47: Talking Diabetes and Entrepreneurship with SkirtMyPump Founder, Erin Calhoun-Dulaney

[00:00:00] Hello, you wonderful human being and welcome to episode 47 of the Pursuit of Freedom podcast.

[00:00:07] We're getting so close to publishing 50 episodes. I'm really excited about that.

[00:00:12] I've actually recorded more than 50 but as you know, I can take a while sometimes pumping them out.

[00:00:18] No pun intended because today's guest her business is called SkirtMyPump because she is a type 1 diabetic who uses an insulin pump.

[00:00:29] Anyway, I spoke to her back in March. It's finally coming out. I'm so excited and I can't wait to share it in the Facebook group.

[00:00:38] Some part of where people with diabetes hang out because I really hope I can bring in some customers for Erin but also help other people out because as you're going to learn the SkirtMyPump is really, really cool.

[00:00:51] It's a very niche product but something I resonate with because my ex shows my partner for seven years she had type 1 diabetes.

[00:00:59] She used an insulin pump so I can really resonate with what Erin was saying about the struggles of having an insulin pump and you wanna dress up and just look cute and go out.

[00:01:09] Anyway, I'm going to stop yabbing and find somewhere comfortable listening to the episode.

[00:01:14] And in fact, if you're able to, I suggest you watch this one on YouTube because Erin

[00:01:20] shares with us a video that kind of demonstrates what the skirt my pump is.

[00:01:26] So jump on YouTube, search for the pursuit of freedom podcast and find episode 47.

[00:01:33] All right, talk to you later.

[00:01:38] Get it? And welcome to the pursuit of freedom podcast.

[00:01:41] I'm your host Rosie Burrows and I'm on a journey to find my freedom so that I can help you

[00:01:46] do exactly the same. Join me each week as I share the stories of everyday people

[00:01:51] have found their own past to freedom. I'm not going to focus on job titles and accolades because

[00:01:56] I don't care about that stuff, and I should do. I want to uncover what truly makes you tick.

[00:02:03] Who are you when you step away from society's expectations and follow your heart?

[00:02:09] I still haven't figured it out yet. Have you? Either way, buckle up because it's going to be

[00:02:14] one hell of a ride. Welcome back to the pursuit of freedom podcast joining me today is the

[00:02:23] amazing Erin Kellhoun Delaney. I'm not going to give an introduction because Erin, I want to hear in

[00:02:29] your words, who are you? I don't want to ask what do you do, which is the typical small talk,

[00:02:36] but who actually are you? What was life like growing up? What brought you joy?

[00:02:41] Who am I good grief? That is a loaded question because

[00:02:46] I could be this, I could be that well. I am a full time mom to two beautiful girls

[00:02:56] that I adopted from the foster care system in California. I am a type one diabetic woman who

[00:03:05] tried very hard with my ex has been to get pregnant but couldn't. So that's how I became a mom.

[00:03:12] Was adopting, lived in Hollywood for the past 21 years, recently moved back to my home state of

[00:03:20] Arizona just to kind of chill out with a little more secondary, less expensive existence.

[00:03:28] And raised legumes in a community where they can go to football games and cheerleading not to

[00:03:35] see you can't do that in California but just wanted something a little bit different for us

[00:03:40] for the remainder of their educational career. You mentioned that you're a type one diabetic.

[00:03:47] There's a quick, like my ex was a type one diabetic but there's this whole discussion around

[00:03:53] this person first or identity first language. And so what I mean about that is saying

[00:04:00] a person with diabetes or a diabetic. So I'm curious what your thoughts are on that and do you have

[00:04:05] a preference? I don't have a preference, I'm not one that gets offended very easily. In fact,

[00:04:11] this whole last four years of offending people is just driving me crazy but I would be of the

[00:04:21] mindset that I am a diabetic because I'm diabetic when I wake up. I'm diabetic talking to you

[00:04:27] right now. I'm diabetic when I go or drive in my car. But there's not a time that I'm not diabetic.

[00:04:34] So it's why I guess of course I'm a woman and I'm a person be sides that but not separate

[00:04:39] of that every minute of every day is having to deal with diabetes. And I almost said a struggle,

[00:04:48] because it is a struggle. I've had it for over 40 years now and I don't know,

[00:04:53] it's kind of a lost track because I don't not one of those people who celebrates my diverse

[00:04:56] or whatever what people do. I don't even remember when I was diagnosed like the exact date

[00:05:02] but it's been 40 years of me living with this and managing it and figuring out

[00:05:07] and no day is ever the same. And it's not optional is that I think a lot of people

[00:05:12] there's a lot of misunderstanding around diabetes. So could you tell us in your words,

[00:05:17] what is diabetes specifically type one diabetes? For sure. Unfortunately the experts or whatever

[00:05:25] you want to call them don't they haven't been able to pinpoint what brings this on and someone's life

[00:05:31] for me they believe that it's having the trauma of losing my biological father in a

[00:05:39] sudden accident when I was four years old and just the trauma that that inflicted on my mind

[00:05:45] and then obviously on my brain or on my body as well led my pancreas to attack itself and stop

[00:05:53] working. Well it works, it still produces enzymes you know to digest food and stuff but it doesn't

[00:05:57] really cancel and I didn't know that about pancreases and enzymes in 12 years.

