Angie Lee, Co-Founder Of Soul On Managing ADHD As An Entrepreneur And Nurturing A Community Before Launching A Product

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I do believe that building an audience first. It's not the sexy answer, but it's definitely the smartest. I rather somebody listening put two to three years in of and maybe it's even one year of really nurturing an audience and building a community and putting community first and then launching the fashion line or whatever the product is versus just putting it out there and then getting crickets.

So happy that you decided to tune in today and you're not going to be sorry because I loved spending time with this woman. I think you're going to too. She's been in my Life for over 10 years and the second I met her I was like holy shit, who is this girl? She brings all of the energy in the room. You guys meet Angie. Angie Lee is going to be your new bestie who's obsessed with helping you own your weird. Which you know I'm obsessed with. Hack your wellness and start before you're ready. She's guaranteed to make you pee your pants laughing and give you the most real deal advice on things wellness and career. If you guys don't follow her on Instagram, I'm telling you, I look forward to her posts on every single day. I'm like where the hell does she come up with this stuff and can I please live in her brain just even for part of the day? She's a college incorporate dropout and she started her blog in her dorm room and her podcast in a closet. Millions of downloads later, she's a permission slip for other multi passionate women to unapologetically screw the rules and create their own. Angie's a Forbes Top podcaster content creator, hosted one of the largest live events for women, vivacious speaker, comedian and co founder of Soul. From the BTS of building an eight figure wellness brand from scratch to her ADHD hacks for productivity, Angie has a refreshing take on ambition that'll make you both laugh out loud and cry tears of relief. So let's get started. You're going to get so much info all about how she started her company, what she's doing to scale it, and so much more coming. So no matter what you're thinking that you want to do with your business, this one might just surprise you and you might be Way more capable of what you think. Let's get started.

Angie, I'm so excited that you are back on the show. You guys, if you could have even heard our conversation before this. Something about when Angie comes on, I don't even understand. I feel like both you and I turn into small children. Small male children, I think. I'm not sure.

Boy humor, it's just the best. We just. You just get my weird and I get your weird and it's just nice when people understand my 12 year old boy sense of humor. So in, you know, it's just no.

Matter how old I get, it's just always my favorite.

That and dad jokes.

That's just literally the way to go. So today we were voice noting back and forth on what we should talk about because I feel like whenever you and I get together, there's endless things to talk about. But what always seems to be the theme of our conversation and the way that we actually talk to each other is squirrel brain and how do we run businesses with challenges with focusing Also anxiety, adhd. You love to talk about adhd. And I really think that so many people. One of the biggest challenges is being so either shiny object syndrome, adhd, Squirrel brain. Just having so many different things to focus on and not knowing how to. To hone that in or who to have around you. So you've built an incredible company. Would you tell us just a little bit about where the idea of soul even came from?

Yeah, absolutely. Hello, Squirrel friends. You know who you are so good. Squirrel friends. Yeah, it was in Los Angeles. We were both in LA at the time. Still. This is about four and a half years ago. I was doing coaching and I started events. I was doing blogging and podcasting and my brother was a professional athlete at the time. He recently retired and he was in a lot of pain and he discovered CBD for inflammation, pain, anxiety. I started using it and I loved it. And in typical Angie fashion, I. My head is in the clouds. I'm a dreamer. If I have an idea, I want to turn it into a business. That's always how I've been. Mike is very logical, you know, left brain. He's the CEO. So I'm like, mike, we're at my kitchen table. I'm like, we should start a business around this. He's like, oh God, here we go again. That's been our entire relationship since we were little. Is Angie coming up with an idea? And then Mike is like my. My co host in it. And we're like, it's possible because you're an integrator and I'm a dreamer. So I need you. You do the work. I'm like, you do the work. I have all the ideas. And he's like, okay, let's figure this out. So I financially was doing well. Mike was doing well in boxing. So we were in a position where we wanted to invest in something. And I always knew I wanted to get into physical products. I love the digital space. I love courses. That was really fantastic. But there was always part of me and I don't know if you're the same, but I love touching something. Like, I literally love my product is on people's kitchen table and you're launching a physical product.

So, you know, I'm such a consumer and you're a consumer too. Like, I just love consuming and experiencing. Yes, totally.

