Host Jennifer Sutton speaks with LeiLani Kopp, founder of Sweet LeiLani Cosmetics, about her unexpected journey into entrepreneurship. LeiLani shares her experiences in the beauty industry, the challenges she faced, and the importance of authenticity and community support. She emphasizes the need for clean cosmetics and the financial realities of running a business. The conversation also touches on transformative moments in her journey and her aspirations for the future, particularly in e-commerce.
Key Takeaways
🚀 Take the First Step
The key is to take that first step, no matter how small. Progress is all about moving forward.
💰 Know Your Numbers
“Know your numbers.” Financial literacy is essential for making smart business decisions.
🌟 Embrace Your Journey
Paths can be shaped by passion and experiences. Staying true to your mission can lead to unexpected, meaningful opportunities.
Timestamps
03:09 From Passion to Purpose: Building a Brand
06:23 Defining Beauty: A Holistic Approach
09:05 The Power of Resilience and Community
12:10 Navigating Challenges: The Reality of Entrepreneurship
15:14 The Importance of Transparency in Beauty
18:21 Aha Moments: Transformative Experiences in Business
21:40 The Creative Spark: A Journey into Makeup Artistry
23:53 E-commerce Evolution: Adapting to a Changing Market|
25:08 Celebrating Success: Future Goals and Aspirations
27:35 Taking the First Step: Overcoming Challenges as a Founder
29:34 Navigating the Business Landscape: Research and Preparation
32:27 Know Your Numbers: Financial Literacy for Entrepreneurs
35:26 Relationships and Growth: The Importance of Self-Reflection
39:37 Connecting with the Community: Outreach and Support
Connect with LeiLani:
Website: https://us.sweetleilani.com/?shpxid=41b99299-9c40-405e-ac15-30cce89d398c
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leilani-kopp-aa378525/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetleilanicosmetics/
Twitter: https://x.com/SweetLeiLaniCos
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (00:02.426)
Welcome to Hello Chaos, the weekly podcast exploring the messy and chaotic lives and minds of entrepreneurs, innovators and founders. Today we have LeiLani Kopp. She is the founder and formulator of Sweet LeiLani Cosmetics. Welcome, welcome to Hello Chaos. I am so excited to hear about your journey and I know you're gonna give us some really good tips and insights because
LeiLani (00:22.536)
Thank you.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (00:31.908)
You kind of like got into this, into the foundership and ownership and have just exploded. So why don't you just start us out and tell us about your founder journey. What inspired you to start your own company?
LeiLani (00:47.278)
Wow, okay. I never set out to have a company. I had no business background. I'm a hair and makeup designer in film and TV. But film and TV focused on glamour. And I spent a year in LA working with some pretty big celebrities and I loved it. That's all I wanted to do was become a special effects makeup artist and work in Hollywood. But coming back to Vancouver,
I realized that it was really difficult to break into the film industry here. We were just starting out. were starting to be called Hollywood North.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (01:26.204)
Guess what it's like in the Hollywood North. It's, yeah, all the.
LeiLani (01:29.562)
Yeah, yeah. So I thought, okay, well, I've got to get another job so that I can work my way up into the union here. And I thought, well, I'd love to go work in funeral homes, making loved ones look really great because I had my grandma when she passed away at 16. And I thought, if I can do my grandma, I can do anyone. So went around to the funeral homes, but at that time you had to become an embalmer. And I wasn't ready to sign up for that job.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (01:49.657)
Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (01:56.795)
Yeah
LeiLani (01:59.418)
So again, while I was waitressing trying to get into the union, I started working with the Look Good Feel Better program up here in Vancouver. It's for cancer patients undergoing treatment. And I found that a lot of them came up to me and said, would you do this privately? So I started styling wigs out of a bedroom. I was already doing wigs for stunt drivers. And then they wanted help with makeup. And I had kit loads of makeup, but it was full of gunk. It was full of chemicals.
just didn't work for post-op sensitive allergic skin. And so I always say to myself, what were the first two mistakes that I made? And it was like, how hard can it be to create a product and how hard it be to take it to market? And it was very hard. I sort of went down a rabbit hole researching ingredients, good and bad. I came up with a skincare cover stick. I was selling that in the film industry, was selling it to cancer patients.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (02:40.783)
Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (02:49.221)
Yeah.
