From doctors to therapists, everyone seems to have the secret to living a healthy life. But sometimes, the best solutions come from challenging these traditional methods...  On this 152nd episode of the E-Comm Show, Andrew Maff interviews Anna Cabeca, CEO of The Girlfriend Doctor.  Dr. Anna Cabeca is not your typical doctor, she's challenged traditional medicine practices to provide her patients with a more holistic and integrative approach to health and wellness for women.

Dr. Anna's revolutionary methods have earned her the title of The Girlfriend Doctor, as she provides a safe space for women to discuss their unique problems without judgment or shame. In this episode, Anna shows us how the greatest gift you can give your audience is a space where their issues are heard and truly understood. Whether your product is targeting women or not, understanding the skills of making your audience feel validated is crucial- and this episode shows you how.

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Creating a Space for Your Audience to Feel Validated with The Girlfriend Doctor

Andrew Maff and Anna Cabeca

CONNECT WITH OUR HOST: AndrewMaff.com  |  Twitter: @AndrewMaff | LinkedIn: @AndrewMaff 

Anna Cabeca

Anna Cabeca, DO, OBGYN, FACOG, is best selling author of The Hormone Fix and Keto-Green 16 and MenuPause. Dr. Anna is triple-board certified and a fellow of gynecology and obstetrics, integrative medicine, and anti-aging and regenerative medicine. She holds special certifications in functional medicine, sexual health, and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. She lectures frequently on those topics and shares the secret behind the ebb and flow of intimacy as she demystifies the fascinating hormonal changes over time. She will help you discover how the “love hormone”, Oxytocin can breathe life into your relationship, and how Cortisol can take it away - and how the delicate balancing act of those hormones can reignite your libido and support a healthy relationship, most importantly the one you have with yourself. She is sassy, blunt, speaks from the heart and has a wonderful sense of humor, and this is why we call her The Girlfriend Doctor, because everyone needs a friend like her! She has personally developed natural products to help women balance hormones and thrive through menopause including the highly acclaimed Julva®️ cream for the vulva and MightyMaca®️ Plus, a powerful superfood blend. She lives in Dallas with her daughters, horses and dogs.

Where can you find her?:

• https://drannacabeca.com
• https://www.facebook.com/DrAnnaCabeca
• https://www.instagram.com/thegirlfrienddoctor
• Dr. Anna Cabeca, DO, OBGYN, FACOG
  
  
  

00:02

There's always a conflict when you are the brand, when you are the creator of the products, when each product has your own personal story with it, they are like your family. Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of The E-Comm Show. I'm your host, Andrew Maff as usual. And today I am joined by the amazing Dr Anna Cabeca, who is the CEO and owner of the girlfriend doctor. Dr Anna, how you ready? How are you doing? Are you ready for a good show?

01:19

I am ready. I'm glad to be here. Thank you.

01:22

Yeah, I'm super excited to have you on the show. Obviously, I always have to do my fun little research ahead of time. I know that you've got a big social media following. You've written a ton of books. There's so many things to talk about. I always like to do the stereotypical thing in the beginning. Kind of let you take the stage and just tell us a little bit about how you got started, where you've been, and obviously, about the girlfriend doctor, and we'll take it

01:44

from there. Yeah, no, absolutely. I am trained as a gynecologist and obstetrician, and I trained at Emory University, and I was a National Health Service Corps scholar. So what that means is that once they paid for majority of my medical education, and so once I finished, I was obliged to work in an underserved area. So like, for example, an Indian reservation, an inner city HIV clinic, a rural underserved population. So I chose the rural underserved population, and I started a solo practice in Southeast Georgia in an area below, like an hour below Savannah. And it was an old tripping, shrimping village, and I was the only OBGYN that was ever there. So I kind of had a brick and mortar practice for a long time. So I started in this, and I recognized that there were so many areas just foundational basics, first of all, that I didn't understand that I didn't learn in med school or in residency dealing with women's hormones and optimizing their Hormonal Health so they're not destined to a life of multiple prescriptions and surgeries and complications as a result of those as well. So I had to fill my doctor's back, and from there, I, you know, started researching and writing and teaching, and so I started online. I started in the online space. First, you know, was the the E zines and my website, and then it was creating online programs and then customizing products for me and my patients that really serve the underlying issues versus band aiding the problems. So for my own personal need and journey, early 2000 I started in the online space tapping my feed into it, so to speak. Yeah,

