#180 - Navigating the Transition from Salary to Startup Success

Ever wondered what it's like to trade a steady paycheck for the thrill of starting your own business? Chrissy Ford, once a corporate employee, now the CEO of the thriving eight-figure enterprise Levo, joins us to share her extraordinary leap from the familiar comforts of a day job to the exhilarating world of entrepreneurship. Her personal battle with migraines led to the creation of Levo's signature oil infusion products, a hit with both enthusiastic amateurs and seasoned chefs who prioritize authentic, natural ingredients.

During our chat, Chrissy offers a behind-the-scenes look at the gritty details of startup life. From self-funding and market validation to the pivotal moment of bidding farewell to her corporate life, she reveals the strategic steps that were critical in shaping Levo’s success. Chrissy's story isn't just about the risks but also the calculated moves, like her proactive trip to China to establish manufacturing relationships, which underscores the importance of trust and personal connections in the world of global business.

As our conversation wraps up, Chrissy extends an invitation to join the Levo community, where the brand's passionate followers exchange tips and stories in the Levo Love Club on Facebook. She welcomes connections on LinkedIn, ready to mentor those inspired to turn their ideas into reality. You're not just listening to a success story; you're getting a blueprint for navigating the complex terrain of entrepreneurship, with Chrissy’s firsthand experiences lighting the path.

Levo Love Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/levoloveclub
Chrissy Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissybellman/
Levo: https://levooil.com/

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:58

Chrissy Ford. She's a corporate dropout to founder and CEO of an eight-figure successful business and we have her here today on the Clocked In podcast. So, chrissy, how did you even come up with an idea to get to the point of eight figures, which is over $10 million a year, which is incredible?

Speaker 2: 1:17

Oh, thank you so much. How did I come up with the idea? I like to say it's like the first spontaneous, truly spontaneous thing I ever did was Levo Cause. Up to that point, I had a plan for everything and that was just sort of um I can't describe it Like it's it's truly so random.

Speaker 2: 1:36

Um, I had an openness to DIY and natural products and things like that, because I had I was personally a migraine sufferer that had been like cleaning with vinegar for years and stuff like that. But really it was just searching around Google in that arena, just wanting to make a product that hit all these trends of people caring more about their ingredients and being more conscious and then kind of falling into this subset of people that are making a lot of their own, whether it's cooking like from scratch, like truly from scratch, like make your own peanut butter from scratch, um, or you know, making things because you're trying to avoid ingredients. I just found that there was tons of online traffic and people talking about those things and no products and no brands. So I thought this is a really engaged install base to deliver some kind of product to, and I kind of backed into the idea for Levo, because oil infusion is something that uh, you can make so many different things. If you start with an infused ingredient, you could turn that into like skincare or a candle or food.

Speaker 2: 2:38

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 2:41

So I've had past guests on and when they talk about it, they talk about that like the lotions we use, the oils we use, everything we use affects us and causes us to act a certain way. So can you elaborate on what that really is? Are people like are the different oils affecting us? Like, is there stuff that they're putting in it? Like, how did that even come to be? Cause I know it's very prevalent nowadays for everyone who's really focusing on their health.

Speaker 2: 3:14

Yeah, I mean, I read about it. You know people talking about infused oils more than me, having done it myself at first, and then I went to almost every specialty olive oil store that I could find in New York city where I was living at the time, and I discovered that, like the section of the flavored oils were usually like an oil where they just drop the flavor in, like and sometimes actually things like that, and they would come from a totally different supplier.

Speaker 2: 3:42

Uh, so I was just kind of blown away, Like you know, you imagine that a blood orange infused olive oil is like you know, the beautiful orange peels were sitting in there and it was so authentically like infused or flavored or something. But actually the process, when I was like really digging into it more, I found that like all those stores bought it from the same supplier and they were sort of like artificially or like, um, you know, ethanol extracted, flavored, you know later.

