Heather Marianna’s close friend died, and she inherited her Hollywood business. This is her story, and she is RESILIENT A.F.
About the Guest:
Heather Marianna, CEO of Heather Marianna LLC, is the driving force behind Beauty Kitchen, a luxury skincare brand renowned for its natural, cruelty-free products. With her start as a YouTube beauty expert, Heather launched Beauty Brand Coaching, offering personalized mentorship on brand development, media exposure, and white-label products. Featured in Forbes, E! News, and over 100 TV segments, Heather also curates high-profile events, such as her Harvest Celebrity Gifting Lounge during the Primetime Emmys and Oscars week, elevating the gifting experience for media, celebrities, and VIPs and offering major exposure for brands and companies.
Links:
https://www.beautybrandcoaching.com/
https://www.beautybrandcoaching.com/oscars
https://www.instagram.com/heathermarianna
⚠️ Content Note: Some episodes may contain themes that could be distressing. Please take care of yourself while listening, and don’t hesitate to seek support from a mental health professional if needed.
About the Hosts:
Blair Kaplan Venables is a British Columbia-based grief and resilience expert and coach, motivational speaker and the Founder of The Global Resilience Project. Her expertise has been featured on media platforms like Forbes, TEDx, CBC Radio, Entrepreneur, and Thrive Global. She is named the Top Grief and Resilience Expert of the Year 2024 by IAOTP. USA Today listed Blair as one of the top 10 conscious female leaders to watch and she empowers others to be resilient from stages around the world. 'MyStory,’ which is a television show available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Google Play, showcases Blair's life story. She is the host of the Radical Resilience podcast and specializes in helping people strengthen their resilience muscle using scientifically proven methods and guides grieving high performers with her Navigating Grief Framework. The Global Resilience Project’s award-winning book series are international bestsellers, and her fourth book, RESILIENT A.F.: Stories of Resilience Vol 2, will be published in January 2025. In her free time, you can find Blair writing, in nature, travelling the world and helping people to strengthen their resilience muscles.
Links:
https://theglobalresilienceproject.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/blairdkaplan
https://www.facebook.com/blair.kaplan
https://www.facebook.com/BlairKaplanCommunications
https://www.instagram.com/globalresiliencecommunity
https://www.instagram.com/blairfromblairland/
https://www.facebook.com/globalresiliencecommunity
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-global-resilience-project
Alana Kaplan is a compassionate mental health professional based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She works in the mental health field, and is a co-host of the Resilient A.F. podcast. Fueled by advocacy, Alana is known for standing up and speaking out for others. Passionate about de-stigmatizing and normalizing mental health, Alana brings her experience to The Global Resilience Project’s team, navigating the role one’s mental health plays in telling their story.
Engaging in self-care and growth keeps her going, and her love for reading, travel, and personal relationships helps foster that. When she’s not working, Alana can often be found on walks, working on a crossword puzzle, or playing with any animal she sees.
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Transcript
Back's up against the wall or you feel like you're striking out, just keep going
Speaker:because I TMI, like, all of October,
Speaker:I'm finally getting over it, and it's almost the end of November. I have had
Speaker:the worst cough, gone to the doctor, like, 4 times. And I just
Speaker:I was just striking out everywhere because I was just so sick and
Speaker:trying to get through the day. And so now I'm, like, playing catch up, and
Speaker:I'm like, you know what? I I did enough today, and and I'm just
Speaker:gonna keep going. You know? Like, just keep going. And
Speaker:but don't stress yourself out. I think it's from what I'm
Speaker:currently advising myself because it's really not
Speaker:gonna matter if you're working at 9 o'clock at night. You
Speaker:know? It nobody's gonna get to respond to you till the next day anyways. So
Speaker:it doesn't matter if you send an email at 9 at night or 5 in
Speaker:the morning when you're up. You know? I'm trying to learn some balance.
Speaker:Welcome back to another episode of Resilient AF with Blair
Speaker:and Alana, but only Blair. But we're also with Heather, and Heather
Speaker:is fucking awesome. I'm so excited. Heather Mariana is
Speaker:the CEO of Heather Mariana LLC, is the driving force
Speaker:behind Beauty Kitchen, a luxury skincare brand
Speaker:renowned for its natural cruelty free products and also the
Speaker:best hyaluronic acid, let me tell you. And with her, started
Speaker:the YouTube beauty expert. She launched beauty brand coaching,
Speaker:offering personalized mentorship on brand development, media
Speaker:exposure, and white label products. Featured in Forbes, e
Speaker:news, and over a 100 TV segments. And
Speaker:not only TV, but she's actually featured in 2 of
Speaker:our books, the upcoming book, Resilient AF Stories of Resilience Volume
Speaker:2, and the last book, Resilient AF Stories of Resilience.
