A Mother And Daughter Build A Purpose-Driven Brand That Helps Fund Cancer Research

A Racing-Themed Product Cold Open

Melinda Russell 0:48

Ladies, are you tired of fumbling for your phone like a bad pit stop? Shift into gear with Save the Girls, the stylish touchscreen purse that keeps your phone in the driver's seat. No more digging through your bag during a caution lap. Text, scroll, and snap pictures without ever pulling your phone out. It's a track tested, fan-approved, and built for women who live life in the fast lane. Head to save the girls.com and grab yours today. Because when life's at full throttle, your phone should be too. Save the girls. Gear up in style.

Meet Save The Girls Founders

Melinda Russell 1:28

Hello everyone. This is Melinda Russell with the Women's Motorsports Network podcast. And I'm excited today to share a story about Save the Girls. I've been following their company on Facebook for quite a while. And we are now a new affiliate with Save the Girls. I'm so excited because I want to share their products and the things that they do with all of my listeners because some of the products I know all of you are going to want to get on and buy. They got some really cool stuff for us women. So I want to welcome Tammy and Elizabeth. We've got a mother-daughter team, which I love. And so I want to welcome you guys to the show. And Tammy, why don't we start with you and just tell my listeners a little bit about you and Elizabeth and like where you live and just some little basic, let's get to know you better.

SPEAKER_04 2:24

Okay. Well, we're from Belleville, Illinois, which is southern Illinois, right across the river from St. Louis, Missouri. And um, I Elizabeth and I have been working together for a couple of years. So I will tell you about that. She is my she she's my number one product, you know. Uh say that, but I always say, Who are you? I'm really just Elizabeth's mom. That's who I am. Then Elizabeth, go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 2:48

Oh, well, a little bit more about us though. Come on, mom. They want to know, they want to know it all, right? We want to know everything. Yeah. So um, this is actually my mom's company, and we got started, and now I'm part owner in that too, which has been really, really fun. Just exciting to get to work with my mom in a

The Phone Loss That Started It

SPEAKER_03 3:06

totally different capacity. But she launched Save the Girls really out of a need. Um, eight years ago, almost nine years ago now. My two sisters lost their phones in the same week. We are actually big horseback riders, and so one of my sisters lost her phone on a trail ride. My other sister went to wash her jeans and washed her phone in with her jeans. So they lost their phones in the same week. Mom was pretty bad, okay, to put it lightly. Um, and she was telling my aunt about it. And my aunt goes, my phone's always safe. I keep it here. And she pulled her phone out of her bra because whenever my aunt didn't have pockets, she would tuck her phone in her bra. I mean, I feel like we've all been there, we've been busy on the racetrack, we're catching and corralling kids, we're doing all the crazy things, and there's just nowhere to put your phone. And so all this was going on at the same time that my aunt actually developed breast cancer. So she got a breast cancer tumor right where she kept putting her phone. And that was like the final straw for my mom. She was like, we have to come up with a better, safer, more convenient, more reliable place for phones. So my mom's first invention was actually touch screen purses. So I have one here for you. So it is a touch screen purse. This is our patented plastic on here. You just slide your phone in, it works with any phone, any case. You can text through here, you can make phone calls through your purse too. And then you have your full wallet. So it's RFID protected, your credit cards are safe and secure. I even have my glasses, which is very important when you're at the track, when you're at the races. Um, I'm also a big traveler, so I can put my passport in there too. So everything that you need kind of in one place, and you can really tell that these were designed by a woman, by a mom, right? For us busy ladies who are trying to do it all at once. And so that's kind of how we got started. But the best part about Save the Girls, in my opinion, is um, my mom from the very beginning, she knew she wanted to create a business that wasn't just going to support and give back to us and our family, but something that was gonna give back to others. So she decided that from the very beginning that at least 10% of all profit would be donated back to breast cancer research. And I'm really proud to say we have definitely donated more than just 10% of profits because profits is hard. Okay. And so we've actually now donated over $160,000 to the American Cancer Society. So it's been a really, really awesome and fulfilling work. And it's been also on top of that to be able to work with my mom and see her in a completely different light. I feel like I've really gone from child to like colleague almost. And I mean, it's still fun. We still balance that. Like oftentimes I'll call her mom or I'll call her Tammy when I'm on calls. Or so through this podcast, if I call her one or the other, I'm sorry in advance. But we're just trying to juggle this relationship. Um, but it's been really, really cool, and it's been such a joy, it's been amazing, honestly, to watch the powerhouse that is my mom just like go crazy. Like she really has, she is the the fuel behind save the girls and why we've been able to grow and do all the crazy things we've

Quitting Corporate To Build Prototypes

SPEAKER_03 6:14

done.

Melinda Russell 6:14

So, Tammy, what is your business background that you felt like you could start a business and be successful? Because that you know, a lot of people think, Oh, I'd love to have my own business, but I can't do that. So, did you have a background or you just said I I'm gonna do this?

