We recently connected with Mary Wiegand and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Mary, thanks for joining us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

A hallmark of Boon is that whatever inventory needs that a small business has, we have the team to help you tackle it. And sometimes, that is because we have a team member (Mary) who happens to live in Columbus, OH with a garage. Thanks to that garage, Boon facilitated a big win for an intimate apparel client, who was embarking on a partnership with a major specialty retailer.

Starting the relationship with this major speciality retailer required he founder, our client, to personally transport 5,000 bras from the manufacturer in Italy to the distribution center in central Ohio ahead of the launch. She flew to the factory to pick them up directly, buckled them into the plane seat next to her, and then landed back in the U.S. at a New York City airport. The journey finally concludes with our client renting a Uhaul to drive the inventory 550 miles to Mary, and the garage in Ohio. As a team, Mary, a few friends and the client repack all 5,000 bras from dozens of black duffel bags into neatly labeled boxes, for easy delivery to the major retailer.

The entire adventure felt like a scene out of a big heist movie except filled with wireless bras instead of wads of cash.Boon is usually focused on excel based reporting and computer systems. In this instance of going above and beyond Mary’s ability to turn the garage into a fulfillment center the inventory made her client a supremely happy customer who could forge a powerful new sales avenue via a major retail partnership.

Mary, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Mary, I’m a mom-prenuer, avid-learner, lover of health and movement, and I’m also the Founder of Boon, LLC. Boon is the small (and growing) business I started in 2017 as a way to help myself blend my life between being a mother AND having a career.

After completing undergraduate degrees in economics and Spanish, I entered the retail industry with a Merchandise Planning Business Analyst job at Target Corporation in 2007. For the next ten years, I built my experience as a merchandise planning manager with positions in category management, buying and planning positions at major retailers like Tiffany & Co and Victoria’s Secret and experience establishing a merchandising team at the start-up brand Chloe + Isabel.

After having my first two children, I was torn between heading back into the corporate world full-time and being a mom full-time. The truth is both my career AND being there for the funny and growthful moments with my kids bring me joy. Rather than deciding between the two, I started Boon.

In a nutshell, Boon is a hands-on merchandise planning and inventory management service for small- to medium-sized companies who need this expertise, but don’t have the planning team capacity in-house like large companies do. The team at Boon offers unparalleled adaptability, service and retail industry skill to help retail businesses. We identify opportunities to streamline processes. We build tools to empower understanding and to make discerning inventory decisions.

Boon has become like another child and I am so proud of what I’ve built. While the business started with just me at the helm, I’ve been able to expand it to include a team of 15 multi-passionate women who want to work AND find professional fulfillment. I now have the privilege of employing an amazingly talented team of women who bring our valuable retail planning skills to the smaller retailers who might otherwise struggle to execute this key business function themselves. The rewarding work/personal life co-existence that my small business provides me comes with a deep pride that I’m able to share this gift with those I employ as well. Boon empowers me and so many others to find fulfillment in both personal and professional endeavors.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I believe a business owner needs to be the distilled version of what they hope to see from their employees. Walking the walk is key. Here’s one way that looks at Boon: A tenet of my small business ownership has been the coexistence of life and work. We can accomplish best-in-class results for our clients without a traditional 9-5 work structure so our families and other interests don’t have to take a backseat to the office. For me, this has meant learning how be purposeful with my time. I do this by rigorous management of my calendar including scheduled time for exercise, family time, meals and writing. All things that make me feel balanced and keep me at my best for Boon. Being the example of working hard and taking time away from work empowers your team to feel they can do the same thing!
Another tip for maintaining high morale is to develop or model a culture of intrapreneurship. Founding Boon meant I developed systems and tools myself based on the clients I had at the time. As I’ve hired additional team members and taken on a wide variety of clients I don’t believe I’m the solutions master on the team. Creating an atmosphere where your team feels comfortable developing new solutions, and can proactively streamline processes without first needing permission requires mutual respect and trust. Establishing a culture of intrapreneurship has been critical for our continued growth as a business and a major driver of positive team morale.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

One of my favorite stories is an on-going one, actually!

At the tail end of 2022, we were in the midst of updating our website and expanding our online presence in a major way. Based on our capacity at the time, we need support from an outside company. (I highly recommend getting this kind of support, by the way.)

In our vetting process, we found a company that felt like a good match, albeit a bit aspirational for us. Our initial communication with the team revealed that they would be AWESOME to work with and could provide exactly the marketing support we wanted with just a few service package tweaks to make it plausible for our budget. We negotiated, and they were responsive.

We were thrilled to be able to work with the highly talented team at Fifth & Cor for a workshop that helped us up-level and expand our branding, marketing and online presence in a major way. With their support we went from just 2 simple social channels and a few posts a week, to a fully-baked marketing strategy, content pillars, partnership framework, and the advent of a LinkedIn newsletter.

Since then, we’ve been able to establish a mutually beneficial partnership relationship and are one of the sponsors of a major business networking event they are hosting at the end of October!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://boonllc.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boon_llc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoonLLC
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/boon-llc/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@boonllc

Image Credits
Light and Lenses Photography Rachel Jacobus Photography