Transcript
Speaker: The voice of growth, mastering the mind and market.
Speaker: Only 7% skincare products sold in the U.S. are made in the U.S. You really have to have a very significant plan if you're going to play on the national scale in such a crowded industry.
Speaker: A quality product or a great formula is step one of 12.
Speaker: but What they get is a totally finished product that's ready to sell. We're heading into a super volatile time in the industry right now. Our challenge is keeping up with it, essentially. We grew 100% last year.
Speaker: my company, we're growing so rapidly that there is no AIs replacing people. In the absence of any other evidence, you might as well be an optimist. It makes you happier.
Speaker: There is no substitute for just doing it and learning along the way.
Speaker: My brain's always going to solving the next problem. There's no such thing as a five-year plan anymore. I don't know if there's not a three-year plan. like I've got a three-month plan. That's my plan now. A three-month plan, and then I'm going to see what AI is doing and adjust the plan.
Speaker: All right, well, we could chat for hours more about stuff. Christina, I've known you for a number of years. Yeah. And since knowing you, you've always been someone who is very driven, very passionate, very curious. That's a good word. Yeah. You're always asking questions.
Speaker: And you've been in the beauty space as long as I've known you. What was the reason that you made that journey? why are you in the beauty space?
Speaker: Oh, that's funny. i So I actually totally just fell into it. um When I was 19 years old, I got this part-time job in this little a hippie lady's company. And at the time, she'd been running it in her basement. And she would make these fragrances and tinctures and stuff. And so I was working there like eight, 10 hours a week. And ah you know we would we would like handwrite the things on. And like we'd watercolor them and tape them onto the bottles and do all that. And um Eventually, I became part owner of that company, and then we really just got super lucky. So um we only had five wholesale locations. One of them was Bread and Circus in Boston, Massachusetts, which became the first Whole Foods.
Speaker: Really? And so our brand just grew with them. So eventually we had like 1,200 locations around the country, and you know that was all. you know So then I i spent 15 years doing that and basically kind of – self-learning how to grow a company from nothing. I mean, we didn't even have invoices or or you know computers or anything when we started it, right? And I always had this idea that I could kind of like educate myself out you know into, or this idea that there was someone else who just knew so much more. And if I could just like get the right education and do all of that kind of stuff, I would you know i would then become one of those people who knew all the things that
Speaker: I went back. I did my master's in business. um You know, from this perspective now, I kind of laugh at it because I'm just like, you know what? You know what that is? That's the only is experience. You do not. and You don't educate your way into, you know, into knowing the ins and outs of running businesses. You you run them. That's what you do. Exactly.
Speaker: yeah So anyway, that's how I ended up there. And then I had left that company, started my Sia Botanics brand, um which is, you know, fantastic formulas. But I learned in that process that I really didn't know like the marketing and sales side of the beauty industry well at all. What I had done in all the years in my other company, too, was the manufacturing side.
Speaker: And so i also just sort of fell into having Craft Beauty Lab, which is really my biggest company now. And um that was really just because other brand owners would approach me about wanting to use my formulas in their brands. And so eventually, you know, I just ended up being like, oh you know what I am? I'm a contract manufacturer. um And so that's really 95% of my business now. And Sia is 5%. That's actually a very interesting segue because...
Speaker: A lot of people talk about how branding or marketing is like the the cornerstone of a business. But I hear from our research that that you believe that it's more the distribution and the upstream stuff that's more important.
Speaker: Well, you know I mean, I'm sure every industry is its own thing um in the beauty industry. You know, if I knew then what I know now. Right. In the beauty industry, you know, there's there's a real like kind of cap there where it's like you can you can form a beauty brand.
Speaker: And if you are really boots on the ground and you're willing to, you know, do all the shows and all the fairs and go into all of the spas and all the places and things like that, you know, you can typically grow your company to about $250,000, $500,000. But when you want to go past that number and really get like into, you know, kind of into some of the chains or get into some of the more, you know, like national or you really want to break through that ceiling, which is really a very low ceiling, right? You do want to break past that. um It's like they say the average brand that actually breaks past that number and sustains past that into the two, three, five, 25, then you get, you know, 100 million, whatever it is. But they usually spend three to four million dollars on there like to get to that point. So there's not it's very, very rare that a self-funded, you know, beauty brand actually goes kind of past being, you know, sort of that local state kind of brand that people, you know, know because it's local.