Speaker:She curates high profile events, such as the
Speaker:Harvest Celebrity Gifting Lounge during the Primetime Emmys and Oscar
Speaker:week, and she also elevates this gifting experience for the media,
Speaker:celebrities, and VIPs offering major exposure for brands and
Speaker:companies. And what I really love about Heather is that Heather, I'd met
Speaker:shortly after my dad died. Shortly after,
Speaker:I launched the first book, the global resilience project. I was on a media
Speaker:tour for a piece of media that I was featured in, met her in Vegas.
Speaker:We hit it off. I didn't actually know anything about her. We just, like, naturally
Speaker:built this, like, awesome friendship, and I didn't know she was such a
Speaker:fucking powerhouse. And she just, you know, she's an
Speaker:amazing human, amazing soul, and, like, she like, this bio, this is just
Speaker:like a tip of the iceberg. Like, she's a phenomenal woman, and all of her
Speaker:social media links are in the show notes. You wanna connect with her.
Speaker:And her gifting lounges, we've we
Speaker:handle copies of our books at these gifting lounges. And, you know, having Snoop Dogg's
Speaker:manager hold 50 stories of resilience in his hand from our
Speaker:community, it's just, like, such a powerful experience when stuff like that happens.
Speaker:And, Heather, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker:Hi. Hi. It feels like I met you just yesterday, but that
Speaker:was, like,:Speaker:It was at the Green Valley Ranch. Right? Oh, yeah. It was. 3 Green at
Speaker:Green Valley Ranch. Oh, but I'm I'm excited because today, we're
Speaker:gonna talk about, you know, like, you know, you've you've gone
Speaker:through stuff. You've gone through a lot of stuff. But we're gonna
Speaker:talk about how you lost someone that was so important to you and how you
Speaker:inherited her business. Correct.
Speaker:Let's let's talk about it. Tell me. Tell me about tell me
Speaker:about Doris. Yeah. Tell me about your relationship with her, and
Speaker:we'll go from there. Hi, Doris. Because I always say that when I'm
Speaker:talking about the gifting lounges. So, I was a
Speaker:sponsor for Adores' gifting lounge, for
Speaker:Emmy's and Oscars week for about 9 years, and we
Speaker:became very, very close. She was like my Jewish mom. We talked all
Speaker:day on Christmas every year.
Speaker:Couches, talked all the time, send each other gifts. She was just
Speaker:so great. I literally probably talked to her on a daily basis,
Speaker:over those years. And last year, unfortunately,
Speaker:her and her husband died in a tragic house fire.
Speaker:And, I was asked to carry on the torch of her gifting
Speaker:lounges because we were so close. And everyone was like, I think
Speaker:that she would really want you of all people to do
Speaker:it. So I did that, and I I at
Speaker:first, I was like, I need another job. Like, I need a hole in my
Speaker:head. Right? You're busy building a beauty empire, and now you're also
Speaker:doing been handed this, you know, lifting lab. Feel like it was
Speaker:such a it was it was, hard to navigate. You know?
Speaker:When she passed away, we were maybe a week from the Oscars event
Speaker:that year, or Emmy's event that year and,
Speaker:the year that she passed away. And it was the Oscars
Speaker:because the Emmys that I was gonna do got postponed because of the strike.
Speaker:So it was the Oscars, and I had a lot of my white label
Speaker:brands gonna be at her event. And so I had to shuffle them
Speaker:around to other events that weren't exactly
Speaker:the high quality event that she did, you know, but I had to
Speaker:do something. You know? And that was a lot of navigating, you know,
Speaker:because it was like, hey. I just lost my friend. I understand that you
Speaker:paid her $5,000, but you didn't pay me $5,000. I'm trying to
Speaker:help you get into another event. I feel like,
Speaker:people weren't realizing how how it was actually affecting me because I
Speaker:am so business. You know? Yeah. And
Speaker:and so you were asked to take over her lounge, and this is it's interesting
Speaker:because, like, that's that's when I was stepping in. I was there for your
Speaker:first one, and, I you know, up in
Speaker:Canada, like, not having any kind of foot in the door
Speaker:in the world of Hollywood this way, but being your
Speaker:friend and thinking, you know, wow. Like, this is huge brand exposure, but also,
Speaker:like, our mission of empowering 888,000,000 people and getting our
Speaker:book into the hands of people of influence. This could be a really great way
Speaker:to help empower people to strengthen their resilience muscle. And so, you
Speaker:know, we were supposed to do it was the the it was the was it
Speaker:the Oscars? Because it was the Oscars one was postponed, or was it the m
Speaker:one of the Emmy's was postponed because of the strike. So we moved everyone to
Speaker:the Oscars. Right. So our first gifting lounge, we were
Speaker:gonna do the Emmy's. We did the Oscars gifting lounge, and I it was right
Speaker:when we launched our book, like, the week after our book came out.
