Jasmine Star (00:00:00) - I woke up nervous. I was like, we got this, I know. And then after we start rolling, we're going to be fine. Totally. It's just because it's game time jitters and if we did not have them, then this would be we'd be too relaxed. Absolutely. Oh. Welcome to the Jasmine Star show. I couldn't be more happy to start the second series of our co-host podcast series at The Jasmine Star Show with the ever amazing Lori Carter. Hey, welcome. Hey, I'm so excited to be here. Thank you. When you told me about this, I was like, wait.

Lori Harder (00:00:41) - We can get content and have fun.

Jasmine Star (00:00:43) - All day. This is.

Lori Harder (00:00:44) - The best.

Jasmine Star (00:00:44) - By the end of the day, you might just be ready to crawl out of my house and be like, I've had enough of her. But that's the best day. Absolutely. I just.

Lori Harder (00:00:49) - Asked you. I'm like, how excited are you about your meal tonight? After this long day? It's going to be the best thing ever.

Jasmine Star (00:00:54) - So this is how you know you're in great company. It's not even breakfast yet. And she's like, are you already picturing your dinner? And I'm like, yes, ordered in my head already. So we are already envisioning ourselves enjoying dinner. But before we get to that point, I told Lori I wanted this conversation to feel like we were two friends at lunch. And furthermore, throughout the course of this show, we're going to be inviting different people to join us at lunch. So I want to go back a little bit. I want to talk about where I met Lori, but then something that really changed in our relationship. And so give me a couple of seconds and then we're going to interject wherever you see fit. We first met, I believe, to the best of my recollection at Lewis Houses Mastermind. Yep. Okay, so I met you and your husband Chris. And I have to tell you, I was really intimidated. I saw you walk in the room, and you and Chris like power couple.

Jasmine Star (00:01:39) - And you look like you literally walked off the pages. Is making magazines. Well, well, well. And then I come to find out, I'm like, this girl. Looks like she just walked off pages of a magazine. And then I come to find out that you were actually on the cover of magazines. And so I'm just like, oh, yeah, befitting. And so I get to know you guys and find out that you're kind, you're brilliant, wildly generous with information and with everything that you have. And we stayed in contact, you know, and then all of a sudden, I see that you and Chris got a house in Corona del Mar. Which current market for people who don't know the OC, Corona del Mar is technically Newport Beach, but it's such a beautiful part of Newport that they decided we're going to call it our own thing. It's like Newport within Newport. So this is like the envelope crest, Corona del Mar. So Chris and Lori get a house in Corona del Mar, and you invite me to go on a walk with now our mutual friend Lindsey Schwartz, who was on the podcast, definitely check out her community based episode.

Jasmine Star (00:02:33) - It was a banger. And so I'm meeting Lindsey for the first time. We go on a walk, and within the first 10 or 15 minutes, we're catching up about life, business and everything on the in between. And then we got real. So let's go back to 2022. Let's go back to where you were. And when you introduce me to the word pandemic, do you want to go there? Can we start there?

Lori Harder (00:02:56) - We can start there for sure. Okay. But first I have to tell you this is hilarious. So the reason that I finally invited you on a walk, even though we had been talking about it forever, forever with Lindsey, was because I felt more powerful and comfortable with her there. Because I was intimidated by you. Stop!

Jasmine Star (00:03:14) - Oh my gosh. Oh no, oh no.

Lori Harder (00:03:15) - I wasn't walking alone with you. I was like, okay, I can do it. Like there'll be plenty to flow. Like if you're here and like, what was I doing? So seeing you to like, I was like, you're my oh my gosh you're my.

Jasmine Star (00:03:28) - And so okay, so what's the first day away from people listening to any type of relationship is like, you will tell yourself a story and you will tell yourself a belief. But then Lori did something that was really interesting. You brought somebody in to the buffer.

Lori Harder (00:03:42) - She was a.

Jasmine Star (00:03:42) - Buffer from so good. She's such a good wing woman. She just really is. Yes. Okay, so we're walking. It's just after sunrise. We're like in sweatshirts. Maybe you wore a beanie. You know, California. It's not that cold. But we wear beanies. We wear beanies. And. So where were you at at this time? Like, let's just start this conversation because I want to have the reason I invited Lori as a co-host was because we were talking about conversations that we, in retrospect, said, I wish we knew these conversations. I wish we had these conversations. I wish these conversations were normalized. And I thought, who better than having these conversations and curating a list of powerful guests today, talking about what it means to be in business than you? So let's go back to that conversation.

