Welcome to the struggle bubble. I'm Chad cutting. And I'm Craig And today we are joined by a very special guest, my wife, but most importantly, CEO and founder of Tote Savvy, Lauren Cutting. Wuh -puh! We're very happy that you're here because it was like a little bit of a pull, a struggle to get her to actually join. I think this show's a little bit beneath where Lauren is or expects to be on media. Not at all, but I do a very busy schedule, as you know. A very busy schedule. I find out about it first thing in the morning and found out about friend camp this morning for both girls. Lauren. friend camp is the best thing. It is where five families get together and they host each, group of kids. So you basically are in charge of one day a week, you're hosting all of the kids at your house and then they'll rotate through the other houses. It's fantastic. The kids have the best time. You plan like little crafts or go to lunch, go to a movie. It's amazing. so you lose your kids for four days and then take five for one day. Okay. savings are incredible. mean, summer camps in the Bay Area are not an inexpensive thing. If I get one more email about a camp for Los Gatos United, I'm going have to unsubscribe. Dude, just add another zero. It's fine. Add another zero. you, Craig? For anybody that's not able to see the video and you're just listening, it looks like Craig is in the Bates Motel. Where are Yeah, we never been. I am in Newport, California. I have a meeting in Burbank later today and there's a little bit of a... I'll give you the story. The girls had a dance intensive. I was about to say competitive. A dance intensive. Intensive is a... You can do one day or three days course or not course. sessions with different dance teachers choreographers and stuff and at project 21 which we'll link to and They are a dance studio in Yerba Linda. So the girls did the intense is they start Friday they started to 30 and finished at 9 Saturday was 730 a Till 2 30 and Sunday was 730 a Till 2 30 So do you actually watch them during any of this or they're just at a camp and you're doing business and being there for the girls, being the chauffeur? So how many miles you putting on that car then? a lot. It's that one nice, nicely. There was a Marriott courtyard, five minutes from the studio. So thank you, Marriott, for being so close. I won't go any further into, was it glorious? No. But that was perfect. So the actual drive, we had to drop lunch off 11 a and they had 30 minutes to eat and then back on it. And then the dinner time was the same, drop off at five. and they're back in the studio five days. So the intensive is like an hour and a half of jazz, an hour and a half of contemporary, an hour and a half of tap, hour and a half of ballroom, hour and a half of hip hop, hour and a half I don't think they did ballet in this one. Yeah, but a good variety of what they're able to get into. Who I don't see in the room with you, or don't hear is Brittn. Is she joining you in that hotel? She is with her cousin in another hotel in a different part of Los Angeles. a different part. I love how you're skirting around the actual part of Los Angeles that she's, what part of Los Angeles is she in, Craig? such a dick. Beverly Hills. I've heard of it. The old 90210. Yeah, it's actually they are in the hotel that was in what's that movie? the, the yes, that's Or Beverly Hills Ninja. I wasn't sure which direction you were going to go. I go Beverly Hills Ninja, she goes the other way. Yes. Well, it's interesting, Craig, because every time that we travel, there is a discussion on the type of hotel that we need to be in. And I guarantee we would have been in the Beverly Hills Hotel. 100%. Yeah, they're having a good time. I'm like, it was kind of a cock up because I didn't know if we were meeting in Newport where Britain's cousin lives and they were driving together. Communication issues, surprise. So I drove from Yerba Linda to Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills to Newport. Now I've got to go to Burbank, do a meeting and then I'm driving back down again to Beverly Hills to then head home. Nice busy day, nice busy weekend for you. But kudos to you, Dance Dad, hashtag Dance Dad for the past couple of weeks. You've been Northern California, Southern California. I'm surprised you're not going to like, well, you are in Nevada. You're right. And why don't you just go to New York, Craig? Like touch them all. Don't stop. And I will say this though, just on our listeners that are in the sports world as well, the thing I took and even Britain got onto this as well, the craziness, right? The $7 plastic trophies that aren't important. A lot of the people over at Project 21, like we're done with competing for trophies. Like the girls, when I was talking to a parent, She was there, she's got three daughters that dance. They live in Nevada, Vegas, and they go to Provo, Utah for taught for competitions and stuff. And the reality is her oldest kid skipped college and is going to become a pro dancer on the Royal Caribbean or one of the cruise ships. And we're talking about the lifespan of a professional athlete, right? You have a very small window. And anyway, she was saying that you know, this is where you get the real training. Like