Pivot With Purpose Season 5 Episode Bonus Alli Webb Full Transcript

Meghan Houle (00:00.594)

All right, guys, without further ado, Miss Allie Webb. Here you are.

Meghan Houle (00:09.902)

Hi. How are you guys? Hi, welcome to Boston. But I know, I'm like, why are we in the wall? We have a wall between us. Jeez. Thank you. Yes. All right, how are you feeling? Great. Whoa. Yes, me too. So Allie has obviously been on a very busy book tour, whirlwind, this week. So what's your favorite part about this week? Well, it's like save the best for last, right?

This is my last stop on my tour, and then I'm back to LA tomorrow, bright and early. And I have to preface this, and I know there are some amazing women in this room that are part of the mastermind that Allie and Jacqueline Johnson and Marina Middleton put together, called the Blueprint Mastermind, which is how.

this brainchild of a, you need to come to Boston. Yeah. All came together, attacking you at the first dinner the night. I'm like, we're going to throw you a book of that in here. You did say that. Here we are. After I swore, after doing all the events this fall, I'm like, we need a rest now. Balance is bullshit.

Yay! So with that, as I was telling the ladies, we're doing live podcast. So my podcast is called Pivot With Purpose. I love it. And it's all about making meaningful changes in life, career, shifting your direction, shifting your mindset, changing your life.

I remember when you first started posting, and I was like, who is this lady? I like her. Do you remember? I think I texted you that. Thank you. I DM'd you. I was like, good energy. That means a lot. I'm sure. I'm like, is this real life? Here we are. Yeah, no, I've had a few pinch me moments, but I will tell you, to be a part of this mastermind, to like preface it, I'm just so grateful to have become this part of your world, and I know we have a lot of time together coming up, and thank you for.

Meghan Houle (02:00.35)

all you do and who you are and you're so inspiring. And for those that might know Allie's story and some that don't, I feel like there was like a college thesis done on her that we'll get to one of her. Oh yeah.

Yeah, we'll have to introduce you to Allison. I know. I'm like, I didn't go to college. Is that what you're talking about? There's a whole report on you, so we'll have to get that. It's surprising how many colleges I've spoken at, though. I'm like, are you sure you want me to come? I don't recommend college. Yes. You know? I know. It's fine. I mean, it's fine. Whatever you want to do. But I'd love to talk about the book, but I'm sure you're like, yep, I've told my story 10 kajillion, bajillion times. But here we are today in an audience of some of my favorite people. So thank you guys all for showing up, showing up for Ally. And in terms of your pivots, and I love in your book, and I've.

a lot of fun questions for you, so get ready. The first pages of your book, you quote, you can be raw and messy and still build a successful career in life, which I love so much. So I feel like it's so hard to think that you can have all those things, right? So what does that mean? I mean, I think it's kind of like the whole impetus of the book is like nothing is not messy, right? I mean, if we think about, I mean, who do you know

of something going on somewhere in their life. I mean, perfection is not a real thing, obviously. And so the book was like, you know, my messy truth. And someone said to me somewhere along the lines this week, they're like, you know, the truth will set you free. And I was like, yes, yes. I'm like, why didn't I think of that? I mean, obviously, it's been around. But it is, you know, it is just the, I think,

Meghan Houle (03:53.398)

The reason that I wanted to write this book and the reason that I wanted to talk about what really goes on is because I just don't know that a lot of people talk about it publicly a lot. It's like when you have your inner circle of your girlfriends, you tell them everything and you talk about all the real raw, messy stuff. And I'm not saying you should talk to everybody about all that stuff, but I think that there is this false reality out there that there's this unattainable.

goal of having it all and having the balance and all that. And it's like, some days are good and some days suck. And that's just like the realness of it. And it's all messy, but beautiful and amazing. And it's like there's not like this unrealistic goal of perfection just doesn't exist. And so that's kind of what that all was about. That's what the whole book is about, really. I love that so much, too. And I think it's so hard because the people that we see that

Again, all these social medias highlight reels, right, for the most part, for people that choose to share only the good parts of their life. And you probably hear this all the time, and I know you do. It's in the book, like, oh my gosh, you have all the things, you must be so happy, da-da-da, nothing ever bad happens to you. Yeah, we go through highs and lows. It's tough times out there, people. Right? And I think as a whole, people are getting better. I think we're starting to see more...

of the real stuff. And I still have the propensity to want to filter my pictures that I post and show the best shot. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I think there's just like, and here's the other side of that, which is what we're all going through, too. Well, I think in the vulnerability, you find yourself and you find that connection.

And when you talk, when, for me, it's like talking about the things that have happened in my life and the ups and the downs, like, you know, in comparison to the highs of the, you know, building this big business and this big thing and having this perfect life that didn't really exist. And, you know, I just, I think the more I shared about it, the more feedback I got on it and the more I realized how much it was resonating with women. And that, I think, is what kind of what compelled me to write this book that has.

Meghan Houle (06:10.492)

you know, the good and the bad in it, that you can be really successful and you could have all those things, but you, you know, if you're not happy on the inside and like how are you, how are you going about that and like the truth really does set you free, you know, that there is this like if you can, you know, there's like a therapy term, like if you can name it, you can tame it, you know, if we can admit what's really going on in our lives and we aren't ashamed of it, I think we're happier and healthier. At least that's been my experience, you know, and that's kind of what I've chosen to share.

world. Thank you for that and for anybody maybe who has read the book and I like it's an amazing read so like get ready. So what does it mean when you say you are not an average entrepreneur? Well I mean I don't think I'm I think mainly is because I don't

I felt a little like when I was starting out in my career, like I didn't have the pedigree that maybe I should have. And I remember one time I was sitting on a panel with the girls who started, what's the dress company? Renthra and Wai. Renthra and Wai, thank you. And they're friends of mine, I know them, and they're awesome. But they like went to Harvard. And I remember sitting on a panel with them, and I was like, oh shit, they went to Harvard. I was like, I don't even go to college. And I remember like in that moment feeling like,

oh, like I'm not the, you know, and then other people that I met, and even like once we brought in private equity to Dry Bar and those, you know, the men that we brought in, like they, you know, they went to like Harvard and to Stanford and to these, and I was like, people are really fucking smart around me, you know, which was amazing, and I was so grateful for that, but I think that there was this feeling of like, maybe I wasn't.

I wouldn't say good enough, but I wasn't pedigreed enough. I didn't have, and I felt inferior in those early days of like, I don't know if I'm smart enough or I'm not qualified in some way, which I don't believe, by the way. And I do not believe that at all now. And I've come into my own. And I remember even, I think I talk about this in the book, like being in bored.

Meghan Houle (08:19.99)

meetings and texting my brother under the table about a question I have, but I was embarrassed to ask it because I thought it would be a stupid question. And my brother would inevitably always say, like, that's a good question. You should ask it. And over time, I came into my own and was like, I am sure I'm going to ask some dumb questions sometimes, but everybody asks them questions sometimes, and who cares? And I came around to that, and I realized that even though I was surrounded by, in lots of arenas, not just in a board meeting, but in...

when I was speaking at things or whatever, that I was often surrounded by people who had, you know, fancy college degrees or business degrees, and I felt like, oh shit, I don't have that. But I, you know, I did come around to this like, oh, but I'm, you know, smart in my own ways. And even like as a kid, I was a terrible student, but my parents, I mean, I used to think this was kind of like lip service from them saying like, oh, but you're really street smart, you know? But I was like, what the fuck is street smart, you know? Like, but.

But I actually, I mean. Okay, like things. But what I've come to realize, because I think that that's true of my children too, it's like I have two boys, they're 16 and 18, one of them just got into college, which was a shock. You know? I was like, I have a kid that got into college? But you know, but my kids.

