Ep. 121/ How to Build a Beauty Empire and a Family with Iota’s Monique Meneses


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Monique Meneses is the co-founder of Iota, an award-winning beauty company dubbed the “Best of Clean Beauty” by Allure and the “Best New Bodycare Brand” by Cosmopolitan. Through the challenges of bootstrapping her own business and finding time for pancakes with her family including her 7-year old daughter, Monique still found a way to make skin health and skincare clean, fun, accessible and successful.

Monique and her husband successfully navigated the complexities of launching their business during the pandemic, managed health scares and decided to throw everything they had into starting their business. This episode is filled with valuable advice on what it really looks like to run a business as a family and learn as you go. You won’t want to miss her social media tips and how “burning the ship” was their only option for success. I met Monique when we worked together for several years and she was my go-to expert on everything beauty & style, and it’s exciting to see the world get to take advantage of her knowledge & experience!

In this episode you will learn:

  • How to "burn the ships," by committing fully to a new venture, leaving no room for fallback options - 16:40

  • How to to listen to your customers and prioritize their needs over your own desires as a founder - 18:42 

  • How involving kids in personal and professional growth shows them the effort behind achievements and teaches them resilience and growth mindset - 30:59


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Monique and I discuss the intricacies of balancing personal life with the demands of running a successful startup. We examine the unique challenges faced by entrepreneurs, especially when working closely with a spouse, and the importance of understanding work personalities and communication styles. Monique candidly shares her journey from battling infertility and a significant health scare to creating a beauty brand that prioritizes holistic skin health and customer feedback.

Our conversation covers the impracticality of traditional date nights, the creativity sparked in non-routine settings, and the luxury of finding brief moments of solitude. We explore the crucial role of social media marketing, offering practical tips on balancing branding with engaging content. Whether it's about making a scientific product appealing, the significance of customer insights, or finding quality time with family, this episode is packed with valuable lessons for anyone navigating the entrepreneurial path. Don't miss out on these actionable insights and personal stories that can guide your journey to success.

In this episode you will learn:

  • How to "burn the ships," by committing fully to a new venture, leaving no room for fallback options - 16:40

  • How to to listen to your customers and prioritize their needs over your own desires as a founder - 18:42 

  • How involving kids in personal and professional growth shows them the effort behind achievements and teaches them resilience and growth mindset - 30:59 

Quotes from our guest: 

  • “Quit the job. Quit the job and do what you're meant to do." - 18:26

  • "Yes, listen to your customers. Your customers are key. A lot of founders, and I'm not going to count myself out of this, because there are moments where I, too, get sucked into the whole magic of founding a company, and you just have to distance yourself and say, okay, we are creating this company, yes, with a vision, but separate them that from, like, your needs and your wants as a founder and really tune in and listen to what your customers are saying." - 18:42

  • "I think it's those small, consistent routines, like our weekly pancake breakfasts, that truly anchor our family. It's about making those moments meaningful and undistracted, ensuring we appreciate each other's company even amidst our busy schedules." - 27:16

BIO: 

Monique Meneses is the co-founder of Iota, an award-winning beauty company dubbed the “Best of Clean Beauty” by Allure and the “Best New Bodycare Brand” by Cosmopolitan. Monique has nearly two decades of experience in the beauty industry. She served as the Beauty Editor for US Weekly for seven years and helped develop their digital style platform. She also served as PR & Marketing Director for LA-based agency dOMAIN, founding the NY office and managing the Volkswagen and Tao Group brands. Before co-founding iota, she served key consulting roles in digital + social strategy development and implementation for industry-leading indie brands Gisou and Peach & Lily. She has an A.B. from Brown University and is mom to seven year old daughter Genevieve.

