← Superwomen with Rebecca Minkoff
Superwomen with Rebecca Minkoff
Barefaced's Jordan Harper on How to Make People Obsessed With Your Brand
00:36:58
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- [00:01]
Jordan Harper
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- [01:18]
Rebecca Minkoff
I'm so excited to be here today with Jordan Harbour, the founder of Bareface. I fell in love with her no bullshit style, her amazing products.
- [01:25]
Jordan Harper
I'm seeing a gap in the industry. I'm selling a medical grade skincare all the time, but yet it's like we're having to create these 10 plus step routines. I was like, I can do this better.
- [01:33]
Rebecca Minkoff
Do you think that having this much ambitious has cost you anything? And if so, what?
- [01:38]
Jordan Harper
I think it's cost me a lot. But also I think that to me the sacrifice is worth it. It's cost me a social life, it definitely has cost me time with my kids. There is no balance, right?
- [01:48]
Rebecca Minkoff
And I think that when you know that you have that level of engagement in your community and that level of love, you can sort of bank on that. It's not. You're starting something new and no one knows who the fuck you are or doesn't trust you.
- [01:58]
Jordan Harper
Honestly, this is what I tell my team all the time. No one has to buy from us. No one cares about Bareface, no one cares about Jordan Harper. They want to know how we can serve them. No one cares what I like unless it's helpful for them. I think it's just like a good reset. Especially in the influencer space. You can think, well, people are obsessed with me no, they're not. Rebecca.
- [02:23]
Rebecca Minkoff
I'm Rebecca Minkoff, and this is Superwomen. Each week, inspiring women are interviewed to uncover the unexpected journeys, the challenges, and the unwavering spirit that makes them powerful. Get ready to be motivated by stories of resilience and discover the keys to unlocking your own potential. So talk to me about Barefaced. What inspired you and what is it for those who don't know? Yes.
- [02:51]
Jordan Harper
Okay. So my background is actually not in business at all. And I feel like my story, I hope my story is very inspiring to women who want to start a business, because I don't have business experience, and I think I'm proof that, like, anyone can do anything. My background is a nurse practitioner, and I have probably 15 years now in the medical space. Never in a million years did I think I started a business. And when I do, I'm always looking for opportunities. So before I started Bareface, I'm working as a nurse practitioner seeing patients for. In cosmetic dermatology, for injectables, lasers. They're coming in willing to spend quite a bit of money when you go into an office treatment, but they don't have a set skin care routine. And when you see these women come in, it's very vulnerable. When you come in and you have, like an issue, especially on your face, an insecurity, I would say you're being really vulnerable. And I saw a lot, one on one of thousands of patients coming in and like, expressing these insecurities, and you get really close to them because of that, because they're like, sharing everything with you. So then I realized, okay, well, wow, they don't even have a skincare routine. And I use the analogy a lot, that having good skin is a lot like having a good healthy oral cavity. If you're going twice a year, but you're not brushing your teeth morning and night, like, you are not going to have unhealthy mouth. The same thing applies to your skin. You can get all the office treatments you want. You can get all the Botox you want. If you do not do your daily skincare morning and night, like, that is 80% of the quality of your skin, of your skin health. And to me, it's just a very simple solution. And I saw that women just were overwhelmed. And so after years of doing this, my husband is in medical school at the time, and we. I just start talking to chemists. I'm a very curious person. So I start talking to chemists in the space. And I learn a lot about the skincare space. A Lot of these companies, you know, they're private equity owned, venture backed and they're just started by business, business people, I guess. And so they're launching all these products and I didn't understand, I was like curious about why are we launching so many products? Why are so many products coming to market that are unnecessary, that don't make sense and that confuse the industry? Because I'm over here trying to like simplify this for my patients, yet more products are constantly being launched. So anyways, I started talking to them and I start to get some ideas on like, huh, that's interesting. Like you're launching two products when you could combine these products together. So then I started talking to a chemist and they were like, what you like have you ever thought about, you know, creating your own product? I was like, not really, but anyways, then it kind of got me thinking. My husband at this point, he is matched. I'm living in Charleston, South Carolina. I've spent seven years building up my own practice, building up patients, posting on social to do that, posting skin tips and like before and after photos. Then he gets matched in another state and I'm like having to leave my entire job. We have a child at this time, I'm pregnant with my second kid. And I was like, you know what, this is the worst situation. I thought I was like devastated by it, but my mom has always said and I feel like this is something I want to teach my kids to like bloom where your planted. You cannot control what always happens to you. You can only control how you respond to it. So when you're in medical school and you know this, having medical people in your family, like one you're paying to go to medical school, then after that you go to residency, you can't really support your family that well. And so like I'm at this point like supporting us. And I was like, I got to make some money for my family and what can I do with like the skills that I have? And so I knew people were asking about skincare all the time. I knew after talking to these chemists I was like, I'm seeing a gap in the industry. I'm selling a medical grade skincare all the time, but yet it's like we're having to create these 10 plus step routines and it's confusing for people. And I was like, I can do this better, I can do this better. And now people ask me all the time, like the skin care space is so saturated. Like what were you thinking? First of all, like, it's like so Great being naive. It really is because all the limiting beliefs that are in your head that you think that you can't do it, they don't exist because you're like, I know the problem that I'm solving. I just don't think this is a good idea. For me, I know this is a good idea because thousands of patients have expressed questions, problems, confusion for years and years and years. So I'm not like thinking, oh gosh, like, I don't know, this industry is so saturated. What can I do? Because I think this is a good idea. Like, they're telling me what to do. I'm just like listening and solving their problems. Fast forward. This is over a span of like 3 to 5 years where I'm like kind of ideating on this and it takes a while to get products.
