Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / How to launch products in the CBD space and why consumer education and regulations need to evolve with Nia Davies, Co-Founder of Yugenial

Transcript

How to launch products in the CBD space and why consumer education and regulations need to evolve with Nia Davies, Co-Founder of Yugenial · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  This is episode 13 with Nia Davies.
• 0:16
  Oh hey! Welcome back to another episode of Female Startup Club. Today I'm chatting to Nia Davies about her self-funded CBD wellness startup called Eugenial. This was such a fascinating episode and I was learning a lot about an industry I know little about. We're covering the challenges Nia faces in building a business that fits into what the government calls a high-risk space and how she works around the fact that normal marketing channels aren't accessible for her.
• 0:44
  This is Nia for Female Startup Club. Let's get started. I want to first talk about the CBD industry specifically and maybe your background and how you became to working in this particular industry and then we'll move on talking about your brand. Do you want to tell me about your background? Yes, in terms of my background, I was studying medical science at Imperius.
• 1:10
  And that's how I got interested in health and wellness more generally, just sort of the science behind it and the fact that I found I went through periods of burnout at university with exams and learning to manage my time and all this kind of thing. So I became very interested in that space, especially from a holistic perspective. And then the reason cannabis in particular interested me was at Imperials, there's a professor called David Nutz.
• 1:40
  And he used to advise the government on drug policy. And he's doing a lot of research in the space using psychedelics, cannabis, MDMA. And a lot of the science that was coming out was super interesting. And the way that I could get involved in that was to look into CBD. And what was the kind of information that was coming out about those kind of drugs and cannabis and all that kind of thing? Yeah, so it's a really interesting story.
• 2:10
  story to follow because essentially when he was advising the government he advised that we should actually legalize these drugs because keeping them illegal was more harmful both to individuals and to research and he was sacked for saying that about 10 years ago and now we're starting to see that there is a lot of science behind what he was saying that we're using MDMA for therapy for
• 2:40
  We found that we have an endocannabinoid system and that we're cannabinoid deficient because you can get exogenous cannabinoids from things like hemp and cannabis. So the war on drugs has caused this perception that all these illicit drugs are bad for you and they've got no benefit. And it's all about responsible use and now challenging some of those perceptions as we start to see things like cannabis legalized.
• 3:06
  And so just to refresh my memory and anyone that's listening, when did CBD or cannabis become legal in the UK? It's fairly recent, right? Yeah. So it's legal in the United States, cannabis. Cannabis isn't yet legal here. But the reason CBD is different is because it comes from the cannabis plant, but it doesn't contain the molecule that gets you high.
• 3:35
  So technically CBD is not illegal. And the reason it faces so many problems in terms of getting into the space and doing the marketing is it's kind of stuck in between where it's not been officially recognized, but it's not illegal so long as it contains less than 0.2% THP. So because it's not psychoactive, it can be sold and taken as a supplement.
• 4:03
  Got it. Right. And so now that there's been kind of like this, I feel like it's been a boom of CBD products in the UK, especially in, you know, specific stores opening up like the drugstore in Mayfair selling these kind of products. Yeah.
• 4:21
  I guess how has it kind of shifted in people's mind, like the perception of this? Because, for example, I feel like a year ago I didn't even really know that CBD oil was a thing and now obviously it's very much what you might call a boom product and everyone's talking about it, everyone's talking about the effects on anxiety, on depression, on mental health issues in general, but also sleep, just general wellbeing. Can you talk a bit more about how it impacts people?
• 4:50
  those sectors? Yeah, so I think the two biggest things facing CBD at the moment are consumer education and regulation. So like you said, there's so many products coming out into the market and the problem with an unregulated market is a lot of those products are not containing the levels of CBD that they say they contain or they're being misleading. For example, they've got hemp seed oil, which actually contains no CBD whatsoever.
• 5:17
  And so there really needs to be a focus on really good quality, transparent products that have independently laboratory tested ingredients. So that's the first thing. And then the second thing is the consumer education where people need to be able to know what they're taking and why they're taking it. And I think CBD suffers from this image of, oh, it's just the latest fad. It's just the latest trend. It's potentially snake oil.
