WEBVTT - Vanessa Hudgens: Breaking Free from Disney 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:07.119 Welcome back to She Pivots. I'm Vanessa Hudgens. 0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:16.919 Welcome to She Pivots, the podcast where we talk with 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:20.200 women who dared to pivot out of one career and 0:00:20.360 --> 0:00:24.639 into something new and explore how their personal lives impacted 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:30.280 these decisions. I'm your host, Emily Tish Sussman. Some news. 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:34.200 I'm so excited to announce that She Pivots is now 0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:37.479 part of the iHeart Family. This isn't going to mean 0:00:37.560 --> 0:00:40.880 much for you as the listeners. Same producers, same host, 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:48.960 same team, just bigger family. We're kicking off our first 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:54.280 iHeart episode with none other than Vanessa Hudgens. When the 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:56.880 email came through that she wanted to be on the show, 0:00:57.120 --> 0:01:00.000 my producers and I could not have been more excited. 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:03.840 Now we all know Vanessa Hudgens as an actress, performer, 0:01:03.840 --> 0:01:07.160 and singer, but she's pivoted into a new venture, or 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:11.399 several new ventures in fact, as a business owner. I 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:14.040 had the chance to interview Vanessa to talk about each 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:17.199 of these and then talk about her mindset going into 0:01:17.200 --> 0:01:20.080 this new phase of life. It was so fun to 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:24.160 hear that she, like so many founders, attends trade shows 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:27.240 and works the room to get people to stock her product. 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:30.840 She is hustling just like the rest of us. Her 0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:34.280 interview is truly delightful. It was fascinating to hear about 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:37.440 how she views the different phases and changes in her career, 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:41.600 especially considering that it started when she was just ten 0:01:41.680 --> 0:01:45.679 years old. So stay tuned as we hear about everything 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:50.080 from her relationships to performing on Broadway to going into 0:01:50.120 --> 0:01:56.280 business with friends. Enjoy. 0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:01.520 My name is Vanessa Hudgens, and I I am an actress, 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:05.880 a producer, singer, entrepreneur, business owner. 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:08.400 Okay, we're going to back up a little bit, So 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:10.840 what did you want to be when you thought about, like, 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:12.440 who am I going to be when I grow up? 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:13.440 Like when you were little. 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:15.040 When I was little, I was either going to be 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:18.800 a pediatrician or an actor. Okay, those were my two 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:22.799 things that I gravitated towards. I started musical theater when 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:26.200 I was like six years old, so that happened a 0:02:26.240 --> 0:02:27.160 lot faster. 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:28.800 Than the pediatrician root would have taken me. 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:31.000 And then as I've gotten older, I realized that I 0:02:31.040 --> 0:02:34.360 would have not done well because I can't do blood. 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:39.240 So you were performing locally in shows and really doing 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:42.280 exceptionally well, to the point that your family moved you 0:02:42.360 --> 0:02:44.559 pretty young to La to start working professionally. 0:02:45.560 --> 0:02:50.760 I was very, very shy, and my parents saw that, 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:53.560 like I loved singing and dancing, so they put me 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:56.080 in like a community theater show where you literally have 0:02:56.120 --> 0:02:58.000 to pay to play. It was like fifty bucks to 0:02:58.000 --> 0:02:59.799 be in the play. And I like a tiny little 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:02.480 and I remember being terrified in the beginning. I would 0:03:02.560 --> 0:03:05.880 like make myself as small as possible because I was like, I. 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:06.960 Don't want anyone to look at me. 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:12.480 But through acting, I like felt that behind hiding behind 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:16.359 a character allowed me to open up so much more. 0:03:16.840 --> 0:03:19.360 And then I had a friend who was like, I 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:21.320 can't go on this audition for a commercial. 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:23.520 Would you want to go? And I said. 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:25.480 Sure, my parents drove me and I ended up booking it. 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:28.760 So then I ended up signing with her agent. And 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:30.920 it was just kind of like one thing led to another, 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:33.919 and my parents are like, oh, well, it's like she's 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.840 actually working and you know, she's making an income. And 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:42.200 I feel like we moved the first time for me 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:47.440 to do this when I was probably eleven or twelve, 0:03:48.120 --> 0:03:50.080 just to be closer Telle, because we were driving up 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:51.320 a lot from San Diego. 