How Your Caregiving Experience IS Business Training (Stop Undervaluing It) | Julie Cole

If you're a woman in business feeling like your personal responsibilities pull you away from entrepreneurial success, or that your real life skills that you've experienced or accumulated over time do not translate to the bottom line or to your corporate ladder, then this episode is for you. I'm joined by Julie Cole, lawyer turned label maker, entrepreneur, and mom of 6, who reveals how the skills honed in caregiving are not just transferable, but actually foundational to building a successful business. We challenge the idea that your business must be separate from your life experience. Listen for how caregiving develops critical skills, why integrating your life and business creates better company culture, as Julie shares from her company, and how to stop undervaluing your unique path. So stay tuned.

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I am super excited to have Julie on the show. We are going to be talking about a very important topic, which is caregiving, caregiving. And what does that look like as an entrepreneur, as a mom, as a, as a wife, as a person, and you're taking care of somebody else. So, Julie, I know you have so much experience in this. I know this is part of your own personal story. Please share with us, where does this look like for you? Where did this caregiving aspect of approaching business come into your life?

Yeah. So it's interesting, you know, like you think often women particularly start businesses for very, you know, different reasons and often it is lifestyle. And for me, that was the case and it's like, you, you know, needed some more flexibility. And for me, that came as a result of my eldest child being diagnosed with autism. So originally, I joke that I'm a recovered lawyer. Um, so, so my business Mabel's Labels, I started with 3, actually my sister and 2 of our friends from college. And Mabel's Labels started for a couple of reasons. One was, like I said, my son was diagnosed. He had only just turned 3. The research told me that, you know, if one parent really commits and we do all the early intervention and we work really hard, then one day he might move out of my house, which is my end goal. And, um, so there was that, like, just wanting to be able to provide for him, advocate for him, get him to his sessions, all that sort of thing. And life in the traditional workforce is not necessarily suited for women moms who want to do that, or any parent for that matter. It just usually does fall on us, let's face it.

That's so true.

Facts.

So that's when, you know, I went to the gals. I said, look, we've had this really good idea for a business, and you know, Mac just got diagnosed, one was on a mat leave, like everybody was kind of all over the place. And we're like, well, let's just do it. So we started doing our research and development. So it really was the two things, you know, the lifestyle and having a good idea and bringing, bringing that together. So yeah, it was the flexibility I was looking for. And also, you know, he is my eldest child. He had only just turned 3. He already had two younger siblings. I have 6 kids. So it was a very busy household. As it was with or without autism.

Wow. I mean, all of those things add texture to business advice. I think it adds a filter to what decisions you decide to make, who you decide to work with. And I know a big part of your story is community support, building founders. How did that shape the way that you structured your business?

Yeah, I think for us, like, it was pretty unique having 4 co-founders. And for anyone out there who has a business and maybe has one partner, you're probably going, what is that? Like, that is craziness having 4, because of course you have lots of ideas and lots of opinions and lots of feisty conversations, but you also have 4 different brains, 4 different skill sets. You have division of labor. So, you know, I didn't have to do it all. You know, one person could be like, okay, I'm gonna research this machinery and I'm going to talk to the bank and I'm going to do— so we could really divide and conquer. And also that we were able to provide each other because especially 20, almost 23 years ago when we started, long before podcasts and social media, the entrepreneurship grind was very lonely. So, and I saw this with my solo entrepreneur friends, particularly in the mom entrepreneur space, you know, they're working out of their basements, their garage, or on a laptop somewhere. And it could be a lonely— it can be a lonely space. So for the four of us as well, We were able to provide each other with support. We were able to divide risk financially by us all contributing, which felt a little more comfortable as well. But also the fact that this was like my sister and our two friends who actually ended up marrying my brother and I have a young uncle. So we were all family. Oh, so they also were aligned with wanting the best for my son, right? And wanting best outcomes. So understanding the reason I made, you know, the leap from traditional workforce to entrepreneurship. And, uh, like you say, like, Bill, it was like a built-in community when back in those days there were no online communities. There might be like awkward in-person events sometimes, like with your local Chamber of Commerce. But again, that stuff was very hard because, you know, when you're raising a young family, getting out to go to do that sort of thing can be, can be really tough. So it was like you know, building our own community. And then of course, like that, just, you know, women founders, we just, you know, kept building community. We ended up with a huge, like, you know, online presence. And, you know, I, I was a mom blogger from the way back days and a huge, you know, following on social media once that hit. So we just brought that community from the 4 of us to the entire company, and it just became our company culture.