LeiLani (02:57.608)
And then I became certified as a paramedical corrective makeup artist and tattooist. And I started my program called Face the Future where everything was free of charge. And we styled wigs and I did corrective makeup and I tattooed areolas on after breast reconstruction. So by this time, I had a lot of surgeons referring patients to me and I thought, wow, if there's this many people undergoing cancer, what about everyone who's been burned or scarred?
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (03:07.675)
Wow.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (03:22.98)
Yeah. And is this all happening in the Vancouver market? Just in that local market? So you hadn't really even expanded to a wider spread market. That is amazing. OK.
LeiLani (03:28.53)
Mm-hmm.
LeiLani (03:33.401)
No, no.
LeiLani (03:39.452)
No, and I only had the one product. was selling it to the other makeup artists and I was selling it to cancer patients. But now I was getting in, I was going around to plastic surgeons, the burn and trauma unit, and surgeons were sending me patients that literally had been in tragic, horrific accidents, fires, you name it. And I realized quite quickly I needed more products. So that's when I created the rest of the line and then realized quickly that I needed another outlet to sell this.
in. So I ended up in drug grocery, health food stores across Canada.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (04:16.508)
Wow. How did you break into that? Did you know somebody? Did someone refer you? The commercialization is some of the hardest part to get on the shelves is such a challenge. How did you break into that?
LeiLani (04:24.742)
No.
no.
LeiLani (04:34.418)
You know, I did everything all over the map because I didn't have a clue, but I knew that there was a need for it. And so I went to one of our local grocery outlets that he really, he was a big name locally and he was a philanthropist and he believed in small business. So I went to him first and he test marketed me in about three stores, six stores, nine stores.
And then people, other buyers started seeing us in this bigger grocery store. so they started coming to us, which was really nice. I mean, that created a whole other can of worms with display fixtures and listing fees.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (05:19.952)
Right. Well, also it's like then the manufacturing of the inventory and the supply. So was that, what was the, did you have like a product name for just that one, or is it just, that's how LeiLani started and it was just like LeiLani like cover stick or something, or did you have a name?
LeiLani (05:40.456)
Yeah.
It was called, I called it skin care cover because it covers literally everything in anything. It was like a second skin. Men could wear it for facial scarring. It's waterproof, sweat proof. But when I created the line, I wanted to have some fun with it. That was when all the big companies were, I don't know, all the names were Rose, Amber, Beige, Olive. And I just wanted to have some fun. My name means, Sweetly Loni means heavenly flower. So hence our logo. And I wanted to have fun.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (05:44.07)
Okay.
LeiLani (06:11.706)
We named everything Hawaiian names and just did what we want. I did everything the way I wanted. mean, you know, we're very sustainable. We have recycled sugar cane tubes and biodegradable cardstock packaging. And I remember back in the day, you know, printers and people would be like, that's not going to fly like that.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (06:18.917)
Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (06:33.093)
Right, right.
LeiLani (06:34.932)
And, but I knew that there was a niche. were bombarded with superficial standards. And now I'm on a mission to redefine what beauty means because it's, it's, need to take a holistic approach to it for our well-being inside and outside, right?
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (06:50.159)
Yeah.
right, be very conscious of what we put not just in our bodies but also on our skin and yeah absolutely. So when you I mean like you went from zero of knowing you not having a business kind of corporate knowledge and just kind of went into this very competitive industry and feel and got on got on shelves you know got you know commercial.
LeiLani (07:00.144)
Yes.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (07:21.532)
recognition. What did you discover about yourself in this journey? I mean is there anything that like really surprised you of like wow look you know I really learned something about myself.
LeiLani (07:36.768)
I think that came later. Back then I was so naive. I was so young and I didn't have a clue. I was just, you know, but what kept me going was I had like husbands that were crying and hugging me and saying, you don't know what you've done to my wife. She'll go out in public again. And I don't want to exploit that anybody in any way, shape or form has to wear makeup. You know, it's not about that. It's that these
these women and men, they came to me and they needed to really get on with their lives and they just needed a little bit of hope and help and you know just so that they could get up and feel good because you know what it's like. We have a bad hair day and that sounds so horrible but that's just life, right?
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (08:28.708)
Yeah, yeah, people have to feel, you know, it's more about feeling comfortable and confident. Well, if you, okay, so I'm ask my big question. If you had to sum up your journey in one word, what would that word be?