Speaker:And my sister and I, Alana and I, had no idea what to expect. And,
Speaker:like, as a brand, it was absolutely amazing. But before I talk about my
Speaker:experience as a brand, I wanna I wanna know what it was like to
Speaker:inherit this. It was a monstrosity because
Speaker:it's cord you have to sell the tables, organize the tables, deal with
Speaker:the venue, coordinate the guest list, the PR. At
Speaker:that time, you had a business partner. You know? And, like, there's
Speaker:different dynamics there, like and you're grieving your friend.
Speaker:And, like, grief is just on its own hard and, like, having to,
Speaker:like, function as a business owner while
Speaker:honoring your friend. When I inherited you know, decided to take it over and I
Speaker:kind of inherited you know? I'm so lucky, though, because
Speaker:her a lot of her really close celebrity friends were became close with me, and
Speaker:they knew, you know, I I would do a good job. So I I'm I
Speaker:know I did them proud. You know? But when I when I took it
Speaker:over, I also inherited,
Speaker:her production girl. And I quickly learned why do
Speaker:miss Doris was always stressed out. You know? And,
Speaker:you know, when your back is up against the wall and you gotta be resilient
Speaker:in any situation. Right? I mean, I was out there with my robe
Speaker:on in the pouring rain setting up tables because this person had
Speaker:done absolutely nothing, but yet, you know, obviously got
Speaker:paid. And I was just like, I gotta get this done
Speaker:for the sponsors. You know? Gotta put everything aside and,
Speaker:you know, be out there and sit the rain soaking
Speaker:wet. I mean yeah. But that's why I,
Speaker:I'm I feel like every,
Speaker:I don't wanna say the word problem, but every situation is
Speaker:an opportunity of learning. Right? So in that very
Speaker:moment, I just wanted to, like, ball up and cry. Like, I was
Speaker:like, I don't ever wanna do one of these fucking events again.
Speaker:Right? I had no idea, like, as a brand
Speaker:and as a good friend of yours. But it was I had no idea.
Speaker:Like, as a as a brand, like, I did not know all that was going
Speaker:on in the background, which was call me 247. I'm always there for them,
Speaker:but it was like when you hire when I inherited, you know, this team of
Speaker:hers. Because I was there as a sponsor. Right? So I didn't see all the
Speaker:behind the same shit. I didn't see all the stuff that people were supposed to
Speaker:do and all that. And when I was told, yeah. We have it handled. We
Speaker:did it for Doris. This is you know, you pay us
Speaker:$10,000. You know? I'm like, okay. Great. Everything floor plan will be done. Great. I'll
Speaker:just work on sponsorships. And I did a great job with that. You know? But
Speaker:I I'm very close with tons of brands, so that's not hard for me. Yeah.
Speaker:And, I literally was like, I never wanna do this fucking thing
Speaker:again. You know? Like, I wanted to cry, but it was like,
Speaker:okay. You gotta be resilient in that moment. You know? You got people that paid
Speaker:to be here, and you have celebrities coming and things like that. But like I
Speaker:was saying, every situation is a a chance to learn, at least that's
Speaker:the way I think of it. Because if I wasn't put in that situation, I
Speaker:wouldn't have known who the fuck to hire and who to do
Speaker:how to do my Emmy's event that you got to see Yep.
Speaker:The difference between the Oscars and the Emmy's. It was like day. Yeah.
Speaker:But So I was in charge of it. Yeah. So it's inter
Speaker:so I've now been to 2 gifting lounges, and we're gonna be at the next
Speaker:one, which we'll talk about. And I I mean, they were, like, 2 step 2
Speaker:different events. Like, there are 2 different venues, different
Speaker:quality like, flow of show, quality of
Speaker:everything, and even though there was a
Speaker:strike. Oh, yeah. There was a strike outside. We had protesters.
