We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lori Griffin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lori, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

In March of 2020, when the world came crashing down and I lost my job, not only was I unemployed, but I was also in a health crisis. I had gained 60 pounds in the matter of 2 years, putting my own physical and mental health on the backburner and I made ONE decision that changed everything. I took a supplement and wrote a food plan that kickstarted this whole journey. The catalyst was a nightshirt….I ordered it, it was monogrammed, I couldn’t button it and I couldn’t return it! I’m not sure WHY that was the moment that changed it all, but it completely altered the trajectory of my whole life. I started documenting the photo journey in that nightshirt every 5-10 pounds and one night, while standing at the kitchen sink, it just came to me….this journey should be called The Nightshirt Chronicles.

I know the struggle of weight loss, it can be a debilitating, exhausting game. Yo-yo dieting has encompassed most of my life…along with the guilt, shame and anxiety that also comes with being overweight. Since I was unemployed and needed a job, I started selling the supplements that had honestly changed my life and there was no way to ever imagine what came next…the opportunity to coach others to find their best life and regain their health.

My approach has been simple….listen to the client, figure out their struggles and counsel them on supplements to fit their lifestyle, suggest a food plan that works with their schedule and then coach them with encouragement and grace. What most people don’t realize or want to accept is that overeating is an addiction. I have worked hard to help my clients find therapists, life coaches and other professionals to help them restore their physical and mental health.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I’m from Tulsa, OK and 9 months before I graduated from the University of Tulsa, I told my family I wanted to move to Nashville! Everyone thought I was crazy but landing a job, working for the family of Ronnie Dunn of award-winning, country music duo Brooks & Dunn, changed everything! It gave me the credibility I needed to start building a life and a career in Music City. I spent most of my 20s in the music and hospitality industries.

After my stint in Texas married, all I ever wanted to do was be back in Nashville. After working as the marketing director for Miranda Lambert’s non-profit MuttNation Foundation, traveling around the country and promoting animal rescue, my mother’s breast cancer diagnosis once again changed the course of the next chapter. I tell everyone, life gets crystal clear sitting in chemotherapy. Her illness, diagnosis and recovery is what brought me back to Music City! I went back into the hospitality industry, working for a valet parking company and I launched a boutique, event valet service, catering to the record labels and A-list celebrities in town. I won’t lie, I loved it! I loved the challenge of it and navigating one of the most male-dominated industries in the country. In February of 2020, I made the most money I had made in my entire career and then on March 13, 2020, the world stopped.

I was unemployed….75 pounds overweight, my health was in crisis and I was unsure of what was next.

The Nightshirt Chronicles started completely out of necessity! I needed a job, I needed to get my own health under control and since I had tried every other program, pill, medical program, etc, I knew that I had to figure it out! I started taking supplements, I wrote my own food plan and as the weight came off and others were interested, I shared my knowledge with them.

What I want everyone to know is that this did not happen overnight. In the midst of all the “selling,” I realized that what I really loved was coaching. My coaching has evolved over the last 2 years! What started as a “temporary” job for “right now” quickly grew into a full time business of one-on-one coaching sessions, bi-weekly newsletters, a private facebook group for accountability and community and in 2022, I launched my first full 8 week coaching course, “The Wild & Beautiful Wellness Club!”

What I know for sure is that the brand is evolving. As I continue to talk to women, hear their stories, listen to the similarities, hear the heartbreak, the loss, the grief, the shame and the anxiety over so many issues, I know that speaking to women in a public forum with other women is the ultimate goal. I’m realizing that your content can change, your end goal can change and that YOU can evolve with it. I will always know that The Nightshirt Chronicles, even though it was built out of necessity, it will continue to bring me on a beautiful journey leading me to the most amazing individuals so that we can support and inspire each other.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I heard a great quote the other day, “In 2020, we tried to survive, in 2021, we thought we were going to be ok and 2022 is the fall-out.” I couldn’t agree more.

I’m going to be really vulnerable here. After launching a business in 2020, I dove in head-first. I had a logo created, bought a web domain, had website built, created an LLC and started the trademarking process. I don’t regret any of those decisions, but after talking to many new business owners lately, many of the stories are the same, we’re all experiencing some growing pains.

What I want to share with anyone starting a new business is that the expenses go well beyond the first year. Attorneys, branding, web domains, marketing, graphic designers, etc, will add up BUT my lesson here is that you don’t quit. I also learned a big lesson in 2020, MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME!! There is no shame in taking on other jobs while you BUILD YOUR DREAM.

Plus, these discussions and these trials have enabled me to think about what’s next for my brand! I’m in the process of creating a platform for us to have these discussions openly. I haven’t decided if it will be a podcast, a blog or a book but either way, it’s going to be a beautiful addition to The Nightshirt Chronicles.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I love this question….I have reinvented myself more than Madonna!! I have explained much about 2020, but here are some other life changing/job altering situations!

I lost my job after 911.

I struggled adapting to life in Texas after I was married and moved in 2005.

Employment was tough during the recession of 2008/2009.

I was my mom’s full-time caregiver through breast cancer (she is a survivor) in 2017.

My mom’s journey is what led me back to Music City and out of my marriage in 2018.

Pivoting in 2020 was scary but I tell everyone, as long as it’s not cancer, it’s just logistics. I never set out to be a health coach but I had always wanted to speak to women. I think 2020 enabled me to see that even at almost 50, it’s not too late. It’s not too late to follow a dream, it’s not too late to create something beautiful and it’s not too late to be who you were meant to be! I”ve been working on my story for the last 18 months and I’m currently looking for a literary agent so that I can finish the book and share it with others. I love Brene Brown for saying “you never know when your story becomes someone else’s survival guide!”

Contact Info: 

• Website: http://www.thenightshirtchronicles.com/
• Instagram: @thenightshirtchronicles
• Facebook: The Nightshirt Chronicles

Image Credits
All professional photos, including branded products were created by Kathy Thomas Photography.