Hello and welcome to the Smart Beauty Podcast.
I'm your host, Viola Levy, beauty journalist
and founder of copy led branding agency, Smart
Beauty Creative. We're here to create your brand
voice and craft the story behind it. Hello and
welcome to today's episode. Now today was a really
interesting chat with a mother -daughter team,
Roxy and Margot Maroney, founders behind the
new skincare brand I Am. So Margot originally
founded the Organic Pharmacy over 20 years ago,
I believe, and since then she's decided to combine
her love of skincare with her real focus on spiritual
wellness, which her daughter Roxy is also. extremely
passionate about as a certified mindset coach
and it's just lovely seeing that mother -daughter
dynamic I think it makes for such a great brand
story. You can tell they both really live and
breathe the ethos behind their brand and they
genuinely care. now with spiritual wellness some
people are really into it i personally am and
others aren't but i think that there is a lot
to be said for taking a more holistic approach
and i really love that they have these little
affirmation cards that just give you a bit of
like a mini pep talk each morning so as well
as like a day cream and an eye serum um you know
you take out one of these cards and it just gives
you this little affirmation this cute little
uh sign to you know you're doing great just keep
going life's not as terrible as you think it
is and no matter what your outlook is on life
or your level of spirituality, I think that it
can only be a good thing to feed all of these
sort of positive information into your brain.
I'm a huge believer in affirmations. My optimism
has been a bit rocky lately. for various reasons
but chatting to Roxy and Margo it was like everything
was reaffirmed it was like they sort of popped
up like the good fairies at exactly the right
time when I needed them so I really enjoyed this
chat it's a really interesting range as well
it's not certified organic as the organic pharmacy
was but obviously everything is formulated by
Margo herself and just all of the the different
products and like I say the passion that the
two of them have put into this range. It's definitely
worth exploring and I really loved sort of delving
into it with them and also what it means to launch
a brand in this day and age. I also chatted to
Margot about whether it's easier to launch something
now than it was when she when she first started
it and what possessed her to do it all over again.
Some really interesting insights so I hope you
enjoy this chat as much as I did. So Roxy and
Margo, thank you both so much for being on the
podcast. It's a real pleasure to have you on
as our first mother daughter duo. So really excited
to be to be chatting with you. Now, the range
is influenced by spiritual wellness. I really
love the the affirmation cards and I've been
like picking one out every morning and doing
really up my street. I mean, how do you why do
you think that spiritual wellness has crossed
over into skincare in such a big way? Yeah, so
it's a really, firstly, Viola, thank you so much
for having us. Thank you. It was a pleasure to
be on with you. And if it's okay, Roxy, I'll
jump in and jump in whenever. I think spirituality
has always played an important role in beauty.
It's just that we really didn't make the connections.
And I think for us, it's part of our own personal
journey. As we grew spiritually, so did the connection
with beauty. And it came to a point where we
realized actually as human beings, we are spirit
and physical. around us there is an whole unseen
world which is this energy frequency and vibration
and you know lots of people have different terms
for it yeah yeah and science calls it quantum
physics yeah so we all have the same language
but sorry we all have the same process different
languages yeah i think there's so much that science
hasn't explained yet as well isn't there so i'll
just find that that yes, spiritual wellness is
just so important, because I think so many people
are kind of spiritually starved in a way. They've
not turned away from traditional religion and
it's like, well, I need something, it can't just
be, you know, what's in front of me. Yeah, totally.
Adding that dimension in, I think is, yeah, it's
super important. Margo, just to sort of go back
to, you know, you founded the organic pharmacy.
How have things changed since then? I'm really
interested to know what are the major shifts
you've seen? Because obviously organic skincare
wasn't really being talked about. You were one
of the pioneers of it. It's actually bizarre
to think that when I first started, it was such
a struggle. There was no organic skincare, nobody
talked about it, nobody knew what it was and
everyone thought I was crazy. literally crazy.
And it was it was a whole process. And now that's
that was like 25 years ago. Now, fast forward
all the things that, you know, I was lucky because
I found that out back then. But now everyone
is talking about it. Like I said, all the biohackers
are talking about the chemicals in our environment
and how they affect our health. They're talking
about supplementation and herbs and how to heal
ourselves and be better they're talking about
the toxins in beauty products and household products
in water all of these things and it's just wonderful
to see this in mainstream it's wonderful to see
everyone talking about it um and it's it just
that was the goal back then you know i felt like
i was a tiny little voice in an ocean and there
were times when I thought, well, what difference
can I possibly make? But it just goes to show
that, you know, one little drop will create lots
of ripples and then those will ripple and it
goes on and on and on. It's the beauty of it.
