April 15, 2025 • 39 mins
When you're the parent of growing children, finding pants that actually fit can feel like an impossible quest. One week they fit perfectly, and the next your child's ankles are suddenly exposed while the waist is swimming. It's a universal parenting frustration that Lauren, founder of Gili Guise, experienced firsthand with her tall, texture-sensitive son.
"I needed something that could get on and off easily, that could adjust with boys as they grow, whether they're tall and lanky or they're a little bit thicker," Lauren explains. After countless shopping trips ending in unworn clothes and wasted money, she took matters into her own hands. Drawing on her determination rather than fashion experience, Lauren designed pants that could extend in both length and waist, starting with a reasonably sized waistband instead of the oversized ones typical in adjustable children's clothing.
The name Gili Guise represents the entire family behind the brand—Greg (G), Indy (I), Lauren (L), and Ireland (I)—reflecting how deeply integrated family is in every aspect of the business. Lauren's children don't just model the clothes; they're actively involved in the design process, offering opinions on colors and patterns. This family-first approach has created clothing that truly works for kids, from the soft, durable denim to the tag-free construction that won't irritate sensitive skin.
Beyond creating practical children's clothing, Lauren has built a brand that empowers mothers to pursue their passions while still prioritizing family. She navigates the delicate balance of entrepreneurship and motherhood by working early mornings, during school hours, and late evenings, always ready to put down her work when her children need attention. "I want my daughter to know that there's opportunity for women to do whatever they want if they have the passion and drive to do it," she shares. Visit giliguise.com to discover clothing that grows with your child and supports a mom-founded business reimagining what children's fashion can be.
Resources:
Gili Guise Website: https://www.giliguise.com/
Hosting a Kids Rave Party called "Get GILI" hosted by GILi Guise in the Twin Cities. https://mnkidrave.com
The Ultimate Time Audit & Productivity System (Freebie)
Grab it here: TIME AUDIT WORKBOOK
How to Hire Your First VA for $27
Get it now: GROWTH CHEATSHEET
Discover Your WHY – Free 5-Day Workshop
Sign up for free here: DISCOVER YOUR WHY
The Mom Balance Playbook (Freebie for Managing the Mayhem)
Download here: MOM BALANCE PLAYBOOK
Hire a VA or start your VA business here: https://camillewalker.co/
5-Minute Meditations for Kids Podcast
Listen & subscribe here: APPLE SPOTIFY
Top 100 Mompreneur Podcasts: http
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lauren (00:00):
I wish I would have spent more time networking with
people in the industry,especially this market.
I find people are very, verykind and if you ask questions,
people will take the time andwork with you.
Camille (00:22):
So you want to make an impact.
You're thinking about startinga business, sharing your voice.
How do women do it that handlemotherhood, family and still
chase after those dreams?
We'll listen each week as wedive into the stories of women
who know this is Call Me CEO.
Welcome back everyone to CallMe CEO.
(00:43):
This is your host, CamilleWalker, and we love to talk
about women building businesseshere and mixing it with the
chaos and the beautiful worldthat is motherhood.
And today we are talking toLauren, who is the co-owner and
founder of Gili Guise, which ispants that grow with your
(01:06):
children.
Now, being a parent of four,especially three little boys, I
have come through so many pairsof pants where the waist is way
too big and the length is waytoo short.
My husband is six foot six, andso my kids tend to go through
bursts of growth where I'm like,wait, what happened to these
(01:27):
pants I fit last week?
Or my kids tend to be a littlebit more small or narrow waisted
, some more than the others.
They're not all the same size,which, of course, they're not,
and I was so thrilled to hearthat Lauren has developed a
design where you can extend thelength and you can extend the
(01:49):
waist, but the starting waistsize is not huge, which is just
brilliant.
Of course, a mom came up withthis.
That's when you see a gap inthe market and you're like, wait
, I'm looking for this, this isa problem.
This must be a problem for alot of other moms out there, and
that is the best birth story ofbusinesses that live and thrive
(02:09):
are the ones that are solving aproblem for a gap in the market
, for something that we need.
So I'm so excited, lauren, tohave you on the show.
Thank you so much for comingand sharing your story with us.
Lauren (02:22):
Yeah, so thank you so much for having me.
It's so nice to be here andtalk about this because, yeah,
you nailed it on the head whenyou said when there's like a
pain point in the market andthere's a lot of moms out there
that find them and we do ourbest to fix them, so here we are
, here's the Gili Guise.
Camille (02:39):
That is so good Now.
So tell our audience about howyou came up with the name,
because I love how you did this.
Lauren (02:46):
Yeah, so we have a couple of different consultancy
firms and things that weestablished the name Gili and
Gili is my family name, ourfamily name.
So the G is my husband, greg.
The first I is my son, indy,who is five and a half.
I'm the L, lauren, and then thelittle I is our four-year-old,
(03:08):
our fresh four-year-old, Ireland, and so the Gili name has
always been part of us andsomething that we established
years ago and we would say we'rethe Gili family, we're the Gili
family, and then, when wedecided to launch this clothing
brand, we wanted to extend uponthat.
So we added guys to it because,as a mom who is designing and
(03:29):
developing things for our kids,I thought of things that I
wanted as a kid, things that Ididn't like, things as a mom
that I liked and disliked, andso now we're really kind of
living under the guise of ourchildren as we watch them grow
and develop, and so and thatgoes along with our designs as
well.
So Gili Guise was created and,yeah, we launched in August of
(03:50):
2024 officially, and it's beenquite the journey.
It's been a lot of fun.
Camille (03:54):
So that's us.
Oh my gosh.
I know that for a lot of us whoare starting something that's
new and actually bringing it tothe market, it lives in our
brains for years before itactually comes to market.
So tell our audience a littlebit about how, what you were
doing before, where did thisidea come from, and what were
(04:14):
the beginning steps and stagesof bringing it to the world?
Lauren (04:19):
Sure.
So my history was not infashion design.
I actually was in recruiting atHR.
I had a recruiting firm forabout seven years and then,
after I had my son, I shut thatdown to be a stay-at-home mom,
and that's kind of when the ideastarted twirling, when I was
trying to find pants that fit myson and he was tall and lanky.
(04:39):
I also have a tall husband, havea tall husband, but my son
would go through these spaceswhere he would get chubby and
then he would shoot up and we'dget chubby and he'd shoot up in
all these pants.
And he was so particular and hestill is about what he wears.
Everything has to be soft.
He doesn't want to wear jeans,but of course you know it's like
Easter comes around.
I want Easter, cute familyphotos, and we have holidays
(05:01):
come up and you know birthdaysare special events and I want
him to look cute.
So I don't want him wearingsome pants but then with belts
he couldn't get them off fastenough to go to the bathroom,
and so then we were dealing withthat all the time.
I needed something that couldget on and off easily, that
could adjust with boys as theygrow, whether they're tall and
(05:24):
lanky or they're a little bitthicker.
I want everyone to be able towear them and I wanted the denim
to be durable and soft.
So I started designing andcreating different designs and I
brought them to my husband oneday and Ireland was not Indy had
just started school full-time.
He started when he was threebecause he was doing Montessori.
(05:45):
So they had him like three,four and five adults and Ireland
was home with me full time andI went to my husband and I was
like I have this idea, hear meout, I think I want to create
these.
And he was like and I had themall drawn out and he was like OK
, how are you going to do that?
And I was like I don't know,but Google is there for a reason
, so let's, let's get into it.
So he's like if you can, if youcan get a sample and get you
(06:07):
know something created in it,it's durable, let's talk about
it.
And so I did, found a source ofmanufacturer, had some mock-ups
made, had them shipped over andput them on my son and he loved
them and he actually wore them.
And so I had some friends trythem out.
They liked them and I was likeall right, here we go and so I
brought back and we decided tocreate Gili Guise and from there
(06:29):
we have created.
We are a boy focused brand.
We do have a girls line as well, but I love designing boys
clothes and so that we spiraledand we feel crew necks and
t-shirts, but the idea thateverything is durable and soft.
I want everything to be justsoft and that you don't just
wear it once and it fades orthat it rips.
And the Grow With Me jeans werethe first thing that we came up
(06:52):
with, the first thing wedesigned, and it's our
best-selling product for areason because it's my favorite.
But that's how it all started.
I mean, that's the journey ofthe Grow With Me and how really
this company came to life.
Camille (07:04):
Wow, okay, yeah, the fact that it's a boy-focused
brand.
Thank you.
I feel like it's so much easierto shop for girls.
There's so many more options,lengths, you know, things that
we can.
It's a lot more fun to shop fora girl than it is for the boys
because there aren't as manyoptions.
It's very, very limited,especially where I have a son
(07:26):
who is very, very sensitive totextures, hates, tags, only,
want shirts that are slickfeeling, will not wear jeans.
So I am so excited to try outthese pants for him because it
sounds like exactly what heneeds when I want him to not be
wearing sweatpants or thejoggers or whatever.
So, right, yeah, I'm curious.
(07:47):
Oh, go ahead.