Lori Harder (00:04:23) - Okay, so 2022, here's what I would like to share. First with people is that when you sign up to be an entrepreneur or have a business, you're signing up for the largest personal development course of your life that never ends, really. That never ends, right? And so in 2022, I was in a place where I was literally hitting walls left and right. And I had let me start with 2020 to get you up to 2022. So 2020. I had this idea after I had written a book, after I had done a bunch of events, after I had, you know, done things that I never thought that I would accomplish in my lifetime. I did not graduate from high school, still never have. So for me to have things like a book or events or courses, a wildly.

Jasmine Star (00:05:09) - Popular.

Lori Harder (00:05:09) - Podcast. Yes, great podcast.

Jasmine Star (00:05:11) - On the cover of magazine.

Lori Harder (00:05:12) - Multi-million dollars, like in three different companies. That is so far outside of what my brain was able to even handle.

Lori Harder (00:05:20) - And so when I had checked off all of. These boxes by about 2019 to 2020. I was starting to feel like I wasn't feeling challenged, like I was ready for the next challenge and to stretch myself, but I had not dreamed outside of that list like I had never allowed myself to go. What is next after this? So I wrote my book in 2017. About 2019. I had wrapped up like I'd toured it for like two years long, and I woke up in 2019 and I said, I actually don't know who I'm supposed to be, like, what I'm going to do next. I feel like there's something that I want to evolve into but have no clue what it is. And long story short, but my identity was so wrapped up into achieving at that point that in order for me to figure out what was next, I needed some space. So I took some space, gave myself some time to ask myself these three questions about all the time, all the money, and all the network in the world.

Lori Harder (00:06:11) - What would I be doing? What sounds fun? Because I'd always pause there.

Jasmine Star (00:06:15) - Yeah, because I've always my whole goal every time with this podcast is somebody listening and they take one thing that will change where they are right now, and we kind of perhaps hit the first opportunity for somebody to have an action item to ask yourself three questions. If you feel like you don't know the next best step, or if you're wondering and you feel like there's like this calling for more, repeat those three questions that you asked yourself.

Lori Harder (00:06:37) - If I had all the time, all the money and all the network in the world, what would I be doing? And the reason that I asked those questions is because we always put a ceiling on ourselves and say, well, I'd love to do that thing, but that would require this. Well, I'd love to do that thing, but I would need to be that. I would have to know how to raise money. And the reason I asked those is because I got really clear on the belief, like I had to force myself to believe that I could learn how to raise money, that I had people in my network who could help me raise money, that I could build out a network of people maybe that I didn't currently have, who could help me with this.

Lori Harder (00:07:10) - And then also with the time I knew that I could make time, I could clear time. I could get rid of something in order for me to be able to serve the time. And so with those three questions, it kind of like released all of the blocks that would always come up around like, well, I can't do that thing because I know that's what we do as women. That's what we do as human beings. And so after asking that question, I gave myself a year to play in that in all of these different ideas came up because Chris and I also do something. This is a great actionable thing, is we play something called Stupid idea time on our walks. Love it. And stupid idea time is like it doesn't matter how dumb this idea is, throw it out because it could actually start to morph into a great idea, especially with like the thoughts of others. So stupid idea. Time is like, hey, I am literally saying 99% of these are going to be really stupid, but let's get them out and see what starts rolling.

Lori Harder (00:07:57) - And that's how an idea evolves. So started playing that. I came up with all these ideas. Jasmine I almost had like a restaurant that only served brunch. That was like a connecting for women. Thank God I didn't with the pandemic as well, right? But like so many ideas came into my head and one idea started to stick. And, you know, I had written a book called A Tribe Called Bliss. It was all about connecting women. And what I was finding is while I had these incredible women read the book, it wasn't reaching all like the mainstream women that I wanted to be reaching. The ones who thought that we connect over like girls nights and cocktails and wonder why they leave all these networking events feeling totally empty. And I was like, how do I reach that mainstream woman? Okay, she's probably going out for wine. She's like trying to have drinks and go out and she's coming back home feeling maybe like a little hung over the next day and empty and not getting what she needs.

Lori Harder (00:08:44) - So what if I did a light wine spritzer and then a non-alcoholic wine spritzer and put three questions, very intentional questions on the back of the can? These three questions I like studied these questions to make sure that whoever could ask these questions to each other got something that they needed. They either got a connection or they got to ask a question that they needed. And do you remember.

Jasmine Star (00:09:05) - One of the questions on the can?

Lori Harder (00:09:07) - It was, I know that one of them was something around, what is your secret dream and who do you need in order to fulfill that?

Jasmine Star (00:09:14) - Oh that's good.

Lori Harder (00:09:15) - So if I asked you that, you'd have to. And we're holding.