And then do you think you're doing a similar
thing, the pair of you with I am that it's, it's
about, you know, the spiritual wellness in skincare.
And I think people, they do, there are some,
you know, some people have reservations about
it when they hear the word spiritual wellness,
they think automatically switch off and think,
Oh, that's just like woo, woo. Yeah. Would you
say that's the case? I think spiritual wellness
is an essential part of our wellbeing. If we
are not wealth spiritually, we are not wealth
physically. There's no separation between the
two. And so when we think of our health, there's
our physical body, there's our mind, and there's
our spirit. And all three have to be aligned.
in order for us to be in good health. Yeah and
actually we would say that there are not many
brands on the market doing what we're doing and
we really feel like we're one of the first in
the neurocosmetic space and I'm sure that more
will come now. I'm glad that you know it's it's
good to inspire people because it really It's
not just about how you look, but how you feel
will dictate how you look. And so that's really
what we're kind of pushing forward because it's
not just about the topical treatments, but really
how can your mind affect your skin? And that
goes back to what mum was talking about. Your
gut, brain, skin axis is all connected. Your
mind and your thoughts and your words affects
your health and dictate your health so much.
And that's also proven by science. So really
we're just kind of putting it together, making
it look cute and also very effective. No, definitely,
because you can't treat skin in a vacuum. I think
for so long people have just been focused on,
okay, you've got acne. These are the topical
treatments. Yeah. And I had acne for years and
it was only when I started taking supplements
that it got rid of it. Yeah, exactly. I'm very
lucky. But, you know, there are other factors,
like you said, like stress and hormonal changes
and, you know, life in general that I think people
are finally starting to take into account. Yeah,
no, I know it better than anyone. Yeah, because
that was my that was my healing journey is that
when I had acne the treatment the topical treatment
wasn't working like it wasn't the topical that
I needed. It was actually the internal then made
with an internal supplement and also a topical
treatment that mum made me and the two together
were the best that I could find on the market.
That's actually how we started is that I had
very bad acne and hormonal imbalance and mum
made me a the prescribed sort of treatment, which
is now our hormone check drops and our crystal
clear spot treatment. And it worked so quickly
on me because everything else on the market just
didn't work. But it was not only that, it was
the, I was saying affirmations at the same time
as applying the products. And then that created
a habit and actually took away the mental stress
that came with all the symptoms that I was having.
It really does affect your mental health acne,
doesn't it? I know. So much. I always say that
acne girlies are like really hardcore because
you really have to have such thick skin when
you have acne because you know of the mental
fatigue and torment and torture battle that you're
facing every single day you're just like oh like
when is this gonna you really end up having a
good thick skin because you're like if I can
handle this I can handle anything. And how did
you get into like, because you said you were
sort of saying affirmations while you were replying
the product. So how did you get into that initially?
Yeah, so I actually learned about, so I obviously
knew about affirmations that I was practicing
before, but not like consistently and not every
day. And I was doing my health coaching training
course at the time. I am a certified nutrition
coach and a mindset coach. And so I really learned
about habit stacking, which is pairing two good
habits together. to make an automatic response
in your brain. Because sometimes people want
to create healthy habits, but it doesn't really
work and you don't do it. So by pairing two habits
together. it makes it stick. And I just kind
of intuitively did it while saying my affirmations,
doing my skincare. And I thought, wow, like that's,
I was like, that's, I can actually remember to
do them. And I thought, this is quite something.
And it was such a nice ritual and it really helped
calm me and regulate my nervous system and make
me feel better. And then, you know, the treatments
were working coincide that synergistically. And
I thought, okay, maybe there is something here.
When I had acne all over my face, I was literally
saying affirmations like my skin is clear I have
no spots even when there was no physical truth
to that I was still declaring my truth you were
training your subconscious to kind of feel that
safety in that literally it's it's all there
in the Bible yeah and all the foods that are
written in the Bible mm -hmm so healthy if we
followed a biblical diet Yeah, we'd all be so
healthy. We'd be so healthy. No processed stuff,
no refined stuff. It's simplicity in itself.