Speaker 2: 4:09

So that was kind of the beginning, and then I just noticed, I started noticing more and more, um, that you know, not all essential oils are created equal. Um, when you, when something's flavored like and it's it actually tastes, it doesn't taste like the artificial version of something, it tastes like the authentic version of it, like the way at a fancy restaurant you'd get it they're using, like real lavender and the way they're doing that is using it into an oil, um, versus sort of artificial.

Speaker 2: 4:35

So it's kind of like it gets you away from, um, just a level of processed things, Um, and kind of brings you to more back to basics, and yeah, that's kind of the idea.

Speaker 1: 4:50

It's fascinating because you start to experience it more and more when I don't know. It's been throughout my life where I'm starting to realize that you're like the shampoo we use, the smells we have, the perfumes, the deodorants. They're like don't use this, use this. So where are people at Like? Are these people all the way at the end where they're like, like, who's usually the target customer? Because I know people are talking about it, I know they're hearing about it, but like, who really is the customer?

Speaker 2: 5:22

Yeah, it runs the gamut Like Levo is uniquely like 50-50 male-female really evenly spread across other demographics like age, you know, the largest states or the coastal states. It kind of follows like socioeconomic norms in terms of where they are Generally hobbyists, you know like I've seen everything from a harley davidson fan to a cat person to uh uh, you know like amateur chef at home or professional chefs really enjoy levo as well. Um, but that you know they usually have some kind of a hobby where they're willing to spend the time and energy getting into making things or they're just you know, maybe a gadgety type person or someone who's like you know, maybe the type of person who picked up sourdough in quarantine or something as well.

Speaker 2: 6:14

But yeah, it really is a widespread and that's made it challenging and fun from a marketing perspective, because you know you can't like rule number. Whatever about marketing is like don't try to appeal to everybody um yeah, there definitely is this like really wide crowd of people that are attracted to it that we try to speak to I, I would say that it is a wide crowd, but it's also a niche, like to me.

Speaker 1: 6:41

I I'm like on the cusp of learning about these things. So when I saw what you were doing, I was like this is interesting. It's different to me, but I think for the audience, for everyone to realize, is that if you have something that you think is a quote unquote niche, or not enough people will know about it or not enough people will know about it Chrissy's here is a great example, saying that she's done, it has a big business and it's a niche. It's this thing of it's all these people and they align in a certain way. Don't be scared, because there's, like we've talked about before, there's 7 to eight billion people on the planet. Like you can find a thousand people interested in your product. So like it's a it's a good thing. And I'm saying that for the audience because it kind of opens up a lot of eyes and a lot of perspectives, because sometimes we're like we have to appeal to everyone and it's like no, like you can niche down. So yeah, absolutely so.

Speaker 1: 7:42

Chissy, where's the origin of this? Where did this all happen? Were you just like I? I'm done with school and now I want to experience this. How'd you get into this?

Speaker 2: 7:52

Um, I was in college and I like had a light bulb moment about the idea when I was searching Google, among other things, and looking at I was a financial analyst at the time. So, like looking at different reports of different trends, including things like East meets West, holistic medicine stuff, people wanting to take their own care into their own hands and avoiding you know things that they think might contribute to autoimmune diseases like stuff like that, I was just sort of seeing all of that and the cannabis and hemp industry being an example to me of just herbalism at large. East meets West preventative healthcare to many people, or at least to, like you know, the sophisticated consumer there that has the purchasing power, that's, you know, walking around Whole Foods. That's kind of like sitting on the edge of natural care. So, yeah, I was in college when I had that idea and then towards the end of college I was trying to rally like friends and people around me to care about it, which was a really mixed bag. Like I was a little too hot on that at the time. I actually had some like awesome connections out of business school that I totally burned by trying to be too forceful of, like you know, get into this with me, like I just want to do a thing. But I totally thought it was going to be on the side, like I was really trying to convince people to get into it and to do it, but I wasn't willing to part with uh my you know then, uh front office investment banking job that I was intending to get, cause I wanted some level of personal security. So it ended up kind of hopping along, hobbling along for three, four years while I was working and self-funding it.

