Allison McNamara, Founder of Mara Beauty, On How Getting Divorced, & Losing 40 Pounds Totally Changed Her Life and Supercharged Her Business

20:45And so that first mini movie, I just read Joe Dispanse at the time. And I made the mini movie of like waking up in my dream body, you know, putting on an outfit easily, because I look good in everything. And you know, being looking in the mirror, feeling confident, arms have always been a big thing of my insecurities. So like looking from the side, enjoying the way my arms looked, feeling happy and healthy and, and walking out the door, I envisioned the light and my kitchen. And so like every detail that mini movie I would envision every single day as I would drive to work. And then really like over the course of seven months, like I realized I was like in the movie and then I created a new mini movie.

21:20And so it's kind of one of those things I've kept going and whether it's about business or relationship, it's, you know, it's kind of something new every day. What's your mini movie right now? My mini movie right now is I'm very focused on growth for Mara. I felt like, I feel like we're really in a prime place that we have a new product that's been doing incredible for us. Which one? Pearl Peptide Glades. Yeah, I just got it because I got it when I was gone. Yeah, yeah, Yeah. So that one sold out three times at Sephora. And didn't it just launch? It just launched. How do you get a product to sell out at Sephora three times even if it just launched?

21:48Because, well, one, I think the forecast for it was low. And we're also in a very weird year. You know this from the other CPG businesses that you're working with. Like, it's not been the best year for us in general. For us, I mean in beauty. And I think they were being conservative based on the climate and based on it being a new kind of formula for us. And by formula, I mean it's a new delivery system. It's more of a lighter weight, viscous. And so they ordered their first PO, and we sold out of that in a week. And then they ordered their booster, and we sold out of that at the sale. And then they ordered another booster.

22:21So it's just like we haven't figured out what that forecast is. But it's really exciting because I think we needed that new energy in the business. And we went through a lot of shifts this year. Two people that had been with me from the beginning had exited. Their choice or yours? Their choice and my choice in a way. Mutual. Like mutual on one of them. And then the other one was sad, but ready for her to move on. But at the same time, I think you're not going to get to where you need to go with the people that started your business. And everyone says that. And so did that change? Did IVF and switch to warehouses?

22:51Yeah, in January, all at the same time, and then launch this product. So I felt like it was the energy we needed, these three sellouts, to really feel like, OK, we're ready to do this. We're ready to get to the next phase in the business. It's actually a question I asked this morning to another founder. is like, so I often think that as an employee and as a founder, you're best from like certain parts of your business. So like I would be the best from ideation to like 50, 50 employees, 50 million. And then like, I'm kind of useless. I don't know how to grow a business from like 50 million to 250 million to like hopefully a billion dollars one day.

23:21Like, where do you feel like you're best and how are you keeping up with like continuing to just like sharpen your toolkit and be better and like continue to learn so that you don't feel like you're ultimately one of the people that end up hurting the business growth. Yes, that is challenging. I feel like we're not quite there yet. I definitely think I'm more of a zero to 50 type of person. But at the same time, I'm really great with operations. I am very sharp when it comes to production flow, supply chain, especially the fact that we own all these formulas. We have to put all of this together.

23:54It's a pain in the ass. But I truly enjoy it. I like the rat race of it all. so I do think I am a really good executive officer like a CEO I'm maybe not that I could oversee a COO I don't want to do COO work from 50 to 100 like that I know is like beyond what I want to do but I love the ideation at the end of the day it's all about the story that's the journalist in me I think that that's why our products are really special like each one of them feels like a story and we'll have to wait and see we're not we're not close to 50 million yet So when we are, you said before you're doing like 17 ,000 things and distilling it into one.

24:29And it's interesting, like you're actually also one of the first founders that's still in the CEO role that like hasn't fired themselves. Because I think what I've been hearing a lot from the trend of the people we've had on is like, they kind of get to that point where they're like, okay, actually now I'm like a deterrent to the business and I'm going to go and do what I'm really great at, which is like product formulation and vision and like creative and community. And I guess, how does someone like you who's all about the story structure their day to have the capacity to be sometimes in the weeds on finance and operations and formulation and other times like creative and in flow and building community and like how do you balance that?

