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

Kimberly, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

The short answer to this question: At the end of it all, I hope my legacy is “Be kind. Ridiculously, radically, endlessly kind. I hope to be a part of someone’s good day.”

It’s an odd thing to have started a company in an industry where every single day, I am reminded how short life is and how amazing small acts of kindness can be. I am reminded every hour how you build your legacy day after day in everything you do.

There are many levels and deeper meaning to Memorialight but one of my favorite things about it is that it takes something that is surrounding you every day (sunshine) and makes you pay attention. It is a glimmer that uplifts and reminds you of all the good around you. If I can be that in every interaction- leaving people better than I found them, uplifting them on both their best and worst days, I will have succeeded.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

After giving my first eulogy for one of the brightest lights, I set out to design the sympathy gift I couldn’t find. Every option available at the time was in-your-face, would be put in a closet (lookin’ at you, “warm hug” blanket), or had words like “Mom: live, laugh, love” (in a terrible font) engraved on them. I wanted something elegant, timeless, subtle and classic to send to my family so that we could all be connected to our loved on and each other as we moved forward without him. The first Memorialights were hung and the texts that came in of Grampa’s rainbow lights visiting us each day were so uplifting and the perfect way to say “I miss him” to each other without having to say it. Two years in, and I still smile in awe at “rainbow time” on days when I need to feel him around me. His legacy is living on in me and my family by having a simple, daily reminder.

With a background in interior architecture and product design (shoutout to my theme park design days), I set out to design the ultimate sympathy gift EXPERIENCE- I focused on every detail from the unboxing, including all components, and how to best keep loved ones in our daily lives. I *love* branding and wanted every part of Memorialight to include the idea that we can all be lights in this world and that the light really does remain. From the uplifting packaging that hints at the rainbow patterns to the included “light remains” keepsake card, I focused on creating a really beautiful experience after loss. I dreamed up this idea from nothing and remain so proud of how many lives it has touched.

I am forever humbled by the people who have connected with Memorialight (and me) in the last 18 months. I’ve had people message me in the worst days of their lives with gratitude. I’ve had people telling me they thought I was sent to them. I’ve had customers tell me their family took their Memorialight with them on a bus road trip so “their aunt would be with them all.” Having people connect with this original idea based in light and love (and still handmade in my kitchen) is so incredible.

In my first job performance review in 2012 (the theme park firm), I was given all high marks and at the end of the lunch, my manager said to me, “One last thing – Can we talk about how you’re so damn nice all the time??” (as if I would get walked all over by construction managers and subcontractors). I’ve gone on to build an idea and a company that has now been featured by several huge publications as #1 best sympathy gift on the *sole* foundation of being “so damn nice all the time”. I hope my kids and their kids know it’s okay to change the rules…it’s okay to do things better.. and it’s certainly okay to do so with radical kindness. I hope we all look for more ways to connect to one another and be the light this world needs.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My mantra: “If you can’t figure it out when things get hard, you’ll never figure out how to make it succeed.” … whether in business, marriage, labor, marketing, parenting a toddler, social media, friendships, parenting three kids under 4, shipping orders, hiring, moivng, moving cross country, parenting on vacation…you get the gist. It’s my mantra across the board and to be honest, 98% of the time, I enjoy figuring things out (the other 2% is potty training).

I could tell countless stories of trademark infringement, counterfeit goods, copyright violations, and fraudulent sellers trying to come after this original idea, but in the spirit of choosing light and love, I’ll focus on a time in which doing the right thing led myself and my business to overcome some of the most stressful few weeks in business yet.

I’ve become friends with the post office employees who so graciously buzz me in the back everyday that I drive to drop off my orders. I’m sure other businesses have pickups and better systems in place, but every day on the way to preschool pick-up, I take my orders for the day. I did this daily for 15 months and never had any issues until the last week of February. It was (of course) the week after Memorialight was featured as the #1 2024 sympathy gift by New York Times Wirecutter and I was taking multiple duffle bags in…as I always had. I’d gone 15 months without scanning them in and without any real issues. A week or so later, the emails and messages started coming in – orders from three days had seemingly gone missing and since I never scanned them in at the kiosk, it looked as though I only created a label and never shipped them at all.

If you’ve made it this far, learn from me and scan in your orders at USPS.

It swirled into a customer service, small business nightmare that lasted several weeks. While I usually do okay balancing running a business alongside the rest of my “real life” tasks, the constant messages from upset customers took a toll. I’m a people pleaser at heart and it took me a few days to realize that each upset customer was a chance to have a touchpoint with “real life” Kimberly.

I would go on to realize that in those weeks, USPS switched their distribution facility from metro Atlanta to a facility in Palmetto, GA. In case you haven’t kept up with the Senate hearings the way I have, the new facility was understaffed and mail wasn’t technically lost, but it was all just sitting there without anyone to sort it. Hearing stories of wedding invitations that never arrived on time, certified documents that were MIA, and medicine that wasn’t arriving created a giant mindset shift in me.

Of the 148 orders that were affected by the USPS facility issues, I chose to simply do the right thing. The thing about grief is that there is no timeline. I had the chance to connect with so many customers to show them the true heart behind my business. We talked about how grief has no timeline and how I hoped it would eventually arrive at a better time than my normal 2-3 delivery window. Sometimes, that delayed “thinking of you” can be even more impactful than when you’re flooded with things right when loss happens. For those who needed the gift for a funeral or time sensitive event, I resent each order, paying more for UPS expedited shipping. I offered a discount code to be used on a future order for those impacted by the USPS issues and I’ve since switched all shipping to UPS while the post master general figures it out.

That event resulted in one 3 star review and a ton of 5 star reviews.. but more important, the connections I had with those people pointed ME to the good in this world. So often, I try to be that for other people and to be shown that same grace and kindness in the “worse” week of my business makes me tear up even now.

If you’re in your own hard spot right now, just remember: you CAN figure it out today, and it’s the only way to figure out how to make it succeed.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I am a business owner who created an original, handmade product who also happens to have perfectionism tendancies.

Due to those facts, my husband and I made thousands of units in our “free time” for the first eighteen months in business. We would talk every night about how we needed help and I ran through every single “what if” or what could possibly go wrong by hiring people to help us. The pros never outweighed the cons until finally there was no way to keep going on our own. I texted a family friend to ask if her high schoolers could come to a stranger’s kitchen and help put together a sympathy gift I created (that’s right…I’m also terrible about talking about myself so not many people even know about this company…don’t worry….I’m shaking my head too)

I went through every worst case scenario when I imagined hiring help. I did not imagine the best.

I have a team high schoolers coming over to help and the impact they’ve had on us and vice versa has been the biggest surprise of 2024. For anyone on the cusp of hiring or asking for help, I hope you find not only relief in opening yourself up but also community to support you in your business and life.

I now view hiring as finding others who are equally as passionate about what they do and being able to support them in that. whether it be accounting, photography, or marketing, there are so many talented and passionate people who I can support. There’s no award for being a one-person business!!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.memorialight.com/mobile
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/memorialight
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Memorialight
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-boyle-0755b52b1
• Other: Etsy: www.memorialight.etsy.com Amazon Prime: https://bit.ly/3geRApq Instagram: www.instagram.com/memorialight