Latest / Skin Anarchy / Aggie Burnett, Industry Acclaimed Branding, Marketing and PR Expert, and Former Beauty Editor

Transcript

Aggie Burnett, Industry Acclaimed Branding, Marketing and PR Expert, and Former Beauty Editor · Skin Anarchy

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: Hey guys, welcome back.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: I really wanted to take this time right before our episode and talk to you a little bit about, you know, how we shop for our beauty products.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: Now, we all know that when we look for products, we look for clean, sustainable, cruelty-free, all these amazing things.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: But as conscious and well-meaning as we are, when it's time to check out, do we ever really ask ourselves who actually made these products and the conditions they were made in and all of the things that go behind, you know, the nitty-gritty of the ingredients?
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: Well, this is exactly where Beautyology.com comes in.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: Beautyology is the first ever online beauty marketplace that features fair trade and ethically formulated products from brands around the world that are committed to giving back to the communities they work with.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: From radiance-enhancing face oils handcrafted by Peruvian artisans to microbiome-restoring elixirs formulated with the help of Female Cooperative in Ghana.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: Beautyology puts humanity at the forefront of the beauty industry.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Without the hard work of these amazing producers and developing countries, your body cream or your face serum or anything you love to use would not even be possible.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: So I really urge all of you listening to go check out beautyology.com and all the amazing products that they have on their website.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: All of these products are just have this beautiful ethical, moral, you know, backing, and I really, really support what they're doing.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: So again, beautyology.com, and I hope you love this episode coming up.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, guys.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to Skincare Anarchy.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: This is Ekta, and I have a wonderful guest.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: She is a dear friend of mine at this point, I would like to say, and also one of the most brilliant minds in this industry.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: She has helped countless brands come up with strategy and just so much good stuff.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: So without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to Aggie Burnett, who is a marketing and PR strategist.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: So welcome to the show, Aggie.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited that we had the time for this.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, Ecta, for having me.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to be here.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: I'm super excited to host you.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to talk to you about, you know, just everything, brand strategy, and you know, all the great work that you do for so many different brands.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I want to start that off by really asking you to uh share with us your background and you know just the whole journey, like how you picked this as your career and you know, all the good stuff that led to this.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, sure.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I started, I've been in the beauty industry for 15 years now.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: I started my career in beauty as um a beauty in the in actually in journalism at Glamour magazine.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I worked in the beauty department and I was that intern in the beauty closet, organizing all of the skincare makeup products, and it was awesome.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I got to, you know, go behind the scenes, go backstage and interview um interesting makeup artists and and hairstylists and all that good stuff and try out a million different products.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then I parlayed that into starting my own fragrance brand.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: So in 2011, I started my own fragrance company, which we ended up getting into Sephora stores nationwide, uh, retailers nationwide, retailers internationally, and uh we got a number of media placements.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: And eventually uh within over a few years, we ended up um, so I started getting a lot of brands coming to me asking me like how we were doing media outreach or influencer partnerships or content strategy, because we had a really robust content marketing strategy.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, I started just sort of consulting on the side as a favor, and I totally fell in love with it.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I felt like it was definitely my calling.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: It was a it was also a moment in my life where I was pivoting um into motherhood.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so it was like the right path for me.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: It was that right next step.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so I went into it full-time and I've been consulting and coaching for BD Brands since 2017, 18.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you've done such great work, you know.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: I I know that before um we even met, I had just heard your name everywhere and everyone had such high praises, you know, to offer about you.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that the work you've done is not just about, you know, branding, but I the work, you know, it involves like very intimate, you know, relationships with these brands and really building them up.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: So I want to talk to you about your process and really like what motivates you and how do you get your vision for, you know, when you you find a new brand that you want to work with?
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like how what's that whole process like for you?
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, sure.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's a great question too, Ecta.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I think the I think the big thing for me is that when I was building my fragrance company, and even when I was working as a you know uh editor in in magazines, I felt like the industry was very closed off and very elitist.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's not necessarily it that's changing now, right?
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: And shifting because of podcasts like yours, because of the work that you're doing, right?