25:04Like what does that look like? Well, I'm not as organized as you might think. I'm very organized in terms of like how my closet looks or like where things are filed. But like my, I don't write anything down. What? I don't take one note. Doesn't your team hate you? hate uh hate for that but I have an incredible memory I think it's because I've had to memorize so much copy over the years like I remember like I'll remember the shirt that you wore from the first time we met when we were making wontons and like I have is that how we oh I was trying to yeah that is how we met and you're talking about uh Erwan Beverly Hills you were just kind of like maybe gonna separate yeah um and so like I have an incredibly sharp memory but because of this like it is hard to work with me sometimes because I I am like 10 steps ahead just by memory But I think for me, like my dad was a CEO and I get coached by him every single day.

25:50And I wouldn't even be able to hire or afford a CEO with as much experience as him. And so by - So is he like in the business of the title or no? No, no. But like he's retired. Yeah. But he, I mean, I talk to him every day. He's my dad. And we both love this industry. Like we truly are obsessed with beauty. Like my sister's also in beauty too. We have an entire - What does your sister do? She works at L 'Oreal. Wow. And so, yeah, like, you know, I was texting him today and he's like, oh, I'm on a Zoom with T3 Micro till 1230. He's still an advisor in a lot of businesses. So I feel like I have the best training, the best coach.

26:22And when we're ready to bring on someone who's incredible, I will absolutely do that. But I have the best one already on my side helping me. Do you ever feel like it's a roadblock sometimes? Because I often feel like this too, when I work with older people who have done it a certain way and have success, and I have a new idea. And I was actually thinking about this in the shower yesterday. We actually just made a a large investment and we hadn't made one all of last year. And I was thinking about like, why? And I was like, I think because when I was new to this industry, I was so naive and I didn't know what I didn't know.

26:51And I was so like optimistic. And I think last year I went through to your point, like, so not last year, but the year before that I had gone through such a down part of my life where I felt like everything was falling apart. And like, I think that translated into like, I guess a maturity I had grown into the biz, into the industry that I was in that made me a bit more fearful and a bit more afraid to take risks. And then I think when sometimes you're around people that have like done it a certain way that they're like giving you push back because you're not as naive and you're not pushing the boundaries and you're not taking risks.

27:22Like, do you guys ever get into that fight of like, you think a certain thing, but because of his industry experience, like you guys kind of think differently and it challenges you more? Oh, all the time. I mean, like he created really like the whole brand of Neutrogeno was oil free and I have an oil based line. So when you were starting it, he was like, don't do this. No, it's never been don't. He's super supportive and loves everything that we've created, but he'll always give feedback. And sometimes it's like, oh, that one's too oily or I don't like the viscous of this one. He told me the cleanser, no one was going to buy it.

27:52It's our best product. But how do you, like, that's what I'm trying to get at is like, I think so many people listening to this hear no all the time, especially when you're at the beginning phases of like, like I had this vision for Hot, Smart, Rich to be like, call her daddy meets how I built this. and people just didn't get it at the beginning and down to people telling me like oh can you not send me an email invitation with your email address to my inbox because like that's checked at work to like people even that Courtney knows when he was first telling people about the name of my company them being like that's really self-serving and like they just didn't understand it and I think it's easier when it's people you don't know but when it's people close to you that are like doubting you or they think your idea is bad or they don't think you're making the right thing like how do you just trust your gut to know that you're doing the right thing?

28:36Well, I do think that like, I always trust my gut for sure. But my dad has always been supportive, even for the ideas that he thinks are like, not the best. He's never been like, you shouldn't do that. But I'm also like, so stubborn that you have to like, as a founder or as any sort of like, host, actress, whatever you're pursuing, like, you have to kind of think that you're the best. You know, no one else is going to think that you're the best. Do you think it's uncomfortable as a woman to say, I think that I'm the best? No. Because like you can, I think I have the best oil cleanser. Like that's my favorite one.

29:04I've yet to use one I like more. Do you think you have the best color of hair? Well, sometimes. It changes throughout. Can we talk about your hair for a second? So for anyone that doesn't know, Allison, is this your real hair color? This is not my real hair color. It is, well, I just got a dye. So it's redder than usual. Okay. I was going to, but it's. Didn't you say? Yeah, but it is. But it's like, you're not a redhead. I'm not a redhead. But do you identify as a redhead? I think I do now. We decided that I needed to try this red hair color because the show I was on wanted one of us to change our hair color.

