EP 35 Embracing Sobriety and Entrepreneurship with Elizabeth from Absence of Proof

Are you ready for a deep dive into the power of sobriety and how it can transform lives? Meet Elizabeth Gascoigne, our extraordinary guest today, whose journey from substance addiction to a thriving, alcohol-free life led her to create Absence of Proof, a groundbreaking non-alcoholic beverage company.

But Elizabeth's story goes beyond personal triumph. Through Absence of Proof, she's revolutionizing the beverage industry and changing perceptions about sobriety. We'll explore her entrepreneurial journey, the challenges of planning large-scale events, and the unspoken mental toll that comes with it.

Finally, we'll uncover the importance of work-life balance and self-care in maintaining an alcohol-free lifestyle. Elizabeth shares her secrets to slow living, setting healthy boundaries, and breaking free from social media negativity. Join us for a compelling episode packed with inspiration and insights for those seeking a fulfilling, sober life.

Get in touch with Elizabeth!
Website | Instagram | TikTok

Thanks to Giesen 0% Wines for sponsoring this podcast episode. 

Thanks to Giesen 0% Wines for being our exclusive non-alcoholic wine sponsor!

Connect with Deb on Instagram: @Mocktail.Mom

• Grab a guide to help when dining out: Ordering Out Made Easy
• Join my wonderful membership community, Thriving Alcohol-Free: Mocktail Mom Membership
• Website: MocktailMom.com
• Celebrate your Authentic Freedom

You are loved. Big Time Cheers!

Transcript

Deb: 0:01

Welcome, friends, and welcome to the Thriving Alcohol Free Podcast. I'm your host, Deb, otherwise known as Mocktail Mom, a retired wine drinker that finally got sick and tired of spinning on Life's Broken Record called Detox to Retox. Let this podcast be an encouragement to you. If alcohol is maybe a form of self-care for you or you find yourself dragging through the day waiting to pour another glass, I am excited to share with you the fun of discovering new things to drink when you aren't drinking and the joy of waking up each day without a hangover. It is an honor to serve as your sober, fun guide, so sit back and relax or keep doing whatever it is you're doing. This show is produced for you with love from the great state of Kentucky. Thanks so much for being here and big time cheers. Okay, hey, friends, it's Deb.

Deb: 0:50

Welcome back to Thriving Alcohol Free. I am out of my mind so excited today because my guest has not just made a splash in the non-alcoholic space, she has come in cannonball style. It's been so much fun to watch you, elizabeth, so excited to have. Elizabeth from Absence of Proof is on the podcast today, so if you're not following her, please follow along. Absence of Proof on Instagram and TikTok and all the places. Elizabeth, how are you?

Elizabeth: 1:12

I'm good, I'm so excited to be here. All of the feeling is completely mutual. You are one of the first people that I fall in the space and I was just so obsessed with all of your videos and I love seeing all of your success and I'm so excited to be here. So thank you for having me.

Deb: 1:25

Thank you, Thank you. So last summer going back to when I first saw you, was it last summer? Okay, so you had this cute, which all of your videos are so cute, but I just remember this one, the one that I was like, oh my gosh, she is so cute, and you were walking to this coffee shop and you're like I'm going to do this non-alcoholic. Actually, I think before that I watched you doing maybe tasting in your apartment. Could that be that it was before?

Elizabeth: 1:46

then I cringe when I watch this because I'm like, oh, the camera angle no.

Deb: 1:52

Well, it's just so incredible to see where you've come. So, if anybody is not following along, you've been written up in Forbes. Let's see. Abc News did a special on you. You were on. You Got to Make Drinks on. Watch what Happens Live with Andy Cohen. I am a fan of the Housewives. You just had a huge event at the Met. So, okay, I want to hear everything. Tell me your story. Tell me how your drinking career was and how you got started in starting Absence of Proof.