[00:06:02] Very nice. I'm so grateful to the online community because I learned so much from social media

[00:06:09] yeah and I'm really glad you mentioned that your pancreas somewhat functions you know the

[00:06:14] enzyme function because when I was with my ex I did a lot of research into it because a lot of

[00:06:21] a lot of diabetic stroke. What do I need it for? Just cut it out but actually that would make things

[00:06:27] a whole lot more complicated to sort and we don't need any more of that. So how obviously has been

[00:06:34] a long time that you've had diabetes so it might be hard to remember but how has it changed your life

[00:06:42] because I don't think a lot of not many everyday people actually understand the ins and outs

[00:06:47] and what what it involves to manage your diabetes. 100% so like I said every minute of every day is

[00:06:55] is being a diabetic you have to figure out you know why do I feel like this why am I feeling

[00:06:59] tired is there are two little sugar in my blood is there too much sugar in my blood and it's

[00:07:04] so amazing these days the advent advances in technology having things like continuous glucose

[00:07:10] monitors that constantly every five seconds give us a reading and you can see throughout the

[00:07:15] day like here's where your blood sugar is I love waking up in the morning and I don't know

[00:07:20] what magic spell this is but my endocrinologist set my pump to I will wake up in my my line just

[00:07:28] is it like a beautiful straight line and I feel amazing in the morning and again it's because

[00:07:32] I'm getting eat for the last you know eight hours or whatever and my you know my my pump has been able to

[00:07:38] kind of gauge where my sugar is needed to be just kind of keep it on even course I wake up and I'm like oh

[00:07:43] and then I'll go get a coffee and it just everything goes to crap.

[00:07:50] And for our listeners who have no idea what you're talking about when you say blood sugar

[00:07:53] and you can correct me if I'm getting this wrong but depending on where your blood sugar is

[00:08:00] affects how you're feeling right so right so very low blood sugar is hypoglycemia or a hypo

[00:08:08] and that doesn't feel great I've never had a hypo but you know you're going to be

[00:08:15] tired you might be sweaty might not be thinking clearly you could pass out if it's really bad right

[00:08:22] and then the other side is the hyper glycemia or just being high not in the sense of being high

[00:08:28] drugs but a high blood sugar and that also feels crap right and so when you say you had that flat

[00:08:35] line of your blood sugar you're probably feeling pretty good because when it fluctuates especially

[00:08:42] suddenly it really really doesn't feel good because oh no and I often tell people who are not diabetic

[00:08:48] it's kind of like when you like go to an Italian restaurant you eat a giant bullet pasta it's like

[00:08:52] when you're in a car come over you're just like oh my god I'm so full I can't even function like

[00:08:58] your in your exhausted it's literally because your body is overwhelmed with sugar you have a

[00:09:02] lot of sugar in your blood and have high blood sugar so that's the same thing with us but unfortunately

[00:09:07] our pancreas isn't able to be like you can just keep the meat on it down for you we have to

[00:09:11] automatically do that or with the advances in these technologies like the insulin pump working

[00:09:16] together with the continuous glucose monitor that can see our blood sugars the pump corrects it for us

[00:09:21] I have been diabetic about 40 years and for the last almost one year I have been on the tandem

[00:09:29] insulin pump with the continuous glucose monitor this is the first time in 40 years that I really

[00:09:36] don't feel like I have to manage my blood sugar as much as I have in the past it has been such a

[00:09:42] dream capture yeah because I imagine it takes quite a mental toll like you said you are a diabetic

[00:09:49] it's there always and you're managing it so having something that makes it a little bit easier sounds

[00:09:56] wonderful it's been and blessing yeah yeah and I just I want to add in some info because I

[00:10:04] know some people listening will be like okay that sounds cool still not quite getting what an

[00:10:09] insulin pump is so essentially that's your pancreas it is yeah it's funny I was with my ex

[00:10:16] husband this last week and we were running around and it just started beeping he was like

[00:10:22] it's just my pancreas he's buying and he was like what are you going to get your pancreas he's

[00:10:26] like isn't that something we should be all concerned with and I'm like now you know like I

[00:10:29] don't know my insulin was running low so it's and again it's nice because it tells you like

[00:10:33] when you have like 20 units left so you can kind of plan ahead instead of having to go well

[00:10:37] I'd love to drop everything and you know go fix this it's the technology has been set up so that