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: But it wasn't necessarily the case then.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I and it's still really not the case.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like there's still work that we have to be done.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: And it's about, you know, there were so many challenges that we face as a startup that was fully self-funded.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: My husband and I used our wedding money to start our fragrance company.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and even though we had, you know, exposure to certain resources and networks, I realized like a lot of people don't, you know, they don't have the same access, the same resources, the same um, you know, ability to know like the ins and outs of a very secretive industry.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that was sort of my calling after, you know, going through you know, the roller coaster of building and growing a beauty business, um, I felt really called to guide and educate and coach um women who are going who are going through that same process.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think more importantly, like on a bigger scope, it was I knew that the product that a beauty founder is building, it's really just a tool for a bigger message and a bigger purpose, right?
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think you probably have encountered encountered this with the brands that you've interviewed, but there's really that bigger purpose that I am excited to attach myself to and really help make a bigger impact.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's like the storytelling aspect, right?
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's like the the brand journey and the story of why they're doing what they're doing.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Why they're doing what they're doing.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I think for me, I I get a kick.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't even know if I should say a kick out of it, but I I my biggest passion and purpose is helping women gain financial and personal freedom, whatever that means to them, or however that's to them.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's my bigger purpose.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: So like I'm not necessarily, I see a very long-term vision when I work with brands, and I choose to work with brands that have that long-term vision and are looking to really make a bigger impact versus like a short game.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I know, and that that makes sense because you know, it's really, you know, just having gotten to know you a little bit, like it just it it shows, you know, in just your personality and it just shows like obviously in your work.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I I want to actually ask you, like, um, what was like the most difficult experience you had when you were working with a brand?
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, what was there like an instance where you were like really trying to like show them like this is the direction you should go in, and you know, they weren't uh listening or something.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I've ever really had a brand.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: I have I have I I'm very like selective and I I find a genuine partnership with the founders that I work with.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think that um I'm trying to think of any examples.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe just sometimes like if you're really, really early stage and you've never stepped into entrepreneurship before, um, every once in a while, you know, you have uh somebody who may not understand like the work that's involved, right?
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Or the amount of effort and time and also a willingness to really um think outside of the box.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like I teach, you know, there's certain blueprints and certain frameworks and certain step-by-step processes that I can teach based off of all the brands that I've worked with, as well as my own brand, but that can't trump your inner knowing and your inner guidance of, you know, why don't we try this out?
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Or it would be so cool if we did something like this, or um, let's really like just do something completely bonkers that nobody else has ever done before.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think you can't necessarily you can encourage that to come out and you can um really um you know champion that vision, but yeah, the person has to be willing to really want, be able to step outside of their comfort zone and step into their CEO self or their entrepreneur self, if that makes sense.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: That makes sense.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that makes total sense.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I think, you know, that's such a brilliant um concept that you brought up because I know that I've spoken to a lot of um, you know, just smaller brands and new entrepreneurs.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of times, you know, um the feedback I get is like they have this discouraging that they're just discouraged, you know, because they're not seeing the results immediately or they're not, you know, there's like these little like nuances that they really are um kind of headbutting against when it comes to this industry.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, obviously I have no idea you're the expert here.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I want you to give me some advice for all of those young women that are going into entrepreneurship, especially, especially in the beauty world, you know, um, some common tips, tricks, you know, somewhere to start when it comes to branding.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think um in terms of brand strategy and growth, I would say one tip is definitely committing to uh actually I've two ideas off the top of my head, um, committing to one marketing channel in the beginning, especially if you're a solopreneur, especially if you don't have a lot of support, if you don't have funding, if you're a solopreneur that's starting out small, committing to one marketing channel or more one marketing strategy and really going to town with it.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like not realize like realizing that you won't see like you won't go from zero to a hundred in a month.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, it's always possible, but it's about the long-term commitment and investment and channel.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: There's no magic marketing strategy.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's the point here.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: There's no like, oh, well, now it's reels, or now it's like Instagram's live, or now it's um, you know, um clubhouse.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's really about picking one that's suitable for you, something that you can actually stick to and and sticking to it and staying consistent with it.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it's totally not sexy advice at all.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: No, but it's so logical.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you're it's like, you know, Aggie, it's like the idea of like hard work never loses, right?