Elizabeth: 2:14

Yeah, I mean, I think it starts very early on in my life. I was a rebellious teen, you're a mom.

Deb: 2:21

Yes, very much, yes, very much. A mom, and you're young, I mean I could be your mom, for not just your mocktail mom.

Elizabeth: 2:29

I could be your real mom.

Elizabeth: 2:31

I started early, which parents don't love. I was a rebellious teen. I was going through a lot mentally and I think I really turned to substances alcohol, partying, things that I thought were cool to really just deal with the things that I really needed professional help to deal with. So just really started drinking young for several years in my teenage years and I got to a point where I was getting ready to graduate high school and all of my friends were going to college, and not that I didn't want to go to college, but it just wasn't a priority.

Elizabeth: 2:58

I was like oh, why do we need to think about that? Like I'm fine with this, I'm fine with the lifestyle I'm living. And when it was watching my friends take this next big step in their life and realizing that wasn't a reality for me, that's when I was like, okay, something needs to change. So it was really just this like come to Jesus moment of like my life is going to look like this at 25 unless I changed something. And I didn't know what to change, but I knew the drugs and alcohol were not helping. So I just said I'm going to go to cold turkey for a year and see what happens and, unsurprisingly, life completely transformed for the better. That's when I started my first YouTube channel. I got my yoga certificate for teaching, got into the college that I wanted to go to.

Elizabeth: 3:33

It was just this incredibly transformative year that I really credit to being sober, and so I was like why would I stop after a year?

Elizabeth: 3:39

And I was completely sober for three years up until my early 20s.

Elizabeth: 3:43

Then I had really gotten to myself to a place that I thought I had quote unquote made it Like I was working at my dream tech company. I had great relationships, all of these things, and I was like I think that I can reintroduce alcohol and moderation and I think I did relatively successfully until New York, because New York is incredibly party centric and it's very normalized to drink every day in New York, so no one's going to call you on it, no one's going to be like you have a problem because everyone's drinking every day, so it's fine. And I just remember looking my way from one day and I was like I feel sick, like my anxiety is the highest it's ever been. I'm depressed and I like found myself back in that place of being 18 years old and being like I know it has to go, don't want to admit it, but I know it has to go. So like alcohol was gone and then from there I was like now I have nothing to do in New York, so let me.

Deb: 4:27

What are we going to do if we're not drinking? I love it. Throw a party, okay. So that's how it started was let's throw a party. I'm with you, like, let's keep it fun, right, it's not boring Not to drink.

Elizabeth: 4:38

It does not have to be boring, it does not have to be this huge stigmatized thing. It does not have to be sober people versus people that drink alcohol. You know, I really believe in being as inclusive and not judgmental on whatever someone's alcohol journey looks like. So it really started to happen to prove selfishly, because I wanted something to do and then other people turned out they wanted to do something to do too, isn't that?

Deb: 5:00

incredible. I feel the same way, like I started sharing drinks on Instagram, kind of I don't want to say self, but like, yeah, like selfishly I guess. It was like for me it was an outlet for me, it was like I wanted to show it the fun isn't over, there's still good things to drink, you know, and I love, just like, the inclusivity that you have. It's whether somebody was taken night off, a month off, a health challenge, a lifetime off, whatever it is. And I feel the same way Like no judgment, no judgment. Do what works for you, yeah, and for me it's like wasn't serving me anymore, yeah, okay. So now here you are. Did you ever expect that from that first event, like let's throw a party to, let's throw out the first pitch? I know right.

Elizabeth: 5:36

I just feel so overwhelmed with gratitude Like I just can't believe this is my life, like that's really what I think every single day that I wake up is like I always wanted to start a business and I really loved my tech job before, but that was not like what got me up in the morning. I was not like getting up ready to seize the day, going to go sell some advertising.