- [06:46]
Rebecca Minkoff
What are you doing in that time for money?
- [06:49]
Jordan Harper
I'm working as a practitioner.
- [06:50]
Rebecca Minkoff
Okay, okay. So you transfer to a new state, get a job and then you're developing.
- [06:54]
Jordan Harper
I just have my own practice and I had enough of a clientele. I was drive back to Charleston, South Carolina, so I would see patients there. I just rented a space a couple times a month. And then I, working as a nurse practitioner, seeing patients. And then I also have patients that are coming to me. And I built up a practice at this point. And so they're like either driving to me or it was pretty. It was at that point like I had enough of a reputation for injectables. I was always focused on like natural injectables. And I think at that time it was relatively new. You were seeing like the Kylie Jenner effect then. And so like that people looking natural and normal, they were like, oh, I want to go to you. I'm just trying to like enhance someone's features and making people not afraid of injectables. Right. And so I. So yes, that's what I was doing for money. Then I finally launched Bareface. And I'm thinking at this point, really it's just going to go to my, you know, a couple people in my online community, my patients. So it's password protected and truly like, it took a life of its own because patients were referring it to their like, you know, friends and family. And we didn't even do any like, marketing until 2023 because we were like, couldn't keep up with the demand. This is also interesting, especially if anyone wants to start a business. I didn't know a thing about money and getting money. I've never been in debt outside of like, we were Half a million dollars in debt from like medical school, from my husband and I's medical.
- [08:03]
Rebecca Minkoff
That is crazy. A half a million dollars.
- [08:06]
Jordan Harper
I know, it really is. And honestly, like that's absurd that, that it costs that much. That's, that's a whole nother podcast. But anyways, so I took out 5 0% interest credit cards to fund that first. That's just because that's all I knew how to do. I didn't even consider like raising money or asking for money. That was just like, that was my lack and level of like knowledge on how to get the money that I needed. And then we took a pre order and I think that was another really good. Now pre orders are pretty normal, I don't think. Like if you go and look, they weren't then. No, not at all. And I think that shows the level of trust that I had built over years and years of educating patients and on social, like I was just basically giving skin tips and giving education all the time. So by the time the product launched I already had like an established base of customers. And so that, that risk was very, I mean it was there and I took all the risk. But like I knew I was solving a problem for them.
- [08:56]
Rebecca Minkoff
Right. And I think that when you know that you have that level of engagement in your community and that level of love, like there's, you can sort of bank on that. It's not like you're starting something new and no one knows who the you are or doesn't trust you.
- [09:09]
Jordan Harper
Right.
- [09:10]
Rebecca Minkoff
Like you already had a community, which I tell so many people, start a community before you do anything. Because if you have that love and
- [09:17]
Jordan Harper
yes, you can see like what they actually are interested in because you might have an idea and they prove you wrong.
- [09:22]
Rebecca Minkoff
Yep.
- [09:23]
Jordan Harper
If you're not listening and adapting, you have to be because honestly, this is what I tell my team all the time. No one has to buy from us. No one cares about Bareface. No one cares about Jordan Harper. They want to know how I can like how we can serve them. And so it's like no one cares what I like unless it's helpful for them. I think especially in the influencer space, you can think like, oh, people are obsessed with me. It's like, no they're not. So you better be entertaining them, you better be giving them something. And so that's why with Bareface too, like I tell my team, we are here to serve people first. We don't sell first. And that's I think too what people that really connects because if we don't have a solution for a skincare issue issue that you have. Like we're going to tell you that. And that's what I think also gets people coming back because they know that we're not going to just like bullshit them.