Speaker:But but yeah. I mean, I think also, like, the the first gifting lounge
Speaker:that you put on, like, it was in honor of Doris, and, like, I think
Speaker:it's great that you got to use her team and learn from them what to
Speaker:do, what not to do. And then I didn't learn anything from them. Oh,
Speaker:yeah. You learned that you should do it on your
Speaker:own. That's what I learned. I actually blocked all of their
Speaker:numbers that night. Yeah. But you Okay. So you No. We don't
Speaker:have any more conversations. So you you're like, I'm never doing this again,
Speaker:and then you stepped into doing it again on your own. What what was that
Speaker:tipping? I had the venue for Emmy's
Speaker:buttoned up and paid for the next day. So you
Speaker:just, like, for a minute, were like, I'm never doing this again, and then you're
Speaker:like, no. No. No. That was awesome. I'm doing it on my own. Yeah. Because
Speaker:once I started to hear, like, from all the sponsors and, like, everybody that was
Speaker:just, like, this was such a great opportunity for us. You know? I realized
Speaker:that the event in general is more it's it's more
Speaker:than just, like, my event. Do you know what I mean? It's really it's like
Speaker:a good way for people to get their brand out there, make a ton
Speaker:of great fucking connections. You know? Whether it's
Speaker:celebrities, media, or the VIPs I invite, which those people were
Speaker:amazing too. You know? Network with this other
Speaker:sponsors and just I felt like a sense of, like,
Speaker:okay. This is something that I really need to be doing because it
Speaker:it's it really does help a lot of people. And, also, I had a lot
Speaker:of fun putting the Emmy's together. I'm having a ton of fun putting the Oscars
Speaker:together because I have my own team now. Like, I'm not getting
Speaker:like like, I can't work in negative. And, like, with that other
Speaker:team, and now I know why miss Doris was so stressed out, it was,
Speaker:like, every single Zoom call was, like, screaming match between all of them.
Speaker:And I'm like, I can't work like this. Like No. No. And that's that's a
Speaker:place of chaos. Like, we don't need more chaos in our life. And so
Speaker:coming back to LA for for the gifting lounge for the
Speaker:Emmy's, it was a whole different experience, and it felt
Speaker:even more luxurious. And it was cool to see some of the
Speaker:same celebrities coming from the first one to the second one. And what I noticed,
Speaker:and I'm not gonna list names because of, like, who these specific celebrities are because
Speaker:I don't I don't know what what's appropriate and what's not. But I know one
Speaker:of them, like, she was at your Emmy's gifting lounge for hours. Like, it became
Speaker:it was like a party. Like, people wanted to spend time there. No
Speaker:one. Like, people come and not leave. Like, they were there. We had some
Speaker:people come and and, you know, do the rounds and leave, like, some of the
Speaker:athletes like John Sally and them because they had other places to be. But, I
Speaker:actually ran out of celebrity escort. So now I know how many I need to
Speaker:have because I'm probably gonna run out again,
Speaker:you know, at the next event, you know, because it's like they
Speaker:come and they stay because we had so many activations. I mean, between the
Speaker:gift bag and and what they got to
Speaker:experience face to face with, like, you guys Yeah. It was
Speaker:over 50 brands. And it was it was really
Speaker:like, for me, it's a no brainer, and it's part of what we offer our
Speaker:authors. And this year, like, what we're doing is for our authors that are in
Speaker:this book, we're actually running a contest when we launch, and the author that sells
Speaker:the most amount of books is gonna get this, you know, gifted a spot to
Speaker:join us at the Oscars gifting lounge, which is, like you
Speaker:know, it's so interesting because, like, Alana and I stand there, and we share our
Speaker:story of our project. And trauma and grief are kind of like
Speaker:that great equalizer. Like, no one's immune. It doesn't matter if you're Snoop
Speaker:Dogg's manager or a real housewife of Salt Lake City or, you
Speaker:know, a musician or a soap opera star. Like, we are
Speaker:not immune to grief and loss. And having these really
Speaker:authentic conversations with the people stopping by, whether they were
Speaker:someone I knew, you know, like a celebrity or just someone of influence or
Speaker:just anyone, even the other sponsors, it's just it's really cool to
Speaker:be in that room. And as a brand, it's given
Speaker:the support we've gotten from you, Heather, and from, like, the community that you
Speaker:bring to these events has just given my sister and I validation
Speaker:that we are we are helping change the world. And,
Speaker:you know, I think maybe something we should have done at the beginning, but we
Speaker:didn't. But, like, maybe do you wanna explain what a gifting lounge is? Because someone
Speaker:might be listening to this as a brand, and they're like, how do I get
Speaker:into this? Like, what is a gifting lounge, and, like, what's a sponsor
Speaker:sponsor a brand, and why would someone want to be there?
