Latest / Mama Making Podcast / Lauren Dewey | Infertility, Loss, Postpartum, and Everything In Between: The Story Behind Brooksy Box

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Lauren Dewey | Infertility, Loss, Postpartum, and Everything In Between: The Story Behind Brooksy Box · Mama Making Podcast

• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to the Mama Making podcast, where we share stories of moms making impact in their own lives and in the world around them.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Jessica, and each week I sit down with women who are building businesses, leading communities, shaping culture, and redefining what success looks like inside of motherhood.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Because motherhood does not have to stop your ambition, it can transform it.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's get into it.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: Hello everyone and welcome to the Mama Making podcast.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Jessica.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: If you're new, welcome.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: If you're not new, then welcome back.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Today I am so excited to have Lauren Dewey on the podcast.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Lauren is the founder of Brooksy Box and a mom of two boys, Brooks and Caden.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: After 14 years in corporate, Lauren navigated infertility, IBF motherhood, and a major career identity shift that ultimately led to her building something entirely new on her own.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: Brooksy Box offers curated care packages for every stage of the motherhood journey: infertility, baby loss, pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: Thoughtfully designed to help women feel seen, supported, and cared for.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Her mission is simple and profound to help people show up for women they love, especially in the moments when most people don't know what to do or say.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Lauren, for being here.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited to chat with you.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Jessica.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited to chat with you as well.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_02: So tell us a little bit more about you, who you are, where you're from, whatever you're comfortable sharing.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_02: So as Jessica mentioned, I'm Lauren Dewey, founder of Brooksy Box, located in Rochester, New York.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_02: So not New York City.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_02: I know everyone automatically might think New York City when I say New York, but we're in like the western half of New York.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_02: And so I started Brooksy Box um almost three years ago at this point, but it really all stemmed from my whole journey of motherhood.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: So my husband and I struggled with infertility for almost three years before having our first baby via IVF.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: And when that happened, you know, all the work ahead of that was really to focus on making Brooks my first one.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_02: And to really just get to that point, I always wanted to be a mom.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: I just, when you're going through that journey, you just don't know if it's gonna happen or when it's gonna happen.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_02: So while I didn't have the longest journey, I also didn't have the shortest journey.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_02: And so when that finally came, we were so excited.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_02: And everyone was focused on the baby, which of course, I get it, he's a cutie.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but that's just kind of always been the norm.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_02: Like we focus on the baby once, you know, the baby arrives.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_02: And so when my sister-in-law came to meet him, she actually brought me a basket of items that cared for myself and my recovery.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_02: And that's really how Brooksy Box overall the idea came from because I felt so seen and supported in that moment.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: I remember just like tearing up because I'm like, wait, this is for me.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_02: This isn't just for him.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it just in that moment, I was like, why have I never done this for a mama before?
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_02: I was always the one getting just another outfit for the baby.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: And it wasn't until that point where I'm like, man, I need to show up differently for the mamas in my life and my friends who are becoming mamas because I didn't realize until that moment how much the mama needs to feel cared for and needs to feel seen and supported through one of the most vulnerable moments in her life.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think the incredible thing that you're doing with Brooksy Box, it is allowing people to show up in times when they aren't really sure how to.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that creating that um or removing that barrier for people to give a gift that's like meaningful, but also something mom would actually want, I think is so amazing.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so tell me, you've said a little bit where this started, but I would like to hear a little bit more about your journey.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: You started in corporate, um, did the IVF journey.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: What did that all look like for you?
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so I was in corporate for about 14 years.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: The lat the half of that was in a leadership role, a sales leadership role.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_02: So at that moment, when we were going through infertility, I was traveling a lot before that as we were figuring out like, why isn't this working?
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_02: Why are we not getting pregnant?