- [10:05]
Rebecca Minkoff
So what shifted for you? You're launching. It's like word of mouth, grassroots. First three years, then reality hits. Okay, now I have a business. Now how do I get it out there to people who've never heard of me? What were some of the unhinged things you might have done? Knowing that you were bootstrapped, that you had 0%, 5 0% credit cards, that
- [10:24]
Jordan Harper
you thought we were able to pay those off. So we've been profitable since the beginning. That didn't hold us back for too long after we did our first, like, order. What were the unhinged things that we did?
- [10:32]
Rebecca Minkoff
Yeah. And what worked and what didn't work, what failed miserably. That you were like, this is like, I have so many moments of like, this is what's going to take my company forward and nothing. Fucking cricket.
- [10:44]
Jordan Harper
Yeah.
- [10:44]
Rebecca Minkoff
No. And then you have other things. You're like, oh, wow, that was really successful. I had no idea that would work so well.
- [10:49]
Jordan Harper
So, oh my gosh, so many things don't work. I will say the thing that works time and time and time again, and this is like, is relationships and the relationships that you build and the relationships that you cultivate. And that takes so much time. So we just did a pop up in New York this past weekend or two weekends ago. And then we've done several different things, but we have been building. So for the past three and a half years, probably we've been building our New York base. Whether we like, we try to go up to New York once every eight weeks. Whether that's from an editor perspective or like an influencer perspective. And now at this point, like, we know people. When I see, like, we'll go to the Hamptons, we'll go to the city and those like just little deposits. It's time, it's money to get there. It's also investing in like serving people like, they don't care about me. So it's like, how can I give back to them? Do we want to host a dinner? Do we want to gift a certain brand and networking? And it's so cringe because you literally have to go up to people and you're just constantly putting yourself out there. But I will say that every big opportunity has come from that. Every beauty win every beauty award. We've Won has come from meeting someone in person. Every connection, even our biggest influencers at Sell, they're all relationships that I built, right? And that's like something that I think we get. You know, we're in this like virtual reality a lot of times, but really like these relationships, they're so important, but they do take time. And I think once we start to see the momentum of that, they really pick up. But I've made so many, like I've also made so many mistakes and we still have never taken capital. So like all these mistakes that we make, you know, I'm like paying the price for, which is also really good because you learn a lot from that. We're very intentional about how we spend money. But I mean some of this stuff we'll do like small tests and see there's been formulations that thankfully some of the stuff has never come out. I would say a whole nother story would be like, all the products that we haven't launched that we've like gone through and then we're like, nope, they're not. They don't meet our standard. Nope, they're not best in class. That's been something that has been actually a really expensive learning. But I also feel like I'm never going to risk our brand integrity to launch a product that doesn't meet a certain standard. But we've launched even our eye patches, which I love their custom medical grade silicone and they're very thin. A lot of these eye patches are thick and they're really uncomfortable to wear. These are reusable. They're meant to reuse until you lose them. You could have them for years. And the first round, I don't know how this happened but like they produced 50,000 and they were like just too thick. They weren't comfortable. And you know, that was me not being paying attention to maybe like, oh, there's a variation. And so anyways, that was about 100 grand loss. But we went back and forth. I was like, this would be brand damaging and it's not worth the hit. This is where like our customer comes back for a reason. Because we built that trust. I would say operationally, tons, tons of mistakes.
- [13:24]
Rebecca Minkoff
We could go on all day about that, right?
- [13:27]
Jordan Harper
Also probably another mistake is not hiring when we could have afforded it. Not hiring people that were experts in like operational inefficiencies. I don't know about all that. So that's been something I've had to learn and suffer through the hard way. But I'm also really grateful. People stuck with us. I know at first when I was shipping for my garage, I had my babysitters helping me ship. And I can't tell you how many shipping errors. Like, the product was good, thank goodness. But the experience, like, I also want that to be good. And that took a minute to get under control.
- [13:52]
Rebecca Minkoff
Yeah. But I feel like every founder story that starts from a garage or like my fifth floor walk up, like, you have these just like, my husband was shipping for us because the product was going to be laid. You know, my whole office would stop what they were doing, and we'd go up to 38th street and ship. Those are the moments that make this journey so fun. And you don't necessarily think it's fun then, but you look back, you're like, fuck, that was awesome. Like, we were together shipping and figuring it out and who knew how to do EDI or connect to a big retailer and, like, reading the manual, like, I don't know. I, I, I definitely have a lot of nostalgia for those days.
- [14:23]
Jordan Harper
Yes. It's something that you look back to, and I'm like, I don't ever want to do that again. Yes. But I am really glad that I saw it. And it helps you appreciate every phase and aspect of the business because you have experience there. And I think that's another reason, too, why I'm glad for me that we haven't taken capital because I'm so intentional with every spend.