Lauren (07:52):
No, I was gonna say it's interesting because, yeah, it's
, it is about the texture, andthat was the biggest feedback
I've gotten from all of myfriends is like, oh, it's like
the neck is too tight or this.
And so when we went into this,we went with it being like let's
make sure everything is likekid approved.
Let let's make sure everythingis like kid approved.
Let's get samples created ofabsolutely everything down to
like the exact design and geteveryone's feedback, because I
mean, the kids are going to bethe most honest and if you're
(08:12):
going to spend money onsomething and throw it on your
kid and they're going to go, Idon't like this tag or I don't
like this, I'm going to toss it.
You know, I'm like I'm not goingto wear it again.
You feel that you wear it againand They'll let me wear it
again and that's a waste and Ihate that because there are so
many cute things out there.
But you know, I bought.
I purchased so many things formy kids that they have tried on
once.
I've been like I'm not going towear that.
So, yeah, I need to try to doit myself now.
Camille (08:37):
Oh, 100 percent, Because my oldest he's a six
year age gap from my next sonand nearly all of the clothes
that he passed down from onebrother to the next would not
have it because it was not theright texture.
Like it was such a problem.
Yeah, I mean some of the thingswould work but most no.
Like I found a pair of pantsthat he would wear and bought
(08:57):
them in three colors because itwas the one thing that he would
wear and I knew that it was apass.
You know that it would work.
So, anyway, I'm curious aboutfinding for someone that is
creating a product or coming upwith something that's their own
design.
Was it difficult for you tofind a manufacturer that you
(09:19):
could trust, as well as quality?
Because, especially, I don'tknow if you're working with
someone overseas or if it's herein the United States, but what
was that process like for you?
What did you learn about goingthrough that process of creation
, samples, the shipping, all ofthat?
Lauren (09:36):
I will say I probably didn't do it the best way only
because I threw myself into thisindustry and I was a
stay-at-home mom and I'm doingthis research.
I put my babies down.
I'd sit on my computer talkingto people all over the world and
then all day in the UnitedStates during the day while my
kids are in school and try andjust narrow that down Me and my
(09:58):
husband we spent quite a lot onjust getting samples made.
Now that I've been in theindustry and I can talk to
people who have worked at largercompanies, you know they're
very comfortable with theirmanufacturers.
They can send designs off andthey don't need samples made.
They just send them off and getput them into production, buy
them in bulk, and I'm justobviously not at that place to
(10:21):
do that.
I think it's really importantthat every single piece that we
issue has been tested, has meets, you know, child safety
standards.
So the CPC certification,everything's tested, everything
is kid approved from a kidstandpoint, that it's soft and
comfortable, that we like theway it fits, that we trust our
manufacturers.
So I mean I have talked topretty much probably every
(10:45):
manufacturer in the US.
I've talked to a ton overseasin various countries.
So it has been me being on mycomputer 24-7 so I can hit their
messages, making sure that theymeet the standards for US
requirements.
Also, it does vary from countryto country.
Us is very strict, which Iappreciate as a mom, and so make
(11:06):
sure they meet that.
I have been on FaceTime withevery single manufacturer
because I want to see what theirday-to-day looks like.
I require videos.
I want to know details of everysingle part of the process.
So I'm a little bit type A.
It's very time consuming andvery costly, but as a mom, as a
stay-at-home mom, I want to makesure that my research is doing,
(11:30):
I do my due diligence before Iput something on another child's
back.
That's just for safety and likepeace of mind for me.
So I've spent a lot of timesourcing and finding the right
people to make our clothing, andso we only have a couple now
that we work with exclusivelyand they've been wonderful so,
and if I don't like something,they're very quick to make
(11:50):
changes to it.
So, yeah, it's been quite theprocess, but it's, I mean, you
have.
That's what you have to do aswell.
Yeah.
Camille (11:57):
And do you?
You said you made a lot ofmistakes.
What advice would you give tosomeone if they were starting a
process like this from thebeginning?
What would your advice be tothem?
Lauren (12:06):
I wish I would have spent more time networking with
people in the industry,especially this market.
I find people are very, verykind and if you ask questions,
people will take the time andwork with you.
And so I dove into it and fromhere I've made a lot of
relationships since then and alot of connections that have
(12:27):
helped put me in certaindirections.
Or hey, have you looked at thisor checked out this?
And it just kind of helped mejump into this quicker.
I mean, they went to school forit, so they're giving me like a
crash course in it, Whereas ifsomeone who is just breaking
into this or wanted to trysomething, I'd say go to every
single expo out there, network,reach out to people on LinkedIn,
(12:51):
just try to get connected andask questions.
It might just save you time andmoney, truthfully, but it gives
you a little bit morehand-holding experience, whereas
going in blind and thenestablishing those relationships
afterwards.
But we went to a lot of expos.
We did do a lot of those wherewe just went around and walked
around and talked to people,which we found to be extremely
beneficial.
Camille (13:08):
Yeah, that's good advice.
I feel like that could apply toany industry because in my
experience, especially withwomen, if you find the right
group or people in general, Ithink most people, if you
approach it in a very humble andcurious way, a lot of people
(13:30):
are willing to share and teachand especially the people who
are really, really successfulare the most generous.
I found that time and timeagain, where they don't look at
someone coming into a new fieldas, oh no, this is my
competition, they look at it andsay there's plenty for everyone
.
I've been in this field forforever and ever and I'm
(13:50):
successful and I want you to betoo.
You know where.
It's just that reciprocity, ohmy gosh.
Lauren (13:57):
The reciprocity.
Camille (13:58):
Thank you.
That's a big word for today,apparently, but gosh, I think
that there are a lot of nicepeople in a lot of places, so I
love that you bring that up,because I found that true in
many cases as well.
Lauren (14:13):
Yeah, and my husband, I mean, he's the one who's he grew
up in a really small town, likea town of like 1300 people and
he always says be nice toeverybody and you'll find that
most people are good, you know,and he goes.
That's in every industry.
Don't be afraid to reach outand network and ask those
uncomfortable questions, becausepeople are, they're good,
they're going to want to help.
(14:33):
And especially if you come withit at that kind of curiosity
and I'm just here to learn, andand again, I mean, if you think
about it, it's like going intothis, it's like gosh, what is my
competition?
And there are so many amazingkid boutiques and stores and
clothing lines.
How am I going to make my mark?
Well, you know, I'm inCalifornia right now and if you
walk up and down the street, howmany restaurants probably have
(14:54):
the same food distributor?
But they just add their owntwist to it and their own flair
and they add their own touch toit and their own flair and they
add their own touch to it.
And that's the same thing withevery industry.
People look at swimsuits.
It's like there's a ton ofswimsuit companies, but they all
have their own unique touch toit and there's room for
everybody.
And again I mean everybody I'vemet so far has been honestly
very wonderful and has helped mea ton.
So it's been eye-opening, butit's been a lovely experience so
(15:17):
far.
I love it.
That's amazing.
Camille (15:18):
Yeah, that's so cool, yeah, okay, so tell me a little
bit more.
I know you've had a lot offriends speaking of coming to
each other and mentoring eachother that have come to you and
asked about building a businesswhile being a mom with young
kids, which comes with a veryspecial set of challenges, very
time consuming and demanding, Ithink any kid and their
(15:41):
different stages some it's morephysical because when they're
younger it's more their physicaltime and as you get older kids
it's emotional time, which is abit of both of where we are as
moms.
Tell me a little bit about whatyou would, what advice you'd
give them for starting a career,and how you were able to do
both motherhood and launchingthis successful business.
Lauren (16:05):
Well, you know, I think there's a few parts to this
question, because I think thatI'm still trying to navigate
that and go through that as welland how to ensure that my kids
are still getting the most of me.
But you know, for starters,anyone who does reach out on our
Instagram, I'm the one whoanswers everybody.
So even if it takes a couple ofdays for me to get back to you,
I mean, I've had a lot ofpeople reach out to me through
(16:26):
there and just ask you know, howdid you, how did you jump into
this?
And, truth be told it, really Ifelt like, you know, my
daughter was going to be inschool full time.
My son was already there.
I always knew that I wanted todo something more.
I didn't want to go back intothe recruiting industry.
I was getting these samplesmade of these jeans that I loved
(16:47):
, and I was getting a goodresponse from my friends and my
community, and so I said I'meither going to dive first into
this and give it a try and giveit my all, and I'm going to have
to readjust my entire life,because being a stay-at-home mom
is more than a full-time job.
You know, I think someone saidit's the equivalent of working
like two full-time jobs at onceand you are on call, and I
(17:10):
wasn't willing to give that upeither.
So it was a matter of how was Igoing to?
If I'm going to do this, how amI going to?
How am I going to navigate myday-to-day?
And I do feel like I'm on agood trajectory now.
But the first six months therewere a lot of tears, there was a
lot of mom guilt, honestly, andI don't even think that my kids
(17:30):
really noticed the differenceas much as I feel like they
noticed the difference.
But I was doing something thatI was passionate about and I was
excited about, and I think it'sOK to want to do something for
yourself, even if you're I wasexcited about.
