WEBVTT - Balancing Business, Motherhood, and Inner Peace with Vanessa Simmons 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.200 But I was scared. I was twenty five. I was fearful. 0:00:03.240 --> 0:00:05.240 Oh my god, I don't I don't want anyone to 0:00:05.240 --> 0:00:08.880 think about this ever again. But that is when you 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:11.559 fail as an entrepreneur, when you don't pick yourself back 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:13.320 up and you don't keep going. 0:00:13.760 --> 0:00:16.639 You're listening to Money Moves powered by Greenwood, a finance 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:19.520 podcast dedicated to dropping all the knowledge and gems from 0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:23.360 the world's leading celebrities, entrepreneurs and experts, and tech, business 0:00:23.360 --> 0:00:27.479 and more. I'm your host, angel investor, technology enthusiast, and 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:31.520 media personality Tanya Sam. Each week, we talk with guests 0:00:31.520 --> 0:00:34.080 who are making significant strides in their fields and learn 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:37.040 how they are making their money move. If you're someone 0:00:37.080 --> 0:00:39.199 who's looking to make your money move, you're in the 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:42.000 right place. So open up your notes app and lock 0:00:42.080 --> 0:00:44.600 us in, because this podcast will give you the keys 0:00:44.600 --> 0:00:48.080 to the kingdom of financial stability, wealth and abundance you 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:51.640 so rightly deserve. Before we start the episode, I'd like 0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:54.040 to remind you to check us out at gogreenwood dot 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:57.400 com and follow us on social media at Greenwood and 0:00:57.520 --> 0:01:00.960 me on all Things social at It's Tanya. Time to 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:05.720 stay locked into new episode. I want to touch on 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:09.080 motherhood too, because I think it's always something special when 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:12.560 you just have these incredible mothers that are inspiring their 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:16.600 kids by being entrepreneurs and building all sorts of things. 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:20.000 But let's go back a little bit more into your 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:22.319 entrepreneurship journey, because this is something that I think is 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:25.880 really beautiful. And you also founded a health and wellness 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:29.400 brand that sort of came out of the pandemic. So 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:32.760 tell us a little bit about euphoria. Euphoria Did I 0:01:32.800 --> 0:01:34.280 say it right? Yeah? 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:38.720 Area, Yeah, no, Yeah, it's it's pronounced euphoria, but it's 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:41.720 you four. I a you know, like I said, I 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:44.840 am a big imagination and wanting to have fun with 0:01:45.000 --> 0:01:49.840 you know, my marketing always, and so Euphoria was definitely birth. 0:01:49.960 --> 0:01:52.680 During the twenty twenty lockdown, I feel like there was 0:01:52.720 --> 0:01:54.960 a lot of fear floating around, and we learned that 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:59.160 health is the biggest currency that there was, and I 0:01:59.160 --> 0:02:02.560 started doing a lot of research. I started gathering tips 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:05.640 of how I could live my best life while we're 0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:07.360 locked down because we didn't know what was next, we 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:10.440 didn't know what was going on, and I started I 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:14.120 started gathering all this information that I was sharing with 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:16.760 my close family and friends of things we can do 0:02:16.840 --> 0:02:19.919 to just be extra healthy, extra in a good mindset, 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:24.480 mental space, all of that. During the time, and as 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:26.720 I was gathering this stuff, I was just felt like, 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:30.360 you know, I have a huge platform, and I wanted 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:33.600 to really highlight wellness and bring this type of information 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:38.959 to the forefront kind of lending resources and these different 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:43.640 techniques and information I was finding and putting a highlight 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:47.640 on it. I wanted to really create a community for 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:51.160 people to be able to come and make wellness accessible, 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:55.040 not just some sort of like fag, but truly accessible, 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:58.720 and that is what euphoria is built on. And I 0:02:58.800 --> 0:03:02.799 just want to create a community where I can share tips, tricks, products, 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:07.760 resources for mental health and therapy and different things we 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:11.639 can do to live our most euphoric life. So I'm 0:03:11.639 --> 0:03:15.720 excited about it. I plan on touring and you know, 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:20.720 really highlighting maybe in each city the best wellness places 0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:24.400 and practices and businesses that each city has to offer, 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:28.680 and really making wellness cool, because I mean, living longer 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:31.000 is definitely cool. 