like, the skimpies is how we pay our mortgage? Like, Skimpes is my business. And more importantly than that, it makes women feel really good. I have such a plan for this business that involves spreading joy to billions of women, and you're gonna screen grab me and make fun of me? I had to, like, really decompress it. And then I remembered that her business doesn't do well on TikTok, and I was like, oh, okay. Always comes with insecurity.

It always comes from something. And I. I feel like sometimes those comments are the biggest blessing. Like, they're the biggest. Like, okay, like, I've got it. Like, thank you for that. Like, thank you for. For doing that. Because you opened up a whole new.

Drive and purpose and excitement within me. I have.

I have.

Something similar happened to me where. When I was first starting this business almost 13 years ago, I was telling a CEO about what I was going to build, and he was the CEO of this huge company in our industry. And he looked at me, and as I was not even finishing my sentence, my last sentence, he could. He kind of, like, tapped me on the head and said, well, good luck with your little project. And I was like, oh, okay. Okay. I've got you. I've got your number. And so I wrote that down. I put it in the middle of my vision board, and now I'm like, that's the thing that fuels me and excites me. Like, it's a little bit of spite which you know isn't 100% healthy to come from that space, but a little bit of it can go a long way. It's here, it's time. Are you ready to start planning 2025? Well, you might have your own day planner, you might have a Google calendar, but let me tell you, I love planning planning with the official Boutique Boss Planner. The Boutique Boss Planner is a day planner that we created here at the Boutique Hub several years ago created by boutique owners for boutique owners. And it's more than a day planner. Inside the Boutique Boss Planner is not only your opportunity to operate with a normal day planner with your hours and your time blocks, but it's also a boutique owner's go to resource. Inside there's inventory tracking, social media tracking, monthly reminders and to do to do lists, all kinds of information on how to host a month in review to really track what worked and what didn't in your business this month. But also a planning sheet on how to get ready for the next month in your business. Even if you're going to market, even if you're getting ready for social media content, there's tools, tips and ideas and checklists to keep you on track and organized all year long inside of the Boutique Boss Planner. So check out the link in the show notes for for access to the 2025 Boutique Boss Planner or visit BoutiqueBoss store.com and so I was curious about that before I met you today of just, you know, a lot of people will tell you good luck with your little project or that'll never work or oh, I had that idea once they see that it's become successful. So I was curious about your relationships before the business, your relationships after the business or the notoriety and, and how you've handled, you know, kind of some of how people treat you before and after because it's not always what you expect.

It's so funny how everyone wants a piece. Once you make money, I'm sure you can relate. It was nothing. You know, I came from a creative. I was a comic, I was a comedy writer. I worked for Will Ferrell. I was an actor. So I'm used to putting myself out there for.

Other people. And you know, it's so interesting when you're working in the entertainment industry, people don't think, people don't appreciate someone who's trying. They only appreciate someone who's made it. And I thought, oh, that's such a toxic part of this industry. Like, ugh. I was like when I started skimpies I was like, oh, that's everywhere. People just poo poo anyone who's trying versus what I tell my kids. It is so cool to try. That is the most badass thing you can do.

That is.

That is pop. That is the popular girl mentality to have people see you try to have people see you put effort in. Right? So I don't abide by that. But other people. So you have to be willing to tune out that noise that, you know, if you're going to build in public, if you're going to be trying, there's going to be a lot of people that say a lot of stuff. My personal advice is if you're going to put your invention out there early or your product out there early, you cannot be doing it for.

