Lorin & Kyle Van Zandt (Co-founders of MISSIO Hair)

The episode you're about to listen to was released back when the Mere Christians podcast was called the Call to Mastery. Now, if you love Mere Christians, you're still going to love these older episodes because the majority of each conversation focuses on how the gospel influences the work of our guests. With that disclaimer out of the way, please enjoy the episode. Hey everybody. Welcome to the Call to Mastery. I'm Jordan Raynor. This is a podcast for Christians who want to do exceptional work for the glory of God and the good of others. Every week I'm bringing you a conversation with somebody who's following Jesus Christ and also pursuing world class mastery of their craft. We're talking about their path to mastery, their daily habits and routines, and how their faith influences their work. This is a phenomenal episode. You'll know that when you get to the end of it and hear how I'm setting this episode aside for my kids when they're old enough to hear it. I can't wait for them to listen to this one. Today you're going to hear from Lauren and Kyle Van Zant. They're the co founders and co CEOs of Missio Hair, this really innovative company that basically uses hair products as a means to identify and rescue victims of sex trafficking. Fascinating work. They have a great and rapidly growing business, growing at more than 100% a year. Recently, Missio was handpicked as one of only 90 companies whose products are featured at Magnolia Market. Chip and Joanne, Joanna Gaines. Magnolia Market at the Silos there in Waco, Texas. Lauren and Kyle and I recently sat down. We talked about the difference between product market fit and impact market fit for redemptive entrepreneurs. We talked about the top lesson the Van Zantz learned working with Chip and Joanna Gaines. And we talked about how to work in light of the assured certain victory of Jesus Christ. Please enjoy this terrific episode with my friends Lauren and Kyle Van Sant. Lauren and Kyle V. Thank you so much for being here.

Hi, Jordan.

Hey, Jordan. Great to be here. Thank you for having us.

This is gonna be a lot of fun. So, Lauren, very softball question to start out, just to help our listeners wrap their heads around Missio. Hopefully I'm pronouncing that correctly. What is Missio Hair? What do you guys do?

Yes. So, Missy o'. Hair. We are an affordable luxury hair product company with a purpose and we have a heart for restoring hope and fighting human trafficking and using beauty in creat ways to do that. And so it's all carried forward by a line of hair products carried in salons and boutiques around the country.

I love it. And, Kyle, you and I talked for the first time, I don't know, six months ago, something like that. And I immediately fell in love with the business, what you guys are doing, and I love that you guys basically sell hair products as a. As a vehicle. Right. For other initiatives. They're basically a means to an end. Can you explain what those initiatives are?

Yeah. So over the years, we've really kind of honed in on. On what. What we can use beauty to do. And that's just through a lot of experience. And, you know, Lauren can tell a story a little bit later, but the first experience she had working with victims of human trafficking was serving them, just using a simple act of a beauty service to really help restore a sense of worth, a sense of identity, a sense of hope for women coming out of very difficult and challenging situations. And that's where we started off. But over the years, recognizing the place of the beauty industry and the opportunity for hair stylists to be very vigilant in their communities led us to see that education was a really, really important aspect to what we do. So we actually educate salons and communities to identify potential victims of human trafficking. We've partnered with some professionals who've really helped us come up with a to. To help stylists identify red flags. We serve. We use beauty, as Lauren did originally, just to. To. To serve women who are either at risk or in recovery from exploitation. And then, of course, being a product line, we want to, you know, build a really strong brand, really strong company that generates a lot of revenue. So we give. We give to nonprofit partners who are fighting human trafficking worldwide.

I love it. So, Lauren, let's go to your backstory a little bit. What's the story? And take as much time as you'd like. I just love to hear the story and the path that led you to this work.

Absolutely. So I have loved doing hair all of my life. It started out as a hobby. You know, I was the girl that had 10 people in our kitchen when it was time for prom and booking people, you know, even in college, in the dorm rooms, cutting people's hair. Always loving to do hair for friends and neighbors. And it was just a. A gift, but also something I developed, you know, a passion for and an interest with. I have been doing hair since I was 15. I even did my first wedding. An actual bride walking down the aisle trusted me as a high stakes.

Yeah.

To do her hair. And I just went for it, you know, confidently thinking, sure, I Can do this. And so since then, you know, I'm 35 now, so that was 20 years ago that I have been, you know, just. This has been something I love. It's a gift that I believe God has given me. That is not only an art. I really see it as an art with a very interesting medium, you know, someone's hair, using all of these tools in order to create the vision that you have. But also, I loved it because of the time that it afforded me to spend with people. There was something so special and so beautiful about seeing someone's face light up as a result of what it was that I was able to do in maybe 15 minutes to an hour. And not only that, but we had the opportunity to get to know each other, to do life together for me, to be a listener sometimes, to be able to just hear what's going on in their life, to form relationships with people. I always say the gift of doing someone's hair allows you, whether you've known someone for 10 years or 10 minutes, to go deep because there's a connection that's created. You know, people will say, man, my hairstylist is like my counselor.

