← The Art of the Brand
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- [00:00]
Lori Harder
I went from zero to a million dollars in about 13 or 14 months.
- [00:05]
Host
Wow. Welcome, Lori, to Art of the Brand podcast. I'm so excited to have you. You're a true woman boss. I don't want to call you a girl boss. You're killing it. You're. You're an author, you're a podcast speaker, you're an entrepreneur, you're an angel investor. You also started a. Your own company recently. How did you get. How did you start all of this? How did you get here?
- [00:38]
Lori Harder
God, that is a loaded question. But also, you know, I am from. I'm from a really small town. I did not see entrepreneurship really around me or in my family. I, you know, I share this because I think it's really important for people to hear. Like, I, you know, growing up, I was raised in a more restrictive religion, which made a small town even smaller. So I could only. I was only allowed to associate with people inside of that congregation. And there was 114 people in the congregation at the time. And I say that because I didn't have dreams of doing anything that you said until I started being able to see other people who had done what I was doing. So it wasn't until I moved out of that area and decided to leave much later on and go and seek out being around people who's, like, whose realities were my dreams. That is truly when I started to go, oh, what is this whole other world? What are other people doing? What are these brands that people have or personal brands and what's possible for me? And I think that that is, you know, one of the big places where it started was out of a complete need to make money. So my husband and I actually, we got married at a really young age, and he was the main breadwinner. Because I did not ever graduate from high school, you guys, like, ever. I was homeschooled through high school, never graduated. So when I met my husband, he was in mortgage and finance and he was just like flying up through the ranks. And I was a big dreamer. Like, I always had big goals and wanted to do them, but I wasn't doing them because I was still stuck in my story of I'm not smart enough, I can't ever do that, I'm not educated. Well, it wasn't until 2008 hit and my husband, who was the main breadwinner, ended up. Cause he was in mortgage and finance. And if you think about 2008, yeah, totally. He ended up losing his job. We lost our home, we lost our cars. We were $300,000 in debt. So I will tell you that the first entrepreneurship journey that I started was out of the complete rock bottom of going, what do we do now? And it was, okay, well, no better time than not, you know, than losing everything to face your fear of getting out there and starting something. So that was when I first started getting into personal training. And I had worked at An LA Fitness at the time that this. And I was making $6 per 30 minute session. And this was the first time that I really started talking to people. I started getting into personal development. And, like, I remember listening to these, you know, lectures and reading all these different books from different people. And one of them had said, like, you have to share your dream with anyone you come in contact with. So I remember being at LA Fitness and sharing with, like, all my clients. I was like, hey, I want to start my own studio. And I, you know, I want to go out on my own. And it wasn't much longer after that that one of my clients said, hey, I'm opening my own chiropractic studio. It was a woman, and she said, you can train in the lower level. Like, you don't have to pay me. We can reassess on month three. We can do a trade. You can train me for free rent for three months, and you can start your own thing there. I said, yes. I was started two weeks later. And that was the first journey into entrepreneurship. That. And that's kind of where it all started is out of this complete, like, need to go and figure out how to make more money. This one's hard for me. My product brand is. I mean, if we're categorizing it, it's a daily beauty supplement.
- [04:22]
Co-Host
Yes. But the brand of Lori, this is the thing we struggle for. It's why we called the podcast Art of the Brand. Cause nobody can define a brand. Like, it's this esoteric concept. But then everybody talks about branding. But when I looked up, you, like, you have such a cool background, such a power image.
- [04:40]
Host
Yeah.
- [04:40]
Co-Host
That I don't see on any of your platforms.
- [04:43]
Lori Harder
Yeah. So this is great. Do we get to do a session on this? I would say, you know, if I could look at all of the things that I have done throughout, like, every single thing. If it's a live event, if it's a book, if it's a podcast. For me, it's all about connecting. Like teaching people how to build a network and connect into the groups and to the people that will help them.
- [05:11]
Co-Host
What comes to my mind is Lori.
- [05:13]
Lori Harder
Harrier and amplifier fulfill that next dream.
- [05:19]
Co-Host
That's what just pops to my mind.
- [05:21]
Host
He gets everybody's names wrong also, just so you know, like, it's. It's an ongoing problem that I deal with it. Like, it actually keeps me up at night. Like, he gets my brother's name wrong. You kind of stumbled. Like, I'll let it slide, but you did kind of stumble. That's such a great point. On the being the consumer side, like, with the digital, it's so much easier to consume at home, but it's so different than when you go there in person. But also on the creator side, I've had conversations with a lot of clients and other creators recently where I'm really pushing them to do in person because you get so siloed in the. In the feedback that you receive. Like, it tends to be like, very categorical. But there's something intangible about getting that feedback and that energy in person for how that can help you level up on both sides of the equation. Like being the person hosting the event in person as well as being on the receiving end of the education info.