Speaker:So, the gifting lounge is there's several
Speaker:that happen throughout the weeks leading up to Oscars and Emmys,
Speaker:but I would like to mention that my Emmy's
Speaker:lounge was voted number 1 of the week by several media outlets.
Speaker:So Yeah. Bravo. I'm
Speaker:very and I'm I'm the I'm determined to have
Speaker:She's always number 1. Yeah. Always. So
Speaker:I, so the so the celebrities come.
Speaker:They hang out. They get all their free gifts. They they get escorted from
Speaker:each area, different activations from different sponsors. We have
Speaker:a DJ. We have food. We have
Speaker:tons of alcohol, wineries,
Speaker:caviar, you name it. And they it's like a big party, but they get
Speaker:to come get their free gifts, meet new brands, get it you know, take
Speaker:photos with the brands, take you can even take video
Speaker:with them if you have, you know, like, for example, one of the celebrities
Speaker:was, bugging me on text, like, 2 weeks
Speaker:ago. Like, I need you to connect me with a hair extension person. I that
Speaker:I wait. And that was the best ponytail I ever had, and I'm like, okay.
Speaker:Let me connect you with Jill. You know? Yeah. That's the kind of stuff that
Speaker:we create. You know? And it's like you get to be face to face with
Speaker:them. We get to establish relationships, see if maybe they wanna
Speaker:be in your book, Blair. Or Yeah. Hey. Here's the hair
Speaker:extensions. You know? Maybe you could, you know, take them to set.
Speaker:Maybe now everyone's wearing these on the set of Young and the Restless, and you
Speaker:made that for your brand. It's more than just the photo op.
Speaker:It's being in that room. Like, the whole room. The relationship. Like, an
Speaker:example I'm interrupting you, and I'm not sorry because it's a great example.
Speaker:Oh, go ahead. At our first gifting lounge, we handed our books, and my sister
Speaker:and I both loved the whole Real Housewives franchise. And after
Speaker:the event, because we met a couple of the housewives, former and
Speaker:current, and I don't know who's friends with who, but some of the other housewives
Speaker:started following us. And one was even messaging us because they must have
Speaker:seen the book or spoke about what we were doing, you know, with someone that
Speaker:was there. And then with this event, one of the celebrities that were there,
Speaker:who's, like, pretty legendary, she's, you know, been around for a
Speaker:while, She shared that she was going through an experience her on
Speaker:her own, and me and her have been texting. And it it's just a relationship.
Speaker:Like, there's nothing to you know, I said, I did offer her if she wants
Speaker:to be in the book, but she is going through something. But, you know,
Speaker:we're all just people, but the thing is these are people who have influence.
Speaker:And if they're going to share your product with their friends of influence
Speaker:and their family and their friends of not influence, like, that's a big deal, and
Speaker:it's worth what you're charging. And so a sponsor essentially, right,
Speaker:is a brand. So, like, I'm a sponsor, and I get a table, and I
Speaker:can be there, and I have these intimate conversations 1 on 1 with celebrities,
Speaker:and I physically hand them my product. Yes. And you still have
Speaker:space available. Right? I do. And I have different packages
Speaker:available for different budgets. I do have a general
Speaker:price for the tables, and then we have gift bag
Speaker:options. And then I have one Uber VIP
Speaker:package, that's like a 30 by 30 space, which would
Speaker:be really good for, like, a big brand or somebody who has several brands.
Speaker:Yeah. I love that. And so I know that, like because I obviously have, like,
Speaker:a pretty big network. Like, I've had some friends not be able to be there,
Speaker:but put products in gift bags and That tea is really good.
