The Meat Mafia Podcast

Toups p2
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[00:00:00] I think there's this misconception around entrepreneurs. Like almost that, um, building a family and building a business or mutually exclusive. So you have kind of have to go all in, in your twenties before you meet the right person and have a family.

And I feel like people like you, people like Elisa Seeland from Fawn Bone Broth, they, you completely debunk those misconceptions. And I'm just curious, like, is work life balance possible? Like, how do you balance being an incredible founder, great mom, great wife, everything else? How do you think about like bucketing your time and prioritizing the right things in your life?

Yeah, my husband and I have gone through seasons. And so we kind of reevaluate when a season isn't working. And, um, you know, I met my husband when I was 19, we've been together since then, and we've made 15 years this year. And I feel like It takes a while to get, to figure out the groove that works for you.

So when we first were married, he worked, I stayed home as tubes [00:01:00] grew and he came home. That's a whole nother dynamic. And then we were throwing more kids into the mix and, um, you just have to be real. Like you just set the expectation for your day. Things are going to. Go awry and you just kind of have to pivot and not getting annoyed with having to pivot and things changing is, is like the biggest thing.

And I really struggle with that. In the beginning. It's like, I had a plan for my day. These things needed to happen for tubes, but I also have these 5 kids that need to be fed 3 times a day and they also need to be educated. And so I would get annoyed when this pre, you know, pre planned day didn't actually go the way that I had planned it out on paper.

And just being able to like, just drop all of your expectations. And work when, you know, like what, when does, when, when I'm, am I most productive find that time and then work in that time. And so for me, it's not getting up at the crack of dawn and trying [00:02:00] to get all these hours in before my kids, because then by the time they woke up, like I wasn't that joyful mom that's like waking up and making breakfast with them.

So and I, and I did, I've done all the times and try working late at night and in the morning. And really what works best for us is. The less stress that we have on our own bodies, the better we're going to feel and the better we'll be able to be for everyone else. So wake up when the sun comes up and sun comes up, that's when we wake up naturally, not trying to stress our bodies out by getting up at 4 AM and trying to get all of these hours in.

Um, and then having, you know, time outside, spending time with the Lord, making a good breakfast, spending time with my kids. And then it's like, okay, you do this, this, this, this, and I have this to do. And then delegating and getting it done. Um, But you have to work together as a team. So Trent and I work well together.

Both all of the kids are both of our kids. There's not my job, his job. We just, if you see it needs to be done, we do it. And that takes some time to learn too with, you know, living with [00:03:00] other people because everyone has different expectations, but running tubes and raising our kids just all flows together like this and every day is a little bit different.

Um, but. You, you just have to prioritize what's important to you and what's most important is that mentally you're ready to tackle the day and the kids and my expectations of them aren't so high that when they make mistakes, I'm immediately irritated because then it, Sends off, you know, the rest of the day.

And so my philosophy is that I, they are mine to teach and every day when they make mistakes, uh, my job is to instruct them on what, what's the right thing to do instead of getting upset that I didn't get this deadline for tubes done because this kid is doing this. But my job is to teach them. Um, and so they're going to make mistakes.

I'm expecting them to mess up because they're children and I'm going to just instruct them on, you know, keep steering them [00:04:00] back on the right path and trying to go the right way and, um, that just works so much better for us. And then with tubes, you know, I've got such an amazing team. And so we hire for culture and not really for resume.

And so if you're a great fit, I can teach you what I need you to do. And so hiring for culture with tubes means that, you know, I'm able to work with these people and they are going to work with me the way I work. And so my, uh, my sister is like my executive assistant and we work whenever, whenever we can.

And so if I'm like on the way to a dentist appointment, I'm calling her and telling her some things. And I'm like, Hey, you know, get with me this afternoon, five o'clock. And so then she will, and. It's so wonderful to have people on your team that can also work the way that you work, which is, you know, a great cultural fit.

And so, um, I, you know, both raising kids and running tubes is I hire at tubes for a great cultural [00:05:00] fit. They're working directly with me. And then, um, You know, raising our kids with expectations of them failing and then just kind of mix it all together. And that's our day every day. That makes sense. And it's a crazy, beautiful life.

So it's, it's so cool. Um, Emily, could you provide a little context around you launching tubes? Like where were you in life? What was the impetus for you actually taking that step to launch the brand that you have today? So, you know, I actually started tubes without the intention of building it into this big business.