Speaker 2: 9:26

You know, I like had some cash. I was like putting it right back into prototypes. I paid students at Parsons in the city to help me prototype some of the first Levos and things I paid. I lit a lot of money on fire at a product design firm. I did all this stuff all on the side and by, like you know, by the end of that three to four year period I was, I was uh, we filmed a Kickstarter video and I thought we were going to, I was going to go take it to a Kickstarter and have this whole funny campaign, and so I think about watching the video and like really imagining the campaign. Uh, it dawned on me that like I wasn't going to be able to do this on the side, like this is going to take. It feels janky, was how I felt. I was like it just doesn't feel right. Um, so then I gave myself one more year and I said, if I can drum up, if I can like convince myself that I can raise a little outside money, because I can't afford the tooling.

Speaker 2: 10:16

Like I'd reached that point of finishing R and D and all of that with my on my own dime, and then I was like I can't write this tooling check, so if I think I can, uh, you know, get some outside capital to do that, then I'll quit my job, and it's kind of so. I actually like made fake business cards, uh, for Levo and showed up at like meetupcom events, uh, like that. Uh and uh, once people sounded like kind of interested and like it gave me the validation of like trying it on before I did it.

Speaker 1: 10:48

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 10:49

And I. Then I kind of jumped in full time.

Speaker 1: 10:52

I yeah, I just want everyone to understand that that it's not this. I quit my job and then I started a business. It's I built as much as I could on the side, because the thing that people don't realize is that there are steps and there are processes and there's product market fit and there's all these different things and a majority of the time, we're just like I have an idea, I think I'm going to quit, and it's like hold your horses. And that's why I really like what Chrissy did there. She actually tested the market by going to these meetups and asking people hey, this is an idea, what do you think? And I think that's so powerful because it costs nothing or very close to nothing.

Speaker 1: 11:37

It's just your time and it allows you to sit there and really just understand what people like, what might be confusing, where it makes sense, because you're learning as this is all going and people think business is this whole. You got to dive right in. Yes, you have to burn the boats at some point. Yes, you got to do this. Yes, you also have to be financially fit, otherwise you don't think clearly. So, because there's so many people that do the jump and then they're like wait, I need money. So then they're like I'm going to get a job and do this thing and it's like you're in the same place you were before.

Speaker 2: 12:11

Totally it's. You know, I like to tell other people I talk to who haven't. I'm all about supporting people. If you've got a great idea, I say like, go for it, because, like you said, levo is an example of something pretty niche that really went somewhere. So I think, with enough like persistence, you can pretty much do anything that you want to do. That's my personal belief.

Speaker 2: 12:30

However, I think it's important that people go into the startup world and they understand that most of the people who start something have a lot of resources to begin with one way or another. Um, so it's very rare that you're rubbing sticks together to make fire. So if you know you're that person who has to drum up other people's interests and like really, um, get some more support and and and rally resources around your idea, I think it's it's wise to be like very practical about what you're getting into, cause it takes longer than you think, like anyone I know who's fundraised. It takes months. Um, you know you have to become pro at it to like reduce that timeline. So if it's your first thing, I definitely agree that you should take some time and like really consider your transition before you do it or you'll be really stressed out. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 13:19

And what people don't understand is that that stressed out component. You show up differently in meetings. There's this undertone of desperation where it's like I need this to work otherwise and people are always like do that, like that's good and it's framework wise. Mentally, it might not always be good for you. So it's just figuring out who you are and what's best for you, because there's some times where it just doesn't always work out the best. So how did you think about, really, that transition year? Obviously you made the decision, but what were you doing besides the meetups and those different things? Did you raise any money? Or you were just saving a lot more money? Or how do you think about it financially raise?

Speaker 2: 14:03

any money, or you were just saving a lot more money, or how do you think about it financially? I had a few meetings while I technically still had my other job. I had a few like meetings over coffee with potential investors and I had gone to some events and talked about it as if I was doing it already. I didn't actually take anybody's money until then. I just went. That entire process um was for me, it was just validation for me and it was totally psychological. And then once I really quit, then I was able to spend even more time, like at the time I was officing at WeWork actually, and I met so many other cool people.