Speaker: um So for me, for sure, like when when we have clients now that come or if an if a client that has not had a brand before comes to us and wants us to manufacture their products, that's the number one question is it's not do they have enough money to pay me? It's what's their actual sales marketing and distribution plan? Because, you know, if they say to me.
Speaker: Oh, yeah. Well, you know, I've hired a PR company and they're going to do all the Instagram and all that kind of stuff. And I'm like, that is not going to I don't want to take your money and have you have a bunch of products sitting there like you really have to have a very significant plan if you're going to play on the national scale in such a crowded industry.
Speaker: Sure. Well, i mean, you're dealing with lots of, I'm sure, dozens or hundreds of ah beauty brands. Dozens. Is there a formula? Is there a playbook? If you do this and this and this and this and this, then you get some success?
Speaker: Or is there some certain element that's like not really talked about? Well, i what I have seen, and so, you know, the the type of brands that we deal with are, you know, they're still what we call small brands. They're brands doing, you know, $5 to $25 million a year in business. Right.
Speaker: and There is absolutely no substitute for what I call butot boots on the ground for the founder for your starting point for your starting point. I've never seen that. So that's different. Like if you already have private equity and you've already raised $10 million, dollars maybe you play it differently. But if you're not that brand...
Speaker: um You know, if they think that they're going to make a brand and then they're going to hire someone else to do it or they're just going to do marketing online, it's not going to work that way. They have got to go like they have to grind. It's a face to face. It's, you know, you got to go into every one of those stores. You have to go and you really have to just put the time in. um And then, you know.
Speaker: What I really see is it's like it's really a unique point of view. You know, it's it's having ah I always say this. I'm like a quality product or a great formula is step one of 12, you know. um And then I talk to clients you know, they'll get super excited. They just got into Ulta, you know, and I'm like, good. Well, you're now you're on step six, but you're not at 12 because you can lose your shirt going big, too, in this industry so easily, because just because they're going to place you doesn't mean you're going to sell through. And it's your responsibility to sell through, not theirs to sell you through.
Speaker: And, you know, you'll end up taking back, you know, all their product. They can end up just losing their shirts on that one as well. So a unique point of view that you really, really believe in. But what I see most beauty brands not doing, the ones that don't succeed, is they don't, they're scared or they just don't think of actually really looking at what's ah what the industry is. What is your real competition? Who else is out there? Because, know,
Speaker: brands, the brands that I have worked with that have not succeeded, it's because they're so convinced they have this very unique idea. and And, you know, and I've seen so many brands and I'm like, it's not unique at all. It's not a unique formula. It's not a unique concept. It's not a unique, you know, anything. And I guess when I say unique, I should step back because it's it's all it's it's not just unique because there's it's to some degree there's nothing new under the sun in the beauty industry either, right? So that's maybe the wrong word. It's really like a ah real point of view that you hold in your head and your heart and that you're willing to do that grind for, you know? Like it's not going to be an overnight, oh, oh great, I made this product and now everyone just knows it's great.
Speaker: What is Craft Beauty Lab, Anne? do there ah Well, at the end of the we're a contract manufacturer. I call us the ugly side of the beauty industry because everyone always thinks, you know, the beauty industry and it's always all the, you know, marketing and the PR and the pretty ladies doing things. And, you know, we're closed-toed shoes and hairnets and, you know, equipment and, ah you know, everything is just process, you know, for that. So what we do is essentially, you know, a client will come to us and they will either – um bring us a tech transfer, meaning they or they own their formula. um And then we start with a lab trial, which means we'll order little amounts of all those ingredients in make sure that we can actually make it.
Speaker: And then ah once they've approved that formula, they can place an order with us. We order all the packaging, order all the labels, order all the ingredients in um you know do all the formulas, fill, label it. What they get is a totally finished product that's ready to sell.
Speaker: um And that's the standard in the industry. A lot of people just don't realize that, which to me seems obvious, is, you know, brands don't make their own products. So, um yeah, so that's, i mean, that's what we do all day long. Sometimes we are doing custom formulation for clients um if they come to us and they ah don't have the formula that they want. But most of the time we're actually working off of tech transfers. Yeah.
Speaker: And do you do fulfillment or just the manufacturing side? We do not do fulfillment. So um our end process is shipping it out the door typically to their fulfillment center. Okay. So yeah I'm sure you're dealing with brands that want their stuff yesterday.
Speaker: Oh, yeah, of course. How do you balance, how do you deal with the speed to market, the getting this out the door and profitable for you and for them with doing a good job and integrity?