- [06:19]
Lori Harder
Oh, my gosh. I mean, I think there's a whole new level that you can access as like a teacher or an event host because you. There's a whole thing that you go through with that because you, you know, in the beginning of when you're hosting events, it's like there's so many thoughts that are going on around your head. Like, as the host, at first you think that you have to provide all the value. So there's so much pressure there. And you're like, oh, my God. And you're freaking out and you feel like you have to level up to provide that value. And then as the journey of putting events on, you have this realization of you just need to be a really incredible host who can, like, hold space and facilitate well, but the value is gonna be within the room and what they create for themselves. And that kinda takes the pressure off, but allows you to, like, it's just a whole journey being a host.
- [07:07]
Host
It's a whole part of it. So you went from. So you become a kind of fitness, I guess, personal trainer. Cause I wanna get to kind of where Glocee enters in. So what is that in between chapter of where Lori Harder became a personality and a creator?
- [07:24]
Lori Harder
So from the fitness trainer, what ended up happening is I created a personal brand from them. And I was just, you know, I remember MySpace and Facebook, like, because fitness wasn't something that was natural to me growing up I knew that fitness was a huge way to transform yourself and to, like, break through a lot of your fears. Because I had done it myself. I noticed that by getting the discipline of going to the gym and learning that discipline of, like, wow, these results take a really long time, that it was transferring to other parts of my life. So from being in the fitness world, I did love it. I opened my own studio. I did that for a while. But what I started observing is that I could, like, I could work someone out all the time. Like, I would have some women who would do five days a week with me, but I couldn't change their body or make a transformation if they mentally weren't willing to change. And so this got me really interested in personal development, and I was on my own personal development journey. And so at that point, I had started wanting to get into, like, personal development events. I had gone to a lot of them. I had gone to Landmark. I'd gone to a lot of Tony Robbins. I'd gone to Jack Canfield. I got, like, all of these different mentors, Gabby Bernstein. And I just became full, fully, fully immersed in wanting to do personal development for people. Because I, again, I was like, we all want these. We want a result. We want more money, or we want the body and we want the relationship. Except none of that is going to work if you don't work on yourself first and figure out what's holding you back. So in the middle was personal development, events, network marketing, the podcast, and writing a book.
- [09:10]
Host
Cool. And then so you invested in the personal. I guess you went all in on the personal brand piece, and then your book ended up being successful. Like the. Or was it because you were early on, in the days of social, that you got that momentum? Like, I'm trying to figure out what the tipping point was for you.
- [09:25]
Lori Harder
I think it was that every single day, I went on to Facebook and wrote about how I was overcoming a struggle of either anxiety or of not following through, because I had that story for a long time, because I never graduated and I never finished anything. So I think I just. I think that I learned how to create a relatable story every single day on Facebook. I remember I would literally, I would read a personal development book or, like, think of whatever was going on in my life, and I would write one to two paragraphs on Facebook and just, like, talk back and forth with people. Like, I didn't know what I was doing at the time, but all of a sudden I had, you know, these different people following me. And then I also I also started doing Face when I decided to launch a personal development event, and the tickets did not sell how I hoped. I was like, well, shoot, I better get on here, because these aren't selling. I better go on this new thing called Lives, and I'm gonna do a live every single day for a year, and I'm gonna also talk about my event and each one. And that took off amazing.
- [10:32]
Host
So you got comfortable in the uncomfortable because you were not prepared to fail.
- [10:37]
Lori Harder
Yep. We put money down. That's another thing. Like, you know how we were saying you have to put pressure behind your goals?
- [10:43]
Host
Yep.
- [10:43]
Lori Harder
Well, I put, like, $80,000 down on an event venue that we didn't have, and these tickets weren't coming through. So I was like, guess what I wouldn't have done if I wouldn't have put that money down?
- [10:55]
Host
Why?
- [10:56]
Lori Harder
I would never have gone on Lives every day ever. Never.
- [11:00]
Co-Host
That's a very cool story.
- [11:01]
Host
That is a really cool story.
- [11:03]
Co-Host
Did you video, did you vlog any of that?
- [11:05]
Host
The first.
- [11:05]
Co-Host
First would be cool to have captured.
- [11:08]
Lori Harder
I know I do have it. So I have to go back, and I want to go back to the first ones. Like, that would be amazing.
- [11:12]
Host
You have to. I feel like so many of the stories you hear. One of my favorite Tony Robbins quotes is, success leaves clues. But you often hear so many of the similarities or those patterns between people's success stories, but seldom do I hear about posting on Facebook as being one of the reasons that compounded to a following. So that's awes. And then one just a cool story about that.