[00:10:43] really is convenient for you when something is going wrong like it gives you a little heads up

[00:10:48] like hey excuse me excuse me okay fix this fix this yeah and then you can fix it without really being

[00:10:54] an a panic right because back in the day you would have been giving manual injections and

[00:11:00] and you have to do all the things yeah and it's I had to do that this last week because we've just

[00:11:05] moved and I packed enough for what I thought was going to be you know before our movers got here with

[00:11:12] everything and the last day I was like sweating like oh don't big I have enough so I had to do

[00:11:19] manual injections just to make sure the insulin in my pump covered me because again what's nice

[00:11:25] about the pump is that it's giving you a constant stream of insulin just a little bit to keep

[00:11:29] you levels throughout the day and then when you eat you have to manually say okay I'm eating

[00:11:33] this many carbohydrates in your insulin pump knows okay that means you need six units of insulin

[00:11:38] to keep you level so I was again having to do that mask but at the same time I could still

[00:11:43] look at my pump and say okay I'm gonna do this many car and it tells me how many units are

[00:11:47] you to do to take so then I would you know take my insulin out and use the syringe to give

[00:11:52] that dose but I let my insulin pump calculate it for me and it's probably really easy to stuff up

[00:11:57] if you're doing it manually and then the other side of it is it's not like it's predictable what

[00:12:03] blood sugar's gonna be like if you okay if you eat something high in carbohydrates

[00:12:08] your sugar's probably gonna go up right or it is but if you'll seek if you've been exercising

[00:12:15] a lot if you're a bit stressed all these other factors can affect your blood sugar to you

[00:12:21] you know like the meal that you're just gave yourself a dose and like I did that the other

[00:12:25] day again I had some like positive distance in the fridge and I you know I don't want to go out

[00:12:29] and get anything because I was telling them I'm trying to unpack and so I was eating this

[00:12:32] and I was like this is awful but I had already taken this one to that I saw it was going to eat

[00:12:39] this big thing apostasy so I had this kind of like like sort of a couple sauces in and like try

[00:12:43] to figure out how to make it taste like that but you really don't have an option at that point

[00:12:47] because what's done is done and if your insulin is in there and it's starting to bring your blood sugar

[00:12:52] down you need the food to keep it from plummeting too low and really causing you harm

[00:12:59] mmm so much to think about I'm just imagining trying to imagine what it would be like

[00:13:05] because that's just a whole thing that as someone without diabetes I don't have to think of but

[00:13:12] like I said my ex had had one and I did a lot of research to understand it because

[00:13:19] I don't understand it how can I empathize right and I think there's a lot of judgment

[00:13:25] and actually this takes us nicely into this I want to talk about some diabetic myths because

[00:13:32] some things that people say really piss me off I don't know if you're on the same page here

[00:13:38] and one of them is people joking about oh well yeah eight too much sugar that's why you've got

[00:13:43] diabetes. I hear that. Is that true? And what are your thoughts? Of course not it's definitely not true

[00:13:50] and it definitely stems from you know the diagnosis of type two diabetes because that usually

[00:13:58] comes and you know people who are not very cautious with what they eat or taking care of themselves

[00:14:03] and they're very sedentary and just eat a lot of carbs or a lot of fatty foods they tend to get

[00:14:09] type two diabetes more often than not not always it doesn't mean every person that eats like that

[00:14:14] or not and get diabetes but type one diabetes has nothing to do with eating poorly or not

[00:14:20] taking care of your health most people who are type one diabetic look very much like me look

[00:14:26] like a normal person on the street whatever normal is these days um and you would never guess

[00:14:32] you know you would never be able to be like oh wow they have a chronic illness that they have to

[00:14:35] think about 24 hours a day we're walking around like regular people when we're really not right

[00:14:40] and you just said it you don't look diabetic what is that even mean I think well not sure actually

[00:14:49] I'm assuming that people mean well you're not overweight you're not obese because they immediately

[00:14:55] jump to the stereotype that overweight people have type two diabetes which like you said isn't

[00:15:02] necessarily the case lifestyle factors like your diet play a huge role but there is a genetic

[00:15:08] role too but with type one it's an order what mean disease yeah your body attacks itself

[00:15:16] what else does think that people say oh you don't look sick because you know we don't have a walker

[00:15:21] or we don't you know we're not moving slowly or whatever like as sick person looks like we're not

[00:15:27] frail we're not you know like yeah we fortunately not fun would our bodies are in good shape except

[00:15:35] for our pancreas and maybe any of the other things they have come with our pancreas not functioning

[00:15:40] but again we look like an average normal everyday person right right I know often when

[00:15:50] when people are diagnosed they they've had high blood sugars for an extended period of time and

[00:15:57] they might be in DKA or diabetic diabetic keto assidosis I think if I remember correctly

[00:16:06] and in that case often you don't look well it's probably not the case for everybody

