The Interview —

Lauryn Bosstick, Founder of The Skinny Confidential

White space. I was going to San Diego State University, full-time bartending, working at Pure Barre, and teaching Pilates. During this time, I saw a HUGE space in the blogger industry that had yet to be utilized. There were all these influencers and bloggers who had their platform and were talking about what they wore, but I was curious about DEPTH, taboo topics, and exploring other people’s day-to-day. I wanted to get the supermodels and the celebrities, and the everyday girl, and the mom in Minnesota who is super chic, and then also compile all of my tips and tricks I learned over the years and ultimately create a pretty, pink resource for women. Before I launched it, I made sure I had intention: I wanted to build a brand, so I was strategic with how I laid out the content. It took a year to launch and to make sure I launched with 30 posts, a custom website (I figured out a way to do a payment plan), and made sure each piece of content was full of value.

One of the biggest challenges that I faced was going from a solopreneur to an entrepreneur. I was beating to the sound of my own drum and doing things my own way, but to scale the company, I needed to delegate and bring on a team to be effective. That was difficult because I had to adjust my mindset. I did that with lots of books, podcasts, and asking questions.

Another challenge I faced on a micro-level is time management. I am optimistic about time and it always bites me in the ass. How I combat this is a detailed Google calendar, which means including driving time and even showering time. I also always have time in my calendar to create, which is incredibly helpful. My calendar is psychotic—everything is planned out and color-coded. Also, I am working on not over-committing myself. 

It changes every single day because we are constantly interviewing different, dynamic people. Today I woke up at 7 a.m., woke up the baby, and we hung out for an hour or two. I fed her, read books, and played games. Then around 8:15, I get started for my day: I put on my meditation music, open the shades, light a candle, practice breath work while using a Joov (red light therapy is where it’s at), and I always take a freezing cold shower for three minutes while I listen to The Daily Stoic podcast. Around 8:45, I always go outside to walk. Normally, I walk to pilates and that's when I go into texts around 9 a.m. I do not check my phone before then. Then from 9 to 10, I always workout, whether it is pilates, 28 minutes of The Skinny Confidential Body guide app, or P.volve. After that, it's off to the races, either creating content, doing photoshoots, editing, Zooming, podcasting, or checking emails. You should know I LOVE passive multitasking, like going to a foot spa while also creating a bunch of content simultaneously. I am done with work at 6 p.m., and I feed Zaza and give her a bath every night. I do the same to wind down: meditation music, read, light a candle—you get it. Then I make dinner, have a glass of wine (or two), and read. I am a big reader—it’s my therapy. I go to bed around 9:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Regardless, I always make it a point to workout every day and hang out with my daughter. I am a fan of routine with a twist. Morning and evening are the bookends to my routine—if my husband screws with them I’ll poison him. I kid, I kid. 

I balance it with a color-coded Google calendar, an assistant who is a practitioner of my calendar, an angel nanny, and we also have an incredible housekeeper. I am VERY transparent about the help I have. These things keep me more efficient.

Also, I am a huge fan of paying for time. Whether that means getting makeup done while batching content or going to the foot spa to do emails. I also feel like this year, I cut a lot of fat. I say “no” a lot more. Another tip is I use time batching as well. For example, I take all conference calls on Wednesdays. So I know that’s my “call day.” You are supposed to do ONE task only for the entire time. So JUST emails. You can’t get distracted on Daily Mail or start a blog post.

My favorite guest so far is Lisa Vanderpump. Her episode has not come out yet, but it was so iconic to go to her INSANE house, meet her dogs, SWANS (!!!), and horses, and meet her husband, Ken. The reason I loved interviewing her was that out of all the guests, she was the most open and generous. She was so nice to my team and very humble, down to earth, and funny. SHE IS A QUEEN. Her interview is juicy, too.

Here’s the deal: you sleep 7-9 hours a night. That’s A LOT OF YOUR LIFE. So that part of your life should be as seamless and optimized as possible. Like you should think about the way your sleeping conditions are. I spent time really thinking about HOW I slept. I make sure I start winding down an hour before bedtime. WHIP OUT THE MUSHROOM TEA or mint tea or lemon water. Dim the lights, get your cortisol down, step away from electronics, and the salt lamp goes ON. Get the vibe right. All these tips help with the vibe, but make sure you’re getting yourself dialed out an hour-ish before bedtime. A must-have is a salt rock lamp—it is LIFE-CHANGING. Get one, or get a night light. The orange light signals to your brain to go to sleep. You should know I absolutely use this EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT. It’s known to lift depression and anxiety immediately, especially for people who live in dark, rainy areas. Lots of meditation music, sound bowls, red light, and hot showers happen at night. I take it seriously, haha.

Working out clears my head—I make it a priority to workout 6 to 7 times a week, and I truly believe it helps my mindset. I either do The Skinny Confidential Body Guide (which is a 28-minute workout App), Pilates, or boxing, and sometimes I do P.volve. All of these can be done at your house with a big matcha latte and Christmas Jazz music in the background. Always too: I schedule all my workouts in my calendar and it gives me an hour to myself. My husband knows this and he leaves me alone lol (thank God).

Victoria Beckham. She is so effortlessly chic. I like how she wears classics with a twist. This is random, but I also like to wear one baggy piece and one tight piece at the same time. I don’t like labels everywhere. Understated, classic, and having my own style makes me feel confident.

The most FAQ in my inbox is “How do I start a blog?!” Some of you have asked for any tips/advice/tricks/etc. for beginning bloggers. My best friend, Erica (AKA @fashionlush), and I created something to help. Both of us saw a gap in the market for bloggers—there were all these cheesy-ass eBooks promising bloggers to GET RICH QUICK. Yawn, yawn, yawn. And what a crock of shit—there’s no get-rich-quick scheme that I’ve ever seen. Building a blog or brand requires patience, work, quality content, and a lot of slow, strategic growth.

There was this HUGE hole in the blogging market. We wanted to help bloggers shine through the noise with a VERY specific, clear brand. Stalk Blog-Doo—it will provide you with essential tools, tips, and top blogger secrets. Just all the fun stuff. Whether you’re just starting out or already killing the game, this eBook will be your guide to building a cohesive and successful brand and blog.

The podcast has an insane 2021 lineup so far—I know the audience will pull value from the guests. Also, the second Skinny Confidential book comes out in the spring. AND 2021 is the year of PRODUCT for the Skinny Confidential—truly, this has taken two and a half years to create and I have involved the audience’s opinions every step of the way. Of course, I am also excited to find new ways to connect to the community in 2021—hopefully live events/podcasts and meet-ups soon. We could all use more human connection, am I right?!