Meet Madison Maestre | Founder + Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Madison Maestre and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Madison, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Work life balance has been a huge topic recently. It seems like more and more the “girl boss hustle” is phasing out – it’s less and less glamorous to be working yourself non-stop. Right now, I am trying to figure out how to even gain a work life balance when you are a small business owner…and to add to it, have a full time job!

In the fall of 2021, I was working 7 days a week 70+ hours a week. Talk about burnout. Towards the end of the year I knew something had to change but figuring out how to actually make that change and still run a successful business is easier said than done.

There is a light at the end of the burnout tunnel I am going through. My first change has been delegating one task per week, for example, the first week of the month is all about content creation. I usually take on day and plan out EVERYTHING for the entire month. The second week I do an inventory and order supplies. The third week I batch make products. The fourth week I take time to do white label projects and manage the wholesale accounts. Do I stick to that 100% of the time? Nope. Does it make me feel like running a business can be manageable? YES.

I also decided to make Friday a shipping day. Before, I was sending out packages almost everyday and it was super time consuming. Making the shipping day once a week has been LIFE CHANGING. It seemed scary to not ship packages out right away but no one has complained about a week processing time (if the supply chain mess did ONE positive thing, it was making people more patient on packages!)

The very last thing I did which might have been the most impactful…GETTING A DAY OFF. I take every Sunday off. No phones. No emails. No Instagram (okay maybe a little Insta because I can’t help myself). One full day to rest, be with loved ones and get outside has allowed me to refresh so I can be fully present during the week.

So while I don’t have the perfect solution to finding a work life balance, the best tip I can give you is to find what works for you and your business. I think I will always be tweaking my work patterns to fit into my life and maybe some months I am more unbalanced than balanced and that is OKAY. Beating yourself up because you can’t find the perfect work life balance isn’t healthy either. There will be seasons of hustle and seasons of restoration so keep that in mind when you are trying to figure out how to balance out your life. Do what makes you happy and what makes sense in your life right now. There is no one size fits all solution to the perfect work life balance.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My Friends Use This is a botanical skincare company focused on food grade ingredients, multi-use products and zero waste packaging.

We created this business out of necessity. We were recently (ish) out of college and looking for a skincare line that was clean, affordable, didn’t require us to buy a million different products AND the biggest request…we wanted it to be sustainable. After searching and searching we found nothing. Until we realized we were the answer.

While we both had Bachelors of Science, we knew little about skincare formulation. We started by formulating products for ourselves with the idea to starts a business but quickly realized we needed some cred when a friend questioned why she would trust our line over another. That hit deep but pushed us to lean into massive amount of education. We have now taken over 10 courses on skincare formulation, herbalism and skin anatomy.

Our first launch consisted of two products in our Sun Down Summer collection (focused on sun-kissed summer skin) but has grown into 3 complete collections, including a collaboration with Kasey Boone from Glow Skincare for professional estheticians. It honestly feels like a dream sometimes and there is no better feeling than seeing your products in someone’s home or treatment room.

Was it easy? NO. I can’t even explain going through the mess of trying to file an LLC or deciding to launch our biggest line on pre-order but not receiving our labels for over a month after. I cried a lot. I also had a great support system and a family who has become great at making products and shipping packages. I have friends so check-in on me and friends who don’t seem to even know I have an actual business and not just a hobby. That is a roller coaster of running your own business.

This journey has been weird but extremely rewarding. Here is a quick list of my best advice for running a business:

– Always have contracts. Make sure they make sense and your ass is covered.
– Celebrate the small wins. If that means eating pizza and sipping champagne with your business bff then do it.
– Take the risk. Reach out to someone with an idea, they might just say yes.
– NEVER DO PRE-ORDERS. Just wait. The orders will get backed up and people will start accusing you of stealing their money and you will sit in your car everyday and cry. Ask me how I know.
– Don’t be afraid to change your branding. Do little tweaks at a time. Make it evolve as your business grows and changes because I guarantee the ideas you have when you start your business will not be the same after a year.
– Invest in equipment or supplies that will make your life easier.
– Have fun and don’t forget why you started the whole thing in the first place.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am based in San Luis Obispo. We are on the central coast about half way between LA and SF. Its a small college town but it is the actual best.

We are starting the day at Scout Coffee. Get the honey tea bowl or a latte and thank me later. This town has the most amazing community of small business owners (plus I love to do some shopping) so we are definitely walking around downtown to see all the little shops and support local. If we are feeling active we have to do a hike – the views from Bishop Peak are unreal. But also if you feel more like drinking than hiking we can do that too. Between the wine country and small breweries, we could have a whole day tasting! Food wise we are 100% going to Ember for a dinner, Piadina, Ox & Anchor, Ebony for a lunch, Grover Beach Sourdough for bagels, Sidecar, SLO Public Market, High Street Deli…okay honestly we are going to eat a lot. We have to go to the beach too.

This trip is sounds too fun now…

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Emily Stites, for being our cheerleader from day one, inspiring so many women and being a complete badass

Website: myfriendsusethis.com

Instagram: @myfriendsusethis

Other: Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/myfriendsusethisslo

Image Credits
Lexus Gallegos, Danae Wilke, Madison Maestre