I love hearing that because I think Often, you know, I started my business back in 2017 online and we did have social media. We did have Facebook. We did— we didn't have Instagram yet, but we did have Facebook. And so there was this kind of built-in ability to connect with people in different ways that you weren't used to. But I think even still today, when I talk to women, there's resistance around having that support system. I wonder for you what felt like if there was anything, what felt like the hardest thing to kind of figure that aspect out in being a mom, taking care of this new situation that you're still trying to figure out. It's very new. And then bringing in other people and their situations, even though they're family, what felt like the hardest thing?

Yeah, I think, you know, for a lot, there's a, there's a few things at play, I think, in those early days of entrepreneurship. And I'll say this as a warning for those who are like, oh, I've got a great idea. I, I do think, and I'm sure you can attest to this, entrepreneurship tends to get romanticized a bit. And, you know, everyone thinks it's going to be like TED Talks and getting invited on your podcast and, and book, you know, speaking events and stuff like that. But you know what, I have to say, I do a lot of that now, but back in the day, it was a lot of, you know, putting the kids to bed, going to my sister's basement, making labels till 2 AM, getting up at 6 AM with the kids and doing it all again. So it was, you know, it I didn't like, you know, putting the kids to bed, grabbing a glass of wine, hopping on Netflix and chilling out. Like, you know, it was a real struggle. So you had to manage your own expectations. And then I think also if you have a family, like a spouse or, you know, children, you have to manage theirs too because they need to understand, look, we might not be going on holidays. Like, this is feast or famine, right? Like, this is— we might not get the new car. We will have to make decisions around our new situation. So I do think before anyone goes into this, one of the hard things can be is actually knowing what entrepreneur looks and it doesn't look like what a lot of people think it looks like. It is not glamorous. And you know, that financial piece too, like you really have to know your finances. You gotta know what you're going into. You gotta know where are you getting the money from? How are you gonna budget this? How is it gonna make sense? Can you do it? Do you have the capacity? Do you have a business plan? Can you work together? I do think you made a good point that sometimes asking for help is hard and you know, we don't wanna do these things, but I actually think women are better at this. And I think for me, having that partnership group, We were just like, who cares? We don't care if we look dumb. I'll ask anything. And I've said this to my kid, nos are free. Just ask. Because the worst that's going to happen is they'll say no. So, you know, we all— we used our networks. We made sure, you know, we know somebody at CBG, we know an IT nerd who can make us a website. We know, like, we do know these people. So go out and ask. So I think those early challenges really are about, like, understanding the lifestyle change, understanding, you know, the, the economics of it, the how are you going to finance it, how are you going to plan it, and how are you fulfill it too. Because I, another thing I do find with entrepreneurs is, you know, we're really great at the early stuff, you know, but then our ADD kicks in because it's huge in the entrepreneurship community. So then the follow-through and the process. So we like that early scrappy startup stuff. Soon as we've got spreadsheets around us, not so much. So, you know, if you don't have that, if you're not great at process, you're not great at following through, make sure you hire somebody or partner with somebody who has skills that you don't have.

Yeah. And you know that you You know what you made me think about while you were talking about that in business? I feel like that is the case with caregiving. Like, I feel like you have to do the same thing in the way you care. And I can imagine with your son, you know, there's the— you kind of develop those skills in, in that space that can translate into yours. So what did that look like for you?

I 100% agree with what you just said there. I got to tell you, like, I was I was just thinking today, and I do think about this often because, you know, when I— when the business was a startup 23 years ago, so was my family. You know, I had a bunch of little babies.

Yes.

And, and now, like, you know, we've gone through that growth, and like every time, whether it was with my family, with the children, or with the business, I thought I knew I was doing, there would be a change. Suddenly, you know, we have 8 employees, so we need to know something about HR. And then suddenly I'm like, oh wait, they're not babies anymore, now they're in school. Now I know I gotta know about school-age things and, and look up where they can play ice hockey and things like that. So as soon as you think you know what you're doing, whether it's with your family and your caregiving or your business, it all just— I'm always like, just get comfortable being uncomfortable, because as soon as you think you got it, something's going to change and you're going to have to relearn, make new connections, especially with caregiving. I mean, you know, especially like your kid ages out of a certain care and then you're like, oh my gosh, I can't have that pediatrician, I can't go to that children's hospital anymore, all of these things. And we get attached. I mean, you know this, you get attached to people, you get attached to your educators. Like when my son had to start high school, I'm like, but you know, I've worked so hard on these relationships with the educators and I've invested so much and now I have to start over. And where do I want him to go and who's gonna be the best fit? And it's like research is a full-time job. Advocacy is a full-time job. And you know, like I know my son was getting what he needed because they didn't wanna see this ugly mug walking in the office every day saying, why isn't he getting what he, he's entitled to? Cuz here's the Education Act. And this is what, you know, like, also a lawyer mom, right?