Elizabeth: 5:55

Like that was not what I wanted and when I started out since proof, I was like this is it? Like this is like I'm so happy to work, which I'd never been that happy to work before, and just the opportunities that have really come. I just I'm not an incredibly religious or spiritual person, but I'm just like I don't know what I did to deserve this, but I'm so grateful to be here.

Deb: 6:16

Oh, isn't that amazing. That gives me chills with, because really I mean like God has a plan for your life, you're not an accident, and how all these things are happening for you. It's so awesome. It's so awesome. Okay, so you started with that first party. How many people came?

Elizabeth: 6:32

Oh God, I think like 200. It was way too many. Well, it's just huge, that's huge.

Deb: 6:37

It was a mess. It was a mess, Okay. So what were the things you learned that first night? That you were like oh my gosh, we're never doing that again, or I have to change this.

Elizabeth: 6:44

I mean literally everything. I look at that event and I'm like I don't know if anyone ever came back. I love it. I mean people went in and lined for so long for a drink. We had no organization, the recipes were subpar, it was just anything that could have been. Not great was, but I think what was so special about that time is people were just so grateful to have a space. Like it was a mess but no one complained and that was just like such a beautiful thing. I was like nowhere else are you going to get a group of people in a room at a party that are not complaining about like they'll drink wine being too long or too expensive, like everyone was just hyped to be there.

Deb: 7:18

That's so awesome. Yeah, it was so much fun.

Elizabeth: 7:21

So I like to think that we're a little bit more time to now, but yes, yes, yes, okay.

Deb: 7:26

So now for your events that you have now. What are they like? So you, you're in all different cities, you're all. So you live in New York, though, right? Yes, I'm in New York. You have pop up, you're based in New York, okay, and you have pop up events all over the country. Tell me about those.

Elizabeth: 7:38

So as soon as I figured out like, oh, I think I'm on to something here, like people really like this, I was like, okay, well, people probably want this all over. And we kept getting messages from folks in smaller cities or cities on the West Coast and they were like there's nothing like this here. Can you please bring this here? And in my head I was like, no, I live in New York. And then I was like talking to a couple of my friends who are just like brilliant founders and have like such an ability to think bigger, and they were like every company goes national. Every company like you can do it, you just have to hire people.

Elizabeth: 8:05

And I was like, with what money? And like it was always these things of like, but there's always these issues. And it was just like, okay, let's, let's check off one of these issues, one at a time, and let's get to a place where we really can take this to a national and hopefully, someday, global scale. So it's just one city at a time. It was like, okay, let's find somebody I trust, because that's the thing about events is it is so people oriented, it is so detail oriented and there's so many opportunities for things to go wrong. So you can't just have somebody who's not passionate about it. You can't have somebody that you're hiring just for the night. It has to be somebody who's going to like, ride or die for your event the same way that you would. It's all credit to all of the amazing part time people that we have now who are, like equally as passionate about bringing sober nightlife to places of IM.

Deb: 8:44

I love it. Sober nightlife, yes, sober nightlife, waking up without a hangover, having a great time connecting with other people yes, okay, and did I see on your Instagram that your grandma came to one of your events?

Elizabeth: 8:57

She did yeah, so my family's from Michigan, so we launched Detroit, which has always been such a special place for me. I spend every summer there and so, like for me, I think the most fun part about like running a company is like you can do whatever you want.

Deb: 9:11

Like you don't have to go to the. You don't have to go to the. That's right. You don't have to go to the, you don't have to go to the. You don't have to ask the boss, just go look in the mirror Elizabeth Yep.

Elizabeth: 9:16

Literally. I was like, oh, what cities make sense? I have to do all the data and research. And I was like, no, I want to go where my family is Like that's what I care about, that's what I want to do. And what's ironic about that is Detroit is now our most profitable and fastest growing city out of all.

Deb: 9:28

Is it really grandma? Go grandma.

Elizabeth: 9:30

I know my grandma is telling all her friends, but that was such a special day for me because, like the, really the only reason I do all this is to try to make my family proud, so it's just like really so special that she was there.