when you're every girl that went into that studio and there was probably 50 kids, give or take, it was all that next level, right? If when you're the best in the room, you need to go find another room. And that was like, everybody at that studio was all in the same, like we were chatting about when you're that elite level, really there's probably 10 % between every single person. They're all at that level. then it's. How do you perform it on the stage? How do you perform in front of a camera? You know, the mental side of it and stuff like that. The physical side. Are you eating healthy, exercising, cardio, those kind of things that make you where you're at. And she was saying her oldest daughter tried out for Donny Osmond show. She said she walked in, there was 300 dancers. So it's literally chop, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, until it comes down to the 12. dancers and she made it, but she was only 17 so they couldn't give her the contract. She had to turn 18. It's a whole different world of dance, but you're right. There's many different directions you can go and the work ethic that they put in now and what they learn, what they're exposed to is what can make or break it. Yeah, it's brutal, right? So you can win the $7 award and that's great to a son. And there's tears, obviously, but going into these intensives where you're working with professional choreographers that do dances for Beyonce and people like that, just the level is so high. It's just so intense. So they're exhausted. And of course we have to get Disneyland in there. That was a great idea, Brittain. That was an abrupt pivot. We were not going to go into Disneyland. It looked like you had a fantastic time. When you're in Los Angeles, you have to go to Disneyland. You actually inspired me to start looking up. We haven't been to Disneyland in a few years. One year. One year? It was fun. We love Disney. was fun. It was hot. It was 93 degrees. I think it was. It was hot when we were there. But kids loved it. It was good. It was a time. Good family time. So you've had your fill of dance, nothing next week, right? You're going to be back in town. You're not headed back out for another dance event. And no, no, that's it until October. Couple of months, new choreography and we go again. TDC. Well, speaking of choreography, but in a different way, when we look at what we're about to head into for a back to school season, and I think we're what, 10 days away from getting everybody back in, a lot of planning going on, a lot of juggling, and having Lauren on the show, I've asked her for the first couple of months, and she said, well, when you get more of a following, when you make it a little bit real, when Craig and, you and Craig know exactly what you're doing, and it's not a dog and pony show, then I'll come on. I don't know if we're there yet, but she's here. Which is great. But the reason I wanted to bring her on, mean, Lauren has been a business owner a couple of times, started her own company and has seen every bit of growth as we've grown our family at the same time. So when we really talk about the struggle bubble of who we are as people, as employees, as parents, as spouses, there's a lot that goes into it. And I've been impressed with what Lauren has been able to build and grow. Although there's been ups and downs across. the entire journey. But to come in and explain a little bit about what she's been able to build and where you are now. So why don't you start a little bit from the beginning on, well, let's talk Tote Savvy. And if you want to go in a little bit before Tote Savvy as well, how it started and evolved early on. Yeah. So Tote Savvy was the second business that I started. I was working in the fashion industry for about five years doing textile design, graphic design. brand colorist for Docker's division of Levi's Explain what a brand colorist is though, because I had absolutely no idea. I'm sure Craig has no idea what a brand colorist does for Levi's. So the brand colorist is the person that makes sure that the colors are going to match across the board. So when you're working with a brand that's as large as Levi's, they have multiple manufacturers in different parts of the world. But if they pick a navy blue color that they want to match across all of their pants, I'm the person that basically makes sure that that blue color is matching. So to be a brand colorist, you actually have to have very precise color vision, which I do. had to test into it. Now you used, hold on one second. You used Navy blue as the example, which I'm impressed because the, can you explain the colors, like the degrees. I think there's a Pantone book somewhere. I learned all about this way early on, but our favorite color that we. we came across when you were in your little light room. Right, right, right. So of course you work with so many colors and there's so many color names across the years that you start running out of names. So one of the names, which was this kind of khaki brown color, and you can imagine there were a lot of khaki brown colors working for dockers, was named Twig Basket. I was, I feel like I'm call it shit. No, no twig basket and all I could think about is the crazy names for things that you have