And I think it's okay to wantto do something for yourself,
even if you're a full-time mom.
And if you are a working momand still the responsibility of
being a parent to one child oreight kids, it doesn't matter.
(17:51):
It's like your heart is in twodifferent places and that's okay
, you know, and I've had to kindof learn and readjust that.
So my day-to day is chaotic.
I get up before my kids.
I make sure their lunches arepacked.
I try to answer some emails,get back to people on social
media, take care of theimmediate, get my kids to school
(18:11):
.
I go to our warehouse, I doorders, I take care of anything
that needs to be done there.
I usually try to work out ofthere also.
Then I go get the kids if wehave activities that night, come
home, make dinner, put them tobed and then I jump back on and
then usually I'll work for therest of the night.
So it is just a matter of youknow.
(18:31):
Before it was like it was anine to five and I'm at work and
then I close my computer and gohome.
But now it's just a matter ofyou know where are my priorities
laying out how my, what, my dayto day is, and knowing that, oh
, my kids need me here, orknowing when to turn off work
too.
If I see my son come at mommy,mommy, can you play a memory
(18:51):
game with me?
He's obsessed with memory gamesor he just come and can you go
play outside with me?
It's you know.
If I get asked like more thanonce while I'm trying to get
something done, it's like it's ano brainer, it's like turn it
off, keep your kid the attention.
You know nothing's going tototally fall apart with work and
I can always just stay up alittle bit later to make sure
that my kids get that too, whichis draining on me.
(19:12):
But you know that's whatcoffee's for.
You know I drink probably toomuch of that.
But you know, at this pointthey're young and they're
impressionable and I think it'sgood to also take that dive.
Do what you're passionate about,take that risk.
We're young enough that we can.
We have the ability to do thatand juggle those things.
So I'm blessed in that aspect,but also, because my kids are so
(19:35):
impressionable, making surethat they know that you can do
it all.
You know like you can work andyou can spend time with them and
you take them to activities.
You can still show up for themwithout anything else really
defaulting.
So it's just a matter ofjuggling.
It all is really where it comesdown to and knowing when to say
no to certain things andknowing when to just say, like
(19:55):
every Friday, we're going towatch a movie and order pizza or
whatever your tradition is.
It's a long-winded answer, butthat is again.
As you know, I've been jugglingand dealing with it over the
last few months.
It's pretty fresh on my mind.
Camille (20:09):
Oh, absolutely yeah.
And it's interesting too,because the way that I would
govern my day and my time when Ihad young ones at home is
(20:29):
different than the way I get togovern and use my time now that
my kids are older and are inschool full time.
So I think it's important tolook at the season and think I
don't have that, whether it's ahard stop time for the day where
you shift from one to the otheror you say, hey, this, this day
is heavy in business andtomorrow is going to be heavier
in family, and that's great.
And I all eras of time, you'venever seen a period of time
(21:04):
where kids have not seen theirmothers working hard.
And so that value of themseeing you do something you love
and working hard with passionin the home, outside the home,
building this business, that isa gift to children that they can
invest in themselves andcherish their family.
And I think that's a reallybeautiful gift that it doesn't
(21:24):
have to be all or nothing, thatit doesn't have to be something
where you think, oh, if I giveand devote time and attention to
this other thing, thatautomatically means I don't love
them, but to have them be apart of that conversation, of we
get to work together as a teamand I get to work and help and
build this family with you, andI also get to build something
(21:46):
outside of our family that helpsus enjoy our lives together
even more.
And I think seeing thatfulfillment from a mother is a
gift to the children, whetherit's a daughter or a son,
because that gives them a bettershape for what they want to
look for as a teammate when theygo on to make their own family.
(22:07):
Hey, moms, if you feel like lifeis a nonstop juggling act
school drop-offs, business calls, meal prep, trying to find a
single moment for yourself I'vegot something for you.
First, you need to sign up formy newsletter.
It is free.
I always include the episodes,what's upcoming, what is the
takeaway from that week, and Iwill include a free recipe as
(22:29):
well as, sometimes, activitiesthat have to do with the
upcoming events happening intoday's world.
But I have the mom balanceplaybook for free.
It is a simple, practical guideto managing the mayhem of mom
life so you can finally stopfeeling like you're dropping the
ball.
It's time to bring more balance, joy and structure into your
home without the burnout and,the best part.
It is totally free.
(22:50):
Head to camillewalkerco to grabyour free copy now, or grab it
from the link below in the shownotes.
Lauren (23:01):
Right, I agree, you know I'm very fortunate that I was
able to start this company andthen have this part of my
husband.
I mean, my kids don't see whatI do on the back end of it, you
know.
They don't see all theintricacies of the operational
standpoint.
From it they can see the funstuff.
And that's why, when we startedthis, I said I want to make it
a family brand.
(23:22):
I'm very cautious about howmuch information, obviously, I
put out of my kids.
They're featured in a lot ofour campaigns, but that's the
extent of it and they're part ofthe design process.
What colors do you guys like?
What prints do you like?
And so I do try to make it afun family thing as much as
possible, because even thoughthey might not realize that, hey
, mommy's working, I make it funfor them too, you know.
(23:44):
So we're out in California rightnow.
For the next month we're basedout of Wisconsin, that's where
our warehouse is.
But we're out here for a coupleof conferences.
We're out here to do contentand creation, out here and meet
with some manufacturers, someother individuals who've been
helping with us.
So, but like we, last night wewent to the beach with them and
it was a beautiful sunset and Iwas able to get footage of them
(24:05):
running along the beach, youknow, and having fun.
But then I can just put my phonedown or put our camera down and
play with them for the nexthour.
So it's like I'm very luckythat I do get to kind of
intertwine those lives, but thatI do have to tell myself, you
know, like hey, I turn it off,gotta be a mom.
But yeah, it is, it's, it's,it's a lot of fun.
(24:26):
But I mean they love it.
I mean when they put on clothes, oh, that you know.
So they know that this hashappened and that they're part
of it.
But it's just, it's cute to see, you know it's, they're little,
so it's fun.
It's always fun thing to kindof grow with them over time.
Camille (24:44):
What do you hope that they learn from watching you
build this business?
Lauren (24:50):
Well, specifically for my daughter, I want her to know
that she has opportunity.
I mean, my son is he's going tobe he's going to be a Delta
pilot.
He said that since he was two,my, my dad was a commercial
airline pilot.
My mom was a stay-at-home momand her mom was a stay-at-home
mom, and so I didn't grow upseeing my mom outside the house.
(25:10):
She was with me and raised meand my brothers full-time, so my
dad's schedule was a little bitmore chaotic, but their chaotic
schedules, I think, helped merealize that you can still be
successful in a chaoticenvironment.
So I want my daughter to seethe same thing.
I mean, I don't, she's neverexpressed what she wants to be.
When she grows up she's four,it changes by the day but I want
(25:32):
her to know that there'sopportunity for women to do
whatever they want if they havethe passion and drive to do it,
and that we're lucky that welive in a world where we do have
things like Google.
That has helped me create this.
Where do I even begin?
How do I even start this?
That if she's passionate aboutsomething, she knows that
there's resources there to do itand that you can juggle that
(25:52):
and be successful, and that'sbeen a fun thing.
Especially about this industrytoo is there's a lot of moms who
have started companies in thisindustry and they all have very
different creative stories, andso to kind of ping that off of
each other, to kind of set thatbar for the little next
generation to know that they cando that too is kind of cool.
So that's definitely one thingthat I can see that they can if
(26:15):
they're passionate about it,they can.
If they're passionate about it.
They don't, they can wake upand do whatever they want if
that's what they're passionateabout.
Camille (26:26):
Yeah, yeah, I think that's a beautiful thing, it's,
and it's interesting too,because I think as women, we
want to do it all.
We want to be multifaceted.
So I think almost the newchallenge for us is there is so
much possibility and you can domore than any other generation
perhaps could have done in thepast, because we live in an
environment, rich world, wherewe can really search and
research and yeah, you didn't goto school for it, but you could
(26:47):
figure it out like, if thepassion and the time is there,
like you did so then it becomeswhat do you say no to?
So that you're not saying no tothe things that matter most.
And I think for us, thisgeneration now, it's almost that
that's our new biggestchallenge.
We're not out hunting andgathering and we have washing
machines and dishwashers.
Lauren (27:07):
Yay, yeah Well you know what I mean.
Sometimes that's still notenough.
My like load of laundry, ohtotally no-transcript.
Camille (27:44):
Do it.
You just have to build teamsand resources around you so that
you are not doing everything.
Lauren (27:50):
And it's okay to ask for help.
Camille (27:52):
Yes, it's okay to ask for help.
Exactly yeah.
Lauren (27:56):
I mean I always say everyone needs a page.
I have a page and so I hiredher out of University of
Wisconsin Stout's design programand I mean she has been
instrumental in just helping meget through.
I mean she's almost kind ofteaching me in some ways about
the design process too, becauseshe it's.