SPEAKER_04 6:31

I do have a background, um, and a big background, but you know, really, um, I've been in marketing, but in pre-packaged sandwiches, so doing new product development for food. And you know, I was honest, this is what really happened. I was 49 years old and I was starting to feel pretty bad for myself because, like, oh, my career's ended. I should just focus on my kids. I have five kids, so plenty to focus on, and I love my kids, but you know, you want to have your life too, so you want to do both, and I'm like, I just I've always wanted to do something, so I was like with an eye for like maybe something's out there, but we it all just came together. Like, literally, my two daughters lost their phones, my sister-in-law pulled her phone out of her bra, she had breast cancer, and I'm like, there's gotta be something better. So I went shopping for all the girls, and that's when I didn't find anything. And the next day we actually went canoeing, and so the way that I figured it all out was Elizabeth, you know, she just showed you my my film, but the first film was a little bit harder to text through than what it is now. We have awesome materials, but um, it gave me the idea, and I thought, you know, I always wanted to do something unique, like post-it stamps or you know, just post-its or I mean there's been so many little inventions that completely make your life so much easier that I always wanted to do that, and really it wasn't it was only because of my kids though, too. So, what happened was I made a design and I put it on an international bid site called aliaba.com. I was like, I know Elizabeth Wise, that's all me. I don't I just knew about the site, I threw it on there almost like a joke, like uh tomorrow I'll be a purse designer or maybe I'll go to the moon. You know, it's just like you know, nah. I mean, it really wasn't serious. 17 factories bid on me the next morning. 17 with designs, with pricing, and I was just like, What? Because I had given them some designs. They're like, Yeah, I think we need to use this class, this class. I think the price will be around this. And I'm like, wait a minute, I can actually do this. So I quit my job of 25 years and bought almost a one-way ticket overseas. I didn't do a return ticket because I didn't know how long it would take. And I visited 17 factories, picked factories, finished designing the purses, and within 14 days was able to come home with prototypes and ready to go.

SPEAKER_03 8:53

So that I will just say though, that it also like it really is such a feat to like my mom, like her tenacity, and just like I think that a lot of people don't have that. I don't know, they they have a thing in their brain that tells them that's scary, don't do that. And she doesn't have that, okay. She's never had that, if we're being honest. So there's a story, like, my also her whole background, too. Like my grandpa was a crazy daredevil, just like she is. So, and he was also a crazy serial entrepreneur. He even owned a track. So the fact that you are motorsports, uh, yes, this is the perfect fit. He actually owned a raceway, which my mom will tell you or a part of it, um, in in southern Illinois where we're from. And my mom being the daredevil, she is, when she was just how old were you, mom? 16?

SPEAKER_04 9:46

I just turned 16.

SPEAKER_03 9:48

Okay, and she did her very first race at 16, had no idea what was going on. And tell them what happened, mom. It's a crazy story.

SPEAKER_04 10:00

It's a fun story.

Racing Roots And Entrepreneur Mindset

SPEAKER_04 10:01

So we owned um, you might know Center St. Louis International Raceway in Southern Illinois, which is now a circle track. So my dad's actually one of them that helped design that circle track, and then of course, he sold it before it became that, but that was his idea because it was only a drag. Shirley Mandowney and Don Garletz and all those people. Oh, yeah, I was I was there for them and I was working the concession stands. But before my big race, I just had a Z28 Camaro, and um, my dad, uh my girlfriend didn't know my best friend from high school, which by the way works full time for Save the Girls too. So she loves to tell this story. She's sitting in the stands, and I get out in my pink, I had a pink jumper on, and the people were all making fun of me in the stands, you know. But um, they're like, that girl, look, there's a girl behind that wheel. Ha ha ha ha ha. I mean, I got coached up a little bit before I went, and I took off those, you know, I made smoke the whole nine yards, and I was neck and neck with the guy all the way to the end. He beat me by a fender. Didi always tells a story I won, but I did lose. But it was, I mean, I was neck and neck with him all the way. Um, because I really didn't have a lot of fear either, which I know a lot of you listeners out here, this is the fast lane that we're in right here on this podcast right now. And so save the girls, we've kind of stayed in the fast lane and just designing products. Uh, I have, I don't even know how many different designs, probably 180 different designs that are on market right now. And we just design and move and go and make things happen, you know. But the key here with being an entrepreneur or whatever, not a lot of sleep, one, and you just have to make it happen yourself. You can't like think, oh, this person's gonna do it for me, or that person's gonna do it for me. You just have to make it happen. Yeah, um, then it's nice when you have your own kids who become the wind beneath your wings, you know, and to make it go. We have some fantastic staff um also that have just made the ride. It's been a long ride, but a super fun ride.

Melinda Russell 12:01

Yeah, that's awesome. Now, did you say what year did you start this?

SPEAKER_03 12:06

Uh 2017. So, and actually, fun story. Sorry, mom.

Melinda Russell 12:10

Same year as I started.

SPEAKER_03 12:12

Oh, yeah. All right, new things happening. Yeah, so we actually launched Save the Girls on mom's 50th birthday, which was really cool. So now it's a great way. Anytime Save the Girls ages a year, I'm like, Happy birthday month. I know exactly what year it is.

Melinda Russell 12:28

Yeah, that's that's really cool. I started in August of 2017.

SPEAKER_04 12:34

Oh, my son is first. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Melinda Russell 12:38

Isn't that funny? Love it, and time time really has gone quickly.