Speaker: That's a great question. And I've learned this one the hard way, let me tell you, because I'm a people pleaser as far, you know, and we're very relationship oriented, you know, and so it's like, you know, when someone wants something, um you know, you really want to try to get it for them. Yeah.
Speaker: But I've definitely learned that when you cut corners in in all of those things, something invariably goes wrong and you're the and the one that ends up paying the price the price for it. So the biggest thing to how do you balance that is it's really having setting the right expectations up front. It's having the real conversation, which is not like, hey, you placed an order. Okay, your order will be ready in 12 weeks. It's okay. Hey, you placed your order. Here's what the process looks like. We're going to go out now and we're going to go to the vendors and we're going to purchase everything. And It will either be in stock or it won't be in stock or they'll tell us it's in stock and then maybe it also isn't in stock. And, you know, and so, um you know, I've learned or early times like I can't give you a completion date. That's I can give you the estimate, but I can't give you a completion date until everything has landed at my warehouse. And I will be I promise to be proactive in communicating with you. And I know that it can be super disappointing.
Speaker: But, you know, that's really what it actually looks like. And because as long as people understand what the expectation is and understand why things are happening, um I hear all these stories in the industry and there's tons of fantastic manufacturers in my industry. But there are also manufacturers that will just like not call you back for two and a half months or something after you've placed an order with them, you know. So I try to be really good about explaining to people the why behind things. um like Right now, it's it's we're we're heading into a super volatile time in the industry right now. So like my my whole next week is going to be nothing but calling the clients and explaining to them. what's going on in customs, what's going on with shipping? um Because it's just suddenly like this domino effect of like, oh, okay, that was supposed, you know, that vendor told us they were shipping it, but then their stuff didn't clear through customs. Now they're not shipping it. And, oh, now they're also adding a 25% surcharge on for all the shipping costs. And, you know, we go in and out of these like waves of just volatility in the industry. um Yeah. I think that's one thing I've seen in my experience
Speaker: time in business especially having come from engineering and nothing against my engineering brethren or my accounting friends or people that are new into business that are stepping in from either university from another industry whether you're in law going into business or whatever is they don't understand that it's not formulaic that it's not You've got all these these things that are beyond your control. And I really love the fact that you talk about the process and you explain the process rather than just say, yeah, it's going to be 12 weeks.
Speaker: You say, well, this is what it looks like. It may be 12 weeks and maybe 10, but it may be 30, depending on what happens in this frame. Yeah. And I try to include them in the conversation where I'll be like, okay, look, here's what's happened. You know, this is stuck in customs right now. I know you wanted it by the end of this month. They're saying it's going to be here 530. Here's our options.
Speaker: We can wait for it. um I can go out and I can try to find another vendor for it right now, but we have already paid for that, which means you'd have to be willing to, you know, Hold this ingredient and pay for it. Or, you know, I can try to do a substitute ingredient in the lab if that's what you'd like to do, and you know which may or may not be quicker than that. You know, but at least they feel like they're getting to have a voice. I think that helps a lot when you when you kind of give them options, even if they're obviously options they're not going to take. right Right.
Speaker: So you've been on both sides. Obviously you're, you're a brand builder with Sia and you've worked hand in hand with other brand builders. You're also the manufacturer, the contract manufacturer, making the product formulating and all that.
Speaker: ah What mindset would you say is the most important for these brand owners to have? You mentioned a few of them a second ago, but what is like the singular, maybe a couple mindsets that when they're approaching you, how this should Yeah, you know, that is because this industry um is, especially if you're a smaller brand, this industry is, um you know, consolidating a lot right now. A lot of private equity coming in and manufacturers consolidating. They're dropping a lot of their small brands. And so it's... Really, I couldn't overemphasize that it's all relationship. And so on the brand side, what you what you can do is really take the time to understand what success looks like for the manufacturer too, right? Because if you're just this unreasonable client who doesn't really even understand what they're asking for and why what they're asking for is not great, or you're just constantly pushing on price and pushing on timeline and pushing on this and pushing on that, and you're also a client I'm doing 2,000 units for, well
Speaker: it's pretty likely I'm just not going to do them anymore. you know um But so I think that's, you know, partnership, right? It's really it's like it's just like any relationship. It needs to be win-win. And so understanding what a win is for the other person is is the key. And, you know and that's business relationships, every relationship. it's It's not different at the end of the day.