I was making the tele bombs for our daughter and we're just seeing such incredible, um, you know, benefits. And so I was sharing it with friends and sharing it with family. Um, my husband and our early years worked out of town a lot. And so he'd be gone sometimes a month or longer, or maybe just coming home on the weekends.

And so I was home alone with. Two, maybe three kids at the time, and I was [00:06:00] making talabans in the kitchen and I threw them up on Etsy without a lot of thought. And so it's been such a learning curve as we have grown, but that's just kind of how we started. And as I saw a need in our own life, you know, for deodorant, for the next thing and some of the product that I needed that I wanted.

Or I was already going to be making for myself. Um, I just would launch another product. And so we did a really big rebrand and moved from, um, Etsy to our own website. When I was like, you know what, people actually want the product and they actually really like it. Um, maybe I can make some side income. So it still was not.

Like I'm going to launch this brand and it's going to be our full time income. I was like, I'm a stay at home mom. And I'm like, I was learning about like organic cotton and these extra things that were like a little pricier for the kids. And I was like, well, if I could just earn a little extra money, then I can buy like all, you know, linen, organic cotton [00:07:00] clothes for my kids.

And so like, that would be like the next goal, or I wanted to invest in our health and wanted to buy like an Austin air or something for our family that was For our health and it was kind of pricey and it's like, okay, well then I would set a goal of I'm going to make 1, 000 and I'm going to buy this next thing for, um, the kids.

And so that is how tubes grew very slowly and incrementally in the beginning. And it was, I guess, around the time where, um, I wasn't spending the income that was coming in and we were like, started to save money that we were like, maybe this can be, we can do this for real. And so my next goal was replacing my husband's income.

I was like, that's a really lofty goals. Do you think, you know, maybe that I can do that. And so that's when I started to say, okay, what products do I want and that are in line with my goals and my beliefs? That other people are looking forward to. And then I started making those products and we had [00:08:00] no marketing zero.

Like it was me on Instagram talking about the products. We had no paid marketing. I did all of our own graphics, like all of them. I did it all. It was just me. And. I kind of started to get a following and people were buying it and then I couldn't meet the demand and then that's when I realized, okay, it's time to shift a couple of things and, um, do this for real.

My husband came in and we kind of made a plan and it just took off from there. And so I really got serious and hired my first employee, um, in 2000. 18. I was pregnant for our fourth child and knew that I was going to need some help because I was pregnant and was struggling. And that employee still works for me today.

She's the head of tubes and co's manufacturing and shipping. And it's just been amazing to watch it grow. And also just crazy at the same time, because it was never, the intention is to just blow it out of the water and be this big business. And, and Trent and I running it together. managing [00:09:00] people and, and all these things.

Um, but it was just a great, uh, a great product combined with, I re like just so much belief in what we were doing combined with the Lord, just guiding our steps. And then, you know, that's how tubes and co was born. That's such an amazing organic founder story too. And it sounds like similar to what we were just talking about, about pressure with your daughter.

It seems like You didn't really put pressure on yourself. It seems like you, you loved making this, the formulation for your children. You kind of identified those non negotiables of like, Hey, this is the best non toxic skincare I can make. And then it was like, you started small with a thousand dollars, you know, supplementing your husband's income.

And like, you look at what it's grown now. And I think that's really important advice for founders because. It is so easy to set these almost like overly lofty goals that will take you years and years to achieve, which I don't think that's necessarily wrong, but I think it's so easy in the game that we're in now where it's like, you could just get [00:10:00] funding for millions of dollars, start cranking paid advertisements, and it's just all about revenue versus like really just building this organic brand where it's, it's something that you'd love to do.

Like you were, you, you were doing it for free before you ever sold a product. And even just like the organic things of you. As the founder being willing to pull out your phone and take a video of you talking to the product. Like that's, that stuff works. Um, and it creates stickier customers. Yeah, for sure.

And you know, I have, I have a friend who owns another business and they're in the health and wellness space and I love the product that they have. And they, it's just such a amazing business. And I was talking to her and there's like, they have five investors and they have these people to answer to. And I was just kind of, you know, they grew so much faster.

So, I used to be like, man, like if we could do that, or how come they've grown so much quicker than us? And like, what are kind of analyzing what we're doing versus what they're doing. And then really talking to founder to founder about like the nitty gritty and realizing like, I am so thankful. We don't have a five [00:11:00] investors to answer to.