SPEAKER_03 12:43

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It really flies, it really does. Yeah, it's been such a fun journey though. I I wasn't always uh full-time with mom, but I I always helped on the sidelines. And then it was, I guess, in 2021 I came on full-time. Okay, in the fall of 21. So that's it's been such a fun journey since then. Yeah, yeah. Before that, I actually used to be a cruise director and a tour guide. So I was doing all the fun travel things, and these purses were fantastic, and I use them for all of my adventures and all my travel. I sold quite a few of them to customers that were on my own guests. Um, but then yeah, after COVID, that kind of died out, and so then it was perfect timing though to be able to come and join Save the Girls and work side by side with mom. And it's been, yeah, an amazing, awesome journey.

Melinda Russell 13:34

So one of my daughters that lives in Arizona is a travel agent. How perfect! So she she's uh always been a huge Disney fan. Long story short, she was a teacher, that's all she ever wanted to do, and then she got into teaching, and things have changed so much since she was a student, she got a little bit, you know, it's like you have to get this test score and that test score, and they weren't you couldn't really be creative, like she is very creative, and so anyway, she came across a travel agency and she joined as a as an affiliate or whatever they call the called them, and then uh about not quite a year ago, it'll be a year coming up in the fall. She and her best friend that she met through the travel agency started their own agency. Oh, and now they have I think around 70 or more ladies that are part of their agency. Oh and it's all you know, they're from all over the United States. Yeah, they're not just in Phoenix, it's not a brick and mortar. Everybody, it's it's moms, it's mostly moms that are doing this. So um, she does a lot of cruises. I mean, she can do anything, but she loves cruises and she loves Disney.

SPEAKER_03 14:51

There we go. That's perfect. And hey, everybody wants to travel on cruises in Disney, so she's got a good business model there.

Melinda Russell 14:59

Yeah, she she really does. So we have a lot in common in those. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 15:02

That's what I'm hearing. That's what I'm hearing. And the thing, too, that I love is now that my mom is a designer, right? She gets to design things for the the passions in her life, I would say. So, like being a mom, she has a lot of purses that have like mom-esque features in them, like lots of credit cards, RFID protected, adjustable straps that go kid size to plus size in case kiddo wants to wear it one day or something like that. Um, lots of those different features. But also, she's a huge traveler, and a lot of us in our family are travelers too. I mean, I told you I was a cruise director and a tour guide, and um, my sister's actually moving to Ecuador soon. She's gonna be a teacher down in Ecuador, so that's going to be really cool. Um, and so actually, for our fifth anniversary, my mom wanted to create and design something brand new, and that's when she designed the

Clip And Go For Track Days

SPEAKER_03 15:51

clip and go. So I wonder if this is like the item that you maybe saw first from us. It is. Yeah, our touch screen purses was our first invention, but this one has kind of been the one that blew us up and put us all over the map. And it's really, really cool because it works with any phone. Well, all of our products work with any phone, but it's a little insert that just slides in the back of your case. And the reason why you put that piece in the back of your case, you can still charge, by the way. But the reason for those watching, the reason why you put that in your case is because it's going to clip onto your strap here. So now you can wear your phone as a crossbody. And the reason why I thought about this is as you were mentioning Disney, how fun is this for collecting pins? Love it. Put your pins right in there, and then it comes with that coin purse too for your car keys, your credit cards, your cap stick. And my mom, she's sorry, one more brag on my mom's designs, but she also added a clip right here, too. So there's the phone, and it even turns into a wristlet, so it's a crossbody and a wristlet. Cool, she was so smart.

SPEAKER_04 16:55

The way I did the wristlet is I was on my daughter's college campus, uh, Elizabeth's younger sister, and now moving to Ecuador. Yeah, the one going to Ecuador, and she um all the kids were wearing wristlets, and I'm like, boy, if somebody buys this for their granddaughter, I want to make sure they wear it. So I added the wristlet on there so that that way all of them are crossbody and a wristlet, too. So it's just very functional. So any age can wear it. I love the crossbody, I do not wear wristlets. I would kill somebody. I talk with my hands, I'm from the Midwest, so the phone would go flying. But the young girls, they love their wristlets. I uh yeah, so I have to add it in for everybody, yeah.

Melinda Russell 17:34

Yeah, and you know, for 21 and older that go to the bar, that's a perfect thing.

SPEAKER_03 17:40

Yes, yes, yes, and for traveling for traveling too, like on cruising, I can't even tell you how many people lost their phone overboard because they were taking pictures, but also how great is this for when you're at the track, when you're taking videos of your kids or your husband or somebody racing. Now you can just pick it up. Actually, I went to the raceway last year with my friend, and we had so much fun, and it was great because I could just pick it up, take a quick uh video or anything, and then just drop it. And I know that it's safe, like I don't have to worry about it. It makes it easy to catch those quick moments because I mean you're racing, it's going fast. Like you don't want to digging through your bigger bag looking at exactly.

Melinda Russell 18:18

Yeah, and the phone's always at the bottom, yes, you know, always and the other thing that's so nice about it.

SPEAKER_03 18:26

I mean, you're at the tracks when it's freaking hot, right? It gets hot in these summer months when you're out there racing. You don't want to be carrying around a big bag. So this, I mean, it's got my car keys, my credit cards, my chapstick because my lips are always chapped, and then my phone. And yeah, it's the perfect thing for when I'm just at the track or doing or just running a quick errand or going on a trip. It's also stadium approved. So if you're if your um track doesn't allow bigger bags, that's really convenient too. So yeah, a lot of just wins, a lot of wins.

