149 | Restore Collective Core Value: Sustainability
===
[00:00:00] Hey friends, welcome back to the Called to Lead podcast. So I'm super excited to roll out another core value of our brand new direct sales company Restore Collective. So today's episode is going to be all about what has become quite the buzzword, at least in the beauty and skincare space. And that is sustainability. But today I'm going to be talking to you about the deeper reason why we chose this word as it relates to many different facets of our business when it comes to our product, our comp plan, and honestly, the root of why we are doing it.
And so we're going to dive all into this week's core value, which is sustainability.
[00:01:00]
All right guys. So I'm going to start off this episode with a little kind of a secret. So when I very first presented the 12 core values that had come to my heart with Roger and we were brainstorming on which ones to include and really kind of diving deeper on each of them and bringing lots of different ideas to the table until we landed on our official 12. [00:02:00] This one in particular, sustainability was one that we had a lot of back and forth discussion on because I think when I said sustainability, what Roger heard was more the environmental side of things. Which of course is something that we, and all of us should be focused on and believe in.
But I think he thought that was the only reason I was saying it was like using some kind of industry buzzword or something as like a marketing pitch or a marketing ploy. That, to be honest in the development of our products and our packaging and all of the things. It's everywhere right now. So he wanted to make sure we weren't just using Trinny language to throw some values out there. And hopes that it would be inspiring to others.
And I said, no, no, no. Let me explain. why I think this actually is a beautiful word to describe what we are building here with restore collective, as it relates to sustainability as the buzzword, but also in more importantly as the original definition that we will share today. And actually I'll start there and then I'll [00:03:00] dive in to the verse itself. And speaking of definitions, actually, if you look up the definition for the word restore, that was actually the inspiration behind our logo, which has the word re and then a dot and then a store. And so this is intentional for a few reasons. One, we are kind of a restore. You'll see that we have a renewal molecule that is an exclusive cellular rebuilding topical immunotherapy in our skincare, which I'll be talking more about with our focus groups in the coming week.
So make sure you're plugged into our focus groups by filling out the survey and getting connected with an aligned with one of our founding partner mentors. So you can stay in the loop on that, but. You would not believe how many rewords refillable reorder rubble renewable. ~Uh, ~rebuilding all of these things. ~Um, ~all of these rewords that kind of make us say restore, but when we partnered with our graphic designer to create our logo, he had the awesome inspiration to [00:04:00] kind of inspire it after the definition of restore. And so if you think about it, when you look at, look up the definition I'm in here, I'll look up the definition on Google for restore, and we'll read it off.
Cause it's pretty special. But when you Google, when you search that, it kind of comes up with. Like the re.store to focus on the syllables and how you actually pronounce it. But according to Google re store. With the little dot says, bring back. ~Uh, ~previous right practice customer situation, reinstate the policy, restored confidence in the banking system.
As the example they used. ~Um, ~then there's return, ~uh, ~someone or something to a former condition place or position, and then there's repair or renovate to as to return to its original condition. And so that word has such deep meaning. And when you see the word restore and when you see our logo know that it's tied to the actual definition at restore. But back to the definition of today's word [00:05:00] sustainability, because I did the exact same thing.
So I said, okay, Hey Google, what, what is the definition of sustainability? The first definition that comes up is the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level.
So, what that means is. It's stable, right? Like sustainability it's creating something that can sustain a similar rate across time. And that can apply to so many different facets of your life and of your business. And so sustainability also, when I Googled it showed like this really cool graph of how, like back in the fifties, not even that long ago, The word was hardly used at all.
And now it's like skyrocketing and POS, ~um, Um, ~in popularity, but that's more based on the second. Definition, which is the avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance. And so sustainability has now shifted into this buzzword to encompass all things on how to be better stewards of our environment.
So then that got me thinking [00:06:00] the way to kind of tie these together is to go and dive into the best place, to find direction on any core value, which is the Bible. And so the verse associated with our core value of sustainability is second Corinthians nine, six. Which says the point is this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. And so again, this kind of speaks to planting seeds, which sustainability can mean literally planting seeds in the environment to, you know, Bring in like better oxygen through planting of trees.