- [14:39]
Rebecca Minkoff
Yeah.
- [14:39]
Jordan Harper
That, like, I think I've seen a lot of founders that have, like, VC money and they're just gonna blow money or they. And yeah, but when it's yours and it's like everything, you're like, we're so intentional with everything. Our mantra very face is less, but better. So that applies to products, but it also applies to, like, how we approach spins, how we approach collaborations, because one that's just overwhelming. And so, like, being really intentional with spin has been great because that has allowed us to have the capital to invest or where it makes sense. Yeah.
- [15:04]
Rebecca Minkoff
But it's also refreshing because I feel like people who get their money only from VC or PE before they've had the ability to sort of be like, I only have $10. How am I going to spend it? They just blow it like it's mommy and daddy's. And a lot of times I don't think the payoff is there. But when you've learned the hard way and you've lost your own $10 enough times, I think it makes a huge difference in how you think about it too.
- [15:25]
Jordan Harper
Yeah.
- [15:26]
Rebecca Minkoff
Everyone Sorry for the quick pause. I want to share something really exciting. Superwoman has a brand new YouTube channel. It's still under construction, but big things are coming in 2026. You'll find past episodes, new episodes, and some bonus content I cannot wait for you to see. Just search SuperWoman Media on YouTube and hit subscribe so you don't miss a thing. Okay, back to the pod. So you mentioned that a bulk of the good things that have happened have come from you being at the events, you're networking. You're the face, you're the content creator, you're the mother. Where do you find the cup to refill yourself? Because I see you on social and I'm just like, holy, the Energizer bunny is on my screen again. And I'm, you know, like. But like, where do you get that and how do you keep that energy sustainable? Because it's a lot. I'm doing as much as you are. And I'm like, sometimes I'm like, oh, my God, this is so much.
- [16:19]
Jordan Harper
People ask me this all the time and I'm sure they do do the same to you. How do you do it all? I think I'm doing a lot, but one, I've gotten very good at delegating. And I think this is where having kids is actually. There's like, pros and cons of having a business while having kids. The pros are, is it quickly allows you to see what is priority in life. Honestly, having kids. And that's helped me in my personal life, that's helped me in really all aspects because very quickly, like, helps you to understand, oh, wow, this is not priority. This is not the most important thing. And so it's allowed me to get so much better at delegating.
- [16:49]
Rebecca Minkoff
Yep.
- [16:49]
Jordan Harper
So from a personal perspective, and I remember working with patients and I remember being pregnant with my first and someone told me, hey, as much help as you can afford, that's what you should try to get. And I thought, that's interesting. And I try to get help more with, yes, I have definitely have childcare help. But I really prioritize, like, spending time with my kids. So the help that I really lean into is like, I don't cook. That's just off the thing. I don't do laundry. So I've really tried to think of, like, house help. Because unless it's like bringing me joy, I want to be spending the time at home with my kids. I don't want to be annoyed that they're like, destroying the house because then I'm like, so I have help with like housekeeping and like that kind of thing so my time can be spent with my kids so I can pick my kids up, so I can take my kids to school, so I can put them down every night. I'm also very thoughtful on travel. I do travel like regularly for work, but I don't really travel a lot like, like socially with my friends and not just the season of life that I'm in because I would just be gone too much. Yeah. Just, it's just, it's such a short window. And I also see, I think I have a really real understanding of like how precious time is. And so I'm just in that season where I'm like building business. Thankfully I have very good friends. I don't have a lot of time or I don't make a lot of time to spend with them because I do want to spend time with my kids and my husband. And so when I think about what it means to like do everything, I'm like, I try to take care of my body so I'm working out. That's like a non negotiable. Yep. And then I like hang out with my family and do my job. So like I'm, I refill a lot on the weekends. I have some weekends where that are really busy but typically like I say no to so much and I think that all goes back to like knowing what, what moves the needle and knowing what the priority is.
- [18:26]
Rebecca Minkoff
Yeah. And I think probably I'm going to assume I said yes to everything for so long and you get good at now going, all right, that's going to be a waste of time. That's going to be good. That's not going to be. Because you've been, been there, done that and you're like, no, that's just going to be good content but it's not going to move a needle. So I'm not going well.
- [18:45]
Jordan Harper
And that's actually been really helpful. That's funny that you say that because there's so much learnings that, things that we, that we said yes to initially that now we know. So some of that, some of that is a learning. It's like, well, shoot, that was kind of a waste of time. But you know what? We wouldn't have known that unless we did it.
- [18:58]
Rebecca Minkoff
Correct.
- [18:59]
Jordan Harper
But most things if you, if you keep like, if you follow up and you kind of put yourself out there, like you can make something out of most, most situations.