over in England Craig That's a lovely twig basket. You have Twig basket. Interesting. Does it collect twigs? Is that what the basket's purpose is? Yeah. Yeah. Twig basket. Interesting. So is that a light brown or a dark brown? Hold on. I'm caught up a medium. It was tan. was tan. To be very clear, twig basket. it's not tennis, it's twig basket. But talk to Craig about the test that you had to do because there was some studying involved and you weren't sure if you were going to be able to do this. Well mean it's something that you honestly kind of have or you don't have. But basically you take a range of colors. So say you take like a pink and it's going to blend into a blue. And of course it's going to go across purple as it goes there. But basically you have to line it up in perfect order for the blend. And these pieces are very similar to each other. Actually think like now on TikTok, there's like these little color tests where you can do where you're supposed to pick like the square that's like a slightly different shade. So it's like that, but in a more professional form. It is, it's a specialty. So when that, it wasn't a meme, but that trend that was going around of what color that dress was, what color was that dress? Well, so that was more, no. That was stupid. That's what that was. like an optical illusion based on light. So that's the other thing too, is like when you're looking at colors, like the lighting that you have very much dictates how that color is gonna look. So that's kind of another role of the brand colors to make sure that that color doesn't change when it's in daylight versus when it's in studio light. And you can see why I don't pick any of the artwork or color schemes in the house. Lauren is the expert. I don't know, Craig. I think that says more about me psychologically. But he has. He has taught me on color before. Dude, that is one thing like the backyard, the hat like, nope. just tell me where to hang the painting or put something on the wall. Don't question anything else. Yeah. So you're in that light studio over at Levi's, Dockers, and you have that expertise. What kind of light bulb went off that you wanted to start doing your own thing? Well, I mean, leaving that role and starting a ready to wear line may or may not have been the best decision, but it led me to... that, wait, wait, pause, pause, pause, pause. You said ready to wear line, like fast fashion. Not fast fashion. So ready to wear is basically just, so it was kind of ready to wear cocktails. So it was more like dresses, kind of like going to dinner dresses, going out. I mean, granted, I was 26 at the time. So kind of in that mind state of what I was wearing. So started that was basically sewing everything myself. I've been sewing since I was... were in Northern California or Southern California We were in San Francisco at the time, yeah. okay, cool. I'm just trying to picture, because I can imagine that in Southern California, being pretty, especially where I just dropped, you know, the kiddos in Britain off, like that would be a pretty interesting, you know, Northern California has its own granola approach versus, you know, Southern California, where it's, especially Beverly Hills, is Rolls Royce and Lamborghinis. Well, it's funny because my designs were definitely more Southern California. I went to school down there. My first job out of the industry was down there at BB. So my designs definitely fit more into that scene than the San Francisco fashion scene. But ultimately, the collection ended up kind of pivoting into bridesmaids dresses because that's where I was getting all my business. the clients that I was working with wanted kind of unique dresses and ones that their bridesmaids would like and making, you know, between five to eight at a time was very lucrative. So it kind of naturally just merged into this bridesmaids dress business. And it was while I was working on that business that the Tote Savvy idea was kind of born. We were expecting our first child, Jackie. And I knew that I didn't want like a typical diaper bag. I knew that I wanted something that was kind of special. I still was very much into fashion, into handbags, all of those things and loved expressing myself kind of through fashion. So after, you know, really researching the options that were out there and kind of coming to the conclusion that there wasn't really anything that I liked better than my current handbag collection. Like I had totes and these bags that were large enough to work for a diaper bag, but they didn't have the functionality of the organization within. So that's basically how Tote Savvy was born. I went from sewing bridesmaids dresses to sewing this prototype of a bag organizer that could work inside a couple of my totes that I love to carry. And... It's badass for people that are listening. It's badass. Like Bryn, when we had the kids use it all the time, it's the best first time mother gift as well. Like you've got these really expensive designer handbags that you want to use all the time. You don't want to put all the kids shit in it because it spills and stains and all the bottles that would ruin bags and all that kind of stuff. This thing just slips straight in for all the listeners. take your big tote, slip