Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Hildebrand.
Hi Julie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As early childhood educators, my co-founder Amy and I both noticed a giant shift in the attention span of children in the classroom and felt it was due to the amount of screen time children were exposed to throughout the day. We also noticed that all too often parents had to rely on screens to keep young children busy and entertained while out and about. Determined to do things differently, we began putting together busy bags for our own children and taking them everywhere- restaurants, doctor’s offices, road trips, and wineries. Not only were they useful for travel, we also found busy bags to be perfectly engaging at home while we cooked dinner or tended to other children. After several outings sharing busy bags with each other, we knew that we could use our educational expertise and love for planning to help other families find a little quiet in the chaos of parenting. We wanted to create something that was engaging but also educational and useful for years to come. We put our brains together to build an activity set that grows their little minds while focusing on early childhood development skills.
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?
We launched right before Covid and were seeing some great momentum in building our brand. Once the pandemic shut everything down, it became difficult to get our bags in front of other people. Our in-person markets were what primarily helped us build our subscription list. We quickly shifted gears and began advertising on social media. Having no background in advertising, it has been a struggle to learn all the ins and outs of using social media ad campaigns. We are slowing learning the process and utilizing services that help us grow our knowledge in how best to reach those families that we know could really use our busy bags!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about busy bébés?
Our goal is to provide engaging and educational entertainment for children at home and on the go. Our busy activities allow children to work independently while also providing the opportunity to enrich their learning. Our desire is to keep children occupied with hands-on activities and to minimize screen time while parents work, socialize, or enjoy some personal quiet time. All of our products have been rigorously tested and approved by our own little ones. We’ve done the hard work for parents – researching, shopping and organizing themes to delight children again and again. We know life gets busy with little ones in tow and hope to make the day easier on hard-working moms, dads, and other caregivers!
We design and curate engaging and educational busy bags for preschool to early elementary children. Our busy bags are sold as a monthly subscription and/or single purchase. Custom bags are also available for special orders.
We are an online retail shop that sells curated, educational, and themed busy bags for ages 3-10 as a monthly subscription or for single-purchase. The majority of activities are sourced from prominent publishers such as Simon & Schuster and Penguin Random House; and trusted retailers such as Melissa & Doug, MudPuppy, Ooly, and other small businesses. Some activities are custom designed and sourced independently.
We pride ourselves in creating busy bags that can be used time and again. The majority of our activities can be used for years to come, so we package each set in beautiful, crystal clear vinyl bags that allow for easy storage, organization, and portability. Children can easily grab one off of their shelf at home to play and parents can easily throw one in a purse or suitcase while out and about or traveling.
We have heard nothing but the best feedback from families who are busy bag subscribers. They have given them peace of mind in being able to give their child quality, hands-on, entertaining activities. We’ve heard time and again from our homeschooling parents how great our bags have been to enrich their at-home curriculum too!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
We use our educational expertise to craft the best bags possible for your kiddos! We know the value of maximizing a child’s learning and how important it is to instill a love of learning and reading early on. I’m a mom to a bright five-year-old girl and currently teach first grade in Austin, TX, all while helping to run our business. I’m also a Campus Innovation Coach, a PBS Digital Innovator All-Star, a member of the PBS KLRU Education Committee, and a Heart of Texas Writing Project Teacher Consultant. In addition, I am an education consultant for the Ready to Learn Initiative and for Rosen Publishing. My business partner, Amy Rogers, is a stay-at-home homeschooling mom to a busy four year old girl and VERY busy two years old twin boys. Originally a business major, she spent five years in the entertainment industry, becoming more and more disillusioned with her work. Wanting to “be the change,” she went back to school to receive her Masters in Education with an emphasis on social justice from UCLA. She spent the first half of her seven years career teaching in Title I schools in Los Angeles and Austin and the second half teaching at the school where she met and partnered with me in 4th grade. We love being able to use our experience with children to curate fun, innovative and educational busy bags for your kiddos!
Pricing:
- 10% Off Everything in our Shop (including subscriptions) w/ code Voyage
Contact Info:
- Email: busybebesatx@gmail.com
- Website: https://busybebes.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/busybebesatx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/busybebes
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/busybebes
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BusyBebesAustinTX
Image Credits:
Sherry Hammond Photography Morgan Renaud Photography