03:33

so back then, I mean, it sounds like so you were creating your own products. Back then, your own, obviously, medications, things like that, for your patients to take. What was the thought process there? Because I've never in my life gone to a doctor and then been like, Oh, let me make you something. It's always like, Here, take this here, take this here, take this. So what was the thought process of like, No, I'm just going to create my own Well, first,

03:56

it was from my own journey. So with as much as I knew I struggled with early menopause, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and then, you know, an infertility and so I took a healing to be honest, like I closed my practice. I was like, my doctor's bag is empty. Everything I've learned nothing, nothing helps me. And I was devastated, so I took a healing journey around the world. Literally took a year sabbatical from my practice, burned out, and I just started serendipitously, not really in search up, but serendipitously finding out about medicinal foods like maca in Peru, the acerola Chell cherry from Brazil, when you're degato herb, and different combinations that have been time tested to use to help people, and it really opened my eyes to what was possible. And as a result of that journey, learning different foods and lifestyle modalities, as I went along and observed and lived in. With many indigenous people. It reversed my early menopause at age 30, you know, at age 39 that I was diagnosed with, and at age 41 I naturally conceived the child I was told I would never be able to have. So part of that journey was like finding what worked for me. And so I first customized a blend of superfood that was for me, for my family, and hey, maybe my patients will benefit from the this too. And that was in started in 2007 where really started customizing the, you know, superfoods, or the these products. But prior, I'd been customizing with compounded formulas, hormonal treatments. So using a compounding pharmacy to create bioidentical progesterone, DHEA, testosterone, estrogen or and estriol combinations and work in customizing the hormonal aspect of my patients as well. So Wow.

06:00

So jumping ahead. How do we get into the girlfriend Doctor, where do you decide, like, Okay, we're gonna make this, you know, a big business, and start to grow into that, yeah 

06:10

And it really, it really came out of need. So now in the online space known as the girlfriend doctor, actually Sherry salata, who was Oprah's executive producer, coined me as that in a discussion we were having, and I was working with her, and she was like, You're my girlfriend, doctor. I can ask and tell you anything. And so from there, an entrepreneurial group of women said, Okay, that is your brand. And so because the white coat syndrome is real, because many times and I've had this experience myself unrelatable to the physician I'm seeing, and also kind of don't want to share all my inner secrets with the physician that I'm seeing. And so really created this relatable relationship. And with that further, working with my product lines and my programs to reach, you know, to reach everyone online. But this really the real come, you know, I'd started prior to 2018 in really, in working with my products, my custom formulas, etc, and I had created a topical cream for women, a couple topical creams for women to help with hormone issues and sexual health. And so in this time in 20 because in 2013 to 2016 you know, it's like really burning out from my practice. And to be honest, I was a single mom taking care of my kids. Had PTSD and a solo practice, and I burn out. But my patients were like, Dr Anna, no one will give us your creams and formulas, you know? And I said to them, I said, I'm going to come up with something that's over the counter you don't need a prescription for. That's better than anything I can write on a prescription pad. And I did. And so I first, I brought that online in 2016 2017 and brought in trial size the online space. Created the customer journey and nurture and education sequence, because I know for my own life it there's never just a solution in a cream, a potion, a powder, but you have to have the education, the disciplines, the practices that really serve you. And so I created, I created the products, online programs, including sexual CPR and magic menopause and ketogreen 16, to really help you know the broader understanding and taking the lifestyle approach and the education to the patient, to the client,

08:43

what's, what's been the approach on, on getting it out there? Like, I know that obviously you've got, you're basically an influencer. You've got hundreds of 1000s of think you're pushing, like 100,000 on Instagram, same thing on Facebook, like, you've got quite the following. So are you essentially remaining as the face of the business and and using your platform to kind of scale it from there. Or are you kind of thinking like, okay, eventually I want to get the products separated from the personal brand?