Yeah, it's a weird. It's a weird, intimate relationship that's, like, pretty hard to replicate in any other sort of service or, like, product environment. Right.

I agree 100%. And so I started seeing this early on and kind of unofficially. I mean, I didn't really realize it at the time. I just enjoyed it so much. I just loved it so much. I felt like I was energized and gained life from doing it. And it's because I was making people not only look a little bit different, you know, which was one part of it, obviously, and feel refreshed, but also feel and maybe even believe something a little new about themselves, change their day after spending time doing something so simple. And I. Yeah. And I felt like, my goodness, this is so powerful. I had the opportunity as a teenager also to be the shampoo girl at a hair salon under a mentor of mine that is still a dear friend and mentor of both of ours, who I watched. He owned a salon, and he used that chair and that space to love people so well. He was a cheerleader of every single person that sat in his chair. And you could tell, you know, people visited him for the time that they got to spend there. Not just the fresh haircut, but the time that he spent. When you were in Mark's chair, there was nothing else or no one else more important, Even if it was fully Engaged, fully present.

It reminds me of. It reminds me of what people would say about Mr. Rogers. Real Life Mr. Rogers, how when he was talking to you, regardless of what your position was, he was just, like, all in. Like, you were the only thing that ever mattered. So I love. I love this idea of, like, you viewing hair through this lens of, like, the ministry of excellence. Like, you're just serving people really, really well, and that is ministry. But, like, there. There did come a point in your story where you're like, oh, there's this, like, more overt means of ministry here where we can use these services to help spot women who are being trafficked and help provide support to those women. How did that happen?

Right. So as I grew, ended up getting my cosmetology license, I actually also got my degree as a teacher in school. I realized that cosmetology and this whole idea of hair and all that I was passionate about was so powerful, and that it was something that I was called to do. And so I started. We were actually living in Southern California at the time, working for a ministry out there. And we were encouraged to use our gifts and talents in creative ways in order to serve the community. And so one of the things that I was so interested in doing is taking this gift that I had noticed meant so much to, you know, just a normal client or a normal person or a normal friend, and take it to those who might need it even more, those who are facing adversity in their life, homelessness, maybe they're in a drug rehab program, alcohol abuse centers. And then I eventually started working with victims of human trafficking. I got to meet with the Dream center in Los Angeles, some people that work there. And I. I'm just kind of a go getter. I just call people up and say, hey, listen, I've got this idea. I think this could really be meaningful to the people that you serve. Can I tell you about it? And they said, okay, sure. I remember meeting with them for lunch, and I said, I can do haircuts, manicures, pedicures, and facials. Very simple services. Is there any way that you feel like this could be a blessing to the women that you're working with who are either at risk or in recovery through your program? And they said, okay. And they ended up calling me one day, and they said, we have someone who could use a haircut, and would you be willing to do that? I said, absolutely. They said, she has had chunks of her hair ripped out by her by an abuser. And so obviously, I wanted to take this on, and my heart just leapt in my chest wanting to help this woman. So we arranged for a friend's salon to be closed on a Sunday so that no one else would be there at the time. And this lady had the opportunity with a volunteer to come in, and I got to meet her. She walked in with her head hung low, obviously feeling, you know, less than human. I mean, if you have had such abuse and walked through a situation where pieces of your hair have actually been broken and ripped out, that's. That's how you feel. And so she walked in, and I could tell it was just all over her face. And I welcomed her in and, you know, just said, man, you've gone through a lot. Let's get you taken care of. And she sat down, and within 45 minutes, I blended in the broken spots and gave her a, you know, a little bit shorter, layered haircut that she absolutely loved. And I watched her go from feeling so down to then jumping up and down, loving the way that she looked, crying, laughing, hugging me, and just changed. She felt new about herself. And in that time, I also got to hear her story. And that was a story of manipulation. It was a story of coercion where she had essentially been tricked into a life of being a victim of human trafficking. Luckily, at this point, she was in recovery, you know, and she was at the beginning of that journey. And I realized that I had been able to be a very simple but incredibly powerful part of her, believing something new about herself, stepping into the worth that I felt like God wanted her to know. And I said, okay, this is all I ever want to do. We got to figure out, how can I just do this all the time? Because this is what I'm created for. What joy, what passion, and what opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those who needed it the most.

I love it so much. So you have this moment, you're like, this is it. I want to put all my eggs in this basket. But figuring out how to get from there to a self sustaining model, to be able to practice that craft full time is, like, tough. It's, like, not easy. Kyle, what's the story from there? Right, so Lauren has this experience. He probably comes home, is like, this is the only thing I want to do. How did you guys get to the point where you're like, oh, Missy o', Hare, this for profit. You guys are for profit, correct?

We are, yes.

Yeah. So this for profit business could be the vehicle for making this happen. How'd that happen?

