What we're listening to: a beauty & wellness business-building podcast roundup 

We're starting a new monthly column called FAQ, where we talk about the most common questions we get from clients. Over the course of this series you'll get answers to questions from new indie brand founders, experienced entrepreneurs entering the beauty, skin care, and sun care space, and skin care professionals entering retail.

The first FAQ is: "What should I be reading?" 

While our preferred answer is "everything," we know that no one has time to devour every industry article under the sun. For our first FAQ post, we're going to the listening portion of our reading: our podcast roundup. We're also linking a favorite episode from each so you can get a quick taste of what the podcast is all about. 

1. Beauty Is Your Business

With a focus on beauty news, this tech & innovation focused podcast is designed for B2B beauty entrepreneurs and highlights all the top mergers and events going on in the beauty industry. There is a diverse spread of information on this podcast — not just interviews with brand founders but also those who have knowledge of key industry resources, like Sarah Jindal of Mindel. This makes it a great podcast for almost anyone in the beauty industry, and a quick scan of the many topics they've already discussed can help your brand through almost any transition period. Another pro: they broadcast from big industry events, if you can't make it to a show in person. 

Dive right in: "Sara Jindal of Mintel – Trends and Insights in Beauty and Personal Care" (live from Makeup In NY)

2. Mintel's Little Conversation

Speaking of Mintel... Somewhere between a deep dive and a Cliff's notes version of their reports, Mintel's Little Conversation is a great companion to their other services. We are voracious Mintel report (and blog) readers, but we're also a small team — so this fireside-chat-like podcast is a great way for us to further consider and strategize over the information we're already getting in the reports. Episodes can also serve as a high-level report recap during our morning commute. Not all of the episodes are specifically about beauty & personal care, but it's pretty clear from the titles which ones are relevant to your business.

Dive right in: "Episode 26: The future of beauty: 2030 Beauty and Personal Care Trends."

3. Goop Presents: Beauty Closet 

This is a good one for any aspiring clean beauty or wellness brand looking to get more in touch with what cult beauty and wellness products (and services) their consumer is using, thinking about using, or even just hearing about. In this podcast, two goop editors, Jean Godfrey-June and Megan O’Neill, "answer as many [beauty questions] as they can." Their guests include "top makeup artists, dermatologists, clean beauty founders, researchers, plastic surgeons, hairstylists, and of course our boss, Gwyneth Paltrow."

Dive right in: "Bobbi Brown: Embrace Your Dark Circles, Amp Up Your Energy, and Rule the World"

4. Breaking Beauty

This beauty podcast has perhaps the widest range of topics + guests, with a focus on product reviews. Their roundup of the #DamnGoods is a great way to keep tabs on what products consumers are after — as well as competitors that should be on your radar. And they pepper in really interesting stats that you probably didn't know, making it a nice listen! 

Dive right in: "The #DamnGoods: The Only Face Sunscreens You'll Need This Summer"

5. Where Brains Meet Beauty

This easy listen is great for indies & aspiring indies. Jodi Katz, Founder & Creative Director of Base Beauty Creative Agency, brings in guests from all over the beauty industry for a relaxed conversation about the ups and downs of their career journey. The aspirational and inspirational stories are sure to get the wheels turning for you — and give you your #MondayMotivation —as you continue, or even begin, your own journey in this exciting industry.

Dive right in: "Rea Ann Silva, Founder, Beautyblender: How On-the-Set Ingenuity Planted the Seed for a Business and an Independent Life"

6. The Beauty Brains 

This podcast, hosted by cosmetic chemists, is aimed at skintellectuals and those that are curious about the what and why of their products. The idea is that "real scientists answer your beauty questions," and that's exactly what the do. They go into ingredients and processes and don't dumb-down information for their listeners in a way that's really refreshing. The Beauty Brains also features beauty science news, which is great if you aren't yet tuned in, or if you're just starting out. Aiming to debunk & clarify, this podcast is a great way to get a handle on the information your customer is taking in as they deepen their knowledge & their stance in certain hot topics in beauty. 

Dive right in: "What to look for in a sunscreen"

7. Hormonal

This podcast from personal care tech brand Clue is recommended to any current wellness brand looking to expand into a slightly new vertical via science-backed and culturally significant topics that are truly interesting. Clue is a period and ovulation tracking app that helps users understand what's going on in their bodies, and Hormonal is a companion podcast "about how hormones shape our world." Each episode is thoughtfully crafted and guests are always industry experts. The content creation is expertly done, making it an ideal benchmark brands thinking about expanding and creating in a similar way. You're also guaranteed to learn something new!

Dive right in: "How Food Effects PMS"

8. How I Built This with Guy Raz

It stretches far beyond the beauty and wellness industries, but we promise "How I Built This" is worth a listen for any budding entrepreneur. Wondering how your favorite new brand came to life? There's probably an episode about it. Spindrift, Outdoor Voices, Larabar, Eileen Fisher, Stitch Fix, Dyson... it is hard to pin down a favorite. This podcast is always keeping things interesting with in-depth interviews where founders spill how they started, scaled, and got to where they are.

Dive right in: "Eileen Fisher"