Yeah. And you can still have wine, which is great.
Exactly. Very anti -aging. Yeah. So listen, if
people don't resonate with that and that's not
their kind of route, having a form of spiritual
practice is super important. We just believe
that that is the best one because we've tried
it all. personally. We've actually done every
spiritual practice and we can say for fact, for
us, that it is by far the most peaceful and the
most effective. And it takes guts to launch something.
Margo, you've done it once already, and you know
how chaotic it is from your previous experience.
Why would you want to do it again? Honestly,
Fiona, I said that to Roxy. I said I never wanted
to launch another brand. It wasn't what I wanted
to do. But when Roxy was going through her journey
of acne, it was just seeing her go through that.
was so awful, no mother would ever want to see
their child suffer like that. And so when when
we did create a system that actually worked,
I said to Roxy, look, the last thing we want
to do. is to launch a brand. Why? There are so
many brands on the market. There are so many
people treating acne. There are so many people
doing. So why should we launch a brand and what
benefit will that give others? Because ultimately
it's not about launching a brand at all. It's
what am I doing for someone else? That's the
key question. And that often gets lost when people
sort of think about the idea of launching a brand.
It's like, well, I might get out of it, but actually.
The worst thing, the worst thing you can say
is, oh, I saw a gap in the market. Oh, don't
even get me. That's a whole other problem. Do
not get me started on that. There are no gaps
in the market. Nobody needs another brand. Exactly.
So going back to your question, it literally
was, okay, I'll do it if... A, we can actually
make a difference to people's lives. B, if what
we're doing is more than a product, it's actually
a service. And a community. And a community.
C, we can actually make a difference in people
through education and through their mind, body
and spirit because otherwise we're just... We're
just wasting time. Yeah, we're just like any
other brand on the market. So in short, she wasn't
expecting to, but we're very grateful that we
did. Well, it's amazing. You've created something
incredible. Thank you. Obviously, this time around,
it's different because you're a mother and daughter
duo. How does that work? How do you find being
mother, daughter and co -founders? Yeah, honestly,
I love it. Roxy is just such a wonderful energy
to work with. And she's full of creative ideas
and so hard working and I love working with her.
We, you know, we did have our little issues along
the way. Yeah, but I think for me, it was okay.
We need to find a way to work with each other,
which is good. respectful and has boundaries
yeah and once we set the boundaries it's been
a joy yeah and i mean i've been working with
mum since i was two i had my first job in the
organic pharmacy i was going to ask what was
that like growing up Like at the time, you know,
it was, they couldn't really leave me or my brother.
So we were just in the shop with them the whole
time. My dad made me a little lab coat and I
would, I was a sales assistant. I would help
people with putting products into their bags.
So I've been working with mom since I was two
and she's always been a role model for me. You
know, that's where I get my drive and my hunger
with. so fortunate that we work very similarly.
That means that we can have a very lean team
and really kind of just get everything done that
we need to do. It's not very beneficial on our
health, I would say, but like we do manage to
get lots of things. You know, people that have
a 20 people team, we are doing it just us two.
So, you know, that's where we were gifted by
God. We were blessed by God and he gave us this
ability to work like kind of machine. but yeah,
which is great. And that's probably why, you
know, we're here where we are today. And I'm
so grateful. But I'm excited to grow that out
and grow the business and just see where it goes.
I always say Roxy was my little organic evangelist.
From the age of five and six, she would go around
to her friend's house and ask them, are your
sausages organic? Is your shampoo organic? And
then I'd have the mothers phone me up and say,
Oh my God, Margot, Roxy said that our shampoo
is going to give us cancer. Yeah, so I've been
doing, I've been in this game for a long time.
Yes, it's really in the blood, isn't it? Yeah,
it really is. Mum is really very inspirational.
So I'm grateful. Thank you for that, Roxy. But
it was important for me for Roxy to go and follow
her own... her own way and I always said to her
you're not joining organic pharmacy until you've
gone and discovered what you want to do and if
then you choose that that's what you want to
do then then you can do that but it was really
important for me that she goes and does whatever
she wants and then decides okay this is actually
what I want rather than the other way around
and in a way it's benefited because Roxy you
found that you know with the mindset coaching
nutrition coaching it's now kind of um yeah circle
with I am because all of those elements that
you've kind of brought to the table are now sort
of a core part of the brand. Yeah, well, if I
because if I hadn't had that, we wouldn't have
been able to formulate the products the way that
we did, we wouldn't have been able to, you know,
have the habit stacking a method that we have,
and we wouldn't be called I am, you know, and
I'm luckily I get all my creativity from both
my parents, my both of my parents are very creative.