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:54.200 That's a big decision to move your whole family. Did 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:56.680 you feel pressuring like they were moving it for your 0:03:56.800 --> 0:03:58.120 career you were so young. 0:03:58.200 --> 0:04:02.840 No, because I had no concepts, you know, like I 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:06.360 don't know, like I enjoyed and loved doing what I 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:08.840 was doing, and they were like, let's move, and I'm. 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:12.080 Like, Okay, that's great, I get to keep doing it. 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:14.080 As a kid, you have no idea, you just know 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:16.640 what you love doing, and like that was it. I 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:19.159 feel like it took a long time for me to 0:04:19.240 --> 0:04:22.480 even process the fact that that was my career because 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:25.080 it was just something that I was so passionate about. 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:30.520 I started homeschooling when I was probably fourteen years old, So. 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:36.120 No, But at the same time, it was just something 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:37.880 that I loved. Like I didn't look. 0:04:37.720 --> 0:04:42.159 At it as a tour or a task or anything negative. 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:43.839 It was literally just like, Oh, I get to show 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:46.000 up and play and have fun and this is really cool. 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:50.320 It probably was after high school musical that I was like, oh, 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:54.000 this is actually my career, like this is my job. 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:56.520 Yeah, well talk me through that. 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:59.000 When you went into high school musical, did you have 0:04:59.040 --> 0:05:02.240 a sense about how big it would end up being no, of. 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.960 Course, not again. Just a kid happened a good time. 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:06.000 We're back. 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:18.320 Us High School Musical two only on Good Morning America 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:19.080 this morning. 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:21.120 Plus we're going to meet the cast of High School 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:24.080 Musical two and get to see them perform live. That's 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:26.119 all next on gm AN. I'm not ashamed to admit 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:29.640 looking forward, I had a crush, I had a new 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:30.320 best friend. 0:05:31.120 --> 0:05:34.039 I was like working on a movie with a director 0:05:34.200 --> 0:05:38.240 who directed one of my favorite movies, Abra Jocus Focus. 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:40.880 Like I was just like, this is the dream I'm living, 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:42.119 literally the dream. 0:05:42.400 --> 0:05:44.960 Like that was just it Like it still would have 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:47.680 been a very fond experience that I look back on. 0:05:48.040 --> 0:05:49.040 It's crazy. Yeah. 0:05:49.400 --> 0:05:50.960 The first one we did when I was fifteen, the 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:53.240 last one we did when I was eighteen. So yeah, 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:58.040 like that whole three years, it was really just that 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:03.000 cast just the right or Die, us against the world, 0:06:03.120 --> 0:06:06.279 and the whole world was looking and it was wild, 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:08.880 but like we had each other to lean on so 0:06:08.960 --> 0:06:10.039 it felt safe. 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:13.520 Yeah, And did you really lean on one another in 0:06:13.560 --> 0:06:13.920 that way? 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:19.360 Oh yeah, for sure. Like I mean, Zach was my boyfriend, 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.599 Ashley was my best friend. We all lived within like 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:26.640 a ten minute ratious of each other. So we were 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:31.800 all very close and we kind of kept to ourselves always. 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:35.799 Zach is endurable and we all just have so much fun. 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:38.040 I me and this sad each other for like a year. 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:40.479 Now we work together, Like she is so great. I 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:42.520 love her. She's like now my sister. We all just 0:06:42.560 --> 0:06:44.960 hang out. We just had a glass were as London 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:47.760 family in the content. 0:06:47.800 --> 0:06:50.799 Obviously, a high school musical was quite a departure from 0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:53.080 like the big film you had been before that in thirteen, 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:55.480 like very different, literally. 0:06:55.160 --> 0:06:56.320 The opposite ends of the spectrum. 0:06:56.400 --> 0:06:58.360 So did you think, Okay, I should lean into this 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:01.880 genre or I'm trying to prove something by be in 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:03.960 a different kind of genre, because you kind of bounced 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:06.400 around a little bit with choices after that. 