LeiLani (08:34.738)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
LeiLani (08:46.376)
ballsy. Yeah. Because that's what I know. always say, when they say what's one piece of advice and you you're speaking to women and I say, we need some lady balls. We do. We do.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (08:47.203)
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (08:53.67)
That's such a great word, by the way. Like, Taylor's over here going, yes, yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (09:08.912)
Yeah. We call it the baller energy. Or as I was just talking to another female founder, I'm a coach in the entrepreneurial community here and in the minority business sector. so I get two or three people every year, like a spring, summer, fall.
LeiLani (09:14.693)
I'm
LeiLani (09:29.224)
Wow.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (09:36.98)
That I that I keep but one of them she's so funny. I mean she started her company three years ago I mean she has just crushed it. It's in an it's in the environmental space and She's now she's gotten By people coming out of the woodwork competitors who are like I want to I want to buy you and and You know and one is like I just want to remove you from the playing field like
LeiLani (09:48.488)
Mm-hmm.
LeiLani (09:59.004)
Hello? Hello?
LeiLani (10:04.348)
Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (10:05.052)
And the other two are you know in talks of like no no we like what you're doing We want you to actually we not just want to acquire you We want you to come on board to our company and help us grow and scale But she's like my god. I never thought in a million years so she goes how do I approach? You know it's all new. It's a you know what a Wonderful time you know life experience of having that but she was
John, how do I get prepped for these meetings? Like, what do I ask? What should I share? So as we were going through, I said, well, I know you're a big Yellowstone TV. She loves Yellowstone. I was like, you can't say big dick energy, right? The BDE. But I was like, you can be the Beth Dutton energy. I don't know if you're familiar with the show, but she's like the most ballsy female business person. Like, she takes no prisoners.
LeiLani (10:48.988)
Yeah.
LeiLani (10:54.765)
I love it.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (11:00.58)
She is fearless when she goes on a board room, fearless in negotiations. And so that's why I was like, you need to embrace that BDE. instead of the big dick, we're Beth Dutton. It's the Beth Dutton energy. yeah. But Chandler and I were talking about, we do, we need to have some baller. We need to have more females with that confidence, for sure. Yeah.
LeiLani (11:03.89)
Bye.
LeiLani (11:12.52)
you
Exactly.
LeiLani (11:27.866)
I love it. Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (11:29.916)
So I love your word. And I want say we've done about 1,000 of these, talked to founders from all over. We've never had a repeat word. And so I love here, that's why I've loved asking it. And we're getting more and more unique words. We already had the intentionals and the purposeful and the.
LeiLani (11:39.504)
Wow. that's cool.
LeiLani (11:54.789)
Right.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (11:55.695)
You know, is serendipitous. We've had accidental, you know, we've had risk taking, like all sorts of words, but I love ballsy. That's a good one. That might be the topic of this episode.
LeiLani (11:58.888)
Thank
LeiLani (12:06.024)
I'm going go
LeiLani (12:11.976)
The word of the day is...
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (12:14.118)
The word of the day, ballsy. I love it. Well, you kind of talked about things that have been really rewarding in your journey, the stories, the impact that you've had. Has that been the most rewarding aspect, or are there other rewarding things that have happened in your journey?
LeiLani (12:34.34)
I think that that's the most rewarding. mean, that's what's kept me humble. That's what's kept me going. That is the core of my brand, is the core of who I am. You know, I was always told it's never going to fly. It's all glitz and glamour, makeup, you know. But I was speaking on a podcast the other day and I just said that I had to learn to stay in my own lane and stay true to why I started the
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (13:00.677)
Yeah.
LeiLani (13:04.324)
And that's why I'm still alive in this huge competitive field. Is because, and I think I was a little ahead of the curve back then, even know what clean beauty, cruelty free,
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (13:13.094)
Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (13:18.011)
That's right, because that's all just taking a surge. Just in the last what, two, three years maybe? Five? Like, yeah.
LeiLani (13:25.19)
Yeah, yeah, exactly. So, yeah, I just have to one foot in front of the other, stay in my lane.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (13:33.382)
That's right. But stay true to the vision. I own a marketing company. my founder's story is I started that back in 2013, but spending 25 years on the agency side working for big brands at big agencies. And I think that's the biggest piece of advice that we always had. If you're a startup or a scale-up company, one, know your vision. Know your impact.