[00:16:11] would you old enough to remember that time when you were diagnosed I remember vaguely but

[00:16:18] I do remember my mother telling me you know you eat a lot you drank a lot you were going

[00:16:23] to the bathroom like crazy because again your body is just have has so much sugar and you're

[00:16:34] something you're very thirsty like you're trying to flesh it out literally trying to get

[00:16:40] move those sugars out of your system so that's what happens when you're when you're in DKA and

[00:16:44] you have first in diagnosed or if you've had diabetes for a long time and you um rubber how long

[00:16:50] and you have DKA because it can happen to any of us really at any time especially in your head or

[00:16:54] have you and it's a terrible feeling a lot of times people look kind of gray in their skin because

[00:17:00] again everything is just moving so slowly your body is so full of sugar that your blood is just

[00:17:06] moving so slowly um not fun yeah no exactly like you say it can happen any time and you

[00:17:16] know often it does result in hospitalization so that's probably a side that every day people have

[00:17:21] never hurt but I want to jump to another myth or maybe it's not a myth it is but I'm going to pretend

[00:17:27] I don't know I've had people say or heard people say oh just go to low carb diet or fully the

[00:17:34] keto diet you know I my auntie did that and she cured her diabetes or just eat more cinnamon

[00:17:41] you know just do better just change your diet so can you cure type one diabetes you can't cure it

[00:17:48] for like it doesn't go away ever and those myths are are partially true in my experience they

[00:17:55] be rotten right someone else but I have cinnamon in my coffee every morning like I put it in with the

[00:18:00] grounds to to filter it like I don't put it on top of my already pre-made coffee I put it in

[00:18:07] while it's roasting my coffee because I found that my insulin is like my resistency is better when I

[00:18:15] have some cinnamon and it's not to say I'm curing myself but it is saying I'm using less insulin

[00:18:20] when I when I consume cinnamon same thing with a low carb diet I have to take less insulin

[00:18:27] when I eat low carbs but it's still diabetic still need that constant stream of insulin from

[00:18:33] either long-term insulin long acting insulin or from an insulin pump I'm so glad you mentioned that

[00:18:38] because often often these things are based on a little bit of truth right so like you said you're using

[00:18:44] less insulin when you have cinnamon which is like that's so cool that's a pretty simple thing

[00:18:51] to add into your diet and if it you know uses less insulin that's cool I mean it's a cost saving

[00:18:57] but also I imagine imagine your blood sugars would be more stable you know if you're using less

[00:19:04] so that's really cool and something to I think people could experiment with but like you say you can't cure

[00:19:10] and for me like I love you know I'm a very natural eater I love eating like natural supplements

[00:19:15] and all of the stuff and I love the taste of cinnamon so it works for me if it doesn't work for

[00:19:20] someone else then you know of course to each their own right yeah yeah I want to talk about something else

[00:19:28] other than diabetes and I'm pretty excited about it right yeah it's not all about diabetes

[00:19:35] you are an entrepreneur yes and I'm gonna call it an invention I guess it is right because you

[00:19:44] came up with that is to do with diabetes right also other things I think it's it's used in

[00:19:51] other areas I'm sounding very cryptic but your company's called skirt my palm so can you explain

[00:19:58] to us what is skirt my palm and where did this idea come from yes that's a great segue

[00:20:04] bit bit future rosy here quick interruption what you're about to hear is a really cool marketing

[00:20:12] video for the skirt my pump so at this stage if you're just listening to the audio I suggest

[00:20:18] you jump over to YouTube search for the pursuit of freedom podcast find this episode skip to this

[00:20:23] timestamp about 17 45ish and you will be able to see the video it's really cool it kind of shows

[00:20:30] all the skirt my pump is so I'm gonna jump back into the episode you'll hear me fumbling to play

[00:20:34] the video you'll hear the video but not be able to see it so go to YouTube and then the conversation

[00:20:40] will continue let me bring it up okay um hit play oh my god I'm not way to go out tonight right

[00:20:53] me too what are you gonna wear can please tell me you're wearing that watch oh my gosh I know

[00:21:03] I would love to wear it but I don't know where to put my palm girl we got your color yeah we do

[00:21:11] what's this it is skirt my pump

[00:21:53] and there you have it that is the skirt my pump on this mannequin behind me after being diabetic

[00:22:02] for ages and finally getting to experience what life is like as a diabetic insulin pump

[00:22:09] with an insulin pump versus what are called multiple daily injections and the eyes I was just

[00:22:16] so grateful and it was great because I was I'm one of those people who like I have to constantly

[00:22:21] be doing 25 things so I'm like constantly running around and life is a bit chaotic but that's just

[00:22:26] how I function better and I would go and I'm gonna go to dinner and I'd be like oh I forgot my

[00:22:30] insulin I forgot my syringes and I'm like well I'm here dinner and when I have to eat something