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MONIQUES’S LINKS:

Iota Body 

Iota Body Instagram


Kim (00:01):

You are going to hear from Monique Meneses, the co-founder of iota, an award-winning beauty company dubbed the best of Clean Beauty by Allure and the best new body care brand by Cosmopolitan. You're going to find out why she launched and how that related to her fertility struggles and a health scare. She talks about bootstrapping the company along with her husband. What work-life balance looks for her with her seven-year-old kid and her best social media marketing tips. Welcome to the exit interview with Kim Rittberg. Do you work for yourself and want to supercharge your business while still having fun? Well, this is your go-to podcast part MBA Part Cheer Squad. Every week I'll be joined by top business owners who share the secrets to their success. After I found myself working during childbirth true story, I quit my executive media job to bet on myself fighting the fear and imposter syndrome to eventually earn six awards in an in-Demand speaking career and features in Fast Company and Business Insider. Now I'm here to celebrate all you rock stars betting on yourself, and I want to help you win Tune in every Wednesday to hear from remarkable founders and don't miss our Solo Friday episodes, a treasure trove of video and podcasting mini masterclasses with me. Exit the Grind, enter success on your own terms. Don't forget to subscribe today and grab my free video tips at my website, kimrittberg.com.

(01:28):

I'm excited for you to hear from Monique Meneses, the co-founder of iota. She gets real about what it's like to launch the business, how she's decided which products to make, which products not to make, how she listens to customer feedback, the good, the bad, and the ugly of entrepreneurship, but the excitement and passion she brings to that business is just contagious. And we also talk a little bit about social media marketing for her business. And if you're interested in marketing your business or yourself, whether you're a service or product-based business, my video bootcamp is launching in just a few weeks, so make sure to message me on Instagram or LinkedIn before it closes. I only run it twice a year and spots are limited. It is a live coaching course. So if you're a real estate agent, a consultant, a coach, or a business owner, and you're looking to use social media and video to grow your business and you want to make content that attracts and engages your ideal client, we are talking about clients around the country.

(02:17):

Students around the country have taken video bootcamp. They're bringing in multi five figure commissions, they're closing huge deals and they're selling more products than ever. I help you show up with confidence, remove the overwhelm of how to actually make videos and really honing in on your message so your target client knows, likes and trusts you and works with you. So message me, Instagram or LinkedIn. If you're interested in that, I'll be linking it out in the show notes. Without further ado, let's get to Monique. Monique Meneses is nearly two decades of experience in the beauty industry. She served as the beauty editor for US Weekly for seven years and helped develop their digital style platform. She also served as PR and marketing director for LA based agency domain, founding the New York office and managing the Volkswagen and Tau Group brands before ioda. She served key consulting roles in digital and social strategy, development and implementation for industry leading indie brands, JSU and Peach. And Lily, she has an AB from Brown University and his mom to 7-year-old Genevieve. Monique, I'm so excited to have you here.

Monique (03:16):

Hi Kim. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

Kim (03:19):

So for the listeners, Monique and I worked together when I was the head of video at US Weekly and she was the person who knew everything about everything beauty and also style. So I'd be like, Hey, what should I use for this? What should I use for that? What's the good? So not only do I know that Monique is such a legit expert, she's also a really great, wonderful person. She's just a fantastic person and I've been excited to have her on the show. I have been like, when am I getting you on the podcast? When are you going on the podcast? So now she's here, and additionally, our kids are the same age, so I feel like we've gone through the same joys and struggles around the same time. Monique runs Iota Beauty and I have one of the lotions and it is so light. I hate Gopi lotions and it's so light and my skin feels so good after it, but I don't feel it on my skin, which is what I love about it. So anyway, Monique, thank you for joining us.

Monique (04:04):

Thank you. So happy to be

Kim (04:06):

Here. So talk to me about what made you decide to launch your own business? Why did you want to leave corporate and marketing and style and beauty in terms of the editor side to actually launch this business?

Monique (04:16):

Yeah, so the idea for I Otic first came about when I was a beauty editor and I had hundreds of products that came across my desk that I'm sure you saw sitting right across from me. But I found it super confusing as a beauty editor having to weed through all these products and I thought, if I'm confused, how is the average consumer not getting confused? Everything that was coming across my desk, especially for personal care during the day was very much after the fact solutions. I have a breakout. What do I do about it? I feel like I smell bad. How do I conceal that? Nothing was really getting to the root of skin health, which is our skin microbiome, but it was really a series of health scares that I experienced before, during and after my pregnancy that really was the trigger where I was like, I've got to do this.