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:10.360 That was where I always had envisioned my career going. 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:12.520 I always wanted to be the indie girl. I wanted 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:16.240 to do the really artistic films that are mind bending 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:20.600 and make you really question life. 0:07:21.240 --> 0:07:22.280 That was always the goal. 0:07:22.360 --> 0:07:25.800 High school musical came around, and I was like, well, 0:07:25.920 --> 0:07:27.320 you know, I might as well give it a go. 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:32.400 I love musicals still do really, and so like that 0:07:32.680 --> 0:07:35.640 was just another aspect of myself that I knew I 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:40.200 could lean into, so that happened. But after that was 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:43.400 all said and done, I was like, Okay, I need 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:46.760 to pull away from this image because I don't want 0:07:46.760 --> 0:07:48.600 to be stuck in a box. Like this is something 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:50.400 that I want to be doing for the rest of 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:53.200 my life, and if I allow myself to stay on 0:07:53.240 --> 0:07:53.840 the same. 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:56.760 Train, it's cowens like that'll be it. 0:07:56.960 --> 0:07:59.080 I always think that like the most interesting actors, other 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:02.000 people who are like real invent themselves and you're like, whoa, 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:03.440 that was wild. 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:03.960 But that was them. 0:08:04.320 --> 0:08:06.560 I remember, like Charlie's a monster, and I was like, 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:09.200 oh my god, that's the dream. So then when I 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:11.440 got a script, gave me shelter and I talked to 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:13.200 the director and he was like, I want to cut 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:15.480 off all your hair and like be really cool if 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:16.680 you gained all this way, and I. 0:08:16.600 --> 0:08:19.520 Was like, yes, just yes, yes, yes, yes, yes that 0:08:19.640 --> 0:08:21.320 sounds like my cup of sea. 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:24.360 But yeah, I had to like definitely distance myself from 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:29.480 the sweet, good girl next door character in order to, 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:34.400 I think, allow myself and my audience to grow with me. 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:38.720 Though Disney fame can be alluring, Vanessa knew that she 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:43.040 wanted to pull away. But how Vanessa shared that at 0:08:43.040 --> 0:08:47.440 first she led with her own interests and instincts. Honestly, 0:08:47.600 --> 0:08:49.439 it was just literally instinctual. 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:52.640 It was like, Ooh, I don't want to be trapped here, 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:55.600 so I'm going to run the other direction, and like, wow, 0:08:55.679 --> 0:08:58.760 there may be a lot of opportunity in this lane. 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:02.000 That's not what I want because I already did that. 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:04.199 And I think that is just so important to constantly, 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:08.480 like be growing in all aspects of life, especially in 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:10.719 your career. And I wasn't going to be growing much 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:12.280 if I kept on doing the same thing over and 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:12.880 over again. 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:13.800 Yeah, and then you. 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:17.520 Went into Broadway, Yes, which is a different kind of muscle. 0:09:17.600 --> 0:09:20.720 Like you're a talented theater actor, but it's eight shows 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:21.080 a week. 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:26.000 Yeah, that's an it's a grind. I mean, I love theater. 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:30.560 I love the whole process of like the rehearsals and 0:09:30.600 --> 0:09:33.520 the smell of the rehearsal rooms. 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:36.520 Like it's a weird nostalgic thing for me. 0:09:36.640 --> 0:09:39.520 And I just feel really really safe on the stage 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:42.680 because that is kind of where I found my shine. 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:46.280 Some singer Vanessa Hudgons first dance and saying her way 0:09:46.280 --> 0:09:49.959 into our Hearts and the much loved High School Musical Trilogy. 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:52.960 And the music hasn't stopped for her now because now 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:55.400 she's bringing her talents to the Broadway. 0:09:54.960 --> 0:09:58.560 Stage in the musical revival Jiji. That's right, Vanessa stars 0:09:58.640 --> 0:09:59.920 is the title character in the Room. 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:01.960 I had to comedy about a young girl coming of 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:04.200 age in Paris, and that's a good morning. 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:16.840 It's good to see. 