- [19:08]
Rebecca Minkoff
Oh for sure.
- [19:09]
Jordan Harper
But as long as you're like intentional about it, yeah.
- [19:12]
Rebecca Minkoff
Do you think that having this much ambitious has cost you anything? And if so, what.
- [19:16]
Jordan Harper
Oh, my gosh. I think it's cost me a lot, but also, I think that, to me, the sacrifice is worth it. I think it's cost me a social life. It definitely has cost me time with my kids. Some of the times that I'm just like. And I try to be really focused on, like, spending time with them, but, I mean, it's. It's cost me time that, like, sometimes I just. You have to be there. Like, there's no balance. Right. Like, I have to be doing something for work, and there's just. There's. That's. That is the option. I would say that relationship. Like, relationships with friends. You know, I haven't probably made new friends in five years. Thankfully, I have the ones I. I've got. So that for sure. And then at night. I mean, time with my husband, for sure. Because at night, a lot of times, I'll work when they go down.
- [19:54]
Rebecca Minkoff
Yeah.
- [19:54]
Jordan Harper
He's been in a residency and a fellowship, so he works a ton, too. So making sure that we're, like, growing together, I think that that's something that we constantly have to regroup on. We're both very motivated. We're both in, like, very involved with our kids, but also making sure we're like. We're not, like, going in different directions and, like, checking in with each other. So everything costs something, you know, and it's just, what. Worth it.
- [20:26]
Rebecca Minkoff
So let's talk about instinct. I think you and I probably both. Both grew our businesses with a lot of instinct. Then you have to professionalize it. I don't know if you did this. Then I relied on the experts who told me what to do, and I ignored my instinct. And every single time I did that, not good. So I'd love to hear if that's what you also did and what you learned from it and maybe share a story of, like, when you just ignored it because someone knew better or someone was like a properly, you know, degree person and what happened.
- [20:56]
Jordan Harper
I relate to this a lot because especially, and I mentioned this earlier, like, having no business experience, when you get someone in that does, and they're like, you know, you're C suite. And then you're like, oh, they. They know what's going on. Or, oh. Or you're like, your cpa, you're like, well, they know. They know. I'm like, oh, well, you're like our. You're our coo. Like, you know. You know what's going on. You operationally. So we had this situation where from a manufacturing standpoint, he was like negotiating our contract because we had. We were ordering such high volume. And I thought I didn't even like, even have like, I didn't even ask an advisor on this because I just was like, oh, this guy knows. Which I normally do. Again, you just kind of like, also so much is going on that sometimes you're like, just stuff is like slipping through the cracks. And the sense of like, it's like, I just can't hear, like family.
- [21:40]
Rebecca Minkoff
Someone's here to row the. Like, get the whole plugged in the boat and you're just like, here, go. And then they're a fucking loser and they mess up. Yeah.
- [21:47]
Jordan Harper
Yes. Yeah. So this happened with our fulfillment center and our manufacturer when we were like, renegotiating contracts. And I was like, I'm just gonna let him own this? Anyways, this guy's gone now. But he negotiated the contract. I thought it was really good deal. And I found out later it was like this terrible deal that we ended up getting and like, not good pricing. And so now we've spent the past two years kind of like recouping from that. So that was probably like, honestly, millions of dollars lost.
- [22:12]
Rebecca Minkoff
Wow.
- [22:13]
Jordan Harper
You gotta learn the hard way. And then we've had a similar situation. I would say that the most challenging. We've had issues with CFOs, CPAs. And that is an area that I really don't understand. There's so much like, from a tax standpoint and figuring out, like, we've overpaid in taxes. Thank goodness our new CFP CPA figured this out. We've overpaid and. But I don't. I don't even know, like, the right questions to ask. Same.
- [22:41]
Rebecca Minkoff
Same. Yeah, like, tell us. We went into a board meeting. This was like 15 years ago. We're like, we're profitable. We're gonna make 3 million. And then he's like, I messed up. We're losing 3 million. After the board meeting, you're like, how are. How do you even have that title if you can take that big of a swing? It's wild. It's. It's a point of frustration for me. I don't know if you, like, how do we stop and get that kind of education when you are expected to like, hire someone that knows this shit?
- [23:07]
Jordan Harper
So we have these, like, we have more. A few more checks and balances now. So now my current COO will like, cross check my cfo. Like, there's more. At first, I Didn't have enough checks and balances because I just had, like, certain people in silos. This past year, I brought on, like a full C suite. That's also something I wish I did earlier. We had the money to do it.
- [23:25]
Rebecca Minkoff
Yeah.