Melinda Russell 18:58

Win, win, win for sure. Exactly. So another reason why I wanted to share about your products and be of an affiliate because so many of the ladies that um you know, I've got almost 7,000 email addresses, and you know, those are probably 75 women. Yeah, and you know, I still accept the men on the on the email too. But okay, I guess you can come. You know, they just they they don't know that they need it until they see it. That's it, right? Yeah, yeah. So

Totes Straps And Small Add-Ons

Melinda Russell 19:33

what other products do you have? I know those two that you showed me are insanely the most popular, probably.

SPEAKER_03 19:40

They are, they are insanely the most popular. We have a lot of other variety within those sections, so we have like our touch screen per section, and we have probably like 10 different varieties there with tons of different colors, and then we have our clip and go section, and color-wise, we have like over 200. So there are a lot to choose from within those two sections, but on top of that, we also have our tote bags. Um, so if you do need something that's a little bit larger, we do have totes available too. And the nice thing about them is they always come with an extra feature for your phone, so your phone isn't buried down at the bottom of the tote. Yeah, and our newest tote, which I'm really excited about, it has a key finder too. So there's a chain for your keys to go in there. So that's really nice, also. So the totes are really handy when you do need to carry more stuff, yeah, because you need water bottles, you need you know, you need all the stuff. So we have those too, and then we also now are launching our new line of like little accessories to add on to your bag. So we have some like extenders. It for we get a lot of compliments about our straps because we always go kid size to plus size, fully adjustable. Um, the average plus size strap in the US is 54 inches, and we made ours 59 inches. At least a lot of our ours are actually even longer than that. Um, but because we get so many compliments, we realize oh, this is a need. There are a lot of customers who are buying purses that aren't quite long enough. So we have designed not only extenders for you to be able to use on our items, but also on other purses. Um, but they're cute too. So I even use my extender on mine um just because I just shorten up the strap and add the extender on there because they're really cute. We have like little daisies and little cats and little puppy dog paws and cute stuff like that. So that's been fun. Um, we have other extender uh add-ons too, like lip buddies, um, so you can put your lip gloss or chapstick. Yeah.

Melinda Russell 21:36

Yeah. Yeah. Um yeah, well, you gotta get some racing flags on there. We do, we do need to get some racing flags.

SPEAKER_04 21:43

We do have some checkered um checked hotel.

SPEAKER_03 21:47

I know, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 21:50

Yeah, those are good.

SPEAKER_03 21:51

I think it's sold out, mom.

SPEAKER_04 21:53

Oh, we sold out checkers. I think we have black and white.

SPEAKER_03 21:56

I'm checking now.

SPEAKER_04 21:57

Okay, she'll she'll check. She she knows this those.

SPEAKER_03 22:01

Oh, we have the red and black.

Melinda Russell 22:03

Okay. That's cool. So

How They Learned To Market

Melinda Russell 22:06

um how when you first started, what did you do to market it? You know, you're you're like, okay, I got the prototypes, I'm back home. Now what do I do? Yes.

SPEAKER_04 22:17

Okay, so at first I thought, and if you look at my age, you everybody else in the room would sell you that wasn't the way to start, probably, but I thought I'd be an online sensation. I got my website signed up, I got my Facebook going, I had all that going. Yeah, we sold $590 our first month, and I'm like, okay, we're going broke, everybody, because I had I had a salary much higher than that as a vice president of marketing for a sandwich company. So anyway, the next month we got in the car with all the purses and we went and sold the boutiques, and we actually sold $20,000 our next month. And then December was our third month of really operating where we had products and uh we sold $40,000. And so then I'm like, okay, January came. All right, I don't know what we're gonna do because how are we gonna sell? Because Christmas, of course, goes nuts for the kinds of products. But we went to market at um the Dallas Market Center, or actually, we're in Atlanta gift market, and which for those of you that aren't familiar, let me just give a little background.

SPEAKER_03 23:16

Sorry, the Atlanta market that is where all of the gift stores from around the country come, and that's where they buy the stuff that they sell in their stores. And they they there's twice a year, they're in January and in June or July, and so they buy a bunch of stuff that's gonna last them the next six months, kind of, and then they come back for the next show and they buy a bunch of more stuff, so it's selling wholesale into gift stores, okay.

SPEAKER_04 23:40

Yes, and if you ever watched the movie Joy, um, which is a great entrepreneurial movie, so cute. But if you see that movie, we did the same, but I hadn't watched that movie yet, it wasn't until later. But we had people ride in the elevators at market because we had no advertising budget. We just barely got a booth like a week before the market because we didn't even know about the market or what. So we got this booth. So we had people ride in the elevator, and one person would be in the front texting through their bag, and the person in the back would go, Hey, what is that? And they'd say, Oh, it's Save the Girls, it's a new brand on level 17. And people go, Really, are you kidding me? No, it's so cool. Look at this. I can text, I don't have to have my phone in my hand. And literally, the like elevator would get off and come to us because everybody wants new and the best, right? We wrote $90,000 at that market by running the elevators.