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:21.280 It was a lot of work, very draining, but like, 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:24.040 the interaction you have with the audience is something that's 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:27.280 so intimate, and it's the only place as an actor 0:10:27.400 --> 0:10:30.560 that you have full creative freedom over your performance, whereas 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:33.200 in film the editor does and the director does, and 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:36.920 like what you see is not necessarily what you wanted 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:40.360 the audience to see. But on Broadway it's like you 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:45.160 have full creative rain. Obviously, like yes, stay within boundaries, 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:47.360 but the connection that you have to the audience is 0:10:47.360 --> 0:10:51.839 something that's so intimate and the reaction is immediate, and 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:54.920 you get that every single night. You know, it's like 0:10:55.280 --> 0:10:58.920 a conversation of energy. So it just if fueled being 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:02.679 Don't get me wrong, I was tired. I mean I 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:06.040 feel like I fell in love with theater because of 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:10.480 Natalie Wood Westside Story was like the first musical I 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:14.480 had ever seen, and I was just like in awe. 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:19.319 Gypsy followed right after that, and I also love that 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:23.520 world so much, so maybe Gypsy, but like there's so 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:25.280 many amazing musicals. 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.040 You ended up doing like kind of a mix when 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:31.240 you did the Grease Live and the Rent Live. Like 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:34.600 you know, and I hate to transition this so quickly, 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:37.240 but we are in limited time. That you went on 0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:40.480 in Grease Live right after you had a tragic loss 0:11:40.480 --> 0:11:44.760 in your family, how were you able to go on live. 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:45.120 The next day? 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:55.680 Great compartmentalization, honestly, but like that's what my dad would 0:11:55.760 --> 0:11:58.920 have wanted, you know. It wasn't a sudden loss. He 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:01.640 had been battling cans Or for a while and we 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:04.680 actually thought that we had lost him three days prior, 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:07.360 and then he came back, came to so I was 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:11.160 actually with him like the night before, and I was 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:14.439 just like, please God, like just like I know it's 0:12:14.480 --> 0:12:18.120 gonna happen, but just please not the night before. And 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:22.360 of course I have the night before, and I was 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:26.760 just like, Okay, there's no part of me that won't 0:12:26.800 --> 0:12:29.679 do this right now. It just like wasn't even an 0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:37.480 option like' that's what he would have wanted. And yeah, compartmentalizations. 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:42.360 It's a really powerful thing, good or bad. But sometimes 0:12:42.400 --> 0:12:44.079 you know, it's like the fight or flight. You gotta 0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:45.480 do what you gotta do to survive. 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:49.240 They say the show must go on, and for actress 0:12:49.320 --> 0:12:52.920 Vanessa Hudgens, it did, and she bravely performed the live 0:12:53.000 --> 0:12:56.640 TV version of Greece only twenty four hours after the 0:12:56.679 --> 0:12:59.959 death of her father. Vanessa sang and danced to her 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:05.920 pain during the three hour production, and I came. It 0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:08.960 was heartrenching to hear her saying, there are worse things 0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:09.560 I could do. 0:13:10.200 --> 0:13:13.840 I went to yoga the next morning and I was 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:18.920 in child's post and I remember having a vision of 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:22.480 him where the clouds like the sky opened up and 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:27.280 he was just like there, like glowing, and he looked healthy, 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.400 and he had his mustache, which he had had my 0:13:30.600 --> 0:13:32.559 entire life but didn't hap at the end of his life. 0:13:33.080 --> 0:13:35.920 And he was just looking at me, smiling and like 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:38.080 doing this little chuckle that he used to always do, 0:13:38.160 --> 0:13:39.960 which meantlet he was really proud. 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:44.720 And I knew that like he was good. I knew 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:46.200 that like it would be okay. 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:49.480 But that was a moment that I was like, oh, yeah, 0:13:49.559 --> 0:13:52.280 like we this is something that you have to deal 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:56.400 with this like and yeah, putting it off, like putting 0:13:56.400 --> 0:13:59.880 off attending to grief, even if it was for a 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:03.560 I think, isn't necessarily the most healthy thing. It's not 0:14:03.600 --> 0:14:06.360 something I would recommend doing. Took a good amount of 0:14:06.400 --> 0:14:09.840 therapy to like actually break that wall down for myself. 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:13.480 But again, you do what you got to do. Like, 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:17.120 he sacrificed so much of his life so that I 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:18.800 could get to where I am. 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:19.720 Yeah. 