it straight in, it's got compartments for your diapers or nappies, your bottles, your toys, your snacks, all that stuff. I mean, we used it for years after just because it's easier. Now instead of putting like nappies and diapers in, you just put a notepad in or whatever. Yeah, exactly. And same for me. It's kind of adapted how I use it over the years with the ages of our children and what I'm actually taking with me on a daily basis. yeah, I mean, it based. Well, as a dad, I didn't have to bring a diaper bag either. I could put it in a gym bag. There's a few of those photos where I just put it in a gym bag and it looks, you I don't go to the gym, but I had a gym bag. And then I would go to the pool or go wherever to the park and take the kids. But it's interesting because it was a little bit out of necessity and expertise at the same time. You're living with it day to day. You understand what it takes to take a kid around and need everything at your disposal. The flights that we took, the pacifiers that we lost, everything that goes into it, that necessity, and you of became that expert in the space. But you'd never built a direct to consumer brand in the past. Talk about that mentality of getting into the actual business side of it. Yeah, not to that scale. The bridesmaids dress business was very one -on -one. I could take a couple bridal parties at a time. It was a lot different. And actually one of the reasons that I wanted to put that business to bed and go forward with Tote Savvy was that I saw it was something that could be scalable. It's manufactured at something that doesn't go out of style, doesn't go out of season. It's fully evergreen. So I saw just the potential with this and then also branching into more products, different sizes, different colors, just anything else that can really help you organize your life while also helping you stay like true to yourself. It's always been a big part of Toad Savvy is the fact that it allows you to, you know, continue wearing the things that you want to wear, carrying the bags that you want to carry and still feeling like yourself after becoming a mom. Because that was something that people kind of started talking about on social media, kind of when Jackie was a newborn and how you kind of lose your sense of self and your identity. So that was another part of Toad Savvy, was it really helped you retain that, which sounds kind of silly of just being able to carry a bag that you like. But for a new mom, it's really kind of a groundbreaking thing to enjoy the diaper bag that you're carrying. I think that's come with what you've built. I mean, you had to build the brand itself. So it's one thing to have the product, the prototype, it worked and people loved it. Our friend groups loved it and you try to scale it from there. But the Instagram, the TikTok, everything that you had to evolve to be that brand and stay true to yourself, but also convey that out to the market. How did you think through building that out? Well, that was, I mean, it was all organic really. I was a mom by the time. Yeah, I am a And when Toh -Tah -be officially launched, Jackie was about 18 months old. So still very much in that early toddler stage where we're carrying, you know, instead of bottles, it's sippy cups and like a million snacks and still diapers and wipes and all of those things that we needed. But really the social media was being honest with the audience of like, I'm a mom. This is how I use it. This is what I'm packing for my daughter. and showing that through social media. We really capitalized on being able to, but early on when we started Instagram, didn't, the videos weren't really big yet. I don't even know if they could do videos at that time. I can't remember that far back. I How far we've come. I think it was just photos. we would take these beautiful photos of how it looked in real life and the things that I was packing inside. And then that evolved of course into video. and showing exactly how we're packing it. And to this day, that's what our social media accounts are. It's not just Instagram, but that's what we're doing. We're showing you how to utilize it, how we utilize it. And it's been effective for us. Let's switch gears just a little bit of as you're building that in Jackie's, our oldest is 18 months, two years old, you're evolving it. How you balanced... being there as a mom and taking care of Jackie being there in those moments, but also building a business at the same time. Because those early days weren't easy. No. It's still not easy. No. Just the challenges change. Really, it was so helpful that the business revolved around her because like I'm able to use her in the photo shoots in just, you know, we're going to I don't know, some little theme park or we're going somewhere today of like, what do I need to pack? Like it really, our lives kind of revolved around the business and the business revolved around our lives. So I think that was kind of an essential part that made it a little bit easier. think starting a business that doesn't revolve around your current life status might be a little bit harder. Just maybe in like separating that time, but the time that I was with her, Even if I wasn't technically working, I was still thinking