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then COVID happened, which is a blessing and a curse.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I don't want to say like we we ended up getting fortunate um through that time just because I was able to start fertility treatments and not be traveling for work.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, though there was some pauses with things just because the, you know, the state of the world was unknown at that time, but it allowed me to be more home and not traveling as much.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_02: So I was able to have my husband do some of the shots that I needed him to do and to go to my appointments because when you're going through infertility, and this is hard for me as a type A person, you lose all control over your life essentially in that moment because you can only focus on the things you can control.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_02: You can focus on giving yourself the shots at the specific times that you need to, but your life is really dictated by how your body's responding to the medication, when you have to go back for your next appointment, when your body is ready to go on to the next thing.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_02: And so that was hard for me overall, but it was also a good thing that I ended up being remote at the time, more remote at the time, I should say, um, to be able to attend those appointments and everything.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_02: Because otherwise, I think we probably would have delayed that because I was in such a good position with my corporate role.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_02: And I was always someone who wanted to climb the corporate ladder.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: I was never someone who like steered away from that thought.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: I just wanted to keep going and going and going.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_02: And infertility was like the first thing that kind of made me realize and shift my perspective on things a little bit, but it really wasn't until Brooks was born.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_02: And I actually had a conversation with a team member on my team at that time, and I was on maternity leave, and she called me just to check in.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_02: And I was going back to work in about a month or so, and she's like, Aren't you so excited to come back?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, Yeah, I'm excited to see everyone.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_02: I'm excited to like talk to everyone.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_02: But in my gut, I just felt like a weird feeling when she said that.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, no, I want to be home with him.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I just worked so hard to even get to this point, and I want to spend time with him.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_02: And that was the first moment I felt like this weird like shift for me that was like, whoa, what's going on here?
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_02: Because I just wanted to keep climbing the corporate ladder.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: I never had a thought like that in my life.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I did end up going back to on corporate after my maternity leave.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_02: And shortly thereafter, I knew we were going through a restructure.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I ended up having my leadership position.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_02: One of my, one of the leadership positions was mine that was eliminated.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_02: And it honestly was a blessing and a curse again in some ways because I was able to spend more time with him, but I went through a really crazy identity shift with it because all I've ever known is wanting to be in corporate and continue climbing that ladder.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: And here I found myself at a little bit of a different like crossroads pivot of like, what do I do next?
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think I can totally relate to this.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: I I also got let go in a huge layoff.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I have always been like a hustler.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: I worked in nonprofit and nonprofit fundraising specifically uh in project management.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: And it was like hustle.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was just who I was.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: So when I was like, okay, I have to do something different and decided to build a business.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like it's so interesting to have that um I that huge identity shift of becoming a mom is crazy and something that I wasn't prepared for.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: But I I knew it was gonna happen, but I feel like it was worse when I was jobless at the time and was like, well, who am I now?
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: And what am I gonna do now?
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: And where do I want to go?
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: And there was like some freedom in it, but then also so much fear as well.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think a lot of moms can't identify with that in in many different in many different spaces.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_02: The amount of times I told myself, like I said to myself, I don't know who the F I am anymore during that period was wild, honestly.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_02: I just, it was a major, major shift for me.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but ultimately it led me to where I am today.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: So what was next for you?
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: How did you decide this is the avenue you were gonna go down?
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: What did it all look like?
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: So after my sister-in-law had given me that care package when I was on maternity or that basket of items of care for myself when I was on re maternity leave, ever since, like ever since then, I was always giving all my my friends and loved ones who had just had a baby.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_02: I put together care packages for them with recovery items that she needed for afterbirth.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so after I was laid off, I was just like going through the motions.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_02: I was on calls with recruiters, a lot of the same recruiters like that I spoke to when I got my previous leadership role.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_02: And I had a lot of different offers that I was looking at and I was reaching out to more companies, and something just still felt weird for me, like in my gut.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, what is happening?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_02: Like, no, get another job in corporate.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_02: Like, this is the path, right?
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_02: And so something was still like stopping me.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: And one day I was going down the stairs after putting Brooks down for an app.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, why don't I just do this?
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: Why don't I just create these care packages and make like a true business out of it?
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_02: Because I've already been doing this for my friends.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_02: It's been received really well.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_02: I never knew what to do or say.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_02: I thought I did, and I thought I could just give baby box, you know, a baby gift to my friends.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_02: But from that moment on, I just I started toying with the idea.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: I still wasn't fully in it though.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: I still caught myself like looking on LinkedIn and kind of being in this wishy-washy area.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_02: And it really wasn't until I was rocking Brooks at two in the morning, trying to get them back to sleep one morning.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, I do not want to be in a hotel right now because any positions I was looking at, I was gonna have to be traveling a lot again.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, I want to be here right with you.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_02: And after that moment, that's when it really, really shifted for me.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_02: And I was, okay, let's just move forward with this and really commit to it and see where it takes me.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like there are these um like moments that you can think back to of like, oh, this was exactly when.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I love that it was just in like a really quiet everyday moment that you were like, okay, let's do this.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, very unexpected.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of things can happen in that chair rocket at two in the morning.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: So tell me how you went from, okay, let's do this to a full-on business.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_02: So I started exploring all the different things that I wanted to do.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of what I see out there has always been pregnancy and postpartum boxes and more of just like gimmicky things that you can put in a box.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_02: And a lot of them are subscription-based.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_02: But my whole thing was, okay, I want to do a postpartum box because that's what it really, you know, the idea originally came from.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_02: And I really wanted to make it all recovery items for the mama.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_02: So that was like my first box that I started with.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_02: Then I thought to myself, I don't want to just do postpartum.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_02: I don't want to just do pregnancy.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_02: After going through infertility, I know the path to motherhood is not linear.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_02: So I was like, I need to create boxes that also help women when they're going through infertility and when they're going through baby loss too.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_02: And I really wanted to have like more of the full spectrum of the motherhood journey because it isn't linear.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_02: And as much as I want to say I was so excited to get married and have babies and everything, it didn't work out as planned, right?