Really, not just as a founder, but what's your brands why? Because that will help drive your message. But it's amazing that a lot of companies and lot of founders don't know that. They haven't discovered that. And so we kind of help coach them through that. But then it's.
LeiLani (14:06.962)
Mm-hmm.
LeiLani (14:17.704)
Hmm.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (14:25.404)
They get lost. Like if they have been in it for five or 10 or 15 years and then they come and go, I'm not growing. It's like, well, this is my vision. And it's like, well, you have strayed from that. Like, let's talk about it. Is it time to pivot? Or is it just because they've chased competitors and not really been true to themselves? So yeah, you're right. Stay on path.
LeiLani (14:35.058)
Mm-hmm.
LeiLani (14:48.668)
Yeah.
LeiLani (14:52.888)
And you know, it was easy to deviate and when we were working with drugstores that every, you know, spring, fall, summer, they wanted new stuff, new stuff, new stuff. New shadows, new this, new that. And it got to a point where I was like, okay, this is not why I started. I excel in clean complexion products that are pure potent and, you know, full of skincare. And you can go get eye shadows and lipsticks everywhere.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (15:02.824)
yeah.
LeiLani (15:22.474)
I'm here to help with all kinds of skin conditions, whether you've been burned or scarred or you have acne, you know? And now my mission is more about the clean because of what it's doing to our hormones, what it's doing to kids going through puberty, women trying to have babies with their reproductive system. I'm in menopause and my body's already going through major havoc. Why do I want to disrupt my hormones even more? So there's a whole other conversation.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (15:36.379)
pets.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (15:44.934)
Right?
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (15:51.94)
Yeah, yeah, you're right. And I think we're the category and I think we're bringing some of that out. But I don't know if it's I don't think it's even hit its peak yet. I think we're just starting to see the start. We're at that. We're at the the start of the bell curve. Right. We haven't really hit the peak of it yet because I've always been I mean, it's I grew up in a very organic natural.
LeiLani (15:52.308)
you
LeiLani (16:13.626)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (16:21.724)
I always tell people I was raised by hippies and it was always like look at the labels of, know, my lotions were always like pure vitamin E and all of that. it is kind of read the labels, but you forget about makeup. Like I think that's one area, it's like you just go and get the drugstore dupes or you you forget to look at like what you're putting on your face.
LeiLani (16:33.416)
Thank
LeiLani (16:46.482)
Mm-hmm.
LeiLani (16:51.656)
You do. You do.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (16:52.475)
and
LeiLani (16:53.594)
And you know what, as consumers, we have to be more savvy and we have to take more attention to these labels because what drives me nuts are these big companies that we don't know where you're getting their raw ingredients from. They're harming the animals there, but because in the lab they're not harming the animal, they can say they're cruelty-free or vegan. And it's just simply not true. So, you know, we need to start asking bigger questions and asking for transparency with all these companies.
companies.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (17:24.164)
Yeah, yeah. What's been the most challenging aspect? I mean, you've talked about the most rewarding aspect of being a founder and starting this. What do you feel like, I mean, you've had probably a lot of little mini learning how to get through this and go to commercial, you know, and all that. But what's the most challenging?
LeiLani (17:45.288)
think the most challenging always comes down to money. I've root strapped this company from day one. I don't have any partners. I don't have big advisory people sitting on a board. So it's been very challenging to navigate that because manufacturing takes a lot of money with inventory and minimums.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (18:09.5)
That's right. On the supply chain ingredients, of the packaging.
LeiLani (18:14.802)
So, yeah, so all of above.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (18:18.062)
All of the above. The cash flow, I think that's probably the hardest for a lot of it. It's just the investment and the money to do a lot of stuff. But then it's like, how do you manage that to grow? Well, do you think there's any myths or misperceptions out there of now that you started your company, that either you've heard and you're like, people, let me tell you.
LeiLani (18:23.549)
Mm-hmm.
LeiLani (18:31.332)
Exactly.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (18:47.547)
Or do you think there's anything out there that you've had to correct, either friends or family, or advice to other entrepreneurs? What would you say to that? How would you debunk anything?
LeiLani (19:02.165)
I think that it's always come down to educating people how these companies are walking a fine line. Like I said, it was a little ahead of the curve and so it was like people are like, meh, you know, yeah, okay, yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (19:17.541)
Yeah, that's not important. No one really cares about that. Yeah.