I love, I just love products. I was like, mike, you know, I want to keep doing courses and whatnot, but I feel as if if we can invest in this now, this could definitely pay back later or we'll never see a dollar from this again. It's either A or B. So one or the other. Like one or the other. And, you know, that's what I always tell women who are entrepreneurial. I always advise to start first with digital because the overhead is so low and the risk is so low. I mean, you could launch a course tomorrow and put it on a site and make money from it, but with physical products, oh, my goodness, you know, the headaches now, being in alcohol, being in cbd, those are both very interesting industries and that the opportunity is extremely lucrative. But the headaches that you have to be willing to go through are extremely painful.

So regulated. So a lot of the things that you want to do, you're not even going to be able to do.

Yeah, it's crazy. And so, and the overhead is so much more. You need team, you need supply, you need distribution, you need operations, you need a warehouse. Well, again, I'm kind of in the clouds. I'm like, mike, it's fine. We got it. We're going to figure that all out. And Mike's like, okay, let's put a pen to paper and figure this out. We both invested some of our money into it, not knowing if we would ever see it again. And now, four and a half years later, Mike's been the CEO. I've been the, what I call chief fun officer. I do a lot of the creative, the marketing, the partnerships. And we've built something now incredible into an eight figure wellness brand. And like I said, it Started with the idea of, we love this, we want to help other people and we want to get this into their hands. And we hit the ground running. Our first version was messy and scrappy. Our first website merchant processing was a headache, especially being in the cannabis space. But we were resilient and we were determined to figure it out. And once we got over that first two year hump, things started to get easier and we started to become more profitable. But I would say that that first year was pretty rough and I like being transparent about that because I think a lot of people think, oh, I want to start a fashion line and it's just going to make a million dollars overnight. It's like, no, definitely having an audience helped and that definitely helped. So we had an initial bump that maybe you wouldn't have if you had an audience, but we sold a lot of things we had to figure out and learn as we went. You know, Mike was a boxer. He had no experience being a CEO. And I hadn't run a physical product line yet. So we were googling shit. We were calling people similar to you with light pink. I'm sure you're just like, who can I talk to you in this space who's years ahead of me every day? Help me out. And we met some of the most amazing people who were so helpful. And yeah, here we are now 2022 and now we're transitioning to just a wellness brand. We're going to still have CBD products, but broaden that and we have 17 employees now and it's just, it's just become this crazy, awesome thing and then we'll sell here. So it's just been really fun, fun and scary and awesome and all the, all the feelings.

I have so many questions for you because I think that people look and they're like, God, I would love to have a brand like that. And oh my gosh, she gets to go be out and do all of the fun stuff. But I think that you had mentioned something that I think is really important. You had done things that really gave you an intro into understanding business, understanding how customers are going to respond and react, like right down to like, how to mentally handle what it feels like to hit walls. What do you suggest for people if they do really feel drawn to products? When should someone just jump into products as their first business? Or when should they start in something like a network marketing or like a digital product or something like that? What are your thoughts around that?

Yeah, and I think you're going to echo this sentiment. I actually don't think it's a solid, smart first business. It can be, right? Anything is possible. Anything is possible, of course. But there's a reason why you see a lot of influencers launching a makeup line or a fashion line or an alcohol line or a wellness product line after they have an audience. Now, this doesn't mean you need millions, but they have somewhat of an engaged audience that they can get feedback from and market research and have a conversation with. So then there's proof of concept before you launch it into the market. So I was able to do that. I would go on Instagram and Facebook Live at the time and ask women, what do you want? What product would you love? Flavors. Our flavors are so fun now in that we actually are going to be shipping our influencers and affiliates the flavor so they can flavor test before we launch into the market, which is something you'll probably do with alcohol, right? Is letting more people tell you what flavors they like. And that's been really fun. But I do believe that building an audience first, it's not the sexy answer, but it's definitely the smartest. I rather somebody listening put two to three years in of and maybe it's even one year of really nurturing an audience and building a community and putting community first and then launching the fashion line or whatever the product is versus just putting it out there and then getting crickets. It's so much smarter to build an audience first. And yeah, I mean, I started when I was 19 building an audience. So I put in about seven to eight years of nurturing a community, doing events and coaching and podcasting and things that sometimes paid me a lot, sometimes didn't, all with this intention of, okay, if one day I do launch a physical product line, this will all be worth it because I've nurtured this community. So that definitely helped. I mean, Mike knew, like, hey, Angie, if you didn't have this community, we wouldn't have had a successful second, third, fourth year. It really. That's. That's huge. It's not what people want to hear, but it's honest.