I always told my kids, the relationships that they have with their teachers was much more important to me than the grades that they got. I mean, don't even get me started on the school system in our country and how broken it is. We should be teaching way different things, in my humble opinion, than we're teaching. Things that actually matter and set humans up for success. So it never really mattered to me what my kids' grades were as long as they were passing, but that they learned how to like...

you know, talk to your teacher, like learn how to like figure out what you're, what you need to do to do okay in that class. And do you need to stay after the, like build a relationship with your teacher? That was more important to me, you know? And I think that that's what like street smart meant. It was like, and I think that's what I had. Like I, I have good instincts. Intuitively I'm pretty smart. I'm not, not smart. I'm not like,

Meghan Houle (10:20.802)

school smart, you know, it's like I'm not good at algebra, you know, and I wish I had paid a little more attention in geography, I don't know a lot of things I should know about the world, I feel like. You know what I joke for like Jeopardy, oh my God, I would like fail on that show, but like not like pop culture Jeopardy, like I'll tell you who like Taylor Swift's fifth boyfriend was, but like don't ask me about science. I don't even know who Taylor Swift's fifth boyfriend is. I consider myself very well versed. Well, do Team Jeopardy, I got you. But you know what I have to say,

is the street smarts, but also like school of hard knocks, right? Where maybe you have examples of this. I definitely have done this in my day where you learn things a hard way. No one is showing you the path. You're like, I'm just going to jump in. But I will tell you on top of everything else, what you also have that carries you so far and in that boardroom is credibility and passion. And that's something, I'm sorry, sitting in a $100,000 a year school.

It's not gonna teach you. Yeah, I mean, it's, you know, and everyone has their own path for sure. And for me, it was like...

it is still kind of trippy to me, like the way my life turned out. It's like I was so happy to be a stay at home mom when I was a stay at home mom and thought I had hit the jackpot then, that I could stay home with my kids and I didn't have to work. Obviously that's so much work, raising children. I was like, oh shit, this is harder than I thought it was gonna be. But it's just like, this path that I found myself on really just came from the fact

stumbled upon something that I really love doing and realized that there was a hole in the market and like realized there's something here that's not being done that I know I love and I know women would love which is really like the pretty basic advice I give to people all the time is like what's out there that you love but just not being done well and it's like everywhere you know and I think because my parents had their own business and so growing up I watched my parents and

Meghan Houle (12:23.154)

how they operated their business and how they bent over backwards for customers. And that was like the bar for me, you know, in business. And so when I got out into the world and started working at jobs and in all different areas, I was like, why don't people do this like my parents did it, you know? And I remember like realizing that they're, you know, just frustrated at things out there that could...

could be better. And then you stumble upon something that's so great. I remember when I discovered Sprinkles cupcakes, just big, I don't know if it's as big out here, but it is big in LA. Candice Nelson is a good friend of mine. I always use it as an example, or even In-N-Out Burger, these brands that are so buttoned up, customer service is so good, decor is good, branding is good, packaging is good, the whole thing. You look at brands like that, and there's not a lot. And that's really what I wanted to be with.

with Dry Bar, it's like, let's be that great, you know? And even if it was just one store, that was the goal.

And now, I think so many other great brands have popped up since then, and I think people are starting to get that more and more. Yeah. So early beginning, why hair? Tell us about the early beginnings. Yes. Well, I mean, I grew up in South Florida, and I have naturally curly hair. So my hair just was like whoosh as a kid. And I didn't really like it. And I think I didn't like it because I didn't know how to manage it. And I remember feeling like, oh, my god.

what am I supposed to do with my hair? Because it was so curly and frizzy and crazy all the time and I could not blow dry it. I didn't understand how to do it. And I remember seeing like, you know, back when there were magazines, these girls with like, you know, these like really bouncy, pretty blowouts. And I was like, how does their hair look like that? And why does my hair look like this? You know, and I used to beg my mom to blow out my hair and she was not a hairstylist and you know, and I would always, I was like such a little brat. I was like, there's bumps in it. There's bumps in it.

Meghan Houle (14:19.408)

and she would do it and she would always like miss the fucking crown and I was like, mom, you know? But it was just always this thing. I was always like, I loved, and I think it's because it was like, I couldn't get the hair that I wanted and I just really loved it when I did. And when I would get my hair cut when I was younger and then they'd blow it out and it was so pretty and I was like, I'm not gonna go in the pool. But you know, as many days as possible I'm gonna put in like a cute pony tail. Like I was so into it, you know? And I think I was just mystified by why

my hair looked like this and other women's hair didn't. And so it was just like this thing that was like bubbling around in my head for a long time. And nothing that I ever thought I would do anything with, you know, wasn't like at the forefront of like, oh, I'm going to go be a hairstylist or I'm going to start a blow-dry empire. Like none of that stuff came into my mind. You know, it wasn't until after I had gone to, I moved to New York.

I did try to go to college for a hot second. I didn't go to class. And I was like, why am I here? I don't want to be in school anymore. And so I moved to New York City and I loved it. And I got a job in fashion and then I ended up working in PR and then I did go back to South Florida and went to beauty school. And that was my path, but I just, I always loved doing hair, which is why I ultimately went to beauty school, even though my parents were like, really, beauty school? And I was like, well, I think I'm gonna move back to New York and do like editorial and fashion shows. And that's really what I wanted to do.

things got derailed when I was like, I also really wanted to have babies. And so that's what I ended up doing. But hair was just always the thing that I just loved. And I still do. I mean, even though we've sold Dry Bar, and I'm not doing hair actively anymore, I still really, I love doing my own hair. I still love hair. And I've always, hair's always been like my...

like best accessory, you know, it's like. No, I agree. And I think your whole concept of bringing Dry Bar to life was like when you get this amazing blowout and you just like walk out and you feel great and you're like, I can take over the world. And I appreciate like, girls in here that do my hair. No, I will salvage this braid for like four days somehow. Like this braid's staying in. But I will tell you when I was working retail.

Meghan Houle (16:26.13)

Way back in the day, I would get like straightened hair Friday. So on my break, I would like drive to a salon alley for like $20. I'm like, can you flat iron my hair? In Cape Cod, Massachusetts, like truly, like no one cares, right? But I thought I was the ish, right? Going out on a Friday, I'm like, my hair is straight. And my mom's like, you look like Cameron Deers. I'm like, yeah, I do. Yeah. Thanks, mom. But like that.

Like if I can go from here to Cameron, yeah, like damn Drybar, like thank you. Yeah, I mean that was the thing is like we really, very early on, realized we weren't selling blowouts. We were selling the happiness and confidence that you get from Great Hair. It's remarkable. And I would love to say that I knew that and that's why I started this business. Like I think instinctually, intuitively maybe I knew it, but I couldn't have articulated it back then.

And I remember in the early days of Dry Bar, watching women walk in with their hair in a bun or a hat on, really serious, all business. And then they'd be walking out and I'd be like, who's that lady, where'd she come from? She checked in 45 minutes and I'm like, no, she didn't. It's like you don't even recognize women sometimes because there was such.

you know, a pep in their step and this confidence and like they're looking at themselves in every mirror and I was like, holy shit, you know, we are onto something, you know what I mean? And I remember feeling that strongly about it, like wow, we're changing lives here. I mean, it was crazy. It's like, and then women were like, I won't go to a board meeting without a blowout. I won't go on a date. You know, even if I'm just picking up my kid from school, I'm gonna feel better. And like, you know, I mean, we all know so much about.

mental health and it's like if you feel good on the outside, you feel good on the inside, you feel good on the inside. I mean, it's like it all works together, you know? And so like whatever makes us feel better, you know? And hair is like, it's like another accessory, another like arm, like suit of armor. And that's, you know, that's why the whole thing worked. It's amazing. So early dry bar beginnings, like the whole idea, cause I know you talk about this a lot and I love it. So like walk us through beginning into like bringing this to life.

Meghan Houle (18:30.422)

Yeah, like why Dry Bar? How did it get started? Well, so fast forward to, I was a stay-at-home mom, and after five years of staying home, I was like, I have got to get away from these children. I gotta start my own business and do something. I was like, and I love my children. I mean, I really adore my boys, but I was like kind of going crazy mentally. And my husband at the time would come home and I'd be like talking his ear off because I hadn't talked to anybody all day. It's like, other than like,

baby talk or mommy talk and I was just like, I need to do something for me. And so that's when the idea started and I was sitting in my living room with my best friend, Paige, who's still my best friend, and our babies were crawling around and I was like, I feel like maybe I should start a mobile blowout business and she was like, yeah, that's a great idea, because her hair is curly and I used to always blow out her hair. And so it was like.