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, you know, if you put in work and especially what you said, like if it's one thing and you're dedicated and you're doing it, like it makes total sense what you're saying, you know, like you're putting your all into like one direction, one avenue, and that's gonna get you further than just spreading yourself so thin, you know.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, no, that makes total sense.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's wonderful advice.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone listening, I hope you take heed to her advice because she's genuinely the best of the best in this industry.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: You're so sweet.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I would also um no, and I would also say, like to add to that, I think we you know, and I we I've certainly been in this boat, and I've certainly made this mistake myself, but it's it's kind of like learning, trying to learn to fly before you learn to walk.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: And what I mean by that is when brand founders start a company, what they're exposed to is the Forbes articles, the entrepreneur articles, the Gary V's, the um Indy Lee's, like all these really incredible famous um leaders and founders and they that they look up to and they say, oh, like that's you know, it's great that there's inspiration and there's motivation to look up to certain people, right?
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: But those people are like a hundred steps ahead, right?
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: So when you look at strategy on the surface, you know, marketing strategy, PR strategy, you see these brands doing all these things, and you're like, oh, I have to do Facebook ads or Instagram ads or um, you know, large-scale um collabs, you know, et cetera, et cetera.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: And what about the simplicity of just, you know, looking at the followers that you have, right?
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say you've got 100, 200, 500, and just reaching out to them individually.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like we're not above that, right?
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like we're not above just reaching out to people individually, reaching out to a customer who bought from you, checking in with them a month later and just saying, hey, how's that product working for you?
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: How's your skin reacting to it?
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what are the questions that you have?
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a simple concept, but I I can't even tell you from whether you're an emerging brand all the way up through multi-seven figures.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: I can't even tell you how few people do this.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it's simple.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: And the brands that do do it, they don't, they're not necessarily talking about it, but those are the brands that are actually moving the needle.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, that makes sense because I think, you know, honestly, like what I've learned so far from this podcast and talking to people, it's like so much aligned with what you just said because everyone's like, you know, well, we have this, you know, open transparency policy with our customers, and you know, and I feel like I think people buy products as not just like, oh, I need this for like, you know, my new beauty regime or something.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's more of like, I want to connect with this brand, I want to connect with what they stand for and their personality, like it, you know, vibes with mine.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: And and those kind of factors play in.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of brands don't really get that, you know.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I think what you're saying makes a lot of sense.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't think any of us are above, you know, really doing the nitty-gritty of just like, you know, connecting with the people that believe in you.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's about real connection.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like being on the ground and like reaching out one-to-one, you know, I understand like once you scale to, you know, multi-seven figures, I understand that that may need to be delegated, or you may not be able to get to doing something like that on a regular basis.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: But I mean, if you look at some of the outstanding founders that we all look up to, you know, the um Tiffany Masterson, Jamie Schmidt, um, you know, so some of these founders, like they they all were doing sort of this one-on-one outreach, you know, until they could do one to two and one-to-many.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, you know what this makes me think of is like the Avon ladies back in the day.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's such a good point.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like I feel like that idea and that strategy just needs to like come back because there was something so cool about that.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like a lady comes to your house and shows you amazing products, and you buy it.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and like we have that opportunity.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: We literally like, think about it.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: We have the opportunity to basically text our customers and potential customers.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: We can be literally texting back and forth with them, sending them voice notes.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, if we're not taking advantage of that, that's like that's a big loss.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: Hey guys, so I wanted to take a quick break.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: I hope you're loving the episode.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: Aggie is definitely one of my favorite people in this industry, but I wanted to take a quick break and tell you that BoSha has two brand new launches.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: Now, if any of you know me, you know that I am obsessed with BoSha.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: I've been obsessed with them since I started skincare.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the two new launches are part of their renew collection.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: Now, the first one is a retinol, it's their 0.6% pro retinol repair and renew waterless advances treatment.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: This is the first ever retinol in their collection, and it's absolutely revolutionary because it's a blend of 0.1% retinol sunflower seed aid and 0.5% Bacucciol, making it the perfect middle ground for anyone who loves traditional retinol and anyone who loves 100% plant-based retinol.