• 5:47
  And that's not the case. I really don't believe that CBD is going anywhere. The reason that it does treat such a whole range of symptoms is because our endocannabinoid system is so extensive. We have receptors in pretty much every organ of the body. It's in our brain, it's in our liver, it's in our lungs. So it's almost like we've got this symbiosis with nature that we've been cut off from almost. And this is replenishing that in a way.
• 6:14
  And everybody's endocannabinoid system is slightly different. We're all genetically different. We all interact with things differently. And so it's all about self-experimentation to some degree and finding out which modes of application went best for you, which strengths worked best for you, and figuring out what it is you want to use the products for.
• 6:38
  And because it's an industry that's not regulated at the moment, does that mean there's not enough research into the impact it's having on people? Or there is significant research already into how it can help you and how it can impact those things like mental health, sleeping problems, anxiety, etc.? Yeah, so this is another issue with the cannabis industry is, first of all, regulation is coming and it's coming soon.
• 7:05
  and increasing amounts. So the Food Standards Agency already passed new laws this year that all the manufacturers are having to keep up with. And it's very, it's good being a small brand because it's easier to pivot during those times, but it is killing off a lot of brands that can't afford to keep changing with all the new regulations that keep coming in, but they're very much needed. And in terms of the research, there is actually a huge amount of evidence already there
• 7:33
  But a lot of them are small scale trials because there hasn't been a huge influx of government funding into this due to the legal status. But what these trials can do is they can wave a flag to be sort of say, look how much potential is here. This is funding. Why isn't it definite? And we see in places like the states that it's struggling with funding because
• 7:57
  Cannabis is still schedule one there, which is limiting science, limiting what science can do. And that's part of the social and political issues around cannabis is, in the words of David Nutt, it's a crime in a way, because there are a lot of conditions that could be treated with cannabis that still aren't because the science is being limited. And he believes that it will bring new paradigms into healthcare, which is why it's so important.
• 8:26
  Wow, that's so interesting. And so you were learning this when you were studying at Imperial and then what was the lightbulb moment when you thought, yep, I'm going to start a brand and I'm going to take on this seemingly huge challenge to be part of an industry that's disrupting people's wellness and general mental health and things? I think the moment was just when I left.
• 8:54
  university because I'd actually been training to be a doctor and it was one of those things where I was never really sure if it was for me and if I was a bit of a round peg in a square hole square peg in a round hole and I was still figuring out what I wanted to do with my life and if I had the personality for it and I'd I think I'd always wanted to go into business because
• 9:21
  It's creative and it's innovative. And that's what I really crave. So I left after my BSD and I knew that I wanted to get into startups straight away. And I started working for a startup and also doing mine on the side.
• 9:37
  Amazing. And so launching a brand, a CBD brand, does it require a lot of capital to get started? How does it actually work? Are you going and developing formulations or something in a lab? What's the process? And especially for anyone listening who's really interested in the industry and might be thinking, oh, I want to do, you know,
• 9:59
  CBD infused gummies and other mood enhancers or something like that how would they go about getting started and and where to look and who to talk to yes I think the thing I realized about business in general is you can always find a way to start something to tailor your budget but generally speaking I think things are always much more expensive than people realize and I've definitely
• 10:28
  been taken on a very long learning process in terms of budgeting and financing and figuring it all out as I go along. But so with my brand, it's got angel investment. So we have that capital there for it. And we looked at different types of manufacturing. If you want to go down a more expensive route that has larger margins, you can use a private labeler. And that's where you'll get a custom formula. Everything is done from scratch.
• 10:58
  They're usually not very transparent with their prices is what I've found. So you'll ask them at the beginning, how much can I expect to spend if I work with you? And no one will tell you. And that's what I find the most frustrating is you've got to give it a go to find out what they're going to charge you. And then eventually they'll say something like, oh, by the way, the minimum order with us for this product due to these ingredients is going to be $10.