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I couldn't agree more. I think it's setting you up for success. We might want to hit the ground running and be like, God, but I want this product now. And it's really easy to feel that way. I totally get that. But what's going to happen is you're going to be so excited about this thing that you're doing, and you're going to have to switch gears and spend so much time on getting it out in the world. And it's really hard for something to catch momentum when there's not people to help you with that. It's going to be, you know, and people have done it. They've definitely done it. But typically they either raise a lot of money to pay influencers to get them excited or to pay for ads, you know, so it's kind of like being able to start a bit more organic and get those people without having to dish out so much money upfront. You have that audience who's going to be excited. It's almost. I was listening to a podcast with. It was Lewis Howes and Barbara Corcoran, and she said one of the main things out of the three that she looks for in somebody that she invests in who she believes will have a successful company is somebody who either already has a lot of eyeballs because they have the ability to gain eyeballs and attention, or somebody who, like, can gain attraction and attention really fast, because that is the key right now to how products are getting out in the world. So really looking at focusing on not only creating something awesome that you want and thinking about that, because you guys can, like, formulate and create something for years, starting right now. Like, you can be three years in the making and just, like, have this epic perfect fit while you simultaneously are trying to go viral on TikTok every day. So it's kind of like it's both, right?

Yeah. Yeah. Nurturing your community, seeding and teasing the community, dripping some of that content that's maybe in alignment with what you're launching. So let's say I'm thinking of a gal launching a fashion brand. She should probably be giving some fashion tips throughout the next year or two. So then people trust her with that niche, and they trust her to be a great person to. To launch a fashion line. You know, I don't know crap about makeup. I wear some, but I'm like, for me to launch, that would be really weird. They'd be like, angie, you don't even know what concealer is. Like, this doesn't make sense. People had trusted me with wellness and knew that I was obsessed with wellness, so they knew, okay, she's. She's putting her heart and her passion into this. And still to this day, I'll get DMs that say, I Trust you with this? Because I trust you, and I know that you wouldn't ingest something that you didn't believe in. So I'm trusting you, which ultimately means I'm trusting the product, which is so cool. It's just proof that people trust people. They're buying the person. They're not necessarily buying the product. And so, yeah, take the time you need to build a community, nurture, and have fun doing that and build up the excitement a bit before versus, like, hey, guys, launch the fashion line. Hopefully somebody buys it, you know, totally.

It just kind of will. It kind of falls flat at that point, which will be so disappointing. And you'll be like, it's me. I suck. And it's not. You just didn't do the thing. The actual steps that create a successful business. Okay, so when you had started Soul, what was the reason that you chose what you chose exactly for? You have so many different categories of what you help, like, what's the problem that you solve, why did you choose it, and how did you manage that with what I know, you tell me you struggle with all the time, and that is, you know, lack of focus. Adhd, squirrel brain.

Initially, we launched it for anxiety. So that's the biggest pain point that CBD helps with is sleep, anxiety, pain, inflammation. And now we've brought in our SKUs, and now we have realized that CBD can also help with period cramps, which has been awesome, and then also focus. So we've paired CBD with different nootropics, which are essentially natural cognitive enhancers, like ginkgo, green tea, things like that that help you with focus. We pair that into some of our capsules now. So we have an alert cap that helps with focus, which is awesome. And we're coming out with a drink soon, so I'm very excited to kind of go more into that space of delicious tasting things that actually work. That's really our niche that we're trying to double down into is delicious nutrition or delicious CBD and be the best tasting there is. Because a lot of times a lot of supplements taste kind of gross, even if they work, and then you don't want to adhere to it because it tastes gross. So we really have realized that's kind of the niche that we want to double down into. But, yeah, it started with anxiety, and then we brought into period cramp stuff, and then now it's really brought it into the ADHD community with focus. And it's interesting with ADHD because one of my biggest things that I like to tell People is that it's a superpower. Because I think a lot of times the neurodiverse brain, it's called, is seen as a weakness, but I think it actually can be a strength because with it comes so much creativity. Thinking outside the box. My biggest mission is to help people. Just screw all the boxes. Think outside the box, stop putting yourself in a box. Be authentic, be weird, be crazy. And I think that ADHD has been a part of that for me. I always felt different in school. I always felt like I couldn't pass the test, but I was really creative and smart. So what was wrong with me? And growing up with that much confusion around why do I feel different than the other kids? And asking my mom, like, mom, I read the book, but I don't remember it the same, what is wrong with me? And slowly she started to realize, oh, it's that you didn't enjoy the book. You actually weren't interested in the book. And so they've proven that with ADHD or add, essentially what it is. And I got tested at the Amen Clinic and it literally showed this on my brain scan, which was fascinating. Me and Chalene Johnson, you guys know who she is. If you're listening, we all, we both went there and you can see the example of how it literally shows that you have add. Like, it's just, it's just hilarious because I get on this call with the doctor and he's like, yeah, this is typical add, but your creative center of your brain is very, very well lit. So essentially what it is is your prefrontal cortex shuts down if you're not interested in something. And so that's why I emphasize, if you do have this or think you have this, or your child has this one, use it to your advantage and realize that more so than even people who are neurotypical, let's say you have to do what you love and what you're obsessed with. Because once you are, we have this thing called hyper focus, which is where we are Laser. We have our blinders on and we go all in on something when we're obsessed with it. We can be exceptional at things. And the parents listening will notice this in their children. If your child loves history, they're going to come home and just talk about history class and they're going to get A's in history and then they'll likely fail a lot of the other classes because they're not interested in it. So that was the pattern that my parents saw, is like, when Angie loves something, she goes all in, but she's not into it. She doesn't show up, she doesn't do it. So that can be, you know, a little. It's a strength and a weakness. And so with soul, same thing. Mike and I are very clear on, like, what do I enjoy doing? What are the roles that I want to hyper focus on? And what do I not care about? I don't care about spreadsheets. Don't ask me to open an Excel document. I'm allergic. You know, like, yeah, just hives.