SPEAKER_03 24:33

In genius, ingenious, seriously. I think right from the beginning, mom, you also started doing Facebooks, right? Oh, yeah. That was the other thing that we did, which was crazy. So I went and was also with her at these markets. I would just take off from the cruise ship and go do markets with mom. Um, but that that was a really genius idea. So her idea was that any customer who placed an order with us, we would do a quick five to seven minute Facebook Live because I'm not sure if Facebook quite operates the same way as it did eight years ago. But eight years ago, anytime you did a live, it shot a message out to anybody that was following you that, hey, we're live. And at that time, nobody was really going live. Live is like huge now. It wasn't really a thing eight years ago. It was maybe just starting. And um, so we would do a five to seven minute live with every single customer. And that did two things. The first thing that it did is other people that were walking past us would hear us and then they would hear our story, they would hear what we were doing, they hear what we were selling, they were like, Oh, that's cool. And they would also see us making the video, and they're like, I want a video. That's great for me, too. That's great for my source. So it got us more sales that way, but also it was insane. We had a 30-purse minimum buy. So a lot of customers they had to buy at least 30 purses. A lot of people just bought the minimum, 30 purses, and then they we put it on their live. They came back the next day and they would double or triple their order because customers were already claiming items and claiming sales, so they had pre-sold items before they even got them in their shop, and so that was crazy. So we we kept that going for several years, going live with every single customer that came past us.

Melinda Russell 26:16

Well, and that was before TikTok, and that's kind of you know, I think TikTok's taken

Elevator Pitching At Gift Market

Melinda Russell 26:22

over the TikTok sales, some of that, but um, you know, like you said, going live was not a thing eight years ago. No, and and it's really now is the the way to do it. I published uh I published a digital magazine in 2017, that's how I started, yeah. And um, and and then I started a podcast in 2018 because I was a guest on somebody else's, and it was it just you know, it just went so I started my own, and it's at the end of 2024. I was like, I cannot do both of these. The magazine was a lot of work and a lot of just a lot of a lot of hours of work, and the podcast was so much more relatable. You could see each other across the you felt like you had new friends, and it was just a totally different experience. So I quit the magazine and I'd written 540 some stories of women in motorsports. I so I think I did okay with my share of that, and then uh I decided in 2025 I was gonna really ramp up the podcast, and I did over 300 podcasts last year. Wow, that's amazing! And you know, I'm on track to do, you know, I I publish two at least two a week, if not more, because I I'll I'll I'll not get through all the women in motorsports before I die. There's just so many. And it grows every year, it grows every day. Uh, you know, so it's crazy. But um, but yeah, I I love your very cool way to share your and it was so natural.

SPEAKER_03 28:08

It well it helps when we're a mother-daughter, do I think like we we know how to bounce off of each other, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 28:15

Yeah, that's true. Because Elizabeth was great at helping with those lives also, um, and and really being able to connect with our customers is just great, also, because we like in my heart, like all of us, there's a lot of women entrepreneurs actually that own gift stores. In fact, most I'd say 90% of the people, probably 95 are women, and so for us to be able to do those lives and teach them how to do that, it just made their stores better. And so I feel like it kind of empowered all of us together. And so many people through COVID said, because I would make them nope, get on your Facebook page. I don't know how to do live. Go on, like we're gonna do it right now. And I would make everybody do one with us, which was very uncomfortable for most people, but it turned out to be a blessing to them because during COVID, then you know, their schools were shut down, they were able to reach out to customers. People still had birthdays during COVID, you know, people still needed gifts, and instead of buying off Amazon, buy from your local local person, and so they were able to do that because they kind of knew how to do lives, and so it really did make a big impact for a lot of people, and that's what I really like about Save the Girls is we're donated breast cancer research, we're really women focused. Um, we do have obviously tons of women customers, but also our stores are mostly women-owned. Um, and so that's been just super fun blessing for us, yeah, for sure.

Melinda Russell 29:38

So, how do you keep up with the demand? Do you have to like order the black ones, the so many, and then hope that people buy them?

SPEAKER_03 29:47

Or yeah, well, especially at the beginning, it was exactly that. We had um,

Going Viral And Managing Inventory

SPEAKER_03 29:52

you know, you gotta order. I mean, it still is like especially when we come out with anything new. It's who knows if it's going to take off well or not. But um, luckily, my mom has a good proven track record that usually what she likes sells, people like it. Uh, but she and I do go back and forth a lot. I'm like, mom, that's not that's not cute. That's not gonna sell. And usually the things that I say will not sell, and she's like, Yes, this is I'm doing it, they're like our number one top sellers. So it's been very frustrating for me. Um humbling experience. So uh, but she really knows her customers best, and so yes, it's definitely like that, though. We do buy in, uh, I mean, we manufacture them ourselves, so we have to do large runs, and um, so we bring in large bulk and then pray that it sells. But so far, everything's selling. And then now with the us, we um so in the last three years since we launched the clip and go, we've been going viral on social media, and that has been a whole new world. Um, and really a video can go viral and we can run out of product.

SPEAKER_04 30:57

Yeah, and a million people see one video very quickly. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:02

So that has been um crazy in a new way. And at first we were just buying and praying and buying and praying, and we still do that, but now we hired in uh a teammate to Ruben, who is kind of our logistics and um inventory manager, and he's really in the numbers. We don't like to be in the numbers so much, we want to manage the people that are in the numbers, and so he's done a really good job. It truly growth is all about finding the right team members to be able to tell you to delegure out what you're not good at and find somebody who's that's their strength, and empower them to do it, and that's something that I really think that my mom's done a very good job of doing, so it's kind of hard to see that and and that's really difficult because my uh my youngest daughter, long story, but she and her husband own five autism centers for kids six and under in the Phoenix area.