through things that would be helpful for the business. Yeah So you enjoyed having her at the office all those years? I Mean yes, yes and no yes now at the time probably no well And that's kind of it you don't realize it and you said this to me a lot of you enjoy the moments now because they're not gonna last forever Craig you and I talked about this there's only so many years until they Are big kids or older kids are gonna go to college or even the younger ones at this point? But there were some you know challenges in there where you They're not the most cooperative models at all all times or they don't want to participate anymore in the photo shoot. No, Alexa the best, the worst model. She absolutely hated it, which is funny because I'd say now she's most like camera happy. But at the time girlfriend didn't wanted nothing to do with any of my photo shoots. They are little angels. I don't know you're talking about. Lex is my favorite. Don't tell him. Well, it's that art of reverse psychology, right? You want them to be able to participate in a photo shoot or just being next to you at work while you were going through on your computer. They just don't understand what you're doing on the computer. They think how they use a computer of, they're just playing games, but really you need to get some work done. Then you turn the COVID situation in 2020 as you're building this out, we're both visible in the room. they're at home with us, get off your computer. But you're growing a big business. reversed that now into get off playing Minecraft. I'm in the room now, I get to turn your computer off. just reverse. Yeah, exactly. Just reverse it on them now. You made my life hell. My turn. Well, and to be fair, we did have childcare help while I was building the business. My parents were taking them, or Jackie and her cousins a few days a week, and then I would have a nanny come a couple hours a day to help. So it wasn't just, I wanna be very clear, we had help. It wasn't just me. well to your point, you want to involve them in this, because for you it's, you know, symbolic to a certain point. I'm building a business, you know, one day maybe you'll come into the, you know, whatever. So for you it's symbolic that you want to do this and involve the kids. To Chess Point, the kids are like, this is cool. When are we done? Like, I'm out. I don't really care. To you, you're taking, you know, photographs in the memory bank. They're like, da da. Which, it'll full circle. fully know what, they don't know what work really means. I mean, we've been fortunate where in our jobs and with you owning your own business to be flexible, but that flexibility can also be a double -edged sword because you've shown that you can be there for them, but you still need to accomplish work. mean, some of our early fights of, get off, get off TikTok, get off Instagram. You're like, no, this is, I'm doing my job. I'm posting, I'm building a brand and it's hard to, for other people to appreciate that. without that transparency of understanding. world we didn't grow up in. Not to age us, but that's not, people, our parents went into an office or to work physically, and then they did it. And then same time, none of my parents were in marketing or anything like that, but marketing back then was newspaper ads and all that kind of, know, billboards and stuff, totally different to, you know, nowadays where, you know, I just, YouTube kills me. Just the kids are so absorbed and I see how many followers these people have. I don't understand it. I just can't wrap my head on Craig, we've seen it firsthand, the influence that marketing has. We're watching the Olympics and the kids see an advertisement for something and their eyes are drawn to it. that's something new. want it. Alexa was just doing that last night. Like wow, marketer's dream. Something shiny and has glitters. Right? It's a little bit of a slippery slope or dangerous world of that influence. Again, a double -edged sword. Lauren's business, many small businesses would not be able to succeed. without the platform of a Facebook or Instagram or TikTok. But at the same time that on the other side of that phone, there's somebody digesting a million pieces of content each week and it can get overwhelming for our kids. Yeah, that direct to consumer is really interesting model. It's really impressive how you took the concept organic growth and then using a skill set around social media influencing and all that stuff. just, you know, how many followers do you have on Instagram and the social media platform? I want to say it's like 116 ,000 on Instagram now. It's been 10 years. So it took 10 years to get to that point. It wasn't overnight at all. But yeah, that's our. that's juggling as well. You're juggling parenthood, you're juggling, you know, as we know, as the kids get older, they have more activities, more friends. To your point, this week's great for you guys. You got one day of five kids, four days with no kids. So, okay, we can try and do stuff. Is it a big? that we took his video game room away from him. No, that's the little boy. He did some stomping. I'm surprised we don't hear him right now stomping on the stairs. he's maybe some pushups. He's got soccer. We're going to see how good of shape