If I yeah, I'm going throughsomething like okay, I need help
(28:16):
with this.
I can't quite figure out.
Um one of our spring jackets, wehad this detachable hood on one
of our boys coats, so cute.
But oh, my gosh, for the lifeof me I was like why can't I
figure this out?
And she knows, you know.
Or it's just like even thingsthat are just, you know,
forecasting, and is it that Ican like leverage and lean on
her for?
And I'm'm like that's okay,cause I got to put him like I am
(28:37):
going to need help.
You know, I really, if I couldteach you this all by myself,
it's going to be, it's going tobe difficult, and so I'm like
it's okay to reach out for help.
And people have asked that Doyou feel okay hiring?
I mean, luckily I was inrecruiting previously, so I
enjoy that a bit, that too.
Camille (28:53):
That's a huge strength actually, because then you're
used to building a team, a teammindset, Right yeah.
Lauren (29:01):
And just kind of knowing those right questions to ask
and making sure that we're goingto be compatible and work
together on projects.
And so I mean it's yeah, reachout for help, ask for help, get
a virtual assistant, you knowit's, it's beneficial and needed
, I mean, especially if you'retrying to figure out how to
juggle everything.
Camille (29:16):
Yeah, I'd love to tap into your knowledge there a
little bit.
What are some good questions toask for finding if you'll be a
good like, if someone'scompatible with you?
What would be some key pointsfor that?
If people are listening andgoing yeah, I need that.
Tell me more.
Lauren (29:32):
So I always tell my husband this so I've recruited
for his company, I've recruitedthe last 16 people or something
for him, and I always say I'mlike can you just tell within
the first five minutes that thisperson is going to be a good
fit?
Because it's like you want toknow what your company and who
you are.
That's the foundation of theinterview.
And is this person going to belike-minded with you?
(29:54):
What can they bring to thetable?
But more so, people like towork with people ultimately, and
if you get a good vibe fromsomebody right away, I mean lean
into that.
That's okay to trust your guton some things.
Then the other questions cancome later and you can ask about
you know what's a hardship thatyou've had in a company and how
(30:14):
did you overcome it.
You can ask those kind of boringquestions later, but get to
know the person from thebeginning.
I mean you want to know whattheir interests are, who they
are as a person.
You know what are theirstrengths in life, not just
necessarily the workplace,because that's going to all
translate to them on their dayto day.
And so those are the kind ofthings I always look for in the
first few minutes of aninterview is who is this person?
(30:36):
You know, like I want to knowthem.
I mean, you have to be on callwith them all the time,
messaging them, emailing them,and if they are compatible with
what your company groundwork andmorals are, you're going to be
fine.
Yeah, you know.
That's really what it comesdown to, in my opinion.
Camille (30:53):
No, I love that, I love that.
And to it might hit in.
No, I love that, I love that.
And to really pay attention toyour gut instinct with that.
I agree with that too, becausewhen I help people to hire a
virtual assistant, I will helpset them up with three different
interviews two to threetypically and I say, do this on
Zoom, because I am not going topick for you.
I want it to be where you findsome like-mindedness with each
(31:15):
other or you see that there'sthat you gel well with this
person, and that really issomething that doesn't have a
perfect formula.
It's more just getting to knowthe person.
So I think that's really,really good advice.
Lauren (31:28):
Yeah, and Zoom.
Luckily, I mean, we've kind oftransitioned into a lot of
people working remote and a lotof interviews being over Zoom,
so but you could still tell justas much from a Zoom interview
that you can with someone havinga cup of coffee or having them
come into your office.
I mean you'll know.
You know, just trust your gut,and your gut's usually right.
Camille (31:45):
Yeah, good advice.
So for forecasting for thefuture, where do you want to
take your company?
Like what?
Shooting to the moon?
I mean, mean, you're a fewyears in now, what?
Where do you hope to see it go?
Lauren (31:58):
so we are expanding for spring and summer.
We will be expanding above 5tjust a few sizes.
Um, my motivation for that isbecause my son is outgrowing all
of his 5t, because he's fiveand a half and I like to use him
as a model and so I'm like,well, here we go.
Um, I am gonna yeah, I knowwe're gonna keep going.
(32:19):
Um, we are gonna expand on thegirls line, um, just more
heavily, just because we've hada lot of people reach out and
ask the whole goal with this isthat everything on our website
matches with something else.
So all the color pantones match.
So if you're searching forfamily photos or a nice family
dinner, you want your kids to bein similar colors.
(32:40):
They don't have to be the samepatterns.
I mean, it's the similar colors, same pantone range.
We offer that, and so we needmore girl items.
So we are expanding upon thatfor this and fall.
We also have family matchingsweatsuits.
So we will do some family, morefamily matching things for next
(33:03):
fall, as we're working on rightnow, but mostly just kind of
staying on that heavy boyclothing.
We love that Midwest vibe andwe love it that it can go across
all seasons and so that's justgoing to maintain that focus
moving forward for right now.
But I don't know, we'll see.
(33:25):
We did launch something new thatis hosted by Gili Guise in the
Twin Cities area.
So if you guys are around andpart of it and want to be part
of it, it's called the MinnesotaKid Rave Get Gili and it's.
We started doing a lot of popup shops and things in the Twin
Cities area and this is one thatwe did, where we have now
created a kid's rave and sothat's so fun and we had
(33:49):
different characters and wefeatured Gili Guise clothing
there and over the next year,with every ticket purchase they
are going to be getting a pieceof clothing or article that goes
with that particular event thatthey're attending and it all
kind of encompasses that kidrave feel.
So that's kind of somethingthat we're expanding on right
now.
We just had our first one abouttwo weeks ago.
(34:12):
It was so much fun.
But yeah, I mean it's going tostay kid focused, you know, kid
motivated.
We're going to keep justworking with our kids to make
sure that we're putting out whatkids want to see and where, and
it's going to be a lot of fun.
So I mean I don and where, andit's going to be a lot of fun.
So I mean, I don't know if I'mlooking five years down the line
.
I just want to keep expandingand getting our name out there
and making sure that we'reproducing hits, it's like, and
(34:34):
that the sizing is accurate andthat we're approachable.
People can reach out to us withquestions and we shall see,
hopefully I love it.
Camille (34:43):
I love it okay.
So this episode is going to becoming out probably pretty close
to a few weeks before Easter.
Are you doing any Easterpromotions or anything like that
?
Or maybe you'll have someEaster sales Easter sales.
Lauren (34:56):
Our spring and summer line are being launched a little
bit later than typical spring.
Okay, it's very summer focusedthat we're putting out, so we
are pushing, just because, beingin the Midwest, our spring it
still is kind of winter Same.
Camille (35:11):
Because we're in Utah and I'm like there's still snow.
I mean it's sunny today, sofingers crossed we'll get good.
I feel like Easter is a littlelater this year, but this year
is a little bit later.
Yes, it's like mid-April and weare recording this early March.
So if there is a code to share,I will put it in the show notes
.
Perfect.
Lauren (35:31):
How does that sound?
I know that sounds great.
No, it'll be well.
We will have Easter saleshappening leading up to it,
Actually beginning of April,Because, yeah, it's towards the
end of April we have those goingout, but the actual new
collection will be comingshortly after that.
Camille (35:46):
Yay, okay, well, I'm so excited.
Tell our audience where theycan find you and support you and
find Gili Guise online.
Lauren (35:53):
Yeah, so if you just search giliguisecom, so it's
G-I-L-L-I-G-U-I-S-E com, sothink disguise, but with the
D-I-S at the beginning, so justgiliguisecom, and then same
thing on Instagram, just atGiliGuise, you'll be able to
(36:14):
find us there as well.
So, yeah, you'll see, you'llsee my kids on there, you'll see
me on there.
I try to get on lives quite abit and just talk to people and
answer questions and a lot of itare just very, you know, moms
looking to start something newand fresh, which has been the
best part of this journey isjust getting to connect with
other moms and people who wantto either jump in this industry
or another industry.
But yeah, you can find me onthere.
Camille (36:34):
We're all in it together.
Well, thank you so much forcoming on the show and thank you
for everyone for your listeningand sharing with other moms.
Every story shared is inspiringother women to chase after
their dreams, to enjoy theirroad of mother, and it's just
amazing.
And before we say goodbye, Iforgot to ask you my two
(36:55):
questions I always ask.
The first is what are youreading, watching or listening
to?
And the second is a motherhoodmoment you'd like to share with
our audience?
Lauren (37:06):
Okay, what am I watching ?
Well, I'm only this top of mind, because I think I'm on the
very, very last episode.
Right now I'm watching Youngeron Netflix.
Camille (37:14):
Oh, that's a cute show With.
Lauren (37:16):
Sandra Foster and Hilary Duff.
Oh my gosh, it's so cute.
Just because I think it justhas a lot to say about just
women in general who are working, which I think is really
interesting.
Yes, it's so good and it's aneasy watch too.
I watch it when I'm working out.
I'm like you know, I'm moremotivated to work out so I can
get through my episodes.