Any sort of confidence. They're not going to give you confidence. Right. Your confidence has to come from somewhere else. It comes from yourself. It comes from God. Wherever it comes from, your confidence comes from someplace else. You're putting it out there because it's right for your business. So whatever they say does not matter, Right? Because my number one comment that I still get and it drives sales completely, is, this is just a panty liner. Great. Let's talk about it. Because it looks exactly like a panty liner. It's meant to. It just doesn't have plastic and has a different adhesive and doesn't have the absorbency layer. It's not meant to be a rocket ship. But when you say that, when you comment that I can then make a video about it and then I can show you. We can do a side by side. We can do a side by side of someone at Disney World and a panty liner and a skimpy. You know what I mean? And it drives that conversation. But if you're putting yourself out there for confidence, then someone says something like that, it's gonna crush you. Right? So you just have to know that that's not your business plan. Your business plan is not what other people think of your product.

Well said, Mic drop. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, Absolutely. Absolutely. It can't come from anyone other than you. And to your point about failure, I mean, the. The biggest wins in business that I've ever seen come after a mountain of failure. They come after a mountain of trying and figuring out and stumbling and nothing being perfect. And. And here's where I think, like, we go wrong in school, right? Like, maybe you had this experience when you were growing up. Your teacher thought they could tell you you're gonna have this business Plan, and you're gonna lay it out on paper, and everything's gonna be perfect, and everything's gonna go as planned, and then you're gonna find success. But then when you really get into it, you're like, oh, no, wait. This is just a lot of, like, scratching and clawing and knocking down the door and figuring it out and things not working and you pivoting. And then that's where the confidence comes from, is know, throw at you. You're gonna overcome it and move on to the next thing and say, watch me do it right?

Do it. I think a little bit of spite you were talking about. Good luck with your little project. I think a little bit of spite is healthy. I. When I'm working out, I imagine that my instructor is saying, you can't. There's no way you can.

Toxic. I am. She's like, good job, everybody. And my. I like, rewrite it in my head. She's like, no way. Probably prove it.

You know, a bit of a drill sergeant.

I like it.

Oh, my gosh.

I think that's. That. I think that's healthy to prove people wrong. I also have a lot of personal feelings about setbacks. I really want everyone to feel. It's really important to me that when you feel pulled back, when you feel like you're in that, you know, two steps forward, one step back step situation, that is your moment to regroup, to aim, and to launch. We had a crazy thing happen on Tik Tok. It was wild.

Ashley.

Oh, my God. There was a glitch. And, like, thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars. Dollars of orders that had already been sent out were being refunded. It was crazy. I was bawling, crying. I was actually about to go do this, like, speech at a. At a corporation about TikTok, and I was like. I had someone doing my hair. It was like, just. And I'm watching this all happen. And, you know, long story short, we were able to figure it out, but we were never able to recoup the funds. And it really affected our June. And I was like, wait, this is a pullback. How do I aim? And what. What do I do from here? And so I just had this. I prayed on it. I had this idea. I'm gonna go to the warehouse. I'm gonna live. Sell for 12 hours from the warehouse at a crazy discounted price. Doubled our lifetime sales in 48 hours. Wow. Thought of that. If I hadn't lost $5,000 in, you know, in sales. So, like. So sometimes when you're Getting that pullback really is the universe. It is momentum telling you like, you're about to launch. So we have to be comfortable with failure.

That's so good, as something good will come from every bad situation if you.

Choose to look for it or if.

You choose to make it happen. That's really, really well done. What about this? So you and I were talking a little bit before we started to record about your launch in it was Marshalls and T.J. maxx. Is that right? Which from a product standpoint, you don't often hear, those being the first places you launch. But I think it's really, like, right away I was like, oh, that's such a smart strategy with your TikTok alignment. So tell me about how that came about, how you decided to go that route and then the results you saw from it.

So we knew we wanted to be in brick and mortar, and I really wanted to recreate the energy we have on. On TikTok. That is where our girl is. That is where we see 80% of our sales. So I started thinking on it, like, what stores remind me of TikTok. I kind of did like a backwards at Marshalls. Because when you're scrolling TikTok, like, you don't really know what you're gonna buy. You're kind of like, to inspire you. When I'm walking through Marshalls, it's the one place I stroll. I like, walk, and I'm like, oh, I could wear a lime green corduroy jacket. Yes. Yeah.