Speaker: Well, you you touch on a nerve there with relationships. Yeah. especially in the world that we're living now, which is being over overwhelmed by ai So how, first of all, and this is kind of a multi-headed question, how do you deal with relationships in the world of AI when maybe you don't know if you're talking to a robot and of the whatever? and And how has AI been involved and will be involved in your industry?
Speaker: Oh, that's a great, so that's a great question too. um I have such a love-hate relationship with AI. um um You know, I haven't gotten to the point a lot yet where I'm seeing like that automation in AI a ton where, you know, my vendors or my clients are trying to to push off that way. So i haven't I haven't had to deal a ton with that yet, but I am dealing with A variety of things. So in our business, um you know, AI as a tool is fantastic. AI can write, you know, fantastic SOPs for GMP protocols for your manufacturing facility. Like, you know, and it can also, like it does, mess everything up. You still always have to have a person take a look at it, you know. um
Speaker: the The funny thing that I'm seeing recently, which is this the new challenge, as I'm seeing clients who are you know not formulators and not um not at all involved in that side of things. sending me well they'll They'll send me a tech transfer that it's very obvious to me that an AI program made for them. So they'll just make up a formula, basically, and then be like, this is what I want, and then be like super surprised when in the lab it totally fails.
Speaker: And so I'm having to try to figure out because I don't have a process for that. I'm not used to getting a made up AI tech transfer. And it has a long way to go to being able to do formulas. it it can actually provide some like really great research insight. You know, you can give it a formula and say, hey, please do the research and let me know if any of these ingredients are incompatible with each other. Did they cancel it? You know, did the actives cancel each other out? It's pretty good at that. It's not super good at like, hey,
Speaker: give me a green, you know, wash formula that's going to do this, this, this and that and smell like that. It's not going to, it like comes out watery and smelling weird, you know? um But that's also probably only one minute away, right? So it's it's really an interesting time to be in business because it's hard to like, forget, there's no such thing as a five-year plan anymore. I don't even know if there's not a three-year plan. like I've got a three-month plan. That's my plan now. A three-month plan and then i'm going to see what AI is doing and adjust the plan accordingly. um So, yeah, in my industry, um you know, for bigger manufacturers, I'm sure that there's going to be eventually a ton of fantastic, like, better automations and software programs around the managing of um projects through the system. Because it's, you know, there's a lot of moving pieces every single you know, ingredient and package and label and fill levels and this is and that's and all the stuff that has to go into it. And there's hundreds of these orders, you know.
Speaker: um So I'm expecting to see that. I haven't seen anything available for myself yet. um I also do expect that we're going to have some... um really good formulating software coming out that actually probably is better than than most people are. um That's still, well, who knows, right? It's like, I'm like, it's still a year or two. away It might be two weeks away. I don't know. It's just going so fast right now. um You know, and I'm definitely dealing with trying to do the education piece with the team because i have, you know, some team members that will embrace it and some, I have had team members quit over it. Really? Yeah. um
Speaker: Quit over AI? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Because I wanted them to run their SOPs through AI to standardize them and make sure that they were GMP compliant. And, you know, i got I got a resignation letter that, you know, I'm just a heartless company trying to, you know ah you know, trying to like use AI for, you know, to replace people thinking and this and that and this and that. And, you know, I mean,
Speaker: it's It's easy for me to dismiss it as a certain person with a certain type of personality, but also it's real because, you know, and team members and employees are just afraid. um Some of them are. In my company, we're growing so rapidly that there is no AIs replacing people in my company. um But there's still an interesting resistance to it. And um I'm trying to...
Speaker: trying to figure out how I support them and in kind of becoming more open-minded to it. We've done a lot of research on AI. It's one of the central pillars that we've I've been talking about for six, seven years, even before ChatGPT was a thing. But we've we've gotten some ah elements, people saying that there'll be 95% unemployment.
Speaker: in the next 30, 40 years. There's some people that are saying that it's going to be the other way around, like the industrial revolution where, yeah, maybe we don't have people weeding horses and making horse wagons, but they shifted to now making cars and all that. So we have some people that say it'll be like a minimal, if not opposite. I tend to believe it's going to be like about 30%, 35% employment.