(37:36):
That's a great recommendation.
I love that one.
My favorite kid moment was um mygosh, I have so many Probably
getting my kiddos into our newhouse we remodeled a few years
back.
But it's at the same time thatthey really started kind of
building this dynamic and thisfriendship and so they were
(37:59):
interacting with each other morebut they had more space so they
spent so much time outside andjust knowing that that was our
forever home, that we were goingto be in with our kids,
building those memories and thenwatching them grow over the
last few years, has just been.
It's been really special.
I mean every time iPhone bringsup a new photo it's just of
them in our house building thesememories, and it just makes me
feel really happy that we choseto live in Wisconsin, that we're
(38:22):
close to my family and that wecan build Gili Guise together.
Camille (38:26):
So yeah, that's beautiful.
I am so happy for you and whata wonderful product and family
and you're just amazing.
So thank you so much.
Thank you so much for having me,you bet.
All right, we'll see you allnext time.
Bye, hey, CEOs.
Thank you so much for spendingyour time with me.
If you found this episodeinspiring or helpful, please let
(38:54):
me know in a comment and afive-star review.
You could have the chance ofbeing a featured review on an
upcoming episode.
Continue the conversation onInstagram at callmeCEOPodcast,
and remember you are the boss.
I wish I would have spent more time networking with
people in the industry,especially this market.
I find people are very, verykind and if you ask questions,
people will take the time andwork with you.
Camille (00:22):
So you want to make an impact.
You're thinking about startinga business, sharing your voice.
How do women do it that handlemotherhood, family and still
chase after those dreams?
We'll listen each week as wedive into the stories of women
who know this is Call Me CEO.
Welcome back everyone to CallMe CEO.
(00:43):
This is your host, CamilleWalker, and we love to talk
about women building businesseshere and mixing it with the
chaos and the beautiful worldthat is motherhood.
And today we are talking toLauren, who is the co-owner and
founder of Gili Guise, which ispants that grow with your
(01:06):
children.
Now, being a parent of four,especially three little boys, I
have come through so many pairsof pants where the waist is way
too big and the length is waytoo short.
My husband is six foot six, andso my kids tend to go through
bursts of growth where I'm like,wait, what happened to these
(01:27):
pants I fit last week?
Or my kids tend to be a littlebit more small or narrow waisted
, some more than the others.
They're not all the same size,which, of course, they're not,
and I was so thrilled to hearthat Lauren has developed a
design where you can extend thelength and you can extend the
(01:49):
waist, but the starting waistsize is not huge, which is just
brilliant.
Of course, a mom came up withthis.
That's when you see a gap inthe market and you're like, wait
, I'm looking for this, this isa problem.
This must be a problem for alot of other moms out there, and
that is the best birth story ofbusinesses that live and thrive
(02:09):
are the ones that are solving aproblem for a gap in the market
, for something that we need.
So I'm so excited, lauren, tohave you on the show.
Thank you so much for comingand sharing your story with us.
Lauren (02:22):
Yeah, so thank you so much for having me.
It's so nice to be here andtalk about this because, yeah,
you nailed it on the head whenyou said when there's like a
pain point in the market andthere's a lot of moms out there
that find them and we do ourbest to fix them, so here we are
, here's the Gili Guise.
Camille (02:39):
That is so good Now.
So tell our audience about howyou came up with the name,
because I love how you did this.
Lauren (02:46):
Yeah, so we have a couple of different consultancy
firms and things that weestablished the name Gili and
Gili is my family name, ourfamily name.
So the G is my husband, greg.
The first I is my son, indy,who is five and a half.
I'm the L, lauren, and then thelittle I is our four-year-old,
(03:08):
our fresh four-year-old, Ireland, and so the Gili name has
always been part of us andsomething that we established
years ago and we would say we'rethe Gili family, we're the Gili
family, and then, when wedecided to launch this clothing
brand, we wanted to extend uponthat.
So we added guys to it because,as a mom who is designing and
(03:29):
developing things for our kids,I thought of things that I
wanted as a kid, things that Ididn't like, things as a mom
that I liked and disliked, andso now we're really kind of
living under the guise of ourchildren as we watch them grow
and develop, and so and thatgoes along with our designs as
well.
So Gili Guise was created and,yeah, we launched in August of
(03:50):
2024 officially, and it's beenquite the journey.
It's been a lot of fun.
Camille (03:54):
So that's us.
Oh my gosh.
I know that for a lot of us whoare starting something that's
new and actually bringing it tothe market, it lives in our
brains for years before itactually comes to market.
So tell our audience a littlebit about how, what you were
doing before, where did thisidea come from, and what were
(04:14):
the beginning steps and stagesof bringing it to the world?
Lauren (04:19):
Sure.
So my history was not infashion design.
I actually was in recruiting atHR.
I had a recruiting firm forabout seven years and then,
after I had my son, I shut thatdown to be a stay-at-home mom,
and that's kind of when the ideastarted twirling, when I was
trying to find pants that fit myson and he was tall and lanky.
(04:39):
I also have a tall husband, havea tall husband, but my son
would go through these spaceswhere he would get chubby and
then he would shoot up and we'dget chubby and he'd shoot up in
all these pants.
And he was so particular and hestill is about what he wears.
Everything has to be soft.
He doesn't want to wear jeans,but of course you know it's like
Easter comes around.
I want Easter, cute familyphotos, and we have holidays
(05:01):
come up and you know birthdaysare special events and I want
him to look cute.
So I don't want him wearingsome pants but then with belts
he couldn't get them off fastenough to go to the bathroom,
and so then we were dealing withthat all the time.
I needed something that couldget on and off easily, that
could adjust with boys as theygrow, whether they're tall and
(05:24):
lanky or they're a little bitthicker.
I want everyone to be able towear them and I wanted the denim
to be durable and soft.
So I started designing andcreating different designs and I
brought them to my husband oneday and Ireland was not Indy had
just started school full-time.
He started when he was threebecause he was doing Montessori.
(05:45):
So they had him like three,four and five adults and Ireland
was home with me full time andI went to my husband and I was
like I have this idea, hear meout, I think I want to create
these.
And he was like and I had themall drawn out and he was like OK
, how are you going to do that?
And I was like I don't know,but Google is there for a reason
, so let's, let's get into it.
So he's like if you can, if youcan get a sample and get you
(06:07):
know something created in it,it's durable, let's talk about
it.
And so I did, found a source ofmanufacturer, had some mock-ups
made, had them shipped over andput them on my son and he loved
them and he actually wore them.
And so I had some friends trythem out.
They liked them and I was likeall right, here we go and so I
brought back and we decided tocreate Gili Guise and from there
(06:29):
we have created.
We are a boy focused brand.
We do have a girls line as well, but I love designing boys
clothes and so that we spiraledand we feel crew necks and
t-shirts, but the idea thateverything is durable and soft.
I want everything to be justsoft and that you don't just
wear it once and it fades orthat it rips.
And the Grow With Me jeans werethe first thing that we came up
(06:52):
with, the first thing wedesigned, and it's our
best-selling product for areason because it's my favorite.
But that's how it all started.
I mean, that's the journey ofthe Grow With Me and how really
this company came to life.
Camille (07:04):
Wow, okay, yeah, the fact that it's a boy-focused
brand.
Thank you.
I feel like it's so much easierto shop for girls.
There's so many more options,lengths, you know, things that
we can.
It's a lot more fun to shop fora girl than it is for the boys
because there aren't as manyoptions.
It's very, very limited,especially where I have a son
(07:26):
who is very, very sensitive totextures, hates, tags, only,
want shirts that are slickfeeling, will not wear jeans.
So I am so excited to try outthese pants for him because it
sounds like exactly what heneeds when I want him to not be
wearing sweatpants or thejoggers or whatever.
So, right, yeah, I'm curious.
(07:47):
Oh, go ahead.
Lauren (07:52):
No, I was gonna say it's interesting because, yeah, it's
, it is about the texture, andthat was the biggest feedback
I've gotten from all of myfriends is like, oh, it's like
the neck is too tight or this.
And so when we went into this,we went with it being like let's
make sure everything is likekid approved.
Let let's make sure everythingis like kid approved.
Let's get samples created ofabsolutely everything down to
like the exact design and geteveryone's feedback, because I
mean, the kids are going to bethe most honest and if you're
(08:12):
going to spend money onsomething and throw it on your
kid and they're going to go, Idon't like this tag or I don't
like this, I'm going to toss it.
You know, I'm like I'm not goingto wear it again.
You feel that you wear it againand They'll let me wear it
again and that's a waste and Ihate that because there are so
many cute things out there.
But you know, I bought.
I purchased so many things formy kids that they have tried on
once.
I've been like I'm not going towear that.
So, yeah, I need to try to doit myself now.
Camille (08:37):
Oh, 100 percent, Because my oldest he's a six
year age gap from my next sonand nearly all of the clothes
that he passed down from onebrother to the next would not
have it because it was not theright texture.
Like it was such a problem.
Yeah, I mean some of the thingswould work but most no.