I was like, let me post an ad on this mommy group. And I was like, I'll come over and blow out your hair while your baby's sleeping. 40 bucks, 220s, boom, done. And Cam made me a one-page website. It was called Straight at Home. And I posted it, and sure enough, instantly started getting calls. It was 40 bucks for me to come to their house, which is very, very cheap in LA and anywhere, really. And so.

But it wasn't about the money. It was really more about like I needed to get like my brain to be stimulated and I was feeling so kind of stuck in this mommy land that I just, I thought I was gonna be like a PTA mom, but I just wasn't. I didn't like any of that stuff. I wanted to go back out into the world. And so, and nothing against PTA moms, like thank you for all you do. PTA moms, I don't know if there's any out here, but you were listening and I don't wanna offend anybody. Because you know.

to each his own, but for me it wasn't my past. So anyways, I start this mobile business. I'm so, I am so busy, you know, and I'm blow drying women's hair left and right. And I was like, this is really fascinating, you know, at this price point and the fact that I was pretty good at hair, that, you know, women were calling me, they were telling all their friends and I got so busy that I came to a crossroads of like, what do I do with all this business? And I didn't want to expand it mobilely because I wanted to be able to control the experience. And so I was like, I went to my brother and I said, I think I need to turn my.

Meghan Houle (20:42.922)

mobile business into a brick and mortar and open a location instead of me, you know, driving around. You know, my brother being bald and a dude, he was like, what? You know, but I was like, well, you know how my hair was like when we were kids? And he was like, I just don't understand why a woman can't blow out their own hair. And I was like, well.

So a lot of explaining. What's the opposite of mansplaining? So anyways, I- Education. Yeah, exactly. Educating. And once I kind of explained it to him, I was like, women can do their own hair, just a professional can do it better. And after you get your hair cut and colored and they style it for you, you just feel and look better. It's just better. And he was like, okay, and agreed to put up the money and give me-

sweat equity, which I had never heard that term. And he was like, I'm going to put up all the money, but you're going to own 50% of the business. And I was like, hot damn, okay. I had never heard that before, but I like it. And my husband at the time and I put in our life savings, which wasn't really much, but you know, and so we started looking for locations and I started calling the cosmetology board and the phone company and ordering towels and all the millions of things that you do. And about a year later, we opened the first dry bar in Bretwood in Los Angeles. And it was like,

bananas. I mean it was so busy, so packed and the week before we opened, it was back when we had BlackBerrys. Anybody remember BlackBerrys? I mean, jeez. Did you see the BlackBerry movie? Have you seen that? It's such a good entrepreneurial lesson. Yes. Anyways, I digress. Anyways, so we started getting all these notifications of people with head book blowouts. We're like, what is going on? And you know, we hadn't even opened the doors, but Daily Candy, another like RIP.

loved it. You guys remember Daily Candy? It was so good. And they ran like a very pithy ad like hot air blowing into town and so people started booking and so we opened to a fully booked shop on day one and this was again 2010 just coming off a recession.

Meghan Houle (22:37.43)

weird time in the world. The shopping center we opened in, there was like a lot of stores had closed but we kind of like single-handedly revamped that shopping center because now we have like almost 100 women a day coming to the shopping center. It was crazy. I mean, I mean never could have predicted and so yeah that was 13 years ago. Wow and I just feel like it was such a white space at that time because think about the wonky hair tools that we had back in the day.

Good ones. Remember the first Flatiron was like this thing. Yes, and it was terrible. You'd burn your forehead. Yeah. Good times. I had those rolly curlers. Remember the Conair rollies? But I still love those. I know. And I would sleep in them. And no, listen. So my dad is one of six. So I have a lot of uncles and aunts, but only one aunt. And she was the baby. So I went through the 80s with her. And I feel like that's why I love all the 80s, all these movies. Aquanet. Madonna. Yeah. So my aunt would be like, let me

crimp your hair. I'm like hell yeah. We made a crimper. We made a crimper at once. It was amazing. I was like, I'm going to bring this crimper.

back, it didn't work. But I feel like that was my childhood trauma, I was like, I never did my hair, truly. And then I'm like, well, how do I use this huge flat iron? And then like, DeFrizz serum, what was that? You know, there's like, you need to fix. When I was in middle school, my hair was really, really long. We used to iron our hair with an iron. Remember that? And then I remember hearing stories when I was in beauty school from the old ladies. They'd put their hair in the...

the can, like the soup cans. I still don't know how that actually worked. But yeah, I mean, hair has come a long way, that's for sure. And when we were, you know, that was a big part of the early days of Dry Bar 2, it was like, I didn't want hairstyles bringing their own stuff in. I was like, I'm gonna provide everything because I wanted a certain like uniformity and I wanted, you know, every client who sat in a chair to be.

Meghan Houle (24:28.426)

basically having the almost same experience. And if you had a red blow dryer and you had a blue blow dryer, I was like, this does not work for me from a decor standpoint. And stylists didn't like that. And over time, dry bar certainly wasn't for everybody in terms of stylists, because we had very specific things. You washed your own client's hair. Not all stylists like that. But I was really determined to start this thing that was like,

you're coming to Drybar for a blowout, not to like Sally, and you're only, you're gonna go wherever Sally goes. I wanted to just change all of that, and be like, this is just, you're coming for a blowout. There's gonna be stylists that you like better, but hopefully there'll be like a handful of different stylists, and you'll get something different for everyone, and you know, that was the hope, and it was a risk, you know, we didn't know if it would work, just like the mirrors behind the stations, that you know, that was also, I mean, there was a lot of things that we did that were very different than had been done before.

And I remember feeling really nervous about that. Being like, I don't know, and the stylists were like, really, there's no mirrors? I'm like, but you don't really need the mirror. Like, you're not cutting her hair. And when we turn her around for the big reveal, which I learned from my mobile business, I'm like, it's gonna be such a great moment. Just wait, just watch. It's like a little surprise. And most, I mean, every now and again, we get a client who was like, did not like it, and I was like, we'll just turn her around and do the blowout facing the mirror. It'd be fine, but most women, they were watching the chick clip. Right, I know, because you have all the awesome movies. Yeah.

It was just like, it's just a good lesson in taking risks and not being afraid to go against the grain of how things have historically been done in an industry or whatever, which is what we did. I was like, well, what do I have to lose by trying it? You know? Oh, and consistency and service and all that. So what were some of your other brand pillars or like non-negotiables you set in place when you were building Drybar?

Well, it was a lot of things I just mentioned, you know, and like the customer service, like we very quickly realized we had to pull the phones out of the shops because it was too hard to answer the phone and be, you know, talking to a person right in front of you. It was just loud and crazy. So like we found ourselves in the call center business, which was not a business I wanted to be in, but here we were, we had to do that. You know, so the customer service is always really big to me. I wanted this, I wanted it to feel like this very high end look and feel, but the price tag wasn't there.

Meghan Houle (26:39.946)

you know, it was an affordable luxury, but part of that luxury was being treated really well. You know, so that was a really big deal to me, you know? And, you know, we put the stylist through a lot of training and I was always like, you know, wanted to be like inclusive of everybody and no matter what type of hair you had, no matter what color skin you have, you were welcome in Dry Bar and that was always a big thing. And, you know, getting the stylist to get to a certain point before they could get on the floor was like a big thing. I mean, the music.

we really curated the music very specifically. It was a lot of Taylor Swift. And even the Chick Flicks we played were like, Devil Wears Prada and Sweet Six. Clueless, right, too? Clueless? Clueless was one of them. I mean, it was like all the guilty pleasure movies that you love that you're not really watching anymore, but also you're reading the subtitles and that was fun. The whole thing was meant to be fun.

and enjoyable, and this was like an hour out of your day for you, where you were gonna like, feel like you could relax, you got out of the house, and then you were gonna walk out feeling like a million bucks. Yeah, I love it. Well, Lessons Learned is another part of your book. So like, continuing to grow this empire. We have to as entrepreneurs, as women, as all the things, all the work things, have to remember to take care of ourself. We can get lost in the craziness, the busyness, and I love that you talk about this in your book is,

The sooner you can admit what's swimming beneath the surface, the sooner you can improve your life.