Melinda Russell 32:02

So they started with a little boy of their own that was high-functioning autism, they couldn't find a school that they liked, and uh, so they started one and then they had two, and now they're up to five. And uh the hardest thing is managing the people, yes, yes, because they look good on paper, they might look good at that first interview, but not always so good, and so that's really difficult to find the people that really fit into your company, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:34

That I mean, we've definitely I feel like we've done a very good job overall, but there there have been a few that's like that wasn't there, you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:42

We tend to last people longer than maybe they should stay because they they'd be happy if they're not happy here, it'd be better. Yeah, they can find someplace happier, but right anyway, that's our weakness there. But we yeah, overall we just have a great we've always had a great staff, just some people it's best someplace else, probably.

Melinda Russell 33:00

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, so do you have

New Releases Zip And Clip

Melinda Russell 33:03

any any cool products in the making that you can share that's gonna be coming out, or it's a big secret.

SPEAKER_04 33:12

I I I mean I'm a designer, of course I do. I'm going next week for my design trip again, and so last night I was on the phone till 11 o'clock at night with our manufacturers, uh, you know, so that I could have all the samples that I need. But I we have a new item, it's called the zip and clip. Everybody wants to check that out. It has been very viral, it's our number one selling. So I'm making an adaption to that, which is gonna be um two-tone color and very cool, but it will fit a passport. So my current zip and clip doesn't fit a passport, so any of our clip and goes, none of them fit a passport. All my purses do, but not my clip and goes. So this is gonna be the first one that also can fit your passport, which I think will be great, RFID protection and all that too. But um, I think that's gonna be one of my most excited ones. Oh, nope, my other one that okay. This is this is like wait before you go on to the next one.

SPEAKER_03 34:05

The new one that you're also talking about. Do you have a name for it yet? Are we calling it the Nova? The Nova, when it comes out, we'll probably be in October. Um, but it has a very, I feel like it kind of looks raceway, racey, in my opinion.

Melinda Russell 34:18

It does look a little race, and it has a race theme, Nova, you know.

SPEAKER_04 34:23

Yeah, exactly. That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_03 34:26

What's this other one that you're so excited about?

SPEAKER_04 34:28

So the other one that I'm totally excited about. In fact, I think I danced in front of all our staff. They don't even know what it is. Yeah, they do. It's a a two-pack. I'm doing a uh a leash, a dog leash with a clip and go. So that way the your walker can have your hands free, but they match, and so it's super cute. Little dog paws all over it. So it'll be a two-pack um dog leash and clip and go for when you take your dog for a walk. So I that is so smart.

SPEAKER_03 34:55

That's fine. Let me explain how this let me yeah, let me explain how this came about. So my mom and I are notoriously forgetful. It's amazing that we run a business together. Yes, we're notoriously forgetful, but we're very good at hiring people who are good at remembering things. Um, and we will oftentimes take our dog to the dog park or to the or to the vet, and she's such a perfect dog, so we never take a leash because we don't need, you know, she's a golden retriever. Yeah, to just stay by your feet. Yeah, but apparently that's frowned upon, and you should always take a leash with you. Um, but we never have a leash, but we always have a clip and go. So on numerous occasions, we have turned this into a wristlet and this into the leash. So we have done that. I've done it at least five times. I don't know how long, how many times we've done it. Yeah. And so that's kind of where this came from. When and we got so every time I took it into the vet, and I got so many compliments because oh my gosh, you match your dog. And so it's like that was unintentional, but now we're making it intentional. So now it's going to be a real thing where you can wear it.

Melinda Russell 35:56

That's cool because I I would I would need one of those. And my I have a shihtzu, and he's about 15 pounds, and he's the love of our life. Um, and so anyway, as soon as I put my shoes on, he's right there. Like, can I go? Can I go? And he's so excited. And or if you get the leash out, oh my gosh, look out. So, you know, to have that, and then just run to the grocery store. I only need my money, my driver's license, and so I don't need to take my whole purse. What a great idea! Yeah, a lot of racetrack people, a lot of uh race families have dogs. I'll just tell you that.

SPEAKER_03 36:37

Yes, and a lot of race dogs because we're packaging it in like a gift packaging for Christmas, for the holidays, like that's when it's rolling out, is right in time for the holidays. Um, and so that's going to be really sweet too. If you want to get a gift for yourself, a gift for somebody else. That's man, I can't believe you gave them away all of our secrets. I know all the secrets are out.

SPEAKER_04 36:58

Wow, it's just from Linda and the and the people here. It's for my it's for my my um my race family, because it's for my race family.

Melinda Russell 37:10

Yeah, for sure. Well, ladies, what what else do you want to tell me about or talk about about your business? Because this is really interesting.