Yes.

So I was like, also, yeah, she's a lawyer, so she knows what she's—

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And that's it. But it is like, like to do the research, to know how to advocate, and to take the time to be able to go to all the school meetings, all the appointments. That's the flexibility. And the thing with caregiving that you need.

Yeah, it is so amazing that we don't realize how much those skill sets as women translate to our businesses. I find that a lot of women I speak to often in these conversations are like, you know what? You're right. That does help. That did help me here. That did help me lay this groundwork, think about it a way. And I think I like to bring this aspect out in conversations because there are people listening. There are women listening that are hesitant because they feel like they don't have that corporate background, or if they do, they don't have it in the way that they wish they had. But the very aspects of what you're doing at home and what you have done to support your community, your people, are the skill sets that I believe, especially even more so as we go into AI and everything that's coming in the world, that is actually the things that are going to mean the most important thing ever.

100%. You know, 100%. Yeah, I totally agree. And I think also because, you know, I did for that hot minute go, oh God, why did I put myself through law school and do articles and do this? And it was so hard and wah, wah, wah. And now all I do is make labels and change diapers. But I got to tell you, like, we have to remember that. And I mean, that's why I say recovered lawyer. It's kind of tongue in cheek, right? Like, You know, because why I say that is because we don't know where the path is gonna take us. We don't know what's gonna happen. We don't know if we're gonna get a chronic illness. We don't know if we're gonna have a child with, you know, who, who's neurodivergent. We don't know if, we don't know, there's no crystal ball. And all of the things, you know, that bring us to that windy path are not for naught. They're important. Everything I learned at law school, I could bring negotiating with these 6 kids and also, you know, to my business. So I always say like, don't feel like you've wasted— like, I even say to my kids, I've got 5 in college right now, buy more labels, everyone. Like, because they worry about, what am I gonna do? What am I gonna do, right? What am I gonna be when I grow up? I'm like, jobs when you get out of college are going to be completely different. Did anyone know what AI was when I was studying law? No. Did anyone know what, like, a community manager was, or like a, you know, a social media manager was when I— when people were studying marketing 20 years ago? No, I'm like, just study what you like, learn and take those skills and they'll be transferable. So don't ever regret the path, even if you land at that, that windy one you weren't expecting.

So true. So I want to shift this for a minute because we know that your life affects your business. I personally think this, I think business is personal in every way. I don't care if you are. Not— if you don't think that, I don't know what's—

anyway, what life are you living?

Not mine.

Not mine.

Business affects a human or a person or a community, whether we want to, like, realize that or not. And so in what ways have that personal aspect of your business really shaped the relationships, the partnerships, the, the technology, the, the things you are choosing to use in your business? And how does that really work? Like, people feel like you cannot be personal in your business, it just has to be business, business. What does that look like for you?