[00:22:33] and then again back to our conversation previously failed terrible because my blood sugar is rising up

[00:22:39] with my insulin pump I can tell when I'm not wearing it like you can tell hey there's not that

[00:22:44] gap and there's not that bulge in your pocket or you know you're not connected to something so

[00:22:49] you kind of feel a little bit naked without it so it's nice because I don't forget my insulin at

[00:22:52] home anymore but you know when I would leave the house and I would want to wear you know and I'll

[00:22:57] like this like it's a little dress I would be like what am I gonna do I don't have anywhere to put

[00:23:04] it there's no pockets in this so sometimes I would wear it in my bra and I'd be like oh yeah

[00:23:09] excuse me sitting at a dinner table like having a full excuse me as I dig into my dress looking for

[00:23:14] something so I created a slip you can wear your insulin pump in like I'm doing now so

[00:23:20] what people wear their insulin pump in their belly which I'm doing now this is my continuous

[00:23:25] look at the unders so they talk to each other and then I put a pocket on the inside so that your

[00:23:32] pump can go in that way but when I'm sitting out to eat at the restaurant or something I can easily

[00:23:37] take it out this way so I can check my screen and just give myself a kiss and it just made my life

[00:23:46] so much easier I just I'm so grateful that I took the time to figure it out and that I needed

[00:23:54] available to others because I was just gonna do it for myself because I was like well I need this

[00:23:58] and then I realized I probably a lot of other people would really appreciate it as well and

[00:24:04] turns out I was right yeah so what's that journey beam lock and coming up with a design and

[00:24:10] actually bringing it to mind it you know it was crazy again I'm just like I said I'm one of those

[00:24:15] people who's I'm a doer and I've always had entrepreneur mindset like I was my mom had me a dance

[00:24:21] class my whole life and I'm you know I hated it at the time but I'm so grateful now and one year

[00:24:26] these Super Bowl was in Phoenix when I was in high school or maybe I was in college and she was like

[00:24:31] hey you need to go try out you need to go you know try beyond the Super Bowl dancer like the

[00:24:35] half time show and I was like okay whatever like that's that's ridiculous but I did it and I

[00:24:40] was a Super Bowl half time dancer and for that I realized there wasn't like any merchandise

[00:24:46] remember Amelia for any of my colleagues that were also dancing so I created shirts and I

[00:24:51] sold them in the parking lot to these answers and I was like boom boom it rolls like oh these

[00:24:55] years are cool thanks so much and I look you're welcome because people like memories like that they

[00:25:01] like having something tangible to say hey look what I did look at this and so I've always loved

[00:25:06] the idea of filling a need for something and I think that that's how this became it's great

[00:25:12] I've become a reality because again I had been on an insulin pump probably for a couple of years

[00:25:18] and I was so tired of shoving into my garage or wearing shorts under a dress and having to lift

[00:25:22] at my dress and you know and everyone kind of be like oh like looking like oh like not you

[00:25:26] look right in the stair but they were like what is going on over there why yeah so I I went to

[00:25:34] some I don't even know what it was it was some conference Barbara Cochrane the sharka

[00:25:39] it's our on shark tank was throwing some free conference that I just went to um before the

[00:25:43] pandemic and I sat down next to a lady and I kind of you know we exchanged information just kind

[00:25:48] of talking like oh what do you do what do you do and I told her my idea and I'm like yeah but I

[00:25:51] don't know any manufacturers and this is when I was living in Los Angeles and she was like oh my gosh

[00:25:55] this one this is there's a straight firm called that I don't know so you gave me the name of this

[00:25:58] manufacturer I called them that week and I went to on made an appointment they helped me create the

[00:26:03] design so I have to tell people and ask people like if you have something you want to do do not

[00:26:10] be afraid to talk about it you know what I mean do not be afraid to say I don't know what I'm doing

[00:26:15] but this is what I really want to do because you never know what that person on the plane or sitting

[00:26:20] next to anywhere could mention and that's how it came to be yeah I once I had a design no I

[00:26:28] was nervous that it would get taken so I applied immediately for a patent for it and it is a

[00:26:34] patented product now so I shot it from the rooftops from wherever I can because so very many of my

[00:26:43] customers have written back to me like you had no idea how much this has changed my life and like

[00:26:48] I've had a lot of brides right to me who I didn't know were brides to be at the time and say

[00:26:52] you saved my wedding day and I'm like like I'm like I'm like I'm like I'm like I'm like I'm like I'm like

[00:26:57] I do this thank you for telling me because you know again you're trying to plan you know

[00:27:01] this incredible day for you and your husband and your family the last thing you want to do is

[00:27:05] try and figure out where you're going to wear your medical device and how you're going to fit

[00:27:09] a name to your wardrobe so just knowing that yeah that's made that part of someone's life that much