Speaker 2: 14:39

You know once I was really spending my days there and like that actually led to. Cool people. You know once I was really spending my days there and like that actually led to. But I was psychologically ready for that um to go meet to, to really dive in. So I kind of test drove things. Like those investors that I, you know, talked to at that time, didn't end up being the people that ultimately invested in the company.

Speaker 2: 14:57

I kind of but I was ready for it because I had broken the seal in a way, you know.

Speaker 1: 15:03

Yeah, and I think that brings up another really good point that what a lot of people don't understand is that you need reps, so you need reps in everything. So that's like you need reps to get good at lifting weights, you need reps to get good at getting investors for your business. So how do you get better? You get some reps. I need reps to get better at podcasts, like, the more you do something, the better you get at it.

Speaker 1: 15:28

So my point being here is that if you're able to practice and actually get valid reps and it's not like you're having a coffee meeting with your dad or your mom, like you're having real people where they actually view you as a real person, and you're like, yes, I am. And you're having real people where they actually view you as a real person and you're like, yes, I am, and you're stepping into that, then they're like, okay, keep me updated, I'm interested in this, this is something. And that's where you get that validation of, yes, I can do this. It is possible, because there's so many times where we just don't get the reps and we don't even know what it's like. So I would challenge the audience that if you have some idea or something you want to do get the first rep, get the first five reps. See what happens. You'll probably fail, but at least you know you're trying and you might enjoy the process.

Speaker 2: 16:15

Another important thing that I was thinking about as you're talking is it wasn't just about the fundraising, there's also the making the thing and doing the business. So I was also simultaneously proceeding on trying to finish the design, which, in hardware, is potentially a never-ending cycle, which is why people fear hardware. A lot.

Speaker 2: 16:33

But I was really trying to see a prototype come out of a factory that looked like what I wanted basically at that time and I knew what I learned in the beginning just burning through money was like I'm not going to achieve that through middlemen, basically Like I was just going to spend way too much money. So I was like, how do I get closer and closer to the source? So I did do a trip to China at the time.

Speaker 1: 16:58

Oh, wow.

Speaker 2: 16:58

First person I was trying to model. You know I didn't have any. I didn't grow up with entrepreneurs in my family or around me. My peer group from business school was like very corporate and finance oriented, so I didn't have a lot of examples. But you know, in just in that sort of trying it on lap, before I really went for it, um and talking about it more, I did meet other people who knew, people who were, you know, had been in China for 30 years and made a hundred different products and things like that.

Speaker 2: 17:24

So I started to model how did they? How did they do it? What does it look like? Like what's the commonality between people who have been successful making physical products and it's like they've been there a lot, they have support like boots on the ground, they have like relationships that they've earned, things like that. So I was like how do I do that? Because it felt like at the time everything was a broker and everything was like I couldn't get directly, like behind the wall. So I ended up just flying there with the first person who would take me on a trip and like just slugging through it and going and seeing it. So I that was all happening in parallel.

Speaker 1: 18:01

You literally took off days from your job to go to China.

Speaker 2: 18:05

At the very end. I used all my PTO, yeah, and I was a combination of a startup week in Colorado and, uh, and my first trip, yeah.

Speaker 1: 18:13

That's incredible. And what was that experience like Cause? I mean, you tell it and everyone's like what. That makes no sense, but it's. The truth is that if you want something bad enough, you have to be irrational about it. You have to make it into reality. So what do you mean by that? There was all these middlemen and broker. Do people represent the different factories, or what was it exactly?

Speaker 2: 18:42

factories or what was it exactly In hard goods? Yeah, there's, there's a whole world. If you've got, if you call like 1-800, I have an invention or you start Googling like what do I do with my invention? There are a lot of agencies that will, that are looking for you to spend a lot of money and you know some of them are great. But I just for me, like you know, paying it out of pocket and trying to be really scrappy about it, and for anyone who's trying to do it that way, it's not tenable.