29:34They had just hired Shanae Grimes from 90210 to be my co-host. And we had the same hair colors. They're like, it's up to you guys, like, figure it out. And that's when I went red just to face an insecurity. And now it's become like my thing. Like the red, I always wanted something like, especially being in the hosting space at the time, I wanted something that made me stand out because I felt like I was really getting better at my craft, but I wasn't standing out for certain reasons. And I was like, what better way to stand out than with like a very distinctive hair color? And it could brand me in a way.

30:04And I got so many brand deals after that. It's so interesting you saying that too, because I think like in the female founder beauty space, right? It's so easy to be like skipped over or their story not be told because there's so many others. And I think you have so many little tidbits that like we've touched on today, which is like you have this amazing family legacy and history and beauty. Like you have a personal relationship that's different from what a lot of beauty founders look like. You have gone through a divorce and a separation. And like, I think it's been interesting to watch you maybe not talk about that while building your personal brand.

30:35Has there been like a reason you're afraid to do it? You know, that's a good question. Like, I don't know why. I think like I'm a little old school in the sense where I always felt like you kind of had to keep something to yourself. Yeah. And now I'm not sure. Like my, the person I'm dating now is like really fun and like super loves like being in front of the camera and my old partner didn't love that. And I think I love it. So it's like fun when we get to film content together, like you and Courtney too, I feel like, you know, he didn't really want to be in front of the camera as much. And now you're showing more of him.

31:02It's like, it's kind of finding that balance. So I don't know why I never really showed it, but I think I did show it more when I was in a better place in my last relationship. As things started really taking a turn for the worse, I really wanted to kind of keep that out of my pages and off my feed. And now I feel in the right headspace to talk about it where I know I I can talk about it eloquently and not from a place of like anger or spite. And I think those are really important things. Like image and how I'm perceived is important to me, but also how I make other people feel. Because people don't remember, you know, what you said.

31:34They remember how you said it. And so I really wanted to make sure I approached anything personal with a lens of sensitivity. Now that you're building your personal brand, what do you think has changed from when you were like front of the camera 10 years ago to what you're building now? in front of the camera? I thought that I was going to be done with this stuff 10 years ago. Like the fact that we're out here like making TikToks and stuff, it like makes me laugh a little bit because I really was like, I don't want to film myself anymore. I just want to be like a brand founder and like work hard and like have a desk, like be at a desk, not get my makeup done, get to actually get stuff accomplished.

32:09And it's crazy how like how much it's changed since I launched Mara even, but I really love it. I do love like the storytelling and I, I love this stuff too. So do you like a calendar that manages like when you're going to be doing certain things or like a team that's like sending you social stuff? Because I think so many founders listening to this, they want to like do it all. And it's so hard to find the time. Like I even get like, oh my God, like when am I doing this and that and that? So how do you manage like all the demands now of being a founder in such like a fulfilling way where you're enjoying it?

32:40And it's not like, oh my God, I have to get my makeup and do work and then go into a finance meeting. So you asked me this earlier and I didn't answer it. So like what I do is I time block. And I know a lot of people do this, but I stick to it. So like on Mondays, I have like a series of four meetings with every key player in each team. And we go over like the week, that week, the calendar, any like outstanding issues. They're about 30 minutes long. Then on Mondays, I also do a quick check in with my social content review for the week. And our team, our digital team sends us all the trending sounds.

33:09So we kind of start placing them into things that we want to get done. And is that just for Mara's channels or your channels too? So mine and Mara's. We do that all on Monday. And we kind of like set out the course of the week with, of course, room for anything that's trending that pops up. And then we do shared albums. So I put like I film along the day, the week and my assistant and our interns really help like going through that shared album and making really cute trends. And then I dedicate like a content block on Thursdays where I film anything else that wants to be filmed at the office or like in a bathroom during that one hour.