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: Now, the second product is actually my favorite, and it's their plant stem cell ceramide barrier defense moisturizer.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's an amazing, amazing moisturizer, and it's really great for the summertime because one, it smells amazing, and two, it's wonderful because it helps um defend our skin against environmental stressors and also a lot of excessive water loss that many people experience during the summer heat.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: So if you want to check these out, you can go to www.boshow.com and they have been super kind and offered our listeners a special discount for 20% off their first purchase.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: If you use the code WSKINCareAnarchy, that's W and then Skincare Anarchy, all one word on the website, you will get 20% off your order.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: I really hope you guys check it out.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: They're both phenomenal products.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: Anything Bosha ever makes, I think, is phenomenal.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm sure you're gonna love it.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: And leave some comments and some feedback once you try them.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: I really want to know what you guys think.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: Alright, guys, I'll let you get back to the episode, but thank you so much for listening.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, a hundred percent agree with you.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: Then that makes sense.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I even like DM'd and voice noted too.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: Was that I think you and I even like sent voice notes back and forth.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: I've been like bugging you for like months now.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: I like everyone listening, I've been bugging Aggie for months.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like, tell me, tell me what to do.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: But no, I want to I want to move on, Aggie, and I want to talk about, you know, just you as a female entrepreneur and your journey and just some of the hurdles, some of the great moments you've had, you know.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: Tell some stories, you know, um, some war stories.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: War stories.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh well, I will say, so I recently had my second son back in November.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: And of course it was the peak of pandemic.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: We were also moving into a new home.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and you know, I took maternity leave, I took three months of maternity leave, and I have a nice team in place that, you know, really is they're an A plus team, they, you know, know what they're doing, they took charge like no other, um, really kept the business running without me for a good three months.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like I was logged off.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: I was off my computer.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, and I just kind of want to give them a shout-out.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: Kudos to them.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then I will say, like, when it came to transitioning back into work, it was really hard because um, you know, not even from a business side, but from a personal side, I felt like I was going through a lot of hormonal changes.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: I was dealing with like a lot of sleepless nights that were impacting like how um my confidence and level and just like how I was showing up day to day.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think like we need to really remember.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I think one of the things that um I was lucky enough to be working with a coach at the time to kind of bring me back to myself um and what I, you know, what I what I'm comfortable with.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: But um I think we have to remember as women that as women founders, uh, that we need to give ourselves grace and know that even if there's no balance, that um it's okay if there's um if there's more chaos at times or if it feels like um hectic and uh and not to really feel like we have to find um sort of a perfect balance, but that we need to sort of give in to flow sometimes, right?
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's really the yeah, I completely agree with you.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I think women especially, we have such a hard time doing that, like that control aspect of just letting things go and kind of go with the flow, like you said.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I I love that you said that.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, and and I want to actually, you know, I want to uh carry that even forward because I think that there's a lot of young women that want to go into PR and they want to go into branding because, you know, I'm not gonna lie, I've put you know job posts out there for like I'm looking for interns, you know, that want to get some experience.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: And there's so many young ladies who, you know, they'll reach out to me and they're like, I really want to go into PR, I really want to do branding, and but they don't know where to start or they don't know, you know, where to start beginning um in terms of making a portfolio.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: So I want you to offer some advice and guidance, like in terms of the career aspect of this um, you know, journey.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that's a good, that's a good question.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: I think uh, you know, I've I think you know PR is really it's it's a relationship business, I think.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: There's a piece of it that is a journalism journal you need to have some aspect of journalistic abilities, right?
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: You need to be able to write.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: You need to be able to come up with creative hooks, creative angles for brands, really be uh attuned to what's happening in the market and in the news and the industry.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because what PR is, is basically you're breaking news, you're creating news, and there needs to be something newsworthy in order for it to be published, right?