Jasmine Star (00:09:17) - A wine spritzer. It's like I'm getting open. Exactly.

Lori Harder (00:09:20) - So I love this idea. I go, and I raise $2 million from 54 female investors because I wanted to bring them along for the ride. Please note I knew nothing about raising money. So I went to one of my husband's friends and I was like, look, you're talking to like eighth grade math level, but can I raise money? Can I learn how to do these? So he's like, absolutely.

Lori Harder (00:09:41) - Like I can help you. You can also get an attorney. They're going to walk you through the whole process. So even though it was really intimidating, I also knew that people just like me did it every single day.

Jasmine Star (00:09:50) - Okay, so I want to pause. You say, I've got an eighth grade math level here. And I also want to challenge myself. And I also know that there is a gap in the market. And so you simply say, can I do something I've never done before? And the answer was or first, then became can I raise money? And the answer became yes. By asking the question, can I do this? Then how? Okay, I want to pause because I know the story. But as listeners are listening, I need to pause. Like there's a ton of power here by saying there was a story, then there is reality, and then there's asking for help. And so okay, we're back here, introduces lawyers. They're going to help you figure out how to start structuring reaching out for investors.

Lori Harder (00:10:41) - Yes. So at this point I had built a really great network of people. And I just have to share that. A lot of people are asking me, how do you raise money? Like, how do you what do you do? Who can you ask? And one of the most important things you can do in Jasmine, you know this. It doesn't matter what business you want to do, it doesn't matter if you want to do a product or, you know, courses, whatever, you need to simultaneously be building out your network right now, because every good thing that will come to you is going to come by way of the people that you know. And it's a long game. And so I had worked really hard on building a network of people for where I wanted to go, and that was simply by getting into masterminds and getting into rooms that constantly stretch me and saying, yes before I'm ready. That's so good. And you all of a sudden wake up and you have these incredible people surrounding you.

Lori Harder (00:11:30) - Also, when you go into those rooms asking yourself the question, how can I serve them rather than what I can get? And I'm telling you, the reciprocity that happens when you go into rooms with that intention is mind blowing. So decided to start got together, pitch deck called a friend and I said, hey, I've got a couple pitch decks from these other companies I invested in. Can we look at them together? And I got Chris as well because he's pretty good with that stuff. My husband and I'm like, can we all sit down and put a pitch deck together? So we did that.

Jasmine Star (00:11:59) - Could we pause like, I want to connect some dots. And this is going to be the common thread. You say, I have this idea and I wonder what if. And so you reach out to a friend and say, wow, how do I get started? And then what we hear again is you reach out to a friend based on other pitch decks that you have seen and said, well, if they're doing that, and this is kind of sort of the structure of a pitch deck, can we sit together and create my own pitch deck? So two main things like we see hurdles and this is where most people stop.

Jasmine Star (00:12:28) - And then instead of seeing the hurdle you say, hey friend, can you help me get over this hurdle?

Lori Harder (00:12:31) - Okay. It's never what. It's always a who that is. My favorite quote is it's just like, oh, we're always looking for what can I do? How can I do it? And I'm like, who's already done this? So they've got the path for you. Yes, yours is going to look a little different, but if you have a general idea you're going to get there. The other belief that I had to hold during this was, it's okay to be messy and it's okay to be sloppy. So I asked people as they were, who had done it before me, like, what did this look like for you? Was it messy? What were your first few calls like? That's really important to know that they screwed up. They felt terrible. They did. You know, they didn't. It didn't turn out how they wanted. And so I came up with some things when I went to go and pitch people to raise the money, because I was so nervous about those first phone calls, because I knew I was going to get tons of questions I didn't have the answers to.

Lori Harder (00:13:22) - But I also knew the only way for me to get the answers was to know what questions they were going to ask. So you just have to do it like baptism by fire. But I came up with something called Freedom Phrases. I named them later after I was using them. But these are phrases that when you feel stuck or someone's asking you a question that you don't know that I would have a default response. I learned this from network marketing that if you can figure out what objections are coming for you before you get them, you can at least have like that freedom phrase that releases you and gives you time to go figure it out. So for me, when people would ask me questions on the call that I didn't know, I would say, okay, that is such a good question. Other people have had this question. I'm actually going to get back to you in a day or two. I know exactly who to ask, and I'll come back and I'll email you all these answers. And so whenever they would do that, I'd be like, hey, also, these are my first couple calls.

Lori Harder (00:14:13) - So I'm so grateful for you getting on the phone. And walking through this with me. Oh so.

Jasmine Star (00:14:19) - Good.