- [23:26]
Jordan Harper
I don't know why the heck I didn't do it, because I was just like, oh, it's going to be too much to hire people. There's been learnings for sure, but the way that they have, like, helped the business with efficiencies and we've been able to, like, I want to, like, really hyper personalize because of that. Like, I want people to feel like we're handholding them through, like, the skincare experience. And so they've been able to do that using data, which you should use. And we use my gut too, but we also look at data, so. And my cmo, like, pulls data data so that I can, like, figure out, oh, okay. This is like a good marketing initiative. But all that being said, those kind of things, like, having more checks and balances, I think is like, really the only way around that obviously mistakes are going to happen. But it's. It's hard because it's like, you can't be an expert and why should you? I know what I'm good at. Like, I know. I know how to communicate to our customers. I know what products we need to bring in. I'm listening to our customer constantly. So it's like, I know what I'm good at. But you also, you can't take your foot off one or you can't take your eyes or whatever you call it off one aspect of the business. Because you're exactly right. Like, you expect someone to do something and then they're like, let a huge ball drop.
- [24:27]
Rebecca Minkoff
Millions of dollars.
- [24:28]
Jordan Harper
Sucks.
- [24:29]
Rebecca Minkoff
Yeah, dude, I've been there so many times.
- [24:31]
Jordan Harper
It sucks because when you're the one that owns business, you're like, dang it, like, there's no one else. Like, this is me. This is on me. Who's my boss? No.
- [24:39]
Rebecca Minkoff
And then their response is, that's on me, bro. Sorry about that. I'm like, sorry, sorry. Do you want to give me your house? Because now that's what I have to pay for for.
- [24:46]
Jordan Harper
I know every founder I've ever talked to, they say the exact same thing you do. They also, like, behind the scenes, it is not pretty. It is not pretty. And I think we don't see someone else's business, so we think it is pretty. It's like a marriage. It's truly like a Marriage. It's like, no, everyone has problems. Everyone goes through this. So it's like, instead of thinking, like, no one else goes through this, like, I don't know what I'm doing. It's just like, figure out a way to get through. And Michelle Grant always says, I like, love that she says this. Like, there are no problems. There's like puzzle pieces to put together. And like, that is it like, you have to figure out how to put it all together. Because, like, everyone, every founder, I've yet to talk to someone who's like, yeah, we got this stuff figured out. Because there's like, the bigger you get, you've got bigger problems.
- [25:26]
Rebecca Minkoff
Correct. The hard work starts now for every new big phase. It's not. It's not like you get to grow big and then it becomes easier.
- [25:34]
Jordan Harper
Right? Because you're just like always up leveling. I just started watching the Taylor Swift documentary last night, and I'm not like a swifty, but like, I watch her and I'm like, oh, I get it. She's so extreme and she's so intentional. And the intentionality she had around, she's like, I want every concert and every performance to like, wow. I want every single seat to experience something. She made sure that, like, everything was taken care of. And I think, like, she's. She's the top of the, you know, the top of the top. And yet she still knows that her job is to perform. Perform. She's still thinking of ways to be creative to up level the performance. You're always challenging and up leveling and you know that you're serving and you know what your role is. And the fact that she's always trying to uplevel, like, that should be a learning lesson for everyone means you and
- [26:18]
Rebecca Minkoff
I are never relaxing, ever.
- [26:20]
Jordan Harper
I was so inspired. I was like, I've got to get more extreme. I'm not doing enough.
- [26:24]
Rebecca Minkoff
Will you send me late night texts about your extremities so that I can get extreme too?
- [26:27]
Jordan Harper
Yes, yes, I will. I will text you what I've got going on for 2026. It's about to.
- [26:33]
Rebecca Minkoff
Okay, well, speaking of 2026, what are you excited to go extreme on this year and what's Next?
- [26:40]
Jordan Harper
This year? 2025 has been such intentional growth year. We've been building out our team behind the scenes. A lot of, like, slow, little tiny deposits of like, is this going to pay off? Like, where's the reward in this? And I feel like in 2026, we're about to just like, yeah, we're about to just gallop. So there are some things from a retail perspective that we're excited about and then we're looking at like these different from a skincare perspective delivery systems and also like really targeting the perimenopausal women. That's really exciting. And menopause. I mean it all goes together. Yeah, same, same. And really getting. We're really focusing on new customer acquisition. So we have a 90 returning customer rate which is like so incredible. And I'm so like they are returning customer is like we have really hardly, I mean really hardly focus on new customer acquisition because we just focus on serving our existing customer. However, I now understand that, you know, you got to continue to like grow and get new exposure. So that's something that's like a big focus in 2026. So just trying to figure out what makes sense. Are we going to pull in TikTok, are we going to like go big with different partnerships? So that's something actually we're still kind of strategizing about. But I do feel like it's going to be a year to run, I hope. Like, would you say that there was
- [27:56]
Rebecca Minkoff
something unique you did to have that type of retention rate? Because that's incredible.