Speaker: So that means that there's going to be universal basic income. It's going to be a whole different framework for doing business. and That's interesting. i you know I don't have a prediction because what I think that's hard is it's always easy when you're in a period of very rapid change to see what is going away and what's dying. And it's much harder to see what's around the corner, what the new thing is that isn't the thing yet. you know And if you just look at history, it's like, well, it's going to be something. um you know Whether people work in the same way that we traditionally think about them working um
Speaker: I mean, i guess I'm more concerned about rather than like unemployment or universal, you know, wages and things like that. I'm more concerned about people on purpose. You know, like people aren't happy. Our mental health situation of like not having a reason, something you actually contribute. I think that's like so biologically needed. um And I think that's probably like a huge piece of like what's going on with the mental health. And as we continue to sort of have that happen where it's like, well, what value am I providing? What am I? And that's our biggest, I think, challenge for us to figure out right now as you know, the human species or something like that is. really doing that or we're just going to see so much more mental health breakdown mean time there's a whole epidemic of loneliness there's people that are struggling to to just be part of a human conversation you know we're talking about this before the the recording here is you know there's some people that just want to be in the room lights out on their computer on their phone and you know just get kind of food served to them every once in while order doordash right there's people that live that kind of lifestyle and it's going to grow even more so But also, you know I'll say that I expect at some point
Speaker: even though they're very foreign to us in our age range, um that people will gain some sort of social connection and relationship virtually that way. I mean, I don't think that serves no purpose, but people, I don't know. I do believe that we need to be face-to-face, you know, as well. um But I can see that. I mean, I can see my son, you know, on there playing video games and go in his room and be like, hey, what are you doing? He's like, I'm playing video games with my friends. And I'm like...
Speaker: Oh, is that you're like talking away on on his headset with his friends and all his friends turn around on the screen and wave at me, you know, and I'm like, OK, well, it's it not doesn't replace real interaction, but it's not nothing, you know, and it'll just be interesting to see because that younger generation is navigating. They're just going to live partially in the virtual world and live partially in this real world. and um I mean, do you remember the rotary phone?
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. Remember dial up? Oh, yeah. Do you remember not having the Internet? Yeah. Oh, yeah i remember yeah. I remember not having the internet. A physical map that you'd use to find places? Yes. I remember getting my first cell phone and then getting rid of it because I had no one to call because it was like, why would I? what what Nobody needs to be called when they're out, you know? Yeah. So, I mean, we live in a generation where certain things, the new generation has no idea that the yellow book existed. Right. This big, giant book with everybody's phone number. And there's things that they will have that the generation past that will not know. and It's just it's a crazy time. know. Yeah. And I think I tend to be because I think it makes sense. You know, in the absence of any other evidence, you might as well be an optimist. It makes you happier. um But like, if you just look at history, of course, there's all these different eras and things that happen. But as a whole, like just how amazing even the last hundred years have been and things you could never in a million years even have predicted, you know, like nobody in the 50s was predicting the Internet and then what that would actually look like in terms of this just like virtual overlay of our entire world, you know?
Speaker: So I don't know. I think it's going to be, i think it is going to be, it's going to be all things at the same time, scary and challenging and also incredible and super interesting for sure. There is actually somebody who predicted a lot of what's happening now, a guy named Arthur arthur C. Clark back in the late, the late fifties actually, oh yeah early sixties, who talked about, we will live in a future where we will have the world's information at our fingertips and and a device we carry in our pocket.
Speaker: It's a really cool clip. I'm going to send it to you. it definitely send it to me. i I love like, yeah, reading about things like that. The thing is, you know, people just dismissed them and said, eh, whatever, right? And so we look at what's happening now and with putting four people, flipping them around the moon and coming back and all these things happening. I mean, it's kind of crazy.
Speaker: how And then the world is just on fire, right? You have this situation in the Middle East, you have our own government, you know, in shambles in some ways. we have but At the same time, it's the best time to be a alive. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times, right? I think that's that's something I've been thinking about a lot recently. it' just like, it's all happening at the same time. And I think that, and you know, they talk about sort of like evolution or periods in history, you know, and it's like, it's not linear. It doesn't go like this. It's like, you know, it can be very kind of just stable and static. And then you have these like shoot points and we are right in the middle of like shoot point. Everything is like changing so rapidly right now. And it's
Speaker: you know, and all things are possible. Like ah yeah everything becomes more horribly possible and all the better things become more possible and it all happens just faster. And for me, I'm like, it's a very fascinating time to be alive, which doesn't make it an unchallenging time to be alive. But um i I think it's super interesting.
Speaker: You deal with lots of ah brands that come and go and grow and all that. Is there a brand that you... admired that you really thought, man, this is a really this is a brand that I can stand shoulder to shoulder with. Like, I really like that brand.