LeiLani (19:20.52)
It's not, yeah. And now, you know, people are really looking at what they're putting into their mouths. I mean, a celiac cannot wear makeup that has gluten because our skin is the largest organ. You're absorbing all of that. You know, these glitters in the eyeshadows are washing down our drains and the fish are eating the microbeads, microbeads, plastic beads from it. And then we're eating the fish. So it's in our food chain. So
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (19:35.323)
Yeah, yeah, I didn't even think about that.
LeiLani (19:50.192)
It's always been, I just trying to like the little engine that could, you know, educate. That's probably.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (19:55.109)
That's right.
Well, now they're paying attention because there's a market. The consumer is now paying attention. And so now it's like, OK, see, there's a market for that. What do you think has been, what was your breakthrough moment, your biggest aha?
LeiLani (20:01.85)
Exactly.
LeiLani (20:09.018)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
LeiLani (20:18.704)
I think when that the
husband hugged me crying because I was banging my head against the door with doctors. They were telling me it's just makeup these women needed to get on with their lives. But I was in the trenches working. I know, I know. And I saw what it was doing. Like I, you know, I've been around for decades. I see what makeup does to us on the outside. But over the years, it's how it's transformed these women and men on the inside. It was more than makeup, it was therapy. And when
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (20:34.19)
ugh.
LeiLani (20:54.474)
that husband hugged me crying and was like, my God, have to keep, I have to keep doing this. I have to, can't, you know, because there was times where I was like, okay, this is flogging a dead horse here, yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (21:02.053)
Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (21:07.471)
Yeah, should I just go back to?
Yeah. Do you think there's a moment from your past like experience that really shaped who you are today as a founder, a business leader?
LeiLani (21:28.592)
I think it was doing my grandma's hair and makeup when I was, I had just turned 16. And I had always wanted to be a makeup artist and I had always done her hair and her makeup. And yeah, when we were in the funeral home, I don't know who would have fallen off their chair first, the funeral guy or my mom, like they were just like, what? No.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (21:34.745)
that. I can't even imagine that.
LeiLani (21:53.84)
And I remember walking out of there going like, I know what I'm going to do. Like, I know exactly. I'm going to somehow help with, you know, I was never book smart, but I was very creative. So I always try to use my skills to help, you know? So,
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (22:15.471)
Make an impact. Yeah. Well, you've had some incredible experience. What do you think our listeners would be most surprised to learn about you or to know about you?
LeiLani (22:32.438)
I'm probably the least
I'm like the lowest maintenance person around. You'll never even probably find me with lipstick in my purse. It's hilarious. I don't like seven products to take off. That's why all my products are very multitasking. Like my cleanser is a body wash, face wash, makeup remover, shampoo and brush cleaner. You throw it in the shower and it's like done. to think that I'm in this industry, like I should be all like,
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (23:02.107)
You're like.
LeiLani (23:09.254)
glam and glitz but no I'm very low maintenance.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (23:09.915)
That's right.
You're like, no. You're like, no, the minimalist. It's like, well, think about Bobby Brown. She made an entire franchise off of minimalist. Minimalist. Or two, yeah, yeah. So yeah, you're just following. You're just following suit. All right, so if you could change two things about your business, moving ahead, like just.
LeiLani (23:20.456)
Mm-hmm.
LeiLani (23:25.646)
Exactly. Yep.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (23:41.68)
Snap of a finger if you could change two things about your business today, what would they be and why?
LeiLani (23:47.474)
Well, we're trying really hard to pivot to e-commerce. I feel like I'm balancing two companies. You know, I was pushed into that way during COVID. And yeah, but I mean, it is...
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (23:57.881)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Direct to consumer probably is an excellent path, absolutely.
LeiLani (24:05.18)
retail is a dying breed. So that's the biggest thing that we're working on on Next and building out that platform so we can reach more people. know, we do have a warehouse in the States as well as in Canada, so we are able to ship, you know, North America wide so far. But just, yeah, to broaden our reach and to educate.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (24:06.49)
Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (24:17.328)
Yeah.
LeiLani (24:32.4)
and redefine what beauty really should mean today.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (24:35.355)
Well, and also give people, a lot of people may not know these products exist and are accessible.