09:14

Yeah, so that's a good question. There's always a conflict when you are the brand, when you are the creator of the products. When each product has your own personal story with it, they are like your family, right? Like so okay, I'm not ready to disown any member of my family, so I continue on the girlfriend Doctor brand, where my product line and education programs are, and then the personal brand is the DR Anna. So Dr anna.com and that is me in clinic, meet with more of the education pieces. So it's, it has a little bit distinction, but it's so interwoven. However, I do think, you know, maybe in the future that I would sell off a line, a product line. Yeah, but it feels like I would be disowning a child at this point.

10:04

Yeah. So, you know, it's always kind of interesting in that scenario too, right? Because I also know, like, you've got like, a masterclass going on that people can sign up for. So there's even like, kind of a consulting element to it, so you've almost, sort of developed, like, it's almost like there's part of it that's like a media company, right? Like you've got a ton of content and classes that people can take and all this information, but you're also selling product on the side. And so then it kind of becomes like, Okay, what's, what's the focus, and how do I approach that? Have you kind of thought about either like, is the thought to eventually separate those as well. Or do you kind of like the idea of, like the media elements helping sell the products as well?

10:45

The media elements helping sell the products because you want the confidence and the relationship with the product, the longer you use the product, the better it works. And so I think that just goes in to reinforce the, you know, the connection between the two? Yeah.

11:02

So you've got a pretty decent product line too, right? Like, how many actual different SKUs Do you have?

11:08

Over 20, over 20 different SKUs.

11:11

So what's the what Tell me about some of those. What's the thought on like? Is there plans to roll out additional like, or are you just consistently iterating what you've got. Yeah.

11:22

So you know, as part of like, as the product line grew, first was my formulation of the 30 superfoods combined, which is my mighty maca plus formulation that works as adaptogenic blend, which is also alkalinizing and good for the gut microbiome. So for women and men, it's a great, great foundational nutritional supplement. And so it I, you know, and it's, you know, hard. It's hard for those margins. It was always a struggle with margins and everything, because it's a high quality product. And so the margins smaller, and it's complex 30 ingredients. And so with my other formulation, my balance cream, which is progesterone, pregnenolone, and the anti aging skin ingredient, tripeptide that I included in there. Then for women, I don't know about guys, but for women, we're used a cream if it has a cosmetic benefits, great that it's hormonally balancing, it's great that it's good for mood, you know, you know, sleep, all that good stuff. But if it reduces fine lines, wrinkles and removes age spots, hey, yeah, I'm all in, right? I'm going to use it regularly. So that was my personal experience, and also why I created that combination. And then my jova cream, which is the anti aging cream for the vulva, with DHEA and plant stem cells. So it's a simpler, it's a simpler, very, very clean formula, but a topical cream, so in the cosmetic line for the vulva and and pelvic floor, and so those margins were a little bit were better. And I found too, that, you know, I had the first vulvar cream on the market. No one was talking about vulvar creams and anything other than estrogen, vaginally, I'm like, what about the rest of the anatomy down there? It's important to keep it healthy, and I was using that in my patients. I also found out that, you know, for myself and for my patients, that it's a pain to use vaginal products. So topical works really, really well, and just like adding it to your skincare routine. You put things on your face, you put things on your vulva. So you got to add that to your skincare routine. So it a very unique product, and when it hit the market, it scaled to over seven figures in the first year. It was a struggle. There I was near broke. I mean, I remember the time we didn't think, you know, one and a half employee, essentially one and two part time employees. And you know, it weren't sure we were going to make the the electric bill. So that was not that long ago, 2016 and so when I've been researching and formulating, and I think that's the risk online, when you are customizing, it's a lot for R and D, it's a lot for development, it's a lot for the marketing, but it hit, it resonated. I was already a trusted voice in the space, you know, and and that really, that really helped. And so my number one product that people come to, for me is my jova cream, is the vulva cream addressing incontinence issues, bulbar dryness, sexual pleasure, it's it's that that people have come to So recognizing over the years, as I get distracted, any entrepreneur listening can relate to that. You start like, oh, let's make this. Let's make this. Let's bring this in. And all very important for foundational health and hormone balance. But we get distracted and we lose margin and we lose momentum. So I've gone through that a couple times enough to learn, I think, to stay really focused. So my number one product line, and and is, is my signature product, jova, and so around sexual health, women's sexual health, intimacy in con. Issues. So, so that part became the folk, it has become an evolved again into the focus of my business around that topic. So with that Hormonal Health understanding why DHEA is better than estrogen for vulvar health and safer for if there's a man in the picture, right? So all of these things have come into play. And so really working on the education piece and focus driven around this aspect of the product line comes into play. And then from there, with the Java, okay, cream for the vulva, excellent. And then the balance cream, also anti aging, but important for sleep. And it's with progesterone, pregnant alone. Pregnant alone is is so often forgotten in the hormone world. And then again, the tripeptides, who you use it regularly for the skin benefits that the the those marry together with mighty maca, so as an internal working with the the the super foods, working on the inside, and then externally, working on the outside, that became, that's become a very foundational bundle now. So people come in using, you know, with jova, and then like, oh, well, this works. Let me try what else she has. And I think I've really kept to that quality. And as I think, of Of course, I'm always creating. So Okay, what else do we need? Yeah,

