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[00:00:00] Hey guys. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Amanda. I'm Laura. And I'm Kendra. And today we have a special treat because Dr. Laurie B is joining us to talk about pursuing passions outside of clinical medicine. She is an athlete, an emergency medicine physician, an army veteran with a Bronze Star for her combat deployment in Iraq, and she's the founder of Green Cloud Apparel, which is now known as Cloud LifeWear.
We've become huge fans of her after meeting Laurie at several conferences, and we know that you will love her too. So thank you so much, Laurie, for coming on the show. Thank you so much for having me. I'm such a huge fan of the three of you. Likewise, we're huge fans of you. Yes, likewise. Yeah. Super exciting to have you here and to share your wonderful personality with our listeners and talk a little bit about who you are.
So would you like to tell our audience a little bit about you? I'm pretty simple. So, you know, I'm an emergency medicine physician. That's still a big part [00:01:00] of who I am. I'm a wife, I'm a dog mom. I love running or basically anything outside. I'm a veteran and yeah, I started this crazy company and, and I added that to my list, but that's about it.
I keep it pretty simple. I'm a huge introvert, so, even coming on here makes me a little bit nervous, but yeah, I love it. I love it how you said it's so simple and you just rattled off exactly 10 things, but isn't that just like us to be like, oh, we're just emergency medicine physicians and entrepreneurs.
Yeah, and we try to hold down the house yeah. That just goes a little bit with our inability to stand out. You are a standout. You're amazing. I love your social media presence and we are big fans, like we said, so thank you. Can we talk a little bit about your journey in Cloud LifeWear, formerly known as Green Cloud?
What was the motivation and take us through that story. Okay, I'll try to keep it [00:02:00] short because it's been a long journey. So in 2001, I started my intern year in the military. I trained in the military and then gave back that way. And I still serve veterans today. But when I showed up, I was super excited to finally.
You know, be able to call myself a doctor and look like a doctor, dressed like a doctor. At that time, we went to the OR to get our scrubs and. Literally they were like all men's sizes. I had to roll them. I know you guys know this. Roll them three times so that you're not like tying them over your breasts and so, they're not dragging on the ground.
And I just thought like, what they don't even make scrubs for us, like. Come on. We've been doing this for a while now and I feel silly wearing them. And how are patients gonna take me seriously when I feel, you know, silly. So the idea was planted, then I'm like, oh, I should do something about this.
But I was starting my [00:03:00] internship and so, you know, the idea went away. But over the years it just. Kept coming back to the point that I like went to a local fabric store probably 15 years ago and bought some material and I tried to sew my first set and I wish I would've kept them because they were so hideous and I just kept telling myself, you're crazy and you know, but.
After so many times I realized I'm gonna try this, but I'm gonna try it, you know, by seeking help with people that actually know how to do this. And I mean, that's basically, I just one day said I'm gonna do this. I.
She did it. I love it. And I thought, I really, there's so much to that story because what you've told us, so Yeah. When you're thinking about starting a scrub company, it's a little bit more than that. Yeah. But it really wasn't, I mean, my idea was like, I think I can do it better. I think I can find a material that I'll really love and a fit I'll like a little bit more and make them a little more fun.
[00:04:00] And I really thought like, okay, I'm gonna put a little bit into this, but I'll probably end up just making scrubs for me and a few friends. I had zero expectations when I started the company because I thought really? I, I would just dress a few of us, but then as we started getting samples and working on those, and then I just got more and more excited and just kind of grew from there.
But I still to this day haven't set like annual expectations and I'm just having fun with it. And we'll keep going as long as we're having fun and, you know, hopefully at some point. Soon I'll bring on a co-CEO that actually enjoys like running the business side because it is getting more challenging as it grows.
But it's still a lot of fun. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we're excited to be partners in that journey and have the ability to know you and hear from you and learn from your story in building a business. Just like we've said lots of times, we got a passion for [00:05:00] something and we set out to build a business and it is.
So much fun. But you're right, it's a ton of work. Mm-hmm. And you know, we always hear, or we see these businesses like, oh, it's just an overnight success. And that's not really the story. So you've shared with us that you've made every mistake in the book when starting a business. What advice could you share for our listeners?
Just starting their journey or maybe in the back of their mind, they have a passion, especially physicians, we talk about this a lot, like get stuck thinking this is the only thing we can do. Mm-hmm. Is be an EM physician. And I'll tell you, you know, we say it all the time. We're here to recurringly, debunk that myth.
Yeah, I mean, in one way, I think I chose emergency medicine to have more options in life. You know, when I was doing my rotations, I loved so many different rotations. I'm sure this is the story of many EM physicians and. I love them, but I also was looking at this system that was beating me [00:06:00] up already as a third and fourth year medical student.