Lori Harder (00:14:19) - Like take them on the journey. So you immediately create an ally rather than a critic. So having those things and bringing them with you was like, it made these calls amazing. And I have to tell you that I had more than 2 or 3 people say, you know, the reason I invested in you is because you said you didn't have all the answers, but you immediately went and got them. And that's what I want in a founder.

Jasmine Star (00:14:40) - So good, so good. So you put together the pitch deck. Yeah. You're having these calls. You've later defined them as freedom phrases. You're showing that you don't need to have all the answers. You just need to be dedicated to get the answers correct. And so after you're doing these investment calls, how much money did you want to raise? What did you end up raising? What does that look like now?

Lori Harder (00:15:00) - So I hit $1 million in about a year, which mind you, I think 70 over 70% of these women had never invested or knew what it was.

Jasmine Star (00:15:12) - So you went specifically to women investors.

Lori Harder (00:15:14) - I wanted just women because I wanted to bring them on that journey. You know that in order for you to learn, you have to be in it, and you have to like that needed to be their decision that they wanted to do this and understand why they wanted to do it and what they were opening up for themselves. You know, when you invest, you open an entirely new network and opportunity that you did not have. So and you get to learn like, I knew this would be a mastermind for them, that if they did it and learned, what does that do? It allows them to know how to do it themselves. Absolutely. And it has this very approachable group where I was like, I'm going to show you everything going on, like the good, the bad and the ugly. So that was sorry, I forgot the initial question.

Jasmine Star (00:15:53) - No, that was really good. The initial question was you had or the question and the answer rolled into one was you had raised $1 million in a year.

Lori Harder (00:16:01) - Yes, I needed to raise a million more, though. Okay. So I hit out a year what felt like a block. I felt like I had exhausted my network, got it. And so at that point, I realized my question had to change. It had to be, who else do you know? Or is there anyone who would want to invest in this? Like I went back to those original investors and then I realized I had to go next level of asking so I would have women on the podcast. And I specifically was having business women and founders on at this time, like women that I would want to invest in. So I hand-picked.

Jasmine Star (00:16:35) - So good, hand-picked.

Lori Harder (00:16:37) - Guests who I wanted to invest in my company. Like very strategic.

Jasmine Star (00:16:42) - And this is so good. Lori.

Lori Harder (00:16:45) - Oh my God, this is the best story. Ready for this one? Okay, so I had this woman on, loved her, loved her book, loved her company. And so halfway through the podcast, I started telling her what I was doing.

Lori Harder (00:16:57) - You know, how that naturally kind of flows. And I was like, oh, I can relate to that feeling of being afraid, because right now I'm in a race and this is how I'm feeling. This is the company. And so she starts talking about it. And afterward when the podcast is closed out, you know, you have those like five, ten minutes of talking. I was like, hey, I would love to be able to chat with you about the company. I'll send you the pitch deck and no worries either way. And she was like, yeah, send me the pitch deck. So I sent it to her that night. The next day she was in for 100 grand. Just met her literally. And then she sent me a referral email with ten women on it, two of them being celebrities, and one of them invested really big the next week as well.

Jasmine Star (00:17:37) - Oh, I'm like.

Lori Harder (00:17:38) - This is what the universe provides God, universe, whatever you believe, when you do that scary thing, it will provide for you back in ways that you literally cannot imagine.

Jasmine Star (00:17:50) - First year to a million. How much? How much time? Between 1 million and 2 million. It was.

Lori Harder (00:17:55) - Like a half.

Jasmine Star (00:17:56) - Year. Heck yeah.

Lori Harder (00:17:57) - With shaking out the rest of that network and doing that new method of like.

Jasmine Star (00:18:01) - Of course, because initially to get from 0 to 1 million, the investments were, I'm assuming, smaller than 100 grand or 200 grand or whatever you did. So like subsequently correct the new network. Oh, that's so good. Yeah. So you get to 2 million, you have it and you're ready to go.

Lori Harder (00:18:18) - Yes. We had been kind of working behind the scenes, but what happened is the pandemic was also happening. And, you know, people were telling me for that, that second million that I was doing that was right during the pandemic. And they were like, you're never going to raise this money. Like I had women who I really looked up to tell me, you're never going to raise this money, which I just want to say, really influential people will tell you things during this and it's okay.

Lori Harder (00:18:41) - Like, you can still you can still run with it. And I'm telling you, your naivete will actually serve you during this time. And so it served me greatly. I was like, I love that we're going to we're going to keep going. And so once we had the 2 million, we were simultaneously trying to set up our supply chain, which means, you know, during the pandemic, a lot of these supply chains like, totally shut down, these warehouses shut down, these co-packer shut down. And so we're calling all these places that are still kind of running on a very short staff, and prices are I'm watching my spreadsheet of all of my prices and margins. Yes, prices are going up. Minimum order quantities are going from things like 10,000 lids for a can, for a minimum order to 1 million. So you can imagine every startup is literally getting knocked out of the game. And so I am in it like we've spent some serious money on getting going and getting team to go and try to work this out.

