We were lucky to catch up with Marigrace Pilger recently and have shared our conversation below.

Marigrace, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I came up with the idea for Love-Brain one day when I had made myself a mental health t-shirt. I came up with a design and then purchased it from website. Once it came in, I fell in love with the T-shirt and I had so many other ideas of designs I think would be cool. I got tons of compliments when I would wear my design and realized that other people may also be interested in what I had to offer and so Love-Brain was born! I was so excited but also nervous since I knew it would be an investment of my own money. However, I was passionate and knew that I had something special to offer. I felt this would work because I knew that everyone loves a good t-shirt with a mission. I also knew that I wanted to give back to the mental health community since that was the whole reason for creating this brand. People would shop and feel good about doing so since they would know that some of their purchase would be going back to the mental health community. Although I wasn’t solving a problem with my business, I was offering support through comfy and adorable merchandise that was different than the others on the market. Our designs exude emotions of all kind from anger to happiness which is on par with the struggle many face while having a mental health disorder.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got into the mental health industry because of my own personal struggle with mental health. From the age of around 12, I started presenting symptoms of OCD, Anxiety, and Panic Disorder. I went to a therapist and some of my symptoms were alleviated until I went to high school. I had a really rough high school experience and suffered bullying while dealing with other traumas. I was having panic attacks so badly that I couldn’t even go to school at one point. From then on, I saw a therapist consistently until college. In college, my OCD relapsed and had gotten to the worst it had ever been. At that point, I still had not been diagnosed with OCD and so it was a very tumultuous time in my life. I finally got the diagnosis after almost 13 years of pain and struggles. That diagnosis changed my life and it became my new mission to help others to understand that their struggles are real and that they aren’t a bad person because OCD can certainly make you feel that way. I put my heart and soul into these designs so that others would never have to feel alone the way I did in my own brain. My whole goal with this company is just to get the word out about mental health diagnoses and to raise awareness for the signs and symptoms. The more people we can reach, the more that will feel less alone. I am most proud of the small mark I have made. I have people messaging me frequently telling me how my blogs or apparel helped them. That is worth more than anything I can possibly ask for.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I have personally found such value in online classes that are affordable. I have taken many classes through Udemy and Teachable on Social Media Ads, Getting started with an LLC, etc. and they have been so incredibly helpful. I highly recommend enrolling in a few of these classes if you are interested in learning how to go about starting your own business. I also recommend trying to find a mentor in your area that understands your efforts and can help to support.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I think that social media and TikTok specifically is a place where people share their experiences with starting their own businesses can be somewhat harmful. Many people see TikToks of successful businesses and think that it is super easy to get started and another way to make extra income. Although there are definitely some great opportunities, it is important to be realistic when starting your own business and know that a lot of times, it is much more difficult that others can make it out to be. You truly have to do so many jobs if you’re investing your own money because you have more limited resources. I think it’s just super important to be realistic and logical and to not look at starting a business as a “get rich quickly” opportunity. It takes time and work to build your brand and can take time before you yield great results. I always encourage new business owners to follow their passion, but just know that there is risk involved and you have to be willing to venture down that road.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://love-brain.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovebrainco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoveBrainCo
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lovebrainco1