16:26

so one of the things you mentioned, I think it was for the Volvo cream that you were basically, there was the first one out there, right? There was no competitor. So tell me a little bit about that, because I know that that obviously, when you're a first mover, it can be extremely profitable and very beneficial, but it's a nightmare to educate the market to explain like, Hey, here's something new that you didn't even know you needed. So how did you kind of start getting that messaging out and getting people to try something like that? 

16:55

Yeah, yeah. So I think it came with, Oh, gosh. How did I do it? First? It was addressing my patient population, because I had retired, I'm back in practice now here in Dallas, Texas, but I had retired my practice in Southeast Georgia. So first it was I had my clients who were already waiting for what I could get them, and had already trusted me. So that trusted patient base of over 10,000 women, you know, a good, a good segment of them were like, okay, you know, as soon as I had it out, they wanted it, and then they were getting results, and then we had testimonials, and then we I heard their stories, right? And so then realized, okay, this is a hard, I mean, it was a hard sell initially. First of all, women are like, don't talk to me about down there in the 24 you know, 2014 don't talk to me about down there are I'm fine, or my doctor said just to use vaginal estrogen. But who came to me more and more and more with these clients who had history of breast cancer and weren't getting any options for hormones, I'm like, the research is here. The one reason I started creating my formulas were for my breast cancer patients that no one would touch right, and they were left to suffer, to struggle, vaginal dryness, pain, you know, tearing, recurrent urinary tract infections, all of those things, and no one was helping them, like we can't even give you estrogen, which is not true, but DHA has been well studied in breast cancer patients, as well as testosterone. And so was able, you know, they started coming. And so with that, I decided, because my price point for jolva as a cream 60 day supply is $69 kind of fun number, right? So, a little twist on some humor here, some $69 but that's a, you know, and it's less than I could compound it for for a two even a two month per or one month prescription and jolt lasted two months. So it was a lower price point, but it was high for a lot of people, 69 and so I started doing the trial sides, trial sizes. I'm like, let's just send out trials and to my physician colleagues and educating in the physician space that there's an option for for women with history of breast cancer, there's an option other than estrogen, which can cross contaminate the male and you're dealing with his problems with too much estrogen. And I mean potentially, or you have the woman has to worry about timing in addition to when she can schedule in sex, right? It's not good. And so, so I started with the trial size. And that, initiating the trial sizes is what took me really out of near being nearly broke, giving people the opportunity to experience it for free. You know, with a small amount of shipping, right? If they live local, they could come pick up a sample, one free sample, and it lasted for seven it lasted for seven days, or they can pay for shipping online. And so we started initiating that in 2017 and that's what really took the business off.