SPEAKER_04 37:20

Whatever you want to know about. No, it's been it's been a crazy. I will tell you one thing that you're you haven't heard yet, which I think you're gonna

Oscars Moment And Shark Partnership

SPEAKER_04 37:28

love. So, Elizabeth, four months in um to doing Save the Girls, five months maybe, um, we were at a show and Elizabeth met somebody from the Oscar gift baskets, and she was telling them our story, telling them about our give back, and they're like, Oh my gosh, you need to be in the Oscar gift baskets. So, six months after my launch, I'm standing at the Oscars giving away um purses to movie stars with one of my best friends from high school. Didi, we've already talked about it. Dee Dee Race, the one who who loved to see me race, yeah, and we we were at the Oscars and we got to give away these purses, and it was so much fun. I will tell you though, this is silly. I raised our kids without a television, so you know, for 20 years, 30 years, I hadn't really seen much TV, so I figured I wouldn't care much about the actors. I remarkably knew very many of them, and my husband's like, Oh, don't get starstruck, and I thought, I'm not gonna get starstruck, I don't even know who they are. But the first guy came in and it was he was so cute, he was like six foot four, super way taller, and couldn't talk at all. I was just like, Yeah, what is wrong with me?

SPEAKER_06 38:35

You know, that's very cool.

SPEAKER_04 38:37

I got over it after a couple of them, and then I just was normal, but at first I was like isn't that funny?

Melinda Russell 38:44

So uh uh uh follow up on that. So there's a a NASCAR driver, he's 23, I think, named Carson Hosevar, and he's from Portage, Michigan, which is you know, Portage and Kalamazoo run together, and his parents run what we call the little Kalamazoo Speedway, and uh and it was quarter midgets and that, and then it and it was located right next to the Kalamazoo Speedway. Well, he's the same age as one of my granddaughters, and so when my two granddaughters started racing, they started at this at the quarter midget track, and Carson was racing all over the country. He was winning everything, and we all knew he'd go on to something big, but you know, so I followed I followed him for a long time. Um, whether it was him racing dirt or whatever, I'd keep track of how did he do and and all those things, and he's in the cup series, NASCAR cup series. So he has raced this is his third year to be in the cup series, and he uh has raced 92 or three races, but he won at Talladega a couple Sundays ago, which was his first cup win. And I was so excited. I was, of course, watching on TV. I jumped up and down, I clapped. I think I might have shed a tear or two because just you know, feel like I know his parents, I know him, I care a lot. I just care that he wins, you know. And and so, um, so that was pretty cool. He's a good looking, well-spoken young man, and he was just at the Met Gala. Wow, he got invited by e Entertainment, and let me tell you, he's he has a great personality, and he's of course they age social media and all that, so he uh you know, people are starting to really love Carson, and he was at the Met Gala, and it was the cutest thing, and he was so sweet, he wore the first watch that his dad had ever given him. And and they asked him, Is your mom more excited that you're here or that you won the race in Talladega? And he said, Oh, that I'm here at the Met Gala. So, um, you know, you just don't ever know, do you?

SPEAKER_03 41:10

Oh, yeah, speaking of never, yeah, it's crazy, you just never know who you're going to meet. And actually, what was so crazy about that event that my mom went to was she met one of the people who happened to know Lori Grinier from Shark Tank. And so she reached out to Lori and she was like, Lori's gonna love you, she's gonna love your story, she's gonna love your product, and you know, we were like, Cool, maybe something will come from it, maybe nothing will come from it. Not even two days later, Lori Grinier is on my mom's phone calling her, asking for like saying that she wants to do a partnership with us. Isn't that crazy? And so that's where we got a partner with a shark without ever going on a shark table.

SPEAKER_04 41:54

We didn't go on a shark table, but we caught a shark, and she really is the best shark, so that's been so fun. She's been a good friend to save the girls. Oh, wow, it's really amazing.

SPEAKER_03 42:03

You never know where your story is going to take you, yeah. That's like the beautiful thing about it, is and that's why we want to love on and invest in our people and the people that we meet. Because, like you said, like young Carson, you met him when he was just a little guy watching him come up. You didn't you didn't know where he'd end up, but it's cool to see all the things that he's doing now.

Why Networking Validates The Grind

Melinda Russell 42:25

Yeah, yeah, you're him on, so yeah, it really is, and so um, yeah, and that's the thing, you know, even for race car drivers, people are watching, and you never know who's watching or who they know, and so you know, I I just yesterday had a conversation with a guy who reached out to me because of a podcast I did with somebody that he works on a car, and um, and he's like, Oh, I uh we need to do this, I need to help you with that. And it was so encouraging because there's days as an entrepreneur that you feel like I just you know, I can't keep spending my own money, I can't keep doing this. What do I what do I need to do? And and he gave me so much encouragement um yesterday, and he said, you know, because I am trying to monetize my podcast, I mean it does come out of uh the cost, it's not free, and yeah, and so um, but I had never spoken to this guy, and you know, he could have been a a dud that wanted me to invest in him, right? But that wasn't it at all. He was calling to see what he could do for me. Oh, yeah, I was just like overwhelmed, and and I and because I said, Well, how do you how did you find out about me? And so, you know, I've had a few calls like that. Like, that's probably the third one in the last six months that I've had reach out to me about what they can do, could I? Would I be an affiliate? Would I they want to help monetarily? Whatever. And so, you know, it's it's like, okay, it validates that what you're doing is the right thing. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 44:11

Definitely.

Melinda Russell 44:12

Right?

SPEAKER_03 44:12

Oh, that's so exciting. Yeah.