- [11:41]
Lori Harder
How it truly, truly, it really worked is because, you know, it's like, okay, well, did I fill the event from that? Okay, so I would. When I would go on live, I was in my bathrobe every morning, and I wouldn't have makeup on. And the reason that I did that is because I was always waiting to be ready. Like, it was the time when everybody was, like, highly produced, a lot of makeup on, like. And I was like, I'm never going to be that girl, because I'm never. I'm never getting ready. So I was like, okay, well, what if we showed everyone that they can just do it? Not ready? And so I rotated between, like, these two bathrobes. And when I got to my event, literally, I probably. I think I got bought, like, 10 robes, and a bunch of people were wearing robes, and I went out.
- [12:25]
Host
That's amazing. So we got to bring back the robe.
- [12:30]
Lori Harder
I know.
- [12:31]
Host
That's awesome.
- [12:32]
Co-Host
You should sell 100,000 robes. Just as part of your the connection robe.
- [12:38]
Host
I feel like Lori Harder's brand is one of connection. Like that is, that is the theme. So you've become an inspiration and a thought leader in kind of, I guess like the self help and like health and wellness. So is that what led you to launching your new brand glossy?
- [12:56]
Lori Harder
That is a lot of what led to it. I also have a very extensive background in network marketing, selling supplements and products.
- [13:03]
Host
Oh, cool.
- [13:04]
Lori Harder
So we did that for, I mean, we're actually still a part of a company, but we haven't actively been involved in it. But that was a huge, I mean that was a really huge part of our story that I kind of left out. But when we were going from losing everything and being $300,000 in debt, one of my clients, when I opened my new studio was doing network marketing. And I remember she tried to, she tried to get me into it for like six months. And I was like, I'm never doing that. Like my parents did that. And like you don't get invited, like your family stops inviting you places people hate you. Like that was just the stigma. Right. And so here I am, you know, doing fitness training, was doing to help me catch up on being $300,000 in debt and borrowing all of my in laws retirement to try to get us out of the situation we were in. I'm like, we're never going to pay this back. And so one day, six months later, she not only had lost £100, no lie. And I was like, God, I wish I could say I knew I was this good of a trainer, but not all my clients are having this experience. But she brings in a check and it was for $13,000. How long did it take you to earn this? And she was like, this is for one week, Lori, I'll bring in next week. And I was like, sign me up, show me what to do. We went on a walk every single day, Monday through Friday for probably we ended up doing that for like two to three years. But in a little over a year, I went from zero to a million dollars in about 13 or 14 months.
- [14:37]
Host
Wow.
- [14:39]
Lori Harder
In network marketing. And I also understood. So this is the, this is the brand portion where everything starts crossing over. I understood. It's like it's all related. Okay, I'm in fitness, but I'm also in like this personal development thing. Guess what? People who are in fitness and personal development need food and more. And so I think that if I can say one strength that I, that I truly have understood about myself is I Understand how to take any topic and turn it into a story that fits with what my, like, goal is, with what that agenda is for transformation for that person. So, and it's all required, like, transformation in order to be had is, you know, you have to have the health piece, you have to have the food piece, you have to have the community piece, and you have to have the personal development piece.
- [15:37]
Co-Host
You know, the health piece. When I was reading some of your stuff, it's actually more inspiring than I thought it would be. When I just looked at the COVID like, you know, it was much deeper than I thought it would be, like, what you've done. And I think you might have another segment in younger females based on the chapter in your book about getting rid of superficial hostage by the hierarchy of female friends. That can be very oppressive. And you're providing a conduit for them to get out of that small town high school. I was just thinking, like, if you're looking for new audiences, it'd be very cool to try to expand to teenagers who are struggling. Like, get them earlier in your funnel process because that message coming from somebody as beautiful and successful as you are now, they would listen to. And it's such a positive role model because they're all held hostage by these friends that make them feel their dream killers like any. I was just, I really, I really enjoyed that portion of your material.
- [16:44]
Lori Harder
It's. It's so fun to chat about with other people because, like, you guys had said, like, it's, It's. It just helps to even understand who you are through the lenses of other people. It's. We can get so, like, you can get so close to it that you're like, I.
- [17:00]
Host
So in the weeds. Yeah, I should do next. Yeah. Give us a breakdown. What is gloce? What is your usp? Give us the sales pitch.
- [17:09]
Lori Harder
Okay. Gloceed you. I mean, there's lots of men who are taking it. They're stealing it from their wives. So you're, you're, you're right in. You can be our target as well. But Glossy is. It's a daily beauty supplement. So it is skin and gut. It has a clinically studied probiotic. We also do hyaluronic acid, zinc, prickly, pear, magnesium. We really went for all of the ingredients that we know have some of the most tangible benefits when consumed for your skin. And because I have such, you know, I come from such a background of health and wellness and fitness. It's like whenever we go to solve a problem, it's an internal Thing typically. So for me, when I thought of, you know, when I think of skills, skin and when I think of like beauty, it's always been what are you consuming? Like what are you. Right down to not only just what are you eating, but like, what are, what are you even, what are you thinking? So those are different parts that we want to branch off in the future as well.