(05:05):

I've got to bring this into the world and the timing is now. So it took my husband and I years to get pregnant. We were diagnosed with infertility for reasons unknown. Finally did get pregnant after a few rounds of IVF and during my second trimester doctors found a tumor the size of a tennis ball on the tip of my pancreas, but they couldn't run any of the tests. I was going to multiple cancer specialists in New York. And the same answer, they're like, we can't tell you whether it's malignant or benign. You're just going to have to see your pregnancy through and go immediately back into surgery and we'll be able to tell you then and there, but for now it's entirely up to you whether you want to terminate the pregnancy or move on. I still get chills talking about to this day. So decided to proceed.

(05:48):

Luckily everything went well. I have a beautiful healthy girl who's now seven. It's crazy that she's already seven, had an emergency C-section and then after the emergency C-section a month later went back into surgery, my stomach's a mess. It's like crazy, but they were able to successfully remove the tumor. Luckily it was benign, but apparently it had been growing in me since my teens and then I was diagnosed with high blood pressure for reasons unknown. I felt like I was an otherwise healthy person and that was just led me straight down a rabbit hole of what was I doing every single day over the past few decades where sure, I felt like I was eating right, getting enough movement, generally living a life like not too extreme, but that was having this cumulative effect on my health. Was it the feminine hygiene products I was using?

(06:40):

Was it the body wash I was putting on every day that had the parabens, phalates, you name it, before we even knew those things were bad for us? Even things as simple as a body lotion that were sitting on my skin daily and how are they impacting my health? And this really was the reason that IOTA exists and the reason we decided to launch Iota and we meaning my husband and I, we are a husband and wife team, so that really is why we exist. We were really talking about skin health as part of the whole conversation around health, and we really want it to be in the same way we talk about sleep, movement, nutrition, using that same language and thought to discuss health

Kim (07:24):

And how's it going, what year are you in? Talk to us about the evolution of the company.

Monique (07:28):

So we're actually in a few days going to be celebrating year number two, which is crazy. Since launch, I mean my husband and I had been working on this years before we both started during the pandemic, left our jobs and devoted ourselves full-time to this working hand in hand with our scientific advisory board to formulate, bring the product to market, really understand our customer by speaking to those who were interested in buying the product and those who had tried the product, learning about what they liked and disliked about it. But yeah, it's year two now, which is crazy.

Kim (08:09):

Okay, so how's it going? How do you feel? I think the launch is this whole, like you had said earlier, just craziness of launching the business. I think maybe I had seen you. I know I've seen you, I'd seen you at the time and it's just this crazy rush. I love it. Whenever I interview a New Yorker, I'm hearing horns and I'm like, are those the sirens outside your window or mine? Anyway, how does it feel different now that you're not in launch, you're now launching new products, but the company exists, it's out there. How does it feel now that you're in this stage?

Monique (08:41):

I think it's still feels new and fresh. We really use the past year to understand our customer and I think that it's super important for any brand that starts out to do so instead of launching with a million different products and a large team, start small and get to know your customers. You're going to be customer service. You're going to be answering their questions, finding out what they like and what they don't like about the product, any suggestions that they have for product innovation down the line. A lot of what we have developed since our initial capsule collection and what we're going to be developing and launching the future are inspired by conversations we've had with our customers and addressing their specific needs. I mean, how have things changed? It's still exciting. It's still challenging. I don't think that that's ever going to go away because we're still in the early stages and everything still feels very fresh and new.

Kim (09:43):

Talk to me about, first of all, I feel like Iota, I remember Iota won all these awards. Talk to me about am I right? I feel like Iota won all these beauty awards.

Monique (09:52):

We've won 16 industry awards, which has been really humbling and really exciting and it's still crazy to even say that. And I think what's been even more exciting than being recognized by our peers is also being recognized as more than just a beauty brand. We won Glossy's Best breakthrough wellness brand and to be recognized is not just personal care, a company that makes body wash body lotions, but truly as a brand that's filling that white space between personal care and wellness and is being recognized and talked about in the same breath as supplements, like vitamins, real things that truly impact a person's overall wellbeing is exciting and is a trend that I see the beauty industry going towards. It's currently a trend, but it's going to be like a lasting trend. It really is about longevity, right? How do we extend a person's lifespan, skin span, all of it.

Kim (10:50):

So is it called a beauty company or is it called something else? What category? Monique men is a co-founder of Iota Beauty, an award-winning beauty. Is it beauty company, skincare

Monique (11:01):

Company. Sure. I think beauty is what will easily be recognized but can also be considered wellness.