Lori Harder (00:19:37) - And so what would have been, you know, maybe two months time to get your supply chain set up had started rolling into like 7 or 8 months. And there were a lot of mistakes that I also made during this time. I had hired some people to help me set up my supply chain, and I didn't keep my eye on the target for them because I just trusted or I didn't stay in that conversation like I should have. I just trusted that what they were saying was what they were doing, and it wasn't necessarily what was going on. And so these are really hard lessons that you learned afterward. But I'm now a year in technically, I think we are at about 2021 at this point when I'm starting to realize, like, this is going to be insanely hard. We have been a year without even being able to set up our supply chain, and on the back end, we're doing all the things that actually take a really long time of like setting up social media, setting up shoots, getting the formulation done, dialing in like your label and your nutrition, and getting licensing, which is working at.

Jasmine Star (00:20:31) - Full capacity, expecting that the people who you brought in as the professionals to set up the supply chain are working as hard and on track with what they say they're doing. So there's like half of the equation that's working and half of it that's not.

Lori Harder (00:20:43) - Except while we're working really hard and we're ready, we're realizing this whole piece isn't ready. And I've already hired teams, I've brought people on. So I had to let go of multiple teams because we kept on getting like that. We think we've got it. And then something happening where either that warehouse is no longer taking people or they're shutting down, or I mean, it was one thing after another that I just I am that person who will just keep pushing. Now, here's the problem. I am that person that will just keep pushing. And there are times where I think it's called the cost some fallacy, where it is like you keep pushing because of the amount of time and money that you've put in, not realizing that if you continue down this road, it's a sinking ship no matter what.

Lori Harder (00:21:30) - So you should take the rest of that money. Yeah, I've.

Jasmine Star (00:21:33) - Been there, I have been there. I have been there. So good.

Lori Harder (00:21:35) - To know. So good to know. Not like we look at each other like, is this a martini in front of us or is this water? Because if it's water, that's gonna change it.

Jasmine Star (00:21:43) - Oh, wait. Okay, okay.

Lori Harder (00:21:45) - And so at that point, a couple of things. We're starting to come to a head. You had mentioned pandemic. Like it was really hard to get cans because these bigger companies, you know, you think of all the companies who are using like the White Claws the cause, but using these slim cans that we needed, they buy them all at once because they're afraid that they're going to run out of cans. So they're literally buying everything. So we were not like getting any of our check marks done that we needed to get done. And so all of a sudden when things kind of start rolling again and we put everything into our like margin sheet to check everything out, we're like, okay, so let's see what kind of business we have.

Lori Harder (00:22:26) - We will be operating in the red until who knows how long until we raise more money, continue to operate in the red, hopefully get bought, which is you know, we hope that that happens. But it's very rare that that does happen. And at this time I got delivered this human being from another friend, and it was just like she literally reached out and said, hey, I want to connect with Lori, can you connect us? And I was like, this is so cool. I can't believe this woman who is an alcohol expert doesn't mean that she's great at drinking. It means she's great. She is great at she's the person that celebrities call in to do their alcohol product. And so I connect with her. We end up becoming pretty close friends really quickly. She comes to our lake house for a trip and we end up just like, you know, you get real and raw when you drop in for a weekend. That's how we really got to, like, go deep as we spent a weekend together.

Lori Harder (00:23:19) - And so I was like, where am I at? Like, what? What do you do at this point? And she's like, okay, so you either need to raise 10 million more dollars to even think you have a chance or even possibly have a chance to compete with anything, or you need to pull the plug and do something else with the rest of the money. And I was like, you can do that.

Speaker 3 (00:23:38) - Okay, okay, so let's go back. You're at the lake house.

Jasmine Star (00:23:42) - There's two paths. You raised 10 million when it took you a year and a half to raise to. Right. Or you pivot.

Lori Harder (00:23:49) - Or pivot.

Jasmine Star (00:23:50) - Okay. So when we look back at that, we say how quick and easy, but can you go back and where you're sitting and how you're feeling and like go back to that moment because I've been in the pilot seat of a plane that you're given to really sucky option.

Lori Harder (00:24:03) - Yeah, it's the I call it the best worst decision because they both suck.