- [18:11]
Host
And why did you decide on like a daily consumable? Like where how did this feel? Right.
- [18:18]
Lori Harder
So for me, one of the biggest staples that I've always had in my life that I've noticed is a hydration packet. And I was like, wow. Of all the habits I've been able to stick to, I noticed that these hydration packets have been like a steady thing. So, you know, I've taken the pills, I've done all the, all the things right. I've just been in this industry for so long and hydration packets have always been a thing for me because they help me drink more water. And I was like, what if this packet did more for us? It's one of the easiest things that we can do because it not only has the benefit of like, okay, you know, there's good stuff in here, I should have it, but also when I asked people, because we really talked to a lot of our communities when we did this, it was something that a lot of people were doing because they knew they needed to drink water, but they didn't want to drink water without flavor. It helped inspire them to drink water. So the vehicle in which we wanted it delivered to me was like the most clear of anything. Before we even came up with the formula, I knew I wanted it to be a vehicle that was a sachet, single packet. Because I know that ambitious women are my favorite women to support. And those women are running around.
- [19:32]
Host
Yeah.
- [19:32]
Lori Harder
And they need to throw it in their bag and it needs to be easy. And as much as I wanted, you know, as much as I was like, thought I would carry containers, I didn't, but I would carry sachets of a packet. So that's, that was one of the original places where I was like, I know that I want it to be an easy consumable, I want it to be a no brainer. And of course I want a daily consumable and also something that can be on subscription. Because when you're creating a brand like that is an uphill battle. I can either create a daily consumable on subscription, you know, and get repeat customers, or I'm going to have to go get brand new Customers every single month. If it's like a one time sort of thing or a, you know, once every six months, it's like the amount of marketing and marketing dollars that you will spend will be so much more on a product like that rather than a daily consumable that becomes integrated into someone's life that can also be on subscription. So I knew it had to be subscription of something that they would want to do every day.
- [20:32]
Host
So I mean that's like that absolutely touches on so many influencers and thought leaders you've spoken to is like the power of, of something subscribable. Like the rundle. Scott Galloway talks about it like it's such a smarter. It's just the economies of scale makes so much more sense. I'm glad that we're talking about the kind of the business and branding behind it because I want our listeners to for kind of like less lessons learned. Like what are some lessons learned from launching your own brand or like mistakes you've made made, like what have been your core takeaways?
- [21:07]
Lori Harder
Oh, man.
- [21:10]
Host
I know. Not a simple question.
- [21:13]
Lori Harder
The amount of things that I am like, oh, wow, that was a fail. Wow, I spent a lot of money there and that did nothing. Wow, I should have seen that coming with that team. Wow. I Wish I had KPIs for them that they would have held up. Wow.
- [21:27]
Co-Host
I wish I fired that person earlier.
- [21:29]
Host
Yeah.
- [21:31]
Lori Harder
Yes. Okay, so let me think of some of the main ones. Number one, you know, I don't know if you know the story, but this was not glossy to start. This was a company called Light Pink. It was a non alcoholic rose and then an alcohol version of that. It was a wine spritz and I started it in 2020 and raised money for that. When the rise of like the whole spritz thing.
- [21:52]
Host
Yeah, huge. Yeah.
- [21:54]
Lori Harder
Came out and I was like, okay, well I love wine and I want it to be healthy and I love connecting, but I don't want to drink. You know, I'm not really into this like drinking regular wine or a bunch of it because I feel like crap. And also I wanted to, you know, my book, my book was about connecting women and it did well, but it didn't really get into the mainstream. And my goal really was mainstream women. And so I was like, where are mainstream women connecting? Well, they're all having wine and they're, you know, going out to happy hours. So what if I put through three questions on the back of these cans that help them get an answer to what or get an answer to a question that they've needed and help them deeper with someone cool. And so that's what it was. It was three questions on the back of the can. They were questions that I used for years at my events that I knew worked and that's what we were going to go to market with. And so the lessons from that is, I wish I would have looked at it and said, I would have said, okay, is this something that they're going to be doing daily? Like, are people really going to want to drink this daily? Is this something that people naturally is a natural tendency to subscribe to a non alcohol alcoholic beverage? No, it's not. Is this something that they are going to want to share virally? Is it the audience that you want? No, it's not. I wish I would have asked all of those questions. It's like, is my skill set best going to be used to market this? Like, no, it's not. Because I know how to.
- [23:22]
Host
You can't post it daily.
- [23:24]
Lori Harder
What's that?
- [23:25]
Host
And you can't post it daily. Like it's.
- [23:28]
Lori Harder
It.