• 11:23
  1,500 units per product, but they're not very good at being upfront about that from the beginning. So that's with private labelers generally. And then the other option, which is cheaper, if you can, white label products. So it's a pretty set formula. Your products won't be very different. But if you can find high quality, then maybe that's an okay way to start, especially if you haven't done it before. And then minimum orders tend to be less
• 11:54
  Right. And I want to move on to the manufacturing process in just a minute to find out where you even manufacture this kind of thing. And are there plantations that you have to go and work with or however that side of things work? But before that, I want to go on to a point that you mentioned to me.
• 12:10
  earlier when we were chatting on email that it's quite difficult for you to get or not you specifically but it's difficult to get funding in the industry and you mentioned the SEIS funding isn't available for high-risk spaces like CBD and for those who are listening the SEIS I've just forgotten what it stands for and I do know what it is but if you can also let us know what that is.
• 12:34
  Well, the SEIS, I can't remember what it stands for either. You know, I actually, a few years ago, I was, I'm going to Google it quickly. I was on a tech panel speaking about Australian businesses coming over to the UK. Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme. There we go.
• 12:50
  As soon as they told me my industry wasn't viable, I kind of stopped looking into them. So I don't know too much about them anymore. Right, right, right. And is that why you then have to focus on getting the angel funding to begin with? Because you're not able to get any help from the government? Yeah, it is more, it is probably more difficult because being classed as a high risk industry, you've got to find people that are willing to go for high risk. But yeah.
• 13:20
  the way you can swing it is especially now is high risk industries also tend to be more recession proof, funnily enough. So the recession proof industries are cannabis, alcohol, gambling and pornography. Yeah, so I mean, there's always different stances you can take. But being high risk, it causes issues with funding and
• 13:48
  payment providers and advertising. So there's definitely a lot more complexity to it. And I think that cannabis is one of those things that won't always be high risk because I do see it becoming fully legalised. It's just that because it hasn't yet, it's still in that bracket. What does it mean? This is probably another really silly question, but what does it even mean to be high risk? High risk, I think, in a sense, just means
• 14:16
  getting around just how many regulations there are in order to survive in the industry. Like it's much more highly regulated than others. Got it, got it, got it, got it. And so for you, when you started the brand, did you have to jump through a lot of hoops then to be able to even launch it, for example? Yeah, so the first thing that we had to jump through was Shopify payment provider wouldn't support the product.
• 14:46
  And a lot of the standard payment providers won't support CBD because it comes from cannabis and cannabis still has this issue around it. So is that like PayPal and Stripe and those kind of providers? Yeah, all of them. All of them. So we had to find Dutch and Canadian payment providers. And then you've got to go through the long process of doing all the paperwork to get registered with those.
• 15:15
  But once you are done with them, then great, you can start accepting payments. And we also accept things like Bitcoin. Cool. Crypto is definitely an interesting space. It's kind of a people's currency in a way. So those two, we got sorted. And then the other thing we had to jump through is the no paid advertising and paid channels of marketing. Yeah.
• 15:41
  I think there are more indirect ways of doing it, but it's definitely complicated. Things like Facebook just won't allow CBD at all. So it's a lot of organic traffic instead. And then the other hoop to jump through is probably public perception, although I think that's getting better. And then just keeping up to date with the regulations that are going to start coming in, because it will be much more highly regulated than it is, as we mentioned.
• 16:10
  Yeah, yeah. I've heard that as of July next year, I think it was, that something's going to significantly change and brands who aren't, I don't know what the terminology is, registered will be not able to sell here anymore, for example. Yeah, that's what the Food Standards Agency introduced this year. Oh, it's this year. Oh, yeah, because I actually heard about it last year. Yeah, the product has to be registered by next year, I think. Yeah. Yeah.
• 16:39
  So moving on to chat a little bit about the manufacturing process before we get into the marketing side of things. So where do you manufacture the products? Yeah, so they're all manufactured in the UK, but the hemp itself is grown in the United States and then the oil is extracted there and the oil comes over to the UK and then the products are made up here. And also just to mention, hemp comes from the cannabis plant
• 17:07
  And the difference between hemp and marijuana is that marijuana has high THC, low CBD, and hemp has high CBD, low THC. So from the same umbrella plant, but two very different plants. Wow. And did your factory or the place where you get it manufactured, did they find that plantation? Or did you have to go and find that as well and then take it to that manufacturer and be like, hey, I want to create CBD products?