Or like, I'll try this hand soap that I've never tried before. I'm trying new products. I'm willing to be inspired. So I thought, well, why don't I just get in contact with them? Like, who knows? They might not want anything to do with me. I'm tiny. I'm a tiny little TikTok brand. So I contacted them and they were like, wait, we've been this women's wear buyer. She's like, I have been to your lives. I love skimpies. No way. Yes way. And I was like, yes. So we went and got lunch and just that day, like, mapped out how many they would want to buy, what the price would be, what the price would be at Marshalls. And it was exactly the price of when I do flash sales, when I'm live selling. So I was like, okay, this is, you know, a really limited launch. That was important to me to make it a limited launch. Like, we weren't emptying our warehouse. This wasn't a necessity for the business. It was A cool place for me to send people who are like, I want to buy skimpies, but I don't have TikTok and I want to buy Skimpies for this TikTok sale price. Not from the website or whatever. It was like a cool, just extra place for me to send it. So I wanted to do a limited launch and we figured out the numbers and then Marshalls and TJ Maxx is such a unicorn. So. So I mean I, I'm still in awe of how awesome they are. They back that truck up to your warehouse, they load everything up, they take care of everything, they write you a check that day.

It's wild. Perfect. Yeah.

I mean because sometimes you hear so many hit and miss stories of going into big box and what, what it can do to a brand and the demand and the price structure. But I think when you're on TikTok like it's a different alignment and I love that analogy of, you know, it is, it's discovery. You never know what you're going to get. I feel the same way at Home goods and TJ Maxx and Sierra, like all of them. I'm like, oh yeah, of course. I definitely need this hand soap that I would have never bought otherwise or you know, you name it. There's always something that I'm taking home with me I don't need.

I bought a strawberry table. I was like, why am I buying this like little side table looks like a strawberry. I need it.

I don't know, I mean it seems logical.

I don't, I don't know why not?

All right, well that, I've got some lightning round questions for you if you're ready.

I'm so ready.

All right, I give you two hours back in your day to work on income generating activity. What do you focus on first?

Live selling.

I love it.

Simple, straightforward, Go live. I have the same advice. I would echo what you're saying a hundred percent. So.

Agreed.

What's the unsexiest but most impactful process in your business?

Oh, sitting down with my husband.

Sexy.

My husband's very sexy. I love him.

This is what happens when you work with your spouse.

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I would love to sit my husband, under non work circumstances, sitting down with my husband and going over, bottom line, going over numbers, all the numbers.

Is your husband analytical and are you creative or how do you guys like, how do you come together with that process?

He is very analytical and he's an award winning creative director. So he's both okay, so he's both. He's both. And he is the secret weapon in everything I've ever done in my life, like, since we've met. He is brilliant, and I'm so blessed that he works with skimpies. So good.

So good.

There is a.

There's an ebb and a flow and a secret to working with your spouse.

I work with my spouse as well. What would you say the best advice.

You could give to someone who's working with their spouse would be, you have.

To honor off hours and talk about it with your spouse. If you're going to bed and you're like, oh, by the way, that text you sent me about why that link wasn't working, Honey, no one wants to talk about that before bed. And I'm telling this to myself. I'm not innocent of this. I have to often open my mouth and say, I'm going to talk about that tomorrow with you at 9:00am because you really have to remember that you guys fell in love. You are not colleagues. You are lovers.

I literally have this very conversation with my husband because he likes to get up first thing in the morning and talk about business. He's like, in the shower, and I'm like, putting my makeup on, and he's like. Like, wants to talk about all of it. And I'm like, no, this is not the time. We are not talking business right now. Like, we're trying to get the kids out the door. Like, there's a definite boundary that has to be set. So, so good. What's been the hardest lesson you've had to learn in business so far?

Wow.

Gosh, there's been so many.