- [23:28]
Host
It doesn't fit into the box of how you understand daily social media.
- [23:33]
Lori Harder
Correct, Correct. And so, you know, a great idea and something that sounds fun and that might even be popping off at the time may not be a great idea for you. So. And is it actually a viable business plan? Because the more that I dug into it, the more that I found it is very rare for companies to be successful in that. And if they are, it's typically that they are. You know, just they're either with a giant company, got bought by a giant company, or started these little offshoot brands that make look like they're owned by someone can typically be owned by a giant brand.
- [24:09]
Host
Yeah, it's super interesting. And on a, on the marketing front, what has been the most successful effort for Glossy that people can learn from outside of having a large following? Because I do, I'm sure, like your friends are super loyal to you, like they love you, they feel like they're connected to you. But outside of that, like organic platform?
- [24:32]
Lori Harder
Well, we're, I mean we're still really new, so we're just three months in and we're just starting our ads. So I wish I could give you data on that, but I haven't been able to do that yet. But I would say, I mean, honestly, we're still in the community phase. So a lot of what I'm seeing is coming from my podcast. Honestly, the most consistent sales are coming from podcast. But I have to talk about It. Just because it's my podcast and my product doesn't mean that I can say, here's glossy, do the link. I noticed that when I specifically say what it's doing, reviews from people of what it's doing, how I use it and the problems it's solving when I go on long the story.
- [25:15]
Host
Yeah, stories.
- [25:16]
Lori Harder
I convert. And that's also when I notice when other people are sharing, when they convert. You literally can never just share something and expect a sale. It's like you have to really talk about it, of how you integrate it, what you love about it and what problems it's solving for you.
- [25:31]
Co-Host
Lori just tried to buy it in Canada. It's not available in Canada, which we gotta deal with because we like, we have skin issues, obviously, being up in the Arctic. Yes. But on Amazon, like the curation of the page, the webpage and the Amazon page is awesome. You gotta get your listeners to leave some Amazon reviews on there.
- [25:50]
Lori Harder
Yes.
- [25:51]
Co-Host
On Amazon.com because it looks too good to not like. I would immediately get more Amazon reviews on there because it looks too good to not have it.
- [26:02]
Lori Harder
Oh, thank you so much. We will work on that. We're literally in that place with Amazon where we kind of just got it up and going. And because Amazon is such a different animal, it's a different product price. We have a subscription model. We're like, how much energy do we want to drive people to there rather than our site? You can't track them. I know. And we're also priced a lot higher than most Amazon products. So it's a whole. It's a whole like what angle do we want to come at for that? But yes, I need to like go have some people purchase and review.
- [26:36]
Co-Host
I was going to leave one while we were here.
- [26:37]
Host
The thing that sucks about Amazon is that especially when you're talking about like the podcast fast and like your network effect and reach, it's like 87% of searches for products happen on Amazon first. So it's like it sucks because you're obviously losing a massive percentage. But if it's the difference of like, because it's so easy to use Amazon, so it makes it so tough for CPG brands because like the ease of use, that's. And I think all of this just comes into like to summarize the importance of having a personal brand. Because when you have a platform that you can storytell on and ask them to purchase it through your native platform, then through an Amazon versus them, just like seeing a Symbiotica ad, like you get that kind of. They connect, right? And, like, they. They actually want to support you. I feel the same way. Like, listening to this. I've got the tab open. Like, I want to support because we've connected. I've heard the story and, like, the story is so powerful.
- [27:36]
Lori Harder
Yeah, thank you so much for that. I do think, you know, if anybody is ever thinking of launching anything, I'm like, oh, my God, you guys go so hard on building your brand first, because that is where the influx of our first customers came from. And I don't think that you could, you know, especially if you're a subscription. Like, thank God. Those are the people who are kind of, like, getting us through this initial period of a lot, figure out what. What works and what doesn't. And honestly, if we did not have that, we would be burning through our run rate. Like, that's why that's so important.
- [28:08]
Host
And it becomes a resource work because you can't. You can't compete with the bigger. In every industry, there's always a big player that can outspend you, and a part of their strategy is to outspend. Like, you need to have an organic platform. This is where it's tough because I find, especially a lot of women, especially, they create products out of, like, necessity or need. Like, they're truly passionate about it. They create a great product, and then they're. They're debilitated by the idea of having to also put themselves out there. But, like, without that piece, there is such a limit to the success or at least the time period in which you can see that success faster.
- [28:48]
Lori Harder
Yes, I totally agree.
- [28:52]
Host
I'm trying to think of what else I'm, like, interested in knowing. So you brought on a co founder. What was. What was the. What was the thought for that?
- [29:01]
Lori Harder
So it's funny because I wasn't. I, like, hadn't necessarily gone down the road of, like, oh, yeah, I really want a co founder. Okay.
- [29:08]
Host
In.