he stayed in. He fell off of his pull -up regime lately. So we'll see what type of shape he's in tonight with Coach Manny. I love it. love it. And so what's what sorry, just real back on the toast. I mean, what's through the growth? I'm intrigued now through the Instagram. What's the next phase? Like, what do you and you may not have an answer directly now, but what's the next thing that you see from direct to consumer? What do you see for toast savvy? Well, you know how because that moves all the time. That's my interest point is I you start Instagram and Facebook, but TikTok and Snapchat blew up and YouTube and, you know, what do you see, I guess, the growth or the go -to market now with the new tool sets that are coming out in the market? Well, so it is a different, it's a completely different environment on Instagram now. Like when we started, we were lucky because we were at that upswing of the pendulum where, and especially just the niche market that we're in of, you know, it started as an organizer for parents. And now of course it's an organizer for anyone who wants to keep their bag organized. But because we are in new mom, parent, kind of baby Mitch, we were able to kind of connect and collaborate with all these other brands that were just like us, just starting out, whether they were doing swaddles, maybe they had, you know, the little silicone teether, silicone teethers or like placemats, like they're just a million different brands. So we all kind used each other to collaborate and grow our audiences because we had very like minded audiences and all kind of grow together. And then also at the same time, ads, Facebook ads were very, very lucrative for these small businesses. You were able to really get your reach out there and really target down to your exact audience. And of course, now all of that has changed. Influencers also that they were just kind of starting out really being able to build a business off of being an influencer. So we kind of hit the sweet spot of all of those things that were working really well. And now, of course, it's a lot different. There's so many influencers out there. So the campaigns maybe aren't quite as effective in generating a ton of sales, but they're effective in building brand awareness. And then ads, of course, like the targeting is just different. There's a lot more companies that are doing it. So it's a little bit more saturated. So, you know, your spend is a little bit different. So that all has kind of adjusted. And we're still trying to figure out exactly, you know, the best path for us as a DTC brand. Right now, one of our initiatives is just adding more products, becoming a little bit more of a lifestyle brand. So, you know, us personally, we're traveling more. Our kids are a little bit older. We're able to travel. So we're adding more products that are travel -based, whether it be an organizer that goes inside your suitcase for kids or one that's for yourself. We have actually a makeup bag that we're going to launch in the next few months. That's one that I've used for the last two trips that we've gone to Europe. So for us, and I think every company is different, but for us right now, it's just kind of expanding that. product depth so that we can yeah the range so that we can you know because we have we have wonderful customers and we just we know they can only buy so many bag organizers you know they're meant to last you're not meant to replace it you know every year so we want to offer them more products that'll be just as helpful in their lifestyle that are different. How do say with the kids ageing or growing, has that shifted your mind frame as well? Because obviously you started with the totes savvy, their babies, again, diapers, bottles, whatever. And now obviously the kids are ageing, school bag organizer or whatever, right? Because we're going into middle school, multiple sports, et cetera, et cetera. Maybe make something that makes boys' bags not stink. I don't know about that. Boys just stink in general. I can work on that. Yeah. So for me personally, the product ideas that I'm coming up with that are for my own personal life are definitely geared more towards older kids. It's the place in our life where I'm not carrying all their stuff in my bag anymore. Now it's more my stuff. But however, our team, so Kristen who runs our social media, she runs our Instagram account. She has two kids at home and one is out of the newborn phase now, but under a year old. And then she has a toddler. So she is 100 % in that phase. So it's actually kind of great because as a company, we're able to still speak to the newborn toddler phase, but also to the parents that if they've been with us for the last 10 years, also have kids that are now entering upper elementary school and middle school. For our audience, where do you stand on carrying anything for your husband when you go out in your purse? Absolutely That is yours to carry. I carry a purse. You can carry a purse too. So along that product evolution, Craig, we'll get your thoughts on this. You know, like a European carry -all, maybe a fanny pack type thing for men. Yeah. you just hit a... I'm like... Number one, they're not called fanny packs in England. That's something else. It's called