I get high.

I'll slack out. I'll be like, oh, numbers. I can't do this. So being really clear with Mike, like, hey, this is how my brain works, and this is what I'm interested in. And that's kind of always been my. My compass now with entrepreneurship is what am I really excited about next? Because that, for me, will always be the thing that I can be successful at. But if I'm not really into it or I'm doing it for the wrong reasons, I don't do well at things. And I think that's really healthy to know is this hyper focus can be used to your advantage, you know, and then also using that with batch, creating content, that's something new that I've realized works really well for this type of brain, too, is doing all the same thing on one day and then taking a break. So a sprinter mentality, not a marathon mentality. But if I'm going to go all in on something, I'm going to push and then I need time to rest. Push and rest. That works really, really well for this brain as well. And then my third biggest tip around this that I know you love as well is movement. It's fitness. I truly believe I'm able to get things done because I prioritize fitness and movement, even if it's just walking every single day of my life, I don't care where I am. I could be in Bufu, Idaho, and it could be 30 degrees out, and I'm gonna put some boots on and I'm gonna walk outside. And that's because I have to move that energy. Yes. I have a lot of energy. And if it's not expressed, if it's not, you know, moved, it can be. It can mutate into anger, so. Or frustration.

Frustration.

That's frustration. I just need a bunch of wall.

Huh? Like a toddler. Like an angry toddler. Yeah.

Yes. It's like you have so much in you that you're like, if I don't go let this out, like, I'm just gonna punch a tree outside. So I have found that fitness for me has literally, as cheesy as that, has saved my life and my brain. And I prioritize it. And I think every entrepreneur listening to this, your wellness and your health and your mental clarity is everything. Once you lose that, it's game over. Like it is the most important thing we have. And so I get up every day and I move before I create content because that movement is what stimulates the dopamine, the natural dopamine that's necessary for focus. And so for me, I have chosen not to be medicated. So for me, my medication is the fitness is my nootropics that I take. So I'm really religious about that because I know that's what is going to make it possible to get anything done.

Hey, I feel you.

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There are so many challenges to business that I don't want starting to be.

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If I literally don't go move I get so frustrated. I feel like, you know when you see kids who don't get their way in grocery stores like literally having a breakdown, throwing their the tantrum and pounding the ground. Like I literally feel that happening internally when I don't go move energy and my whole life I used to be like I am so dumb because I was so terrible at things in school, but so focused. Once I learned about fitness, once I learned about like competing, once I got something it was like I couldn't let it go. I couldn't stop learning about it, I couldn't stop wanting to do it and be doing different things like that all the time. And now it's like that with my company like in certain arenas, right? But I think anybody listening if you're feeling that way, like wow. No matter how I know you've had these moments where it's like, no matter how hard you try, like, maybe you're in a mastermind and you're trying to learn about something, and it's digital marketing or a funnel. No matter how hard I try, it's almost like I can't retain. Like, I literally am like, okay, go back and listen. Like, can you say that again? And it's like my brain's like, no. Like, I'm not going to consume this. So it's just knowing that I feel like. Feels like such freedom. And like, half the population is probably standing up screaming right now, like, because they're so excited that they actually can find their purpose and meaning and be successful in the world. And I think that was one of the most powerful things, is when I realized I could still be successful. So that goes into my next question. Is that how did you figure out how to be successful and get the right people around you when you're like, look, I got this one thing. This is going to be the superpower. It's going to really move the ship forward. But I just. I am just going to be bad in all these other areas.