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um so there's that aspect of it, but there's also a big relationship aspect.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're somebody who uh is introverted, it may not be the best fit.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's a better fit for someone who is a little bit more intro extroverted.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I would say to get into the industry, uh shadowing uh, you know, being in starting as an intern or shadowing somebody in the industry.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: I actually took on an intern, I think it was last year or two.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, last year.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: And she ended up uh what's really cool is is actually working with a smaller company, a smaller agency where you actually are sort of thrown into the mix and you have to do a lot of a lot of the a lot of the work because it gets you so much experience that when you do go to apply for jobs, you're already that many steps ahead.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: And that's actually what happened to my intern.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: She, you know, she worked with me.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: I I I showed her how to do everything from A to Z from building lists, email lists, from finding contacts to building relationships to putting pitches together.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: She actually landed an L feature for one of my clients, you know, as an intern, which is amazing.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: And she ended up landing an amazing PR job, you know, uh six months later.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, just getting your foot in the in the game and being willing to ask for help.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: That and that's kind of what I did when I was working at Glamour.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: I actually started in the fashion closet, and I had read this article about uh the beauty director in architectural die dress.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, my mother did, and she gave it the article to me, and she said, Look, this woman is is Polish and I'm Polish and I speak Polish.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: And she's like, She's the she's at glamour and she's the beauty director.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh my gosh, like I need to talk to her.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and this was this beautiful spread of her and her home, you know, an article architectural digest.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: And what happened ultimately was one day I was going into my internship into the elevator conde nest, and I walk in to a full elevator in the morning, and there she is.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: She's standing right there, like looking glamorous as ever, pun intended.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh my God, this is my chance.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: I've got 15 seconds, right?
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like that elevator moment.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, your elevator page.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm this like lowly intern, you know, who's like 19 years old or whatever.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I just I started I say something to her in Polish.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: I say, um, you know, are you Felicia Milewicz?
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a huge fan.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: I just read an article about you, and I'm actually interning in the fashion closet at Glamour.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: And she was shocked that I spoke Polish and that I knew her and knew about her.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: And she ended up having me, she's like, Why don't you um come by and we can chat?
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like, come by to to my office.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so it it turned into like every lunch break that I had during my fashion intern, I would go and actually work at in the beauty department for her.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's so cool.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so, and I actually got my foot in the door and got like a once-a-day in uh like a freelance position in the glamour closet because I was just coming there, you know, during my lunch breaks and cleaning their closet, organizing the products.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: And she saw my value and she gave me that position.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then I was able to, before I even graduated from college, I was able to land a full-time PD assistant position um in that department.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so that it's just like worth it to take that shot, you know, if you get that, um, just reach out.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: If there's somebody you look look up to in the PRR industry, just reach out to them and ask if you can help them.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like by the way, for everyone listening, if you already don't know that Aggie is brilliant, the fact that she speaks Polish is like another reason why she's brilliant because I've heard Polish is literally the hardest language in the world to like learn.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: It is quite hard.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: My my poor son's like he's been trying for four years and he was surrounded by it from like birth, and he's still struggling with it.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I've heard it's like extremely difficult, but that is such an inspiring story.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: I love that, and I love that you were such a go-getter from the beginning.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I feel like that's something that, you know, um, especially with Gen Z, like I worry sometimes because I'm like, I don't think kids now understand how important it is to be go-getters, you know what I mean?
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: And to get out there and to just, you know, do your best and just take risks and you know, follow your heart and your, you know, your mind and your instinct.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: I don't, I don't see it as much as I'd like to.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I I love that you said that.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I hope everyone listening, you got, you know, if you're young and you're, you know, coming into your career, like really pay, you know, close attention to what Aggie said.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like, just, you know, really take this advice to our heart because it's important, you know, it's important, especially in this, in this industry now, because I feel like there's so much saturation, you know, and there's so many brands and there's so many different people doing things that sometimes feel redundant.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's hard, you know.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's hard to say.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, I just hit it on the nail.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we're all doing the same copycat stuff.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like, stop doing the copycat stuff, like think differently.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: Think some do something super creative, super different, and um just I think let your mind go free and and allow for that imagination to be like, what if I did this?
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to do that, but there's no cost for you, or there's no risk to you to at least start imagining what would a really cool campaign be.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like what would be a really cool launch um campaign.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: I remember um I worked for this one fashion brand.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_00: We did um, so she was super interesting story.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: Like she was looking to create a a sock brand, right?