So, I mean, that hit for me. Because, yeah, there's a lot going on over here, but what? Well, not just, I mean, I'm sure everybody. Thank God you're in mastermind with me, I love you. So what is the takeaway from this reference? Like, what was swimming beneath the surface for you? And like, when did this all start to come up? Yeah. Well, I mean, it's like, if you think about it, and I'm sure everybody in this room probably has a juicy story to tell about that. You know, it's like, we all have our stuff that we're not willing to talk about. Whether it has to do with our marriage, or our children, or.

Meghan Houle (28:39.69)

you know, our job, our business, whatever it is. And you know, for me, it was like a lot of stuff that was going on personally with my son and my marriage. And even in work and Dry Bar, there was like, you know, I didn't really know how to handle tough situations within like our executive team, because now if you fast forward, we've raised a bunch of money, we've hired, you know, a professional CEO, we've hired a president of retail, we've hired all these, you know, really amazing seasoned.

executives who've run big companies and you know some of them were I really like meshed with and were great and I can go into why some worked and some didn't but the ones that didn't I like didn't know what to do with that you know I was like this is my company why are you doing that you know and but I wouldn't go to them I would go to my brother and be like I don't like the way so-and-so is doing this and you know and there were conversations for sure

but not as many as there should have been and not as honest as they should have been. And so I ended up with a shit ton of resentment. They, I'm sure, I'm sure they did too, because it was like, I was kind of bratty and not dealing with what needed to be dealt with. It would take me years to get to that understanding and that level of awareness. And a lot of it was like.

John Hefner who came in who was our CEO. Who was amazing. Who you met at the Mastermind. And I remember him sitting me down and talking to me about all this stuff and really kind of coached me through that. And also just like, I talk about this in the book how I would go into stores and kind of lose my shit because things were not the way I wanted them to be and I would kind of take it out on whoever.

person was there, you know, it was like the floorboards weren't clean or this wasn't that, you know, and I just, you know, I had to learn how to channel that better. And I think the whole reason for that statement is like, you know, if you're, if you're not like dealing with what's really going on. And for me, it was like control, you know, there was so much I needed to, and I'm still like that. And I still can feel it come up when it comes up where I'm like, oh yeah, I'm just needing control over this. It's not even that big of a deal, you know? So it's like, I think

Meghan Houle (30:47.338)

You know, I love that quote too, and I remember that because I remember it was just so real for me. Like if you just can actually talk about what's going on, chances are you're gonna just dispel it a lot sooner, which I did not do. Well, in working with a lot of founder-led brands, as you know, I hire and recruit and, you know, with talent. It's so funny the minute, because I kind of consider myself this like people, career, matchmaker. So the minute John walked in, and he sat down at our mastermind, and you're like, I didn't.

I don't want a CEO, I don't want this. But when John sat down, you were like, okay. Yes, I believe, I trust. What did that relationship look like, maybe different, where you really got behind somebody and you're like, okay, I see you as a part of my business? Well, I mean, what was brilliant about John, and this is not true of all potential CEOs, and if you're in the spot where you're hiring a CEO, for me it was like.

The idea of a professional CEO represented this ivory tower person with a very high salary requirement. And I was just like, we just don't need that. And I don't want to engage in this. But the difference with John is that he had run founder-led organizations. And anybody who's worked in a founder-led company, it's just a different dynamic than a company where it's just more of a corporate and there's no, yeah, it's a totally different thing. It's much more emotional when there's a founder involved, because.

it's their baby and they're there every day. And John had experience with that. So that was, you know, one of the first things he said to us was like, I'm in this with you guys. Like, I'm not gonna try to change everything and try to like lead without, you know, without you guys involved. And I think I told you that when he was there, he used the analogy of the three legged stool and this doesn't work without me, you and Michael. And I loved that approach because I was like, oh, he's gonna come in and like lock arms with us and work with us versus some of the other CEO candidates that I had talked to who were

great people and obviously very successful in their own right, but it wasn't that like, oh, I'm going to lock arms with you and we're going to make this work. And because John had that mentality, it was like anybody he brought in, you know, I mean, not that it was all perfect, but there was, you know, that was kind of how we kind of thought about anybody who came in. And there were certainly leaders that were in our company that were

Meghan Houle (33:03.586)

better at this and some that weren't and some that also understood and had worked in founder-led environments. So it was interesting to navigate all of that. But John was incredibly helpful to me as a coach to help me in so many ways. And being able to allow, bring somebody into your organization that can be there for you is.

Right. It's really amazing. I know. I remember. And you just told that the story of like, and I think, Fenner, that I think it is, it's that control piece. It's going in. Like you said, it's seeing the floorboards, like, freaking out. But like, people want you to come and be like, Ellie is here. Not like, oh my god, Ellie is here. You know? So and I feel like that is such a big piece of a company culture. 100%. And that's really what John helped me see. And yeah.

You know, I just didn't see it like that. I was like, what is it? It doesn't matter if I'm coming in or whoever's coming in to see and they see something. But John was like, well, you know, I was like, John was like, they want you to come in and be like the happy founder. I'm like, but I'm not the fucking happy founder. I'm the pissed off founder, you know? And I couldn't like get past that. And then I did, you know? And I was like, oh, okay, like I don't want to intimidate people. I want people to feel excited, but.

but somebody's gotta deal with this. And so then I would walk out and make a list immediately or call John and say, okay, here's all the things that aren't working for me. So you've got it, yeah, 100%. And you don't ever wanna lose that, right? I mean, that is, and John was really great at appreciating, and so was our board, so great at appreciating my intense level of detail and how much I cared about the littlest things because I was like, if I don't...

I don't know if anybody does. And I don't think you can lose that in a company. That's when things start to go south. Yeah. Well, let's pivot to the comparison game and imposter syndrome. So my favorite things. And I think this is so powerful, too, coming out of the mastermind. And to know. So in the Blueprint, they made everyone go around and say, what are you excited about being here? What are you just excited about in terms of coming and building the community?

Meghan Houle (35:07.338)

And I think what was so amazing to see is there were a few women in there, many of them doing similar things, but like, Hey, we can still clap for each other, even if we're doing the same things. And we can still raise people up and cheer for people. And I just feel like, I don't know. We had a moment where it's just like, Oh, competition, she's competition. Like I can't, you know, talk about competition. It's like, imagine if we all lift and like rise each other up, which is amazing. So what advice would you give to someone?

who may be holding themselves back from bringing their big idea to life because there's too much competition out there or also that imposter's in like, like you had like, why me? Like, I shouldn't be here, right? Yeah. Well, I mean, I think that like, we live in a very saturated world and there's, I mean, you'd be hard, you'd be hard pressed to find something that's like nobody else has done ever. But what I think is really possible is finding like,

tweak on it or you know changing the experience and obviously like we didn't invent blowouts They've been around forever, you know, but we created I mean, it's like, you know, dry bark gets touted as like, you know You know, we like which you know, what's where I'm losing words. It's been a long week Yeah, like pioneering this like, you know blow-dry Empire thing I'm like, well, yes, but we're didn't do anything all that different in terms of the actual, you know

of what we were doing, which was just blowouts. You can get a blowout anywhere. What we did was like wrapped an experience around the blowout, great customer service, great decor. You know, it all really matters. You know, I mean, I come across businesses all the time where like there's the thing that they're doing and potentially the service that they're doing I love, but I don't like the decor, I don't like the booking, I don't like the people, I don't like so much of the business, sorry, but I'm a psycho. No, no, yeah.

And I'm like, oh man, this could be so much better. And so I think those opportunities are everywhere. Because sometimes it's a great idea, but it wasn't fully executed really well. And sometimes people can't see that. So there is an open opportunity there. I mean, we did the same thing with massage, with squeeze. It's like...

Meghan Houle (37:18.614)

massages have been around forever. You can go anywhere for a massage, but what we're doing is with Squeeze, it's like we're creating, you book on the app, you tip on the app, it's a brick and mortar, and we just sold 80 units, so they'll be opening, you'll be hearing more about Squeeze. But we did this thing where it's like we're taking this thing that's been around for so long, but we're just making the experience around it better, the booking better, like the whole thing is just better than you can get anywhere else. And that's the beauty of finding a hole in the marketplace. It's like finding something

that even it potentially exists, but just making it better. I mean, I'd love to invent the iPhone, and I'm sure there are things out there that we will invent, or somebody will invent, that maybe hasn't been out there, but you also don't have to kill yourself to think of that thing. There's so much opportunity. For anyone sitting with an idea. Yeah, go for it. Go for it.