Yeah, I'm just cracking up. Because at any of our team retreats or meetings, it's always like, okay, guys, I have this vision. Okay, we're going to have, like, mariachi bands in every customer's box. Glitter. Just glitter everywhere. Okay. Yes. More glitter. Like, I'm just, like, the visionary. My head's, like, up here, and I'm like, great. People are going to love it. And then Mike's always like, okay, that's going to cost a million dollars, first of all, so you need to sit down. Yeah. Second of all, kind of a cool idea, but, like, let's see if we can fix. It's kind of always been that dance. But it's funny because then they'll be like, you didn't sell it? Send us the document. I'm like, but I came up with a genius idea for our marketing today. So, like, hey, this counts for something. So I do. Knowing your strengths and maybe someone listening right now is totally like, oh, my God, that's me. There's nothing wrong with. I've always said, like, it's like Richard Branson or anybody who's a visionary. Not saying I'm him, but anybody who's a visionary in some capacity. Sometimes we think it's a weakness, like, oh, we're not doing enough, or it's not important to a company or a team, but it actually is Your creativity is of value, of so much value. But just as much as somebody who's behind the scenes doing the operations, like me and my COO and CEO, we're all just different. It's different value that we're bringing to the company. So just being really honest with my team members, like, hey, this is how I communicate best. Hey, send me alerts on my Google Cal or in Slack. I have everything organized. I've had to become more organized, which initially resistant to I was like, nope, I don't want to be organized because then I won't be able to be creative.

Right.

What I've realized is I actually do need a container that's clean and organized in my physical space and in our work environments. And I'm actually able to perform better then. So everything I do, all of it's extremely organized now. And that allows me to then be this free bird in that. In that little cage. Yeah. Container. And so that's huge. And just being honest with your team, we take enneagram tests, we ask each other questions. How do you like to work? What do you not like? How do you like to be communicated with? For me, certain days, for certain things, certain days I'm at a podcast and then tomorrow I'll do all my soul meetings, but I'm not going to try to blend those and expect my brain to task switch. And then also I love novelty. So a big thing with ADHD brain is we like dopamine, if you can find that in healthy ways. Now, some people want to jump out of a plane. I do not want to jump out of a plane, neither swimming with sharks. I actually don't want to do any of that. But I love novelty when it comes to my business. I love being multi passionate. I love new projects. I like changing up the color of my room. I like moving houses. Like, I love newness. And so I've had to ask myself, how can I bring newness to the brand in healthy ways where we still stay on track? And so sometimes that's a new skew, sometimes it's shifting up our marketing and making it fun. We're going to get into retreats and events for our influencers and for the community. So just I think it's all about how can I use this in a healthy, positive way versus allowing this to just let me say, okay, now we're just going to start a whole new brand. And Mike's like, dude, what are you talking about? Like, stay focused on what we're doing.

Yeah.

So it's a constant struggle but always coming back to having people who are the opposite of my brain that can complement my brain. Not hiring the same as me. I think it's for girlfriends and for fun, but I actually would not hire me to support me because then we're not complimenting each other well.

Oh, man. And that's an easy trap in the beginning to fall into. I was just thinking about, you know, how does somebody who is resonating with this right now find the people who are more of the integrator, more linear thinking, Love the spreadsheets, all the things. Right. And the thing is, is that you and I are very attracted to the creatives and the high level. We love to, like, get those conversations going and spiral up. Except what happens is the more people who get around you like that, the more frustrated you can get because your ideas are never getting birthed or integrated. So I'm just thinking back to the moments of, like, when we go to masterminds or events. Sometimes it's like switching your intention of, like, yeah, I want to find these people who are exactly like me so that we can lock arms and we can, like, feel like we're really in it together, but also opening up to listening to other people's skill set. Like, oh, they're an integrator. And even though I'm not, like, actually energetically attracted to them right away, let me go be interested in them and really learn about what they're good at and learn the language they're talking and learn how we could collaborate and really help each other, elevate each other's skill sets to get something out. And I think that that's. I feel like that's something not talked about enough, is that when you are going to these events, when you are going to these masterminds, like, to actually look for the skills that you need, not just the people who you can, like, say, hey, we're in this together, you know, let's collaborate.