LeiLani (24:38.056)
Mm-hmm.
LeiLani (24:42.248)
Exactly. Yes. So thank you for your platform.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (24:45.293)
Yeah, absolutely. We'll get the word out. Okay, so, LeiLani, if we met a year from now, what will we be celebrating?
LeiLani (24:56.392)
We would be celebrating that our TikTok shop is doing absolutely incredible. That's what we're working on now, working with influencers. So I think that...
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (25:04.571)
Uh-huh.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (25:10.767)
Are you working with influencers today? Just starting, okay.
LeiLani (25:13.938)
We're just waiting for our tip-top shop. But yeah, we had to open a presence in the States to be able to open an actual shop. And then the influencers only work through the shop. So in a year, you will know my name. How about that in the US? All right.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (25:20.655)
Okay.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (25:31.388)
Very good, I love it. We'll be ready, we're gonna pop some champagne. I saw this, I don't know if it's floating around on the reels, TikTok and Instagram, I'm sure, like Chandler and I are both like scroll junkies. But it's a fantastic idea, I'm gonna do it with some friends of mine, but it's, you know, get a bottle of champagne or a wine, whatever you want to use, but everyone write like your goal for 2025.
and you write it on the bottle and you save it, you shelve it, and then you can then bring out next December or December 31st and see did you hit and then you can pop the champagne or open up the bottle of wine. But everybody kind of collectively, your friend groups and that way you can have a party of like did I hit the goal? Yeah.
LeiLani (26:12.402)
like.
LeiLani (26:17.167)
I love it.
LeiLani (26:24.324)
I love it. I'm going to do that. I love it.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (26:27.674)
And it kind of goes like, so a couple years ago, a friend of mine said, I don't know if that's like, it's like a Japanese tradition of, and there's a name for it, think like misoji or something like that, but it is every year you should have like, what is your defining year? Like you should have one that defines that year, whether that might be a goal that you put on the bottle of wine, but it should be something. So I've been trying to do that like, know.
LeiLani (26:49.575)
Okay.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (26:54.895)
What's gonna be the year-defining thing? That whatever big project or is it a big goal or is it something with the kids or family or whatever? But I was like, that can be what I put on my bottle for. And then do that, yeah. And then we should all come back on and go and do some group video or something and share. Did we hit it?
LeiLani (26:58.984)
Mm-hmm.
LeiLani (27:08.68)
Okay.
LeiLani (27:12.668)
Yeah. I'm going to do that. I'm going to do that. Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (27:24.028)
Or did we go, am I allowed to open it? Do I need to save it for the next? Chandler's like, Chandler's like, no, you need to open it. And just like, I did something else. So what do you think is the best piece of advice that you've ever received as a founder that you really took to heart and said, going to, like, I heard that I'm going to take that and you put it to use? Is there anything that comes to mind?
LeiLani (27:24.458)
Yeah. And then drone or.
LeiLani (27:35.154)
LeiLani (27:50.994)
take the first step. Doesn't matter what it is. Just take the first step. I like to work backwards. I like to have my end goal and then make notes backwards on, okay, what do I need to do? So almost like a tree, there branches out with little bullet forms of to do this, need this, this, this, to do this, did it. And then just move forward because as long as we're moving forward, we're moving forward, right?
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (27:53.701)
Just do it.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (28:07.439)
Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (28:18.117)
That's right. That's right.
LeiLani (28:20.176)
So take the first step. Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (28:21.679)
Take the first step. That is very good advice. What do you do when you get stuck? Like when you're taking that step, do you ever find yourself, you're like, I've hit a wall, I'm stuck. Do you have any tips or insights of like how do you get unstuck?
LeiLani (28:41.564)
Yes, you're going to get stuck over and over and over. But you know what? Now I just go plot twist like somebody or something is saying, nope, not going to work. So pivot, turn, make a left, make a right. Again, take a step somewhere. Change direction and take the step. Yeah, exactly.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (28:46.279)
A thousand times, yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (29:02.277)
Just move forward, just do something, yeah.
Is there, what's the, would that be your piece of advice that you would give to other founders or is there another like, look, this is my advice to you? Yeah, research, yeah.
LeiLani (29:22.3)
I have one other research, research, research, research. I think too many people jump in thinking it's so easy. How hard can it be? I did. Very hard. It's very hard.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (29:29.879)
yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (29:34.606)
It's hard. It's hard, yeah. Now do you think you would have done it if you did all the research?