And I was like, eh, I don't know if I'm gonna love this as my life. And when I got to emergency medicine, I found a mentor who was chair of a department working two days a week homeschooling her children and loving everything about her life. And I was like. Done. Sign me up, this is what I'm gonna do. And it just took one person to see them figure it out and love medicine and also everything else they were doing in life to convince me.
And so, yeah, you know, it hasn't been easy. And learning. The whole business side after learning all of medicine has been a challenge. Like I really wish I would've. Acted on this idea maybe 10, 15 years ago when I still had more energy. But, you know, I'm still making it work at my pace. I'm not gonna pull all-nighters.
I'm not gonna, this is like a, a marathon in life, so [00:07:00] I'm just enjoying it. But I'm keeping my priorities, you know, my family. I still want to work in the emergency department, you know, we'll grow at a pace that's comfortable. And yeah, it's not gonna be an overnight success, but. You know, 10 years to be an overnight success is, I've heard that quote before, and that's probably more true.
But yeah, so I'm loving the balance. So when I added Cloud LifeWear to my life, I actually enjoyed medicine a little bit more. I don't know. I connected with more women in medicine in all different specialties. I mean, I knew EM, physician, females were struggling 'cause I mentored and sponsored a lot of them over my career just in EM.
But then when I branched out and met women in all different fields, we're all facing these challenges. And so that's been probably the most rewarding part of cloud is the connections I've made with so many other women. I love that so much, and you make our lives better by helping us feel cute at work, [00:08:00] and I hope so.
Oh, you, you definitely do. You know when you get up and you have to get dressed and you're thinking about this 12-hour shift and you know what's gonna happen and it's super stressful and. I put those scrubs on and you know, I stand a little bit taller and I mean, there's still problems. I wish I could solve everything, but at least, you know, you feel pretty good when you go to work, and it does kind of get your mindset a little bit better, I think.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, and I think about you when I put 'em on, I'm always, I'm like, she cares. I do. I do. And we can't leave. I mean, so many women are leaving medicine and because it's the system. Didn't even think about us when it was being built. It didn't even think about us. But we are here, we're rocking it.
We deserve it, and we have to restructure it somehow. We've got a lot of work to do. So if we just leave, I feel like we're not gonna make the changes. We need to but it's a tough battle. Whew. It's tough. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love [00:09:00] that. I love that. But I love how you said we do need to do something different, but I think teams like this, like when we collab, we can do more.
Mm-hmm. And that's what I love about you, Laurie, is from the moment that we met you, you were like, we can do things. Together we can move this needle. Yeah. And I just so appreciate your collaborative spirit. I don't even know if that's a word, but your ability to collab and to see that yes, we are all on mission and we all support and raise up each other because when we do that, we actually do move the needle a little bit further.
Yeah. Yeah. No, and my biggest mistake, I think with cloud was not really telling. Anyone what I was doing, I was like kind of embarrassed and I thought again, okay, I'm just gonna try making scrubs for me. And so I didn't. Seek out mentorship or like, even I didn't have my team. I should have had that in place from the beginning.
But you know, if you look at my background, when I trained emergency medicine, I was the only female in my, in [00:10:00] the program. It was military, so, you know, very male dominant in general. And then to be in a program with. Me being the only female, I just, I felt like such an outcast this whole time. So it was kind of natural for me to be like, okay, you're gonna do something else on your own that nobody really, you know, wants to join in with.
And that was such a mistake. And if I could go back, I would've found someone with experience that could have walked the walk with me and to any medical student or resident out there that's feeling like, oh my god. Everyone's smarter. Everyone's, you know, laughing at me. I don't belong here. Get rid of all of that and just get yourself a sponsor or mentor, both because we all feel that way and, you know, we just don't talk about it.
Yeah. Oh all that is so good. Mm. So. And I was thinking about your EM chair, who inspired you to do EM? 'cause you could, she [00:11:00] was doing so many things and you trained at the same time. Amanda and I trained, and since that time, things have opened up so much, I think in many fields of medicine where, and it's not just women who want different life flexibility, it's, it's all of us.
And so I just think it's exciting. To see doctors from all different realms incorporate different things into their lives other than just being a doctor. Being a doctor is amazing, but we definitely can put more good in the world and enjoy life more when we do have some of these outside.
Vocations going on. So thanks for being such a great example of that. Yeah, no, it's, and again, medicine is enough, right? Like if that's mm-hmm. All you want to do. I love that. Yeah. And I'm happy that you found that and it works for you. Um, It just. Beat me up over and over and, you know, I still go back to it because I love the [00:12:00] connection with patients.
