Meet Rashelle: Women's Collective Box
I knew that Rashelle and I would click right away because of how her business DAILY takes action for women! She is lifting up the voices of small business owners and brands through her subscription gift box: Women’s Collective Box. My spring box was thebomb.com so I can’t imagine how incredible the summer box is as well which is currently on pre-sale and shipping begins June 15th! My favorite part about the subscription box is that it contains a guide detailing all of the small business products included in the box so that you can continue to support them! Did I mention they give 5% back to help women get their businesses in the beginning stages started? Read on to discover Rashelle’s story to founding this amazing company!
Tell us about who you are and your journey to where you are now!
My name is Rashelle, I am a mom of three and the owner of Women’s Collective Box. I started my career as a wedding photographer and when I moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was so inspired by the community of women I found there. I knew I wanted to do something to feature small owned businesses from not only Grand Rapids but all over. I had the idea for the Women’s Collective Box because I wanted to not only introduce new women-owned brands to consumers but also get products from those brands directly into their hands. A subscription box ended up being the perfect way to do that and the Women’s Collective Box was created!
2. What is the mission of your brand? How does it empower women?
Our mission is to support and empower women. We do this by including women entrepreneurs from all walks of life in our box and highlighting their products in hopes of creating new clients for them. We also give 5% of our profits back to women who are in the beginning stages of starting their own businesses. We hope to also empower women by creating a community across our platforms that raise women up and encourage them.
3. How do you collaborate with women working towards a better world?
We love to partner with brands that also have missions to give back and support other women. We are currently collaborating with organizations like AOII on sponsoring their Women’s Health Week. We are also partnering on our own page with brands like Momotaro and Compassionately Bri to share topics on women's physical and mental health. We also love to focus on positivity throughout our platforms to try to bring as much joy to the world as possible. Lastly, we love to help support and give back to different fundraisers and missions when possible.
4. What is the biggest challenge you’ve had to press through as a female entrepreneur and what are the steps you’ve taken to overcome it?
The biggest challenge I’ve had to overcome is balancing my business and my family. As a mom of three little ones I always struggle with the guilt of working when I could stay at home instead. I know so many women deal with ‘mom guilt’ at some point in their careers and I was definitely not immune to that. For me moving past this looked like giving myself grace when things around my house weren’t perfect or reminding myself that it’s healthy for the kids to have time with other important role models in their life. I also have worked on not letting other people’s opinions affect what or how I do things.
5. What advice would you give to a female entrepreneur in the beginning stages of launching her brand or business?
To prepare yourself for hard times, lean on your support system if you have it. My support system is definitely my husband and family. When I began my business I felt bad asking them to help when I needed it but then I realized that they were there to support me when I needed it. By taking advantage of the help and support I was so blessed to have, I was able to work more efficiently. Starting a brand or business takes so much work and going into it you have to be willing to give your all. You’re going to get overwhelmed, you are going to run into problems and a million things WILL go wrong but trust in yourself and be confident that you are meant to start your business for a reason.
6. What sets your brand apart from others?
We are more than a brand- we are truly a community. We are focused on curating items from brands that we know our customers are going to use and love and continue to support after they receive their brands. I see the women connecting on our platforms on a daily basis, whether that looks like following new brands or having a new best friend to chat with online.