33:39And I'm fast. Like I can get through a video a minute. Like however long the video is, next. You don't like take it, you don't take turns to film. Like you don't have to take multiple takes. See, like people don't know this about me, but I even filmed the video between you, Sif and Nish and I filmed the intro like four times. Stop. But like you're such a natural even like this and I bet you could do it in one take. It's because I did live to tape for you. Do you know what live to tape is? So when you are in production, live to tape is where if you're shooting a show and it has to air the same day, you film it like it's live but it's live to tape so they if you say the f word or like they can really mess up like they can get out of it but the goal is they're not going to shoot it again you get one chance so like it taught me a lot how to work on my feet especially if I'm filming something like you're not going to love the way you say everything but you can recover in a way where you don't have to do it again and it makes it more efficient and so I film everything like it's live to tape and and you you're kind of one of those people that's like it doesn't matter if everything's perfect.

34:36Are you a perfectionist? No. So I used to be, but like you don't get anywhere when you're a perfectionist. Like I could pour over the same copy or the same, whatever I'm doing for a million years, I'm a Virgo rising. So yeah, if I want to be a perfectionist, like I'll catch you in five years doing the same thing, but like I have to move on. Like speed is power and like 80 % is better than a hundred percent if it takes like 80 % of the time. That's so interesting because I feel like you've totally like shifted your life over the last three years is that seems like one of the mantras that you live by.

35:06Like, what are some of the other things that people can put into it? Like, I'm even thinking for myself, like, I just look at how you've transformed your life. Like, what are the other like mantras or things that you've lived by to do this in total life transformation? Like you are so happy and it makes me so happy watching it. Cause like, I remember standing in Terry's kitchen for her baby shower and you and I had this really intense conversation. Cause I had just, I think I had just, yeah, it had just been like, I'm going to call off my engagement. And I could tell that things were like off for you, but you hadn't like fully decided what you were going to do.

35:38That was probably last two Decembers ago or something. That's when it was really rough too. Like there was an inflection point like before that. And then we kind of like made a choice to kind of continue working through it. And there were a few other series of events that just made it impossible for me to move on in that way. And it's hard. Like making those decisions is hard, but kind of like a mantra that I like is, you know, staying's hard, leaving's hard, like choose your hard, right? It's a very simple one. Like you, you have to, everything is hard at the end of the day and you have to make the choice for yourself.

36:09So I think that's one of them. I think the other thing is just like, everything is energy. And I was around a lot of people who had not great energy and you can't control that. Like, and they were energy suckers, not energy givers. And so I really wanted to be around people that I felt like were also giving me energy. Like, do you, I asked myself questions like, do I leave that conversation being fulfilled? Do I feel lighter after hanging out with that person? Do I feel better after hanging out with that person? And if the answer was no, like, then I realized, like, maybe I'm not hanging out with the right people.

36:41Maybe I have the wrong people around me. And so I think those were, like, the tough conversations that I kind of first started going through. But on a daily basis, like, I just try and consume less than I need in all areas of life. So whether that's food, relationships, business, I don't want to overconsume from anything because I want to leave wanting more. and I feel like it makes life a little bit more fun because, okay, like I stopped myself from overhiring at my business so then I can have more flexibility to do things like marketing. Were you overhiring? Never, but like these are kind of things that I live by so I'm able to do the fun things or I stopped myself from overconsuming so that I can actually like go on vacation, have the pina colada, like not care about it.

37:18So I think that's something that's really helped me too but I'm trying to think if there are any other mantras that I live by. I think you've always just been like such a good person too. Like I think it's so interesting because I think that you are so media trained that like sometimes your genuineness on your TikToks, like if people get to know you in person, you are like such a girl's girl. You remember everything. So you always make people feel so special. But I feel like sometimes like TikTok, and I find this too, people always tell me, they're like, you're so much better in person than you are on camera or like on film.

37:50And it's hard because I sometimes like, I listen to some, there's so much contradictory advice. Like I hear Beyonce be like, Like she puts on that persona of being, what's her like persona's name? Sasha Fierce. Sasha Fierce. She like puts on Sasha Fierce and like, she's like, I leave Beyonce to the side and I'm Sasha Fierce. And I'm like, okay, so the character that you're playing is like energetic and happy. But then I think people sometimes miss like the genuineness of who you are. What is something that like you want people to take away from this conversation that like they might not know about you from your social media?