• 17:36
  Yes, you can do it either way. But I found a manufacturer at a CBD expert. I went around and I spoke to a few different ones. And they already worked with this plantation. And the reason I liked my manufacturer was they were quite a small boutique team. And they were people that had genuinely started making CBD because they'd been using it for themselves and their friends and families before it kind of became a thing.
• 18:06
  So it was just the rapport and getting to know them. And that's how we ended up working together. And at that point, were you, this might be a really obvious question, but were you also using CBD and you could see the benefits for yourself for any particular reason? Yeah. So I started experimenting with CBD after I left university and I could definitely see the benefits in terms of,
• 18:33
  The modes of application, there are some that I like and some that I don't like. So personally, I don't particularly like the gummies for some reason. I like the tinctures. The oils and the tinctures are the kinds of products where you'll take it and you won't necessarily feel any effect, but you just notice the benefits when you stop using them. If you want to feel an effect straight away, I find that smoking it offers that benefit.
• 19:00
  the most obviously and that's because it's the most fire available root so you absorb it much, you absorb much more of it and you absorb it faster if you inhale it so my favourite way of smoking it is to blend it with some herbs and to smoke it that way or to dry vape the bud and you instantly get a really nice body high, not a head high but a body high if you do it that way so it's all about the preparation how you bake it and what effects you're looking for
• 19:30
  I recently just tried CBD oil for the first time because I was having, well, I do have problems sleeping and being like quite anxious during the day. And I ordered a product. I don't remember the actual name of it. Maybe it's called Sib Oil or something.
• 19:49
  And for me, what I've found, it's only been like a week that I've been taking or two weeks, maybe. And obviously, I don't notice a difference in the moment, but I haven't actually noticed a difference overall in general. And so I wonder, like, if you are starting out to experiment with those kind of products, how you're meant to navigate through what seems like hundreds of products. I didn't even know where to start, really. I had a bit of a recommendation from a friend, but I can't say that I've noticed anything.
• 20:20
  kind of worthwhile or okay yeah so the two things is navigating the products and then noticing things so with the navigating the product I definitely relate to that and I look so many different brands and have tried so many different groups of application in this process and
• 20:41
  You know, CBD is expensive, it's not cheap. So I understand that that's definitely an issue, but there are some core things to look for when it comes to differentiating what's a good brand and what's really not worth bothering with. And I'd say the first thing is look for third party lab test certificates. So that means a laboratory that's not associated with the company has tested the ingredients to certify that it contains what it says it contains and that it's high quality, essentially.
• 21:11
  That's the first thing. The second thing is, I'd say opts for a full spectrum over an isolate. So the good thing about a full spectrum CBD is it contains all the other molecules of the plant. And even though it's not officially proven yet, it's believed that those molecules act synergistically to strengthen the effect. So they liken it to, say, taking a vitamin C supplement where it can take vitamin C on its own.
• 21:38
  It's not the same as if you eat it in an orange and it's got all the other factors that help that be absorbed and used properly in the body. And then the other thing is you want to make sure that it's very bioavailable. So, as I mentioned, the highest bioavailability is smoking. The second highest is the oils. You've got to put it under your tongue. And then the third highest or kind of the lowest is edibles.
• 22:08
  And they all have their pros and cons. Smoking, even though you absorb more of it, it doesn't last as long. Eating, you absorb less of it, so you get longer-term effects. And the other thing is to check the concentration in milligrams. Some products don't even lift the concentration in milligrams, which means that they probably contain next to nothing. A good starting dose, if you haven't taken it before, they tend to say...
• 22:36
  You'll buy a 300 milligram concentration and take one or two pipettes a day under the tongue. And yeah, it is a lot about getting to know your body and finding out what works for you. Yeah. And I think in terms of seeing the effects, I think it's also not necessarily just about the effects. So there's this doctor called Dr. Ethan Russo who sits on the board of American Cannabinoid Medicine.
• 23:06
  And one of the things that he said is we need to start to redefine cannabis as something that's not just for medical use and not just for recreational use, but which can be taken as a health supplement in a way. And it's all about reachieving homeostasis in the endocannabinoid system. You know, if you take a multivitamin, you're not necessarily going to feel the effect, but you know there are benefits to taking it. Yeah.