Like I found a pair of pantsthat he would wear and bought
(08:57):
them in three colors because itwas the one thing that he would
wear and I knew that it was apass.
You know that it would work.
So, anyway, I'm curious aboutfinding for someone that is
creating a product or coming upwith something that's their own
design.
Was it difficult for you tofind a manufacturer that you
(09:19):
could trust, as well as quality?
Because, especially, I don'tknow if you're working with
someone overseas or if it's herein the United States, but what
was that process like for you?
What did you learn about goingthrough that process of creation
, samples, the shipping, all ofthat?
Lauren (09:36):
I will say I probably didn't do it the best way only
because I threw myself into thisindustry and I was a
stay-at-home mom and I'm doingthis research.
I put my babies down.
I'd sit on my computer talkingto people all over the world and
then all day in the UnitedStates during the day while my
kids are in school and try andjust narrow that down Me and my
(09:58):
husband we spent quite a lot onjust getting samples made.
Now that I've been in theindustry and I can talk to
people who have worked at largercompanies, you know they're
very comfortable with theirmanufacturers.
They can send designs off andthey don't need samples made.
They just send them off and getput them into production, buy
them in bulk, and I'm justobviously not at that place to
(10:21):
do that.
I think it's really importantthat every single piece that we
issue has been tested, has meets, you know, child safety
standards.
So the CPC certification,everything's tested, everything
is kid approved from a kidstandpoint, that it's soft and
comfortable, that we like theway it fits, that we trust our
manufacturers.
So I mean I have talked topretty much probably every
(10:45):
manufacturer in the US.
I've talked to a ton overseasin various countries.
So it has been me being on mycomputer 24-7 so I can hit their
messages, making sure that theymeet the standards for US
requirements.
Also, it does vary from countryto country.
Us is very strict, which Iappreciate as a mom, and so make
(11:06):
sure they meet that.
I have been on FaceTime withevery single manufacturer
because I want to see what theirday-to-day looks like.
I require videos.
I want to know details of everysingle part of the process.
So I'm a little bit type A.
It's very time consuming andvery costly, but as a mom, as a
stay-at-home mom, I want to makesure that my research is doing,
(11:30):
I do my due diligence before Iput something on another child's
back.
That's just for safety and likepeace of mind for me.
So I've spent a lot of timesourcing and finding the right
people to make our clothing, andso we only have a couple now
that we work with exclusivelyand they've been wonderful so,
and if I don't like something,they're very quick to make
(11:50):
changes to it.
So, yeah, it's been quite theprocess, but it's, I mean, you
have.
That's what you have to do aswell.
Yeah.
Camille (11:57):
And do you?
You said you made a lot ofmistakes.
What advice would you give tosomeone if they were starting a
process like this from thebeginning?
What would your advice be tothem?
Lauren (12:06):
I wish I would have spent more time networking with
people in the industry,especially this market.
I find people are very, verykind and if you ask questions,
people will take the time andwork with you.
And so I dove into it and fromhere I've made a lot of
relationships since then and alot of connections that have
(12:27):
helped put me in certaindirections.
Or hey, have you looked at thisor checked out this?
And it just kind of helped mejump into this quicker.
I mean, they went to school forit, so they're giving me like a
crash course in it, Whereas ifsomeone who is just breaking
into this or wanted to trysomething, I'd say go to every
single expo out there, network,reach out to people on LinkedIn,
(12:51):
just try to get connected andask questions.
It might just save you time andmoney, truthfully, but it gives
you a little bit morehand-holding experience, whereas
going in blind and thenestablishing those relationships
afterwards.
But we went to a lot of expos.
We did do a lot of those wherewe just went around and walked
around and talked to people,which we found to be extremely
beneficial.
Camille (13:08):
Yeah, that's good advice.
I feel like that could apply toany industry because in my
experience, especially withwomen, if you find the right
group or people in general, Ithink most people, if you
approach it in a very humble andcurious way, a lot of people
(13:30):
are willing to share and teachand especially the people who
are really, really successfulare the most generous.
I found that time and timeagain, where they don't look at
someone coming into a new fieldas, oh no, this is my
competition, they look at it andsay there's plenty for everyone
.
I've been in this field forforever and ever and I'm
(13:50):
successful and I want you to betoo.
You know where.
It's just that reciprocity, ohmy gosh.
Lauren (13:57):
The reciprocity.
Camille (13:58):
Thank you.
That's a big word for today,apparently, but gosh, I think
that there are a lot of nicepeople in a lot of places, so I
love that you bring that up,because I found that true in
many cases as well.
Lauren (14:13):
Yeah, and my husband, I mean, he's the one who's he grew
up in a really small town, likea town of like 1300 people and
he always says be nice toeverybody and you'll find that
most people are good, you know,and he goes.
That's in every industry.
Don't be afraid to reach outand network and ask those
uncomfortable questions, becausepeople are, they're good,
they're going to want to help.
(14:33):
And especially if you come withit at that kind of curiosity
and I'm just here to learn, andand again, I mean, if you think
about it, it's like going intothis, it's like gosh, what is my
competition?
And there are so many amazingkid boutiques and stores and
clothing lines.
How am I going to make my mark?
Well, you know, I'm inCalifornia right now and if you
walk up and down the street, howmany restaurants probably have
(14:54):
the same food distributor?
But they just add their owntwist to it and their own flair
and they add their own touch toit and their own flair and they
add their own touch to it.
And that's the same thing withevery industry.
People look at swimsuits.
It's like there's a ton ofswimsuit companies, but they all
have their own unique touch toit and there's room for
everybody.
And again I mean everybody I'vemet so far has been honestly
very wonderful and has helped mea ton.
So it's been eye-opening, butit's been a lovely experience so
(15:17):
far.
I love it.
That's amazing.
Camille (15:18):
Yeah, that's so cool, yeah, okay, so tell me a little
bit more.
I know you've had a lot offriends speaking of coming to
each other and mentoring eachother that have come to you and
asked about building a businesswhile being a mom with young
kids, which comes with a veryspecial set of challenges, very
time consuming and demanding, Ithink any kid and their
(15:41):
different stages some it's morephysical because when they're
younger it's more their physicaltime and as you get older kids
it's emotional time, which is abit of both of where we are as
moms.
Tell me a little bit about whatyou would, what advice you'd
give them for starting a career,and how you were able to do
both motherhood and launchingthis successful business.
Lauren (16:05):
Well, you know, I think there's a few parts to this
question, because I think thatI'm still trying to navigate
that and go through that as welland how to ensure that my kids
are still getting the most of me.
But you know, for starters,anyone who does reach out on our
Instagram, I'm the one whoanswers everybody.
So even if it takes a couple ofdays for me to get back to you,
I mean, I've had a lot ofpeople reach out to me through
(16:26):
there and just ask you know, howdid you, how did you jump into
this?
And, truth be told it, really Ifelt like, you know, my
daughter was going to be inschool full time.
My son was already there.
I always knew that I wanted todo something more.
I didn't want to go back intothe recruiting industry.
I was getting these samplesmade of these jeans that I loved
(16:47):
, and I was getting a goodresponse from my friends and my
community, and so I said I'meither going to dive first into
this and give it a try and giveit my all, and I'm going to have
to readjust my entire life,because being a stay-at-home mom
is more than a full-time job.
You know, I think someone saidit's the equivalent of working
like two full-time jobs at onceand you are on call, and I
(17:10):
wasn't willing to give that upeither.
So it was a matter of how was Igoing to?
If I'm going to do this, how amI going to?
How am I going to navigate myday-to-day?
And I do feel like I'm on agood trajectory now.
But the first six months therewere a lot of tears, there was a
lot of mom guilt, honestly, andI don't even think that my kids
(17:30):
really noticed the differenceas much as I feel like they
noticed the difference.
But I was doing something thatI was passionate about and I was
excited about, and I think it'sOK to want to do something for
yourself, even if you're I wasexcited about.
And I think it's okay to wantto do something for yourself,
even if you're a full-time mom.
And if you are a working momand still the responsibility of
being a parent to one child oreight kids, it doesn't matter.
(17:51):
It's like your heart is in twodifferent places and that's okay
, you know, and I've had to kindof learn and readjust that.
So my day-to day is chaotic.
I get up before my kids.
I make sure their lunches arepacked.
I try to answer some emails,get back to people on social
media, take care of theimmediate, get my kids to school
(18:11):
.
I go to our warehouse, I doorders, I take care of anything
that needs to be done there.
I usually try to work out ofthere also.
Then I go get the kids if wehave activities that night, come
home, make dinner, put them tobed and then I jump back on and
then usually I'll work for therest of the night.
So it is just a matter of youknow.
(18:31):
Before it was like it was anine to five and I'm at work and
then I close my computer and gohome.
But now it's just a matter ofyou know where are my priorities
laying out how my, what, my dayto day is, and knowing that, oh
, my kids need me here, orknowing when to turn off work
too.
If I see my son come at mommy,mommy, can you play a memory
(18:51):
game with me?
He's obsessed with memory gamesor he just come and can you go
play outside with me?