Lori Harder (00:24:08) - So I'm like, okay, where was I at that point? I was literally at the lowest place I've ever been in my entire life. And I've been to some pretty low places, like. And I think for that one, why it was such a low place is because my worst nightmare is disappointing people and my even worser, which is not a word for site mayor. Yeah, is to disappoint people that I look up to and that I love. And when you think about the people that got into this round, which is the fundraising, like this group of people that gave me money, it was my best friends. It was some family, it was mentors and some celebrities. And I was like, you know, the reason that I did that is because I knew that if I didn't put so much on the line that I was forced to turn into my higher self, I would quit on myself. And so I did that for that particular reason was to truly make it force me to learn how to do the skill sets to become the higher version of myself.

Lori Harder (00:25:06) - And I knew she wouldn't come out if I did not have that commitment. So while it was amazing, I also was panicking and I also felt stuck. And so I can't tell you how many times I had the conversation with my husband of like, can I just give the rest of the money back? I just, I need to quit this. This is too much pressure. And I was waking up every single night between like one and 3 a.m., up for 2 to 3 hours. I'm not the most cuddly person, especially at night. And every night I was asking my husband just to hold me because I just needed to, like, regulate my nervous system. And I started drinking too much. I was having panic attacks. I literally remember the thoughts of like, okay, if I'm flying or we travel somewhere and something happens, like, at least I wouldn't have to deal with this. And I know I'm saying that very lightly, but it felt that way. I was like, I don't know how to go on because it feels like if you fail at something this big and losing people's money and families money and all of those things, that you are never going to come back from it and people aren't going to want to be around you, and they're not going to want to invest in you again or your dreams.

Lori Harder (00:26:11) - And I'm that person who's like, I live by a dream. I'm I am just living by a dream. And that's like what fuels me. And I just thought, like, I'll never be able to come back from this. And so in that moment when she said, raise $10 million, which was an immediate no, because I was like, raise $10 million for what? Not to even really get me anywhere. It sounds like like because it's a really challenging industry. Unless you're a really big dog, then your margins can start going down. But the amount of money would have to be bringing into the company to get to a place where it would be profitable and competitive. That was too much for me as a solo person to take on. And yeah, that's where that was. So in that moment, I think Another World opened up. It was really, really scary. But also a bit like this feels really good and it felt really good in the moment, but still an impossibility. But I know that throughout this whole journey, my feelings never failed me and I was totally ignoring.

Lori Harder (00:27:10) - Which I find so crazy that in the middle of this, I just totally lost myself. I wasn't listening to my intuition anymore. I wasn't doing the practices that tapped me back into God. I wasn't doing any of the things that got me to all of the good places in the past. And so I think that glimmer of a different that emotion that was like, oh, that feels really good. Like I know who to be and how to be in that scenario. And it took a little bit to figure that out, like it was I going to do that until one day I got more news. It was just a little bit after that. I don't know, I'm terrible with time, but it was probably a few weeks after that that Lauren, my chief of staff, called me, who's been like my most amazing angel right hand woman through this whole thing. And she was like, hey, okay, so, you know, we've been going down this licensing thing and it's been really challenging.

Lori Harder (00:27:57) - And, you know, we got there social securities. That was a huge hoop that we jumped through. Now they want all of the investors fingerprints. And I was like okay so they're not going to do that as well. And that was my final because I actually knew because of what a couple of them said. They're like, no, more like, we're not. This feels a little too risky. Why do they want all this stuff? We're not doing it. Those were from some of the investors who were used to investing and they literally said they're not going to do it. So that was my moment. And right before that, I had probably a night or two before that, I heard this voice. You know, when you hear those voices outside of you and you're like, who is that? I know it's me, but it might not be like it's very intuitive voice. And it said something profound for me, but it's kind of silly. But it was like, okay, turn the Titanic because you're the captain and everybody on the ship just wants to be along for the ride.

Lori Harder (00:28:50) - They don't care about the destination like it's about what you're doing, and you see the iceberg. And if you keep going, you're going to sink everyone. But you have the opportunity right now to turn this, let everyone know the destination is changing and keep them happy. And so that's when I was like, got it, got it. We're going to do it. So right when Lauren called me, you know, she told me that and I go, okay, we're done. She was like, seriously? It was like, we're done. And that makes me even, like, cry right now because I remember. Hearing myself say, we're done and going. I can't believe I have to tell everyone. That we're changing to something, and I didn't have that idea fully ready yet at all. I didn't know I had been holding you. Never imagine. I've never been pregnant. But what if you were pregnant for, like, three years and you couldn't get it out and you just. Jasmine.