Yeah. And that's Just it, I think we, you know, we, we'd been in ministry, we'd worked for nonprofits, kind of like you had a political backgrounds as well. And so I'd always been experimenting with and exploring the best vehicles for the mission of God, right. And really I was on a journey myself, really learning more and more about how Jesus is on mission in this world and how we as the church, as his people are called to participate in that. And we had run into a few roadblocks here and there vocationally with how to best do that as her calling is unfolding and how as mine is unfolding as well. And I was just really learning from a few friends about how effective and widespread and sustainable a for profit business can be for the mission of God. One of my friends, you know, of course in the business world you talk about many bottom lines. He was starting a double bottom line investment company and he taught me so much about how to, you know, create a really strong company, a great brand, something with a strong return on investment, while also equally measuring the tangible impact that you're making. And so this is all going through my mind and my heart as we're really looking at creatively leveraging our calling and our influence, like you say, for the glory of God and for the good of others. And so as Lauren was coming home and sharing these things with me, as, you know, even Mark, Lauren's original mentor, the stylist at the salon, he really encouraged us to one day, he said, why don't you guys actually build a hair product line to support these efforts? I think we were sitting in a Chipotle when we talked about that. And, and we are kind of floored by the way, because all this was going on and we're like, can we really start a hair product company? Is that even possible? And he's like, you know, if other people can do it, you can do it. And he really gave us the courage. He was in that situation, somewhat of a Barnabas for us. Somebody who really kind of launched us into dreaming about this. And of course many, many things had to happen before we could actually get there. This was a dream that a seed that was planted. And. But over, over several years, it kept on coming back. I believe that God speaks with quiet persistence sometimes. And it was one of those things that just kept on coming to the forefront of our mind. And we realized too that, you know, it wasn't going to be easy. It was going to be more of an all in approach. It would help Lauren and I realize a dream of being really just a strong team, you know, vocationally and with our family, we have two young girls. So it would have to be one of those things where we just really go all in together in every aspect of our lives. And so, yeah, so we just had the dream. We started to build out a business plan. We saw what it needed to take. We had to kind of, you know, put it to the side for a couple of years. And again, it kept on coming back until one day we just. Or one year, we finally. We got. We found the resources. An angel investor came along to. To really get this going, and we just. We jumped all in.

I love it. One of the things I love about your story, by the way, do you guys know Dave Blanchard at Praxis?

Yes, I'm very. Yeah, yeah.

I love. I love Dave. I love the team there. I love what they do. But Dave talks a lot about this idea of, like, impact market fit, right? I think you guys are really good example of this, right? So traditional entrepreneurs are used to product market fit. So you begin with questions about, you know, whether or not there's a market willing to buy a particular product, right? But impact market fit starts with the impact that you want to have in the world. Like the impact that you believe God is calling you to make in the world. And then asking questions about, okay, well, what product is going to help me achieve that, right? What business model is going to help me achieve that? It's kind of what you guys did. You're like, oh, we can use hair to restore these women. We can use hair to spot these women and help get them out of the sex trade. And a product is basically a Trojan horse to doing that. I love it. You guys are such a terrific. One of the best examples I've ever heard of this. So, Lauren, I'm curious. You know, you guys are building a great company, but as you know, you got to get so many things right, right? In order to build a great business, you got to find capital. You got to find angel investors. In a. In a business like yours, you got to. You got to get the product right and the marketing right and the team right? What are you guys disproportionately good at in that equation? Like, what do you feel like your team has really gotten, right?

Oh, wow. Well, with what you just said, I thought about that from the beginning with products, and I knew that, you know, having been a hairstylist that had worked for years and years with all sorts of top brand products, you know, luxury products, I knew that if we were going to do this, and it was going to have any weight in the world and be able to make the difference that we would like to make. It had to be good. People had to want to buy it just as much, if not more, than what they already had. I, as a hairstylist, needed to be able to sit it on my shelf and believe in it just as much as everything that I had ever used working in really nice hair salons. And so, to be honest, I was doubtful up front that we were going to be able to create something that was good enough to fulfill that vision and that purpose.

So how'd you do that?

Oh, yeah. Kyle, on the other hand, thought, hey, if somebody else can do it, we can do it.

Why not me?

Absolutely. And so he ended up doing a lot of the research, figuring out, how do people do this, working with cosmetic chemists. What does a manufacturer of hair product look like? What are our options? What are our timelines? And he figured out a way in which we could start interviewing with companies and meeting people and learning more about the process. And we found an awesome manufacturer in the US who has been able to hold our hands through the process and say, hey, we see your vision for this. I was able to actually meet with them and tell them every dream that I had and how I wanted every single thing to work. We started on the R and D process for about six items, and we would start sampling back and forth. So I laid out the landscape for what I wanted this to look like, what I wanted it to smell like. I got to go to an actual fragrance house where they pulled out all these little blue bottles of all these different beautiful, beautiful fragrances, and we got to mix and decide what it is that we wanted them to smell like. We had an intensive time of sampling. I would take my clients, my friends, our neighbors, other hairstylists, and get these samples in their hands, whether it was fragrances or a new shampoo or a styling spray, and say, I want you to take this. I want you to rate it on a scale from 1 to 10. 10. I wouldn't compromise, you know, for anything under a 9 consistently coming back to me in terms of how they smelled and how they worked on people's hair. For certain hair types, I love that.