So then I could just bring that into the marketing
and make it look nice. As you're running the
brand as a mother daughter duo, I imagine that
a huge plus point is the fact that you're both
different generations. So the range can target,
you know, a wider audience. Roxy people of like
your own age, like Gen Z, and then Margo, you've
got this sort of older consumers as well. So
I imagine that's a great benefit to being a mother
daughter team. Definitely. So, you know, Roxy
covers all the sort of cool creative ideas and
she's like, you know, the latest trends and the
latest lingo, which of course means nothing to
me. And I'm more for wrinkles and energy and
for our menopause girlies who need all of that
help. So it's really nice and we bounce off each
other in that way. Yeah, we definitely have.
It's great that we have two brains that can just
spit ball ideas to each other. Yeah. And do you
believe in traditional customer demographics?
Like, oh, well, you know, our audience is this
age group. They go to, you know, this is their
lifestyle. They do X, Y. Do you feel like it's
a bit more fluid now that it's because I feel
like it's a range for, you know, a wide, you
know. variety of people, not just, I guess, Gen
Z. Well, we actually have, we've like broken
it down into four different groups. And we just
basically, we get very specific into those groups,
but it is across a wide variety of ages. But
when we look at doing, you know, speaking to
our customer, we really think about who we're
speaking to. And really the beauty about our
product is that it speaks to so many women because
of how many. women have been suffering, whether
it be with hormonal imbalance, whether it be
with eczema, whether it be with weight issues,
whether it be with menopause, whether it be with
acne, sleep, or just the people that want non
-toxic formulas that actually work really well,
or anti -aging with so many benefits. So it's
just about... being honestly being authentic
yeah being authentic yeah you know we're talking
to a real person yeah who has real problems and
i think that's that's really it it's it's yes
of course there there is a sort of but our audience
is mainly female yeah and that's interesting
you say about being authentic i think there's
a lot of cynicism especially with kind of this
trend of spiritual marketing i mean how do you
come and make sure that you come across that
you're not just jumping on a fad, that this is
something that you clearly live and breathe and
that you are, you know. Yeah. Well, that's a
really good question. And, you know, I'm I'm
I practice spirituality. Yes, we both do. We
both do. Yeah. It's an integrative part of my
life. And I think, you know, I've for me, I can't
do anything that I don't do myself. So I have
to walk the walk and talk the talk otherwise.
um yeah i couldn't do it yeah so i think that's
where the authenticity comes in it's when you
look at you i'm sure by now you've seen so many
brands and you've met so many people you can
spot a fake a mile away oh definitely i guess
the challenge is how do you market it to um to
your customers because obviously i i know the
pair of you and i've got that yeah the authenticity
but it's like how do you market it how do you
make sure that it's that's conveyed to uh the
customer yeah well Do you know what, I just think
about, we've really done a lot of kind of processes
into writing up consumers' thoughts because I
just write up both of our thoughts and we're
like, okay, we are the customer. So we're like,
okay, so what would we want? And what do we think?
And we kind of just base it on that and really
follow our intuition on that. And then we build
it across. We have quite in -depth sort of ways
of doing it and speaking to our customer. And
it takes, you know, if you... You saw the backside
of us going, or me and my assistant going back
and forth and thinking, okay, so how are we gonna
do this? Is this resonating with them? Does this
resonate with you? It doesn't resonate with me.
Let's change this. So it's really about being
super authentic and making sure that... We understand
them and that the you know, the marketing speaks
to them because I would never want to put something
out That's you know, just baseless or kind of
very shallow The whole point of us marketing
is to get our products to people that need it.
So we just speak to that need basically Yeah,
and listening to our customers. Yes, so important.
So whenever they email us, it's really really
important that we know what they like what they
don't like um what are they thinking how was
their reaction good or bad unfortunately it's
it's always good you seem that they have a knowledge
of spiritual wellness or do you feel like there's
an education piece in there as well yeah mixture
yeah yeah there's definitely some who who who
know and some who don't um but everyone wants
to be better That's the thing. Everyone wants
to be better. Yeah, everybody wants to heal.