Deb: 9:42

You are making them very, very, very proud. Okay, so when you go out to restaurant and there's not something on the menu and not a cocktail on the menu, is there like a favorite mocktail that you order? What do you? What do you like to ask for?

Elizabeth: 9:56

Well, first I throw the menu down on my lead. You stop out. You leave a bad review. I'm like how dare you? No, I mean, it's a great question. I think luckily in New York, I mean, places are really rapidly catching on and there's usually great, great options everywhere. But I would say, normally I was asked for a mocktail and they'll do something with like passion fruit or something like that, which is like sweet and fine. It used to be. When I first stopped drinking it was like cranberry juice, something really basic. But yeah, I would say whatever the bartender recommends is usually what I trust them like.

Deb: 10:27

I'll trust them.

Elizabeth: 10:27

I'll trust them asologists.

Deb: 10:28

Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely Okay. So how have you seen for men and women, your age, the younger generation? How are things changing in the alcohol space, the non-alcoholic space?

Elizabeth: 10:39

Yeah, I don't necessarily think it's more people becoming sober, but I do think it's more people realizing that alcohol is not a necessary part of a night out. There's a lot of people who are like, yeah, I drink on Friday, I don't need to drink on Saturday. Or people are like, oh yeah, I haven't been drinking for months, I just haven't really noticed. It's like for me, it feels like less of a identifier and less of a. I am sober, I'm not. It's just like this is just something I'm just choosing to do on a night or forever or whatever, but let's not make it a thing and that's what I really appreciate. I think the Gen Z in younger generations and you can probably chime in too like we have a very like you, do you attitude, which I love. I'm just worried about myself, the people, I care about anyone else, as long as you're not hurting anyone, do what you want to do. And I think that that applies to a lot of different areas of society for Gen Z, including alcohol and drugs.

Deb: 11:26

I love that. I love that, yeah, because, right, it's like what works for you is fine. Yes, especially with alcohol, there's been this whole like you either have problems or you're not a drinker or you are, so it's like nice just to have that, the freedom authentic freedom as I like to call it. Yeah, it really is. It shouldn't come as a surprise that I am a massive fan of Geeson's 0% wines and I am so proud to have them as the exclusive non-alcoholic wine sponsor of the Thriving Alcohol Free podcast. If you're reducing your alcohol intake, geeson's alcohol-remove wines are a phenomenal alternative without sacrificing anything except maybe a hangover. Geeson's 0% wines are not grape juice in a wine bottle. There is some serious science that goes into every single bottle of their alcohol-remove options. Their full-strength wines go through advanced spinning cone technology, where the alcohol is removed but the wine maintains the aroma and the body to create a low-calorie wine that never contains more than 0.5 ABB. Friends, I was not good at science, but the Geeson winemaker Duncan, he sure was. So I trust the magic of Geeson's alcohol-remove deliciousness.

Deb: 12:30

Geeson comes from the Marble region of New Zealand, widely available in global markets. If I can get it here in Kentucky, you can probably find it where you are too. Don't worry if you've been saying it wrong. I said it wrong for the longest time. It's Geeson. Spelled G-I-E-S-E-N Sounds like the Geese. Maybe you see it at the park. I hope you love it. All right, so you just had this huge event at the Metz. I feel like there's so many huge things I want to talk to you about, so many huge things that have happened in the last year. Do you want to just go through some of them?

Deb: 12:57

Would you like to list off some of the major things that have happened, that you're just pinching yourself like what on earth am I doing? What am I doing? Because it's so fun. I feel like you and I are building the plane while we're flying it, right, Okay, so tell us some of the big things. I want to start with the Metz. Yeah.