a bum bag. A bum bag in the United States, completely different. completely different. And so this random trip we took to Disney that wasn't planned, you know, normally Britain's that. Let's be very clear. It's pretty exactly. But we know we take a backpack, right, with some block water, whatever, right? I'm like, well, okay, we don't have anything. So we took the kids fanny packs. and I use that to carry the phones, whatever, right? Dude, I've never been a fan. Now I'm like, well, that made my life so much easier. Then my pocket's just full of crap, you Brittin if you're listening, I would like a photo of Craig in his fanny pack, his European carry -on. And Craig, did you wear it straight across the waist like a belt or did you do the the cool kid thing where it's across your neck shoulder thing? the loaded version, for sure. Yeah. And then Britain gave it the, put the front near you so nobody can steal anything if it's on your back. I'm like, Jesus Christ. Yeah, I'm like, go ahead, take the kids' phones. With the last few minutes, we're headed into back to school. What is Lauren Cutting's advice on how parents can mentally prepare and get into the back to school season organized? not have sponsorship by BevMo, so you can't say alcohol. Was not gonna say that. I mean, I think it's really coming up with a plan. And for us, I mean, we really tag team all of the responsibilities, which is fantastic. That is not what you were saying in the middle of the day yesterday. We to a good place, but to be very clear, I appreciate you. yeah, we did do this yesterday where we sat down, we went through the bell schedules for the two schools, because now they're separated across two schools. And then all of the practices that they have across soccer, dance, that's all they're doing, soccer and dance. And we come to the realization that Chad is not available in the afternoon for any pickups. We start high school football. I'm going to be an assistant coach for the freshman team at Los Gatos High School, which I'm super excited about. But the schedule. is every day two, two and a half hours. You'd see Lauren's face slowly come to the realization of, want to be supportive, but damn, this is a lot of time. Well, it was funny because it made me go to Google Sheets to make a little. color coded like chart. It's very pretty. To show Chad, the initial intent was to show Chad how much he wasn't going to be doing, but it ended up being color coded for the kids because it's actually more functional that way. But my initial intent was to twist the knife a little bit. Yeah, I saw it in your eyes, but we ended up in a good spot. And I think the, a lot of it is the preparation. It's the meal planning. It's just so cumbersome to first the cognitive load to just plan it. This is the age old, what do you want for dinner? What do you want for dinner? What do you want for dinner? And you struggle. And then it's making it, or actually grocery shopping, then making it. So going through and just saying, these are the times that we're going to eat. The kids have soccer practice some nights until seven o 'clock. Do you eat before? Do you eat after? How does it all get done? But I think we ended up in a good spot. Good plan. Yeah. Honestly, it's just pre -planning. We just have to make sure that we're pre -planning. We know what we're going to cook that week. Like you said, if there's something that you can throw in a So that I don't have to worry about cooking it when I get home before you I'm going full Midwest Craig We're gonna have some crock -pot meals get some lasagna's in there. Maybe some meatloaf As long as I can get it delivered on a tray while I'm watching TV, I'll be fully Yeah, I'll get you some TV dinners, TV dinners, dude, let's go. And I know we only got a minute left, but quick, does that, so two questions. Does that give you more time now to keep growing, because the drop -off's done, you're planning the week, and then that gives you access time to do things? One of the struggles that I think Bryn and I fall into as well is I gotta work out. The list goes And it's different every day. That's the frustration, right? I can't say eight o 'clock, I'm for a run or whatever. that give you more time back? I'm just trying to think when you had, you know, we made the comment about taking the kids to the office and then having help kind of as you were growing the business. Now after drop off, is that giving you more time to get a career? I would say your career pivots is what I would say, right? You want to do more things with the kids while they're young, then they go to school and things change. Does this now give you more for the growth, you think? Yeah, absolutely. And through the stages of the kids, so when they were newborns, of course it was me and then we would have my parents helping and a nanny. But then as soon as they were able to go to preschool that all three of my kids went to, they would go to this preschool. And then basically during the hours that they're at preschool is my work time. And I do take time within those hours, like I love to play tennis. So, you know, I'll take a tennis clinic in those hours as well. You know, that's kind of like for my mental health, for my physical health, all of that. But yes, so