So on top of ideas, I'm literally obsessed with your mindset around balancing life, work, being bullshit, like truly. Because I get that a lot. Chapter two in the book. Chapter two. I get that a lot, you know, talking to candidates or screening people. I really want work-life balance. Okay. What's that mean? What the hell is that? Right. I'm like getting real sassy in my old age. So.

As it applies to business, how do you define your thoughts around this and also make sure you are taking care of yourself because it is so important to not just, I mean, and we've seen it and you write about it, get lost in the work, get lost in the work, get lost in the work and things are deteriorating around you and you're deteriorating but we keep going. How do you find that? It's funny, I hadn't thought about this until just this moment but it's like this week for example, I'm on a real, like.

to get this book out there, do the thing. And it's like, there's been no balance this week. I'm exhausted. It's been a long weekend, I'm not complaining. Oh, we love you. I know, no, I'm just, I'm not, it's not meant to be like, oh, feel sorry for me. Please don't. I mean, I'm so fucking lucky to be where I am. I realize that. But.

Meghan Houle (39:24.138)

I'm tired, nonetheless. But I'm doing it because it's important to me, and it's important to me to get this out into the world, and it's important to me that I worked really hard on this book for several years, and I wanted to be out there, and I wanted to be excess. But there was no balance this week. It was just go, work, work for this week. And then next week, I'll go home, and I'll chill out a little bit. And so there's not a...

a balance with that. There's like, you just kind of, it's like an ebb and flow is how I think of it. I actually had someone say that to me recently. It's like, you know.

this actually his name is Todd Herman and he's a coach. If you wanna look him up, he's amazing. He's a great person to follow. But he was like, he grew up on a farm and he was telling me this story about how the river and the farming that was such a great metaphor because sometimes it's really rough and rocky and things get stuck in it and sometimes it's like, it's really smooth and whatever, but it's never the same. And I remember feeling that's such a good metaphor because that is what it is. It's like there's no.

There was no balance for me this week, but that's okay. Next week will be a lot more chill, and I'll be laying around a little more and taking it easy. And we can eat turkey if you eat turkey. Oh right, it's Thanksgiving. I know. Yeah, I mean. How did that happen? And so that's so much of what I talk about in the book, that this unrealistic ideal that we set for ourselves, that we need to find this balance in our lives, and I agree with you, the work-life balance, it's like some weeks you're gonna work.

really hard and it's gonna be a lot and you might have to work on the weekends and nights and then some weeks it'll be breezy and you won't you know and I think accepting that you know that like up and down ebb and flow versus this like I need there to be a certain balance every day I don't think that exists no it doesn't and I know what you talk a lot to success relationships going deep here lots of tough moments on the journey right I think and

Meghan Houle (41:15.282)

some very wise people in this room say, and have said on my podcast, sometimes you meet the best version of yourself in hell. Right? So, shout out to Madison. So what did you do to get out of the lowest lows? Yeah. I mean, I did everything possible. You know, I'm such a seeker by nature, and I think because I'm so ambitious also by nature, and I'm so driven that I was like, there have been a handful of times where my life has really fallen apart, that I'm like,

you know, just like how am I gonna get out of this? You know, and it, and you know, in the words of Brene Brown, it's like the only way through is through, and you just kind of have to go through it. I was always trying to find a way around it, and that doesn't work. But you know, so it was like reading the books, doing the meditation, you know, the different therapies, the, you know, retreats, like.

I can't believe in not to interrupt, but like infrared therapy. Oh yeah, I was just talking about that. People were like, their minds were blown. Yeah, that was weird. We're like, higher dose. Yeah. Well, I have an infrared sauna. We were talking about this at the last thing I was speaking of. We know what infrared is here, right? Infrared saunas. I was like, maybe this is a California thing. The red light, yeah, like we know. But like, hot, cold therapy is so good for you. And I also have done a lot of reading on the neurology in our brains and how much we can actually change. Like.

if you are right handed but you start brushing your teeth with your left hand, it changes like some shit in your brain. Obviously it's more scientific than that. But like new neurological pathways get formed. I mean it's fascinating stuff and I started reading a lot about that too. Of like if you actually physically change things that you do, your mind starts to build new neuro pathways. And I'm not sure why that is good, but it's good.

and it helps things change. And so it just kind of can bring you, as I understand it, it can bring you out of whatever funk or sadness you're in. It just starts to tweak the brain a little bit. It was just really fascinating. And even, I think it was Todd again, Todd Herman, the coach I mentioned before, he told me once, he's like, when I was really down, he was like, I want you to smile for 30 seconds, a couple times an hour, just smile. And it's fucking weird, right? Because you're like.

Meghan Houle (43:28.29)

I'm definitely trying that. But he was like, it actually stimulates something in your brain, some sort of connection to your brain. And I was like, okay. I mean, so I was walking around like an idiot, smiling for no reason for a little bit of a period of time. But now I'm just smiling in general, because I'm happy again. But all the things, I did ketamine therapy, I did all sorts of stuff to just try to catapult myself out of this. And I was like, I just don't want to be in this sadness. And I...

allowed myself to grieve a lot of the things that were going on and I think that's important too. But I also was like, okay, life is short, I gotta get on with it and I did. Yeah, well and I feel like, I don't know where I heard you talk about, cause I know again, there were some amazing podcast episodes beyond this one that have come out recently too, of being in a moment where you are suppressing things. And you're like, okay, that happened to me, it's bad. I'm gonna push that down, that happened, push it down. And then it's just this explosion.

You know, we can't get to that point because that's really scary. Yeah, and I think that I did that for a very long time. And I think that's why I stayed in my marriage as long as I did. I was pushing that down for so many years. For so many years, I knew it wasn't right. And I just was like, I made this commitment. I'm gonna stay in this marriage. I'm gonna do this, you know? And I was just like, suppress, suppress. And I did finally like kind of explode and be like, I gotta change my life. I have to change this up, you know? And the work.

that was required and like the dark night of the soul, like that all came later and you know, and I realized like I had to start looking at some old patterns and some childhood stuff and I used to kind of always roll my eyes at that, like that's so silly. But it's not, you know, I mean the things that have happened to us, not even like, and even like my son who went through rehab a couple years ago and you know, he didn't have like.

a big traumatic event that happened that was like, oh, that's why. He had lots of little things that happened in his life that I didn't even realize were things that really like affected him and like caused him to go down this path. And I'm sure I had those things too. We all probably did on some level, but we just push him down and we're like, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine until, you know, another like, I told you, I read and take in a lot. But one other thing that Brene Brown said,

Meghan Houle (45:42.87)

that I saw recently was she was like, you get to the midpoint in your life and the universe taps you on the shoulder and says like, you can't hide anymore. And I was like, oh, yeah. That was that, I was like, she's right. You do get to this point where you're like, these things that I was able to push away or push down, like, I just can't do it anymore. And that's what's happened to me. Well, and I give you a lot of credit. I mean, you know, your first husband, I mean, you guys were in business together.

You know, that was probably a lot, you know, and dealing with the business things and home. And, you know, so talk about this, like the big pivot of transitioning. You have all these dry bar locations. Like, how did the, okay, maybe it's time to let this baby go. And what was that journey like for you? Yeah. I mean, it was really hard. And I think that we, you know, we got married.

we were like 26. I mean and now when I think about 26 like you're such a baby you know. How old are you Talia? It's like Talia getting married right now would be crazy. Talia works with me we're tight. I don't know how old she is. I just know she's young. I'm like she my assistant's very young. I learn something new every day Ali. So here you go. But you know it's like I mean imagine like someone around Talia's age I was getting married you know it's like I just wasn't ready but I was so

And I talk about this in the book, he actually tried to call the wedding off a month before the wedding, and I was like, oh no, we're not doing that. We are getting married. But we were best friends, and I realize now that I was emulating my parents' marriage, and they were best friends, and they ended up getting divorced later in life. And it's just like, you don't know who you are enough, I think, when you're 26. And even if you do, when you get into your 30s, you're changing again. I mean, we're always changing and growing, and of course, we need somebody who can change and grow.