Elizabeth: 13:11

I mean, the Metz was truly the craziest thing that's ever happened to me. I just am so incredibly floored by that experience because it was the first time where I was like this could be huge, not like this is my fun little passion project, but places on this level of scale. Stadiums care about providing things. It was such a moment of being like starting in a coffee shop and now we're in a stadium. It was just so crazy and so inspiring and so validating, because you're on social media as well and I'm sure you get some of the kind of comments that I get and it gets to you.

Elizabeth: 13:49

I think I had a really hard time and almost stopped absent several times in the first couple of months because of the amount of negativity and hate that I was getting on the internet and people being like this is so stupid and this will never work and all of these things.

Elizabeth: 14:02

And being at City Field, I was like no, it is working. And it was like, okay, wait, this idea that I've had and like in my Again, not to get cliche but in my heart I've always known that this is it. I know that this is a good idea, I know this is going to work and that's been on wavering. But then when you have so much criticism coming at you, you start to be like, am I crazy? But then, bringing it to city field, I was like no stadiums care, and that's really cool and I couldn't have asked to work with a better team. I mean, they were so supportive, they pulled out every single stop that they didn't have to at all. I mean, again, we're still a startup. I didn't have resources. I'm not Coca-Cola and they really was just like we're going to do this right.

Deb: 14:41

So, wow, ok. So when people came, they got ticks of the game, they got non-alcoholic drinks and they were sitting. We're sitting in suites, or where was. Where were people sitting?

Elizabeth: 14:50

Yeah. So we actually built out like this kind of like 4,000 square foot area of this food court where we had like a non-alcoholic pop of lamb, just how we described it. So we had 360 photo booths, mr or Mrs, met DJ, non-alcoholic bar, dunkin Donuts how to booth unlimited food, like we really wanted it to be like a beer garden, but for non-alcoholic, so then you could come there, get your drinks and then go watch the game and everyone got to sit together. And then all the profits went to charity, which is like the icing on the cake, because it went to support recovery efforts in Queens, which is where City Field is located.

Deb: 15:22

Oh, that's amazing. Yeah, to be able to give back with such a phenomenal event and like it's so validating for all the work that you have put in to see a stadium hosting this event Absolutely incredible and it was really really really cool because yeah, it's like and you know like it's, there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes.

Elizabeth: 15:40

Especially media doesn't see, and so it's like yeah. It's like, oh, things are going so well. And it's like yeah, but I just went the last week having mental breakdown.

Deb: 15:46

Oh, hell yes.

Elizabeth: 15:49

And it's just. You don't see that, and so being able to have big wins is what keeps me going, honestly.

Deb: 15:55

Yeah, yeah. And I think to take time to celebrate those wins because you are going so fast, your company is growing so fast, but to really take time to take it in and to give yourself a little bit of space to really pat yourself on the back for all that you've done, not just in your own life, elizabeth, but for so many people that you are encouraging through social media. So for all the haters, knock it off. Enough is enough. We don't need you here. Keep scrolling If you have something nasty to say. Right Like, why, why do they even stop?

Elizabeth: 16:25

I know that's my thing. It's like just don't say anything, Keep scrolling, just keep scrolling.

Deb: 16:30

Don't have nothing else to do, yeah.

Elizabeth: 16:33

My favorite is when they comment blocking you.

Deb: 16:37

Like really Okay, all right, All right, all right 100-coward.

Elizabeth: 16:41

I know, I guess it really blows my mind and I had not been exposed to it at this level. It's kind of like I don't know I was listening to, do you know, Gary?

Deb: 16:49

Vee? Okay, not just do I know Gary Vee? He is the reason I started Mocktail Mom.

Elizabeth: 16:53

That's amazing.

Deb: 16:55

Oh yeah.

Elizabeth: 16:55

I'm obsessed with him. I love him. It's my best friend.

Deb: 16:59

He's my Instagram boyfriend, my husband's like. Are you listening to your boyfriend again? Yeah, he's the only man I will allow to curse at me all day long. All day long. He could drop the F-bomb. Yeah, okay, sorry, go ahead. What were you going to say? Yes, I know, gary Vee, go ahead.