I know there are some great companies out there that literally do things like that in order to spur on and help improve our environment. But to me, this speaks to reason. Number one, that we chose this. Is that we, as humans here on this earth are called to [00:07:00] be stewards of all that we are given, whether that's environmental, whether that's financial, whether that's the gifts and personality. Whether that's the situational aspect of the life that you have been blessed with. Whether that's the hard circumstances that you've had to endure or we'll have to do endure in the future. We have to be good stewards of all of those things.
The learning experiences, the, the seeds that have been planted with us. The seeds that we plant and others. And what this says is that whoever sows, those seeds, sparingly, meaning who doesn't really share those things, who doesn't. You kind of keeps them to themselves. So that can mean not being a cheerful giver because I think this is from the cheerful. Giver, which is tied to generosity.
So the people who just kind of hoard and keep their knowledge or their resources or finance. ~Uh, ~or they just aren't really worried about trying to make the world a better place. Right. They're sowing sparingly. Well, this first says they're also going to reap [00:08:00] sparingly and Reed just refers to the fruit or the actual growth that comes from planting those seeds.
And so we've already done an episode. ~Um, ~prior about, ~uh, ~the Lord is the one who makes the seeds grow and it is our job to plant them. And so you can kind of take that pressure off of yourself. But this is saying that if you sow sparingly, you're gonna reap sparingly. At the end verse, that is whoever sows bountifully.
And I think that's such a beautiful word, bountifully. I will also reap bountifully. So this to me is an invitation to really take everything that we have been given, which is the experience in entrepreneurship experience in direct sales. The God given inspiration and wisdom. And the amazing people that have become a part of this and lean into that responsibility of sowing and hopefully doing that in a way that's bountifully with all of you guys, so that not just us, but that you can join us in that reaping bountifully [00:09:00] as well.
So the first reason is all about because we need to be good stewards of what has been given to us. And so that's the first reason why we decided to choose the word sustainability. So this, oh, and if you guys can hear my dogs barking in the background side note, this is hilarious. So we live on a river here.
I'll see if I can whip it around and show you guys. So, um, if you can see that marsh. Right across the river. There, there are, ~um, ~marsh hogs, which, who even knew that was a thing. And one of them has decided to swim across the river, come into our neighborhood and one of the yards and it's hanging out in our front yard.
So we have, I mean, I don't know, four or 500 pound wild hog. That's literally hanging out in our yard and my dogs are going crazy. So sorry if my sound editing doesn't quite fully edited out, but that's the beauty of building a business from home. Am I right? Let's keep going. Okay. So the second reason that [00:10:00] we chose the word sustainability is tied to both the product and the comp plan.
And so let me explain more about that, because this is kind of something that I think is really special. So how many of you guys, if you are a woman and you grew up maybe going to the clinic counter to get your very first iteration of your makeup and maybe your mom, or like, in my case, it was my sweet grandma brought me to the counter and she hooked me up with my three-step skincare system. And a simple tinted moisturizer and maybe some black honey lip gloss.
Right. And what's wild is I know for myself and for a lot of women, that first iteration of the thing we learned about makeup or the first skincare routine that we tried became the sustainable or longterm option that we used until we found something that was either better or something that we liked better.
And goodness knows. There's abundance of options out there. Now in that realm. But what we hope to create with our product specifically in terms of the sustainability of [00:11:00] the long term is we want our systems, which is basically going to be simplifying everything that you know about beauty and skincare into three to five step. ~Uh, ~application processes or things that can integrate into a more advanced system, if that's what you're all about, but they can also replace and, you know, consolidate essentially like a capsule wardrobe for your face.
And so the way we see this working is obviously our target market is probably going to be the mama. That's going to be buying it first for herself. But then what we envision is that young women, I have two daughters, one's 11 and one's 15. And they both are into beauty and skincare. They trying hard not to let my little one become a Sephora kid.