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like a like a to the knee sock brand when I fashionable socks.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, fashionable.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I, you know, I started talking to her and we we started working together one-on-one.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember, you know, just kind of the first few sessions that we worked together, just pulling out all these stories.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: I wasn't sold on the thing, on the sock story, and fashionable socks.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, there's there's more to this, like there's gotta be something more, you know, like I I know you have more to give this world.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um socks.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: And it turned out that her brother had gone through this very serious um cancer at a younger age that caused him to lose his leg uh and had to be amputated.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so we totally shifted gears to a fashion brand, uh, an adaptable fashion brand that created revolutionary technology in clothing that made it easier to put on and off by yourself as somebody who um is of need, somebody who, you know, um needs things to be more adaptable, right?
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_01: And it becomes so much more about beauty too at that point.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like this is this becomes, you know, or fashion.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_01: This is you know, what you just said that that's more of like a, you know, you're giving people options that didn't exist before.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, that's way better than fashionable socks.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I think.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: I and I know, I mean, it turned into this, I mean, it's taken off.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, she was featured in WD, WD the day it launched.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: She's partnered with, you know, she's on Amy Curdy's radar now.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: She's partnered with a number of influencers, she's changing name, she's featured in media.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that wouldn't happen with fashionable socks.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_01: There's only so much you can do with fashionable socks.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I'm saying.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: So that my point is like exactly what you were saying, Ecta.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like, like you we we have to start challenging the status quo.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I understand that there's a lot of fear, and there's that sort of, you know, we're we're taught uh from a young age to sort of follow the rules, and we're we're the way that we learn is a very specific structure in schools, and it's not very flexible, and it's not very adaptable.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so when we leave the school environment, there's the challenge of finding out like how do we express ourselves, how do we work, how do we show up in the world that is truly authentic, truly creative, truly different.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it takes time to find that.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it certainly took me time to find that.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_01: No, absolutely.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I think, you know, that's that's really the the Achilles heel of I think um a lot of people who don't, I guess, quote unquote, make it is that this idea of you know, you have to think outside of the box.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_01: You cannot, you cannot take a brand and say, I'm gonna copy this brand because they're successful.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: No, because they're already successful.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: What the hell are you gonna do?
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like it's it's and that's for me.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I know when I started this podcast, one of my biggest um, you know, reasons for starting it was I realized I was like, you know what?
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_01: Nobody interviews editors.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, no one gives these editors the credit they deserve and puts them on, you know, a show and really talks about their careers.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I was noticing that by a lot of podcasts, and I was like, why the hell wouldn't you do that?
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it can't just be about brands, it can't just be about the celebrities, it has to be about, you know, like more.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_01: So just you know, I'm just giving my own little tiny, you know, like spark of like, I guess, you know, enthusiasm I had before the show started.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, that's that's just something that you have to think about.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what are you really trying to do?
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and so I I really agree with everything you've said.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's brilliant advice.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, and I just want to wrap up the episode by just asking you, um, you know, what are your some of your favorite beauty products?
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: Skincare, makeup, anything?
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, you're putting me on the spot.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: I know, I know.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: Literally, so I just did an episode.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I had an interview where literally I listed out like um 15 products for every uh the all 15 years of my career in the beauty industry.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I wish I had that list in front of me because I totally have mommy brain still.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: And um, okay, let's see.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um what about cat?
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_01: We can do categories.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_01: How's that?
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like, like what's your favorite kind of skincare product?
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like mask or serum or oh my god, I love it all.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: I love it all.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: I love um, I love a good serum.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: I love, I love beauty.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really into beauty tech tools, right?
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: I love my new face, I love my Allura Eno.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: I love um, I'm really into tools right now as I get into like my mid 30s.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, beauty tools have kind of become my go-to.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: And um I love oh my gosh.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_01: Have you tried Droplet, by the way?
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: Droplet?
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they were like one of the first brands.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my god, Aggie.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: There was some of the there were the one of the first brands I interviewed.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's these two amazing young women that are like just brilliant, hard.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like they went to MIT and they came out with this device, and it's literally a mist.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_01: Because you just mentioned you like tools, it's like a mist, a fine mist, and it just like sprays all over your face.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_01: So, like it just check it out, like genuinely.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: I think you're gonna love it.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, oh I know, I definitely need to check that out.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um okay, what else?
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: I love um what's the the sun care brand?