Speaker:Yeah. And so, like, that you know? And that's of to me, like,
Speaker:both all the options you have are extremely affordable for
Speaker:the visibility that's there. I think it's very affordable considering what
Speaker:you get. I mean, we have the sponsor meetup. We do the breakfast while you
Speaker:guys are setting up. Well, no. I mean, like, just the exposure on
Speaker:its own. And, like, the you get professional photos, and there's a step and repeat,
Speaker:and your logo's on it. And then every photo with the celebrities are, you know,
Speaker:taken in front of it, your logo's there. Like, it's it's amazing. Yeah. And, also,
Speaker:you get to meet all these other really cool brands. But, and, you
Speaker:know, the gift bag one is is a little bit more economical if and because,
Speaker:like, you don't have to fly and be there and all that stuff, and it
Speaker:still gets your product into the hand of celebrities. But I I
Speaker:just think it's really cool that you went from like,
Speaker:like, you're still doing your beauty brand coaching, and you still have your white label,
Speaker:and, you know, you are a like, a powerhouse woman. Like, you are
Speaker:you're epic. And now you've added this whole arm of
Speaker:your business to doing these gifting lounges. And with your,
Speaker:like, such powerful Rolodex of really cool people, you know, and
Speaker:you're bringing them all together on this day, this one day
Speaker:to help amplify these brands, to celebrate them, to celebrate us. It's
Speaker:absolutely phenomenal. And going from, like, losing a good friend
Speaker:who was like a mom to you Ugh. She was so great. To
Speaker:what you're doing now, like, look at the beautiful way you're honoring her.
Speaker:Yeah. I always, I I say, remember Oscar
Speaker:saw rainy it was, the first event? And then all of a sudden, it
Speaker:cleared up, and it was super sunny all day, and then it started raining at
Speaker:the end again. Yeah. I was like, that was Doris
Speaker:because there there is no way it would have
Speaker:stopped pouring like that just for the hours of the
Speaker:event. Yeah. And then it started pouring again, like, when
Speaker:the DJ was loading out and stuff. That's, I was like,
Speaker:yeah. That was definitely that was Yeah. Well, she's and she's with you, and she
Speaker:would I don't know, Doris, but how could anyone not be proud of you?
Speaker:Like, it's not a small undertaking. Like, you're not planning, like, a 10 year old
Speaker:birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Like, you know, like, it's huge. It's a
Speaker:huge undertaking. And, like, the brands, like, you you you start getting you,
Speaker:like, you do press. So you put them on TV and and I
Speaker:do. Yeah. I mean, it's a lot of work. Once it's in full swing
Speaker:Yeah. I'm like, let me check my TV schedule
Speaker:against my coaching clients and everything else. It's like I have to do all the
Speaker:TV segments, and then I have to make sure all the shipments are here. And
Speaker:Yeah. It's a big undertaking. It's it's it's really big. And so
Speaker:if, yeah, if if you're listening to this, you know, and you wanna come support
Speaker:Heather and be at the gifting lounge with your brand,
Speaker:you know, Alana and I will be there. You know, we're we're like the
Speaker:emotional support Canadians. Can I tell you,
Speaker:like, nobody really knows this? Like, one of the activations I'm building out for
Speaker:Well, everyone's gonna know now. I'm gonna tell you. What is it?
Speaker:Comes out, it'll be okay. So, we have 2 ballrooms
Speaker:for Oscars, as I told you. We have the full second floor.
Speaker:Ballroom 2, I'm building out. We'll have some authors
Speaker:in there, and we are gonna have a spa
Speaker:experience. And I think I'm gonna have, like, on-site
Speaker:Botox on-site. Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. Really me and my old saggy skin up. Wellness
Speaker:stuff, skin tools, all that kind of stuff in there.
Speaker:Like It could be the, like, the Zenzone. Yeah. Like, I was gonna call it
Speaker:the wellness lounge. Oh, yeah. That's great. That's so it's amazing. And you're
Speaker:probably thinking, wow, Heather. How do I get invited to this party? Well You
Speaker:can't. You can't. Trust me. My phone
Speaker:blows up every single time. I had, 2 days before
Speaker:the event, for the Emmys, I had people offering
Speaker:me $5,000 a ticket to come, and I was like, no. Because
Speaker:then It compromises what yeah. I can't let the general public
Speaker:in. Like, a lot of these other gifting lounges, they let the general public in.
Speaker:They really do. You gotta watch it. You know? They'll sell tickets on the side
Speaker:and things like that. So you're giving half your products away to, like, people
Speaker:that are not really celebrities. You know? Yeah. I'm like, I'm really
Speaker:trying to build this thing here, and I really wanna build it out to where
Speaker:it's like, you wanna be there not only for the celebrities and stuff, but for
Speaker:the networking, like a mini mastermind for your brand. Oh, it
Speaker:and it already is that. So, like and even from the first event to now
Speaker:and knowing what you're gonna be doing for this next event, it's
Speaker:so exciting. And I'm just so honored to be a
Speaker:brand associated with you. But also as your friend, I'm so proud of you because
Speaker:I'm I get the behind the scenes. Yeah. And Yeah.