Speaker 2: 19:05

If you have a you have an idea of a certain complexity, like a medical device or something like that, like you wouldn't be able to just kind of I call it pretend engineering, like you wouldn't have been able to to stick, handle people, people and and ultimately get to your product. You would have had to find like specialists and whatever and need that budget and raise for it in advance. It's just very difficult, um. So yeah, that experience for me was adrenaline fueled and just kind of like taking every next. For me it was just being in a mode, and I still am in this mode ever since I started it. Um is just like taking whatever next step I can see and just doing it, like just if it's a, if it's a step forward or if it, and even if it's just for learning, like you're not positive of the outcome, like just taking it and doing it and and being in it. Um, because if you just intellectualize it and you're kind of sitting behind it and you're just imagining what it would be, you're certainly wrong. Once you get into it, it's going to be different. So the more you can like actively learn and be involved. Like I can't imagine just having sat and thought about the idea for another year and just perfected a fantasy in my mind and try to go do it and be confronted with a different reality, you know? And the other thing about agencies that I would add really quick is just that whether it's an agency or it's a particular person or mentor or advisor or someone you know, anyone who has like 100% of the answer and says, like this is exactly the way to do it, if it's your idea, then it's inevitably going to be. You're going to have to find your own way. There is no easy button and no it.

Speaker 2: 20:39

If it's your idea, then it's inevitably going to be. You're going to have to find your own way. There is no easy button and no answer.

Speaker 2: 20:43

If it's your unique idea, if you're trying to do something like a very proven model or like something that a lot of people have done before and you're trying to do the exact same thing, then sure, there might be a formula to follow. But if you are pioneering your own original idea, then you have to. You have to just start taking steps, because you're going to end up finding your own way. Nobody has the exact answer for you.

Speaker 1: 21:04

Yeah, and I I think what was what was really powerful there was you saying that essentially, you're like I had these fears. Maybe it was fear of failure, fear of rejection, two biggest fears, and you just took action. Because the truth is, when you take action and you know your big picture, directional awareness that you want to go, then you're able to accomplish so much more because you're actually going in the direction. Like for myself, I've had many of times like, like I was telling you about the trip before, like I'm traveling around Europe for seven weeks, what was my action? We booked the flights a flight in and a flight out, that was it. And it's like, okay, what was your next step? We got a place to stay, cool, what's the next one?

Speaker 1: 21:54

And you just start figuring it out as you go, but you can never predict it until you start experiencing that. And figuring it out as you go, but you can never predict it until you start experiencing that. And that's what the beautiful thing about life is that when you put yourself out there and you go after your goals, you're able to see progress and see these wins. But that doesn't happen without overcoming that fear of failure and that fear of rejection and taking action, so I want to commend you on that. I think that's amazing.

Speaker 2: 22:16

Thank you so much. Yeah, You're uh, you're the edge like as you so much. Yeah, you're the edge Like as you step into entrepreneurship. If you're not pushing yourself to the edge, the edge will come to you and you will be confronted with it one way or another. So to me it's like proactively finding the edge and knowing where it is and walking up to it, because that's growth and that's new things. And I can identify times where I wasn't doing that. It's reflected in the performance of the company, where we weren't growing or progressing in a productive way, because I wasn't pushing myself in the new. There's always a new area as soon as you conquer. For me, you know manufacturing and getting some of that done, and it's like I didn't expect to have to learn so much about marketing, but guess what? That's like 90% of what I had to learn. After that I thought I had kind of gotten over a hill, and then I just found a new one that had its own world.

Speaker 1: 23:15

Well, that's the really other challenging thing that you're facing is that as an entrepreneur or anybody, you just have to constantly learn new skill sets, and then you have to employ people to cover those new skill sets and then you move on to the next one, and it's just a very challenging process. So for you, how did you, how was that China visit the first time? Because I know and then we'll move over to the marketing and how you think about that but like, how was that first China visit? Because I can imagine that scale. Like you're, you have this one identity of yourself of like I'm in finance, I do this, and then you have this other identity of like I'm a founder, and it's like neither of those cross China, like neither, flying all the way around the world to go there. Like what was that?