No. It's flashing red. That's OK. Here's the next pivot. So anyway, so we were so young, and we really just shouldn't have gotten married. And I think that there were times that, but then we had our first son a year after we got married, and then our second son, and then Dry Bar. It was like boom, until it all finally caught up with me. And I was like,

Meghan Houle (47:58.45)

I just really, I can't do this anymore. I think it was after my mom died, and I think the mortality thing kind of came into play for me. And I was like, I just, and my mom never fell in love again after my dad, and I was like, it just felt so sad to me. And I was like, I don't want that to be my story. Where I'm in this marriage, I wait too long to get out, and then I'm, and I don't think this is true, but in my mind I felt like I'm gonna be too old to meet anybody again, and I was like, no.

I'm not doing that. I don't want that to be my story. Granted, I may have rushed back in my next marriage a little fast. Yeah, Mel. You know how many people have written to me and been like, I think it was not cool how Mel thought. I was like, I know, I know, I know. And I actually kind of wanted her to take that out. But I was like, nah, let her leave it in. But anyways, you know, I mean, it's like to each their own for sure. And I'm learning as I go, just like any of us. But you know, I'm also just like.

I don't think I ever need to get married again. But I also just feel like you have to do what feels right. And that felt right to me at the time. And you live and you learn, and you make mistakes, and then you keep going.

Meghan Houle (49:14.066)

So when you sold Dry Bar, were you still to get, like what chapter of your life were you in then when you finally went through the sale and all of that? Well, gosh. So we were on the verge of sell. We were getting ready to either sell or go public or whatever we were going to do. In like 2000, I guess, 18, we started thinking about it. And in 2019 is when.

Somewhere in the 2018-ish. And I separated from Cam in 2000. I didn't realize this, but he told me it was September 11. I was like, oh, that's so interesting. I didn't realize that. I don't know. Strange. Anyways, just a weird number. And we happen to live in New York City at September 11, too. So it was just kind of a weird. Anyways, I don't know if I put that in the book or not, but there you go. There's a little tidbit for you.

Anyways, so we split up in 2019, and then we sold the business in 2020, right before the world fell apart. I mean, truly, I think it might actually have been 2018 that we separated. But we did sell the business right before COVID happened, like what felt like minutes before COVID happened. It was the craziest thing. Because it was like nobody really knew what was going to happen. And we, you know.

It'll be fine. And so we closed that deal. It took almost a year to close that deal. So yeah, I think it was like 2018, Cam and I separated. And so that next year was all about this deal and making this deal happen. And so it was bittersweet. I was ready, I think, to like, so much had changed in that last year from when Cam and I separated because we shared an office.

you know, so I stopped going to that office because it was tense for a while. And, you know, we're really good friends now, but it was rough in the beginning. And so I didn't go to that office. And then, you know, grants started spiraling out. It was like everything fell apart and unraveled. When like one fell swoop is what it felt like from the moment we made that decision to separate. So, you know, it was kind of a crazy year and then we sold and then COVID hit, you know? So it was just like, you know, everything had happened.

Meghan Houle (51:24.122)

It just like, I was like, what just happened in my life? You know, it was like, I had this job, I had this husband, and then all of a sudden I had like, what seemed like good healthy kids, and then it was just, you know, it all, it's like you're like, you know, trying to hold on to something that's just not there anymore. And so it was a rough time, but you know, you know, I rebounded, it got better, you know, and then.

and then it got worse again. But you know, I mean, that's life, you know? And I think from that too, I mean, but now you are also a part of other businesses, right? So you've also pivoted. So as we talked, like, Canopy, amazing. Like, thank you so much for the diffuser. And I bought the humidifier and all. I laughed because then I was, like, going to ask you, like, if you enjoy sleeping in hotels, because I'm a horrible sleeper. And I feel like we were kind of talking about this in the car over.

If anyone ever watches Real Housewives, especially Beverly Hills, Kathy Hilton, there was a season where she would travel, but she traveled with a fan, and she needed sleep masks, whatever. I have a 27-step skincare routine, and also sleep routine. So I need a humidifier, a sleep mask, my sleep gummies, the right temperature, a noise machine, a satin pillowcase. Would I go? Would I go to the hotels? I'm like, no, this is terrible. To the point I have like...

a to-go sound machine, which is really awesome. But Canopy, the products are amazing. Like, how did all these other, so you left DriveWire and then got in touch with other businesses, right? How did that come together? Well, I was kind of in this phase of like, what am I going to do now? And so I started exploring other things. And I got connected to the founder of Canopy. And I was actually talking to him about this other project that I was working on. And then he was like, you know, telling me all about Canopy. And he's like, it'd be great to have

to have you involved because, and I was like, why would I get involved with the humidifier brand? Like I didn't really get it. And he was like, well, you know, where it's really such a great kind of beauty hack for skin and hair because it's so hydrating. It's like if you lived in Nicaragua, like your skin looks amazing. And I was like, huh, you know, so I started looking into it. I got, now I have like 17 humidifiers in my house because it's really amazing for your skin. And it kind of hides fine lines and wrinkles because when they're dry, they appear more and all that. So.

Meghan Houle (53:43.374)

They kind of made me a deal I couldn't refuse to come in and be the president of the company. I do a lot of bringing in the right relationships and collaborations and things like that. And it's been really great. And I really, really believe in the product. And I love it. And now we have a filtered shower head, which is so great for your hair and your skin. And I just love getting in. And canopy is such another great example of what I was talking about before, humidifiers.

have been around forever. They just, I mean, but they've been so bad and they have the big chimney of water and then the pools and everyone just. And the nasty fan that gets like collects the dust and mold and it's like a whole thing. But what they, what Canopy did was create a much better system for humidifiers. It's like an evaporatorless water. So it's like a very fine mist. So it doesn't puddle anywhere. You know, there's like a filter you change like once a month, that's it. And it's just like.

It's brilliant. And I was like, this is exactly what I'm talking about. The branding is great. The packaging is great. And they've done such a great job with that, which is why I decided to get involved. And I joined a couple of boards. And I've been exploring a lot more things. We started this mastermind as a way to give back. And I do a lot of mentoring and coaching here and there, just kind of exploring what my purpose is on this side, which I'm.

Still kind of figuring out. Is there anything as we wrap up, because I want to let people ask questions, but anything you would have done differently? No. Yeah. I love that. And not that I didn't make mistakes, because I made plenty of them, but I just don't get stuck in the regret game. I think that everything happened the way it was supposed to happen, even the things that I didn't like. And my son is such a great example, because it's

I mean, it was like, it was literal hell, like going through what we went through with our son. I mean, it was, you know, he did like nothing more important than your kids. And, but on the flip side of all of that, it's like, he's such, he's such an evolved kid. He's, he's got, he's, he, we're all so much better for it. And you know, and again, it's like, I wouldn't have asked for it, but the result of it.

Meghan Houle (55:50.514)

And my relationship with my younger son really grew. Cam and I came back together because we had to co-parent, which would have taken years otherwise. There's so many blessings in that. I use that as an example because I can't imagine anything really worse than what I went through with my son. But I don't regret that. So what he got to experience as a result and the work that he did on himself will serve him for the rest of his life. So.