And that's really why they find our community.
Yeah. And Roxy, how do you think that your generation
approaches skincare differently? Because I feel
like things have changed so rapidly in the past
few years. How do you feel like the approach
of Gen Z is different to previous generations?
So I really feel like because there's so much
information, which is not necessarily a good
thing, but I will say - It's information as well.
Yeah, so we, you know, especially on TikTok,
there is so much information. And on Instagram
now, you know, there are a lot of people talking
about so many things on wellness. It can be quite
overwhelming for some people, but there is a
lot of baseline knowledge because of how much
is being spoken about on social media, which
is a really great thing because it means - that
we have to, we can explain less. Like they already
understand and they already know about certain
ingredients or certain practices or the certain
needs. So it's really just about kind of like
finding what the right information in that sea
of over. That's the challenge isn't it? Cause
there's so much, there's so many contrary. opinions,
I'm sure you've seen as well. There are like
cosmetic chemists fighting it out and you think,
well, who do I go to? Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know,
it's so interesting. There are so many people
like talking about one thing and then the other
will be like, oh, well, I don't like that. And
I always say that, you know, just like skincare,
just like your clothes, sorry, your wardrobe.
it's kind of your skincare routine. That's how
I always look at a skincare, is that you don't
use everything at the same time, but you have
a kind of a collection and you use it when and
if you need it. So that's how I look at skincare
personally, and depending on my needs on the
day. Obviously I have my staples, which are only
I am pretty much, or organic pharmacy, just because
I can't really use anything that mum hasn't made,
because my skin just doesn't like it. I'm so
used to, I've been, since I was born, I've used
things that mum has made. It's so funny. She
went through a rebellious stage. Yeah, for like
six months. It would literally last six months.
She was like, I don't want to use this anymore.
I'm going to go and use it. I said, okay. I felt
left out. Everybody was using all the other like
toxic things. And I was like, I think I was like
11 or something. And I said, well, everyone else
is using it. What about like, what about us?
And she's mum's like, no, we don't use this stuff.
Okay. But she did. Oh, she went and used it.
And then she came back and said, I don't like
it. It's coming back. What product would you
say is your hero product or the flagship that
you're most proud of? Well, my particular one
is the inflammation solution. It is really good.
I have wanted to formulate that probably for
24 years, but the ingredients had not been available.
until a few years ago, the emulsifier wasn't,
and it's just, it's just perfection. It is perfection.
It's one of our best, I would say all of them
are growing. It's just nourishing enough, but
so light. So when you put it on, it just smooths
on and it just gives you that glow and that hydration
without stickiness, without heaviness, and that's
what I've. always wanted in a moisturizer. Yeah,
also it is made for eczema prone, acne prone,
dermatitis prone. Super gentle. Because it calms
redness within five minutes. I would say that's
not even our best seller though. Our best seller
is our hormone check drops because all of our
products have very fast efficacy because of the
way that mum has formulated them with her background
in pharmacy and homeopathy is, you know, all
our supplements are very bioavailable. They go
straight into the bloodstream. All of the ingredients
help regulate your nervous system. So it's so
powerful that it's like the mind, body, spirit
connection, and they all kind of intertwine with
each other, giving you the most effective results
as possible. I was going to say, do you think
it's easier to launch a brand now than it was
back when you launched the organic pharmacy market,
or do you think? Definitely. I definitely think
yes and no. So, you know, back in those days
there were less competitors. But I think social
media makes it a lot easier to launch a brand
because you can do it on social media and you
can launch a website and you can start selling
straight away. Is it easier? No. Launching a
brand is still hard work, very, very hard work,
but easier in the sense that back in the days
you had to have brick and mortar. Whereas now
you don't. I do love brick. I remember the lovely
store you had on, is it Argyle Street, just behind
Oxford Circus? Yes. Well, that was such a lovely
store. I love that store. I love that store too.
It was wonderful. I was there a lot. I can imagine.
Yeah. I mean, I think there's something to be
said for that kind of bricks and mortar. It's
been so many brands online only, but there's
something about that kind of shopping experience
that I think is timeless. Would you agree? I
agree. I agree. I think there's room for both.