[00:27:15] easier brings me some joy it's life changing like I think the someone who doesn't wear an

[00:27:21] insulin pump it might sound really basic yeah like what yeah you know I'm not sure everyone can

[00:27:27] relate because I was so close to someone who did have an insulin pump I get you know certain

[00:27:34] outfits it was like where the heck am I going to put my pump like you said between your bruh

[00:27:37] or sometimes is not wear it at all which you know again isn't great for trying to control your

[00:27:43] budget so being able to not have to worry about that and not have it visible because some people

[00:27:50] really care about that have it discreet but also be able to access it without looking like it

[00:27:55] yes it's just amazing and I love what you were saying about don't be afraid to talk about it

[00:28:06] if there's people ever who who have an idea because you never know you never know

[00:28:11] ever for you you were at a conference basic conversation and then it you met a manufacturer

[00:28:17] and then off you went and it wasn't even a conference about clothing or like it was about the

[00:28:22] stocks or I don't even yeah it was nothing to do with anything but I feel like people are put in

[00:28:28] your lives and people are put in your past for a reason but you have to kind of you know poke a little

[00:28:34] bit or knock on some doors and yeah and that when you have your mindset to that thing

[00:28:41] those things are going to come to you if that's all you can see I'm a firm believer in that

[00:28:48] I mean this is proof of that I have no design experience no manufacturing experience

[00:28:55] I'm an English major I went to college you know to write stories and read books and you know

[00:29:00] I've been in publicity for the last 20 years this this is not what I said out to do at all

[00:29:07] I'm so glad that I'm doing it yeah and talk us through some of the highs and lows of

[00:29:14] having your own business because you just said you don't have a background in design or manufacturing

[00:29:21] or anything like that so I'm guessing it wasn't all smooth sailing it wasn't and you know I really

[00:29:28] I love absolutely everything about the pandemic except for the fact that

[00:29:34] it I had to sell my house during that time and I used some of the equity that I had in that

[00:29:42] sale to fund this project to fund skirt my phone so I was really blessed in that respect

[00:29:50] to have had the capital to you know physically by the fabric go to a manufacturer have them

[00:29:57] you know pay for them to make a design for me pay have had in to turni you know those are not

[00:30:03] those are not cheap that again fortunately I have been to no one and and again

[00:30:09] a friend of mine that I have and would to high school with I used to give him rides

[00:30:14] to him from school every day I was visiting him in this family in San Diego and I was like oh

[00:30:20] did I do yeah I'm going on search for a pattern attorney and he was like oh well I'm a pattern attorney

[00:30:24] I was like what's like again wow you know wow have to open your mouth you have to not be afraid

[00:30:30] to speak up and just share your ideas and your thoughts because again you just then I know

[00:30:36] what other advice do you have for people who are looking to stop their own business just start

[00:30:43] just start by love again I'm an English major and maybe this is how maybe this kind of background

[00:30:50] helped me but I don't know if you've ever heard of like brainstorming but you just literally

[00:30:55] you know slip like insulin pump you just start writing out things and you just start

[00:31:01] it's called brainstorming and you just write words that come to your mind just literally like

[00:31:06] look like throw them up on your piece of paper and you look at them later and you're like okay how can

[00:31:11] I connect these dots what do I do with this piece what do I do with this word that I wrote down

[00:31:15] because you have to start somewhere and some people are very visual learners which I am I have to

[00:31:20] see it on paper like advice if I hear you in your own yourself to me but I don't see it like on a

[00:31:26] name tag I will forget it in four seconds but if I see your name written rosy I'll be like oh okay rosy

[00:31:32] I get some people are just different learners so for me this is a great way to get things done

[00:31:37] to look at something and have that image seared into my mind and then it kind of goes in the back

[00:31:43] and like figures out and like the hamster kind of runs in the wheel I was like right what do we do

[00:31:47] with this but just just start like figure out what you want to do even if you don't know where it's

[00:31:54] start you will figure out the way I always tell my children when they're like oh man that's so hard

[00:31:59] I don't know how to do it did it them like well you know how to walk yeah one point either but

[00:32:03] figure that out right right the walking is a great example there is no guide book there is no

[00:32:11] like instruction manual you figure it out you get up kind of shake yeah yeah and I'm up

[00:32:22] there's gonna be some failures right that way so hard for a while but then you do have more and

[00:32:28] more and figure out a big one for me and I think a lot of others can probably relate is the fear

[00:32:34] of failing or the fear of judgment is that something you felt I still feel every day every time

[00:32:42] I post a post on Instagram or a TikTok I wonder if people will like that I might too old

[00:32:48] be posting on TikTok I might too old like these younger kids get me but I mean yeah maybe

[00:32:54] I might do better if I hired a younger person to do social media maybe I will do better when

[00:33:00] you know I can I can afford that but for now I'm just trying to get the word out there because