Oh my gosh, I have so much to say about this. I mean, I'm with you. Business is personal. Like, to me, my— like, Mabel's Labels is a lifestyle. Like, right now it's actually a holiday where I am, but I mean, I'm like, if I can hop on a podcast with you, I'm going to. Like, this is— but then maybe tomorrow, like, I don't plan on going to the office, whatever, you know? Like, we— it's a lifestyle. And I think, you know, for us, one of the beautiful things about starting your own company is that you can also start a culture, a company culture that you like. And we knew when we started this company that we could work at weird times and in weird places and be highly productive. So we've built a company around that. No parent at our work has to like pretend they're sick because they want to go to watch their kid in a Christmas play. Go tell us about it. Like nobody minimizes their Facebook. Like just as long as you're getting your work done, we don't care. You know, just we put productivity above everything else and not presenteeism. And I think, you know, the way that kind of innovation has been brought to our products, you know, creating a new product, has also been brought to our workplace. So we have a very happy workplace. We have— and when people are happy at work and you give them flexibility and they just focus on their productivity, I feel like they're also very entrepreneurial, which means they feel like they have skin in the game. They are also for even like especially the tech people, if you give them, if you bake in time for them to play around in their tech worlds, then your business inevitably does better because they figure out a better way of doing something or they make a contact that can help with this system or whatever. And it's really important, A, to keep them happy and, and B, it's good for your business. So I think by, you know, having a really innovative products and having a really innovative workplace based on You know, business is personal and valuing relationships and baking that right into our core values and core values that aren't just like hanging on a wall. Like we interview by them, hire and fire by them. These are the things. So that's why we just, you know, from a business perspective, we don't have, we don't have a lot of turnover. People like, you know, like working with Mabel's and it's, it's just a lot of fun and it's a very special place and everyone's valued. And the other thing that's really important too is that, you know, having a child on spectrum, we do a lot of neurodiversity neurodivergent, uh, hires. So like a lot of our summer students are neurospicy and they do a great job and we're trying to be inclusive in all the ways. So, um, I think when you bring that kind of leadership, and I, I think women often do bring that kind of leadership. We know women leaders and women entrepreneurs are more philanthropic. They have more inclusive workplaces. There's a higher level of work satisfaction in the workplace when there are women leaders. And that's not for no reason.

And it is so true because we understand the complexity of living, right? We are cyclic. Kind of people. We have ups and downs. We have great days. We have bad days. We have kids that have those days. We have family. We have parents that we're taking care of. There's all of these complexities in the way that we have to just show up in our own lives. And so for us to build businesses as if those things don't exist is kind of just masculine.

Exactly. You know, like, it's exactly what it is. And you got to remember, like, this, this traditional workforce that we left because it kind of pushed us out. It's because it was built around men working during the day while they had a full-time human adult at home taking care of all of the things, right? And it doesn't suit families today. And because of the care gap and that women are doing most of the caregiving, we are the default parent. We do carry the invisible load. And even for women who are non-parents, we still see that care gap. They're taking care of the pets, they're taking care of the neighbor, they're taking care of elderly parents. Parents, they're taking care of their nieces and nephews, their best friend, their godchild, whatever. We still see that care gap for women who are not parents.

Yes.

So, and it's funny too, like when you mentioned, you know, elderly, I even feel like, okay, wow, now my kids are like, I can take a breath. Like a lot of them are college and they're very independent. So then what happens when your kids are that age? Your parents are elderly when your kids are that age, and they— you just go from one kind of caregiving to another. So it's like we We don't ever get a break until that time comes when our kids are taking care of us.

Yeah. To that point though, what have you, Julie, found to find— and there's a, there's so much talk around the world right now about work-life balance and harmony and work-life. That's not a thing specifically within like bigger corporations and companies. I have my own feelings about it, but I'd be curious to hear about like what type of business decisions have you directly had to make different because of the type of caregiving you are giving to your family, to yourself. That's probably, you know, I don't know, somebody on, you know, someplace that's looking in and going like, that is a bad business decision, has proved to be a good decision for you and for your business.

Well, we know it has because we, you know, we for many years did a results-only work environment and we still feel the same way. Philosophically do that. So it's good for the business as far as, like I said, like retention. It's been good for my family because of the flexibility. Certainly, you know, there's been lots that's been given up from like a pre-Mabel's, but I mean, it can't be argued. Mabel's Labels is wildly successful. You know, like we do millions and millions a year in business. So you can't fight the bottom line on this. So, you know, for a few moms who started a label company in basement, we showed that this is, this is workable if you do it smart, if you plan, if you, you know, do it your way. You don't have to do it like the guys. You do it your way. And we've shown you that you can. But there's a real problem because a lot of women, I feel like even for me, being able to leave law and start a business came from a place of privilege. You know, I was able to do that. I mean, it was tough, but I was able to do it. And, you know, we don't talk about the privilege of being raised by parents who self-regulate and, and tell you you're smart and encourage you to be educated. And so, I mean, I had so much going for me. I wasn't that brave. I never thought I couldn't do things. So, you know, there's a lot of privilege in entrepreneurship that people also don't realize. I mean, you think about like, you know, the Kardashians making lipstick. Well, everyone's gonna buy it because everyone knows their name and they have the money to invest in it, right? So wealth creates wealth. We know that, right? So I think, you know, that's, um, Um, that's just, just kind of, kind of the reality of it. But we know for women, the number of female-owned companies that make over $100,000 a year in sales is less than 2%. The amount of funding women startups receive from VC is less than 2%. And when you go to sell your company, women are leaving a lot of money on the table. Women are not getting in their exits than men are getting. So we're seeing the systemic thing that happens, which means we're not getting the funding, which means we don't grow our companies, which means we can't sell our companies for the big numbers. So we see that this is just a cycle that's repeating. So we need to, like, enough of the fluff. We need, like, men VCs investing in our companies. Where we're getting money now is, like, when a woman sells her company for a bazillion dollars, she's, you know, giving money to women's startups. So we need more of that in the pipeline. We need to make, you you know, uh, uh, uh, have in the boardrooms, like, don't interrupt me, or she was speaking, or actually don't hijack her idea. There are all these microfeminisms that we need to bring to the workforce. And as like somebody who starts a business and provides, you know, creates an environment like that, it's, it's quite nice.