LeiLani (29:44.516)
Yeah, you know what? don't know, honestly, because I had no business background. Probably not.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (29:49.689)
Yeah, but you know a lot of us don't have business. I grew up like in marketing and worked in corporations and I probably had a lot of, but I still didn't know how to run a business. I mean from an accounting perspective, I I came from media planning and buying, data analytics and brand strategy, not operations. I mean I was a part of
LeiLani (30:02.876)
Yeah.
LeiLani (30:10.854)
Yes. Yes.
LeiLani (30:17.5)
now.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (30:19.44)
those things as a manager and a director and stuff and in an organization. But I felt very, what I found myself, I felt very protected when, and I didn't realize when I started my company how vulnerable I am exposed and ill prepared when I thought I was.
LeiLani (30:33.298)
for
LeiLani (30:44.636)
Yes.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (30:46.381)
Surely, you know, I've been in agencies for 25 years. I've been in management. I've seen how they operate. I've seen billings. I've been a part of these discussions of like how to develop manuals and processes and systems. But then coming out on my own, one, I didn't realize how hard it would be to negotiate under my own brand versus kind of protected under somebody else's. And being
LeiLani (31:14.269)
Right.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (31:14.691)
truly 100 % accountable and responsible for everything. And people on my team, I would be responsible and accountable for their mistakes or, I don't really say mistakes, like their missteps, because they're all lessons that we learn. But yeah, that was like, that was shocking to me of how difficult I found myself in stumbling way more.
LeiLani (31:20.04)
Mm-hmm.
LeiLani (31:30.364)
Yes!
LeiLani (31:34.108)
You didn't have to sit down. Yeah.
LeiLani (31:43.12)
No.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (31:44.208)
than I ever thought I would stumble. No.
LeiLani (31:46.748)
Yeah, well you don't have that safety net. I think one last thing as well would be, my dad always said know your numbers. You don't need a big expensive accountant or anything, but have a bookkeeper in your back pocket from day one. That was the other thing I never did. I did everything on my own, but I did know to do it because my dad kept saying know your numbers, know your, and back then I'm aging myself, but you'd have those big ledger books and you'd get.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (31:59.386)
Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (32:07.547)
Right.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (32:11.193)
Yeah, that's right.
LeiLani (32:15.08)
But yeah, so know your numbers from day one because you can really get messed over if you don't know them.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (32:19.867)
That's right.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (32:24.732)
That's right. And if you do need help, this is why I started OrangeWIP as a media company that's here to serve founders and entrepreneurs but in affiliate markets, local, because I'm in the upstate of South Carolina. But I've got friends and founders in San Diego.
in Oakland and Indianapolis and Austin and I have talked to a lot of founders and clients that start ups. We started, we're starting like, we're all saying this, that we get lost in how to navigate in our local market. There are 80 some, 90 some resources just in Greenville's tiny. mean, compared to Vancouver, we're a tiny market. But there's 80, 90 resources.
Austin, Texas, there's like 300. Most of them are free resources for founders and entrepreneurs, startups and scale-ups that nobody knows how to navigate, where to go. You I had no idea what the small business development centers were in a market that could have, would have sat down with me and showed me and would have taught me just the terminology of.
LeiLani (33:35.314)
Hmm.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (33:50.095)
Yes, you might have a bookkeeper, but you still need to know your numbers and you need to understand how to read a statement. To be able to read your numbers and know what they mean. But there's, you know, like I've been a part of accelerators and incubators and, you know, start me courses. And that's when I started to formulate these little communities and go, my goodness, we are all.
LeiLani (33:50.354)
No.
LeiLani (33:57.276)
but of course,
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (34:16.592)
Some of us are really lost and we're thirsty for information. it's, but yeah, but every one of these courses, that's the very first thing they'll teach you is, or they'll tell you, you need to run your business by the numbers. You need to know your numbers. And you need to speak that language. I call it the language of business. Because when you go and you need money from a bank,
LeiLani (34:22.002)
Right.
LeiLani (34:39.922)
Mm-hmm.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (34:45.359)
they're gonna ask you about your numbers and your projections. So you need to be able to have that dialogue and be able to express what your vision is, but in terms of numbers, because that's what they want. But yeah, one of the best, just wanna, you talked about kind of know your numbers and then some of the advice.