Speaker: That then fell down, that you can talk ah about. um Well, because we're a small manufacturer, I mean, I don't have hundreds and hundreds of clients. I have personal relationships with essentially every client that we have. And, you know, for the most part, there are great relationships, right? So I become personally invested in most of my and most of my client's success. um I think that if I have seen really good brands not succeed, it's simply because it's because they didn't have the marketing sales and distribution place in in place. um
Speaker: And I've seen some really fantastic ideas, but without the ability to execute on that um and just that realization that it's it's a different level. It's a very um it's a very pay to play industry. um What it actually takes, um you know, but I equate the industry as a whole to basically being the same as like fast fashion. You know, there's always this like this um projection that's happening in each season of what's the new thing? What's the new amazing ingredient? Who's the new amazing brand? Who's this? Who's that? but That's all pay to play. That is not randomly showing up, you know, and just takes a lot of money to
Speaker: And so what are the hidden costs that are that are there? mean, what's gonna bite you in the end? Well, I think mostly it's it's brands thinking that it's going to be enough to just be like, yeah, but i you know but I'm paying for you know Google and I'm paying for Instagram and i'm you know I'm doing that and that that's going to be enough. And it's like that's just one very small piece. um you know The behind the scenes is it's really doing all the trade shows. It's forming the relationships with these bigger um distribution places and the bigger stores and
Speaker: stores um But there are definitely some brands, and this is that's the wrong question for me, because if I knew how to do it, I'd do it, which is, you know, they they, you know, break through and they have this incredible direct-to-consumer, unbelievable base. I mean, for me, that's like absolute gold, right? Like, it's so much easier if you can actually do that than to have to go through all the, like, distribution channels and the wholesalers and the retakes and the, you know, all the different stuff that goes on there. Yeah.
Speaker: But the real answer is I don't know how to do that. If I knew how to do that, I would do it with my own brand. Yeah. I was amazed when I was working on a brand, and do you remember, that was anti-counterfeit technology. Oh, yeah. And I went to this forgot about that yeah to this this beauty show in L.A.
Speaker: And I was amazed. There was hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of manufacturers, of brands, manufacturers. And this was just a ah tiny, tiny fraction of what's out there. I was amazed and blown away at how much activity, excitement, influencers came out of nowhere and there was a line around the block for them to take pictures with people. i mean, it was a whole like lifestyle. Yeah. And I was, I was blown away and that it must exist in different industries. Yeah. Is, is there a, a growth plan or a growth direction where you see this industry going or is it going to be more of the same for, for longer?
Speaker: Well, it's interesting right now. So what I see right now is that... So only 7% skincare products sold in the U.S. are made in the U.S. Seven? Yeah. emin yeah So that's... I mean, that's the big thing I see is that brands are now... Brands that have not been being made in the United States are trying to get a foothold of at least something made in the U.S., even though they don't like the sticker shock. But now between all of the different issues going on, the volatility in the world, the cost of shipping and all that kind of stuff, and now all these tariffs and customs, they're not even sure it is less money anymore, you know. So they're really trying to, like, get a foothold. So, ah you know, they were saying... think I was reading that they're expecting that number to go from 7% to 13% manufactured in the U.S. in the next three years, which sounds like not a big number. But in terms of actual manufacturing, that's like a 60% growth rate, right? So um that's that's what I see happening in the industry. So on the manufacturing side, what's also happening is probably because of that number.
Speaker: um A lot of venture capital, private equity has come into the and these small and midsize manufacturers is getting snapped up, snapped up, snapped up because there's so much savings in consolidating, you know, one building, one set of ops to just do all these products. um And then what's happening is a lot of these smaller brands and they're not even that small. They're doing five and 10 and 20,000 unit runs, but they're not doing 250,000 unit runs.
Speaker: are getting dropped by their manufacturer. So they'll bring them in, they come in, and they just like drop the top 20, the bottom 20 or 30 percent of their... That's what's for you. Yeah. So like right now, what we have been dealing, which is a fantastic place to be, but it's still all kinds of challenges, is just this organic growth that we have, you know, that our challenge is keeping up with it, essentially. We grew 100 percent last year, um which was amazing and also very painful um at the same time. Yeah. You know, and, you know, we are we' we'll be slower this year simply because I don't even i don't have a salesperson anymore. I don't have but we're still be we'll still do 30 40 percent this year, maybe 50.
Speaker: um And that's all we can handle. um And, you know, I get I get the calls at least every three or four months from legitimate, you know, hey, we're interested, you know, hey, are you interested in selling? Are you this? Are you that? You know, they're they're.