- [29:08]
Lori Harder
In the beginning of Glosi, I think that as we were transitioning to Glosi, there were some moments where I was like, oh, this would feel really good. Like, this would. Let's be honest, after I had my, you know, literal butt handed to me for, like, two years of the. The pivot and, like, figuring everything out with light pink, that was a rough. That was really. That was a rough, like, pivot and transition. Like, having to pull the plug and realize that that wasn't a viable business after putting so much money into it. And then, you know, when you have investors, like, having to retell like, figure out what you're going to do and retell the story and try to do this pivot and come back and all of that stuff. So I think in the beginning, I had thought of doing a co founder out of, like, man, this would feel easier. Man, tough decisions would feel better. Like, all of those things. But I wasn't finding the right person, so I wasn't willing to, like, jump the gun into a relationship because just because I wanted a co founder, because I know that that is like a marriage. And I had had lots of friends at the time who had either been in something and we're trying to get out of it, or we're really just talking through, like, the importance of knowing what you're getting into when you have a co founder and, like, opposite skill sets and all of those things that you. You want to look for. And so I was going along totally great once Glossy got started. And so I think that alleviated a lot of the pressure was like, okay, we launched and we did well. Okay, like, do I feel like I need a co founder as much? Not really, but I started to feel like maybe I would want one that feels like, that would feel fun. Like, it would feel fun too. I'm such a collaborative person that I actually process better and ideate better with someone else. Like, everything just moves a little faster for me. So what happened was Natalie Ellis, who's the founder of Boss Babe, was one of my original investors into Light Pink. And we had worked together on Light Pink, doing some strategy days. And who her and I had gotten a little closer as of recent. We were partnered on. Not partnered, but put together in some other projects. We were part of this app and podcast network called Growth Day. So we were being thrown in with each other over and over, and we were really, I think, just enjoying that process of working together. In our conversations, we both had completely opposite skill sets and just, like, insights. And she had told me a few months ago, we were just in a random conversation, and she goes, lori, do you know that I like. My original company when I was in the UK was called oh, My Glow. And it was a supplement. It was in a sachet sold exactly like this, and it was for skin. And I was like, what? Like, literally had no clue, no concept. And she took it pretty far. But it was in all of their versions of, like, CVS's or whatever.
- [31:54]
Host
Yeah.
- [31:54]
Lori Harder
And something ended up happening where she just. It got ahead of her. Like, she was super young and just didn't think that this was the road she wanted to go down. But she's always loved supplements. She's such, like, a health biohacker. And so that had kind of opened up, and she's like, I'm just so obsessed with Gloce. I just. I love it. I, like, love that you're doing this. And so a few months went by, and she had left me a voice note, and she was like, hey, I don't know what this looks like, but I just. I've been approached by a lot of people to create a product, like, whether it's a colostrum or some sort of supplement product. And she's like, I've gone down the road. I've even gotten really close to it, except I can't stop thinking about Glowski, because it is the exact company that I would want to create. And so she just planted a little seed and said, what would it look like if we were like, is there any room? Are you interested in any sort of, like, partnership? And I woke up that morning and was just listening to that, and I'm like, am I like, could that be good? And just started to, like, go down this road reasonably of, like, does this. What would this fill? What are the needs? Like, how would we work together and everything? For the first time in the thought of a partnership, it. It didn't. It didn't necessarily feel like, oh, my God, this has to happen. This is so exciting. Look at that. Look at our audience. Look at this. It was like, this actually feels really reasonable. Like, I made columns on paper of why this would be the most supportive thing for the company. And it was one of the first decisions that I've made. Like, you know, where you're, like, so proud of yourself. Because I didn't make it out of emotion. I literally made it out of, like, this is really good for the company. Like, we have such, like, complementary skill sets. Like, I want to be out front. I want to be on podcasts. I want to be, like, creating. I want to be top of Funnel. She loves backend. She's obsessed. She loves data, she loves numbers. She loves building those things out. And it was like. It was. It just became the perfect partnership you.
- [33:48]
Host
Should look to, or, I don't know if you're aware of Midday Squares. They've done such an awesome job of leveraging LinkedIn for selling a product. And I feel like a lot of what you're doing, especially with, like, the female angle and her back background kind of leaning into that, like, rawness and realness on LinkedIn could be really successful for glossy.
- [34:11]
Lori Harder
What's the name of the company.
- [34:12]
Host
It's called Midday Squares. And all three of the owners, one is Jake Carl's and then it's his sister and her sister's sister's husband. They all kind of really leverage their personal brand on LinkedIn by being like really raw and real, like talking about the business from finally, you know, getting into the black or failing on their first business venture. And it's literally been breaking LinkedIn because everyone is so used to link. LinkedIn being like a. This is Philip's term, a display case for the ego where they're like so humbly proud to be like to win this award again. But like being really real about business does a, like, it goes really far. And I feel like you've got tenants of that that could do really well on LinkedIn.