It can be online, but also to have an actual
way you can meet customers and build a community.
That's what I loved about Organic Pharmacy when
I first opened on the King's Road. My customers
were my friends. And a lot of them are still
my friends now. You know, they used to pop in
just for a chat. They're like the last bastion
of the community, aren't they? They're like shopkeepers.
You know, you know people that... Yeah, you know
your butcher, you know your greengrocer, you
know everyone. It's lovely. And it's part of
your community. And I think community is such
an important thing. We mustn't forget that. No,
completely. I mean, there are online communities,
but I guess it's not quite the same. But I guess,
you know, you can obviously reach a wider audience
and there's pros and cons to it. Going back to
the affirmation cards, what made you decide to
look? Because I don't think I've ever seen a
skincare range that has affirmation cards with
it. And I love that. So what's behind those?
Well, every one of our products has an affirmation
with it. Yeah, so they all have affirmations
on it. And I just think affirmations are a way
to rewire the brain. So we call it psychodermatology
because you are rewiring your brain from a negative
point to a positive. And this whole idea of of
what we think, to what we speak, to what we do
is very, very important. And the affirmation
cards are just part of that daily. Yeah. Daily
practice. Daily practice. It's kind of like when
you need a little support friend and you're having
a bit of a poo poo day. And you're just like,
I just need something to tell me that I'm not
poo poo, basically. So that's kind of why we
made them. It was just something that you could
add into your routine in your nervous system
regulation routine. So whether you just want
to pick a card when you need it, if you want
to do it every morning, if you want to use that
affirmation to say it with the product instead
of other ones, inspiration of saying, declaring
new positive things. So that's really why we
made it and just to support someone. on their
healing journey. Yeah I've been really into,
I've been manifesting a lot and to be honest
with you the last few weeks life's been a bit
shit and I've heard that it gets worse but that
means that it's working. Can you tell me that
that's true? I always say sometimes when we're
really going through it that means something
amazing is about to happen. Yes yeah. So just
keep going. case in our instance, what I would
do is I would pray so hard to God. I'd be like,
God, give me strength, help me. It's really easy
to fall into that line of like, oh, when this
happens, then I'll be happy. Or when I achieve
X, Y and Z, then I can relax and then I can be
happy. You can be happy now. That's the biggest
delusion of the world. It's the when syndrome.
The when syndrome. So when X happens, I'll be
happy, but it's a lie. Honestly, when X happens,
it's... You'll still be chasing it and you're
like, oh, it's the next thing, then I'll be happy.
And it's always next, next, next, next, next.
You actually need nothing to be happy. Just everything
else is nice to have. No, for sure. Because when
work comes down and it's finally calmed down,
I'm like, huh. I was feeling this like, you know,
like suddenly wave of happiness, but it's true.
It's just, it's about making, making do with
what you've got. And there's, you know, okay,
these are the cards I've been dealt. Let's -
Or you can be grateful for what you've got. Yeah.
Cause I bet you what you've got is magnificent.
Oh, a hundred percent. Yeah. But it's, you know,
when like lots of different things happen at
once, everything like falls, every, all the dominoes
like fall down. It's like, okay, I could deal
with this one fire burning. I could put that
fire up. I can't put that fire out at the same
time. You'd be surprised. You'd be surprised
what you can do. And also, I used to have quite
bad control issues and something that really
helped me when I got kind of into reading the
Bible is that God speaks a lot about laying your
burdens onto him. And when you have the realisation
that you don't actually need to deal with anything
and he can do it for you. If your worry is to
God. For me personally, this changed my life.
Otherwise, I'd be so stressed. I mean, I don't
know how I would run a business because we're
putting out fires constantly. And so the only
way that I know how to deal with it is to give
it to him. And can I just tell you, 10 out of
10 times, he resolves the problem for me. Always.
There's never been one instance where he's never
not done it for me. So that's just my personal
kind of way to do it. Part of me thinks like,
yeah, I'm very strong, but I'm also tired. Yeah,
exactly. So you need to do anything. Yeah. Yeah.
I don't need my strength tested anymore. My character
is developed. I'm strong enough. I need a break.
We've had enough now. Yeah. I feel like the universe
tries to develop my character. I'm going to regress
just because I've had enough of these life lessons.