To embrace your gut, it's actually gonna make me tear up to embrace your gut. I think because I came into this business as someone who I didn't even have my college degree. I went back to school with both my kids on my hip and got my undergrad, and then I went to Stanford and got my business certificate. And so I think, like, the business element of it was always my insecurity. Like, I can talk about the why, and I'm actually great with numbers. And I handled our manufacturing. I did all of that on my own. Brian only recently joined the business, like, this month. But I. I felt insecure about the business element of it, so I would not trust my gut. I would. I would talk to people that maybe I'd want to work with, and I'd be like, I don't know if they're the right person. But then I'd move Forward because I was like, well, they have this resume or whatever. Your gut is the most powerful, powerful part of your. It's your conscience, whatever you want to call it of your ecosystem. It will always guide you. Right. It got you here. You're alive and healthy.

Yeah, it's absolutely true.

And I.

This is what I find interesting about business is most people that I, that I meet and that I work with, they don't have a business background. It's a ton of stay at home moms and teachers and nurses and. And people who felt like they were missing something somewhere else in their life and. Or wanted to solve a problem and felt like, I can do this better. And I mean, I think that's maybe the superpower is you don't have that, you know, A to B to C mentality, but instead it's kind of A, I'm gonna make it messy and figure it out and that's what your gut's leading you toward.

So.

Absolutely, yeah.

Have I told you about the Skimpies Fund?

No. Let's talk about it.

I haven't launched it yet on social media. I was actually supposed to make a video yesterday. I had a whole crew house and I had no voice because of the germ. But I'm going to launch it by the time this podcast comes out. Yes, we're really excited. So it's been my dream to have a skimpy scholarship that. For moms who want to go back to school. And so I'm gonna cry.

Awesome.

Perfect. Patient come true. Like manifestation come true. I love going back to Stanford because I. Everything you just said, I was the one mom in a room of VPs from Adobe and TikTok and all these incredible companies. And I had this totally different background and people wanted to work with me because they were like, oh, she'll help us do our presentation or she'll help whatever. And I learned from them. I just did so much for my confidence and also really helped the business and women leave school at such a disproportionately higher rate than men because when a parent gets sick or, you know, whatever happens, it affects the woman, the oldest sister.

So I just really want to give back to our community and I'm just really excited about the skimpy scholarship fund.

That is awesome. Congratulations. That's a huge deal. That is a huge deal.

A portion of profits are going to go towards it and I'm just really excited.

Well, we can't wait to share it. We'll link up all the information in the show notes today. So that we can share as well. I've got that. I've got. Actually, I have two more questions. One is just selfish personal question, and then the last is, like, our grand finale question. But I heard you mention this earlier, and I actually had no idea when we got on the podcast today that you worked with Will Ferrell. So I'm just gonna selfishly tell you that I think I'm Will Ferrell's biggest fan, and I think everyone listening to this podcast knows that I'm Will Ferrell's biggest fan. So I was trying not to freak out. So I just want to know from you, what is your favorite Will Ferrell movie? And what's your favorite Will Ferrell skit?

Oh, gosh. Okay. I thought you can talk about a personal story. That's so much easier. Old school. Oh, my God. Yes.

We're going streaking through the quad. The gymnosium.

I don't know if there's enough time.

Sketch. Hmm. I mean, I think I'm just gonna say cowbell. Cowbell's great.

You gotta have more cowbell, baby.

And I relate to that. Like, I. I feel like I'm the cowbell guy all the time. Like, I'm over here, like. Like, with, like, an undie that goes in your leggings, and I'm like, but you need. Like, I just feel it, people. Like, we do need it. I think we can all relate to the cowbell.

Yeah. Your muffin tops hanging out, and you're just out there, like, cracking it like nobody's watching. I totally agree. I love it. So now I do have to ask you favorite Will Ferrell personal story, and I. Tell me more about working with Will Ferrell because I'm fascinated now.