Yeah. It's been interesting too, with. I've learned so much about, gosh, new terminology that I didn't know. And I always tell women, like, jump in messy ready is a lie. Like, I had no idea what even the word DTC meant. Direct to consumer, all of these roas. Like, I'm learning all this weird stuff now about how to position a company to sell it. Like, there's so much that goes into it. Some of it I'm interested in, some of it I'm not. Right. But I have to kind of draw my ego and say, okay, am I willing to learn this. This is important. This is going to be investment in my future. Like, I need to be understand this to a level. And so I'll have Mike, literally sometimes, like, draw me pictures like. Like, this is us. This is somebody who'd come by us. Like, it seems like it's fifth grade, but honestly, if you're a. I mean.

Chris, do the same thing, right?

I'm like, wait, what does this mean? He's okay. So if someone buys us, we get this. These are shares. Shares like, you lost me. Hold on. Go back. What is equity? What are shares? I've had to learn all this, but I want women to hear this who are also extremely passionate and intelligent and not think you're not smart just because you don't understand a certain area. That's like me expecting a nurse to know how to use Instagram, who's never used it because I do it all day as an influencer, and then me going and doing what she does. It's like, they're just different worlds. And so I, like, be kind to myself and say, angie, you just don't know about this world. You've never sold a company, so of course you don't know this terminology. So being open to, like, dropping my ego and saying, okay, let me take this in baby steps. I learned what's going on. Can you draw pictures? Can you send me an emojis? Can we make this more interesting? Which I'm sure with light pink, you're like, oh, my gosh, there's so much. What do I need to say in, like, what do I need to focus on? And then what do I need to learn? And what can I actually, like, let other people handle? And I don't need to learn.

There's so many moments in this where you just feel like you're never going to get it. And it's kind of like riding a bike. Like, in one day, you wake up and you're like, wait, I just understood what they said. Like, for the first time, I just sat in on this conversation and understood every word. Like, that is an incredible feeling, and that's how it's going to be. You're just going to feel so lost for so long, and all of a sudden you'll. It's like, right? It is like riding a bike. All of a sudden you're like, I don't know how this happened, but I actually know what all of this means. And it takes a lot of time and a lot of patience. And, I mean, that goes back to what I love about your company is that you created what you needed. And really, I was just listening to another podcast today. My walk here is like four and a half miles, because it's like this loop that you start that you can't get off of. So once you're on it, you're screwed. You're on the four and a half mile walk, which is about one and a half podcasts. So my second podcast of the day was talking about. Let's see, Angie, what did I just say? Squirrel brain.

I love it. I love it. Oh, oh, oh. Building products that you want, Creating what you wish.

Thank you so much for that. Okay, so was talking about. Rory Baden says this. I know Dean Graziosi says this, but the best way to figure out what you should sell do be is to look at your past self. Sell to your past self. And truly, you created an entire company creating products that you wish you would have had while you were on this journey that could have helped you even more. So tell me just a little bit more about, you know, like, product formulation, why you love each thing. I want to know more about the products.

I always keep that in mind. Clay is always really good at reminding me of that. He's like, what do you want right now? What would you create? Your women are a lot like you, so what do you want? I'm like, okay, okay. Because sometimes we get in our heads and we overthink it. It's like, no. Marketing is literally solving a problem and creating something that you wish existed, because there are probably people just like you if you're speaking to a woman who's. Who's similar. And we've had to really dance with that because in the beginning, who you think your target market is, it can kind of shift. So we didn't realize that, like, 80% of our customers would be women. In the beginning, we thought with Mike, it'd be more male dominant and sports focused. But really, as it evolved, it became a little bit more feminine leaning, which is fine. He's okay with it. And so we kind of had to be open to where. Who is this really for? And yeah, with. With really painful period cramps. I came to Mike and the team and I said, guys, right now there's not many options for women. And I know that CBD and high dosages can really help with pain. Let's put a large amount into a delicious gummy that actually tastes good. Because when women are on their period, they want something that tastes good, and so they don't have to go to Midol. Like, what if this could work? Because I don't know, I get emotional thinking of, like teenage girls who take it and love it and it helps. And I just remember being 15 years old with horrible cramps in school and wishing that I had a healthier alternative than just popping Midol in the bathroom. And obviously here and there, that's great. But I think long term, you don't want that obviously your system too much. And so I wish I would have had a natural alternative like that that existed. So that's like my favorite testimonial to get. And so we created that. Mike's dealt with a lot of pain and inflammation as an athlete, so he really brought in the pain creams. The tinctures are really potent. He puts those under his tongue a lot.

Sleep.