And I still can be like, Hey, next week, we're going to have a sale. We need to bump up the numbers for the end of the month. And in three days, we've got it all together and we can launch it out because we're still in control of the day to day. Um, so thankful for that. And so I wouldn't wish more, uh, you know, higher revenues and faster growth in exchange for giving away some of the, um, dated, you know, having to answer to somebody for every decision that we make.

So for sure, that is, uh, you know, it's just, it's just a huge blessing. Have your, have your superpowers been revealed to you during this entrepreneurial y'all. pursued? Yeah, I mean, for sure. Everyone has different strengths and I'm actually working with a, um, Like a team mapping coach right now to identify everyone on the teams, what they call genius.

So I guess you call it superpower, same thing, genius, and really only trying to focus on what I'm best at and then [00:12:00] taking somebody else and bringing them in and then their best at something that's not what I'm best at and bringing them on the team and building our team that way. And we've got such an amazing team.

And, you know, I've always kind of worked that way. And so when I talk with other companies and other founders, and they are like, man, you've got a great team. I'm like, I don't want to ever take that for granted because we really have built something truly amazing. And I'm really thankful for everyone that's on the team because they make.

That's what makes Tupes Co go around and it makes me able to be home with my kids. And like when I'm at Tupes Co, um, and I'm bringing a baby, she's either strapped to me on the front or on the back. And it's just kind of normal for us to just be working right there along with our kids. So. Yeah. And how abysmal would you say traditional skincare and makeup products are?

And what was, what were some of the non negotiables when it came to ingredients and formulation that you [00:13:00] really wanted to abide by when you were launching Tubes and Co.? So for me, because I already dealt with thyroid, which is autoimmune hormonal issues, I Really instead of looking at what's so bad with conventional skincare, because there's so much, it's a lot to unpack.

I looked at what ingredients were nourishing and amazing and took those. And that was where we started because I was like, that's all I want to touch my skin. Because with conventional skincare. We're putting this on our skin 365 days a year, multiple times a day, sometimes. And when we talk about health and it being so multifaceted, yes, we have toxins all around us and we're not going to be able to avoid them.

And trying to avoid every toxin is even more stressful on your body than, you know, sometimes the toxin itself, but in skincare, because we can control it and we're physically applying it to our body every day. Our hormones are just being [00:14:00] bombarded with all of these phthalates, which are like hormone mimickers and estrogen mimickers and all of these preservatives and just straight toxic ingredients that companies look at these ingredients.

They're the cheapest, the, the most, the easiest to get the most synthetic. So they're definitely, um, going to be the same every time. There's no variation like tallow and they're putting these products together for profit, profit, profit margins. margins, and they're not thinking about the person putting them on their body.

So when we go to the store, that common misconception of, well, if it's on the shelf, then, you know, it must be safe enough. And it's just not true, unfortunately. And so. I really like people to teach themselves to read ingredients and like be your own advocate and be responsible for what we're putting on our body.

It's not the company who's making a toxic product. It's not their fault that we're buying this [00:15:00] off the shelf and putting on aluminum deodorant right on our breasts. Um, It's, it's our, we need to take response or have the mindset of taking responsibility for our own health, educating ourself on what those ingredients are, reading the ingredients on the back and not like the word natural on the front.

And You know, being aware of what we put on our bodies or bring into our homes because we're the gatekeeper for our Children of what comes in our home, they're going to use whatever you have. And so, you know, I think it is the parents responsibility to gatekeep what comes in the house. And I take that very seriously.

If something I'm purchasing it and it's coming in our home, I have looked it up, vetted it, read studies on it, seeing what the ingredients were before I brought it in. Um, we can't control when we're at someone else's home or in other places, but I can control what I purchase and what my kids use. So, you know, ditching the toxic skincare is just, and makeup, which is just laid [00:16:00] in with toxins in the U S because there's hardly any regulation, which isn't to say, I wish there were more, more regulation.

I don't, I wish we could educate and inform people that they can make better choices. And so having products in the marketplace that are an easy choice, when someone can look on the back, they can read everything and say, this is a great choice. That's how I'm going to make waves in people's health, not by regulating it, not by advocating to the government to save us or to change these rules, because all they're going to do is make it harder for people like myself and other, you know, Small town time founders to play with the big guys.

And so regular, like there's some new regulations that are coming out in skincare and everybody's like so excited and champion it. And on the backend, like receiving the information of what we need to provide to prove that we're not using these products, it is so inhibitive [00:17:00] to people who might've started in their home.