Right. Because if you haven't heard it's wreaking havoc on the skin of young girls, because they're picking up on all these like trendy ingredients and, and acids and. And anti-aging things, which obviously they do not need an middle or a high school. And what's happening is it's completely [00:12:00] disrupting their skin barrier. And so there is definitely a time and a place for some retinol, ~um, ~you know, for some advanced actives and maybe that is when they start to develop acne. You know, kind of doing some spot treat and eventually we'll even have some really cool things within restore that kind of addresses specifics, but what we're launching with and what the core of what we're going to do. And what we're going to release are going to be the everyday essentials that truly can start off a busy mama. Or her teenage or pre-teen daughter with a routine that is sustainable for the longterm.
So this is something that she can use and you, and, and love. And, ~uh, ~we'll talk more about the packaging in a second, cause that's going to be tied to the~ last, last, ~last thing. But ultimately we want this to be something that she uses as a habit and as a routine that saves her time that like, if you're a mama, it's going to allow you more time to actually spend with your kids, right.
Or spend with your teens. You can apply it on the go. I usually do my I'm like on the way to church or like in the car, if my [00:13:00] husband's driving. ~Um, ~and the cool part is, is all of our systems are going to be super portable. So if you're watching this on YouTube, you can see our beauty edit bag, which has been shared with our focus group, which makes it to where you can grab it on the go or even use it.
Like I have one, ~um, ~Who's going to take an extra one with her when she travels to her daughter's softball games. And so she wants one for her bathroom and one for on the go. And that's the kind of sustainability that we want is something product-wise that people will want to use and love for the longterm. We're not talking about trendy products.
We're talking about the basics. And the things that most women are looking for and consolidating them into a simplified routine and packaging that also does fit the buzzword of sustainability that we'll get to in just a minute. So the comp plan is also something that we want to be sustainable. So what I mean by that is when we worked with some of the very best comp plan designers in the industry, there's really several [00:14:00] out there that are well-known.
But this one in particular is known for creating sustainable comp plans. And most of the ones that they've done for companies. You know, decades ago and they've been doing it for a really, really, really long time for like, I don't even know how many different companies and about, ~uh,~ of the hundred top companies, direct sales companies in the world, they've worked with 30 of them.
So a third of them either on the front end as they built their business, or what they often do is they do a lot of consulting on the backend when companies need to come in and change their comp plan, which is terrifying, I'm sure on the corporate side, but their goal is first of all, not to ~um, ~ever like our plan is designed to be sustainable for the longterm.
We do not intend to make changes for, to our plan. And if, and when we do in small little tweaks and things like that can be common, but I'm not talking about like big, crazy scary changes because we've baked that in. To where even we could even potentially add some things down the road. So it's a very conservative, but it's generous.
[00:15:00] It's based on our margins. It's based on our systems. It's tailored specifically to us and it's built by the people who have worked with countless companies. Who've had to come to them to help fix what was a broken plan designed by some of the other, other folks out there. And so we are so excited that our plan is from the get-go one that we would consider highly sustainable for the long run. The other cool thing is you might have heard us talk about the five pillars of our product and everything, and it's safe.
It's simple. It's seasonal, it's smart and it's sustainable. And that applies to our comp plan as well. And so the seasonality of it also helps. You to be able to come to this business in whatever season you're in knowing that that can and likely will change. And it's kind of a phased approach within our compensation plan where not only can you choose, for example, to be an advocate and be more affiliate focused with our team building. But if you do choose to go the partner path, which is designed to [00:16:00] build and grow your business, it's broken down into sustainable phases where we will guide you through basic basing each phase. ~Um, ~practices that will help get you to the next level, if that's what you choose to do.
And so through that, whatever season or phase of your business, you're in. We have created something that will reward you along the way, and we'll guide you along the path. To success, whatever that looks like to you, and it's going to be different for all of us. And so even our comp plan is designed with sustainability in mind, which again, just goes back to the fact that we want to sow bountifully so that we all you included can reap bountifully from the beautiful. ~Uh, ~facets of the product and the wisdom and all of the things that are coming straight from the source, right.
The word. So. That is reason number two. Reason number three is where we're finally going to kind of dive into the like actual buzzword of sustainability. And so while we are not going to [00:17:00] be like one of those companies, that's like, we, you know, all of our products are going to be, you know, whatever the most sustainable thing is.