- [34:57]
Lori Harder
I love that. That's actually my, I mean that's my favorite approach is like, here's what's really going on.
- [35:02]
Host
Yeah. And what's also cool too is Jake, who works for Midday Squares.
- [35:07]
Lori Harder
He.
- [35:07]
Host
His official title is like Rainmaker, which is kind of similar to what you're doing of like just connecting, like just creating content. You're not the cmo, you're not managing the. But you're creating the connections digitally that are like spreading the word of basically in generating sales. Which I don't know if Rainmaker is the title, but I think the concept of what the title represents for the importance of a personal brand should enter the business vernacular, especially for e comm businesses. It's just it. There's a really interesting piece to it that I would love to get your feedback afterwards if you like dig into it. But I feel, I feel like there's overlap when you're kind of seeing these successful e comm brands and the role that a founder represents.
- [35:53]
Lori Harder
I for sure think so. You know, there's a brand that I love the found the founders, I love them clear stem Kaylee, Christina and her partner. But she talks kind of about that concept and they do say, you know, there's the actions where you need to go, obviously make it rain. But that can typically come a little bit later in the company. Sometimes.
- [36:16]
Host
Yeah, comes in the beginning.
- [36:18]
Lori Harder
But you want to like make sure that you have your buckets. So that's kind of like Rainmaker is front end the bucket. Like the person who's all, you know, back end website making sure your funnels are all great. Like those are your buckets. And what a lot of companies do is either they have all the buckets and they don't have the rainmaker or they have the rainmaker, but they're not catching anything in the. The bucket.
- [36:39]
Host
Yeah.
- [36:39]
Lori Harder
So it's like when those two come together is when you have a great, you know, a company that's going to scale.
- [36:45]
Co-Host
Totally clear skin. I wanted to ask you for our listeners, because you're a straight talker, I was going to ask you what's a brand that you really resonate with? And some of our best contact is when we is content, is when we bust brands. What's a brand that you think is inauthentic or who is missing the point or doing a disservice?
- [37:04]
Lori Harder
We.
- [37:04]
Co-Host
We're always studying good and bad brands. Are you, Are you brave enough to slam a brand here on our.
- [37:10]
Lori Harder
I don't know if I'm brave enough to be honest with you, just because it goes against kind of like I, I have this theory where I'm like, just for me personally, where I don't. I don't feel like I need to say it for people to know it, but that is a favorite brand of mine is Clear Stem, because they are. I resonate so deeply with their story of, like, creating a product out of a need. And then they're really transparent about what their first five years look like. Like, they, you know, she's come. She's come and spoken at my events and said, you know, how much they made in their first year, year or two, what that looked like, what they were doing, who was on their team, what was working for them. And I'm like, that is the type of brand that I just like. I mean, like, I don't know if I'll ever not use their stuff stuff, because I am just so on board with the journey. Authenticity and knowing, like, what's in the product, too. I love that. I. I think, you know, I think just being in the supplement industry right now is really interesting to me. So I'm not gonna name names, but I think we can figure things out of. Like, I'm just having such an awareness when I was formulating my product, like, my formulator was like, I literally, literally got asked the question, okay, well, what marketing stance do you want to take? Because you can either, like, know you have stuff in here that works, or you can go with the marketing stance of just having a lot of stuff in here but not having enough of it to work at all, but being able to market, like, even that won't.
- [38:35]
Co-Host
Make a difference, but so good. It's like a clothing company. You work with who he's a conduit to manufacturing in China. And he essentially says, you can say your product is full of this, or you can get the manufacturer to say it's full of it, but, you know, there's only a few people who will make it and actually follow it and be honest about it. And that's. That's part of the good messaging and supplementing, for sure.
- [38:57]
Lori Harder
I just, you know, it was that moment where I'm like. Because I was sitting here going like, okay, well, how do I. How on earth am I supposed to compete with these brands that just say they do everything and have everything? And I'm like, how can they afford that? And then I had this light bulb of, what if I actually share that that's what they're doing. And ours actually has amounts that make an impact, like, that were studied, you know, like, you know, what would be.
- [39:18]
Co-Host
Cool is kind of a live. You bring like a lab technician in and you undo two packets, your package and somebody else's, and then you do test to see what's actually in it in terms of.
- [39:30]
Lori Harder
That would be good.
- [39:31]
Host
But that's what's. Like, that's what's needed. Even when you're talking about with Clear Stem, like, that's what Midday Squares is doing. And it's what, like, being a business owner, there's a lot of. There's a lot of great aspects that come with it, but there's a lot of lows. And we don't talk enough about how lonely it is, like, the failure, like, picking yourself up from, like, learning from mistakes or just bad decisions. And that's where these brands that we're talking about, it sounds like Clear stem's doing the same thing where we. We really feel connected to them because they were. They. They were just honest about their failures. And when we can see someone that talks about that, it. It makes them stand out.