when they go back to school now, that time is going to be when I'm focused on working. The summer has been a little bit of a struggle because the work time is broken up because there actually were a lot more pickups and different things we're coordinating there at days as well, right? Some of the camps are only until noon. So you're trying to entertain. You don't want to put them in front of a TV all day either. So we're trying to be present. Right. But like, there's only so much time in the day, right? So you kind of have to, you know, to speak to kind of work life balance. Like there's only so much time. So you got to figure out what you want to dedicate to what area. And I... personally like working when they're at school. If I need to pick up extra hours, I do it when they're in bed. I'm not a morning person. I would love to be that person that wakes up at 6 a and gets like an hour and a half of work in before the kids get up. But how many how many snoozes was? Well, actually, I was bad today. I set the alarm for 630 and woke up. was so mad by your alarm. Well, life life changing. I went to earplugs at night. And since then I've been able to, before I would be up at two or four a and not be able to fall back asleep, now that earplugs, now when the alarm goes off and you have earplugs in, it takes a little bit longer. you let that thing go for at least three minutes. But in my brain, it's only going off for like three seconds. I'm like so, so stealthy, ninja. All right. I love that. So you're a busy, my point being a busy professional trying to map and plan. It's really difficult is where I was getting to and finding those windows when the kid, when Chad's not annoying you, when the kids are at school to actually dial in. That's why you got the football job to get out of her way. Now I get it. That's why she supports it. But it's hard is where I was getting to. So last thing, quick shout out to Totes Savvy. Give us your elevator pitch. pitch for Totesavvy. All right. He put you on the spot, he? He did. did. You didn't think you'd be able to plug it? All right. All right. So Totesavvy is the organizational tool that allows you to retain your personal style and carry any handbag you like while keeping it expertly organized. Totesavvy .com. a gold star elevator pitch. Under 30 seconds, that was nailed. Well played. Now I say to see it. And Craig, as she's been growing the brand and I tried to play like marketer here and there, she's the expert. If I was at work back in the Facebook or Salesforce or PayPal days, but it started, the brand grew so much that before I could even say the brand, like your wife is CEO at ToastSavvy? I have a ToadSavvy. I gave my sister a ToadSavvy. I gave my sister -in -law a ToadSavvy. So just to see it grow in the market and thousands and thousands and thousands of customers that you have, it's been incredible to see it grow. Yeah, it's incredible. I say for us, it's the number one, anyone go into baby showers, number one thing. Britain's, as you know, it's got a pile of them because it's just, we were in the same paint. Just, she doesn't want to ruin these purses. It costs thousands of dollars. So slip it in and you to the Toad Savvy fanny pack. I want to see that prototype. I want to see it in market. Put some struggle bubble patch right on the front of it. You know, it's funny because we actually did prototype something that was a belt bag. But it was more just to kind of do it in, we did it in like a vegan wipeable leather. It's something that you can find out on the market. So ultimately we decided not to launch it because it was something that's kind of already there. doing a dad specific, like no matter what age your kids are. the dads, brats, and chads. dad bag, I like it. A dad bag. which designer was it. One of the designer brands, it Bottega or... Anyway, they did the trash bag. Who was that? Did you see I thought that wasn't that a sketch in Zoolander? Wasn't that Mugatu? I would say like Balenciaga maybe. I don't know. They tend to have odd things. like, my good Lord, we've got to this stage. whatever you bring out is gonna be phenomenal. That was, mean, in the Bates Hotel, I don't know what I'm gonna be wearing today. just hope you get out of there alive, We'll see. Maybe I'll see you next week. by Marriott. Well, Lauren, thank you for joining the show. I think our listeners are going to really enjoy the journey, what you put into it, and we're looking for great things out of the Tote Savvy brand. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. You're welcome any time down in your house into the man cave. All right, we're going to let our son come back down and play some video games apparently. He's rattling the door upstairs. Craig, have a lovely journey home. Everybody listening, as always, please follow us on Instagram, the Struggle Bubble Pod. We don't have a hundred thousand like Tote Savvy, but we're growing. It's great to hear your feedback about future topics. We've got a strong list of guests coming up over the next month, month and a half. Excited to share those all with you. And if you don't mind sharing with your friends, anywhere that podcasts are available. We'll be here each week, dropping on Tuesdays. We'll see everybody next Adios!