Speaker 2: 23:58

even like the first trip was pretty miserable, I'll be honest. It was not easy. It was not. It was kind of I didn't know what to expect. I didn't really have an expectation, but it was. I was like, oh man, is this really what I'm going to be doing for the next couple of years? Like I was, I was pretty concerned, but I did do a couple of smart things at the time, which was like I knew a little.

Speaker 2: 24:19

I knew enough about what I had heard, which, like I borrowed um, I borrowed designer clothes for my aunt, uh, and dress myself up, um job was actually a really big benefit because there was some value and some credibility that I had, like talking about what I had done over there. Um, you know, I instantly learned the value of. I mean, I had heard in business school that in Asia, culture is more about being in person and less about contracts, but I, it was immediately obvious to me that, like, I'm going to spend a lot of time here, uh, this is not going to get done virtually, this is not going to get done on paper. This is a, this is an experience, um.

Speaker 2: 24:57

So, yeah, in the beginning I think I was just with the wrong people. You know, my first try over there, the, the people I went with, the factory I visited, um, everything about it is like night and day different than my reality over there now, um, which is now expanded countries as well. Um, but just in general, like you know, first time you know I met something and then I ended up loving it Like I've got. I've done nearly 30 trips at this point for a while.

Speaker 2: 25:24

Yeah, I mean, that's how I got it done without being technical uh was just learning as much as I possibly can about the technical stuff and basically project managing it and just forcing it out the door. Um, it was just sort of like a sheer uh, like I said, adrenaline infused, like this is happening hell or high water sort of a thing. Um, but yeah, I think I ended up. Really, I've had so many positive experiences. I've got people that I've worked with now that I would consider family, and on that first trip I never would have seen it that way, I never would have been able to see it going in that direction. But now I have some of my most transformative working relationships are there. So it really it really spun around and it was so many chance introductions that led to me meeting the right people.

Speaker 2: 26:16

A common chance and just sort of putting it out there and just turning over leaves and turning over leaves. But ultimately, like the string of introductions that got me to the right place was pretty random and lucky, I'd say. But yeah, that's just a testament to sticking with it, I guess.

Speaker 1: 26:33

Absolutely, because I mean, there's so many times where you just got to put yourself out there and, like Chrissy was saying that the first time she went, it wasn't the right people, it wasn't that. But like the thing is, you don't know any different, you haven't had any experiences, you don't know what people are like and the only way you can get that experience is through experiencing and talking to people who've been to China but, like, still doesn't do it. You still got to experience it in real life for yourself. So what was the way to like? How did you know when it?

Speaker 2: 27:09

was time to go over. Like 30 trips sounds like a lot, like could you have done this quicker? Like yeah, I was just. I found a cheap flight. It was not a great flight pattern, but it was a really cheap flight. It was like under $700. And I was going every three weeks.

Speaker 1: 27:20

Really.

Speaker 2: 27:22

Between, and I also like to get Levo one out the door, and the earliest employees would remember this because one of them stayed with me for three weeks there. I basically said, like this trip, I'm staying until they're in the container.

Speaker 1: 27:36

Really.

Speaker 2: 27:37

When the container is full, I will leave.

Speaker 2: 27:39

Leave, so my presence will be here watching this, you know um go down operation until until they're there, and it ended up being a three-week-long trip to really push it. Had I not just decided to stay there, I think it could have taken an extra like two months, and at this point that was when I had pre-orders, like anxiously awaiting their first leave out, yes, so that I was like this has to happen, like I don't want to wait anymore, you know. So I was just, I just kind of camped out.

Speaker 1: 28:06

So yeah, and I mean that's super important for people to realize that it's like, if you can, you can when you stay somewhere longer or when you do things more often. It compresses time. So how long was your normal trip? Like a week, it sounds like.