Not settling for anything less than nines. I talk about this a lot when it comes to choosing a vocation and choosing, like, hires, settling for sevens and eights in people, decisions are never worth it. The same thing is true with products. So there's a lot of wisdom them there.

And I would I would add that Lauren is disproportionately good at. At knowing what. What. What her customer wants. She had individual people in mind with every. Every single product that we built. She had their hair in mind. She had stylists in mind because that's so much a part of our businesses, making sure we equip and empower stylists. We provide this vehicle not only for us and our calling, but also the salon community around the country. And so she was always thinking about the people using it, the people selling it. And so I would say she's just disproportionately good at really knowing what others want. Yeah.

But part of that. You alluded to something that I think is really important that I want our listeners to hear. Having specific customers in mind can help you be disproportionately good at that.

Right.

So, you know, not just saying, oh, people, you know, who come to my hair salon, like, having specific names. I'm writing my next book right now, and I'm looking at right now on my wall in my office, I have 12 pictures of people that fall into three buckets of people that I'm writing this book for. Like, I'm writing for 12 very, very specific people for this book. So there's a lot of wisdom there. Hey, Kyle, you guys were selected as one of 90 out of, like, I don't know, like, 800 something businesses, I think it was, that were featured at Chip and Joanna Gaines Magnolia Market at the time. Same silos and Waco. I'm curious, you know, going out there, working with their team, what lessons you learned about what it takes to build a truly great business from observing the gains, incredible empire up close and personal.

Wow. Yeah. What an honor it was to. To be able to go and. And to attend Spring at the Silos. Well, back in 2019. And then we were there this year, all set up, ready to go again in 2020 when we had to shut down because of the COVID pandemic and pack up and go home. And so it was so sad. But we love Magnolia. We look up to Chip and Joanna Gaines so much as a husband and wife team. What they've built is so phenomenal. I would say that the thing that I look at the most when I see what they have created is just the authenticity, the authenticity of their brand, their story that really shines through everything that they do and how they genuinely care for people and genuinely want to provide a great experience from A to Z through their brand. And so I think one of the things that I've learned over the years as we've been building Missio is authenticity cuts through the noise, right? And I think that they do such a good job of that. Man, I just want to be best friends with Chip. Right? Those guys I want to hang out with a lot. But I think that was probably the main takeaway. And of course, just being there, I don't know, the environment is just so uplifting. And I just think that there is a lot of depth, a lot of thought, a lot of work that has gone through that. Their team is amazing. The people who work for them are just so talented. And that just says a lot about the culture that they've created.

It reminds me of the Covey book the Speed of Trust, right? Which is really about, like, how trust is kind of the force multiplier within an organization. But I think that's also true of brands like increasingly so when there's so much content, there's so much competition, there's so many products, the most authentic, trustworthy brands are going to win.

Right?

That's what you guys are building at Missio. Hey, Lauren, we talk on the podcast a lot about daily habits and routines. You guys have two young girls, I have three young girls. I know life is crazy, so I'm curious, like, what does your day look like from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed? What's the tick tock of your day?

Yes, my goal when I'm at my best has been to, you know, fit everything in, but to be really reasonable about it. I think if I was to, you know, decide that, okay, the perfect day means that I am working out for a whole hour every single morning. You know, that for me, honestly, right now is just not realistic. So it's about having a lot of grace, but also trying to out figure fit in the things that I know that I need in order to stay disciplined, in order to keep routines, in order to prioritize, you know, the important people in my life and also myself. And so getting up and just doing some sort of active, you know, movement in the morning that might be just running a few laps around my neighborhood or doing kind of a, you know, stretch routine or a small workout short. I mean, I'm talking 15 minutes. If I can squeeze, squeeze it in, that is good. I'm going to consider it gold and then drinking a lot of water. This is something that I ended up gaining. I have a lot of respect for Rachel Hollis and enjoy a lot of her content that she's put out there especially for Business leaders and women entrepreneurs. And one of the things she talks about is drinking water. She's like, we, you know, we have the tendency to potentially be very dehydrated. And that can show itself in a lot of different ways. You can feel hungry, you can feel tired, you can feel, you know, like you don't have the highest brain function, all of these things. And it might be just because you're not drinking enough water. And so that's one thing that I've started to become really big about and making sure that I'm doing throughout the day, especially if you're pairing it with, you know, a few cups of coffee. And I obviously, you know, love journaling, praying, spending time with God in the mornings as well. Same grace surrounding that. If it can be 10 to 15 minutes, you know, reading Jesus calling, or another small, short devotion, love it. In fact, I have to say this little side note, but the way we got introduced to you was because I actually found your devotion on the Bible app, the called to Create.