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: As a lot of us millennials just have this path of what it's going to be like.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_02: And so after that, I started creating okay, infertility box.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_02: What did I need to care for myself through treatments?
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_02: And started focusing on that baby loss box.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_02: I fortunately never have experienced the loss of a baby.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but unfortunately, a few of my friends have.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_02: And anytime they had a miscarriage, I always resorted to sending flowers.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_02: And I just think it's a societal norm, not that there's anything wrong with it, but I just wanted something that was going to be more meaningful and thoughtful for them and that would last longer than a week.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_02: And so I kind of bottled up all those emotions that I wanted to and put it directly into that box.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and from then on, I have infertility, baby loss, created a pregnancy box with essentials of care for her morning sickness.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_02: My morning sickness with my second was terrible.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I used like every item in that box.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, went on to create a NICU box to support mamas when they're going through those, you know, very vulnerable times in the NICU.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_02: I have three mama boxes.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: I launched a mama and baby mini box earlier this year.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_02: And so all those different ones just to me really help to complete more of this is what the motherhood journey looks like and how you can support her every, you know, at every stage versus just the congratulatory of pregnancy and postpartum.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think like you were saying, it's hard to know how to show up if you've never been there before.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: I specifically remember a good friend of mine who um but she was the last one to have uh her first um in our friend group.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: And she was like so um like apologetic to all of us about like I should have shown up differently.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so sorry, like I see how you guys all showed up for me differently than than I showed up for you.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, a lot of times you don't know what to do or say if you haven't been in that space.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I love that you're kind of like creating the opportunity for someone to show up in like just the perfect way for whatever life stage that person is in.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and to no fault of the individual that's trying, right?
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_02: Like they are trying to show up, but they just really don't know how.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_02: And I always say, like, you just don't know what you don't know.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_02: I unfortunately had three friends, like three of my really good friends, go through infertility before me.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_02: And man, when I look back, I'm like, I wish I would have shown up for you differently.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_02: I am so sorry.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: I wish I would have shown up better.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: I just didn't know what you were really going through.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: And so, and that's okay, like we all don't know, right?
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: If you haven't been through it, you're not gonna know.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_02: But that's why it's really important to like have different things where you can support someone through every different stage and just have it be something that's like really meaningful and intentional to be able to support them and show up for them in a different way, other than just flowers.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: How do you decide?
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: You shared a little bit, but how do you decide what goes into each box?
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: And how do you kind of do like RD to figure out what you're gonna be putting in your newest boxes or like your your staple boxes?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, I love this question.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_02: So, one of the first ones is my own lived experience.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_02: What did I like?
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: What did I didn't like?
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: And then it's also going from okay, what are mamas liking?
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_02: Conversations I'm having with other mamas, conversations I'm having with those that are also going through infertility, that have been through loss.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_02: Having those real life conversations is so helpful because maybe like not everything I use is something everyone else wants, right?
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_02: So kind of mixing all of those together.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then I always make sure that every product is clean and safe for her and baby.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_02: So the ingredients are extremely important to me.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_02: They all have to be paraben-free, phthalite-free, no fragrance, no dyes, none of the crap that goes into a lot of the products that are in some different gifts and everything, because we don't want anything messing with her hormones.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_02: So those are non-negotiables for me.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_02: It's always going to be very clean and safe ingredients for her and baby.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_02: And also, I'm very, very big on supporting women-owned businesses.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, at the end of the day, these are women who have created these products for women.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: So I think there is something to be said about that.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: So all the products in our care packages are also made from um women-owned businesses or made in collaboration with myself and another women-owned business.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: And we really try to focus on small businesses as well.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_02: So primarily it's like 94% of our products are from small women-owned businesses.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, a lot of those were small at one point, those other 6%, but we're really trying to focus more so on those small businesses and support them too.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love that.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: I think that it can be hard when you're building a business and wanting it to be sustainable money-wise, but I think that when we are starting to prioritize going small and supporting women and quality products, like that is what sells your product is knowing that like that person actually cares about not having any like hormone disruptors or making sure that the the fragrance is eliminated for mom and baby.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: I think that those things are so important and really goes like the extra mile outside of your like standard subscription box, if you will.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I at the end of the day, I want it to be very practical.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_02: All those items, like they're intentionally curated to care for her based on the state she's in.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_02: So all the items in the infertility box, they have a, they have a certain way that they care for her based on her going through treatments.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_02: Morning sickness box, they all help with her nausea in some way, shape, or form.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_02: Pregnancy, all of those, they're all curated specifically to help her with the state she's currently in and to meet her where she's at right now.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: But there is also something to be said that it's a gift, right?