So it was my dream job. I. I started off as an actor and then just started getting hired as a writer, like, all the time. Ended up at Funny or Die, which is, like, the beginning stages of Internet comedy. It was like the wild west, and people thought it was so cool. So I worked at Funny or Die. Writer, director, producer, was in stuff too. That is Will's website for people who don't know, that's his comedy website. This was 2013. 2012. 2013. That's when I started probably so different era when, like, Internet comedy was, like, the thing and we thought we were so cool. So that's Will's websites where he did the Landlord. Tons of, like, hilarious videos. Between two ferns is Zach Galifianakis. So my desk was right by the men's restroom, right by the men's Restroom. So everyone who went to the men's restroom had to walk by my desk. And so I knew, you know, when everyone went the bathrooms and Will and Adam, gosh, I need a Kleenex that I don't have one. Will and Adam, you know what?

I have a skimpy.

I'm going to use my skimpy. Will and Adam both like to take a newspaper to the bathroom. So Will would walk by my desk, and he'd have his newspaper under his. His arm, and he'd wave at me, and I'd wave back. And I'd always laugh because he's a. He's actually, like, a private.

Not serious person, but, like, kind of like he takes work seriously. You know what I mean? So he's not, like, walking around to everyone, like, being goofy in the office or whatever. He runs this business that employs, like, a lot of people. Yeah. But I got to see him every day because, like, I was right by the bathroom. Anyways, I always laugh with everybody because at the office party, he'd always know my name and he'd always say hi to me at the hall. Like, we'd have a Christmas party every year. And I was like, I get all the good stuff because I know everyone's like, bathroom. I know when everyone goes to the bathroom. He also gave me. He had a Ben and Jerry's deal one year for anchorman and gave me, like, this huge, like, amount of Ben and Jerry's with his face on it. And I thought that was so sweet because I love ice cream. That is awesome. I love it.

You know, all the deets. Because you're by the bathroom. Okay, well, thank you for letting me ask those questions, which was total, on a random side note, but I had to go down that rabbit hole, so perfect. All right, well, let's. Let's wrap this up. This has been awesome. Like, what? A ton of lessons. And honestly. But, like, you're just getting started. This is still so new. There's so much opportunity ahead of you. It's mind blowing. And I can't wait to see where everything goes from here on out. Let's just humor me for a second. Let's fast forward 30 years. You are on the front porch with your family, with your kids, now with your grandkids. And you're looking back at this wild ride, this cool, crazy platform tik tok, this wild idea you had. And as you're telling that story to your family, to your grandkids, and you're reflecting on it, what's the thing you really want them to remember most about you specifically and how you lived and all the things that you created along the way.

That my soul's purpose, besides being a mom, because my kids are my everything, is to spread joy to women. I actually have a post it above my desk that says, what is your purpose? To make women's lives better every day. And that's why I created Skimpy is, you know, I created skimpies after my double mastectomy. And it wasn't a coincidence that that gave me the confidence or the courage to do something really big and bold. I want women to know that they are beautiful, that they are powerful. I want them to feel confident and amazing in their clothes. And I want to spread joy in, like a big way. I want. When you get your skimpies, it's always been important to me that it feels like you're getting a card from a friend like, this is going to be a good day. Someone really cares about me. This is the very first product, but there's so much more to come. In 30 years, honey, I might still be working.

Lots of time and opportunity left.

I love it.

Well, that this is awesome. Again, thanks so much for coming on the show today and sharing your story. And we're all going to be cheering you on and saying, hey, I heard that girl on the podcast and I have loved her product ever since. So thanks for joining me today. Thanks, Ash.

That was so fun.

Thanks for listening, guys. I hope you took away all kinds of nuggets and new ideas from this week's episode. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a rating and review. We love to hear your feedback and give you a chance to be featured on the show each and every week. For more information on our sponsor spirit of Community over competition, and to access guest downloads and bonuses and all the resources we talked about on the show, head on over to theboutiquehub.com and join the community. We'll see you next week.