[00:33:07] I know that it's changing people's lives for the better and word of mouth is huge like the

[00:33:14] organic nature of marketing and people saying oh my gosh I got this in the mail and so but I

[00:33:19] ordered it whatever they're going to say that has been my biggest form of advertising

[00:33:26] because you know again it just feels so much better to wear an insulin pump in this or

[00:33:32] you know it could be any medical device a friend of mine said that he went to dinner with some

[00:33:36] girl who had a stimulator for her back she had to have back surgery and she had to add all the time

[00:33:41] where a little person something to keep in and he was like so I told her about your skirt and

[00:33:45] she was like oh I would love to have a slip to hold that in just so she didn't have to carry it

[00:33:51] and have that band in the other uses that have kind of popped up since he launched it.

[00:33:56] There they have been and I just love how things kind of evolved in ways that you would have never

[00:34:01] expected them to I used to work and live in Hollywood and so it's the friends of mine like a

[00:34:08] friend of mine was co-hosting the Wendy Williams show when Wendy Williams was kind of going

[00:34:14] in and out of not hosting and having different guest hosts on and I saw my friends

[00:34:18] microphone pack like you know taped her shoulder or whatever and I was like hey can I send you one of

[00:34:25] these slips and see if it'll work in there because you know I can it's not cute for your outfit

[00:34:29] and I didn't must you know must be uncomfortable and have annoying so I sent her one and she

[00:34:33] thinks that me a picture like like look look it's so perfect and so she wore her microphone

[00:34:38] hat for you know for her microphone for the talk show on the show and now it's being worn

[00:34:45] on a few textures that's so cool yeah like I just go to show you never really know where these

[00:34:52] things are going to go like you you design this with a particular purpose in mind but yeah

[00:34:57] you're changing even more lives not just those who wear insulin pack exactly because it is

[00:35:02] such a pain in the butt like I used to see wardrobe people constantly trying to like you know

[00:35:06] figure out a little pouch or how are they going to sew it on or whatever you don't have to if you

[00:35:10] just pop it in there just you skip this here and then I also found out recently that travelers

[00:35:16] are using it to wear um either their passport in or there are money if they don't want to

[00:35:22] saw it places are really pickpocketers are really good about getting into your stuff even

[00:35:27] if you know you think you have it in a good little panty pack or a pouch or something

[00:35:31] if they can see it they can see a way to get into it but with this they can't even tell that

[00:35:36] you have something on your on your person as they say that is genius and I hate wearing a

[00:35:43] funny pack I've never been a fan of that so I something more discreet as great I know well I

[00:35:48] know I could these days how they have it over your shoulder but still the bulk there and again

[00:35:54] you know if these pickpocketers come up to you and easy to pickpocket and they like cover you

[00:35:59] and they're like oh showing you the map while they're under the map going through your stuff

[00:36:03] very discreetly and you can't even tell until it's too late um so I found that out and I was

[00:36:08] like that is fantastic like again it just warmed my heart so much because like there's nothing

[00:36:14] better than feeling safe and feeling comfortable and just feeling good you know I'm letting

[00:36:20] letting your outfit shine instead of having your insulin pump be hanging off or you know whatever

[00:36:27] the case maybe I'm definitely not one to tell people like hide your pump or you know you want

[00:36:32] to you know you run it away but there is something to be said for when you can stand up and say hey

[00:36:38] look at my pretty outfit instead of oh look at my insulin pump you know pulling it down because

[00:36:43] this is all I've always had to hold an on-do I have to hook it here and it sucks and it's like

[00:36:47] you know like really you know it's so frustrating and I say all the time like diabetes is hard enough

[00:36:52] getting dressed should not be yeah that's it that's you get one part of our day that we can just go

[00:37:00] yeah so for listeners who go right I'm sold I want to buy one where can they get it and is it

[00:37:07] available internationally or how how do they go better and Australia correct well lucky for you Aussies

[00:37:14] and Kiwis um down under I have an amazing colleague who I have shipped a ton of slips to and she sends

[00:37:22] them out to you guys for a drastically reduced price then it would be for me to ship it out

[00:37:27] from the States so um so yeah you just put in your address and it it automatically calculates

[00:37:33] the discounted shipping for you guys and yeah it's available worldwide I oddly just got in some

[00:37:38] orders this week for like Norway two people in Norway ordered it and some other country where I was

[00:37:44] like I'm like did I do like a reach out out there I'm like watch her one yeah I'm like do you people

[00:37:49] know each other is that way you ordered them together you're doing a race to see who's it's your first

[00:37:54] the yeah that's well you're all wide and I just I'm not again I'm just so grateful that people

[00:38:01] are are finding out about it because it is just one less thing for us to deal with

[00:38:08] mmm i'm not planning to travel but I feel like I need one for the next time I do because

[00:38:14] it's it's so cool and I'm actually part of like diabetes communities on Facebook and stuff