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh goop no supergoop.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: Supergoop.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: I love my super goop um sunscreen.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually not like a sunscreen crazy person.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm not like I think anyone who's listening is gonna like be like, oh my god, I can't believe she said that.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_00: She works in the TV industry.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: I it's not that I don't use it, I just I'm not the one that's like wearing the hat every day with like 60 or 70 SPF on, but I do love my super group, like the transparent technology of the super group um sunscreen is fantastic.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_00: I love um sk2.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yes, yes, their essence.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: I love the essence.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_00: I love Augustinus Bader.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um their moisturizer is fantastic.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um I love you know, I didn't realize that Victoria Beckham had uh partnered with them for her.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: I had no idea.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like I like I recently figured that out.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, oh my gosh, no wonder.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: No, I it's true.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: She, I think they partnered on what was it?
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: Was it like uh it wasn't the moisturizer moisturizer?
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's like the facial, it's the facial moisturizer and like the serum for her, the face, like any skincare products by Victoria, like she, yeah, it's they're partnered with her.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's amazing.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I love that you mentioned that.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: I yeah, I'm a huge fan of the brand.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know what?
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: I love that uh bum bum cream.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm obsessed.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my god, it's actually boom boom.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_01: I recently interviewed them and they were very particular.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, oh my gosh, that literally sold de narrow is like the best brand, like the best.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_00: Obsessed with the boom boom cream.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: It is fantastic.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's great.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like I do um body brushing.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, speaking of body brushing, I love my Carbonique roller.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm a huge fan of rolling, I'm a huge fan of body brushing now that I've had two kids.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm a huge fan of that bum bum boom boom cream.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's and I just love the smell too.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very big on scents, uh, obviously, since I started fragrance brand.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so I actually am a big fan of that scent.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not a big fan of like vanilla scents, and so anything with vanilla is kind of a turnoff for me.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my god, me too.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, actually, I like vanilla.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm fresh.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_01: I like fresh scents.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like, thank you.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_01: Don't make me smell like a cookie, like I don't want to smell like a cookie.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_00: Who wants to smell like, yeah, I mean, who wants to smell like a cookie?
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_00: They actually did a study, believe it or not, Ecta.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: They did this study a couple years ago that showed like what are like what are like men attracted to um when it comes to scent, because for so long scents were created, you know, back in the sort of like traditional marketing, traditional media, uh, you know, scents were being created for women that would attract men.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so they did all these studies around like what scents attract men, and and I think they found that it was like cookie, like vanilla, like all these sort of like baked goods.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: Food.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I'm no, like that and ooh, yeah.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh like I'm like, no, I don't want to smell like a baked good, like I just came out of a bakery.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_01: That literally just like confirms the idea that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like I'm just sitting here, like, what I love that.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_01: This has been so fun, Aggie.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_01: I could talk to you for hours, and I really want to have you back whenever you have the time.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_01: I know you're super busy, but like I'd love to work together again.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, if there's ever a brand, if there's any brands out there that are really, really just lost and confused, and you have some general questions, you can post them in our comment section on the art for this episode.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'll definitely pass them to Aggie's team if they have time.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_01: But thank you so much for this.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_01: This has been such an honor.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_01: This is what you're talking about.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and everyone, by the way, don't forget to go on to iTunes and Spotify and please leave us a review, a good one.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_01: Please don't make it one star.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_00: We're all about the five stars.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you so much, Aggie, and everyone, I'll be back next time.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, Ekta, for having me.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: It was a pleasure.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_01: Hey guys, so I hope you love that episode.
• 38:28
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• 38:33
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• 38:35
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• 38:38
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• 38:41
  SPEAKER_01: This way, you're able to tune in to amazing insights from experts, brand founders, industry leaders, authors, all the wonderful people that we host.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_01: And that's very important for me because I love to hear from you guys and really understand what you love and what you want to hear more of.
• 38:57
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• 39:00
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• 39:05
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• 39:07
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're a reader and you love Medium blogs, check us out on Medium.
• 39:11
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• 39:16
  SPEAKER_01: And it's really a great place for all of you science geeks out there that want to learn a little bit more.
• 39:21
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• 39:27
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• 39:32
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.