I don't have any regrets. No, and I love that you say that because I feel like we all have these shoulda, coulda, woulda moments. Like, I shoulda done that or like, this terrible thing happened to me. And I've been through all the highs and lows too. And I'm like, you know what? Actually, I'm really glad that happened to me. And in the moment, it doesn't always feel that way. And sometimes it can take years to understand. And that's just been my experience. Yeah, embracing that mindset. So before we wrap up.

best career or business advice you ever received? I feel like it's, I kind of always go back to this one of like being open to feedback and because it's such a gift, you know? It's like for you to be, if you can create an environment where people are not afraid to tell you what they really think, you are so much better off. You know, if you create an environment where you have a bunch of yes people around you and no one's really telling you what's.

the truth about your business or how you're leading. You know, I mean, I think for me as a leader, and I think this is probably true for many leaders, is like, we're always kind of the last person to know what everybody else knows because nobody's told us. Like, yeah, nobody wants to tell you. But like, you know, and for me, I'm like, just tell me, like, what's going on? What's the problem? Like, let me know it so I'm aware and I can deal with it. You know, and that was like a big thing at Dry Bar. And I can remember like,

you know, seeing like our team and there was like rumblings and I'm like, what are you guys talking about? What's going on? And they're like, well, we've got it. And then I'm like, no, tell me, you know? And I understand the desire to like protect me, but I'm like, don't do that, you know? Anyways, but if you aren't the kind of person that allows feedback and you don't, you know, fly off the handle, and it's the same thing with customers. I mean, if you read, I don't know if it's like this anymore, but you know, when in the dry bar era, when people would,

Meghan Houle (58:09.686)

would post on Yelp. And I was like, we would always be very apologetic. And let us call you, and talk to you, and make this right. And I remember reading comments from other business owners on other businesses where they would be like, that's not true. We didn't do that. I'm like, why are you arguing? Defensive, right? Yeah, defensive. And maybe it's not true. And don't get me wrong. We had our fair share of crazy clients in Dry Bar, and people that we had to like.

asked to not come back because they were belligerent or whatever. We had that. And that was certainly true. And you want to obviously be careful of that. But I believe where there's smoke, there's fire. And if one person is complaining about something, chances are 10 other people feel that same way, if not more. They're just not saying anything. They're just done with you. They're done with your business. So paying attention to that smoke is incredibly important. So they're like, OK, let me at least like in like,

do some like investigating on this and see if there's some truth to this. Because if somebody's saying it, I can always guarantee you other people are feeling it. Right, yeah. So speak up, you know. Speak up. Yeah, speak up. Yeah. Speak now in the words of Taylor Swift. You inspire so many people. Who inspires you the most? Or who are you inspired by? Yeah, you can name a few. Taylor Swift, no.

I do love her. I'm really proud of her. I feel like she's done a really good job navigating her career. Girl, she's making money for the economy. She's got a new boo. I mean, I love, I'm really into football because of my kids. Same. So I did watch the documentary on Travis and Jason Kelsey by myself, which is weird. Yeah, that's okay. That's all right. I mean, I'm like, why do I love football? I mean, I feel like I have to keep up so I can have a conversation with my son about football.

The Kansas City Chiefs are so excited. They're like, that's the new marketing, like the 87 jersey. Now it's like bejazzled and jeweled and stuff. Yeah. Is when Taylor's concert.

Meghan Houle (01:00:07.686)

happened. Did you go by the way? You know I didn't go to that one. I know I can't believe it. I went to I've been to every other Taylor Swift concert so I kind of feel like she's coming back to the US so we'll get that. I'll go see her again but I've literally seen her like seven times. I mean because I've been like a Swiftie from the very beginning. Allie is a Swiftie!

But all kidding aside, I mean, when she did her tour and like the same, it was kind of around the same week that the Barbie movie launched. Yeah, there's a lot going on. I'll be the first to say that I was like, Barbie movie? Like, no thanks. But then I went and saw it and I was like, this movie is amazing and like women's lib and all that and I was like.

Taylor and Margot Robbie have brought back the economy. It's like, are you kidding me? Nobody has gone to anything like this. Nobody moved on selling out. Concerts weren't selling out. So I thought that was really amazing. I was inspired by two women who are boosting the economy. So I don't know. There's a lot of women and a lot of people that I'm inspired by. And it's really like some people you would know and some people that you wouldn't.

I recently started going to church. I go to this place in Mosaic, it's called Mosaic in LA, and Irwin McManus is the pastor. But a pastor is like, he doesn't seem like a pastor to me. He's just like a motivational speaker. And although he talks about God and the Bible and whatever, but he talks about like real life and how it compares and just such great lessons. And I'm just so inspired, you know, by him. And then, you know, and people like...

Whitney Wolf from Bumble. All that she's done is great. She's a friend and was there for me at a really hard time. And I've always really admired her. Yeah, and Oprah. I just wanna be friends with Oprah. Oprah, we love you if you're listening. Yeah, I mean I was. We can make that happen, right? I was on the CBS Morning Show with Gayle King and I was like, how do I bring this up?

Meghan Houle (01:02:01.814)

Do it! You didn't! I really want to be best friend with your best friend. I didn't do it. And I had so many moments with her off stage and I just didn't, I couldn't do it. If I can ask you to come to Boston, you can ask Yalda about Oprah. I know. That's okay, next time. Next time. It'll happen when it's supposed to happen. It's gonna happen. It's gonna happen, I feel it. Well, send Oprah that showerhead and get on the best list and then there you go. Well, I think we got into her book.

her book thing or we're working on it. We're trying. All right, send it out to the universe. So what is one fun fact about you? Maybe many people don't know or do you have like any hidden talents? Well, no, not really. But I would let, most people don't know this, but I really want to, if there was anything else I could have done in my life, I would have been a country singer. Really? I guess that's not that far off considering I'm obsessed with Taylor Swift, but.

but like old Taylor stuff, like country Taylor stuff. I love country music. Nashville is like one of my favorite places. Oh, it's so fun. So I mean, if I could sing, and I am taking singing lessons. Okay, so the album will be dropping. Can you imagine if I was like, I'm gonna come sing. Yes. All right, so all of you are invited to Ellie's first concert. We have front. We can talk about it. We're talking about a lot of things. So this podcast you're gonna go back and listen to over and over. So how can people

work with you, tell us more about what you're doing at Blueprint because we have some people here and I think some other female business owners that could maybe get involved. It's amazing, it's the best investment I've ever made in my whole life and I'm so excited to be a part of this group and you're never gonna shake me, so sorry. You never shake me. Season one, season two, season 22. Megan will still around. That's amazing.

Well, the blueprint was more of like, let's see how this goes. And Jacqueline Johnson, who is the founder of Crate and Cold Spade, and Marina Middleton. Marina went to Jacqueline and said, hey, I want to do a mastermind with a couple more women. And then Jacqueline came to me and said, hey, do you want to do this? And I was like, yeah. I'm really in this phase of my life, looking for more ways to be of service, to give back. And I've learned so much in growing this business

Meghan Houle (01:04:14.45)

I feel like I have a lot to give back, a lot to offer, and being able to zoom in on a business and say, hey, here's my experience with that. And so the Blueprint Mastermind, which we have a new cohort starting in April? Yeah, that's great. So that's exciting. And then we're doing these one-off days in different cities where we're spending an entire day with a very small group of entrepreneurs. We just did it in Atlanta, and it was amazing. New York's having. And you don't have to be a part of the show.

blueprint to be a part of that, right? So it's like the one day, it's like a one day thing with us. And then, and then I do like, there's a, there's a platform called intro where it's, you know, you can like book time with me that way. And yeah, I mean, am I doing anything else? I think that's it.

Yeah, I think those are like the main, I have to, I mean, we got Oprah, country music. I mean, you're adding to the list, girl. Yeah, you know, I am exploring a lot of things in this next year and you know, there's, the book has been a big push for the last quarter of this year and who knows what's coming next. I know, it's a beauty of life, right? It is, like what's around the corner? It's so exciting. I know, it really is. I mean, at the beginning of this year, in like a dumpster fire of like,

depression of January, like if you were to tell me by the end of the year I would have joined a mastermind, met Ellie Webb, threw like a big event, I'd be like, yeah crazy, like this is too much. So anything can happen, but you also have to take action, right? And I think you also have to like feel the feels, but then say, I want more, better, different and you have to make it happen. And you know, Gabby Bernstein has a great book called Super Attractor, which also was another one of those books that really like...

catapulted me out of like, you know, she can disappear to be like very woo-woo, but she's not, I mean, it's not that woo-woo. It's like, oh, you want this to happen. Like, you have to go do it and still put it out in the universe. And I loved, I love, I love that book so much. That was another really big one for me. Yeah. No, I love Gabby. Well, thank you so much. And I want to get, do you guys have any questions? Like, who has a hot, juicy, oh yeah.