- [28:01]
Jordan Harper
One I think we don't have a lot of products and if you look at our product purchase, typically people are purchasing every purchase is around 2.7 products. So they're getting between two and three products. We have a hero product. So our toning pad sells one every three minutes. They were the ones that were like selling out all the time when we first launched. So many people are on those. And then I think because of the way we educate we have several like heroes, I guess toning pads being the top. But I think because we educate on the routine as a whole, we're not just talking about one product. And I think the way that we're, I'm educating on social. I think the way that we educate we have an AI skin analysis we've invested in and developed. It's all about the routine. Pretty much all the education we do is around the routine. How to build a routine for your skin type, what to use for your skin type. And I think that's where. Because they're also because with skincare if you're not. If you're using one product product and you're just kind of picking like cherry picking kind of products from different brands, you're probably, you potentially could be using the same of like, like I can't tell you how many people are on like Five hydrating serums. It's like, okay, well, it's not really going to do much for your skin. And I think we educate a lot on the core four, the four products that all skin types need. And we're kind of building out their routines so then they're seeing changes in their skin. So once it's like working out, skincare is a workout for your skin, but once you start seeing changes, then you're going to be motivated to continue to do it. And I think that's the biggest thing with skincare. People don't. We also are very real about, hey, it's going to take at least six weeks. Think I reference working all the time use products. The skin cell cycle is six weeks. And so like you have to be using something consistently for at least six weeks. Now that's if you're, I mean, if you're like 60, you are probably going to have to use it for six weeks, 12 weeks, like you're going to. It's going to take time to see changes. And people don't think like that.
- [29:44]
Rebecca Minkoff
Right. They want to see it overnight.
- [29:46]
Jordan Harper
That's what I do.
- [29:46]
Rebecca Minkoff
Sometimes I'm like, well, I tried this and it didn't work.
- [29:49]
Jordan Harper
Yeah, but the skin cell cycle is six weeks at least. And so you're, you need that cellular turnover to happen. And that's where like you, if you jump, jump, jump all the time, you're never, you're going to be so underwhelmed by skincare, you're probably going to irritate your skin and you're just going to think that skincare doesn't work. That's the same thing with injectables. If you're getting injectables, you need to find someone that you trust because what happens is you start to like jump around and then you just start to look really weird. Weird. Like you have to go back to your injector and show them because like the face, it's like someone learning your hair. It's like you got to give your hair girl time to learn it. Same thing with your face. And so many people, like, they don't like one thing, so they go to someone else. They go to someone else and then you got like this whole weird situation going, cranking face. Yeah.
- [30:33]
Rebecca Minkoff
So I'm gonna show you a picture of when I went to somebody and they're like, yeah, definitely inject under your eyes. Look at that.
- [30:41]
Jordan Harper
That
- [30:43]
Rebecca Minkoff
they put Botox under my eyes and I like had a demon smile.
- [30:46]
Jordan Harper
Yeah, I've had it. That's Something. Yeah, I know, it's really. And you can also look like dead face. So a lot of times people it's like, oh, I don't like the wrinkles around my eye. Well, great. Do you know what's going to look weird when you look like this? Like, like literally dead in the face. Yeah. Where you kind of look like a doll. And so it's always better to look like natural than to look weird. Yeah, Always better to have wrinkles than to look weird because we don't. The normal person, even if they're not familiar with injectables, like, they can't tell what is off about your face, but they can tell something's off.
- [31:17]
Rebecca Minkoff
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's the worst.
- [31:19]
Jordan Harper
Yeah, I know. And sometimes with Botox, at least it wears off in like three months. But like, sometimes you don't know that. Some people love that one. But yeah, you can look really dead.
- [31:26]
Rebecca Minkoff
I was like, my husband looked at me, he's like, something happened to your face? What's going on there? And I was like, I don't want to talk about it. And then I had to drain my eyes every morning because, like, it holds in the lymphatic.
- [31:37]
Jordan Harper
Yeah, yeah, it holds in the lymphatic. Okay.
- [31:40]
Rebecca Minkoff
So for those who get overwhelmed easily by skin care, me included, tell me the quick bare faced, what is the routine?