I didn't know that.

Okay.

Yeah.

And it was so inspiring to me and I enjoyed reading through that actually, with a group of business women that I meet with and just loved it, gained so much from it. So that kind of even bite size, you know, opportunity to be centered, to be inspired, to be connected to God and then to go about our day, which, yes, it can be crazy. We are handling, you know, we, we are carrying a lot. And so, you know, my to do list is never done. It's almost laughable. I have.

Yeah, never.

No printed out note on my. Like I keep a note on my iPhone and then I literally print it out at the beginning of each day and check it off because I love that paper pencil, like checkbox.

I like that idea of like making the digital to do list finite for a day. That's interesting.

It's finite for a day. But what happens is I print it out on Monday and then it's supposed to be my Monday to do list, and it's usually sort of done by Friday, so. But you know what? There's got to be a lot of grace in there too, because the opportunities that we have, I mean, we have to be interruptible. Listen to a previous podcast you did, and it was wonderful about the being and doing Matrix. And it's just that, you know, who we are at work, who we are being, especially as our heart is to love on the most vulnerable. I mean, we even had, you know, a homeless lady that showed up last week, week in our office. So do you Think I'm gonna keep checking off my to do list instead of spending time with her. No, we're gonna stop. We're gonna talk to her. We're gonna share who we are, what we do, find out her needs, and lo and behold, you know what? She's looking for a place to sleep where people aren't gonna take advantage of her. She was a victim of human trafficking that God sent to our door at our office. So it's that mentality of being able to be interruptible even in. In the moment. We also have a private studio salon where we work with those women and you know, we want them to be able to come in at any point in time. So in terms of. Yeah, just the day to day rhythm. Then once we're at work, we actually split our time during the days. There's usually only one at max two days that Kyle and I both are in the office at the same time fully because we flip flop and we spend time with our children. Now, mostly this has been carved out during COVID 19 because we had no other choice. However, it's been interesting because it is something that has really suited our family well. Allowed us both time with the kids, allowed us both time at home to share responsibilities there. It might be one person is speaking in front of a group of people and one person's at home cooking dinner. One person has got the kids and then we switch and you're diving into redesign of a part of our website or taking care of wholesale customers, things like that. So Kyle and I also really work to. We have to communicate so much and make plans for our weeks, for our days and just figure out how to honor the most important things and then to fit it all in with a whole bunch of grace on the side.

Yes.

Yeah, no, I love. No, that's really important. Kyle, I'm curious. Do you guys. When you guys get home from the office at the end of the day, do you guys talk about work?

Yes. Yeah, we do too much. And that's one of the things that we're always working on. On. We need to be more intentional about turning it off. I think we've gotten better at it for the most part. But.

Yeah, but you know what, can I speak up in your defense for a second?

I.

So my wife and I work together. My wife serves part time, is the CFO for Jordan Rayner Co. And we've worked together for a long time. And. Yeah, I don't know. Like a lot of people tell you no work talk, like when you get home and I just don't buy it.

Right.

Like number one, I want my kids to hear me talking about work and the good God given gift of work and what we're doing to help accomplish his purposes in the world. And also, I don't know, it's just not possible to like turn it off. Like, I like unpacking things with Kara and talking about, you know, talking to you guys. Like tonight, I'm sure at dinner we're going to be talking about this amazing conversation. I want her to hear that, I want my kids to hear that. If I don't talk about at nighttime, when the heck am I going to talk about? So I'm defending you.

Thank you. I appreciate that. I think it's how we talk about it. I think that's very important. And you know, I think that there is some really cool times to really wrap things up. And that's one thing we try to do. We try to wrap it up. We don't want it to be so all encompassing that it takes us away from our kids. But I agree. I think one of the reasons we launched out all in with Missio was, you know, to show our kids what it means to live on mission with Jesus in creative ways. Yeah. And that has been so cool. I think we launched when Reagan, our four year old girl, she was one and you know, she's known nothing but Lauren and I working together as owners of a business, as entrepreneurs, kind of living this life of really both being present at home with them while also really, you know, working hard at this business. And so that's been a really neat thing. And it's neat to see our rising fourth grader, our eight year old Layla. It's really cool to hear her talk to her friends and to her teachers about what we do and how we sell shampoo. But we also help people. Yeah. And I think so. It's really neat to do that. So a lot of that stuff is caught again. It's just sometimes we have to really work on how we talk about it because it can be really stressful, you know.