Speaker:And you get to hear everything that's going on. And and I just
Speaker:want our listeners to know that, like, you know, we're just
Speaker:sharing a tip of the iceberg of Heather. She if you go on a deep
Speaker:dive on Heather, you're gonna find out that she's been on Bravo TV shows, reality
Speaker:shows. Like, she's, you know, built businesses, sold businesses. She's been on
Speaker:a journey, and, you know, I'm I'm just so honored that
Speaker:you're not only just in one of our books, but 2 of our books and
Speaker:that I get to call you a friend. And me and Alana love you so
Speaker:much. We we have so much sent me the key
Speaker:I saw it this morning when I posted the Beanie Baby thing
Speaker:on Instagram last night because Oh, yeah. If anybody
Speaker:listening remembers Beanie Babies, it was Elan and I had a collection of, like,
Speaker:100. Well, remember how they said they were gonna, like, go up in value?
Speaker:Somebody found the book with, like, the essence god. Like, projected
Speaker:value. I had the book. Okay. Yeah. And and I was like
Speaker:and the caption on this on the, the post
Speaker:was so great. It said, Beanie Babies were the cryptocurrency
Speaker:of our time. Oh my god. That's hilarious. Alana told send me a picture of
Speaker:her when she dressed up as the princess Diana Beanie Baby for
Speaker:Halloween. My god. K. So what you don't know okay. So Beanie Babies,
Speaker:this this, like I'm a vintage millennial. Like, at the time of recording this, I'm
Speaker:39 years old. So if you're listening to this in many years, that's how old
Speaker:I am now. My baba Ruthie, so my mom's mom, volunteered at a
Speaker:gift shop in a hospital, and her job was to do the ordering. And so
Speaker:she would order beanie babies for me, my sister, and my cousins, and
Speaker:her. And so she we probably collectively had about 500. Like, we had every beanie
Speaker:baby. Like, the princess Diana Like,
Speaker:we had every beanie baby. Like, the princess Diana went and, like, some of them
Speaker:were, like, put in like, the heart was in a case. Yeah. They Put in
Speaker:its case. Looks like the heart was in a a protector, then it was in
Speaker:a case. And so we had
Speaker:so many fucking Beanie Babies, and, like, so, like, it's
Speaker:crazy. Like, my when my grandma died, I think one of my cousins inherited the
Speaker:collection. And when my mom died, we had still so many,
Speaker:and we put them in a box and all my friends were coming by because
Speaker:it was a pandemic, and we had to be outside. And every time they came
Speaker:by with kids, we were like, take the beanie babies. And, like because, like, they
Speaker:were not we're like, I think we maybe kept a couple, but, like, we had
Speaker:so many because my baba, Ruthie, would just order them for us. At,
Speaker:like I don't even know. Yeah. How did they even come up with that marketing
Speaker:that they were gonna be worth so much money? Because I remember I bought one
Speaker:of my friends in college, one of the princess Diana ones because she
Speaker:wanted it for her birthday so bad, and she was like, it's gonna be worth
Speaker:so much money. You're gonna be mad you didn't buy yourself one too. And I
Speaker:was just like, whatever. And I remember I had, like, a plastic
Speaker:case. And I'm pretty sure Alana on the shelf. You know?
Speaker:I wish Alana was here, but she will she will share. If she's still I
Speaker:think she still has a few of the, like,
Speaker:perceived higher value Beanie Babies. But, I mean, we could
Speaker:Heather, you're just you're absolutely some genius. So, you know
Speaker:Yes. So, I mean, it'd be really cool if they came back, you know,
Speaker:but then most of ours are, like, I don't know, in, like, kids' toy bins
Speaker:all around. But, Christ. Because you cannot cash them in. Let
Speaker:yeah. So listen. If you're listening to this, I invite you to into Heather's
Speaker:World. All of her links are below. Maybe you wanna have a white label
Speaker:company, you know, in in anything. Maybe
Speaker:you want to maybe you have a skincare or beauty brand and you want
Speaker:coaching. Maybe you are like, well, Blair, like, I
Speaker:want my brand at the gifting lounge that's happening at the end of
Speaker:February:Speaker:do. And I'm gonna put all the information, including the link to, what
Speaker:it you know, what's all involved with being at the gifting lounge. And, Heather,
Speaker:I'll probably put your email in the show notes too so someone That's totally fine.