Meghan Houle (01:06:23.871)

I really accept you're one of my idols. Thank you. I admire you so much. I'm going to get... Oh, so sweet. No, thank you so much. How have you navigated being a woman and speaking up and being assertive but not sounding bitchy? Do you know that type of a question? Yeah.

I mean, I think that I don't think I let it. I don't think I think a lot about the, how can I answer this? You know, I care what people think a little. I don't care a lot. You know, it's like I, and by that I mean like I really try to live like.

be the best version of myself. And I hold myself to a really high standard. The things that I do when people are watching and the things I do when people aren't watching, all of that is in the same bucket for me. So I know who I am. And so when I understand this question really well, because I feel like there is maybe a different standard. And there is this like, oh, if you're strong and assertive, people think you're bitchy. But like, fuck that. I don't.

I just don't subscribe to that. I'm like, I'm just going to be strong and assertive. And if you think it's bitchy, that's your problem. It's not my problem. And I've been in enough rooms with enough strong, powerful men and just not allowed them to push me around. And maybe it's because I've been careful about the men that I've been in rooms with. It's like when we were looking for our private equity partners.

there were definitely rooms that when we were pitching our idea and we were trying to raise money, I can remember being in rooms with men that I'm like, there is no chance I'm taking money from this guy. He's such an asshole, and I can read it all over him. No thanks. And so I stayed clear of that. And by the way, I think even though I've two failed marriages, there weren't bad men. There was things that weren't right. And I think that.

Meghan Houle (01:08:32.57)

it's largely who we surround ourselves with, if we put ourselves in a situation. Because you know that gut feeling you get when you're around any person, a man or woman, where you're like, this is just not the right thing. And you know it, but you're like, but I'm going to do it anyway, don't do it. And I think that I really feel like I don't, like I said, I care a little bit, but not a lot. I'm going to do what I feel like is right by me and not let myself get too carried away in like,

what somebody else's opinion of me is. Because at the end of the day, there's no chance everyone's going to like you. And so it's OK. They don't have to. I don't think you need to live by this impossible standard of wanting everybody to like you. Thank you so much, Hatt. I think it's that being nice. As the women, you're expected to be nice. And I think there's nice and kind. I'm always kind, right? I'm always kind. Yeah. Right.

I mean, I'm always kind, but I can be really firm, which may not feel kind to people. But I'm not worried about being nice, but I'm always worried about being kind and courteous. I always say thank you. I try to always ask people's names. I try to be really sincere. But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you push me around. Thank you so much. I'm going to be extra and ask one more. And it's such a cliche question.

What advice would you give your younger 23-year-old self? I feel like someone asked that at our last thing. And I was like, I would not spend as much time worrying about everything. And I think that more is around the business. I worried so much. So many sleepless nights worrying if it was all going to work, worrying if it was like, you name it. I worried about it. And it's just.

It's just not worth it. And that's, again, with the Gabby Bernstein thing, with you have to still work hard, and you do all that you can do, and then you let it go. And I don't think that's a lesson we really learn until we get much older, and we're like, I've done all I can do. And again, it doesn't mean don't work hard, but this is all I can do, and now I have to send it out into the universe and hope for the best. Yeah, yeah. Thank you so much. Thanks for coming to Boston. Yeah, you're welcome. Thank you.

Meghan Houle (01:10:52.826)

I hear like a common theme about you listening to your gut, your intuition from where you started to where you are now. What are you doing today that is really honing in on listening to that deeper part of yourself where you kind of knew it from the beginning but never knew how to hone into it? What are some of the tricks today that you're doing that? Well, I think I stop and like,

pay attention to my body, to my mind, more than I ever have. I will make myself meditate at least once a day, every day, whether it's in the morning or if I'm just in the middle of the day. And I also really pay attention to my body. I don't know if you guys have ever heard of the book, When the Body Keeps Score. Such a great book, right? And it's like, our bodies really do.

keep track of our traumas, of our whatever. And I know when I feel something in my body, I'm so connected to it now that I'm like, oh, this isn't right. This isn't right. And I'll be like, why? What's going on? And I'm so much more curious just as a human now than I've ever been because I have so much more awareness of what's going on with me that I'm like, oh, I have anxiety. Why do I have anxiety? What's going on in this situation? So I'm.

I'm thinking about that stuff, whereas before, I didn't even pay attention to it at all. And I was so out of touch with my body and what was going on with me. So I think that's probably the biggest change for me now. Thank you. My business partner is my fiance. So I'm wondering, what is your advice for working with your partner besides don't? No, I mean, my.

My advice is not don't. I think that even though my marriage to my business partner ended, it wasn't because of the business. I think though, the one thing I'll say is that finding some healthy boundaries around the business, that what mistake I think we did make was that everything was all about the business. And for us, you're engaged, you're at the beginning of your marriage, it's a really exciting time. It's like, we went into our marriage.

Meghan Houle (01:13:12.77)

thinking like maybe we shouldn't be getting married. I mean, hopefully you're not in that same boat, you know? But also like establishing, like there's gonna be times that we're talking about work and then we're gonna really, you know, establish times where we're not, you know, where we're still dating and we're still courting each other and we're talking about things that are not work. I think that's the biggest key is like being able to pull yourself out of the business. So it's just not always business. You know, and I think another thing, and this is a danger with working,

with your partner is, I don't know if you guys are familiar with Esther Perel, but she talks a lot about how important it is to come away from your person and then come back to them. So you have things to talk to them about, and you can share experiences with them. You run that risk if you're working together all day, and then you go home together, and you go to dinner together, and you go to bed together. You don't have any separation. So whatever that looks like for you. And I would build in as much separation and time to miss each other, time to like.

find new things to talk about that are outside the business. You know, I think that's my best advice. I love that. One more, and then we'll be able to meet Ali and have her sign your books, and then Ali gets to go to sleep. Hello. So happy to be here.

So this is a question for the moms. Being one yourself, I am a newer mom. I have a one-year-old. A little over one. I'm not into the month thing. It's like, she's over one. It's fine. I'm also realizing, and I am not going to be a PTA mom. That's just not my jam. How do you navigate?

mom guilt or how did you navigate mom guilt knowing that you want to lean into your own thing and just feeling so bombarded with society being pulled in different directions both worlds. I think that's kind of the same thing is like not caring that much about what people say like I know that there was a lot of judgment from moms and my kids school and I was always the mom who would like find the mom who was the mom who was like knew what was going on and become friends with her and say like.

Meghan Houle (01:15:14.558)

You know, like, and not in like a using way. I'd be like, hey, I work, I'm like, but like, can you please like help me and keep me connected so I don't miss anything important? So I'm like, because I don't, I didn't want to miss things mostly for my kids, you know? And so, you know, but I know that there were moms who were judging me, who were the moms that were there every day. And I just had to accept that and be like, that's fine. That's okay, you can judge me or not judge me. Or maybe they weren't. Maybe it was just the story in my head. And maybe it's just the story in your head. Like,

I don't really know, but I know that I was doing what was important and right for me. And I would have conversations with my boys more as they got older and you have a one year old so you're not nearly there yet. But eventually I would talk to my boys about how much I love what I'm doing in the world and how much I love my work and I would equate it with something that they love so that they could understand. And it's like, this is what mommy does so I'm a better mommy. And I told them that their whole childhood. So they grew up feeling like.

Yeah, my mom works a lot, but I would ask my kids, I was just talking about this, I would ask my kids, what's important to you that I'm there for, and what's not? And they would, at least in my experience, my kids would be like, oh, this thing that they have, it's like this big assembly, I'm not really doing anything, I don't care if you're there or not, but this thing that I'm a big part of, I would be sad if you weren't there. So I'm like, I'll move heaven and earth to be there for that thing. And I think that's how I navigated it of like,

just making sure that the communication was really open with my kids. And then for the other moms in society, it's like, you just can't pay too much attention to it. And I think it's a really healthy way to live in general, is not paying too much attention to what anybody else thinks, as long as you're living to your highest standard. Yes. Oh, so many good nuggets. Thank you for being on the live podcast, the first live podcast. And I can't wait to see what's in store.

for all of us, right guys? So we love you, Allie. Thank you so much. Thank you guys.