[00:38:20] and I think so many people in there would just jump on this opportunity so I'm definitely

[00:38:26] going to share this podcast episode because I think it matters to a lot of people like you said

[00:38:32] it's hard it's hard enough it's hard enough it's hard enough it's been human let's put it

[00:38:37] everything away right it's hard you know having traffic to deal with having a job having kids having

[00:38:43] all of these other things it should not be hard to get dressed you shouldn't be the one

[00:38:48] like a little fun part of our day like be a girl like be cute like you know let's do our thing yeah

[00:38:54] yeah totally so how is life changed for you since you've started this business since you've

[00:39:01] been selling skirt my pump I'm assuming it's changed maybe it hasn't but tell us what it's like

[00:39:08] it's changed a bit only in that my mind is always thinking about the next step how are we going

[00:39:16] to get here how are we going to get here how are we going to get to this market how are we going

[00:39:20] to get more sales and Norway how are we going to reduce cost of shipping how how can I make things

[00:39:24] easier and better um I went on I auditioned for Shark Tank because that was one of my

[00:39:30] life's goals was to be on Shark Tank and I dumped it there going to be having me on because I didn't

[00:39:36] get a call back from them but I'm so glad I did that like that was one of my things and I'm like

[00:39:41] okay let me check that off the list like I can you know I can say that I at least tried

[00:39:46] such as things like that just different business opportunities how can I get the word out like I

[00:39:51] said I've been a publicist the past 20 years that's really the majority of my career and

[00:39:56] the woman that I'm working with presently she's like oh my gosh I'm totally going to help you with

[00:40:00] this and I so I can see it gaining traction and again just changing more and more people's lives that's

[00:40:07] all I want is to help out for the better sense so fulfilling yeah but this challenges

[00:40:14] first of all you know always on your mind what are you doing next but how fulfilling is that to

[00:40:19] fill out your making a difference and improving people's life every time I get a review and the

[00:40:29] that's what keeps me going because it makes me so happy to see people so happy with this and that's

[00:40:38] beautiful and I think it leads really nicely into the question I ask at the end of every single

[00:40:47] episode on this podcast because it's the pursuit of freedom and I want to know what does freedom mean

[00:40:53] you yeah well I heard about your podcast and I was like oh you pursuit of freedom because I feel so

[00:41:00] much more free being an insulin pump user when I can wear this slip so I was like oh my gosh

[00:41:05] I need to figure out how to get on that podcast and again the universe was like oh yes this is

[00:41:11] meant to be because you responded and I'm so grateful that you did but being free to me I grew up with a

[00:41:19] lot of money my parents were very wealthy and we were miserable family so I know the happiness

[00:41:27] and freedom does not come with a lot of money I have never been more financially struggling than

[00:41:35] I am now but I've also never been more at peace and settled and just knowing everything's going to be

[00:41:45] if money is the only thing I have to worry about I am the luckiest person on yeah that's beautiful

[00:41:56] and I resonate something I've been saying lately because I live full time in my van and it's a

[00:42:01] fairly recent thing and by choice and I you know I've left my traditional job trying to get a business

[00:42:08] off the ground and I have never had less money and never had less possessions but I've also never

[00:42:14] been this happy never felt so free in a line it really isn't about the money of course that's

[00:42:21] a stress and we need a certain amount to be able to get by but having more money doesn't equal

[00:42:26] freedom or happiness not at all freedom is definitely in your own yeah

[00:42:38] hmm Aaron thank you so much for joining me today it's been really cool

[00:42:45] to I think educate people on what type one diabetes is but also share your journey

[00:42:53] and the purposeful work you're doing I think there's going to be listeners who are going to jump

[00:42:59] on this because it's going to make their life easier whether or not they're a diabetic a traveler

[00:43:04] someone who works in TV or I'm sure there'll be other uses that come out of this

[00:43:08] this is an example of word of mouth like we're spreading this so if I can help give you a voice

[00:43:14] or a platform to do that it's just it's a privilege for me so thank you so much love that thank you so

[00:43:20] much like I said I was I was hoping that you would have me as a guest on your show and when when

[00:43:25] you responded I was like yeah that's the pursuit of freedom yeah I was a no brainer for me I love it

[00:43:32] thank you thank you oh thank you so much you if this episode resonated with you at all could I

[00:43:38] please ask that you share it with a friend who you think could get value from it and whilst you're

[00:43:43] doing that make sure you follow and subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss another episode

[00:43:48] and whilst you're following or subscribing please leave us um a rating preferably five stars

[00:43:54] and also a written review doing each of these things is going to help this podcast reach

[00:44:01] more people and impact more lives which is at the end of the day is what we're here to do

[00:44:07] thank you so much I appreciate you remember you matter your worth it and you are so so capable

[00:44:14] take care of yourself and I'll see you next week