• 23:32
  Yeah, I guess that's a good way to think about it. Like it's taking a vitamin and you've just got to keep it, keep taking it consistently and over a period of time to kind of reap the benefits. Yeah, that's how I feel and that's why I take it.
• 23:48
  And so, okay, so let's go back to the beginning of when you were launching the brand, you're working on the product, you get to the point where you're like, okay, I've got the product that I want to sell. How do you actually launch it knowing that there's the difficulties to marketing? And how do you find your first customers? Yeah, so in terms of actually launching it, we just,
• 24:14
  launched the site, made it live, and then started promoting it on Instagram and working with bloggers, doing podcasts. And yeah, obviously I was surprised, well not surprised, but you're kind of, yeah, you are kind of surprised when you start getting the first customers that you don't know who come and buy your products. You're like, where did you come from? It's nice to see you here. Yeah.
• 24:40
  And I asked some of them as well. I was like, can I just ask how you found the brand? And how did they come across the brand? Yeah, and so quite a few of them are either from word of mouth or from collaborations that we've done, especially around Christmas. We did a lot of gift guides with a few little brands and bloggers, and they came through there, and others were buying gifts for their friends. So it's definitely the organic growth.
• 25:07
  part is definitely more rewarding in that sense I feel and so because you're not able to do any are you able to do paid advertising at all if it's not talking about CBD like what how does it work or is it because your brand is in the CBD space no matter what you can't do any advertising that's paid
• 25:29
  Yeah, so I've tried many different things and I'm scared to get my account banned. So there's a limit to how much I'll try and push it. But technically, if you're a CBD account, it's very hard to do paid advertising. And even in some posts where I've not mentioned CBD at all, the advert, if it does manage to run, will be stopped prematurely or halfway through. So I do find...
• 25:57
  collaborations and using bloggers is a much better way of doing that and getting around that. And do you also wholesale the brand to retailers or are you just direct to consumer online? Yeah, so we also work with retailers and distribution. And it's nice to work with retailers that are themselves sort of
• 26:22
  values driven and have a story. We work with like a vegan cafe in Hackney, a float center in Battersea. There's an online shop called the Enlightenment Pothigree. And it's just little boutiques like that at the moment. Yeah. And I guess that all helps to build the credibility of the brand when you're stuck with these different kind of retailers and exposed to their audience. Yeah. And it's nice that we have similar sort of
• 26:51
  values and missions behind what we're doing. So it's good to work with like-minded companies like that and share a like-minded audience. Yeah, absolutely. And so during this time, obviously, with the COVID-19 pandemic going on, have you seen a shift in like buying behaviour? I imagine people would be buying more, no? Yeah, I mean, we still sold the most,
• 27:21
  over Christmas compared to now. And I think that might be because a few of our products are more tailored to gifting. Like the candle? So we're hoping to bring out a few more this year. Yeah, like the candle. The candle sounds so good. Do you want to tell our listeners about that product? Yeah, so the candle is 100% natural. It doesn't contain wax. It's got a shea butter base and it's infused with CBD.
• 27:50
  And when you like it, it melts and you can score it on your skin, which I really love for the multi, quite unique, but that is definitely the most popular guess, um, and people are still buying and I've done some pieces on my blog about trying to stay optimistic. If you're a startup in a recession and ways to navigate this period as an SME or medium enterprise, um, it's that there's definitely a workaround, so.
• 28:21
  definitely is an interesting time to be running and starting companies. But I don't think it should put people off. What have you been doing specifically as like your workaround to innovate during this time and keep motivated? Yeah, well, so not that much has changed for us really, if I'm totally honest, possibly because of the space we're in and the fact that we are in SME. But...
• 28:50
  in the piece I write about reasons to stay optimistic. I think a lot of people think, oh, I really want to start a company, but a recession is a bad time. But a lot of great companies launched during recession. And that is because there are upsides, like there being, for example, you can get things cheaper, products and neighbors cheaper. And, you know, if you can, even though investment may be harder to come by, if you can earn
• 29:19
  money through customers and revenue, then you're in a much better position to keep going and take off when the economy recovers. So, yeah, I definitely don't think it should put people off. And for you with the brand, do you have to keep going through new rounds of funding to be able to scale and grow? Or now are you able to kind of move forward without taking on more funding? Yeah, so that was one of the annoying things.