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:24.119 So and Mark Platt, the producer, did like a special 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:26.960 honor message for him at the end of it, which 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:30.520 was really special for me and my family. So yeah, 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:33.760 definitely truly sweet. I wouldn't expect anything less. 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:35.720 Vanessa Hudgens is killing it. 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:39.040 The show even honored Greg Hudgens in the final credits 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:40.400 with a touching dedication. 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:45.400 At this point, Vanessa really had done it all, from 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:49.800 acting in a vast range of films indeed Disney to Broadway, 0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:52.960 to judging for So You Think You Can Dance, to 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:57.440 performing two live TV musicals and who can forget her 0:14:57.520 --> 0:15:01.440 as the reigning Queen of Coachella. Her impressive resume and 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:05.760 reputation left room for a more dramatic pivot, a pivot 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:14.640 into business. But first, a word from our sponsors. Now 0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:15.400 back to the show. 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:19.920 I've learned recently that I am OCD. I love control, 0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:23.000 and as an actor, there's only so much that you 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:28.440 can control. And I found myself with more time on 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:31.720 my hands than I wanted. And one of my really 0:15:31.800 --> 0:15:35.720 dear friends was like, Hey, I think that we would 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:38.440 do a great job at like starting a business together 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:41.560 with my skill set and your skill set. If we 0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:43.440 put our minds together, I think that we could like 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:46.600 really do something special. And so I was like, interesting, 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:50.240 that's something I had never really thought about. And it 0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:53.240 took my friend all over Trina to be like, you 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:55.560 got this, Like this is something I see in you. 0:15:55.680 --> 0:16:00.240 And then once like he ignited that flame, I was like, oh, oh, 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:03.600 let's burn it down. Like I'm so ready and I'm 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:06.680 so in, and it really does scratch a creative itch 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:10.200 that I don't get elsewhere. I'm so hands on with 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:14.680 everything when it comes to packaging, when it comes to messaging, 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:19.840 when it comes to like ingredients, like I'm very passionate 0:16:19.840 --> 0:16:23.640 about what it is that I'm putting out to the world. 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:27.000 In this day and age, it seems like every celebrity 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:29.720 under the sign has either a tequila or a makeup brand. 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:33.040 Vanessa made it clear that her businesses were born out 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:34.000 of something. 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:40.160 Deliberate, something deeply. Vanessa, there's so much on the market. 0:16:40.280 --> 0:16:44.520 We're constantly being bamboozled with the newest, next big thing. 0:16:44.880 --> 0:16:47.640 But the fact is, like these things are out because 0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:50.600 people are passionate about them and they believe in them, 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:54.200 and small business owners need all the support in the 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:56.520 world that they can get because it is such a 0:16:56.600 --> 0:17:01.160 saturated space and AMEX is honestly such a game changer 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:04.480 as a small business owner, like, I've found the importance 0:17:04.640 --> 0:17:09.200 of keeping my personal and my business expenses separate because 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:12.920 when you do so, you can actually earn so much 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:16.399 more for your business. On the points side, like with 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:19.840 the new American Express Business goal Card, it will see 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:22.800 the top two categories that your business is spending the 0:17:22.840 --> 0:17:26.320 most in per cycle and you get four times the 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:28.640 rewards so you can just pour. 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:29.640 Back into your business. 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:33.280 So I'm like, they've always been really helpful for small businesses, 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:37.840 and that's why I just like love, like really praising them, 0:17:37.960 --> 0:17:38.800 because it's tough. 0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:42.040 We're going to take a short break for some ads. 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:47.680 Now back to the show. 0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:52.280 So I think it was around twenty nineteen and that happened, 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:55.440 and I went on a road trip through New Mexico 0:17:55.600 --> 0:17:57.520 and I got a prickly paar of margarita and I. 0:17:57.440 --> 0:18:00.720 Was like, ooh, what if this magical? And why do 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:02.080 I know nothing about it? 