Kim (11:08):

Yeah, cool. I always say I'm one of those people. I'm a dabbler. I'm a dabbler. And an appreciator question for you about in terms of as you're going through the process, what has been the hardest part of this all?

Monique (11:21):

That's a really good question. I think having to, there are a lot of things, but I think having to quickly problem solve in real time because we are a bootstrapped brand. It's my husband and I, we took our family savings and we invested in this company. So a lot is writing on making this company successful. So having to not only within the 24 hour timeframe we have obviously setting aside some time for sleep and being present as parents for our daughter, be marketers, trying to figure out how to navigate Facebook and ads and also figuring out social media and influencer strategy and the whole nine yards in customer service where it's needed when issues, whether it's production issues that may come up, small, big, you name it. Having to quickly problem solve like 30 minutes, but making sure they're the right decisions you're making that could impact the future of the company. I think that is a real challenge, but something you just kind of get used to.

Kim (12:36):

And it's interesting, you do have the beauty background, but you also have the marketing background. So I think in general it's so hard to launch your own business. You have to do so many different things. I think about for my business, the whole accounting piece of it and the finance piece of it is so foreign to me, but of course marketing my own business is much more natural to me. But we all have those things that we don't like as much, but I think you're at a little bit, not a little bit, you definitely come to it with an advantage. You have all the beauty knowledge and then also you have that marketing knowledge. So I do think that you come so prepared to be in this role, not that it makes it easier, not that it makes it easier, but I do think you have those really great skillsets. So talk to me about marketing the product. What have you found, what are some marketing lessons you've learned from launching?

Monique (13:19):

One thing that really separates us from other personal care brands and really is that the core of our storytelling is that microbiome focus, right? So when we first launched, and part of the storytelling too, and the reason we launched now and why we think now is such a good time is if you look at the consumer space within food and beverage, there are brands that I'm sure you're familiar with, your listeners are familiar with seed and poppy and op that have really made the gut microbiome exciting and interesting and not just crunchy granola or scary science. And people talk about gut health now in the microbiome. They do drinking like a fizzy soda. It's that easy and it goes hand in hand and being healthy is just fun and accessible and easy. And that's kind of what we want to do with Iota and the skin microbiome.

(14:12):

And because they have sort of set the stage and the precedent for that conversation, we thought the timing was right to come in now. And even prior to that, when we were researching and trying to figure out the best messaging to enter the skin microbiome space, we struggled honestly with the messaging and trying to find the exact tone and how to communicate the microbiome to the customer. And what we realized is that yes, most people want to know that that stuff, all the vitamins, all the good stuff in there, pre and postbiotics are in there and they benefit their skin, but they also want to romanced right with beautiful sensorial textures, scents that are from Italy and France, and also exotic ingredients, which we really hear a win on as evidenced by our latest launch that Sichuan Pepper and the super chili body mask. But it's a combination of all those things and not just we are the skin microbiome brand and we're going to give you a science lecture. That has been a journey and we were trying to figure out in the beginning, and I think over the past few years have really found our voice and found a way to communicate that in an exciting and interesting and educational way to our customer.

Kim (15:28):

It's great. I love how you sort of problem solve with that because it's kind of like lab coats, but make it sexy. You can't just come out with, here's these doctors and labs here, take their lotion. You're right though at the end of the day they're making a choice and they have to want your product and not just feel like, oh, I should. And so I love how it's the sort of focus on the touch, the feel, the look, and yes, it is good for you, but telling people this is good for you is not always going to necessarily get them to buy. So I feel like that's a great message of what does your customer need to hear to then connect with it to try it and then fall in love with it,

Monique (16:01):

Right? It's science but sexy. Yes. Yes. We do have a scientific advisory board. I mean clearly Ray and I are not microbiologists dermatologists. We have the idea you didn't know that. But we have two board certified dermatologists and a cosmetic chemist and then a microbiologist to really help from the ground up work with us hand in hand to perfect every single one of our formulations because science is really important and a core pillar of who we're.

Kim (16:32):

And speaking of lessons that you've learned, I like to get takeaways from our guests. Tell me the three top takeaways that you have from being a business owner.