- [31:47]
Jordan Harper
Well, so I always say with skincare, start with the Core 4. So it's an exfoliant, which is our toning pads, a vitamin C, which ours is liquid gold, A retinoid. We have a retinol skin therapy which if anyone's scared of retinoids, like you need to be using them outside of sunscreen. They're the most well researched thing for keeping the skin functioning optimally. We're all about longevity skin care. And so yes, we need anti aging to correct, but we need longevity focus. This is the only skin we get. We have to have our skin and body functioning optimally. And if we're just focusing on correcting and not getting the skin to function optimally or just missing out, and then you need an SPF and then you like a cleanser and a moisturizer. But those core four are the four products that are going to work on transforming the skin. And that's where I think that people are like, they're so focused on hydrating and it's like, like, well, if you're not properly exfoliating, then none of your products are going to work.
- [32:35]
Rebecca Minkoff
Right.
- [32:36]
Jordan Harper
So it all like the way that I build and recommend Building a routine is start with the Core 4, obviously need a cleanser and moisturizer. Then you build, depending on your concern.
- [32:46]
Rebecca Minkoff
That's easy to remember.
- [32:47]
Jordan Harper
Yeah.
- [32:48]
Rebecca Minkoff
Last question for you. Is there a piece of advice you'd like to pass on that is from you or someone gave to you that was actually helpful in building your career?
- [32:56]
Jordan Harper
Oh, sure. So much. But the first thing that's coming to mind is keep the main thing the main thing. And that can apply from a personal perspective and professional, because especially the more success that we've had, the more opportunities that we've been offered. And I think. I love the book Essentialism. I don't know if you've ever read it. It's so good, but it's just about making sure everything that you say yes to, you're saying no to something else. And so you really need to, like, know what your why is. And keeping that the main. Like, that's what drew people to you in the first place. And I see so many brands that are just like, I get it, too. It's like you kind of feel like you're like, I'm bored. I keep saying the same thing over and over and over, but actually, that's what it takes. And you just have to be like, I think keeping the main thing. The main thing, and personally and professionally, like, keeps you on track.
- [33:41]
Rebecca Minkoff
I love that. I think we can get distracted. I get distracted all the time by shiny objects. And I'm like, maybe I should do that. And I'm like, fucking focus.
- [33:48]
Jordan Harper
You are not like, should I start a new company? I don't know. Like, feels like it, you know? Or, like, should we sell makeup? We're not going to do any of that. But, like, it's just. It can be. Especially if you have that entrepreneurial mind. Like, yeah, I see so many different. I'm like, wait, this needs to exist?
- [34:02]
Rebecca Minkoff
Yes.
- [34:02]
Jordan Harper
So I need to start it, you know?
- [34:04]
Rebecca Minkoff
And it's like, yes, I'm pitching something to some people in an arena that I have nothing to do with other than I want to be able to retire into it. And I'm like, what am I doing this for? Like, this is. Stop it right now. Just focus on your bag.
- [34:16]
Jordan Harper
I have another business that I'm, like, actually, like, starting, and I'll share with you soon. But it's. You're gonna love it. I'm gonna love it. It's. It's gonna be great. But. But it's one of those things where it's like. And I think I have the time for this like, what am I doing?
- [34:29]
Rebecca Minkoff
I know, I know, I know now.
- [34:31]
Jordan Harper
But you know, keep the main thing.
- [34:33]
Rebecca Minkoff
Thank you so much. Where can everyone buy the core4bareface.com love it. And where can they follow you? Etc.
- [34:42]
Jordan Harper
Instagram is Jordan Harper, NP Nurse Practitioner. And then we also have barefaced.
- [34:48]
Rebecca Minkoff
Do you know, this whole time I thought NP stood for no problem. So every time I go to look I'm like, Jordan Harper, no problem.
- [34:53]
Jordan Harper
There she is also, I mean, I love that. No problem. No problems Nurse Practitioner. That is amazing. You're like, this girl spills hell. Oh my God, you're the best.
- [35:05]
Rebecca Minkoff
Thank you everyone for tuning in. If you like what you see here, please rate and review. I know it's annoying for me to say that every single time, but it is important. So please just take that little tap tap and click to rate review. Give me your thoughts. I'd love to hear them. Thanks again for tuning in. Thanks so much for watching today's episode. Before you head out, I want to invite you to my brand new YouTube channel for all things Superwoman women. It's a fresh space I'm building out for 2026, packed with past episodes, future episodes, and some special new content we're cooking up. Just search SuperWoman Media on YouTube and subscribe so you're there for everything coming next. I'll see you over there. Thanks for listening to today's episode. If you've enjoyed it, take a second to rate and review the show. Wherever you're tuning in. It really helps others find the podcast. You can follow me, me on Instagram, Rebecca Minkoff and at rmsuperwoman or for a slice into my personal life, Ecky Minkoff. And don't forget to check out my book, Fearless the New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage and Success. See you next week.
- [36:10]
Jordan Harper
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- [36:43]
Rebecca Minkoff
How quick?
- [36:43]
Jordan Harper
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