Like in the next five years, someone might have a great idea. I want to start in their kitchen and they can't because they've been regulated out of it. If those regulations were in place 10 years ago, I would have never been able to start TOOPS cause it would have been, you know, cost prohibitive and very just.

You know, overwhelming to someone who's starting in their kitchen like I did. So I guess I answered more than just your question, but that was perfect. It was perfect. That was going to ask you a follow up, um, for you and for the consumer out there, that's kind of their, you know, they're into nutrition and they're changing their diet around, and then they're kind of coming aware to this like non toxic lifestyle, and it's not just.

The food I'm eating, but our skin is literally treating these products like it's food itself. Are there any ingredients that you think consumers should be on the lookout for? And if they're checking their deodorant or makeup and it has those ingredients, like just immediately truck it, chuck it in the bin and get rid of it.

Yeah. So all polysorbates [00:18:00] 20, 80, there's probably new ones that come out every year. It changes absolutely not phthalates, which any plastics, uh, plasticizers, they change the texture of products. Definitely throw out fragrance is like the biggest one. And it's like the easiest one to read and understand.

Um, in the U S there's like. 1400 ingredients that can go under the name fragrance because it's protected by trade secrets. And so when people see a decent ingredient list, They're buying it on a, on a big box store shelf. And there's plenty of products like this that have a decent ingredient list. And then they have the word fragrance on there and these fragrances are so they're almost more toxic than like the preservatives and other things that people are using, which are also, um, estrogen mimickers and change the hormones in the body because our.

Our receptors are seeing that it's preservative and they're thinking that it's like a hormone. So it's treating it that way, except that it's not, um, our hormones don't [00:19:00] flow in the, uh, symphony that they should because it's synthetic. And so that's when we're seeing like major, major hormone disruption.

So fragrance is always going to be the biggest one for me, that and aluminum, which is in all deodorants, because It's actually antiperspirant is the aluminum and when you see a natural deodorant, it's never going to be an antiperspirant. We want to perspire. We want to, um, sweat because that's how we're, we're, our detox pathways are getting rid of toxins and that's how our body maintains its health and that kind of common knowledge or I'm saying common knowledge.

Isn't actually that common. And it's easy for us in the health and wellness space to kind of get in this bubble and think that everyone knows this information. And I'm saying it over and over and I'm beating a dead horse, but then I go out and I speak with people and I will say simple things like that, and they're like, I had no idea, and so there's so much more [00:20:00] education that can be done.

Around ingredients and not naming all these long words and methyl parabens and, and things like that, but literally simply, you need to read the ingredients and know what they are and you need to avoid preservatives and fragrance. Emily, can you talk about the formulation process as someone in like going back in time as you were really getting going?

The so many people struggle with just the experimentation of, Hey, I'm going to. You know, make, put these ingredients together and try to formulate this product and there's something awesome that comes from people just being willing to tinker. So I'm curious, like as you evolve the business, how has that formulation process actually evolved as well?

So I'm still like head formulator. And I will come up with a new product that probably that I already want for myself and or that we've customers are [00:21:00] asking us for and then, you know, start making formulas. Everyone at tubes will be using it and trying it. All of my sisters and mom, I've got plenty of candidates to try all the products.

And that's kind of how we've done. Every product is I'll formulate it till I like it. Let everyone use it, do stability tests to just, you know, make sure that it is shelf stable. And then we, you know, my sister is a chemical engineer. I wanted to throw that in there. She was at her, I guess, in her senior year at LSU.

She was able to use some of, uh, or all of whatever the lab was in there to work on her, uh, senior thesis. And so me and her work together and any, like, the baby wash was 1. that was like, beyond my expertise as far as like, percentages go and allowable pH and all of these things. Um, so she definitely, I definitely have some help.

I don't have all of the [00:22:00] knowledge to do it and definitely employee help when I need it, but. The basis of formulating is just. Finding out what, what do we need? Is there a gap in the market for it? And how can I make it better? Where can I get the most nourishing, regenerative ingredients that I can possibly find, um, my husband's in charge of all tallow that comes to tubes.

And so. He's the one calling the farms, vetting their process. Are they working with Savory Institute? What are their practices? How are they raising their cows? And is it, is it going to be good enough for us? And you know, what we found, which is really amazing, is some of these farmers were like, we'll do what you need, you know.

Um, we've never heard of the Savory Institute. Can you direct me to them? Um, what do you classify as regenerative? And that's been just a really cool facet of it too, is just the questions that they ask and they come back and I'll say, well, this farm is doing this and that is to our standards. And if you do that, we'll buy your [00:23:00] tello and they want to be better.