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. But what an amazing gift you're giving your kids. I love it. Hey, Kyle, I want to ask you something else here. You guys are executing this against just this massive goal, right. To ultimately be a piece of the puzzle of ending human traffic gain. Right. But as Christians, we know that that work probably isn't going to be done until Jesus comes back. And there will come a day when people will not be sold for sex. Evil will be eradicated. We will Dwell in the new earth with Jesus the King. How does that future, certain hope shape your perspective on the work you're doing right now?

Oh, that is everything. That is absolutely everything. I think everything we do has to be done through the lens of eternity, or else we're just. It's going to drive us crazy because we're going to realize we're not accomplishing anything. And. And so I think, yeah, already living into that victory. Right. And seeing our work not as really like something so much to accomplish, but just a way to participate with Jesus and the work that he already done and is doing. And so we get to be a part of that. And in fact, you know, the. The name Missio really came from just me learning and being convicted so much about. Not really convicted, but inspired by this concept of Missio dei, God's redemptive mission in this world. And, you know, as we are kind of looking at names and other things, we love the concept of this. This, you know, it's. Missio is Latin for mission. We love the concept of mission, but that has kind of like a militant connotation to it where Missio has that redemptive idea to it. And so this is our expression, this is our way, our means as a couple, really combining our gifts, combining our vision and our abilities to participate in his mission in this way. And so, you know, at the end of the day, though, yeah, like, we're gonna. We've already seen some incredible work done through. You know, if Missio kind of wraps up tomorrow, when it's all done, it will have been worth it because we have already made eternal investments into the lives of others. And so that's really the way we see it. Growing up, my parents were really involved in addressing the orphan crisis in Eastern Europe. And I remember my mom, she is one of the most compassionate women. She just wants to fight for people in need. She's such a justice warrior. She wants to, you know, fight for those who have no voice. And she just loves children so much. And I remember one day, as a young child, my mom just, you know, in our living room, just in tears because there are too many children out there for her to help. And that really just struck me. And I just really remember seeing that desire to help all of them, but then also realizing that there's really no way that we can. I mean, Jesus says, the poor will always be with you. And that's where, again, resting in the victory of Jesus and seeing everything that we do in this world through the lens of eternity and the victory that's really the only way we can do that. And that's a daily reminder, right? It's because sometimes these, these tasks and all the things going on in the world right now are just so daunting. But thankfully we, we, you know, we ride on the shoulders of a savior who's already taken care of all of it.

I love what you said. I love how you said it. Resting in the victory of Jesus. You know, I think as entrepreneurs with these massive visions of what we could accomplish to participate with Jesus as he's on mission in the world, it can seem overwhelming because we realize we're all going to die with unfinished symphonies, all of us. None of our to do lists are going to be accomplished. But you know, First Corinthians 15:58, Paul promises that our work somehow post death is not in vain. If it's being done in and through the spirit, if it's on God's to do list, I'm going to die and he's still going to finish the work and he's going to get the glory.

Right?

It reminds me of what John the Baptist said, like, I am not the Christ, right? Like, I don't have to finish this to do list. I don't have to finish this project. This venture doesn't have to reach the vision that I have for it. Because if Christ wants it done, it's going to get done on his timeline. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Lauren, how do you remind yourself of that? Like, what are some of those practical things that you do to remind yourself that, like, you're not the Christ?

Absolutely. Well, from day one, this is great work, but we're not defined by it. No matter what it is that we're doing. Seeing success personally, it would be a disservice if it was to us, if it was wrapped up in, you know, how much we profited for the year as missio. I mean, this is just God's. Our life is his. We are living and waking up today and answering what it is that he's asking us to do and putting our hands to the work that's right in front of us. But if for some reason it was done tomorrow, that would be okay. And that wouldn't be a reflection on who Kyle is and who I am as his children. And so I think a lot of what gives me a lot of confidence and a lot of work willingness to go big and to be in the spotlight and to be pursuing something really significant is because I don't feel defined by it. I know that I'm worthy, I'm loved, I am a child of God, no matter what. And so even if we were to see something that didn't work well or some failure, it doesn't define us. And I think that perspective is also really freeing to other entrepreneurs, because I'll talk to, you know, we'll have interns or others that will come in here that we have the gift of being able to spend some time with and speak into their situations. And sometimes they'll be so stressed about the success or failure of their next venture or if they make the right decision, you know, with their step out of college or whatever. And I'm like, well, you know what? You're going to learn something from it, no matter what happens. And that's not going to define who you are as a person and who. What you are called to. So keep going. So I do think that that's a large part of why we're willing to do something at such a significant scale. And then we also have this card that is worth mentioning that we originally, it's a little one and a half by three business card or whatever. The dimensions are just a little business card size. And. And it says, you are loved, you are needed, you are beautiful, you are not alone. And this card we created originally to put in these stores and salons that carry our products and to be able to allow a woman, if they ever thought that someone was in need, to be slipped to this card, a hairstylist or someone, to be able to share this card with someone else and to give them that message of encouragement, perhaps even to write the phone number for a local hotline or organization that could connect them with help. And what's so cool is that message is something that has been utilized in so many greater ways. It means so much to every single person that receives it in a box, that sees it at a store that we pass it to. We even have them in our own, you know, windows and car mirrors, just to remind ourselves like this. Essentially, it's God's message to you, no matter what. And we want women all over to know that, that they are worthy, they're loved, needed, beautiful, and not alone. And we want our hair products to be able to carry that, that message forward.