It's you know.
If I get asked like more thanonce while I'm trying to get
something done, it's like it's ano brainer, it's like turn it
off, keep your kid the attention.
You know nothing's going tototally fall apart with work and
I can always just stay up alittle bit later to make sure
that my kids get that too, whichis draining on me.
(19:12):
But you know that's whatcoffee's for.
You know I drink probably toomuch of that.
But you know, at this pointthey're young and they're
impressionable and I think it'sgood to also take that dive.
Do what you're passionate about,take that risk.
We're young enough that we can.
We have the ability to do thatand juggle those things.
So I'm blessed in that aspect,but also, because my kids are so
(19:35):
impressionable, making surethat they know that you can do
it all.
You know like you can work andyou can spend time with them and
you take them to activities.
You can still show up for themwithout anything else really
defaulting.
So it's just a matter ofjuggling.
It all is really where it comesdown to and knowing when to say
no to certain things andknowing when to just say, like
(19:55):
every Friday, we're going towatch a movie and order pizza or
whatever your tradition is.
It's a long-winded answer, butthat is again.
As you know, I've been jugglingand dealing with it over the
last few months.
It's pretty fresh on my mind.
Camille (20:09):
Oh, absolutely yeah.
And it's interesting too,because the way that I would
govern my day and my time when Ihad young ones at home is
(20:29):
different than the way I get togovern and use my time now that
my kids are older and are inschool full time.
So I think it's important tolook at the season and think I
don't have that, whether it's ahard stop time for the day where
you shift from one to the otheror you say, hey, this, this day
is heavy in business andtomorrow is going to be heavier
in family, and that's great.
And I all eras of time, you'venever seen a period of time
(21:04):
where kids have not seen theirmothers working hard.
And so that value of themseeing you do something you love
and working hard with passionin the home, outside the home,
building this business, that isa gift to children that they can
invest in themselves andcherish their family.
And I think that's a reallybeautiful gift that it doesn't
(21:24):
have to be all or nothing, thatit doesn't have to be something
where you think, oh, if I giveand devote time and attention to
this other thing, thatautomatically means I don't love
them, but to have them be apart of that conversation, of we
get to work together as a teamand I get to work and help and
build this family with you, andI also get to build something
(21:46):
outside of our family that helpsus enjoy our lives together
even more.
And I think seeing thatfulfillment from a mother is a
gift to the children, whetherit's a daughter or a son,
because that gives them a bettershape for what they want to
look for as a teammate when theygo on to make their own family.
(22:07):
Hey, moms, if you feel like lifeis a nonstop juggling act
school drop-offs, business calls, meal prep, trying to find a
single moment for yourself I'vegot something for you.
First, you need to sign up formy newsletter.
It is free.
I always include the episodes,what's upcoming, what is the
takeaway from that week, and Iwill include a free recipe as
(22:29):
well as, sometimes, activitiesthat have to do with the
upcoming events happening intoday's world.
But I have the mom balanceplaybook for free.
It is a simple, practical guideto managing the mayhem of mom
life so you can finally stopfeeling like you're dropping the
ball.
It's time to bring more balance, joy and structure into your
home without the burnout and,the best part.
It is totally free.
(22:50):
Head to camillewalkerco to grabyour free copy now, or grab it
from the link below in the shownotes.
Lauren (23:01):
Right, I agree, you know I'm very fortunate that I was
able to start this company andthen have this part of my
husband.
I mean, my kids don't see whatI do on the back end of it, you
know.
They don't see all theintricacies of the operational
standpoint.
From it they can see the funstuff.
And that's why, when we startedthis, I said I want to make it
a family brand.
(23:22):
I'm very cautious about howmuch information, obviously, I
put out of my kids.
They're featured in a lot ofour campaigns, but that's the
extent of it and they're part ofthe design process.
What colors do you guys like?
What prints do you like?
And so I do try to make it afun family thing as much as
possible, because even thoughthey might not realize that, hey
, mommy's working, I make it funfor them too, you know.
(23:44):
So we're out in California rightnow.
For the next month we're basedout of Wisconsin, that's where
our warehouse is.
But we're out here for a coupleof conferences.
We're out here to do contentand creation, out here and meet
with some manufacturers, someother individuals who've been
helping with us.
So, but like we, last night wewent to the beach with them and
it was a beautiful sunset and Iwas able to get footage of them
(24:05):
running along the beach, youknow, and having fun.
But then I can just put my phonedown or put our camera down and
play with them for the nexthour.
So it's like I'm very luckythat I do get to kind of
intertwine those lives, but thatI do have to tell myself, you
know, like hey, I turn it off,gotta be a mom.
But yeah, it is, it's, it's,it's a lot of fun.
(24:26):
But I mean they love it.
I mean when they put on clothes, oh, that you know.
So they know that this hashappened and that they're part
of it.
But it's just, it's cute to see, you know it's, they're little,
so it's fun.
It's always fun thing to kindof grow with them over time.
Camille (24:44):
What do you hope that they learn from watching you
build this business?
Lauren (24:50):
Well, specifically for my daughter, I want her to know
that she has opportunity.
I mean, my son is he's going tobe he's going to be a Delta
pilot.
He said that since he was two,my, my dad was a commercial
airline pilot.
My mom was a stay-at-home momand her mom was a stay-at-home
mom, and so I didn't grow upseeing my mom outside the house.
(25:10):
She was with me and raised meand my brothers full-time, so my
dad's schedule was a little bitmore chaotic, but their chaotic
schedules, I think, helped merealize that you can still be
successful in a chaoticenvironment.
So I want my daughter to seethe same thing.
I mean, I don't, she's neverexpressed what she wants to be.
When she grows up she's four,it changes by the day but I want
(25:32):
her to know that there'sopportunity for women to do
whatever they want if they havethe passion and drive to do it,
and that we're lucky that welive in a world where we do have
things like Google.
That has helped me create this.
Where do I even begin?
How do I even start this?
That if she's passionate aboutsomething, she knows that
there's resources there to do itand that you can juggle that
(25:52):
and be successful, and that'sbeen a fun thing.
Especially about this industrytoo is there's a lot of moms who
have started companies in thisindustry and they all have very
different creative stories, andso to kind of ping that off of
each other, to kind of set thatbar for the little next
generation to know that they cando that too is kind of cool.
So that's definitely one thingthat I can see that they can if
(26:15):
they're passionate about it,they can.
If they're passionate about it.
They don't, they can wake upand do whatever they want if
that's what they're passionateabout.
Camille (26:26):
Yeah, yeah, I think that's a beautiful thing, it's,
and it's interesting too,because I think as women, we
want to do it all.
We want to be multifaceted.
So I think almost the newchallenge for us is there is so
much possibility and you can domore than any other generation
perhaps could have done in thepast, because we live in an
environment, rich world, wherewe can really search and
research and yeah, you didn't goto school for it, but you could
(26:47):
figure it out like, if thepassion and the time is there,
like you did so then it becomeswhat do you say no to?
So that you're not saying no tothe things that matter most.
And I think for us, thisgeneration now, it's almost that
that's our new biggestchallenge.
We're not out hunting andgathering and we have washing
machines and dishwashers.
Lauren (27:07):
Yay, yeah Well you know what I mean.
Sometimes that's still notenough.
My like load of laundry, ohtotally no-transcript.
Camille (27:44):
Do it.
You just have to build teamsand resources around you so that
you are not doing everything.
Lauren (27:50):
And it's okay to ask for help.
Camille (27:52):
Yes, it's okay to ask for help.
Exactly yeah.
Lauren (27:56):
I mean I always say everyone needs a page.
I have a page and so I hiredher out of University of
Wisconsin Stout's design programand I mean she has been
instrumental in just helping meget through.
I mean she's almost kind ofteaching me in some ways about
the design process too, becauseshe it's.
If I yeah, I'm going throughsomething like okay, I need help
(28:16):
with this.
I can't quite figure out.
Um one of our spring jackets, wehad this detachable hood on one
of our boys coats, so cute.
But oh, my gosh, for the lifeof me I was like why can't I
figure this out?
And she knows, you know.
Or it's just like even thingsthat are just, you know,
forecasting, and is it that Ican like leverage and lean on
her for?
And I'm'm like that's okay,cause I got to put him like I am
(28:37):
going to need help.
You know, I really, if I couldteach you this all by myself,
it's going to be, it's going tobe difficult, and so I'm like
it's okay to reach out for help.
And people have asked that Doyou feel okay hiring?
I mean, luckily I was inrecruiting previously, so I
enjoy that a bit, that too.
Camille (28:53):
That's a huge strength actually, because then you're
used to building a team, a teammindset, Right yeah.
Lauren (29:01):
And just kind of knowing those right questions to ask
and making sure that we're goingto be compatible and work
together on projects.
And so I mean it's yeah, reachout for help, ask for help, get
a virtual assistant, you knowit's, it's beneficial and needed
, I mean, especially if you'retrying to figure out how to
juggle everything.
Camille (29:16):
Yeah, I'd love to tap into your knowledge there a
little bit.