I love figuring things out, not knowing what's gonna walk through the door next. I mean, we all, we all think this way. But now working, I work 0.5, which is 20 hours a week. That works great for me. That's great. Mm-hmm. So tell us what you do for your wellbeing while you're juggling all these responsibilities of being a dog mom and a partner, and an emergency physician and running this business.
Yeah. So, sleep is number one priority. So my friends know like at eight o'clock, my phone's off and I'm in bed by eight 30 reading. Or maybe like right now I'm into Ted Lasso. I know I'm behind, but like, I'll watch a Ted Lasso episode, cuddle with my dog before she goes into her crate to go to bed.
But like by nine o'clock, lights are out. But you know, at four 30 I'm waking up without an alarm. It's amazing and I feel so good. So sleep to me. If you [00:13:00] don't have that right, and unfortunately it was taken away from us, you know, right at the beginning. Right. But, and it took in emergency medicine, it's very hard to get that sleep.
But that's my number one priority. And then from there, I know we sort of moved from multitasking to task switching, but. I'm a pro at multitasking. So what does that mean? This morning I got up and I went for a five-mile run with my dog because then I'm walking her, getting her energy out. So I, I'm always usually doing two things.
Or, you know, I, if I don't do that every day with her, but then other days if I'm biking, maybe I'll listen to a podcast. To learn something. So I always wanna be doing two things or, you know, if I'm driving to pick up embroidery I'm calling my best friend and we're catching up for that time. So I just combine as much as I can.
And then I've learned to say no. So much because a hard lesson [00:14:00] is when you say yes, you're saying no to things that matter more. So I'm just no thanks, or just no, I can't, I try not to say I'm sorry. I just say, no, that doesn't work for me. So my schedule is pretty simple day to day. I like it that way.
And, you know, I try to move. I'm outdoors as much as possible. I try to eat healthy most of the time, but I'm a dessert queen and will not go a day without something sweet. And then for mental wellbeing, you know, it's socializing. So as much of an introvert as I am, every Friday we do brunch with friends.
You know, we try to meet up with friends for dinner a couple nights during the week. My husband and I spend a lot of quality time together, and my dog, that's what fulfills me. It doesn't work for everyone, but for me, that's what works. I. Oh, that's very inspiring. So the internet claims you also have a passion for wilderness medicine, is that right?
Yeah. Yeah. [00:15:00] So wilderness medicine is basically military medicine wearing Patagonia. I. Just to let you know, but I love, I love moving emergency medicine out of the emergency department and then being like, okay, how could we treat this if we were hiking in Yosemite and came across, you know? So for a long time when I was core faculty, like that was one of.
One of my roles, we put on a wilderness medicine course every year and it was so much fun to just, you know, teach outside and have this whole obstacle course where you would come upon different scenarios and have to figure out how to treat different cases. So yes, I love wilderness medicine. So fun. Yeah.
Combining your love of EM and being outside. Yeah. Excellent. Yeah. We also know you to be an incredibly generous person, and we wanted to highlight what you're doing for California physicians who have been affected by the fires. Could you tell us about what's going on [00:16:00] there? Yeah, I mean, we just talked about saying, no, I will not say no to women in medicine that need my help.
So when the fires happened, it was just so devastating. I reached out within my network of ambassadors and friends and customers from that area. And sent whatever I could to whoever wanted anything. And then we sent some big gift boxes to emergency departments in the area for those working. 'cause we know and can imagine how hard this is to, if you lost your house, to still have to be going to work when you have so many.
Problems to deal with, but that's what we do. You turn off those problems and turn on for everyone else because they're so desperately needed. So we were able to surprise some workers with fun gifts and we do that however, whenever we can. So, you know, if anyone, if you know someone that needs something that's like.
Part of my [00:17:00] business. And again, while I run this, it may not make sense as a business owner, but it's my business. I can do what I want, right? So, my goal is not to make money in this company, it's to grow it, to keep giving back to women in medicine. I, I'm in that position, which I'm so fortunate to be that that's been the goal from day one.
So beautiful. What you've done is highlight the whole idea of like, well, you can't stop the fires. You can't do that, but what you can do mm-hmm. Is I have some extra scrubs here and I can send those. Mm-hmm. Like being able to focus on what you can do is so much better for our wellbeing than focusing on what you can't do.