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:33.680 So living longer is definitely cool. And you know, I 0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:37.600 feel like that certainly resonates with me because the pandemic 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:40.119 was crazy. I mean, you know, sometimes we look back 0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:43.920 and we were watching our groceries, like watching the news 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:46.480 and numbers of death, like it was a really heavy 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:51.360 time for people. Like it was really crazy, and you know, 0:03:51.440 --> 0:03:53.800 I look back at it now, probably similar to you 0:03:53.840 --> 0:03:55.960 and some of the platforms that you're on. That the 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:58.240 silver lining is I think a lot of us got 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:01.480 to had to were forced to really unplug and really 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:05.680 look at how everything from wellness, mental health, and mindset, 0:04:06.280 --> 0:04:08.600 all the little tips and tricks that we could get 0:04:08.680 --> 0:04:10.920 to live our best lives in this really crazy time. 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:14.280 So what are some of the things that you really 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:20.400 used or dived into techniques that were really helpful to 0:04:20.800 --> 0:04:22.520 in your wellness journey. 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:26.400 Well, the important there's so many important things, but I 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:29.200 think the importance of keeping a good mindset. I had 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:31.919 some friends who didn't have families to quarantine with and 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:34.200 they were on their own, and so you know, I'd 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:36.760 have to lend the best advice I feel like I 0:04:36.800 --> 0:04:39.000 could give them, and you know, take the time to 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:47.440 talk to them. Definitely, meditation, prayer, journaling, you name it. 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:51.039 Deep breathing, actual breathing. Most of the time we're shallow 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:53.599 breathing is what people don't realize. And if you really 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:57.080 take the time to belly breathe, you can rejuvenate your 0:04:57.080 --> 0:05:00.159 nervous system. And the nervous system is what's running us 0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:03.400 every single day, and if it's overworked, it's stressed out, 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:08.080 we cannot function in a proper way. So I really 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:11.479 learned the importance of what true meditation look like, not 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:14.680 just to get like, oh, manifesting you know, money or 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:18.760 material things, but manifesting actual peace. And I was really 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:21.400 able to share that with a lot of my friends. 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:24.640 Like I said, friends, I didn't have family to be 0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:28.760 quarantined with, and the importance of having a solid community 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:31.240 and you may not there may be people out there 0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:35.080 that don't have actual families, but really creating your own 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:38.080 family through people that you can trust. It's important to 0:05:38.080 --> 0:05:40.440 have people you can trust, you can vent to and 0:05:40.560 --> 0:05:42.640 know it's not going to go anywhere else. So like, 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:49.000 just really honing in on finding the peace within is 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:52.240 a really good important part of you know, lowering your 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:55.680 cortosol levels, which is working with your nervous system to 0:05:55.800 --> 0:06:00.400 create your best possible existence. So these are all I 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:02.839 really want to share and above and beyond, like you know, 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:07.520 teas and and massages and things you can do at 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:10.360 home for yourself that could, you know, lead to a 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:11.760 better life every day. 0:06:12.040 --> 0:06:14.240 And I mean this is what I love about euphoria 0:06:14.240 --> 0:06:16.679 as well, because I feel like, you know, we everyone's 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:19.080 already had this baseline of self care. Oh I'm gonna 0:06:19.080 --> 0:06:20.400 have a glass of wine at the end of the day, 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:22.880 or maybe I'll go for a massage, but like actually 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:24.960 doing the work to get to that next level where 0:06:24.960 --> 0:06:28.440 you're where you're focused on, like regulating your nervous system, 0:06:29.000 --> 0:06:32.760 deep breathing, the breath work, and just meditation. It is. 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:36.120 Those have been some like really life changing tools for 0:06:36.200 --> 0:06:39.040 me that I credit to the pandemic. And it's funny, 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:40.800 I think, you know, the more and more we talk 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:45.560 about these as just everyday measures of life, you know, 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:48.000 through your community or the platform, I just think, like 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:50.880 we are, it's just life changing for so many people. 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:53.600 But oftentimes I think people shy away from it. They're like, oh, 0:06:53.640 --> 0:06:55.760 that's so woo woo, I'm not into that stuff. And 0:06:55.800 --> 0:06:57.880 I was like, give it a chance, Like. 0:06:58.240 --> 0:07:01.760 It's so life life like the importance of your gut 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:05.320 and your mental Like your gut health is connected to 0:07:05.400 --> 0:07:08.640 your mental health. And it's just our body is meant 0:07:08.640 --> 0:07:12.080 to work all together, and people really need to understand 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:15.800 the importance of that. It's not just speaking, it's it's 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:17.640 it's actual science behind it. 