It's like, what would you say is your overarching
mission with I Am? Like, where would you love
to take it? And what would your... ideal legacy
be? I think for me it's to touch as many people
as possible, anyone who wants to be healed. I
hope that they'll find a home with us and a voice
with us and solutions with us and that's really
it. I think putting fanciful notions of global
domination is pointless. it's as many people
as we can touch, then we're grateful for that.
Yeah, we're just to bring healing and education
into the world, globally, obviously, but... You
know, I know a lot of people, you know, when
they start a company that's like, oh, well, I'll
sell in X. Like, you know, this is not really,
we didn't start it to sell it. Of course, you
know, if we do like in 10, 15, 20 years, whatever,
that's not even a topic of conversation because
we're just loving what we're doing. And the goal
is to help as many people as possible on that
journey. That's the main thing. And what sort
of piece of advice would you give somebody else
who's just about to launch a beauty brand? What
are the main... Don't do it. Yeah, I was about
to say, don't do it. You either don't do it,
or... It's so hard to give one advice. If you're
going to do it, like, if you're able to do a
lot of the processes yourself, Fantastic. The
thing that makes it really expensive is if you
have to outsource everything. So the reason that
we were able to actually launch so quickly after
we came up with the concept is because Mum is
the cosmetic formulator. We make all our products
in London in our London lab with our London team
that Mum oversees. She formulates everything
that cuts a lot of external sources. of team
members out of the equation. And it's quite rare
as well because a lot of things a lot of ranges
are as you know white labeled which people white
labeled yeah exactly which is basically like
an off the peg formula that they take and then
put you know a brand a new brand on send it out
but it's uh exactly i just think you know my
advice to them would be why do you want to do
it yeah yeah um and if it's i want to be a billionaire
fair enough but it's not I remember someone once
describing launching a brand is like pushing
water uphill. You need to be passionate. I think
the one advice I'd say is, are you passionate
enough about it for it to take you through the
tough times? There's plenty of tough times. For
sure. And I feel like you need to work on yourself
as much as you do the brand. Oh, yeah. It's like
dealing with all your old shit and getting everything,
getting your house in order. And I've heard a
great quote, which is that your business can
only grow as much as your self -esteem. Yeah,
so true. Yeah. So true. And your business is
not your image or your work. It's not who you
are. So then that's also another... thing to
work through as well. I think a lot of people
think that titles and achievements will give
them recognition and make them feel better about
themselves. They'll still be sad. It doesn't
really. The problem will still be there, whatever
you're dealing with. Do you know what I mean?
Definitely. Do you like being ambassadors for
the brand? Yeah. What founders now, especially
female founders, they're sort of expected to
be also the face of the brand and that can feel
like a full -time job in itself. How do you both
find it? Well I personally don't like being the
face of anything. But I'm very glad that Roxy
takes that role. Yeah, it's something that's
quite natural to me. And also just it just resonates
with our community. It feels authentic. I don't
think anyone could ever say as good as we could.
Yeah. So I wouldn't trust anyone else to be able
to convey it as we could, because really it's
based on my personal healing journey and mum's
expertise and, you know, her kind of journey.
So who better to talk about? it than people that
understand our customer. No, that makes complete
sense. It's almost like people are buying online,
you're kind of the digital, you know, sales person
behind the till that's going to talk to the range
and help, you know, exactly, exactly. And finally,
like, what's next for IAM? What have you got
coming up in the short term? Well, we've got
our stress drops. No stress drops launching in
October, so we're super excited about that. Can
you send me like a lorry of those? Yeah, they're
gonna be awesome. We've got lots of events coming
up. We've just been programming our whole kind
of end of Q4 sort of strategy. So we'll be at
Health Optimization Summit in September. We're
also at Transform Trauma in Oxford, which is
a really awesome... Like sort of a clinician
and mental health explode expo. You'd actually
really like it It's really really really fantastic
speakers. So we'll be there also. Yeah, and we
can Copenhagen Yeah, well, it's busy. Yeah, but
um, there's many other things which we won't
share yet But keep watching but yeah keep us
posted. Well, thank you both so much for chatting
with me. I really appreciate it I know that yeah,
you're probably sort of swamped with like a hundred
and one other things running, running a brand.
So we're like, thank you for having us. Thank
you so much. It's such a pleasure to talk to
you. I hope you enjoyed that episode. All links
will be in the show notes and feel free to visit
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