Yeah. And your part makes a difference. So I love that. Yeah. I love that you. I'm not gonna just sit here. I'm gonna do something and here's what I can do. Yeah. I try to each day sort of look at that, like, what can I do today? You know, I was driving [00:18:00] yesterday and I saw this homeless woman. I. And I'm like, what can I, I can bring her back some tanks and socks, you know, and, and some, some snack bars.
'cause I don't like to just give cash. You know, we kind of know from emergency medicine working with a, a lot of patients suffering from homelessness. We want, I. To give them things that they can use in a good way. And so, you know, I, each day I try to look at it like that and, you know, so I encourage anyone listening.
If they know someone in need, just reach out to me. It's very easy. And then we can have fun together. 'cause that's, to me, what makes life so meaningful is being able to give. Yeah. Well and these scrubs like, this isn't a commercial, but I'm like, it's not hospital scrubs.
I'll, I'll assure you. I assure you. No. They feel like love. They feel so good, and just knowing the care that went into creating them, it's just, there's just nothing like 'em. They're amazing. Yeah. Thank you. That's what I want them to feel. We'll include the the website on the show notes.
So just scroll down there [00:19:00] because you are especially if you're a woman physician, you're gonna wanna check 'em out because you are not only, you know, just a, like a scrub design that you would be expecting. She also has really feminine tops that you totally could wear as. Yeah, to dinner. I mean, you're not gonna look like that doc that walks in in his scrubs.
'cause her scrubs look like fine clothing. Yeah, they're fun. They're fun. I had to push that a little bit 'cause I felt, you know, and I love the other companies and I think there's room for so many of us in a space, I mean, imagine if like there were only Levi Jeans, right? Like, we like to have the variety and you can, you can own five different types and wear a different pair each day.
So I wanted. To push it and make them a little more feminine and add a little ruffle here and there. I didn't, you know, I don't think I overdid it, but, um mm-hmm. I wanted to just make them a little bit more fun because we're kind of confined in this space, and the more we push it, the more we [00:20:00] make room for more women.
Yeah. And you can embroider 'em. Yeah. In fact, her socks are incredible. They have like just the right amount of supportive squeeze mm-hmm. In 'em. They've got fun messages on 'em. And then we just recently got a set of jackets that we're gonna wear, like at conferences and stuff, embroidered with our mm-hmm.
The Whole Physician on it. So there's all kinds of stuff. What's the best way? Is the website, cloudlifewear.com, is that the best way to get 'em or? Yeah, that's probably the best way. I mean, everything's Cloud LifeWear, so, okay. Meta my email [email protected]. I'm very easy to find through the website.
You can get in touch with me. Okay. If you have any questions, we have a small team that. It's pretty much available except for, you know, nighttime. That's our priority is sleep. But during day hours, we will answer as soon as possible. She will not be answering at midnight. Okay. So I'll tell them that.
Laurie, L-A-U-R-I-E, correct. At cloudlifewear.com? Mm-hmm. Yes. Well, before we close out, are there any [00:21:00] questions we didn't ask you or thoughts you wanted to share? You know, I'm just, this means so much, so, you know, again, as much as I say no I was so excited to meet with the three of you and whatever we can do to support women and men in medicine to keep going, you know, it's a tough time right now.
It's a super tough time at the VA with all the changes and, you know, some of the cuts that are happening. But we just have to keep showing up, giving our best care and then taking care of each other because, you know, we hurt too through life. So I'm just excited to collaborate more. I'm looking forward to seeing you guys in person in what, two months, three months?
In April, early April. Yeah. I'm gonna show you something maybe right after we finish. Yay. To get your input and Yeah, I mean, let's just keep. One 10 at a time. Whatever we can do to support whoever through this journey. [00:22:00] Yeah. That's awesome. We'll be at AAEM. That's what Laurie is referring to, so if you are an EM doc.
And planning to go to AAEM then come by and see us. We'll have a booth. Yep. We're gonna be booth 112 and you might just find some Cloud LifeWear on display. So yes, please come by. Check us out at AAEM scientific assembly April 7th through the 9th. We'd love to see you there and shake your hand, meet ya.
And you never know. There might be some Cloud LifeWear there. And we thank you for joining us today. We hope you love this podcast and loved meeting Laurie as much as we did. So if it helped inspire you in any way, leave us a review. It helps other doctors find us and it moves us up on the list.
And if you have any questions, an experience of a. Passion sitting in the back of your mind and just want some encouragement or wanna tell us about it. Please email us [email protected]. We also wanna tell you about our new free [00:23:00] video, how to Crush Physician Burnout for Good without cutting back hours, quitting Medicine, or sucking it up in Silence.
So scroll down the show notes, click the link and check it out today. Until next time, you are whole. You are a gift to medicine and the work you do matters.