What are some good questions toask for finding if you'll be a
good like, if someone'scompatible with you?
What would be some key pointsfor that?
If people are listening andgoing yeah, I need that.
Tell me more.
Lauren (29:32):
So I always tell my husband this so I've recruited
for his company, I've recruitedthe last 16 people or something
for him, and I always say I'mlike can you just tell within
the first five minutes that thisperson is going to be a good
fit?
Because it's like you want toknow what your company and who
you are.
That's the foundation of theinterview.
And is this person going to belike-minded with you?
(29:54):
What can they bring to thetable?
But more so, people like towork with people ultimately, and
if you get a good vibe fromsomebody right away, I mean lean
into that.
That's okay to trust your guton some things.
Then the other questions cancome later and you can ask about
you know what's a hardship thatyou've had in a company and how
(30:14):
did you overcome it.
You can ask those kind of boringquestions later, but get to
know the person from thebeginning.
I mean you want to know whattheir interests are, who they
are as a person.
You know what are theirstrengths in life, not just
necessarily the workplace,because that's going to all
translate to them on their dayto day.
And so those are the kind ofthings I always look for in the
first few minutes of aninterview is who is this person?
(30:36):
You know, like I want to knowthem.
I mean, you have to be on callwith them all the time,
messaging them, emailing them,and if they are compatible with
what your company groundwork andmorals are, you're going to be
fine.
Yeah, you know.
That's really what it comesdown to, in my opinion.
Camille (30:53):
No, I love that, I love that.
And to it might hit in.
No, I love that, I love that.
And to really pay attention toyour gut instinct with that.
I agree with that too, becausewhen I help people to hire a
virtual assistant, I will helpset them up with three different
interviews two to threetypically and I say, do this on
Zoom, because I am not going topick for you.
I want it to be where you findsome like-mindedness with each
(31:15):
other or you see that there'sthat you gel well with this
person, and that really issomething that doesn't have a
perfect formula.
It's more just getting to knowthe person.
So I think that's really,really good advice.
Lauren (31:28):
Yeah, and Zoom.
Luckily, I mean, we've kind oftransitioned into a lot of
people working remote and a lotof interviews being over Zoom,
so but you could still tell justas much from a Zoom interview
that you can with someone havinga cup of coffee or having them
come into your office.
I mean you'll know.
You know, just trust your gut,and your gut's usually right.
Camille (31:45):
Yeah, good advice.
So for forecasting for thefuture, where do you want to
take your company?
Like what?
Shooting to the moon?
I mean, mean, you're a fewyears in now, what?
Where do you hope to see it go?
Lauren (31:58):
so we are expanding for spring and summer.
We will be expanding above 5tjust a few sizes.
Um, my motivation for that isbecause my son is outgrowing all
of his 5t, because he's fiveand a half and I like to use him
as a model and so I'm like,well, here we go.
Um, I am gonna yeah, I knowwe're gonna keep going.
(32:19):
Um, we are gonna expand on thegirls line, um, just more
heavily, just because we've hada lot of people reach out and
ask the whole goal with this isthat everything on our website
matches with something else.
So all the color pantones match.
So if you're searching forfamily photos or a nice family
dinner, you want your kids to bein similar colors.
(32:40):
They don't have to be the samepatterns.
I mean, it's the similar colors, same pantone range.
We offer that, and so we needmore girl items.
So we are expanding upon thatfor this and fall.
We also have family matchingsweatsuits.
So we will do some family, morefamily matching things for next
(33:03):
fall, as we're working on rightnow, but mostly just kind of
staying on that heavy boyclothing.
We love that Midwest vibe andwe love it that it can go across
all seasons and so that's justgoing to maintain that focus
moving forward for right now.
But I don't know, we'll see.
(33:25):
We did launch something new thatis hosted by Gili Guise in the
Twin Cities area.
So if you guys are around andpart of it and want to be part
of it, it's called the MinnesotaKid Rave Get Gili and it's.
We started doing a lot of popup shops and things in the Twin
Cities area and this is one thatwe did, where we have now
created a kid's rave and sothat's so fun and we had
(33:49):
different characters and wefeatured Gili Guise clothing
there and over the next year,with every ticket purchase they
are going to be getting a pieceof clothing or article that goes
with that particular event thatthey're attending and it all
kind of encompasses that kidrave feel.
So that's kind of somethingthat we're expanding on right
now.
We just had our first one abouttwo weeks ago.
(34:12):
It was so much fun.
But yeah, I mean it's going tostay kid focused, you know, kid
motivated.
We're going to keep justworking with our kids to make
sure that we're putting out whatkids want to see and where, and
it's going to be a lot of fun.
So I mean I don and where, andit's going to be a lot of fun.
So I mean, I don't know if I'mlooking five years down the line
.
I just want to keep expandingand getting our name out there
and making sure that we'reproducing hits, it's like, and
(34:34):
that the sizing is accurate andthat we're approachable.
People can reach out to us withquestions and we shall see,
hopefully I love it.
Camille (34:43):
I love it okay.
So this episode is going to becoming out probably pretty close
to a few weeks before Easter.
Are you doing any Easterpromotions or anything like that
?
Or maybe you'll have someEaster sales Easter sales.
Lauren (34:56):
Our spring and summer line are being launched a little
bit later than typical spring.
Okay, it's very summer focusedthat we're putting out, so we
are pushing, just because, beingin the Midwest, our spring it
still is kind of winter Same.
Camille (35:11):
Because we're in Utah and I'm like there's still snow.
I mean it's sunny today, sofingers crossed we'll get good.
I feel like Easter is a littlelater this year, but this year
is a little bit later.
Yes, it's like mid-April and weare recording this early March.
So if there is a code to share,I will put it in the show notes
.
Perfect.
Lauren (35:31):
How does that sound?
I know that sounds great.
No, it'll be well.
We will have Easter saleshappening leading up to it,
Actually beginning of April,Because, yeah, it's towards the
end of April we have those goingout, but the actual new
collection will be comingshortly after that.
Camille (35:46):
Yay, okay, well, I'm so excited.
Tell our audience where theycan find you and support you and
find Gili Guise online.
Lauren (35:53):
Yeah, so if you just search giliguisecom, so it's
G-I-L-L-I-G-U-I-S-E com, sothink disguise, but with the
D-I-S at the beginning, so justgiliguisecom, and then same
thing on Instagram, just atGiliGuise, you'll be able to
(36:14):
find us there as well.
So, yeah, you'll see, you'llsee my kids on there, you'll see
me on there.
I try to get on lives quite abit and just talk to people and
answer questions and a lot of itare just very, you know, moms
looking to start something newand fresh, which has been the
best part of this journey isjust getting to connect with
other moms and people who wantto either jump in this industry
or another industry.
But yeah, you can find me onthere.
Camille (36:34):
We're all in it together.
Well, thank you so much forcoming on the show and thank you
for everyone for your listeningand sharing with other moms.
Every story shared is inspiringother women to chase after
their dreams, to enjoy theirroad of mother, and it's just
amazing.
And before we say goodbye, Iforgot to ask you my two
(36:55):
questions I always ask.
The first is what are youreading, watching or listening
to?
And the second is a motherhoodmoment you'd like to share with
our audience?
Lauren (37:06):
Okay, what am I watching ?
Well, I'm only this top of mind, because I think I'm on the
very, very last episode.
Right now I'm watching Youngeron Netflix.
Camille (37:14):
Oh, that's a cute show With.
Lauren (37:16):
Sandra Foster and Hilary Duff.
Oh my gosh, it's so cute.
Just because I think it justhas a lot to say about just
women in general who are working, which I think is really
interesting.
Yes, it's so good and it's aneasy watch too.
I watch it when I'm working out.
I'm like you know, I'm moremotivated to work out so I can
get through my episodes.
(37:36):
That's a great recommendation.
I love that one.
My favorite kid moment was um mygosh, I have so many Probably
getting my kiddos into our newhouse we remodeled a few years
back.
But it's at the same time thatthey really started kind of
building this dynamic and thisfriendship and so they were
(37:59):
interacting with each other morebut they had more space so they
spent so much time outside andjust knowing that that was our
forever home, that we were goingto be in with our kids,
building those memories and thenwatching them grow over the
last few years, has just been.
It's been really special.
I mean every time iPhone bringsup a new photo it's just of
them in our house building thesememories, and it just makes me
feel really happy that we choseto live in Wisconsin, that we're
(38:22):
close to my family and that wecan build Gili Guise together.
Camille (38:26):
So yeah, that's beautiful.
I am so happy for you and whata wonderful product and family
and you're just amazing.
So thank you so much.
Thank you so much for having me,you bet.
All right, we'll see you allnext time.
Bye, hey, CEOs.
Thank you so much for spendingyour time with me.
If you found this episodeinspiring or helpful, please let
(38:54):
me know in a comment and afive-star review.
You could have the chance ofbeing a featured review on an
upcoming episode.
Continue the conversation onInstagram at callmeCEOPodcast,
and remember you are the boss.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.