Speaker: um You know, and, you know, I'm not in that space right now, but um it's just fascinating. it's It's a good time to be in this industry, you know, to be manufactured. But it's also an incredibly challenging time because everything is volatile. So we're hit with all that same stuff, all these tariff changes, all this, you know, the oil prices going up, the shipping costs. I mean, we ship things out every day out the door that it's just, it costs us six, seven, $8,000 just to ship the dang shipment. Yeah. You're like like, I'm like buying vehicles all day long at the cost of just shipping. And, you know, two years ago that was $3,000 or $2,500. And so, yeah, it's it's it's an incredible time of opportunity and also really challenging to have stability, um to really be able to do accurate predictions and and things like that because it just feels like every few months you're just hit totally out of left field with something that you could not have predicted. Right. We did a quote for the the company I run to ship something to South America.
Speaker: And when we did the project initially, we quoted it was about four months ago, five months ago. And the shipping was $7,000. Okay. It's great. Whatever. But it has to be flown. It can't be on a ship or whatever. It has to be flown on cargo. can't be flown on a passenger, which is how they sneak a lot of stuff in, whatever. And we got a quote for $25,000.
Speaker: Yeah, there you go. That's what it's looking like right now. Literally the same. Nothing changed except the time. Yeah. Yeah. That's insane. Yeah, i it's it's interesting to me because, you know, this whole that the tariff situation is this huge thing, too. these You know, like all those things happening and then the shipping on top of it, which is all the oil you know prices going up and everything.
Speaker: um But like i I don't understand how tariffs, you know, help us in the United States as a manufacturer. Like theoretically, you know, it's supposed to. But like, it's not like they're paying for it. They just add that cost to what everything I order. I need to order stuff in order to manufacture. it' They're just adding that price to my cost. or not It's not like they're paying for it or something like that. So, yeah, it's pretty crazy. And customs is crazy right now. So, like, this industry, the next, I mean, it's it's probably going to be the whole rest of the year because it's just backing up. So they just changed regulations and customs. I don't know if that has to do with the volatility in the world right now, too. But yeah.
Speaker: um You know, they went from where, like, say, packages under $800 coming into the U.S., they were inspecting like 2% of them. That's gone to 20%. But what that equals is this massive... Now it's like... Started with the slow slowdown, but it's like like one of those horrible traffic jams where now it's just like everything is so backed up. And now...
Speaker: Some of my shippers won't even ship. They're like, we're not going to ship because it's going to go sit. It's not going to be able get unloaded off the ship until, you know. So now, like, everything is just kind like grinding to a halt. If you need to get things from overseas, it's becoming really difficult. And, you know, it's going from a week delay to two weeks sit-away to two months delay. And it's like, this is not good. It's not good. It's not good for business. And certainly there's these geopolitical levers that people are trying.
Speaker: Leaning on that I don't personally believe it that they're useful or helpful for everybody. Yeah, it's – know. It's trying trying to figure out every every piece that's in that puzzle. And I just – I'm like, I don't don't even pretend to understand at all. i I like to hope, but I don't feel that hopeful that there is someone – there that actually, you know, is thinking about all these various puzzle pieces and how they're impacting each other. And I'm i'm not necessarily convinced of that either right now, but... Remember that cell phone you talked about? Yeah. for yourself phone
Speaker: If you could call yourself when yeah about the time you had that first cell phone, what would you tell yourself about your journey? Oh, interesting. um
Speaker: I would tell myself... I would tell myself what I said earlier, which is there is no substitute for just doing it and learning along the way. If you're constantly like thinking that you need to you know get more education or more this or more that till you're going to be like, you know, worthy or not have imposter syndome for syndrome for something, it's just never going to happen. There's always, always, you know, somebody who has one more degree, somebody who has more years of experience. And it's like, just do it.
Speaker: And I also tell myself to stop learning. people pleasing so much and do the things I actually wanted to be doing and not ah what other people wanted me to be doing. Yeah, those are some lessons. Yeah, yeah, there's always lessons. So you learn at this age, you're just like, it's funny because I'm sure that I know, you know, thousand percents more than I knew in my 20s. But every it's like every single thing I learn, it just makes me more aware of how much I still don't know now. you know Have you ever thought about quitting?