Melinda Russell 44:14

So exciting. You guys are so fun. I wish you lived closer. We could have lunch. I know, me too. Maybe you'll have to go to the Costco in Kalamazoo.

SPEAKER_03 44:25

There you go. We are coming up your way. We're going to you're in Michigan, right? Yeah. I don't I don't know where anything is in Michigan, but I'll tell you where we're coming up in Michigan.

unknown 44:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 44:35

You know, they give us the names of like subdivisions, so we don't know where that is, you know.

SPEAKER_03 44:39

That's too true. Yeah, this might not be helpful to you at all. But uh, we're going to Bloomfield, Michigan. That's over by Detroit.

Melinda Russell 44:46

And then we're doing Livonia. Yeah, over on the east side. But you know, we're not talking years away. We're talking, you know, a couple hours, or if that's true, true. So let me know. You'll have to let me know when you're gonna be there because I'm gonna go live. So we'll be you're gonna go probably right past Catamazoo unless you come up 61 through Indy. So yeah, that's interesting. Um, yeah, I love that. We're that would be so fun. I could come and be your Costco girl. Oh, there we go.

SPEAKER_03 45:20

We always need more Costco girls, let me tell you. Yes, we do. Our Costco girls are great, but we we need more friends. But also, because we are trying to monetize your platform and we want to be able to support you in that

Listener Discount Code And Wrap-Up

SPEAKER_03 45:34

too. And you know, like we're also a for-profit business, but also giving back to breast cancer research. So I just want to let your listeners know that if you go to save the girls.com, you can use the code, which is gonna give you a discount. So you're winning too. You can use code W M N. W M N, and that's gonna give you 20% discount, and it's gonna give a little kickback to Miss Melinda here. So we want to help it out, right? So let's be happy. Yes, and then it's a win.

SPEAKER_04 46:03

Two women entrepreneurs and breast cancer research, and you get a discount just by using that code. And that code is in the coupon code area. So when you get on, just the coupon code and Elizabeth one more time.

SPEAKER_03 46:14

The coupon code is W M B, and that stands for Women's Motocross Network.

Melinda Russell 46:19

Nope, start again. W M N Women's Motorsports Network. Motorsports, not motocross. I was gonna say we do motocross too, but it's all motocross.

SPEAKER_03 46:32

All of them, my bad.

Melinda Russell 46:34

Yes, yeah, no, it's okay. Yeah, so get on and pick out a couple things to take to the track. You know, give one to your driver, give one to whoever, because gosh, these these bags and the clipping goes or whatever they you call them are amazing. And so obviously um they are a good product or you wouldn't be doing what you're doing. So I I just want to thank you guys for being on. This has been so fun, you know. I love interviewing drivers and and all kinds of women in motorsports, but I also love sharing stories about women entrepreneurs and how they, you know, they quit a big corporate job and just take a leap of faith and say, This is what I'm gonna do. And it's worked out pretty well, hasn't it?

SPEAKER_04 47:22

It is I used all my kids' college money to start save the girls. And I I took all five kids. I said, Okay, I promise I'll do whatever I'll have to work the rest of my life to pay off your loans if we to end up taking loans. And they all made it through college. I think, I think all loans, everything's paid for now. So that's fantastic. But yeah, it was a big leap of faith and all our personal finances, and you know, you just do it and you pray that it works. So if not, you go get another job and work again. Exactly.

Melinda Russell 47:54

If it doesn't work out, you pivot. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 47:57

That's right, pivot. That's the key.

Melinda Russell 47:59

Yeah, yes. Well, ladies, thank you for being on with me. I've really enjoyed this, and I would love to meet you guys somewhere along your travels and and you know, check you out at Costco and and visit a Costco New Year near you and take say, hey, why don't you have Save the Girls in here? All right, yeah. You need Save the Girls in the Costco. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 48:25

Well, thanks again for being on. This was our absolute pleasure. We we loved getting to chat with you and we I learned a lot more about motorsports as well through our chats through this call and also earlier as we were talking before. So thank you for opening up my world a little bit more to the world of motorsports. It's such a fascinating world.

SPEAKER_04 48:44

Back in my day, there weren't very many women out there, so I'm just excited to see how many more had keep jumping in the game.

Melinda Russell 48:50

So you know, there are thousands and thousands of women all over the world now, and it just grows. It's the fastest growing demographic in motorsports. Is it?

SPEAKER_03 49:02

That's awesome.

Melinda Russell 49:04

Yeah, so well, you guys have a great rest of your day, and um, I I hope you'll stay in touch. And if you if you head up towards or through Michigan, I definitely want you to let me know.

SPEAKER_04 49:21

Yeah, thank you.

Final Ad And Sign-Off

Melinda Russell 49:26

Are you racing through life with no time to waste? Then you need to save the girls. The pick crew your phone's been waiting for. These stylish touchscreen purses let you text, call, and snap pictures without ever taking your phone out. Whether you're at the track, in the sands, or running errands like it's race day, this purse keeps you in control. No more drop phones or frantic digging under the seat. Visit Savethegirls.com and grab yours before the next green flag. Save the girls, because real racers don't fumble their phones.

SPEAKER_02 50:04

Start your engines.

SPEAKER_01 50:07

This is the Women's Motor Fun Network, the brother died, and we can do it.