LeiLani (34:47.819)
That's right.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (35:14.255)
The best piece of advice I've heard lately, like in the last few days, and it's really sunk in with me, and I shared it with the other female founder about Beth Dutton Energy or whatever, we're like, we need to bring that beady. She was like, I'm uncomfortable having these conversations because if I get acquired, especially the ones that want to acquire her,
and then bring her a part of her business. I said, look, it's forming a relationship. You're then going to go interview for this person like it's a job. So have the freedom to ask whatever you want because you can always just walk away. And she was like, well, how will I know when to walk away? And I said, well, you know about yourself because you talked about ships. I was like, a ship is.
LeiLani (35:58.536)
Braves, braves.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (36:09.299)
is takes you on a journey, gets you from a, it's taking you to a destination, wherever that is, it's your journey. So you need to be, you need to know what your journey is, what your vision is for yourself. You've gotta do some self-reflection. Are you ready to sell? Like, you know, do you want, or in the case of if people are looking for investors, a lot of times that's a risk of are you ready for not just the money, but with that money,
LeiLani (36:25.704)
Mm-hmm.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (36:39.451)
comes oversight, comes sometimes loss of decision making and authority. And especially as females too, we hear, I mean there is a larger percentage of females that get driven out of the company that they founded. More often than men, when they bring on.
LeiLani (36:43.218)
Yeah.
LeiLani (37:02.044)
We're not.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (37:04.987)
know, investors, that's just a risk. Or I would say females, but also minorities, just in general, we, know, it's a higher rate, I can't remember what the, but it's a higher rate of like, of we get removed from the business that we started. And, but I was like, you gotta know yourself. I was like, you think about a ship, it gets you, know, wherever your journey is. And so when you think of any ships in your life,
LeiLani (37:15.186)
Bye.
LeiLani (37:21.166)
Right.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (37:35.067)
your relationships, whether that's a peer ship, whether that is a partnership, like manufacture relationship, or retail relationship, any kind of real, any relationship you have in your life. If that ship no longer is moving you forward, moving you towards your destination, it's time to then abandon that ship. And I was like, that's good. I'm gonna have to note that.
LeiLani (37:37.33)
you
LeiLani (37:52.615)
Right.
LeiLani (38:02.638)
Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (38:04.763)
That was a good one. And so I shared that with her and she was like, my God, that's like brilliant. You know, and then I'm like, I know it's like that just puts it in perspective of if we've got people that we are forming these, you know, as we're bringing them into our business, they could be employees, they could be, you know, again, partners, leadership, business, it's all relationships, friendships. It's gotta be something that is either
LeiLani (38:10.332)
Thank
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (38:35.271)
keeping our energy intact and our vibe and that's protected or it's moving us forward in some way. yeah, and if it's not, set the boundaries or cut them out.
LeiLani (38:44.082)
Right. Yeah.
LeiLani (38:50.536)
Smart advice though, very smart.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (38:53.596)
Well, is there anything else you'd like to share about LeiLani and Cosmet? Where can people contact you and find more information about you? Like I said, you bring a lot to this category, not just with products, but think just your vision of where this industry has the ability to go.
So how do you want people to reach out to you?
LeiLani (39:25.645)
Yeah, so we're here in Vancouver, Canada. However, we ship across North America, but we're here for you. So reach out if you're undergoing some kind of autoimmune deficiency, skin issue, medical issue.
Reach out. Reach out to us. There's a lot we can do now through the computer. I'm on LinkedIn under Sweet LeiLani Cosmetics or LeiLani Kopp. We are Sweet LeiLani Cosmetics on Instagram and Facebook. So reach out and in the meantime, make one small switch. So when you run into your next foundation, throw it out and go read some labels and buy a clean product. One switch at a time.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (40:11.405)
one little switch by Clean. And we'll definitely tag every, you know, on the Instagrams and your LinkedIn so everybody can reach out to you. But I appreciate everything. This has been a fantastic conversation and appreciate you hanging out with me today. Yeah. For everyone listening or watching us, thank you for joining us. And again, this podcast episode is available on
LeiLani (40:12.935)
Yeah.
back.
Thank you.
LeiLani (40:31.498)
Yeah, nice.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (40:41.291)
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