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_02: So my whole thing is I want to make it practical, but also pretty.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: So there's two things that go hand in hand with there.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I try to, some of them are a little bit more difficult based on the products to have it be a color scheme, but I really try to focus on the aesthetic as well because, like I said, a gift is also supposed to be like a little hug in a box to her.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: And just when she's opening a beautiful gift, like that also means something too during a very vulnerable time for her.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it totally matters.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think the aesthetic makes a difference.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I I run a digital marketing company and know how important aesthetic is, and especially in that, like you said, such a vulnerable time, like having something pretty just show up at your door or be gifted to you is like next level.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, absolutely.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: So tell me a little bit more about um like the inside baseball part of the business.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: How do you do sourcing?
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: How do you decide what's new on the roster?
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: What does that all look like?
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: Because I feel like from someone who's coming from corporate, it's a huge change, but I feel like you can really mesh all of the skills that you have from that corporate world as well and would love to know more about that.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_02: So what we originally started with, I think we had eight boxes when we started.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_02: We're up to 13 boxes.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, my whole thing is I don't want to just launch a box to launch a box.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I'm not one that I did like a couple limited editions over like the holidays and everything, but at the end of the day, this is really not your traditional gifting company.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_02: It's not one that's going to be skyrocketing in the fourth quarter in comparison to other months.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_02: Like I've been in sales my whole life, and July and summertime was always like that lol, right?
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_02: Before you get to the fourth quarter.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_02: Now I'm like, it's game on because there's baby showers going on, there's babies always being born, someone's always going through infertility or, you know, unfortunately experiencing a loss.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_02: So it's really more well-rounded.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_02: So to your point, coming from corporate, that is a little bit of a mind shift for me, too, because it's not just like these certain quarters of the year that it's really like go time, it's it's really kind of go time all the time, which is also helpful from a planning and inventory perspective, too.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we started with um direct to direct to consumer.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_02: So, really, when someone um that they have is going through one of those stages, they purchase directly on our site and it's more like that one-on-one um send to that individual.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_02: And last year we really started focusing on um the B2B side of things too.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_02: So, really working with like corporate companies, but also working with healthcare practices and giving them an option to send either their patients or their clients or customers, employees a box when they're going through certain, you know, life life moments in that motherhood stage.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_02: So that's kind of like our direction.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_02: I always will have the direct-to-consumer side.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's the heart of the business there.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_02: But we're also really um continuing to ramp up the B2B side of the business as well because coming from a large corporate company, we had the opportunity and the budget to support those things through our maternity leave, which was wonderful.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: Like I was very fortunate for where I worked and how they treated employees through that time.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_02: But I think there's also a little bit more that we can do from the mother standpoint and not just focusing on the baby again.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_02: So those are kind of things I'm taking my experience from corporate on that side of things too, and really putting into um, you know, the different things that we're doing from the B2B side of the business.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what are some of the impacts that you have seen since starting this company, whether on you and your family, your friends, and then obviously people you have um had boxes gifted to all of all of the above.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_02: So I love that question.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I don't want to cry here.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_02: But this business has definitely been, I will say there's highs and lows of the business because I am a very like one of the things that actually was seen as a negative trait for me as a leader in corporate is actually one of my most positive traits as a leader of this business.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_02: And that's empathy.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_02: And so I really always cared deeply about my team members.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_02: I cared who they were on a personal level in corporate.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_02: And I really got to understand like everyone's going through something.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, it's just you can't treat everyone the exact same.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like everyone has their own little things of how they need to be led or what's going on, etc.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_02: So that is something that I've heavily taken into this business and really understanding like the empathy side of things.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_02: And that's really what it's all about is really just being there for individuals when they're going through really hard times.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_02: So there's been a lot of moments of impact through this company, but I will say I think it's it's two-pronged.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's helping the individual who's sending the box to someone.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_02: So I had a lot of like mothers who have reached out to me about miscarriages for their daughters.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: And that is heartbreaking.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_02: Like having those conversations with them is absolutely heartbreaking, helping just to be a support for them and how to support their daughter through things.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_02: And it's not even just about sending the box, right?