• 29:48
  Like for many businesses during this whole process, we were fundraising and we were getting new ramps of investment, which would have helped us to grow. And that obviously stopped due to COVID. So now it's really just management and community growth, because growth is guaranteed to be slower without outside investment. That just is kind of how it works. But.
• 30:13
  it is very rewarding to grow through revenue. So even though it's lower, I think it's a good place to be. And you obviously don't have to give away equity that way, but it takes patience and persistence. Yeah, absolutely. Do you think that you'll have to still get funding after this all kind of dies down or will you try and go without? Yeah, I mean, that's something that I've kind of been sitting on and thinking about a lot. And that's one of the things
• 30:41
  we've had to think about in terms of pivoting is what do I actually want from the business? Do I want this to be a small self-sustaining thing that's a lifestyle business? Or do I want to grow this and sell it? And I read this book called Company of One. I think it was by Paul Jarvis. And it's sort of the title is kind of why staying small is the new big. And it's all the benefits of staying small and being self-sustaining and not giving away equity and having an annual return tax. But as one person, do you really need more than that?
• 31:11
  I think we could go either way and that is the beauty of the brand and I'm just keeping it open to either option. But I think I'm happy with both. Yeah, it's an interesting one that I've also spoken to a lot of women about and also just people in the industry in general. It's like, do you want to take on money and potentially you have to then answer to other people? Your life really changes. You can't do as you please.
• 31:36
  um but you have the opportunity to grow this brand like exponentially globally much yeah much bigger probably than if you were to well not necessarily much bigger but it would be faster growth like you said um or do you keep it a business that you can build the lifestyle that you really dream of and yeah that is a dilemma every entrepreneur faces I think and you know they say that
• 32:05
  doing a deal with a VC is like making a deal with the devil. Yeah. If I did go down that route, I would definitely prefer angel investment to VC investment for those reasons. But like I said, open to seeing what happens. Yeah. Going with the flow and seeing what opportunities come forward. And do you think that your brand will expand its product range? Have you looked into what else you might bring to life?
• 32:31
  Yeah, so that was one of the things I've been looking at over this period as well, is do I want to stock other CBD brands and do I want to stock non-CBD products? And I've been thinking about it. I think non-CBD products would help us promote in terms of paid marketing without having CBD products themselves as the advert. But I obviously only want to work with brands that,
• 32:59
  have an aligned mission and value system which is um sort of the triple bottom line like people fan it and profit not profit at the expense of everything else which is kind of why we're in the mess that we're in in the first place um and i also looked at other cbd brands and i don't think that i would work with anything unless it's drastically different to what i can offer there are a few american brands that i've looked at that i really like um and i love the herbal buds
• 33:28
  and smoking the buds, but those are much harder here legally at the minute. So I hope to offer those in future, but not just yet. Wow. And usually I ask the women that I'm speaking to six questions, but before I do that, I ask the question of what advice would you give to someone who is wanting to start a brand either in the CBD space or in what they would call a high-risk category in general? Mm-hmm.
• 33:58
  Yeah, I think the first thing is to probably think about how much you want it and why you want it. Because if you really believe in what you're doing, obstacles don't really matter. And I would also say research and plan to an extent, but at the same time, there is only so much you can plan. So as long as you know you want it, kind of believe that there's a will, there's a way, and you'll just face each obstacle as it comes.
• 34:28
  So great. Thank you so much. I'm going to start with the six quick questions now. Number one is, what's your why? So my why in terms of getting into CBD is I really believe in changing the perceptions about the damage that the war on drugs have caused, more integrative approaches to health that are more holistic, and generally sort of the
• 34:56
  Cannabis, psychedelic space is a movement that I really believe in and building a brand with purpose and ethics behind it. My wife steps me up in the morning. That's really nice. Number two is what's the number one marketing thing that you've done that you saw kind of crazy results from? And I guess that's a harder one for you because you haven't done things like paid marketing. So it's quite interesting. Yeah.