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:21.480 Yeah. Well, I'm definitely gonna look forward if you take 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:23.640 this on the road. I think there's you know, please 0:07:23.680 --> 0:07:26.600 come to Atlanta. There's a lot of people who would 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:29.200 really benefit from this from the community you're building and 0:07:29.280 --> 0:07:32.640 just love to attend some of you know, the seminars 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:36.120 or whatever you're whatever you're offering, we're there, so definitely 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:37.760 keep us abreast of that for sure. 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:40.080 I would love to visit Atlanta definitely. 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:43.000 Yeah. Okay, so let's move on because now you know, 0:07:43.120 --> 0:07:47.239 you've started shoe companies, you're into the health and wellness 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:50.120 space that all, but you're also like a very positive 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:52.320 social influencer, and I think a lot of people in 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:55.120 our community are also looking for, you know, ways they 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:58.440 can engage with brands. They've seen some of you know, 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:02.840 your hair partnerships and collaborations. You recently did a collaboration 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:07.000 with butter Skin for a very big campaign for sacks. 0:08:07.440 --> 0:08:11.920 How do you approach these partnerships and collaborations so that 0:08:11.960 --> 0:08:15.080 they align with you know you, Vanessa Simmons and your 0:08:15.120 --> 0:08:16.400 brand and your values. 0:08:18.200 --> 0:08:20.920 I'd say that whenever I'm getting involved with a brand, 0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:23.920 I make sure that the brand is representing in an 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:27.840 alignment with things that I want to represent. And with Butta, 0:08:27.960 --> 0:08:31.360 it was a no brainer. You know, I actually use 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:34.720 the products. Number one, they are amazing. And I've been 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:39.560 a skincare girly for a very long time and you 0:08:39.600 --> 0:08:42.000 don't see things on the shelves that are made for 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:45.720 melanated skin. And I've been I've been on these shelves 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:47.920 for a long times, and the Saphores and the Ultas 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:50.680 and all those places and buying things, and you don't 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:54.280 see things that are made for melanated skin. So when 0:08:54.360 --> 0:08:56.439 Dorian came to me, who also happens to be a 0:08:56.520 --> 0:08:58.679 really good friend of mine, he's the founder of Butta, 0:08:58.720 --> 0:08:59.840 and said hey, could you do this for me? 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:00.959 Was like honored. 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:03.800 I was like yes, First of all, your products work. 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:07.000 Second of all, everything that Butter stands for I want 0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:11.559 to represent and it's making people feel good, and it's 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:15.600 targeted for skin for people that look like me, girls 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:18.839 and men who look like me that are melanated and 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:21.959 actually for everyone. But to know that the products are 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:24.800 targeted towards us and they're going to do our skin 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:26.880 good and make us feel good. That is something that 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:29.640 I want to be behind. And with any brand I 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:31.480 work with, I try to make sure that I align 0:09:31.559 --> 0:09:34.760 with their values and what they represents as much as 0:09:34.800 --> 0:09:38.440 I can. So it's a blessing to be able to 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:41.520 have a platform that I do and to be able 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:43.960 to work with brands. So it's important for me to 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:46.760 make sure that I align with exactly what they're representing. 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:50.640 Oh yeah, I am a huge fan of butter skincare actually, 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:53.480 and Duran isn't so credible. And I do think there's 0:09:53.520 --> 0:09:56.840 something very you know, special about that. You're right, like 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:59.120 you've been on shelves, you've been in this business. So 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:01.840 now that you know, you have all these brands that 0:10:01.880 --> 0:10:05.960 are dedicated to black skin, that are dedicated to melanated pigment, 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:09.240 blackground whatever. And of course when we say this, anybody 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:11.120 can use the products, but it's just it is really 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:13.720 a special thing that it's like actually looking at our 0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:16.960 tissue structure on a molecular level and making sure that 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:19.000 we can have the best glow because I need this 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:19.440 block to. 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:21.679 Not crack don't need it to crack. 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:27.560 Exactly, exactly absolutely, I'm going to move a little bit 0:10:27.600 --> 0:10:31.800 away from skincare right now and we're going to go 0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:33.640 on the tech side because you've seen sort of an 0:10:33.679 --> 0:10:35.600 evolution of like you've been making products. 