Elizabeth: 17:10

But it was something about he talks a lot about, like social media and all of that, and this idea of Renee Brown talks about this too. Like if you're not in the arena, you don't get an opinion, and that's just how I've had to look at social media. I'm like are you building a startup? And if you're not, then you don't get to comment on somebody else building a startup. Are you being a president on social media? If not, I don't care about your opinion on my social media.

Deb: 17:31

It's like you have to look at who you're taking feedback from Absolutely, absolutely and he does talk about too like the good and the bad right, because it can get in our head the good, you know, like all the hype or whatever, and it's like we have to just stay in a place of being grounded and centered and not hear too much of either. I think you know what I mean.

Elizabeth: 17:49

Absolutely. I just heard a really fascinating book called Ego's Enemy by Ryan Holiday. We definitely recommend it, and that's the whole thesis of his book is don't get too convinced of the good either If you are not. This all powerful thing and I think that when you start to get attention, it's easier to be like I did this or whatever. But like this is something that I work with my team on.

Elizabeth: 18:08

A lot is like this sounds so sad, but it's like I'm not special. Anyone can do this. It's not like I am. Like I don't know this person that was put on earth and I'm the only person that can do this. It's like no, I'm not special. And like you have to continue to treat people like they are your equals, because they are, and like no matter what type of success you get, you will always be everyone's equal, and like I. Just I feel like I've observed that happen with a lot of people that I know and it's kind of sad because it's like I don't know, you're not special. Sounds depressing, but that's what I tell myself all the time.

Deb: 18:41

No, but I agree with you, Right. It's like, yes, other people have done startups and you know hard things too. At the same time, yes, we are unique and special and there's only one, you right. So, yes, there's that. But there's also like can't let it get in your head like the success and start treating people badly, Like why? Yeah, my dad used to say like you're gonna see the same people going down the ladder that you saw going up, so treat people right.

Elizabeth: 19:02

I love that You'll never go wrong.

Deb: 19:03

You'll never go wrong. Yeah, totally Okay. So other things you've been written up in Forbes. You've been written up a fast company. Add creative 100. Tell us about those things. What was that like? Some more successes that we wanna celebrate with you.

Elizabeth: 19:17

It's so funny. So when I moved to New York I don't know if you believe in manifestation or vision boards or any of those things, but that's something that is a huge practice for me. And when I moved to New York, I again was working at tech company whatever, and I remember the Forbes 30 into 30 list coming out and I was like I want this and I don't know. It wasn't even like I wanted the recognition, but I was like I wanna do something that's worthy of someone really giving a crap about what I'm doing, and, with absence of proof, I never set out to get media attention from it. And that's where I get a lot of DMs like how do you get press? And I build something that press wanna write about, because I have paid for a zero of my press. I have never paid for a PR person, not that I don't believe in that.

Elizabeth: 19:57

I think it's very helpful for brands, particularly CBG products but build something that people wanna write about, and then people will write about it, and everything that has come from either friends or people on social media I will say. The other thing, though, is like you gotta be loud about what you're doing, like a lot of people when they start something or like I want it to be a secret, I'm embarrassed. Until it gets successful, I don't wanna be on social media. It's like no, the way it gets successful is you like screaming to the top of the mountains? This is what I'm doing. Pay attention to it. And that's why I was like, so active on social media and a lot of my early press came from that. And then the AdWide Creative 100, actually funny story about that. I didn't know I got that. There was an email that got sent to me and she was like hi, will you be joining us in Cannes, france?

Deb: 20:38

And I literally hear, like what Am I gonna spam as this? No, I'm not going to Cannes, I'm in Detroit with my grandma.

Elizabeth: 20:44

No, I literally thought it was. I thought it was spam, but it was from Adweek and my previous career was selling ads, so Adweek is like a huge deal to me, like I used to read Adweek and I was like, if there's any chance that this is real, I'm gonna reply.