Oh, I love how you just said it. Quite nice.

It's quite nice.

So Julie, when we pull back the camera a little for you, if you were to go back and this very rarely do I get to talk to so many, like to a person that's started a business way before what we see in the social space now. Right. A lot of the, even now, I feel like just the fact of social media, there's a lot of privilege in the fact that we can literally start a business tomorrow. If you don't have one and have, you know, 500 people find you and it's so much easier than years before the life that we live now. However, with that speed, with that, you know, expectation, and you've talked about this throughout the episode about putting some real grounded thoughts around how you show up and build whatever you're building or continue to build whatever you're building. How have you maintained? And I don't even want to get to that part first. I want to know the nitty-gritty. For you as a business owner, founder, uh, just an amplifier of what you've created, say to a woman who isn't with that privilege, who isn't necessarily around 4 people that can potentially become their founders, co-founders, or have that income, or they are in a corporate environment and they're not sure how to transition into that. And they are taking care of, you know, someone with chronic illness or neurodivergent, spicy, or elderly parents, what are the things that you feel like they need to focus and simplify on to give them the roadway, give them the roadway to build something?

Well, I think it's interesting. Like, I think, you know, a lot of women do have kind of their side hustles and we saw through COVID women having these side hustles more and more. And I had to laugh because I just, a friend just posted about, there was this panel panel about women and side hustles, and they didn't have a single Black woman on the panel. And it was like, Black women are the queens of the side hustle, and no representation there during Black History Month. It was like, what is going on? Because the contributions that are made in that space, and because, I mean, that grind, that like, I've got to do this, I've got a dream, I'm going to, you know, and being doing all of the things, right? Having always done all of the things. So I think, you know, there's There's the, um, oh no, of course I forget what you, you had asked me. What did you ask me?

So what I was asking is like, what, what are someone who's trying to start right now?

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah. What do they need? So, I mean, yeah, I think you need to think about things like, what is my actual capacity? You know, what, what do I actually have capacity for? Because people from, to me were always like, well, Julie, how do you do it? Like, I want to have 6 kids and I want to start a business and I'm I'm like, no, you don't. Like, yeah, like, they'll be like, where do you get me time? I'm like, if you want me time, this is not the gig for you. Like, if you like going to the salon, if you like to go for like a little leisurely walk or have a girls' wine night, do not have 6 kids and start a business. So it's not, you know, because it ain't gonna happen. So I think really understanding, you know, what your capacity is. I think, you know, you can busily work away at things if you think this is the time. Time, you know, you're working with things. It is— I mean, it's easier in some ways because, like you said, like back in the day, I mean, social media was awesome when it came because our product is very word of mouth, word of mom. Moms talk about products. Yes, like it's our full-time job, right? So they were talking about Mabel's Labels at like daycare drop-offs and stuff. But when social media hit, man, those mommy bloggers and Facebook moms went to town talking about our product, and it really leveled the playing field. To your point, like all of a sudden I'm like, I can— I have access to the producer at the Today Show. I have access to the editor of the Parents magazine, right? And you could just join in conversations there. And now, um, that's all there. And I agree, like, the startup, the barrier to entry now— like, I was at a conference, Econ North, and these young ones were— young people were talking about their business ideas and what they'd created in like a couple of days. And I'm like, in the old days, that would have taken 8 months to create. But because there's AI tools and because of a lot of other things going on, but then you also have that economy of like a lot of people are doing it, there's a lot of noise. So I think the important thing to do is to make sure, and this is how we've kept our spark after all these years and why we're such a, such a loved family brand, is that we're relatable. We're just like every other mom. We're visible. You know, you gotta get out there. You gotta keep turning up, show up, because visibility creates credibility, which creates loyalty. And that is where your customers are going to keep coming back. Mm-hmm. And that's what you want. So I think, you know, for that woman who's thinking about it, think about capacity, think about what you can do quietly on the sidelines. And then when you're ready to go, you get out there, you use every contact you have and start turning up.