Speaker: Oh, yes, I have. ah okay I have thought about quitting, quitting is but quitting is not in my nature. I definitely have. I have hit points. um COVID would have been an easy one. We got very, very caught out with COVID. um And it was ah an incredible struggle for probably two and a half years um to really like get this company sort of back on its right footing. um And you know it would have been easier to quit at some points than others. But
Speaker: One is i could always see that with enough time and effort, you know, that there was a way out of whatever the different situations are. um And then it's interesting because businesses sort of they end up with a life of their own where it's like, well, my quitting isn't about is this what I want to be doing or not doing? It becomes about, well...
Speaker: What about all of my employees and team members, these people, you know, who have, you know, one, bought into the vision I sold them, and two, you know, make their livelihood off of this. And then also, you know, my my clients where it's like, oh, like some of, you know, my quitting would equal some of my clients actually going out of business too. Like, I know there aren't other manufacturers that are going to do this and do that and and stuff like that. And so...
Speaker: It is interesting, something you don't think about when you start a business particularly, but it's its it's its own thing and you're just a piece of it. Yeah, I think people on the outside that that don't run a business or aren't at that C-suite or the executive level.
Speaker: they perhaps will understand that there's a lot of personal duty to being successful. yeah And there's the idea as as as CEOs, right, we we take all the blame and we give all the credit to our employees and those that really matter, right? yeah Something goes wrong, it's on my shoulders, which seems like...
Speaker: insurmountable to some people, but for us, we're just kind of used to it I mean, i and I've had conversations where things have fallen apart and I just step up to the table and say, yeah, it's my fault. wow Even if it might have been somebody else's fault, I take the blame. Yeah. And that's that is what it looks like. And and that's why, you know, it's so important. And I know, you know, we all talk about that when our various things, but like really, you know, having those masterminds or those groups of people that you get together that are also, you know, doing the business ownership and running businesses and stuff like that, because it is it's you know, it's not it's and that's not and that's not what their job is, but it's not what employees don't think to do that. They don't come in and go, oh, hey, Christina, noticed you did a really great job yesterday. Nobody's ever telling me that in my business. One time, though, they actually did give me a card for Bosses Day. was And it was like the sweetest thing ever. It's actually the sweetest thing I've ever gotten from my team. um
Speaker: But yeah, it's just, you know, there's just, you start to feel very alone there um because it it's totally true. It's like there's... It's thankless, but it's it's also fulfilling. I wouldn't want to do anything else. No, and you're not... Eventually, you're just not suited to doing anything else either. I'm unhirable. Yeah.
Speaker: I made myself unhirable. I'm not sure if I could be a sales guy again or an engineer for sure. But I love leadership. Yeah. I love leading teams. Well, and that's the real thing. At the end of the day, like love problem solving, you know? But it it is...
Speaker: I have to watch myself with that thing, too. You know, they talk about like, well, always appreciating the wins and things like that. And I'm not great at it because my brain's always going to solving the next problem, you know, and and trying to really get better at that in my company for my team's sake, you know. So it's not just like, hey, we worked for six months really hard on fixing this thing and we fixed it. And now at the next meeting, I'm just bringing you the next thing I want us to fix, you know, instead of being like, wow, we really did that, you know. um and But it's something I have to practice because my brain is so trained to just look for what's the next weak point, what's the next problem, what's the next thing. It makes you incredibly successful at what you do because you're able to do that. makes me moderately successful at what I do.
Speaker: Well, this has been an incredible conversation, k Christina. Every time we we we have these. I know, it's been too long. In a podcast setting, I just either wine or coffee or whatever, always get inspired and and really admire you and your story. And I'm really excited to see what happens in the next three, five years. Me too. Maybe three, five months. Right. But especially with your industry, i mean, I've tracked you since we first met.
Speaker: And I've seen you're, you know, kind of struggling through COVID and then afterwards and now having. And we finally hit the tipping point, by the way. We really have like nailed that next step finally. It's taken longer than I thought it would, but that's really fantastic. I have a question for you. Have you ever had anyone interview you on your podcast?
Speaker: I've had people ask questions from time to time. You should be interviewed, too, because your story is super fascinating. yeah Matter of fact, we're going to be doing a handful of podcasts where I'm the guest. Good. Basically, other people that are headed their own podcasts. And I really i love being on both sides of the microphone. i mean, ah or on both sides of the either the host or the guest, because I believe that as human beings, stories need to be told so that we can really grow from them.
Speaker: We can read books. We can take courses. And the second best thing we can do is is hear stories. The first thing we can do is make the stories. Nice. I like that. yeah That's a great, I love that. That's the beauty of it.
Speaker: Yeah. Okay. Thank you so much. oh are Thanks for having me. Cheers. That was fun.