Speaker 2: 28:22

I would leave Denver at this point. I've moved to Denver, I'm not in the city anymore and I would leave Denver at like 6 am on a Monday and I'd be back at 5 pm on Friday and I had about two full working days there.

Speaker 1: 28:35

It was just think about that, that's two days, full working days there. It was just think, think about that, that's two days. But when she said I stayed for three weeks, 21 days, but condensed all that time and it stops those travels and it goes, we're getting this done. It makes a massive difference when you can immerse yourself in something, because there's so many times where it's like we, we just don't. It might've taken you 50 reps to like 50 working days in China to get a product. If you do two a week, once a month, that's half a year. Like you know what I mean and people don't realize that that if you can just immerse yourself in things, it can make things so much better because you're going so much quicker, you're building rapport with them, they start to trust you, you start to know them better and it's like I really appreciate you sharing that because there's not like these are the early days. This is what it looks like.

Speaker 2: 29:32

It's not always the same for everyone, but you want to build a product and you want to own it, like this is what it's like. Yeah, like if something is the constraint, like there's an idea of this, like theory of constraint, like finding the constraint where is it? So at that time, the constraint was, you know, some of the manufacturing elements and like all the little things that have to come together for it to like safely be in a box where it's not going to get damaged and shit, and so I think it also inspires when you really do a sprint like that and you immerse yourself in like why the constraint exists, what the, and have empathy for the people that are getting all that together and try to understand it more. It led to me learning so much more and just and such a appreciation for all the detail.

Speaker 2: 30:15

I mean it there a amount that has to come together for even a relatively simple product in your home to get to you is a lot. There's a lot of. I had a bigger appreciation process too.

Speaker 1: 30:29

For sure. But then that also makes you sit there and realize like, hey, valuable, like, and it works. This is valuable Like of course I'm not going to charge the first person what I think it's really worth, because I can't account for all the 30 trips I went on. But you start to realize you're like you get more confidence in yourself when you're doing these types of trips and when you're booking the things and you're putting the money out there, because there's so many times where we all want to be cheap and hold our money and it's like I can't share with anyone, and that's okay for times. But when you're building a business like you got to do what it takes and that's sometimes really investing in yourself and really seeing the product through and realizing that entire process because you're going to become an expert in it, whether you like it or not.

Speaker 2: 31:17

Yeah, in that entire process because you're going to become an expert in it, whether you like it or not, yeah, yep, definitely, which I think is amazing.

Speaker 1: 31:23

So when did you start to have final trust and when did you know that you have trust in people? When you were like, okay, we're able to accelerate this now, like we don't have to go over there as much?

Speaker 2: 31:35

um, ultimately, on the third try with a different manufacturer and, like I said, some luck on who I got introduced to along the way. Um, you know, they expressed their interest and they said, we, we, we want to get behind this with you. Um, and they became a partner. So, like I was like alone in it for a while and then, you know, you start attracting people that are willing to get behind it. So I had that and then at this, like I kind of had that expression from a manufacturing partner which is so powerful for product companies.

Speaker 2: 32:13

I mean, like so many great companies, the relationship they have with their supply chain is like the defining quality in a lot of ways.

Speaker 2: 32:21

I mean it's like so impactful to your bottom line and financials and like getting any kind of terms from them and just having the quality of your product.

Speaker 2: 32:32

I mean like just them really caring and it not being transactional and being a little more like transformative and like a real relationship, um, where both sides are supporting each other, is like so powerful.

Speaker 2: 32:43

So I kind of had I achieved that kind of like I'll call it good juju or sort of like goodwill between us. Um, and then at the same time I had luck strike me again and I the perfect mentor fell into my lap and he had, you know, 30 years of China experience and was an engineer and was a CEO and all these things, and got on, got on flights with me and went and then I feel like I got a much more sophisticated version of what I was doing, like I did. I kind of got the momentum that I needed and like the spirit of everything was in the right direction and then, with mentorship and help, I was able to, you know, make like more technical agreements and get to another level of detail and precision and sophistication, with the relationship that um, and defining more things that I couldn't see myself, like avoiding mistakes that were going to happen, like let's define this now for when this inevitably happens.