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_02: It's about how you can support her in other ways too.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_02: But then there's also the flip side of the recipient receiving the care package too.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_02: And so the amount of messages that I've received from those who have received the box is really just heartwarming and just as a reminder of like why I do this at the end of the day, because it's all about making others feel seen and supported when they need it most.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_02: And from the recipient side, helping you show up for those in your life when they need you most.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_02: So um, yeah, I like I go through like these waves because it's not just pregnancy and postpartum focusing on.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_02: Like those can be more celebratory, right?
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's also that mental shift of infertility and loss, too, which is a whole different dynamic from like a feeling standpoint.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_02: So that has definitely been probably not the hardest thing, but it's definitely been something I knew it was going to be hard.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_02: But in moments, I'm like, some of them can really get me and I can like be in my head about it for a while, um, just because I think about them way after the box has been sent and I wonder how they're doing.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and a lot of them I've made friends with over the internet too, just from them reaching out.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_02: And now I see people who have had loss and who have been through infertility, and now I've sent boxes for them being pregnant in postpartum.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_02: So it's really becoming like full circle.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_02: And those are like really special moments for me.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love that I love the idea of something that was like kind of a negative in corporate culture that like is really the foundation of your business, like being empathetic and understanding of the whole person and that someone is always going through something and being able to essentially build a business around supporting other people is so incredible.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: So tell us a little bit more about what's next for Brooksy Box.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: What do you guys have going on?
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh plug away, tell us what you've got.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so another thing that we are focusing on, I'm not sure when this airs and where I'll be when it comes out.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_02: But um, right now we ended up launching earlier this year a mama and baby mini box, which is the first ever box with baby items in it.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I was always just focused on the mamas, but it does have a mama element to it.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_02: It's half baby, half mama self-care items.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_02: So that's been a huge hit.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_02: It was actually a corporate box that I made for one of my corporate clients.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_02: And it was just every time I would post it on social and everything, people were like, oh, can I send that?
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_02: Where is that on your site?
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_02: I don't see it available.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, oh, this is actually a custom box for a corporate client.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_02: And I ended up speaking with them.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_02: They're like, no, put it on your site, like share the wealth of, you know, um, something that people want so badly.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_02: So I ended up launching that earlier this year.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_02: It's become, it's starting to become one of our most loved boxes.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_02: And so from there, it's going to be more of like a deluxe version of that that I'll be launching, which will be more very more so heavily focused on the corporate side of things that we're working on because it's going to be just more items for baby, more items for mama.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_02: Right now, our box right now is like more of a mini version, and this will kind of be like more of the deluxe version.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_02: But um, that idea really stemmed from um corporate companies that I'm working with and platforms that I'm on through gifting through these corporate companies and just creating additional options for them to send because in corporate, you're typically not sending a new mom pads and undies from your manager.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_02: So um there's other options of ways to support mama and also to you know give a little items for baby too that aren't your pads and undies and spray for down there.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I guess I didn't even consider that that would be have have to be two completely different uh offerings.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's amazing.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, there's obviously some healthcare practices that are fine with that, but from a corporate standpoint, when you're working with like large fintech companies, for example, they're really not as open to that, which I completely understand.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_02: It doesn't make sense.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: Totally makes sense.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_01: So tell people where they can find you, your website, social media, anything you'd like to share, where people can uh come connect with you.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_02: So we can be found at Brooksybox.com, B-R O K-S-Y box.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_02: It's all one word across everything.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so on our website, social media, it's at Brooksy Box on Instagram.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_02: Instagram's the main place that we um really are.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_02: We also have TikTok.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we have Facebook, Pinterest, a little bit.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_02: I'm on LinkedIn specifically as a founder at Lauren Dewey.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_02: So you can find us there.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_02: But Instagram's really the place to find us and connect with us through the DMs.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you so much for all the work that you're doing.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure that this is making impacts beyond what you are even able to see.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm so glad to have been able to have you on and hear your story and hopefully uh get some boxes ordered from our people.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much, Jessica.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_02: I really appreciate you and I appreciate being on.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: If this conversation resonated with you, I'd love for you to follow the podcast wherever you listen and share it with another mon building something meaningful.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: If you want deeper behind the scenes reflections that I don't share anywhere else, join my email list at the Mama Making Podcast.com.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for being here, and I'll see you next time.