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:38.160 We talked a little bit about how you had all 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:42.240 this marketing success that was really you know, grassroots, and 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:44.160 now we're in the a little bit of a world 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:48.800 where it's very social media forward, very influent, influencer driven. 0:10:49.440 --> 0:10:52.080 How have you seen technology sort of like play a 0:10:52.120 --> 0:10:55.360 role in the evolution of your businesses? And do you 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:57.320 like this or do you you know, do you really 0:10:57.360 --> 0:10:59.880 want to go back to the old days of like marketing? 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:02.880 Know what, I love the old days. I love the 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:05.839 gorilla style marketing we were able to do. But as 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:08.160 an entrepreneur, you have to be able to move with 0:11:08.240 --> 0:11:11.240 the times, even if it's a little bit scary. And 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:14.920 so technology is something that we can avoid. It is 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:17.400 growing at a rapid pace. We have the introduction of 0:11:17.440 --> 0:11:21.400 AI and all of these other crazy things. Yes, and 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:25.080 so we have to be able to move with the 0:11:25.360 --> 0:11:28.520 flow of what is going on. So that's a part 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:30.839 of being an entrepreneur. So you've got to make it 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:34.199 work for you. You know, social media is a blessing 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:35.440 and a curse. You know, there are a lot of 0:11:35.520 --> 0:11:37.600 cons to it, but there are also a lot of 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:41.920 pros to being able to have direct access to your 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:46.560 consumer at the snap of a press send on a post, 0:11:46.720 --> 0:11:49.040 and so you have to make it work for you. You 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:51.880 got to do the research to stay relevant and know 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:55.280 exactly what your customer wants. And it's a blessing to 0:11:55.320 --> 0:11:57.480 be able to do that through technology and to be 0:11:57.559 --> 0:12:01.440 able to research so many different things so quickly. So 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:03.240 you have to be able to make it work for you. 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:05.640 And you know what, I'm not mad at it. It's 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:08.320 amazing that I'm able to exist in this time where 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:12.000 I've seen the evolution of having to do gorilla style 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:16.480 marketing to having the access to my customer, you know, 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:21.480 within seconds. It's incredible, and you got to evolve with it. 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:24.440 That's all A part about of being an entrepreneur is 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:28.160 moving with the waves, moving with how everything is changing, 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:30.959 no matter how challenging it may be. You got to 0:12:31.000 --> 0:12:33.400 stay on the pulse of what's hot and what's going on. 0:12:33.600 --> 0:12:36.360 And so it's a blessing and a curse, you know, 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:37.959 there's a sound side. 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:40.120 Really a blessing and a curse. 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:41.840 But I love that you said that. 0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:45.200 It's like entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is absolutely about being able to 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:48.400 like be agile, move with the waves, and it's you know, 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:50.679 oftentimes people look and they'll be like, oh, well they 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:54.160 had it easy. They just built this business, and we 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:57.679 forget like there are days being an entrepreneur, you know, 0:12:57.760 --> 0:13:00.240 you're a mom as well, where you're just like, I 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:03.240 like the expression it's either I'm killing it or it's 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:07.880 killing me. I'm killing it, or it's me right about 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:10.880 some of those Like I hate to dig up the 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:13.560 top memory some of those times where you were just 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:17.720 incredibly challenged about entrepreneurship. Can you remember some of those 0:13:17.760 --> 0:13:20.560 like significant obstacles or have you just buried them away 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:21.240 and you're like, I. 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:25.640 Can't, Yeah, them both both. I bury them away, but 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:27.480 I have to. I have to kind of keep them 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:29.120 at the top of my mind so that I don't 0:13:29.160 --> 0:13:31.880 make the same mistakes. Challenges are the name of the 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:36.000 game when you are an entrepreneur. And as Pastry was 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:38.600 growing and we were coming to a time where me 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:41.200 and my sister were really starting to pivot and grow up. 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:43.480 I wanted to start a lingerie business. There was a 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:46.680 lot of money to be made in lingerie, billion dollar business, 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:49.280 and I was like, okay, I want to get involved. 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:51.080 I want to do this. So I went head in. 