Entrepreneur of Impact: Julia Broglie
We're delighted to introduce you to Entrepreneur of Impact Award winner Julia Broglie of BroglieBox. She is one of the amazing, everyday entrepreneur heroes doing good things for the world & her community during the COVID pandemic. We hope you're just as inspired by her story as we are!
Tell us a bit about your business & how it came to be.
My business, BroglieBox, came out of personal need and a deep passion for helping others with their mental health. I have always struggled with my own mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, and OCD and unfortunately lost my older brother Justin to suicide when he was 24. His death flipped my world upside down and ultimately led me to the realization that mental health challenges are much more common than I previously thought. Oftentimes loved ones don’t know how to support their friend or family member, so the idea was to create a solution that was both practical and heartfelt.
This is how BroglieBox was born: we send thoughtful care packages of products, tools, and resources which are focused on mental health and stress relief. My cofounder, Dustin Belt, and I consulted with therapists and researched thousands of brands to find high quality and effective products. Boxes also include a copy of our own magazine, Piece of Mind, which is a curated collection of articles, guides, and visual tools from mental health experts including therapists, doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, dietitians, nutritionists, and more. We also offer the option to include handwritten personalized messages in one of our signature greeting cards. We are currently offering boxes that specialize in Grief, Anxiety, Stress, Students, and Wellness with more releases planned throughout the upcoming year (hint: sleep and postpartum). Our goal is that every single person who receives a BroglieBox feels more empowered in their health, knows they are not alone, and feels a sense of hope and inner peace.
How was your business affected by the COVID pandemic? What shifts did you have to make in order to continue operating?
Anxiety and stress levels spiked around the world. Some people reached out to us explaining that they were experiencing anxiety for the very first time and didn't know what to do. Others said they worried about their loved ones who were now in isolation.
Being a company that sends mental wellness care packages, we were committed to do even more during the pandemic. We developed a Quarantine Self-Care Box specifically for people to stay grounded and relieve stress. We also ramped up the free resources on our blog to help those struggling through this time. We hosted several Instagram Lives with a variety of mental health advocates and therapists for mental health awareness and to provide actionable tips for anyone listening.
Many companies with corporate wellness programs reached out about purchasing bulk orders of our Stress Less boxes to ship to their employees who started working from home. I personally was impressed and delighted to see that so many companies truly care about the mental wellbeing of their employees and wanted to send them useful items directly to their doorstep.
On the flip side, we did experience vendor delays and shut downs. We had to be quick to make decisions and pivot when necessary. It was a learning experience, and looking back I am proud about our ability to be flexible without sacrificing quality.
You were recognized by the community as an Entrepreneur of Impact! Tell us about your efforts to create a positive impact during the COVID crisis.
What an honor! It has always been important for me to create a social impact company. In addition to the business, we have a nonprofit arm - BroglieBox Foundation, which is enabling us to send 450 care packages to front line healthcare workers. Those boxes include mindfulness cards, massage roller balls, gratitude journals, flying wish paper, and our Piece of Mind magazine.
What quote or motto you live by?
Would you follow the person who has fought and won 100 battles or the person who has read 100 books about battles? This motto helps me take action over consumption!
What does the world need more of?
The world could always use more kindness and empathy. We work every single day to destigmatize mental health, because every single person on the planet has it. Unfortunately, many people don’t think about their mental health until there is a problem. The reality is that each of us will experience challenges in our lifetime and it is crucial to be putting healthy habits into place early on to strengthen our mental resilience.
In 3 words, what does it take to be successful as a business owner?
Don’t give up :)
If you were to impart one tidbit of wisdom to up-and-coming entrepreneurs, what would it be?
My wisdom would be to ensure you are taking care of your own mental and physical health. You are your company's greatest asset. Entrepreneurs are quick to experience burnout because we have to juggle so many different roles. We are faced with a new stressor practically every day. If you need to, block out time on your calendar for self-care.
Entrepreneurship is an emotional rollercoaster, taking time to build up that mental resilience is critical so that you can face any obstacle. I think it is also important to have a regular practice of writing down your weekly "wins" - big and small. This is something my business coach and mentor taught me to do, and it has helped me keep perspective in tough times.
We help women entrepreneurs build powerful, purposeful, and profitable businesses. Through actionable education and meaningful opportunities to connect, we cultivate growth-minded entrepreneurs to achieve personal success, while positively impacting their local community, economy, and causes they care about. We believe entrepreneurship is a force for greater good and our mission is to help YOU succeed. Join us inside the Hatch Tribe Collective!