Speaker 2: 33:41

Um they all came from mentorship and that was another thing that was just so amazing and um changed, changed my life, like someone who became family to me. Um, so, yeah, that was that was also very helpful Like I think I would have scraped my knees a lot more had I not also simultaneously had a mentor. Be like, okay, you have this. Now let's actually, like you know, put a bow on it and make it you know sophisticated.

Speaker 1: 34:08

Which I think is incredible because you realize the people who have been there before can help you along the way. And then what you were saying about the manufacturer joining you is so powerful because otherwise one day they could be like, hey, price has tripled. And you're like when COVID happened, you're like price has tripled. What do you mean? Price has tripled, I can't do. Price has tripled. But if they're on the same side then they'll try to accommodate and try to help you out, make it work where it's a team dynamic, which I think is so amazing. So what would you say as we're winding down? What would you say to someone who's like looking into entrepreneurship or looking forward to just taking their next adventure? What, what would you recommend to them?

Speaker 2: 34:53

Um, I liked what you said earlier about reps, or you've said a few times about reps. Um, there's a. There's something I heard at some point in my life about group A is group A and B are both trying to make pottery and group A is told make as many pots as fast as you can and group B is told make one perfect pot, and group A that was doing as many as they fast, as fast as they can, made prettier pots by the end of it because of iterating. Um, so I think that for me, you know and it's not easy, you know I have really bad days, uh, where I'm really hard on myself because I haven't figured it out yet or I messed a million things up. Um, you know, or sometimes you're living in mistakes like what's what's happening for you today actually were things that you were doing five years ago, you know, or sometimes you're living in mistakes like what's what's happening for you today actually were things that you were doing five years ago, you know.

Speaker 2: 35:40

So sometimes you have to get clear on what's going on and why. But I think overall, through everything, um, you know, if you're just continuing to iterate and taking steps forward, then there is. I do believe deeply that there's success for you out there, um, but it's an expectation to really to really sit on that concept and be prepared for that, and if you're ever sitting on your hands, that's the one thing. That's, that's not the right thing to do. There's never nothing to do. So that would be my main advice is if you're not iterating and growing, looking for the edge and taking the next steps, then something's off and maybe you're not fully excited, yet Maybe your heart's not in it, maybe something's going on that's keeping you from wanting to do that, but that's a dangerous game.

Speaker 2: 36:26

I feel like you know you can avoid a lot of really epic failures if you just keep going.

Speaker 1: 36:33

Yeah, I mean you're saying it how it is, it's when you're speaking, it kind of makes me think like there's these people who kind of sit there and they'll be like, oh, like, how was your day? And it was like, oh, like didn't really have meetings or didn't really have this or didn't have that, and it's like make meetings, it's like make stuff happen, call people, make it happen and like I really love that because it is take constant action, do the things that are going to make the difference. So the audience today, I think you guys you guys know what Chrissy says you got to take action today on whatever your goal is and make it as small as it is to get those early wins. I think that's absolutely incredible. So, chrissy, where can people learn more about you, levo and everything you got going on?

Speaker 2: 37:17

Um, levo oilcom, which is L EV O O I Lcom. It's the main site. Go check it out. Um, there's a really entertaining Levo love club group on Facebook of a lot of the power users, Um, which is a cool way to see if you're curious about a brand that's got a community element or like a very engaged customer. That's an interesting way to see it if you're looking at it from that perspective. So, yeah, check us out and feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn. I love talking to people who have an idea and want to do something and helping them see the next step. Sometimes it just takes an extra set of eyes. So I'm always here to support and help people on that journey as well. Um, so I'm always here to support and help people on that journey as well. Um, and yeah, that's that's how you find me.

Speaker 1: 38:02

That's fantastic. I'll put all that in the show notes. Thank you.