I love how practically you guys are living out the mission of Jesus Christ in the world. And what's not on that card is a gospel track, right? And listen, I talk about this on the podcast a lot. Should we share the gospel? Of course. But we have made sharing the gospel the only and ultimate Thing in the Western church, I think to a great detriment to the neighbors that were called to serve. To the women, you are called to serve. To the orphans, we are called to serve. And when we act as if saving souls, which by the way, Jesus born barely talked about in the gospels is the ultimate or only thing, you sacrifice social justice. You sacrifice being on mission with Christ in this world. Kyle, have you thought about that? Like, you guys have such a practical bent. I got to imagine these thoughts have at least rolled around your head a few times.

Yeah, these are. These are things that we've been wrestling through for long before our work with Missio. Just as our calling has unfolded, really, you go all the way back to college and as we're just growing in our faith and as we're learning what our contribution looks like while also trying to put ourselves in the position of the hearer or the person that we're interacting with. And I think that a lot of what drives us is just this idea of compassion. Right. The idea that, I mean, you look at the church in America and gosh, we all know that there have been a lot of bridges burned in of a lot. And sometimes the message, the gospel message hasn't really come through certain techniques, but I think that sometimes simplifying it, when you look at the life of Christ, when you look at what he called us to do and how he called us to live, and you talk about it in your most recent book too, just really bringing glory, loving the Lord, our God, and loving our neighbor, really breaking it down to the simple things like that. But the idea of compassion is you want to always make sure that you are putting yourself in the position of the hearer. Or I've even heard sometimes it's, you know, the deepest form of compassion is entering into somebody else's suffering with them, you know, sitting with them in that, whether that is, you know, human trafficking, somebody who's been exploited, or maybe somebody who's just been hurt by the church. It's. It's. Rather than coming at them with, listen to what I have to say or I'm going to tell you what to do to make your life feel better. I don't think that that's what Jesus did. I think he went and sat.

Now, serve, serve first, share second, and listen. We should share the gospel, you know, but first and foremost, we should just serve people compassionately and serve them through the ministry of excellence is what you guys are doing. Hey, Lauren, I want you to talk about something. When you were talking about that first Story of doing that woman's hair, you know, she's coming in with her head hung low. She's leaving with her head held high and with joy on her face. I just, to me, I'm like, oh, man, what a beautiful picture of ridiculous redemption at a micro scale. It's like there was this thing that was broken that you brought light to that you brought some means, even if temporary, of redemption to do you see hair and this process and what you guys are doing as a means of, I don't know, a little parable of redemption.

Yes, absolutely. We've created some belief statements for our company, and these are five things that we believe, and that is hope. We believe in restoring hope where it's been lost. Beauty. We believe that beauty can be used for creativity, connection and encouragement. Like you're speaking about. Impact. We believe in creating opportunities for people to make a difference and an impact in the world. So we're inspiring and we're equipping and we're coaching and training and creating. Creating opportunities for people to do that and to follow us as we essentially follow Jesus and what he's done. Purpose. We believe that everyone is valuable, created on purpose and with purpose. And then education. We believe that education can empower people and inspire change. So I thought that sharing those things with you would be valuable to you also understanding kind of the tenants, you know, that Missio values as well. In our work, we also have a video that is. Was our launch video. And it narrates through the story. And at one point in time, there's a picture of me actually bending down and washing the feet of someone who of course, was standing in to represent a victim of human trafficking. And as I bend down and wash that person's feet, and the act of placing yourself lower than someone who is potentially at one of the lowest points in their life is such a powerful picture. No matter how familiar someone is with the backstory or with the story of Jesus and how that's essentially how he positions you himself and did with everyone around him just seeking to be a servant. And what's so cool is that picture right there is incredibly meaningful to so many people. And we will have conversations. In fact, a few weeks ago, there was a hairstylist that called, and she'd been up all night the night before, because at first she'd been praying for a product company that cared about the things that she cared about. And she ended up coming across Nisio and watching that video and then just telling me, when I saw you do that, I saw Jesus And I am so excited. I can't believe what it is that you've launched into the world. I can't wait to be a part. I can't wait to hear more, tell me all the things, you know, I'm ready to dive in. And so it's. It's so neat to model and just to live into these gifts and this calling and this service that not only, you know, it doesn't always even require words. And to let people view that and see that and be moved by that and to invite them to be a part of that story and to uncover the layers of the why and to get to know us. And so that. That's so meaningful. That was probably one of. One of the best memories that I have from the past couple of months as well.