19:53

Yeah, that's, uh, we find that to be a really good approach for anything that you're putting. On your body, anywhere, or even, like, CPG stuff, like, anything you're ingesting, like, it's so challenging to get someone to be open to trying something that's going to change their body, just in general, in any way, shape or form. And so that that that kind of trial element makes a lot of sense. Have you? Obviously, you sell on their website? I'm sure you've got products in your practice. But like, where are you available now, outside of those places, if anywhere, are you thinking about expanding it? Anywhere else? What's the plan for kind of scaling? Yeah,

20:31

we're in over 150 medical offices. So which means a lot and functional offices, often, which is, you know, the highest, the highest screening level, right? Your functional doctor is very aware of what to and not to put in and on the body. So we're in over 150 medical offices. We're online at Dr anna.com on my website, and also on Amazon. We have our products there as well.

20:58

How are you liking Amazon, considering some of the margin comments you mentioned, yeah,

21:03

yeah, that's a challenge. That's a challenge. Initially, when we got on Amazon, it was, like, a lot of trial and error. And we went on, you know, pre was it around 2012 with my mighty maca supplement. So the margins weren't good. I was like, barely breaking even each month with that and and then I brought in jolva. And so we started using first it was a little tricky to get jolba on the market. Number one, a sexual health product. Forget it. You get banned. I'm like, wait, you know, it's ridiculous. And the words that we had to use, I mean, we, we've had to jump through to hoops, really, to to get it on the market in the in the early years. So in 2017 I'd hired an Amazon specialty group to work to do that, and we were plateaued like we'd hit, you know, seven figures on Amazon annually, and then plateaued for two to three years. And now we've reapproached it over this last year with a one of our internal my marketer, my marketing officer, online for my online business, and he's really targeted Amazon. Well, it's still the margins are a challenge, but we've, you know, we've grown 30% this year.

22:18

Yeah. Oh, wow, yeah. I mean, I would think for a product line like yours, Amazon would be very interesting. I could see it being a really good customer acquisition channel, but I could also see it just being more of like, oh, I needed this, and I need to get it in like, two days, kind of thing, so I know that it's also available on Amazon. Let me go get it there. So that's that doesn't surprise me at all. That's very interesting, though, we

22:44

prefer them to come to the website, right? Yeah, don't worry, right?

22:50

Yep, doctor,

22:52

oh, sorry, but that's a piece too in our inserts, you know, we, you know, here's a free ebook, here's, you know, more education around this that we can provide to you, and that's working really well at, you know, creating cross linking between Amazon and our website, yeah.

23:09

I mean, the the insert side of things with Amazon is always very interesting. Some people like, you know, Amazon's Terms of Service, there's like, a gray area with what you can and can't do. But I love the idea of sending them to like an ebook and be like, Hey, let me continue to educate you. It's kind of like that added value to help them feel like, okay, the purchase I made is a smart one, and these people know what they're talking about, as opposed to the countless knockoffs that can be found on Amazon at all times. But Dr, Anna, I really appreciate it having you on the show, and I want to take up too much more your time. I know you're super busy. I would love to give you the opportunity to let us know about where we can find more about you, and, of course, more about the girlfriend. Doctor,

23:47

thank you. Yeah, definitely. You can find me@dranna.com so d r, a n, n, a.com, is my web website and on social media at the girlfriend. Doctor,

23:58

easy enough. Dr Anna, thank you so much for being on the show. Everyone who tuned in, of course, thank you as well. Please make sure you do the usual rate review. Subscribe all that fun stuff on whichever podcast platform you prefer, or head over to theecommshow.com to check out all of our previous episodes. But as usual, thank you all for joining us. We'll see you all next time.

24:18

Thank you for tuning in to The E-Comm Show head over to theecommshow.com to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform or on the BlueTuskr YouTube channel. The E-Comm Show is brought to you by BlueTuskr, a full service digital marketing company specifically for e-commerce sellers looking to accelerate their growth. Go to bluetuskr.com Now for more information. Make sure to tune in next week for another amazing episode of The E-Comm Show.