Monique (16:41):

This is a really good one that actually another founder that I spoke to told me about during a podcast that I had with him and it was a quote from the Spanish Explorer when he first set sights in a new land, his troops disembarked from the ship and he told all of them burn the ships because we are never going back. And that has always stuck with me because starting the business as starting any business is not for the faint of heart. And I think a lot of people, for a variety of reasons try and straddle two different worlds. I have my full-time job, but I have this thing I'm super passionate about. I'm trying to do both. I'm going to do 60% full-time job, 40% in the wee hours of the morning, try to make this passion project grow and flourish. And if you can and if it's possible, and if the choice is there, I would say turn the ship, which is the full-time job, go straight into your passion project because it takes so much out of you, it deserves and it needs your full-time and care and love to flourish because otherwise what's the point?

(17:55):

One of my really good friends has had this amazing idea for this kids line that she's been wanting to do for years, but she's always stuck between a rock and a hard place. And she's like, but I don't have the time to fully do this. And I know that it's a great idea but I just don't have the time. And it's because her other job is taking up all of her time and energy and if she could devote that to what she's truly passionate about, it could really see the light of day. And she's been saying this for three to four years and she just needs to pull the trigger. And so I'm just like, quit the job, quit the job and do what you're meant to do. I mean, I know it's a lot easier said than done and it's scary as hell, but you got to burn the ships.

Kim (18:35):

And I liked earlier you were telling me about listening to the customer input and accepting that it's a roller coaster ride.

Monique (18:42):

Yes. Listen to your customers. Your customers are key. A lot of founders, and I'm not going to count myself out of this because there are moments where I too get sucked into the whole magic of founding a company and you just have to distance yourself and say, okay, we are creating this company, yes, with a vision, but separate that from your needs and your wants as a founder and really tune in and listen to what your customers are saying. For example, if no one wants a body oil, every single one of the customers I've talked to have been no a body oil To me. It's like the last thing that I want, but I have it in my mind that I'm going to make, we can only go into five new body oil SKUs because I think it's cool, and this is what I envision for the company that clearly is not the right direction, but meet them where they're, pick up the phone, talk to them, have conversations over email, over social, even on ads. I think there are a lot of interesting conversations happening on ads that founders either have agencies to oversee or have a social team to oversee, but you need to get in there, not, I don't want to call it the dirt, but you have to go and try and dedicate at least 30 or minutes to an hour just hearing what your customers are saying, what their likes are, what their dislikes are, where they envision your company going, what they want from you, what they'll expect. Yeah, so I think that's super important to do.

Kim (20:10):

And then getting that feedback from wherever. So just emails, direct messages. What do you think of the product? What would you like to see that sort of open-ended question?

Monique (20:18):

Yeah, I think that I've gotten to know through emails and through even dms, I've gotten to know my customers on a personal level, which I think is wonderful. Some of them have regular skin are dealing with sensitive skin, but others have very extreme skincare conditions, whether it is psoriasis or extreme forms of eczema. There are some that are going through health conditions like their first round of chemotherapy. They're trying to deal with breast cancer that are just looking for ways that are small but intentional to help improve their health. They're not looking for overnight gain sheet. Their bodies are going through so much, whether it's small self-care practices that's a bath or just a very luxurious feeling lotion that just makes their skin feel good. It's been truly wonderful to see the community that we're building that's really leaned into health.

Kim (21:13):

I love that. Talk to me about how did you decide to launch this business with your husband?

Monique (21:17):

Got that question from our friends. I mean when I tell you when we first told our friends that we were launching this business as a husband and wife team, their first question, oh my God, so tell me about the idea. What are you guys going to do? It was wait, what you're launching, you guys are launching together, is this a good idea? Is the marriage going to survive? And my husband and I have listened to podcasts and there are a lot of husband and wife founders out there and I have to say they really paint a very rose colored picture. Very rarely do I hear, oh, it's tough. We have different work personalities. It's very much, okay, we're each other's rock and everything is amazing and we're able to put aside a Friday every night for date night. I'm like, this is not real. This cannot be real.

(22:07):

Well, yes, there are elements of that that are true and that you bring out each other's best and you each other the best partners. Honestly, difficult. It's hard. I think that a lot of people experienced this during covid when partners who were working in two different places had to start working from home and you're like, oh, okay, this is a lot of time together that I didn't know I needed. But when you're working together, I think it really is understanding work personalities, ways of communication and knowing that Friday night date night, it's like a myth, it's a fantasy as in when you do that, even if you do go out for dinner, you are not talking about other things. You're talking about work. If you're not talking about your kids, you're talking about work because that is our life. And I think as soon as you embrace that and that this is reality, the better best conversations have happened when we're out of our element, when we're not just in the daily grind of the Monday to Friday.