I'm not going to say that, ~um, you know, ~we're going to be able to choose every single one of the most sustainable choices. ~So, ~because. You can have all the things you can't have the best price, the best product, the most clean, the most sustainable, ~uh, ~have a start-up have, ~you know, all of, ~all of those things.
And so what we're doing is we are committing to work towards. ~ ~As sustainable as packaging as we can make happen. Along the way,~ but what's really cool is right from the get go. And I'm actually holding. ~~I'm holding one of our, this is not even our. If you're looking at this, this is, this is not even ours.~~ ~
~That probably shouldn't be showing this, but it is pretty cool. If anyways, join a focus group. If you want to know what the heck, this little guy. ~But the cool thing about our packaging as it is sustainable, relative towards a lot of what you see out there is how often have you bought a beautiful bottle?
Maybe it's one of like the glass dropper bottles, or maybe it's like something that came in a gorgeous box and you're like, oh my gosh, I don't even want to throw this away. Like, this is so beautiful. And it feels so wasteful to just like toss it in the trash or toss it in the recycle bin. You know, if that's something that's important to you. And so what happens is you either keep them, and then you've [00:18:00] got like a ton, you're like a hoarder, ~um, ~or you're tossing it, which a lot of times, those really nice high end materials. Even if it's not plastic, which sometimes gets a bad buzzword, they're not things that biodegrade quickly.
And they're not things that are actually going to wind up in a recycle bin at all. And so they're really not. Technically sustainable. And so what happens and we've even had some of our vendors say, they're like, listen, we'll, we'll whitewash it however you want to. But the fact is like most of the people are still going to throw things away.
So then we thought about, okay, well, how can we make sure that less things wind up in the trash, right? If that's the problem is people are just going to toss it, whether it's an outer box or whether it's the packaging, when they're done. And so what we have decided to do, and I will show you one of our packaging that is actually our package. ~Um, ~is a couple of things.
So one. ~Um, ~you're not going to have to, like, for example, this, this little guy here, you don't have to keep up with the cap, which is really nice. [00:19:00] Everything's all together. It's transparent on the outside. So you can see the inner workings on the inside, which also reflects the values of our company, but here's, what's cool.
And this one eventually. ~Uh, ~not bright for the prelaunch, but it is refillable. And so we're going to work towards all of our products or as many as we can to have actual refillable packaging. To where you aren't replacing the part that let's be real costs, sometimes a significant portion sometimes in certain companies, not really ours, but in certain companies, sometimes it can be the most important, most expensive facet of what you're buying.
So instead of having to toss that. All you're doing is recycling the inner component, ordering another one at a discount, and then popping it in yourself. And so our makeup specifically will also be that same concept where we will have, it will be a 10 and a curated palette. ~Um, ~our tins are the most beautiful gold.
I love them so much. They [00:20:00] were made specifically for us. They were also made to be more sustainable and seasonal, and that they're designed to last, you, each of the different products are designed to last about two to three months. So that when you go to reorder, you're going to be ordering at about the same rate.
And so you don't have to order every month, but maybe every couple of months, two to three, depending on the usage, you're going to be able to order each of the little different things at an affordable price point, because you're not having to pay for the external packaging. You're just essentially buying the refill. Same thing, the pallet itself.
And I wish I had one to show you, but it is in production. But it is the most gorgeous, fully custom palette that we are doing. That is not something that you are ever going to have to throw away. It is meant to not just be a Restore palette, but it can be customized even with a monogram, kind of a DIY gold letter monogram that we'll, we'll tell you more about so that it's, it's not just a restore palette.
It's your palette. Or if I were buying it for [00:21:00] my 15 year old, it would be Lawson's palette. And so that's the idea is it's highly giftable for one, ~but, uh,~ for two it's, all you really need is that one simple compact system. That you can refill. Along the way. And now if you're in all the things, girl, we will, you will also be able to buy an extra one of the pallets and you can of course put extra things in.
It also has a really unique refillable or re removable. inner divider component that we like to call, it's kind of like training wheels. And again, I'll have to tell you more when you can actually visibly see it. Cause you might be really confused right now, but just know that our packaging is sustainable because. You're not going to be having to throw away a ton of this beautiful packaging.