I'm huge on sleep, especially with my baby grandma community. I'm all about, go to bed, go to bed early, live your best life. And so we've created these delicious gummies and we partnered with Chalene and did a really cool co collab called Sleepy and that was one of our best sellers by far. Now it's just we blew it out of the water and we did not know if we had a feeling it would do well, but we didn't know. And a lot of it was coming down to creating a healthy solution for people to fall asleep faster and better in a delicious way. And like I said, Mike and I realized that a lot of the products we were both loving and taking didn't taste good. And I wanted something that was healthy and I enjoyed taking. And then with alert again, it was me being like, hey, guys, the ADHD community, I'm in it. I know this is something I want. I want something that when I wake up, if I don't do coffee, I can take a capsule that I know has no side effects, no jitters. It's going to make me feel clear and focused without that feeling of like being on a Red Bull and having any calories and sugar. So let's create that. And so then we contact our formulators and I usually with a nutritionist or I'll do research and I'll say, hey, these are the five ingredients that are on my dream list. I would love in there that I've tested out. Can we do that? And then we go back and forth and they'll send us samples. If it's the gummies, which usually that's what people know us for, they'll Send us version 1 through 5 and we'll just keep going back and forth. It's a very hard job I have to eat a lot of gummies, and I'll test it, and I'll be like, tastes like poop. Send it back. Delicious. And so a lot of it's just taste testing. And now, like I said, I'm just being transparent on the journey. I came up with this idea recently of why don't we have our community be part of that process? Like, we're doing it in house with us on the team. And so now we're like, let's send it to our affiliates and influencers, and they get to tell us, and then we take that feedback. So they really are part of the process of, like, let's make this some. A flavor that we all really love. So I would say flavors is the hardest part. It's the most fun. But also, Mike would attest to, like, oh, man. Getting something that tastes good and has all the vitamins and minerals in it, and it. So it doesn't taste like chalk, and it's delicious. Is like. It's a dance that I think before I was in this, I'm like, oh, it's so easy. You just. Blueberry. And then they send it back. It's like, no, they might send it back. It's like, this is not blueberry. Okay? This is. This is not blueberry.

This is pooh berry.

This is poo berry. So we have to go back and forth, which is kind of fun. And I. I know, recently wanted to be more transparent about that because I think, like. Like alcohol or anything brand that requires flavors, people are very curious how you get the flavor to taste so good. And it's a lot of R and D. It's literally, scientists in our lab in San Diego who are, like, with little tinctures are, like, adding in, like, blueberry, 10% more lemon, and then finding the exact notes of it, and it's. It's cool. I've always been like, if I didn't do this, I'd probably do, like, a cologne or a healthy deodorant brand, because I think it's fun to do the scents and the flavors of stuff. So I love that part, too.

I think it's so much fun.

Yeah, but you're having so much fun with that. It's like, ooh, is this too much this taste or too much that?

Oh, my gosh. And it's crazy. You can also go down a rabbit hole. It's kind of like with anything, you know, when we think back to, like, when we put our first courses out or our first events, like, you can all day long you can freak out over, like, wanting it more perfect. And at one point, you actually do have to just be like, okay, I loved this when I tried it. Cause the problem is, you keep trying things. Like, the pleasure goes down. It's like, your first burger is great. Your second one's good. Your third one's like, okay, I need something different. So that's the problem with sometimes our courses, with everything. You're like, this is great content. Then you go back and watch it, and you're like, well, I thought it was good. And the third time, you're like, maybe this sucks. So you have to just decide, right? Was there a point where you had to pull the trigger? Did you ever feel like, this is it? Bang on, we should stop right here?

Or did you.

Was there always a question of, we could keep going? We could try to get it even better? Or do you have to just, like, set a date and choose it?

Yeah, it's funny. Right now we're coming out with spicy Margarita, and we'll both be at Keisha's event in October, speaking in Arizona. And so we're having it for her for this event. And so we're going back and forth on how spicy we want to make this spicy margarita. Literally, today I'm testing it, and I don't want it super spicy. But then, like, maybe Keisha does and. Or people do. So it's kind of like. It's subjective. Taste is subjective.

It really is.