(23:12):

Sometimes when we're out on a walk, it's just like a quick little 30 minute walk that we do or at dinner. It's fresh. It freshens the environment, it helps spur creativity when you're not just so mired in the minutia. But I thought I knew everything about Ray having been married to him for a decade, but there are so many amazing things working with him that I found his skillset. No, I was like, okay. He comes from the world of finance, just great at the numbers, the logistics rate. And I feel like people usually stereotype when they see us as husband and wife team, me having come from the actuarial creative side like, Hey, I'm beneath the creative and raise the finance. But no, he and his creative prowess is like I have to say floored, impressed, all of the above.

Kim (24:02):

I love that. So you have a new appreciation for the things that he brings.

Monique (24:05):

I do. I do.

Kim (24:08):

It's funny. Sometimes I have, my husband will look over something I wrote and he'll edit and I'm like, he's such a good writer. It's like he's actually a math person, but then sometimes he'll write something and I'm like, you're a really good writer. And I think of it, I write, I'm more, I'm a very good writer for video for tv, but a long article or a book just takes me a longer time. But it's funny. I'm like, oh, that's cool that you could do all these things and you don't get to be your husband's colleague For years he surrounded himself with other people who got to know him in that way, and now you're getting to know him in that way. What does work life balance look for you? I'm going to retract that question and say, I know what work-life balance looked like one time for me and Monique because we went to a playground and brought little cans of boxed wine with us. But besides our trip to the playground with a little bit of boxed wine, talk to me about what work-life balance looks like for you.

Monique (24:59):

Such a good question and something that I struggle with every single day. As a mom, first few years, there was no work-life balance. I think that it was really hard. It was really hard. A lot of late nights, many sleep, going to bed at three in the morning, getting up at six to prepare the breakfast and the day for school and all of that. And even weekends were bleeding into the weeks. And while the intensity hasn't changed, I think just the time management and areas of focus and starting to get into the groove has been a little bit better in the past. I would say 12 months or so. But I think routine, right? It's crazy that the startup life is insane and crazy. The hours are long because you're giving all the weekends blend into the weeks. You're always on, always working. But there are pockets of time where I think it's important for any founder to find to recenter and it doesn't need to be a long period of time.

(25:57):

Honestly, for me, during the week, it's the 30 minutes from when I drop my daughter off to when I walk back home, there's those 30 minutes where I grab a coffee, I can just sit with myself not looking at my phone thinking whether it's work, whether it's other things I'm thinking of. It's just time for me to just step back and breathe. And it was a pure luxury, let me tell you, it's like five star hotel right now. I'm doing that. I feel like I'm in heaven. And also the routine of every Saturday, my daughter and I go to the same place we've gone to for the past few years. It's their favorite place for pancakes in the city. And we have our mommy daughter time again. I put the phone away. I'm not checking our socials, commenting on things or looking through emails, responding. It's just dedicated hyper-focused time with her to just catch up on the week, hear what she has to say, draw with her. They have these crayons that she gets to draw with on the table and that's it. It's those moments. And I think that with each year I'll just keep on building on that routine, hopefully with a little bit more free time, but it is what it is right now. So I just have to find pockets of routine. Do you find that's the same for you?

Kim (27:16):

Yeah, I find it hard to be super consistent. I'm also not a hyper disciplined person. I'm organized and I'm focused enough to do what I need to do, but I'm not one of those every morning at 6:00 AM I go for a run. I'm not that person, but I do find the one-on-one time with each kid and naming it something. I think I got that advice a long time ago, putting a name to it. So mommy daughter pancake time. So we do mommy, mommy lily night once a year, mommy Nate night. Once a year we go somewhere and we just basically whatever they want to do, which is like toy store and candy. Just kidding, sort of. Not kidding. But anyway, we go somewhere in addition to that, but it's just really free. It's less scheduled and it's just about being together, but it having a name and even if you can't do a whole overnight and even if you could do two hours calling it something, putting your phone away and being checked in, it means a lot to them.