38:22Oh my God. I don't even know. I guess like, I don't know. That's a really hard question. Like maybe that I am really authentic. Like even though I am media trained, like I'm also kind of like this in person. Like this is how I act in person too. So maybe it is like decades worth of training. Maybe it's just who I am. Maybe they've morphed into one, but I want people to know that I really like am super authentic and everything I do, like I put so much love into, like these are truly extensions of me. They're not made by anyone else. There's no dad who like created it. That's a rumor I get a lot too.

38:52Like I just really love what I do and I hope it changes people's skin. It does. I mean, I'm staring at your skin and I'm just like, you don't even need to go to Korea because you have like the glow that everyone wants from salmon sperm facials. Well, look at your skin. But what is the product combination that, cause you don't use 13 products every single day. Never. So what's your, what's your go-to? So I skin cycle, I've been skin cycling since it was before a thing, you know, but I basically alternate in the evenings. I cleanse my face. I use pearl peptides sometimes, sometimes I don't. And then I go through either retinol, our lactic acid, which is flower acid, or our clear skin mineral milk, which is our acne product.

39:26I use one of those and then I hydrate and that's it. And I kind of listen, I listen to my skin. That is like what the biggest piece of advice I can give anyone is like, I think people want like a routine, but like not every routine is going to work for you. It's going to work for him versus me. So like look in the mirror, like, do you feel like you've got anti-aging issues right now? Do you feel like your skin's a little dull, like listen to your body, look at your skin and treat it as such. So that's what I do. And so some weeks I'm using retinol because I'm feeling old AF and I'll be using that for weeks on end.

39:57And then I'm like, wait, I've got a little bit of dullness. Maybe I'm gonna switch it to do flower acid tonight. So I think it's kind of taking that intuition we've talked about and applying that same practice to every area of life, including your skin. And in the morning, it's simple. I do the same thing every morning. I use no cleanser, Jess Pearl Peptide, our vitamin C, which is one of my favorite products, and sunscreen. I love Dr. Loretta right now. Okay. Yeah. Okay, this is such a good way to transfer into our rapid fire because there's some good questions you mentioned on here. Pick one for the rest of your life.

40:25Okay. Morning or night skincare? Night. Makeup or skincare? Skincare. You're so good at this. You're so fast. Yeah. You can only pick one for the rest of your life. Coffee, cocktail, or matcha? Coffee. What's your order? Coffee, cocktail, matcha. No, what's your order for coffee? Oh, order. Wait, that was such an April 27th. Not a light jacket because it's not too warm and it's not too hot. Oh, my God. I'm dying. I'm dying. My order for coffee, it depends. Like, I like to make my own. I use this, like, brown coffee from Erewhon that I really love the taste of. I do some whole milk. I've been doing cowboy colostrum.

41:01Jury's out on that. Okay. But otherwise, I like a flat white. Okay. I like that. Yeah, I like a flat white. What's your favorite brand at Sephora that's not yours? Oof. I have it by category. Okay, let's do it. Okay, Crown Affair for hair. Love? For makeup, this is such a tough one, but I think I really am a Say girl. Yeah, I love Say. I love a lot of their products. I love Merit and Tower 28 as well, but I use a lot of my essentials from Say. And then in skin, that's not mine. That's really tough, but I probably use the most Shawnee Darden besides Mara. Yeah, okay. What about fragrance? Ooh, also tough.

41:36I really love Fleur. It is the best last purchase that you've made. By Kelly. You got a Kelly too? What size? I got a Tokyo. You got it in Tokyo? I did, I did. Oh my God. I know, you were like so busy. I don't even know if I said anything, but I like probably just hearted yours, which is gorgeous. I got mine at that place. It's like QQ. Okay, I didn't go there. And it's amazing. I got a 30. Okay. It's 30. And it is like the most, like I call it dangerous, but it's like the most dangerous, like very beautiful leather because it scratches really easily. Oh, okay. But it's calfskin and it's gorgeous and I love it and I wear it all the time.