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:53.880 You know, I've been successful in fashion. I can do this. 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:56.200 This is this is going to be so easy. I'm 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:58.520 going to be making millions of dollars in matter of 0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:03.079 a few years. So I went head first into building 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:06.800 this business. And the problem with my structure is when 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.640 you don't have a team who was knowledgeable of the 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:13.599 field you're going into or has had previous success in it, 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:18.560 it's gonna be bound to maybe fail. And so got involved. 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:20.720 I had some people on your team. Your team is 0:14:20.760 --> 0:14:24.880 so important. It's so important when you're building something. It's everything. 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:29.400 And that's what happened. It failed, and you know, instead 0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:31.600 of picking up the pieces off the floor after it 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:35.160 didn't do so well, I dropped it all and I 0:14:35.240 --> 0:14:38.400 ran and I did not look back, And looking back 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:41.080 in retrospect, I feel like that's one of my biggest 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:44.560 regrets because as an entrepreneur, you have to be able 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:49.440 to pick yourself up and reconstruct the pieces, no matter 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:52.760 how hard, no matter how embarrassing because this was incredibly embarrassing. 0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:55.800 I had this huge, successful brand and now I started 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:58.080 this company. I had press going on around it, and 0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:02.160 it wasn't the Z I had a fast show. It 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:05.040 just all the pieces were busting at the seam and 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:07.440 I wanted nothing to do with it. So I left 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:09.840 it on the ground and I never looked back. And 0:15:10.480 --> 0:15:14.000 looking back, I now know, as an older woman and 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:16.680 a more seasoned entrepreneur, I should have picked up those pieces. 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:17.560 I should have kept going. 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:18.080 I should have. 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:20.600 Brought more people onto the team, and I should have 0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:23.360 kept rocking with it. And instead I left it there 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:25.160 and I never looked back. And that's one of my 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:28.080 biggest regrets looking back, like I really could have made something. 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:31.600 I see so many people, you know, throwing right now 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:34.880 in the lingerie business, you know the skims and the 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:38.960 you know, the fency and all that stuff, and I 0:15:39.000 --> 0:15:41.280 was like, you know what, that could have been me 0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:45.040 if I just got over the embarrassment of the initial fall, 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:49.240 picked the right team and kept going. But I was scared. 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:52.160 I was twenty five. I was fearful. Oh my god, 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:54.560 I don't want anyone to think about this ever again. 0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:58.280 But that is when you fail as an entrepreneur when 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:01.520 you don't pick yourself back up and you don't keep going, 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:04.600 And that will always serve as a lesson to me 0:16:04.680 --> 0:16:07.120 if you don't. No, no, we don't just drop stuff 0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:07.760 and leave it. 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:08.520 You know. 0:16:08.560 --> 0:16:11.680 I pee is valuable. I had an LLC. Yeah, everything going, 0:16:12.120 --> 0:16:15.160 you know, and I just left it there. And I 0:16:15.200 --> 0:16:17.480 should have picked the pieces up and kept going. And 0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:20.280 so any up and coming entrepreneur, if you come up 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:24.200 against a challenge like this, I would just suggest pick 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:26.440 yourself back up, maybe take a week or two to 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:28.400 like cry it out or do whatever you got to 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:31.640 do to release that energy. But you keep yourself back up, 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:35.000 you keep going and you never know where it could 0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:37.560 take you. But it won't take you anywhere if you 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:39.840 leave it there. And that's what happened to you, Limail. 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:43.920 That is one of my most painful memories. But but 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:48.000 at least I can share the experience. Yeah, yeah, I 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:48.840 would want to come up. 