(28:01):

It does. It's meaningful. So I think that, and then I agree with you, anytime I could be not on calls without my phone, without my family, no offense is luxury. 45 minutes with me and a cappuccino, walking around Brooklyn by myself is luxury. And so I take things for what they are. So especially in the better weather as well. Yes, I agree with you. I think that it's about isolating time, it's about calling it something so it feels official instead of just like, what do you want to do? I don't know. What do you want to do? Well, that could be quality time. If you just say, right now we're having quality time, let's do something fun. And it doesn't have to be go to a Broadway show or spend a lot of money. It could just be let's go get a baby chino, like froth milk together and walk around. So depends at different ages what they're interested in. But I agree with that.

Monique (28:44):

I was going to say it's been really exciting to see my daughter kind of get involved Genevieve, well I'll say Genevieve, to get kind of involved in the process when we're picking up fragrances, she'll be right there with us. They're like five. We'll get her opinion. I know she goes and tells her teacher that when they ask her, oh, what do mom and dad do for a living? She says, make body wash, which I think is hilarious. But at the same time, I can see as she's getting older, she is getting more interested in what we're doing. She has an opinion on color choices that we have. And she is like this summer, one of her biggest goals, we weren't able to do it, but she was like, I'm going to start a business and start a friendship bracelet making business and this is what I want to do. And it's just exciting to see that at such a young age, I certainly didn't have this burning entrepreneurial spirit at the age of seven. But seeing that in her and she's seeing that renar are creating something and hopefully it inspires her to figure out her own passion.

Kim (29:44):

Yeah, I agree with that. My kids will see what I'm doing for, obviously I work on a lot of videos. When I was at a company I didn't ever really edit, but now that I do my own social media marketing, I'll be editing videos on my laptop, on my laptop with video editing software. And I've taught my kids how to edit a little bit and I'll let Lily who's nine now kind of make some decisions. I'll be like, okay, where do you think we should cut this moment? You slice it, you slice that now you hit trash can that makes it go away. And just even her understanding, like we're creating a story in a video. And last year I went in and I talked to her third grade class. I gave them a public speaking seminar.

Monique (30:21):

Oh, I love that.

Kim (30:22):

You have to keep it really moving. You got to keep those kids on their toes or they're going to zone out and space out. But it was really fun and it was so cool. She could see what I help people do. I think it's always hard basically even if you're good at what your kid needs to work on, even if you're trying to support them, they don't want to learn from you. But she knows that I do teach people how to do public speaking. That is a part of my business. And so when she wants to do things like that, I'll be like, oh, did you use any of my tips? Was it helpful? And so I think it's just helpful for her to see mommies doing something that she likes, that she's passionate about, that you can have a business or a career that's creative.

(30:59):

And I have heard her just say like, oh, mommy makes a podcast every week, and mommy just spoke on a stage and she's very proud of me. And I mean, I'm proud of myself too. She's very proud of me and I think it's really good to bring our kids into it to see all the hard work that goes into it. I always say this picture of me standing in front of 200 people speaking, guess how I felt before mommy felt really nervous. Mommy felt nervous too, but this is what I did to handle it. So I like to bring them into the business part, but also into the personal growth part of it. I do think that growth mindset is something that kids need to work on and it's something that we need to work on too, but taking them into our struggles and our journeys and not just look at this amazing thing I did, but rather this was hard and I stuck with it. I was scared and I overcame it. And I don't know. Those are the sort of things I think about more now that I'm, I mean, I'm in year five of my business, which is crazy. So that that's kind what I think about as the kids get bigger and my company gets older and wiser. Monique, what does

Monique (31:57):

Success mean to you? That is a great question. One that I was not anticipating. I think it's making an impact whether big or small in some way or fashion in someone's life on the hardest of days. As an entrepreneur when you are like, oh my gosh, how can we go on? I know being dramatic, but it's just tough when you get an email or a message from a customer. And I'll give you one example of someone who started out as one of our very first customers and has stayed with us since, but she emailed saying that she had been diagnosed with severe eczema at the age of three. And the one thing that scared her the most every single day literally terrified her was taking a shower. And to you and I, it's just routine. We don't really think about it. It would just give her crazy anxiety every single day.