• 35:24
  Although even if we had paid, I think I'd probably still say collaborations are much more beneficial because you're working with other brands that are similar to you, other brands or other people that agree with what you're doing and recommend it because they believe in it, not because they're necessarily paid to do it.
• 35:45
  So yeah, I think it's all about collaboration of the competition. Is there one collaboration in particular that stands out that made quite a big impact? Yeah, the thing I was surprised about was when I was looking at collaborating with blogs, I thought that the bigger the following and the bigger the blog, the more results. And I found that that's not the case. It's actually...
• 36:13
  From my personal experience, the niche ones that have a small but targeted market that are actually really effective. So niche brands and bloggers, I think, are definitely a nice way to go. It's like a grassroots movement. Number three is where do you hang out to get smarter? I used to go to a lot of Eventbrite events. I'm definitely an event addict.
• 36:42
  places like General Assembly, Google Campus, whatever's on, I'll find it. So it's been a very big routine change to go from doing something every day to doing nothing in terms of events. What kind of events would you go to? There'll be things for upskilling, like General Assembly. They do a lot of talks on digital marketing or...
• 37:06
  They actually do something called the Wellness Exchange where you can meet buyers from like self-sages and things. So that's always a nice way to meet other brands in the space or to learn new skills and debt tips. Wow, that's a great one, the Wellness Exchange. I'm definitely going to look that up. That's so cool. Number four is how do you win the day? And that's specifically around your AM and PM rituals. I'll be surprised if CBD is not in there.
• 37:32
  Yeah, I think the two biggest things that help me with the day are CBD, obviously, but also keeping a gratitude diary. Because sometimes you just go through the rollercoaster of emotions and there's not necessarily any reason why. I think every emotion just kind of has its time to feature.
• 37:58
  And gratitude always helps me fit out whatever it is that decided to take the stage. Is there one that you recommend in particular? Yeah, there's an app called The Gratitude App. And the icon's a little bit better, but I just really like that one because it's clean and simple and easy. And some days I also just click through all my past entries and it's time instantly just transforms.
• 38:25
  Because we have such propensity to focus on all the problems and all the things we don't have. And just doing that one small thing just changes your whole outlook in that moment. So it's really nice. I'm going to download it. Download it straight away. If you only had $1,000 left in your business bank account, where would you spend it? I think I would probably spend it on whatever I could do to refine the products.
• 38:53
  I think it's all about starting with the basics and having good stuff in the store. And the last question is how do you deal with failure? And it can be a specific example or just your general mindset and your general approach. Yeah, so in terms of failure, from my personal experience, I think no matter what, in the moment that it happens, it's always painful.
• 39:18
  But it's telling yourself in that moment that you will 100% guarantee see this differently in time. And so that's what I did, just kind of sat it out, waited, felt the pain. And then eventually you do look back and realize just how much that failure gave you. But it's only ever really with hindsight. So in the moment, it's just telling yourself to wait.
• 39:44
  is what I find helpful. Thank you so much. I also just thought of one more question that I wanted to know personally. What would you, and I'm sure everyone else would also want to know, what would you recommend as like a newbie beginner product to buy from your site? Like what's the, is it best to start with the candle or is it best to start with the oil? Like how do you get started? Yeah, I think depending on what you want. So if you want like a nice gift or a nice
• 40:13
  self-care products and the candles great and if you want to start cooking in the kitchen and experimenting with CBD in food then the elixir is a good choice and we have a free recipe book on our website for that as well and if you want to start with a daily supplement and just start a regime where you take one to two drops a day then it's the multivitamin that I'd go for yeah fab where can people find you personally and also the brand
• 40:43
  So personally, I'm Nia Far Away, N-I-A, and then Far Away. And the brand is Eugenial, so Y-U-G-E-N-I-A-L. Amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time to share about this very interesting and innovative space that we all need to learn more about, I think. I've really enjoyed talking to you. Me too. Thanks so much for having me.
• 41:13
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 41:37
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 42:00
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.
• 42:17
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 42:41
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 43:04
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.