They just need the education. Um, so education is like a pivotal part of tubes, educating the people we work with our vendors, where we get our raw materials, but also our customers, educating them on why this is important. And, um, why their health is worth it. It's it's easy to buy good products for our kids, but it's always difficult to spend it on ourself.

And I'm, I resonate with that as the mom is like, I will put them first and I'll just take the leftovers. And I think a lot of moms do that, but. I want to be the best version of myself for my kids. And so really investing in ourself where there's mental, emotional, our products, the food that we eat, all of that together as part of the education that I want to give to the world from tubes.

And so, yes, we sell skincare and makeup, but I, I like to use it as a platform for [00:24:00] education as well. Because it's just, I believe that it's so important that that makes a lot of sense because I mean, your company is really this embodiment of this amazing health transformation that both you and your husband Trent have had to, and it's so much more than individual skin care.

It's like you're really. really helping to pioneer a movement. Yes. It's in the form of skincare, but it seems like you're so passionate about teaching people about all these different practices and facets of health that have really helped you and your family transform your health. Um, I'm just curious, what, um, what product are you the most proud of?

Uh, it's like asking you, it's like asking you what's your favorite kid. I'm sure they're all my babies, but, um, so I, I love the tallow obviously it's like our pioneer product and it's so amazing and I believe in it, but, um, we have a product it's called glow serum and the, the oils and the herbal and botanical constituents in it.

Are just like mind blowing. [00:25:00] So my husband had a spot on his head and it was definitely odd. And it was from overexposure in the sun. And it has helichrism and rose and some of these like healing botanicals and healing is a no, no word in the skincare and makeup industry. You cannot say that, but I can talk about the herbs themselves as being healing.

I said, put that on it. And so he started using it and this, um, Um, pre skin cancer, this odd area that he had on his head, like completely disappeared. And so I had another, a friend of mine reach out and she's like, Oh, my husband, Justin has the same thing. Um, I'm going to have him use my glow serum on his, on his face.

And he started using it. She's like, I'm just, I'm amazed it just disappeared. And so the glow serum I use for like sunburn. It's amazing. Just, it just is so amazing. And so I'm proud of it in the, because it works well, but honestly, it's not the product. I didn't create this [00:26:00] product. The Lord gave us these herbs.

They, they do what they're supposed to, if they're in their natural and potent form. And so we're able to just to take them and combine them into something that's easy to purchase and use. And so I hate taking credit for when the natural products are doing what they were created to do. Um, but I think.

Most importantly, that they're in their original unadulterated form, and that's why they work so well. It's incredible. Um, Emily, we're gonna, we're gonna talk to Sarah and get a code set up for our audience so they can support you after hearing your story and just hearing all the great things you're doing with tubes.

But where's the best place for people to find you learn more about your products and learn more about what you're doing. So come to our website. It's tubes and co. com, but also follow us on Instagram at tubes and core organics, because that's where you're going to see a lot of the education pieces. Love it.

That's perfect. I, um, it's, it's so cool getting to have this [00:27:00] conversation. It's one of the things that we love about this podcast is getting to connect with founders of brands that we're passionate about and have been fans from, of afar. And, um, when you hear these stories, it just makes you realize that I think everyone has these inner gifts and talents that Maybe God has shown them or maybe he's still kind of like revealing and you'll figure it out over time.

But it's just amazing what you can build in a fairly short period of time when you find what your God given mission is and leaning into it. And I think a lot about that big food. There's like that graphic of the big food web of like the 10 companies that control most of the products in the grocery store.

And it gets us both very motivated and hopeful for the future. When we connect with founders like you and what you're doing at tubes and co because. What you're doing is a very visible pushback where you're making products that you wish your children had access to. And you're also doing them at affordable prices.

And that's why we need to just have as many conversations like this as possible to really spread this message. And, you know, the word is getting out. It seems like every day people are making the switch from, you know, [00:28:00] aluminum deodorants to the natural ways of living, switching from fake meat to real beef from a regenerative rancher.

And I think that if we just keep pushing this message and being open and honest and authentic, like we really can win this battle and the world will be in a better place. But, um, you know, we're both just genuinely super inspired by everything that you built and it's, it's motivating to us. And we just appreciate you being willing to have this conversation with us.

Thank y'all so much. I really enjoyed it. And I was honored to be on here.