“I’ve seen a few of Vanessa’s interviews now (she keeps popping up as suggested videos) and this one is by far the best one with the most helpful advice. Thanks Vanessa and Maggie!

ICYMI

Hi HSR!! ❤️ I am writing this over breakfast after my first workout in a week, feeling all the benefits of an endorphin high, sipping a properly made iced latte and a Greek yogurt bowl with fresh berries in St Tropez, France. Some days, I can’t believe my life.

It is my first time here and I love it, especially because I have run into a few people and have been able to organize a few bleisure meals, including dinner with Natalie Khoei, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Meshki, who was at our London OTR dinner. Rmember business trip > vacations!!! I’m feeling very productive, which for my ADHD brain is really important. So far my favorite dinner spots are Cherry and Matsuhisa. If you have any spots you love, email me back with your recs!

I really needed to take the weekend off my phone after an intense two weeks. Eight recordings, two events (Own the Room London and HSR After Hours!!), over 130 new faces to meet at the FlightStory office, and sharing a bed with first my sister and then my husband with zero alone time after taking London by storm. I also did a somewhat experimental health procedure to extract toxins, microplastics, and pesticides from my body through Clarify Clinics, which really takes it out of you, but worth it for Courtney and my trimester zero in our operation to freeze embryos (plus our daily regimen of Bird&Be, including the collagen). If you want to learn more, listen to Dr. Natalie’s episode of HSR this week.

I feel blessed to work remotely and be just as productive as I am in the office (a skill I’ve had to learn which you’ll see in an upcoming travel vlog) but have the ability to tap into my more creative side that helps me think through big problems and opportunities for growth. If you’ve listened to Vanessa Van Edwards episode yet, you will know that I am a true ambivert, as confirmed by the leading Harvard instructor and behavioral researcher. I think because I am so extroverted at times, people assume that is my only mode. But I told Courtney today to to give me the morning to myself so I could properly dig into my emails, catch up on messages, and recharge the way I actually need to.

After the last few weeks of events, re-introducing solo episodes and the vlog, I have to thank you, HSR. Seeing the community IRL, the comments and engagement on the solo episodes and the vlog gives me confidence in my own voice, not just in the guests we curate, which is a skill in and of itself. It gives the team the confidence to let me lead this next phase of HSR's growth, knowing that what we have built here cannot be replicated. HSR is its own blueprint, not because of a formula or a strategy, but because it was built by this community, by authenticity, and by the radical belief that women deserve access to every version of themselves at once. So let’s have a good week!!!

For the first time in five years, I feel like the rest of the market is finally catching up to what we've been building at Hot Smart Rich.

My POV this week for our paid subscribers is deeply personal. I share why I've never wanted to be an influencer, why I think the creator economy is changing, and how one woman raising more than £100,000 from our WhatsApp community proved to me that the future belongs to women of influence, not just influencers.

This Week’s Mood Board

Why You Look Hotter When You Ovulate

In case you missed it, last week's podcast episode is one I really hope you'll take the time to listen to. 🤍

I wish I had had this episode years before my endometriosis and PCOS diagnosis because I had no idea that fertility is a sign of women’s overall health and the ability to live a healthier, happier and longer life, even if you have no intention of having children now or at all. 🤍

Consumer Gossip

all the brands, people, places, things we’re gossiping about this week

Women’s Health & Beauty

Media, Entertainment & Creator

Consumer, E-Commerce & Retail

Tech, Business & Investing

Why I've Never Wanted to Be an Influencer

And why one woman raising £100,000 from our WhatsApp community proved I was right.

People want to follow real people, and buy from REAL, not businesses. Not because they’re perfect, but because they’re living lives that are genuinely worth paying attention to.

For the first time in five years, I feel like culture is finally catching up with me, and I think this all goes back to that very simple thesis.

There feels like there’s a real sense of change happening in the market. We’re moving from traditional lifestyle creators, to educational creators, to what a lot of people think is the next evolution of the creator economy: women of influence.

And if you think this is just another trend piece about influencers, it isn't. Last year, one angel inside the Hot Smart Rich community raised more than £100,000 from other women in our WhatsApp group. To me, that wasn't a fundraising story. It was proof that the future of influence has already arrived. So let's get into it.