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:04.239 So I looked into it and I realized prickly pear 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:06.960 out all these health benefits. And I sent it to 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:09.879 my friend and I was like, maybe we should do 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:13.119 something around this, Like that's really interesting. He's like, great idea, 0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:15.080 I'll look into it. And then he came back to 0:18:15.119 --> 0:18:17.920 me He's like, did you know that cactuses actually produced 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:20.359 their own water as well? Like maybe we have a 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:23.480 beverage there. And I'm like, Oliver, you're a genius. 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:24.480 Let's do it. 0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:27.879 And so like from there, we started working on their packaging, 0:18:28.200 --> 0:18:32.359 our ingredients, the taste profiles, which took a really long 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:36.640 time because, like I said, I'm very specific and everything 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:39.960 has to be perfect because I am OCD. But also 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:42.560 like we wanted to figure out a component of giving 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:45.600 back and like finding an organization that we can partner with, 0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:48.879 so that it's not just us, you know, like we 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:50.680 want to make sure that we're like making a good 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:54.000 impact on the world, and partnered with No Kid Hungary, 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:58.400 which I was like newly aware of, and especially during 0:18:58.480 --> 0:19:02.200 twenty twenty, I was like what they were doing because 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:05.600 obviously a hard time for everyone, but like especially families 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:08.719 who can't provide nok and Hungary was still stepping in 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:12.080 and making meals for the children and families. Even so, 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:14.720 I was like, Okay, great, we got our solid partnership. 0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:17.480 That was kind of like the last part of Cali 0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:19.240 Water for it to come together. 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:21.840 Yeah, and then we launched. 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:26.040 The actress and singer is adding beverage line co founder 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:31.400 to her resume. She and co founder Oliver Travina are 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:33.120 launching a new product. 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:35.080 It's called Caliwater. 0:19:34.760 --> 0:19:38.320 Products Expost twenty twenty two in Anaheim, California. 0:19:38.400 --> 0:19:39.879 I'm here with Vanessa Hudgens. 0:19:39.920 --> 0:19:41.720 She's known as an actress, but she's now the co 0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:44.200 founder of Cactus Water brand Cali Water. 0:19:44.400 --> 0:19:45.760 Vanessa, thank you for being here today. 0:19:45.880 --> 0:19:47.919 Of course, thank you for being here today. 0:19:48.160 --> 0:19:51.679 But then in that time, since I started scratching maticch, 0:19:52.000 --> 0:19:54.840 I was like, ooh, what abo Like, I also love skincare, 0:19:56.440 --> 0:19:57.840 such a skincare girly. 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:00.240 Maybe there's something in that world. 0:20:00.440 --> 0:20:03.400 And like Madison Beer was like a new friend at 0:20:03.400 --> 0:20:06.520 that time and she was going through her own skincare journey, 0:20:06.560 --> 0:20:08.359 and I was like, maybe we can I put our 0:20:08.400 --> 0:20:13.720 minds together and like you I'm something new literally, and 0:20:13.800 --> 0:20:16.719 like that's honestly now talking about it, it makes me 0:20:16.760 --> 0:20:20.480 realize that like all of my business ventures have been 0:20:20.840 --> 0:20:24.840 joint efforts. Like none of them I've done on my own. 0:20:25.040 --> 0:20:29.120 They've literally been a collaboration. And I really lean on 0:20:29.240 --> 0:20:33.600 my collaborators heavily because nobody can do it all by themselves. 0:20:33.640 --> 0:20:38.000 No. The village, Yeah, it takes a village. Everything, everything 0:20:38.040 --> 0:20:42.239 takes a village. Literally, something you've learned about yourself in it, 0:20:42.880 --> 0:20:43.240 I don't know. 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:45.639 I mean, like I guess I knew it would be 0:20:45.680 --> 0:20:51.119 a lot of shmarracing, but it's like it really is 0:20:51.160 --> 0:20:54.000 all about the connections that you make, you know, And 0:20:54.440 --> 0:20:57.439 I'm so used to that from my industry and like 0:20:57.680 --> 0:21:01.479 going to all the award show parties and like doing 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:04.120 the thing and I was like, oh, it's it's it's 0:21:04.200 --> 0:21:06.320 the same in business. 0:21:06.359 --> 0:21:10.120 Like I'm gonna go talk to that owner of that market, 0:21:10.280 --> 0:21:14.119 and you know, like sell it with everything I got. Luckily, 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:18.400 I'm a good salesperson yourself. Luckily I'm good at business. 0:21:20.160 --> 0:21:25.200 It turns out I'm trying. But yeah, it's a lot. 0:21:25.320 --> 0:21:29.200 It's a lot of a lot of like building personal relationships, 0:21:29.240 --> 0:21:32.680 which I love because I really do love like people 0:21:32.960 --> 0:21:35.240 like I was talking about you earlier about like being 0:21:35.240 --> 0:21:37.399 on the subway and dancing with a random stranger. Like 0:21:37.760 --> 0:21:40.199 it's really interesting, and I feel like the more that 0:21:40.320 --> 0:21:43.159 I have these conversations with these other business owners, the 0:21:43.160 --> 0:21:44.800