Yeah. Yes, I love that. And I love that you started off with capacity. Not a lot of business strategy things, conversations we talk about is— that's not the first conversation we hear. We often hear, you know, is it something that people want? That's important. Is it something that's, you know, something that you can be behind and you enjoy? That's important. But if you don't have the capacity for either of those things, it's not going to work, right?

It's not going to work. And if your family doesn't understand what that's going to look like— and the thing is, when we're talking from a caregiving perspective or chronic illness perspective or dealing with the other things that other people aren't dealing with, you know, our capacity is a little impacted, impacted a little differently to, you know, that young 30-year-old man who has no family and just is like, hey, let's go, bro.

Right?

Like, it's different when you're in that caregiving capacity.

Yeah, caregiving defines our success and our path differently. It changes like how we view our personality, how we view our, uh, our, our our profession, like what we're going to do, it changes that. And I think we have to bring some normalcy to that. I feel like there's a lot of shame and there's a lot of judgment in the space at times around that looking different. I wonder, how have you seen that kind of morph more into— I don't know, is it a more positive mainstream conversation now that you see? Or do you feel like we have less conversation about that? Now?

I, I think that we're getting more conversation about it because as we have more women sort of leaders or willing, you know, to be unapologetic about, you know, we have, you know, women doing self-advocacy around, you know, stuff that they're dealing with. Even it's interesting now that I'm like just in that, you know, menopause space, suddenly I'm like, oh yeah, this generation of women, we're not taking that gaslighting that the doctors have been feeding us about, you know, How we can't have hormones. I'm like, give me the estrogen. And so we'll advocate. We, you know, we know, yeah, we won't be gaslit. And I see that in a, in a lot of ways, these conversations are coming out more. And then we, as we have like women who are kind of leading with, you know, no shame in my game and building companies that also create space for caregiving and honoring it, and they're not being shamed around it. So it's not like that old boys club. We also see, you know, cause we also see the pay gap. You know, women leaders make less than 80% of what male leaders. We know, and you know, even government representation, there's so like, we're just not there. So we need to keep pushing forward, turning up in those spaces. And I always say like, I walk through that door and I'm holding it open for the woman right behind me and I'm pulling you through. And we need that from kind of like the next elders who can like lead by example and raise each other up.

Yeah, so true. I, I want to get a little granular. I cannot talk today on this for a second of— I like to talk in threes about, like, what are we actually doing to create that space for someone who is behind us and is in a room? I've heard this before where it's like, you know, say their names in the rooms that you're not in. But how do you say those things? How do you get to know those people? How do you encourage, you know, those that are, you know, who are over here grinding it out, hustling it out, whatever it is that they're doing, caregiving, taking care of, living with chronic illness themselves. Without like exasperating their issues? How have you found some tools or ways of doing that?

Yeah, I think also now with tech, you know, people are more accessible. So I know, like, for me, I do a lot of mentoring and also honestly saying names in rooms and being like, I have got somebody you need to have on your podcast. And I actually already have 3 people I need you to have on your podcast. And like, you know, and keeping people front of mind and doing things like liking their posts. There's so many ways just to encourage, to say kind words, to give them a tip-off, to share their post on LinkedIn, anything just to kind of keep, you know, raising them up. And yeah, and the mentoring and paying them. Like businesses— International Women's Day is coming up. I do a lot of speaking International Women's Day. I'm like, you know what, this is not a time for our male allies to be talking. Pass us the mic. We got the one day. Let us all do the talking. You know, I saw, you know, I won't go to events and speak at events when they have, oh, we also have males speaking as allies. I'm like, no. And you know what? If you have a budget for a buffet, you have a budget to pay me. So make sure you know that all women are getting paid. How many freebies are you asked for? Right? Like consulting or speaking or whatever. And they'll be like, well, I'll promote you. Women don't need more inspiration and fluff or promotion. We need money. So pay us, pay us the money.

Say that again for the people in the back.

Yeah, you got that right.