42:08What's your most regretful last purchase? Ooh, I try not to have regrets, but probably the like really expensive blender that I bought like a year ago that I still haven't used. What's it called? I don't even know the name of it. Okay. But like I bought it because I was like, I must make my own tahini. And then I have yet to pull it out because I saw all the pieces and I was like, I'll figure that out later. So I just started shoving it away. Who is your favorite comfort creator? Comfort creator. So like who do you at nighttime just type into your search bar and just consume? Ooh, that is such a good one.

42:42I recently met someone that I didn't know beforehand. I didn't realize she was a big creator. And then I started watching her videos. Tessa Brooks. I don't know her. She's like a dance. She dances. Okay. So I've been really into her dancing videos because I just love, like, I just want to be a sick dancer. Okay. And I'm like, can't do that. So I think hers and, ooh, I like Wishbone Kitchen. Yeah, everyone does. Yeah. Are you a big cooker? It's new for me. Like I was kind of always told that I was a bad cook by my last like in relationships and I'm actually not. I'm actually a pretty good cook and I'm really creative.

43:14The problem is you're never going to get the same dish twice because like I don't know what the hell I did. I just kind of like put it together. Oh my God. But I really enjoy cooking and I can't follow a recipe, but I do like watching people's reels now because it gives me inspiration. Okay. Are you mostly consuming content that's like personal loves and hobbies or are you consuming like things that help your business or like, what are you kind of like listening to? What's your information diet? My information diet is a lot of Huberman labs because I love health and wellness and like those types of trends.

43:42I get a lot of like, you know, when Instagram serves you things, like I get so much about like growing businesses and like inspirational quotes. So clearly that's always top of mind. And then, um, I do love fat. Like I started in fashion. So I get a lot of like the old school, like bloggers still in my feed. Cause I think they have the best style. Like I love seeing what Shay Marie's wearing and like Daniel Bernstein and like Ami Song. Like I get a lot of that. Have you ever worked with any of them as an influencer for Mara? No, but we've like Ami's been a friend of mine. She's posted Mara for years.

44:11But a lot of these girls I met on my show at PopSugar. So we had an influencer show that was kind of like a fashion police, but like more positive. Okay. And influencers were on as guests. Wow. Like do kind of like entertainment news and like style critiquing. And so I had like Ami on a bunch of times and her sister came to the studio a bunch too. So like I had a lot of relationships like that from my past. Do you guys do a lot of money on influencer marketing at Mara? We just started actually and we haven't really invested in like paying one partnership but we're working with Shopmai. Yeah. Which I really love the platform and you know it's just been hard because I think getting that ROI is really challenging in this landscape so we just want to kind of dip our toes into that into that landscape for now.

44:53Yeah. Last question TikTok or Instagram? TikTok. really oh my gosh yeah like catch me on tiktok like tiktok i have to like put my phone away because i could be on there four hours same instagram like i think the trial reels is helping the whole platform give us better discoverability and find new things that interest us but like i don't want to follow a million accounts but then again i don't want to see like you know mary's second child's like baby baptism for everything that i see you know i want like that's why I love TikTok I love like discovering things I think it's so curated Instagram and it's so like intentional in a good and a bad way like I think TikTok to your point you can just find more real information on there more real reviews and real stories and I'm like actually a lot of the feedback I've gotten from people on my show is like you should be posting more on Instagram more like authentically more in the moment like stop being so poised like do you feel like you have two different personas one on TikTok and one on Instagram yes and it's funny you say this I've been having like a lot of these conversations because like you can just throw up anything on TikTok and like you don't care.

45:56Yeah. But then like I would never like I would never post half this stuff on Instagram. Yeah. But my TikTok is growing so much faster than my Instagram is and is like that why are we like. Yeah. But it's like we don't reward the behavior of like what's actually like I've had way more followers on TikTok for so long and it still has not rewarded me to like or like you know that what's that famous study where they give the dogs like the treat, I'm like blanking on it, but it's not rewarded my behavior enough to make the switch to like do such organic content on Instagram. It's still like a block for me.

46:27And I think it's just like something I have to work through and I'm working on it right now. But Allison, thank you so much for coming on Hot Smart Rich. Where can people find you? You can find me on Instagram at Allison McNamara, but more importantly, you know, at the Mara Beauty and you can shop us at Sephora.

46:50to see you soon