(32:56):

The thought of taking a shower because of how her skin would feel after it would be itching and burning and rashy, and she would just have to deal with that for hours before it went away. But she said, ever since using your body wash, it has helped mitigate all of that. I don't feel the burning and itching and the anxiety. And most importantly she said it was the feeling it's not having to approach taking a shower with fear anymore. And it really has changed my life and the way that I look at just simple act of taking a shower. And I remember tearing and just feeling very emotional that day and I turned to rain. I was like, this is what makes it all worth it. The hardest days work worth it. This is why we do what we do. And that still resonates with me and still resonates with him and with the company. And I think that's true success. Oh, I love that.

Kim (33:47):

As you were speaking, I was just thinking about the fact that I started working for myself mostly because I wanted to be in control of my schedule. That was really my why. And just because as I had Nate actually seven years ago, I just felt totally out of control with my schedule. I couldn't really envision a path where I could give both my kids the time that I wanted to give them. So I launched the business. But actually as I've been working more and more with individual people and nonprofits, I have clients being like, Kim, I just made X amount of money in commissions or contracts closed because of what you taught me. And I'm like, oh my God, I think that that is now my why. But it wasn't when I started and it's just been crazy. I'm like, I'm actually helping people. I don't think of myself as I'm a philanthropist, but I'm helping my clients.

(34:34):

And I hadn't thought about that when I first launched my business, but it's been really rewarding. My clients, first of all, they're nice and I am on their team and I'm like, you deserve more people to know who you are. You deserve to have more clients. You deserve to have a life. But most of them, I'm helping them be in control of their life in the way that I work myself to be in control of mine. So we're all in it to have this just a life that we are the captain of our ship. And so we're all kind of helping each other. And so that's been something I thought was interesting is now my why has definitely evolved from being like, I just want to see my kids a little more to being like, no, this is really cool. I'm helping people. This is awesome. So your comment just made me think about that.

Monique (35:12):

I know I see that on your socials as well. I see people reaching out to you, talking to you and comments about how you've helped increase just the tips that you're giving them, just help with their business so much. So

Kim (35:25):

Thank you's

Monique (35:25):

Been great to see.

Kim (35:26):

Amazing. And then before we hang up, I forgot, you are so great at social media marketing, the social handles Toyota body are amazing. Any tips for people who are promoting their own business on social? Are there rules you live by? Are there ways that you think about creating content either on a small budget or to make it easier? What are some advice maybe you've given because you have a really great marketing presence?

Monique (35:51):

That's a great question and one too that as a brand that we struggle with because I think that for a lot of brands, so much is about promoting the product, right? You feel like every single post you need to do is about the product. I would say don't feel confined to doing that. Almost like treat your account the way. What would please you to see? What would entertain you? Would you want to be shown the same product from a brand every single day in different settings with different, whether it's a bathroom, whether it's try to put yourself in the mind of the customer and also what is your message, right? You are more than a beauty product. For us, our message is health. So we try and create content that really ladders up to that messaging and it's broad and there are different approaches that we can take and different tips that we can make actionable to a person's life. And so you'll see in our content, it's not only the serum, the lotion, the body wash on repeat every single day, seven days a week. We vary it up and I think that brands should take liberties. Don't feel like unleash the shackles of that,

Kim (37:03):

Right? I love that.

Monique (37:05):

Can take a creator mindset to it, not be so brand. Brand.

Kim (37:08):

If you're selling, you're losing. If you're in advance, you're always selling. You're never going to be able to keep followers.

Monique (37:13):

Exactly.

Kim (37:14):

Monique, this was fantastic. Tell people where they can find tests by iota and tell us more about how people can connect with you.

Monique (37:21):

Yeah, you can purchase online at iotabody.com, find us on Instagram, Facebook at iota Body and come join our community. Excited to meet you. Thanks so much.

Kim (37:39):

Thank you for joining us. Don't forget to exit the grind and enter success on your own terms. This is the exit interview with Kim Rittberg. Don't forget to grab my free download, how to Grow Your Business with Amazing video at kimrittberg.com and linked out in the show notes. I love to hear your feedback. Make sure to submit to me what you learned from the show and how you are crushing it on your own terms. Connect with me on Instagram or LinkedIn at Kim Rittberg, R-I-T-T-B-E-R-G. And this show is edited by Jillian Grover and produced by Henry Street Media. I'm your host and executive producer, Kim Rittberg.

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