Elizabeth: 20:58

So I was like hi, just wanted to clarify. Like, am I on the list? Do I know somebody on the list? And they're like, oh my God, yeah. And then they forwarded me an email that went to my spam like a month before letting me know that I'm one.

Deb: 21:08

No, no, yeah, it was in your spam for a month In my spam that I had like, oh my gosh, elizabeth.

Elizabeth: 21:15

I know it was like terrifying. And the timing was perfect though, because I still had you have to like, do this right up and interview and all this stuff, and if I wouldn't have gotten that second email I wouldn't have done it, and then I just like wouldn't have been in it.

Deb: 21:28

They have like a cartoon character for you. Like there's no write up there's no photo, nothing. It's just like we're just putting in a play service Play a picture.

Elizabeth: 21:35

Yeah, but that one was really special because Adweek is a big deal to me.

Deb: 21:39

That's huge. Yeah, okay, so did cans already happen or are you going?

Elizabeth: 21:42

Oh, I didn't go. No, I couldn't afford it, but Okay.

Deb: 21:45

Next year. You're like I was on the list for this, put me on the list for this, put me on the list for this. You're like unless somebody's sponsoring me going, no, I'm not going, I'm not going.

Elizabeth: 21:53

I know I looked at the flights and I'm like, yeah, no, I don't know who you think you are, but and then I'm like I think to wear, I'm good, I'm fine.

Deb: 21:59

What are you most excited about right now for the future of? I guess just personally and for, I know, absence of proof. It is so personal. So it's not just personally, cause I feel the same way, like it's, like it's your baby.

Elizabeth: 22:10

Yeah, it's my baby.

Deb: 22:10

It's my third baby, yeah.

Elizabeth: 22:11

It's so hard and I would love your perspective on this too.

Elizabeth: 22:15

It's really hard to detach and that's something that I know that I need to do, because if I get an email that is even a little bit not what I want to hear, I mean it's my entire day Like even if it's a Saturday and I plans my boyfriend, I'm like sorry, like I got to deal with this. That's not fair to him, that's not fair to my friends or other people that I make commitments to, but I do feel protective of absence of proof in a way that I would think it's like a child, where it's like you don't come for my baby, or like if you do, it's like I will do everything I can to fix the problem immediately, and so setting healthy boundaries with something that you did create is very difficult and something that I'm actively working on. So that's something. One of my like intentions for the next month is slowing down. Just in a personal like, slow living is something that I'm really trying to incorporate. I'm like, on slow living, tiktok, it's a beautiful place to be If you want me to send you something.

Elizabeth: 23:00

Never heard of it so, yeah, I know it's like people in cottages being like today I woke up and checked on the chickens and had some coffee and like just really enjoying, like you mentioned earlier, like this moment and not so focused on the future or so focused on the past.

Elizabeth: 23:16

So, yeah, personally I'm just excited for that.

Elizabeth: 23:18

I'm doing a no spend challenge where I don't spend any money on anything that's not absolutely necessary to my life, meaning food, for the exact intention of like I don't want to be focused on the more or the consumption or whatever, Like I just want to get still with myself.

Elizabeth: 23:33

And then for absence, I mean so much that I'm so excited about and I think that we're catching a lot of momentum on we are launching our first ever restaurant menu tonight, which I'm so excited about, and that was always something that I kind of had in the back of my mind Like I feel like we could do menus for people, but frankly, I didn't have the confidence to think that what my cocktails were, where they have a menu, and so that's really exciting. And I think that, to not spoil too much, there's going to be several other types of things that are coming out with more of the B2B side of things and less directing consumers. Yeah, and then we've got like a whole schedule of states that are we rolling out and I'm so excited about bringing this everywhere continuing to hire, trying to make some money, you know all the things.