You're going to be able to refill it. And, ~uh, ~and it'd be able to kind of take advantage of that as well. So, We're really, really proud of that. And we are working towards. ~Um, you know, ~for example, ~um, ~this bottle is one that at the beginning might not have the post-consumer recycled plastic because we do need to get it to market as quick as we [00:22:00] can. But it's one that we absolutely can work towards when things get rolling.
And so that's a perfect example just in transparency that we do want to work towards all of our products being at using the post-consumer recycled plastic, which is basically just an after the fact. And then of course, really making sure their materials and everything that we source are great for the environment as well.
So if you are a crunchy girl and you are really looking for a product that does focus on sustainability, That is definitely something that ~we,~ we want to work more and more towards. And it's something that we're keeping at the forefront of every decision that we make. And so I hope that that makes sense.
So we're not using it as a marketing ploy. We're also not making promises that we can't keep to say like, You know, every single thing that we're going to have is refillable or everything. And it's going to be PCR plastic. ~Um, ~or, you know, again, what's really funny as our dropper, this is not the right color, but this is our amazing dropper for our elixir, which I can also wait to tell you more about. [00:23:00] But, ~um, ~our elixir, ~um,~ is believe it or not, it's not a glass bottle, which some people might say, oh, ~well, you know, ~Is plastic, you know? Like more or less recyclable than glass?
Well, what we learned from our formulators is first of all, it's a lot heavier. So shipping and the fuel costs associated with shipping, it are actually much more, most of the time with the glass, it's not getting actually recycled, it's just getting thrown away and it's certainly not getting reused as we envision ours to. ~Uh,~ and then it's not made with something that's post consumer recycled most of the time.
And then, ~uh, ~there was another, another piece to it. Oh yes. And also it breaks on the line. And what happens with that is if something doesn't line up and this happens quite a bit, Or if it doesn't line up, or if something breaks, they have to shut down the entire production line, which wastes tons of time.
Tons of resources. And causes a ton of problems. So we actually had multiple people advise us and guide us not to use [00:24:00] glass, even though it's quite the buzzword in the sustainability field. And so it depends who you ask and just know that we're listening and we're learning and growing along the way.
But again, this little dropper bottle and the. ~Uh, ~forthcoming refillable. ~Uh, ~option is going to be a really cool way for us to lean into the sustainability piece. So I hope that that gives you a little peek inside. ~Uh, ~the reasons that we chose sustainability as our core value. And so just to summarize, first of all, ~um, the, ~the reason that we do that is because it's our responsibility to be good stewards of everything on this earth that we've been given, but the physical resources, both the gifts, the experience, the talents, the money, the financial things, all of it.
We are meant to sow bountifully, sow bountifully so that we can reap bountifully. Then reason number two. Is that we want this thing to be something that is used and loved and consumed and enjoyed. For the long run, which [00:25:00] speaks to the sustainability, the original definition of sustainability. And then finally we will be leaning into as sustainable components as makes sense for each one of our products that we source just to be good stewards of our environment as that is something that we are hearing is more and more important to you and to your customers. And so I'm going to wrap us up today in prayer, and I'm so thankful for you listening to yet another core value episode today. Lord.
Thank you so much for just everything that you have given us every bit of wisdom, each one of these values that are rooted in your word and in your example. And so specifically when it comes to sustainability, help us all to not lean into some splashy marketing buzzwords, but instead to the definition that you have caught us to, which is truly to just so implant seeds from what we've been given, knowing that you will water them, you will help them grow. And the more we do that, the more we sow bountifully, the more we will reap [00:26:00] accordingly.
And so just help people listening to be able to discern how to apply that to their business and to reflect on the ways that we Roger and I are building and baking those into everything from our products to our comp plan and to really everything that we, that we do in the development of this company.
So just thank you for everything that we've been given, give us the wisdom and direction to move forward as your will. And. And we are so grateful in Jesus name. Amen. All right, guys, I'm going to go see what's happening with this hog in my front yard and see if I can shut Sadie up over there. But thank you guys for listening and I hope you have a beautiful week. Bye. [00:27:00] ~ ~