- [40:19]
Lori Harder
Totally. Yeah, that's. I. I feel like that is what I mean. I think moving forward to this younger generation, they just want to feel connected to their products and what they're.
- [40:30]
Host
What's real. Yeah.
- [40:31]
Lori Harder
What they're doing. And I just feel like. I feel like it's such a powerful way for the founders and even the team to, like, stay really connected to the brand as well. And it also helps you create a better product, because I know that I have to be out evangelizing about it, and I can't evangelize about something. I don't believe it. Like, most. A lot of people can't. So that's. That's good. Some people can, but there's a lot of people who can't. So I think it's holding us accountable to a better product because we do know we have to talk to our community. Like Camille.
- [41:03]
Co-Host
That goes back to your article in Cosmo, Camille, where you're talking about how influencers are the new future of beauty brands because they can't afford to lose their audience by lying about products they endorse. So, you know, it's not just a corporation that's nameless that doesn't care about losing their audience.
- [41:21]
Host
Well, yeah, and just to clarify, like, influencers launching beauty brands opposed to. To being, like, an influencer for a beauty brand. Like the rise of, like, the Mariana Hewitts and, like, the civ haters. Even, like, the Hailey Bieber is, like, launching product lines. Same with you. Like, you're exactly in that box as well. Like, it. You can't get away with what Shishido or Cody can get away with. Right. Like, you have to offer or you lose your audience. Right. And we've seen that also in the early days.
- [41:52]
Lori Harder
Totally.
- [41:53]
Host
Two things before we wrap up, Lori. One, what does the future of glossy look like? Do you want to introduce a range of products? Is there big plans for glossy? Are you staying with a one cereal skew? What's in the pipe?
- [42:08]
Lori Harder
So we're giving ourselves this full year to really focus on the SKU we have actually had, especially with Natalie coming on, because we both have a very. We just have such a passion for products and wellness that we had to have a conversation about, like, we both have to control each other this year because we want to make this SKU successful in the flagship SKU because we really believe in it. We put a lot of time and effort into it, and we want to have all of our marketing dollars focused on this one SKU right now. Same message, same, same marketing. Like, we don't want our efforts to be diluted anywhere. Like, we want to just really focus in. But we do. If you. If you. If you would sit as a fly on the wall of what we talk about. Yes. It's. It gets very large.
- [42:59]
Host
That's super, super exciting. I look forward to seeing what's. What's in the pipe for it, because I love what you guys have done so far with your branding. And I guess the last question is, unless Philip has anything, is we've been asking all of our guests, what is a brand to you? So if you could define what a brand is, not your brand, I'd love to hear your definition.
- [43:22]
Lori Harder
You know, when you said that what immediately came to me is a brand is an ex. It's an extension of you. It's like a home that people can join or a product that people can consume. Like, it's an. An actual extension of something, of a tangible feeling. Yeah. I don't know how else to say it. I truly feel like everything I've created has, like, come through my body and brain.
- [43:53]
Host
No, it's. It very much is Lori Connection Harder. Like that needs to be. We need to. We need to redo the name. Connection is the middle name. It. It bridges the Lori and the Harder together. I think that's a perfect answer. Philip, do you have any questions for. For Ms. Lori?
- [44:13]
Co-Host
No, I just purchased my first order of Gloce, so I'll let you know if it changes the visage. I don't have the lighting here, but, you know, next time you see me, hopefully I look a little brighter.
- [44:24]
Host
Did you get too fast?
- [44:25]
Lori Harder
Let me know how you feel too. I love that.
- [44:27]
Host
Did you get two?
- [44:29]
Co-Host
No, I didn't.
- [44:30]
Host
It's so rude. So rude. Well, thank you so much for joining, Laurie. Where can people find you? What is your preferred platform? What are. What are. Where can they. Where can they get more of you?
- [44:43]
Lori Harder
Oh, my gosh. I mean, right now, my whole world is at getgloci.com G-E-T-G-L-O c I.com Other than that, you know the podcast, earn your happy. I do three episodes a week and then Instagram. Instagram just Lori Harder.
- [44:56]
Host
Cool. And if they were to read one of your books, which is your favorite book of the ones that you've written.
- [45:02]
Lori Harder
It'S A Tribe Called Bliss, so that's the only one so far.
- [45:05]
Host
Okay, cool. So A Tribe Called Bliss, and they can get that on Amazon?
- [45:09]
Lori Harder
Yep.
- [45:10]
Host
All right, awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us, Lori.
- [45:13]
Lori Harder
Thank you guys so much for having me. This was so much fun. Got a little therapy, too.