Deb: 24:13

Yeah, yeah, all of it. What you were saying about like having that balance, because, yes, it is your baby and when the baby's in the crib crying, you cannot ignore your baby but at the same time, like you have other children I don't mean like your boyfriend's child, but you know what I mean Like other things in your life. So it's like how do you have that balance? And having our business in our hand all the time with our phone you know, it's not like you just like, oh, let me go log in and see what's happening, like it's pinging, it's constant, you know, and it's like gunfire, constantly getting hit with different things Good things, bad things.

Elizabeth: 24:46

Totally yeah, I have gone, really into it. I have all my notifications on my phone muted, so like someone messages me on Instagram, it waits.

Deb: 24:53

Yeah, same same. Even my emails now like I don't even. Like if I look at my phone, I used to have like the number would show up. I could be like, oh, 16 or whatever new emails and I'm like I don't. My husband did magic and took that away, so now I don't see that and it just helps me, you know, not to go click on it right away. Oh, it's some ad that I don't need to see right now. Why did I even? You know what I mean. It's just taking your brain away from the moment. Yeah.

Elizabeth: 25:13

I would say too I've thought about this a lot recently is like muting people on social media that are not helpful to consume. I think that people don't talk about that a lot and like social media is great. We both run business on social media. It's also incredibly toxic, and it can even be toxic when you are following people that you like.

Deb: 25:32

I've had to get so intentional about what I consume, so yeah, and there's nothing wrong with that, and I think it's so good to say that that it's like it's okay. It's okay that if it my sister I was just talking about this like I was like why is it sometimes like on TikTok it's people I don't even know, so it doesn't like affect me, but then other times I'll be scrolling, whether it's on Facebook or whatever, and it's like it feels like it brings me down, like why is it bringing me down, why? Why is it bringing? I want to have things in my life that give me joy.

Deb: 25:57

So, yes, take the action to mute people. It doesn't mean you have to unfollow or unfriend or whatever. It's just like it's just not good for my mind. Nothing against that person or anything. It's just not good for my mind to see it Exactly. Yeah, okay, miss Elizabeth, any advice, last bit of advice that you would have for somebody who's maybe so very curious, or thinking about taking a break, like you know, like take a year off, like you did to get started, or any advice that you would have for them.

Elizabeth: 26:19

I am a huge proponent of taking months off or years off. You know, instead of this big daunting, I'm going to be sober for the rest of my life. That can feel very overwhelming. It's like, one day at a time, set a small, what feels achievable goal to you and then, instead of just I always tell people. It's like, instead of just removing alcohol and being like I'm so bored, now think about something that you've always wanted to do, that's been on the back burner, that you just simply haven't had time to do, and then fill the time that you used to drink with that and be very intentional about that. Like, every Friday night used to go out. Every Saturday morning used to be hung over.

Elizabeth: 26:50

What have I wanted to do? For me it was starting a company. Now I actually have time to do that. For other people it could be. I want to learn to cook. I want to incorporate yoga into a daily routine. Like there's so many things that everyone talks about doing and we just don't have the time. But limiting alcohol gives you I mean hours and hours and hours of your week back.

Deb: 27:05

It gives you because your life back gives you hours of your week back. Yeah, totally, that is fantastic advice. That is awesome. Okay, have the best time tonight. Have the best time. I cannot wait to see the menu and see everything that you're doing. I love following you on social media. You always give me energy and encouragement and really I just am cheering you on for a minute one. When I saw you and continue all your success was with really so, so happy for you. So thank you so much for being my guest today.

Elizabeth: 27:30

Oh, such an honor. Thank you so much, thank you.

Deb: 27:32

Thank you. Thank you Big time. Cheers to you for tuning into the Thriving Alcohol Free Podcast. I hope you will take something from today's episode and make one small change that will help you to thrive and have fun in life without alcohol. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social, send up a flare or leave a rating and a review. I am cheering for you as you discover the world of non-alcoholic drinks and as you journey towards authentic freedom. See you in the next episode.