Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Spears.
Hi Julie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hi, I’m Julie Spears, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a thriving private practice in South Austin.
After 25 years in behavioral healthcare, creating spaces where women feel seen, celebrated, and fully themselves is my deepest joy.
I believe people are inherently good and deserve warmth, empathy, and a whole lot of laughter. JoyFULL Connection grew from my desire to help women awaken their magic through retreats, parties, and experiences that feel like coming home.
My South Louisiana roots taught me to “never meet a stranger,” and Austin shaped me into a storyteller who loves sharing culture, connection, and recommendations for everything from TV shows to Cajun food. Becoming an empty nester opened the door for bigger dreaming—spaces where women can laugh, dance, cry, and reconnect with who they are.
When naming this work, “joyful” didn’t feel deep enough. So I added an L.
JoyFULL means full—of compassion, strength, community, nourishment, and purpose. Joy doesn’t come from emptiness. It comes from fullness.
That’s the heartbeat of JoyFULL Connection.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Unfortunately, graduate school does not teach you how to run a business, though almost 50% of social workers and counselors open private practices. Learning how to build a private practice took time, mentorship and a lot of patience. When I decided to expand my offerings to JoyFULL Connection, having a business coach was a MUST. My business coach, Amanda Wallingsford, LPC and her program Passion to Profit has been integral in my success. She helped me get clear on my passion–working with women and creating experiences and retreats to help them rediscover their inner magic–and has supported me in building my offerings and helped keep me focused. I am a very creative person so every week I have 42 different event ideas. Amanda checks in and asks if the events I am creating are supporting my soul aligned offering–an overnight retreat. I had some starts and stops and redirection. I find I learn through DOING and Amanda and I laugh a lot about that. But when I held my retreat in Sept my heart was ON FIRE!!! It was more amazing than I had imagined! I’m so glad I co-created the event with a colleague, Heather Elizabeth Neary and recruited my good friend and colleague, Cherie Mills, to organize and cook the delicious meals.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about JoyFULL Connection?
JoyFULL Connection was created because I kept seeing the same thing over and over again. Women are exhausted.
We’re juggling careers, marriages, parenting, caregiving, household responsibilities, aging parents, friendships, our own health, and the endless mental load of keeping everything running. Many women feel isolated, overwhelmed, and disconnected from themselves and each other. They’re tired of being told to just do more self-care when what they’re really craving is community, support, and people who truly get it.
Many women are also waking up to the ways they’ve been shaped by societal expectations that tell them to stay quiet, be nice, put everyone else’s needs first, and carry impossible burdens without complaint. A lot of us are angry. A lot of us are grieving. A lot of us are questioning old rules that no longer serve us. And perhaps most importantly, we’re realizing we’re not alone.
That’s where JoyFULL Connection comes in.
I create opportunities for women to gather, connect, laugh, learn, rest, celebrate, and sometimes rage a little together. Because healing happens in community.
JoyFULL Connection offers events, retreats, workshops, and gatherings designed specifically for women. Some of our recent and upcoming events include:
Taylor Swift Album Release Party
Ladies’ Day Out to the Movies
Summer Solstice Play Day
Sovereign Woman Overnight Retreat
Menopause & Mocktails
Gen X Book Club
Empty Nester Meet Ups
Winter Renewal Day Retreat
Some events are lighthearted and playful. Some are educational. Some invite deeper reflection and personal growth. What ties them all together is creating authentic connection and helping women remember they’re not alone.
What sets you apart from others?
I don’t believe women need another networking event where everyone pretends to have it all together.
What makes JoyFULL Connection different is that we’re creating spaces where women can come exactly as they are. You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to know anyone. You don’t have to have your life figured out.
As a therapist, I understand the importance of belonging and connection, but JoyFULL Connection isn’t therapy. It’s a community. It’s a place where women can build friendships, have meaningful conversations, feel seen, and take a break from carrying the weight of the world by themselves.
What are you most proud of brand-wise?
I’m most proud of the sense of community that is developing around JoyFULL Connection. Women often attend an event knowing no one and leave exchanging phone numbers, planning coffee dates, and signing up for the next gathering together.
To me, that’s what success looks like.
What do you want readers to know about your brand, offerings, and services?
I want women to know that they don’t have to keep doing life alone.
Whether you’re navigating menopause, sending a child off to college, feeling stuck in midlife, searching for new friendships, craving more joy, or simply longing for a place where you can be yourself, there is space for you here.
JoyFULL Connection exists to remind women that they are worthy of rest, fun, support, friendship, growth, and joy. We are stronger when we gather together, and every event is an invitation to come as you are and leave feeling a little more connected to yourself and the women around you.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t really believe in luck but I do believe in manifesting and making connections. I spent a year manifesting my Sovereign Woman Retreat and it was literally everything I had dreamed of and more! I have made connections with other facilitators with common values and unique gifts to come alongside mine to create sacred and fun spaces.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joyfullconnection.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joyfullconnection/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61580202193318