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:51.320 It's so hard to and I like, I honest, I 0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:53.760 feel your pain. I know that it's hard to like 0:16:53.840 --> 0:16:56.440 look back at those things and have regret or maybe 0:16:56.480 --> 0:16:58.120 I would have done it. But it's also my heart 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:00.720 goes after you as like a young twenty and you were, 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:03.360 you know, twenty five at the time, but also like 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:06.040 a very grown twenty five because you've done a lot 0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:08.680 and I understand, Like, I think a lot of the 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:11.879 biggest challenges that entrepreneurs have is like fear, right, this 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:15.959 fear mindset, fear failure, and I think oftentimes that holds 0:17:15.960 --> 0:17:19.320 people back all the time. I always said that for me, 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:22.240 you know, it was it's like done is better than perfect, 0:17:22.400 --> 0:17:25.360 and my biggest achilles heels, I want everything to be perfect, 0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:29.040 and you know it delays you because oftentimes, like, yes, 0:17:29.240 --> 0:17:32.760 the things are bursting at the seams, but you'll get 0:17:32.760 --> 0:17:35.160 it right the next time, right. And I think maybe 0:17:35.200 --> 0:17:37.280 it was like Steve Jobs that talked about that, like 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:39.960 when he first released his first product, it was horrible, 0:17:39.960 --> 0:17:42.879 it was buggy, you know, the you know, your boob's 0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:44.840 falling out of your bra, but you know that you'll 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:46.080 fix it better the next time. 0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:51.040 Imagine if Steve Job stopped, you know, like right, yeah, imagine, 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:53.440 so you got to you gotta keep going, You got 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:56.600 to improve the structure, and you got to keep going. 0:17:56.640 --> 0:17:58.719 That there's a better story in that when you do 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:00.760 have the challenges and you do have to failures is 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:02.640 a better story in the long run when you look 0:18:02.640 --> 0:18:03.320 at it that way. 0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:05.960 Absolutely, and thank you for sharing that, because oftentimes people 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:08.199 look at you know, successful people and they're be like, well, 0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:11.600 they didn't have any problems, or you know, they every hit, 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:14.160 they every big hit they took was a home run, 0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:16.200 and that's just never the case. It's just sometimes it's 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:18.120 harder to share those things. Yeah. 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:21.240 Absolutely, we want everyone to see how highlight real exactly. 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:24.720 That's the thing we want all our successes, but that's 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:27.520 not what makes a full success story. You got to 0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:28.480 have some of the failures. 0:18:28.800 --> 0:18:32.160 Very true. Okay, So, Vanessa, in addition to being an entrepreneur, 0:18:32.200 --> 0:18:35.160 you're also a devoted mother. And you know, I love 0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:37.320 when we have women on the podcast because I think, 0:18:37.600 --> 0:18:40.080 you know, these are stories that are also a lot 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:43.040 of our money movers are mothers, right, and they're figuring 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:46.399 out how to balance everything. The quintessential question, you know, 0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:48.520 how do you balance everything as a mom? And I 0:18:48.640 --> 0:18:50.399 stopped asking that because I was like, I don't even 0:18:50.440 --> 0:18:53.159 know what balance looks like half the time. But I 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:57.400 want to talk about your journey through motherhood and entrepreneurship 0:18:57.440 --> 0:19:00.440 because I think there's something in it that's always motivating 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:02.720 to people that are listening on the other on the 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:06.840 other side of the waves here. So, what advice would 0:19:06.840 --> 0:19:09.040 you give to mothers who are looking to start their 0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:11.800 own business, that want to branch out and sort of 0:19:11.800 --> 0:19:14.800 start working on their dream businesses and building something big 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:15.720 for their families. 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:19.960 Don't be intimidated by it. A lot of women they 0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:24.080 start families, they start having babies, and they feel like 0:19:24.880 --> 0:19:27.560 their goals and dreams have to be put aside, and 0:19:28.640 --> 0:19:30.680 you know that they had to get it done before 0:19:30.720 --> 0:19:33.200 they started their family. This isn't true. You know, moving 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:36.440 into motherhood is a whole other way to be inspired. 0:19:36.480 --> 0:19:41.000 It's a whole new chapter in life. And it's it's doable. 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:43.359 You know, we're in a time right now where women 0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:48.480 we are learning that our superpowers. We are truly super humans. 0:19:48.560 --> 0:19:50.840 We can have babies, we can have businesses, we can 0:19:50.880 --> 0:19:54.720 be successful partners, we can manage the household. We can 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:57.000 do it all. But we can only do it all 0:19:57.040 --> 0:19:58.960 if we manage our time proper. 0:19:59.080 --> 0:19:59.280 Lead. 0:19:59.440 --> 0:20:04.680 Okay, I really want to express the importance of creating 0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:09.119 a schedule for yourself. If you're gonna balance so many things, 0:20:09.160 --> 0:20:12.160 make sure that you're creating a schedule, you're staying organized. 0:20:12.200 --> 0:20:14.880 I find on days when I don't journal the night 0:20:14.920 --> 0:20:17.960 before and I don't create a schedule for myself, my 0:20:18.080 --> 0:20:20.639 day is chaotic because it's all over the place. I'm 0:20:20.640 --> 0:20:22.359