Yes, I agree with you. I think there's a lot of different levels to that conversation alone, but I really appreciate you saying that because I do think even if you are not in the room that you think you want to be in, still say people's names in the rooms that you currently are in. And you never know where that might lead. You never know how that may help the person behind you, beside you, in front of you, whatever. I definitely believe that. That is a huge part of it. And so—

For sure.

And like another easy win is like supporting women-owned businesses. My lawyer, a woman. My photographer, a woman. You know, my baker, a woman. I don't bake cakes. I have 6 kids. I do not bake cakes. I'll make the labels. You bake the case. Let's everybody do what we're good at and pay each other to do it.

I love that. So if you were to go back in time to Julie Yu and be like, okay, I'm doing this again. As a, as a mom, as a caregiver, as, as, as a new aspiring entrepreneur, what advice would you give way back Julie?

To way back Julie? You know what? Not a lot. I'd be like, you know what? Just make sure you keep an open mind. You got the right attitude. You'll be fine. The kids are all right. You're not saving lives here. You're making labels. The kids, you know, you don't need to track them all the time. They're going to come home. Like, it's fine. It's fine.

Fine.

You know, I just think we make such a big deal out of everything. So I think I'm okay. I think maybe one thing I would have done differently is I probably would have got help soon. And I would advise, like, no shit. And I do think women get caught in this cycle of like, well, you know, I know for me it was like, well, I left the traditional workforce so I could be with my kids and do my business. So why would I get help with my kids so I could do my business? You know, it just— but that's ridiculous. So eventually I got a nanny when my 5th kid turned 1, and that was 3 kids too late. So get the help, have have somebody clean your freaking house, people. Okay, I don't— I know, whatever, it's expensive, but whenever— once every 2 weeks, I always say, if it's too expensive, feed your kids more Kraft Dinner.

I love that. It's so— that's a great piece of advice. I think so true to the fact of not just in your business, do you need help? Even if you don't have kids, I have a good 50% in this audience that listens that are moms, caregivers for elders, and then there are people who are like single. I call them DINKs, double income, no kids. And you still need to— you need somebody to clean your house because those things are a part of it.

It's also cheaper than marriage counseling.

It helps keep the things, you know, moving, take something off of your plate.

You don't want to become the Bickersons over like countertops.

Seriously, it's not worth it. It's not worth it. Well, I so appreciate you. Spending some time with me today and sharing a bit about what caregiving has led to your business looking like, feeling like, and just how I really truly love how it's kind of shaped how you've built what you've built. And it's okay. And it works, people. I know I've been saying this for like 10 years on this podcast, but business is personal and doing it the way that works for you is never a bad thing.

It's good for business.

It's good for business. So yeah, the last thing I like to end off with is, is there something in your business that you thought was true before you started that you now believe was a whole bunch of hogwash? Like, it was like a lie.

Ooh, that's a good question. Hmm. I don't think so. I mean, I think for me it was so long ago. I don't even know what I was thinking, you know, like I was so sleep deprived. My kid had just been diagnosed. I like literally didn't sleep. Sleeve for 10 years with all those babies, right? So I don't really know what I thought. I think, I think I thought like, oh well, we'll see how we go with this, you know, like, but then everything that we did was to make it a big success. Like, we took minutes our very first meeting, we did a business plan, we talked to the right people. So it wasn't just like this little thing. So try not to maybe think small, think big. But the other thing too is that you've got to remember that it's really important to let go of some stuff. You know, I don't know how to make a label. I haven't made a label in 10 years, and I shouldn't know how to make a label because if I was still in the basement making labels, that would be a big problem. Sometimes quitting could be for winners. If it's not working, if it's not happening, you gotta know. I know, like, don't cling to a mistake because you spent a long time making it. Sometimes you also need to know when it's time to wrap it up, take all the lessons from from that and move it to your next project.

Mic drop. Love that question. I love the answers I get at the end.

Okay.

I love that. Thank you so much. This was, this was great. This was great. Great. Great.

Awesome. Thanks for having me.

That's a wrap for this episode of Business with Chronic Illness. If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review. It helps more entrepreneurs living with chronic illness and autoimmune disorders, find these conversations. You can check the show notes for links, resources, and ways to stay connected. And if you have a question or story you'd like to share, visit craftedtothrive.com to leave a voice message for the podcast. I'd love to hear from you. Until next time, remember, you can build a thriving business without sacrificing your health, your peace, or your profit.