A lot of times we get on those zooms, and as a team, we're like, you know what? How spicy do we need this margarita Gummy? These weird conversations about it seems so trivial, but I'm like, wow, this is my life. And we all just kind of. Sometimes we vote if it's like, it's so close. We're like, what are we going to do? What do you think most people would enjoy? And usually our feedback has been amazing, but sometimes we launch a flavor that people don't like as much, and then we pull it, and it's not a skew anymore. And that's just the name of the game. We don't take it personally. So I think it's just. It's a numbers game. You just gotta keep going with it and be willing to have fun in the process and ask yourself, is this something I would want? And then also knowing who your product's for and who it's not for, I'm huge on that in marketing. I think a lot of times it's like, this product's for everyone and their Grandma, maybe. But if we're trying to help a certain pain point or a certain demographic, it's okay. If we're. We say no to a sku. And that's what I'm huge on now, is we don't need a million skews. I rather have less. And we focus on each one having a story and being really well marketed versus, let's just launch 80,000 different flavors. It's like, no, let's stick with one. Okay? Let's give that one a story, and let's give that one the proper marketing. So we're working on that right now. Because it's easy to just keep adding skus without stopping and saying, less can be more sometimes. So this is the same for, I mean, gosh, for you guys listening, I don't know if you guys know about goalie goalie, the little gummies, or ACV apple cider vinegar gummies. You'll see them at Target. I think they evaluated at. This is insanity. $1.5 billion. Okay. They had one skew. One skew. And whenever Mike tells you this story because he, like, met the founder or heard about it somewhere, I'm like, that's insane. From one skew with a little bit of apple cider vinegar and a gummy, they've built over a billion dollar business. So if you're listening and you're like, I need more skus, you might not need more skus. Like, even if you want even a fraction of of that, it's like, dang, that's crazy. And they now just added on more skus. So it just shows that less is more. Your product doesn't have to be for everyone, but do know who it is for. And then create what you love and what you wish existed. And then be super committed to market research and asking people. We poll our audience a lot. Our email marketing team is constantly asking people after they buy a product, what did you like? What did you not like, you know, leave a review? What would you want it different? I mean, you have to just really be on it for it to be successful.

Yeah, I love that. And you don't know until it's out there. And the feedback is the most important. And I think that's the beauty of really learning to not take things personal is that feedback is just, like, vital. Even when you don't like it, it's so powerful. And when you can just learn to take it as, like, feedback and not, you know, I don't like this or whatnot, you get to tweak. You get to tweak all products. It doesn't matter if it's a physical product, a course, you know, somewhere that you went and spoke great. Take it as feedback and get better. Like, it's actually some of the most powerful stuff that we can get. So I'm so grateful for you. Where can we get some gummies and funds? All of the fun stuff. Like, I'm just getting stuff in my. In the mail.

Like, tell me yes, poo berry you guys can get. It's literally just a mix of blueberries and cat poo, and we mix it together, and it's just.

I can't wait. I can't wait. People are like, really?

Is she serious right now? Super high in vitamins will make your hair, skin, and nails grow. Honestly, I feel like if you told women that, like, if someone was like, you would stay looking 32 forever. If you had some pooberry gummies, I might eat the pooberry gummies.

Oh, there's not a mite there for me. There's a more poo, the better. Pile on the poo.

So it's like, you can see this age where I'd be like, give me all the Pooh Bear.

They'd be like, pile on the poo. Stay 32.

Like, oh, man. So you guys can go to my soulcbd.com or come say hi to us on instagram @my soulcbd. Or, of course, I'm always here to help with any questions you have on our products or any wellness questions at Angie leeshow. And you guys can use Code Lori at checkout to save 20%. So go ahead and use that. And yeah, if you are looking for anything to help with anxiety, sleep, pain, pms, focus, we got you. And we're really excited to keep growing our line for a lot of pain points to help people be happier and healthier.

So, oh, my God, I love it. I'm so grateful for you. You should really, like, put it all in, like, a giant swimming pool, and I'll eat my way out of it, and I'll have no problems on the other side.

Chris texted me. This is, like, a few months ago. He's like, I ate 12 of them. Is that okay? You'll be fine, bro. But, like, that's a lot of gummies.

No, he's serious. I. Angie, this is hilarious. I hide your stuff from him, and I ration it because I'm like, you have a problem. Like, he'll eat, like, 15 things at once. I'm like, this is an addiction. This is no longer like. So anyway, I have to ration your stuff.

I love.

To my adult child husband.

To my grown ass husband.

Yes. So anyway, okay, you guys, one of the biggest things that you can do for our guest is let her know what your biggest takeaway was. Give her a tag. But the ultimate thing, especially for a female entrepreneur, is to go buy her shit. You get an amazing code, 20% off with Lori. So I'm so excited to hear what you think. Give her a tag. Let her know what you think of the products, all the things. And until next time, earn your happy. Bye, everyone.

Bye.