What a beautiful story. All I'm thinking about right now is, I can't wait till my girls are old enough to listen to this episode. This is something. This is something I'm really going to treasure. Thank you guys so much for sharing it. Hey, guys, you've listened to the podcast. You know, we wrap up every conversation with three questions. Feel free to whoever wants to answer. Go for it. Maybe both of you. So, first and foremost, which books do you guys tend to give away most to others, or recommend most frequently to others?

Yeah, there is one that I have often passed to people that work with us, that people for people who have a heart to serve, especially believers. It's called Friendship at the Margins. I don't know if you've ever heard of it. It was actually written by security people through Duke Divinity School and I believe, InterVarsity Press. And they. It basically talks about how anyone that's faced adversity, anyone in a marginalized situation can see through, you know, why you're spending time with them. If you have an agenda they can smell a mile away, and that the true change and truly helping them can only come from this place of being willing to enter in and become their friend. And that's it. And so, you know, the book talks. I mean, it goes so well into all these concepts and a lot of stories surrounding this and the journey of, you know, people really understanding this. But I remember being so encouraged and changed by this because, you know, I'd grown up doing all sorts of mission work and in ministry and in church and all of this, and always drawn to, you know, helping people in lots of different ways, but realizing that the only way and the most powerful, impactful way that you can help them is by getting in the trenches with them by doing whatever it takes to see them as an equal, to see them as a friend, and then allow your actions to flow from there.

That's beautiful. I gotta read this book. What's the name of it again?

It's called Friendship at the Margins. I can send you. Yeah, I can send you a link to it.

Yeah, and we'll make sure. We'll make sure we add it. We add all these books to jordanraynor.com bookshelf to make it super easy for people to find. Kyle, do you have a book recommendation, something that you give away a lot?

Yeah, well, I, of course, a lot of books. I love so many books. One of the books actually read, I went to seminary. I went to grad school at Fuller, and there was one book that was so striking to me that it's a little bit deeper. It has a lot of pretty academic content, but it's called Walking with the Poor by Bryant Myers. And it was such a life changing book for me to understand poverty, to understand poverty around the world as a spiritual issue, and then to really begin to explore what I. What he calls the poverty of the non poor, recognizing that all of us, regardless of our situations or upbringing or circumstances because of sin, nature in this world, the root of all poverty is, you know, lack of sense of identity which rich and the poor deal with, and a lack of sense of vocation or purpose. And that really reframed my understanding of my contribution to helping people in this world and to the mission of Jesus in this world. And so that's another one that I've really read that gave me a very comprehensive outlook on things.

That's good. I like that. Who would you guys most like to hear on this podcast talking about how the Christian faith influences their work in the world?

Chip and Joe.

Yeah.

That's a great.

It's a terrific answer. That's a terrific answer.

All right, we'll. We'll.

We'll work on Chip and Joe. All right, lastly, and whoever wants to take this can take it. One piece of advice to leave this audience, a lot of them entrepreneurs, a lot of them not. But what they share is this deep ambition to do great work for the glory of God and the good of others. What do you want to leave them with?

I love this idea. And I think something that has really kind of affected me recently is recognizing that we have all been given something and we're all stewards of something, right? Whether we've earned it or whether we are, you know, born with certain sets of gifts, but, you know, all of us one day are going to be standing. If we're following Jesus, we're going to be standing in front of him with empty pockets and no title. And he's going to say, what did you do with what I gave you? And I just really feel like all of us, the best way to be an entrepreneur is just to leverage the gifts that he has given you, to be a good steward of what he's given you. And then when you realize that, to jump in, be patient, and be persistent. And yeah, again, God is so much more concerned in what he's doing in you than what he's doing through you. So don't get so tied up in the ebbs and flows and the ups and downs and the journey. Just recognize that he is with you and he's going to accomplish great things through and with you.

That's really, really well said. Guys. I just want to commend you for the incredible redemptive work you guys do every single day. Thank you for allowing the Lord to work through you in such a really innovative way to fight evil in the world. And thank you for your commitment to the ministry of excellence and everything you guys create and how you treat your clients, your customers. I'm just so grateful for you guys. Hey, I know all of you guys are trying to figure out how you can be involved in what Missio is up to. Head over to missiohair.com and you can find out. That's M I S s I O hair.com Lorna Kyle, thank you so much for being here.

Jordan, thank you so much.

It has been a pleasure. And thank you for being a part of our work as well, because we've truly been inspired. Inspired and encouraged by call to create and master of one. Absolutely.

Oh, you're so kind. Thank you guys so much. Guys, I can't encourage you enough. Get involved in what Missio is doing in the world and what the Lord is doing through them. I hope you guys loved this episode of the podcast. If you did take 30 seconds and go leave a review of the podcast so that more, more people can find this content. Thank you guys so much for tuning in to the call to Mastery. I'll see you next week.