Speaker:And if you are reaching out because you heard this podcast, let her know. Be
Speaker:like, hey. I heard you and Blair. Let me know because I'll give you a
Speaker:deal. It'll be the Blair deal. Oh, the Blair deal. I like that.
Speaker:I like that. Well, Heather, thank you. Before we
Speaker:wrap up, like, share some advice. I mean, you know, usually,
Speaker:I ask people to share advice for someone going through something similar, but I think
Speaker:it's very rare for someone to, like, lose a friend in a house fire and
Speaker:then inherit a gifting lounge. Yeah. Very rare.
Speaker:So maybe just advice for people who are going through shit.
Speaker:I think for me, like, right now, my best piece of
Speaker:advice would be just, like, if your back's up against the wall or you feel
Speaker:like you're striking out, just keep going because
Speaker:I TMI, like, all of October, I'm finally getting over it, and it's
Speaker:almost the end of November. I have had the worst cough, gone to the doctor,
Speaker:like, 4 times. And I just I was just striking
Speaker:out everywhere because I was just so sick and trying to get through the
Speaker:day. And so now I'm, like, playing catch up, and I'm like, you know what?
Speaker:I I did enough today, and and I'm just gonna keep going.
Speaker:You know? Like, just keep going. And but don't stress yourself
Speaker:out. I think it's from what I'm currently advising
Speaker:myself because it's really not gonna matter if you're working
Speaker:at 9 o'clock at night. You know? It nobody's gonna get to
Speaker:respond to you till the next day anyways. So it doesn't matter if send an
Speaker:email at night at night or 5 in the morning when you're up. You know?
Speaker:I'm trying to learn some balance so that, you know, maybe I can
Speaker:finally get over this cough. Yeah. Jewish penicillin chicken
Speaker:noodle soup. But that's why eat lots of. The I have I have it all
Speaker:in yeah. I think that's really, really good advice. Like, just
Speaker:keep going, but also, like, everything does not need to get done all at once.
Speaker:It's okay to move deadlines. It's okay to send the email tomorrow. Yeah. You
Speaker:know? Unless you're, like, a brain surgeon and, like, someone's brain's about to
Speaker:explode. Like, it's okay. And you you can't pour from an
Speaker:empty cup, and I know that too when I'm super stressed out or sick.
Speaker:Like, I can't I'm show I'm giving it my 100%, but it's not my normal
Speaker:100%. Yeah. And you gotta take care of yourself. So that's awesome advice, Heather.
Speaker:And Right. And another piece of advice, because it's the right you know, by the
Speaker:time this comes out, it'll still be, like, you know, holiday season ish. Like, enjoy
Speaker:the holiday season. Like, let's Yeah. Everybody's had a rough
Speaker:go.
Speaker:Like, you know, the you know, past couple years. You know? It hasn't been
Speaker:amazing for anybody that I've I've that I've spoken to. So try to
Speaker:like, put your tree up. You know? Like Yeah. Try to enjoy the
Speaker:holiday season. Like, I already decorated my entire house last Saturday,
Speaker:and it already feels more jolly. Love
Speaker:that. Yeah. I I think that's really great advice. And, like, take time off.
Speaker:Like and set your autoresponder. Don't answer your phone. Put it in
Speaker:do not disturb. Like, it's fine. You can check out. Like, it's it's
Speaker:totally fine. Like, sometimes doing that, you know, I believe in stillness
Speaker:we create, but, also, like, sometimes all the fruits of your
Speaker:labor show up when you take a break. Yeah. I very
Speaker:much agree with that. Yeah. A 100%. Well, thank you so much for joining us
Speaker:on Resilient AF. And yeah. You're amazing.
Speaker:And thank you to everyone who tuned in for another episode. Remember,
Speaker:life is full of ups and downs, lefts and rights, good and bad, happy, sad.
Speaker:You know? It's it's okay. Just keep putting one foot in front of the
Speaker:other and know you're not alone. You're not alone. You have me. You
Speaker:have Heather. Hey. And a lot can change in a day,
Speaker:really. I've had, like, days where I was like,
Speaker:and then the next day, it's like Super epic. Oh, I'm
Speaker:living in bliss. I should wish I would've just not freaked out
Speaker:yesterday. You know? You just gotta keep going and, you know, just remember,
Speaker:friends, like, it's okay to not be okay. You're gonna get through it.
Speaker:No one's You are. Yeah. We're not living our Instagram highlight reel.
Speaker:Yeah. We're not. Yeah. And friends, you are resilient
Speaker:AF, so thank you. Thank you.