Lori Harder (00:29:42) - Everything I'd ever done until that point, I've thought of it and been able to deliver it pretty quickly. In the online world, it's like, think of product C product. A few months later, this was like, think of product three years later, still nothing on the beginning journey of another thing. And I was holding what I thought I was telling every story under the sun about what I thought the investors were saying about me. Like it was. It was brutal at that point, but that decision was the first thing that gave me energy back. And I was like, okay, you can do this. Like you get your energy back, you get back in alignment, you get back to the things that make you you. And it just it gave me life. And I was like, all right, this is my job. This is what other women are going to go through. I'm going to be the one to tell them what it really looks like. I'm going to be that voice.

Lori Harder (00:30:26) - Like I needed to use it for good. And and I hope that's what we're doing.

Jasmine Star (00:30:30) - So if we can at the time of this recording, we're going to be publishing this podcast in.

Speaker 3 (00:30:36) - A couple of weeks.

Jasmine Star (00:30:36) - So at the time of this recording run last week, I saw you put out a debut video of the new direction. Can you talk about glossy? Yes. And so I'm going to introduce Lori Harter as CEO and founder of glossy. Congratulations.

Lori Harder (00:30:53) - It's so crazy.

Jasmine Star (00:30:54) - So good. It's so, so it's like I looked like, Lori, I've been with you going into it before the public launch of it. Ideating about the idea, and I just wanted to sink my teeth into this. Mother. It's so good. Talk about glossy. Where are you at now? So you go from canned wine spritzer and you have pivoted into the description of glossy take it Away.

Lori Harder (00:31:16) - So glossy is a beauty hydration product. It's a beauty hydration supplement and it is a skin routine you can drink. So it's all of these great gut superfood and skin superfood ingredients that you're going to be drinking because it's great to be topical.

Lori Harder (00:31:33) - I love topical things as well, but if you're only using topical products, you're really just scratching the surface because skin generates from within. So you want to be generating beautiful skin and using these ingredients. So that's what glossy is. It's in a powdered stick. It's really easy. You can travel with it okay okay.

Jasmine Star (00:31:50) - But like side notes a little bit of the tea. We got together with a group of women entrepreneurs in Laguna Beach. And we all decided we're going to work out together. And many of us are bringing our own, like, hydration sticks. And we're talking about like, skincare routines, the whole thing. And when you are talking about glossy, all of us are just like, we're so ready to do the same. So it wasn't a change of behavior. It was an extension of if we're already taking probiotics, if we're already caring about our skin, if we're already using a hydration stick, here is something that is going to make us beautiful, more beautiful from the inside out.

Jasmine Star (00:32:26) - And so you're telling us about this idea and we're like, this is incredible. And so you launch glossy and where are you at right now.

Lori Harder (00:32:35) - Like we're in pre-launch right now. Yes. So you know everything with supply chain has just been still crazy but amazing. So we're in pre-launch right now with January is going to be one free lunch.

Jasmine Star (00:32:48) - So you're out and you're talking about glossy and you're launching it. And then on social media what I've seen is like, if you're interested, be sure to sign up for our newsletter or drop us a message. We'll get you on there. And so talk to us about like this pre-launch phase okay.

Lori Harder (00:33:00) - So pre-launch is the phase for us where we're really getting people excited about the product and also the community that's going to be attached to it and the opportunity. So have a network marketing background. And let me tell you, that taught me everything that I need to know about how to get people excited and activate people. But around something that's really amazing, especially something that you can use every day.

Lori Harder (00:33:20) - So we've also attached that like an affiliate ambassador program that's not just like, hey, grab the link and you can do this. It's like, hey, grab the link. If you love it. You're also going to be able to get incentivization trips. You're going to be a part of these different masterminds if you want to. So I want to take those women who love sales and teach them how to sell even better, and also teach them about business as well from all of these different mentors, because the whole company is just wrapped in like a giant lesson for women. And when we get a part of something that shows women doing it, that immediately allows you to do it too. So that's kind of the whole theory. But pre-launch is getting people really excited about what is coming, starting to educate about the product, making sure that it's being seen everywhere, and collecting those phone numbers for the text list, because we're going to do a text list pre-launch because I feel like it's the most intimate place for me.

Lori Harder (00:34:09) - Also, it's the place that I operate best with launches. So we're really trying to take into consideration with this company. Like where is my skill set best used? Because you know, the person who founds a company and creates it, like when you do the things that they do best, typically that's when. The company will operate best when you keep them in those positions that they do best. And you know what? The alcohol company I was totally getting out of positions that I was good at and I was trying to like, learn these new things. And I'm like, this feels awful. I don't even know how to sell this. Like, I can't sell it in the same way because we can't do affiliates and I can't necessarily share in this way. So I think that's a really important thing to think about when you're launching is what do you do best? How can you make sure the launch is actually catered to what you do best, no matter even if it's what other people are doing differently?

Jasmine Star (00:34:57) - So here we are in this journey and you like shared some very really honest and vulnerable things.

Jasmine Star (00:35:04) - And that is one of the reasons why I wanted you to be the co-host. I wanted you to hand select a group of guest who will come in and have equally as strong, powerful. This is a really fugly conversation. And so talk to me not about each individual guest, because we're going to be introducing them as they come out. But what are the key qualities? Like what can a listeners get ready to hear from and say, I'm going to sink my teeth into this crew and this belief?

Lori Harder (00:35:27) - Okay, so the first one I have thought of is a woman who's, like, so unapologetic to the point where she goes and has her brain studied and she's like, I think I just don't have this part of my brain. So it allows me to like, just get out there and say whatever I want and do whatever I want, but I borrow that. I love that, like I love that. Hey, tell me more about what the heck you're talking about. Then another woman that I'm thinking of, she has blazed the trail for me.

Lori Harder (00:35:53) - She has been on a journey with a company that we've probably all used, we've probably all been a part of, and I think being able to hear, you know, the battle wounds and to hear what actually happens and to hear about the genius of marketing is really exciting. And I think it's going to help anybody listening who has any product or idea or dream. And another woman, she is another real raw. Whenever she talks, I can't help but snap my fingers and I'm like, yes, that is exactly what we all need to be hearing right now. A lot of really taking care of yourself and self-forgiveness and seeing where you're betraying yourself. And that's a really big one. Then our last, she is somebody who, whenever I'm feeling out and I'm like, thing out of alignment or things aren't working or I feel like I'm not the magnet anymore, I like to say that to myself, like, are you the magnet? Are you being the magnet? She's somebody that if I just listen to what she's saying, like, that's right, that's right.

Lori Harder (00:36:52) - That's how you do it. That's how you manifest things. That's how you become the magnet again. So this is going to be a very selfish day of serving us, Jasmine.

Jasmine Star (00:37:02) - But in the process of serving ourselves and the process of us being in our places of power, we get to serve other people. There's so much more that we're going to be diving into throughout the course of this day. I have to just first and foremost say thank you for showing up as your true authentic self. We had the opportunity to hang out in Sundance, Utah and you, Chris, a few other people, myself, JD and seeing who you are on the inside is what people see on the outside. And those two things are so beautiful. Thank you for sharing those. But for people who want to go deeper, following the glossy journey for women who are kind of like on the precipice, is is this something that I want to do is just want to like, want to learn about I want to be a consumer.

Jasmine Star (00:37:39) - Like, where do we go? How do we go deeper with you as founder and CEO of see? And then how do people go deeper with glossy?

Lori Harder (00:37:46) - Can I get my text number.

Jasmine Star (00:37:47) - Can you? Okay, so here's the thing that's fascinating about Lori. She's very consistent with the content she's putting out. But also the text messages are so personal and they're so enlightening and they're so like, get you like a kick in the butt. Like, I love it, so, oh my God, I.

Lori Harder (00:38:01) - Didn't know you were on I didn't know. Okay. So all you have to do is text the word glossy. That's glossy to (310) 496-8363. And that's really where we're going to be doing like the whole inside scoop. You're going to have first access, all that fun stuff. And then just at Lori Harter on Instagram, I feel like everything is going to be there. You're going to know. Yeah.

Jasmine Star (00:38:21) - You know, I'm sure you probably have thought about this, like Lori is the queen of naming and brand, but it's like your last name is so good.

Jasmine Star (00:38:27) - It's like built for marketing. And so I'm trying to come up with like something cute. It's like, follow Lori. She makes things less harder. Like, I don't know, I've been working on it. We got by the end of the day we're going to get it. We're going to get it.

Lori Harder (00:38:37) - Going to get that tagline.

Jasmine Star (00:38:38) - At Lori harder. Lori, thank you. Thank you for the start of this amazing journey. Thank you for bringing in people who you trust, who've shaped you to be who you are, so that you can shape the audience in the same way, I appreciate you.

Lori Harder (00:38:47) - Oh my God, I love you.

Jasmine Star (00:38:48) - I love you so good at this. You're so. You're just so good.

Speaker 3 (00:38:51) - This is amazing.

Jasmine Star (00:38:52) - Thank you again for listening to The Jasmine Star Show. If you have found this conversation enlightening, empowering, or nice big kick in the butt, which is what Lori does. Be sure to tag her at Lori Harder at Jasmine Star. We will definitely be responding.

Jasmine Star (00:39:04) - Thank you again for listening to The Jasmine Star Show.