Meet Mary Wiegand | Founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mary Wiegand and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mary, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I used to think there was such a thing as work life balance. Now, I honestly believe that’s a myth. The concept of balance implies that somehow there will be an even split, or an equilibrium that you reach and then stay in.

When I think of how quickly the needs of my family can change or how quickly the needs of a client can change, I just don’t believe an even split on any given day is possible, or that this perfect stability is even the right goal over a stretch of time, or even a lifetime. Instead, I think a coexistence of both personal and work demands is what is possible and the right goal. This model allows for give and take over busy seasons for your business and when life intervenes. We support these seasons for our clients – putting in extra work to help them over big holiday demand and stepping in to cover maternity leaves when needed – and something we embody with our Boon teammates – allowing a new mom to take a career break and return to retail consulting through Boon, and flexible hours to let staff ramp up and down. This coexistence takes work and is something I work toward, and encourage my clients and team toward, daily, weekly and over the years.

Another tip that works for me: I’ve learned to schedule my ‘life time’ and my ‘down time’ just like you would any meeting. It’s really easy for me to get drawn into working continuously, let self-care fall by the wayside, and mentally frame ‘down time’ as wasting time. Simply said, I’m a much more efficient and a stronger leader when I do take care of myself. A few times a week I’ll block 30 minutes on my calendar to sit down and eat lunch without working, as one example. I’ve also started thinking of ‘down time’ as time where I’m doing the activity of ‘rest.’ Thinking of rest from the mindset of accomplishing something helps me actually do it, and avoid feeling like I’m being ‘unproductive.’

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Boon creates solutions to provide retailers with the ability to have the right product at the right time in the right amount. Regardless of how good a product is, if it isn’t available the customers can’t buy it. And if it is way overstocked you won’t have any cash to buy anything else. Boon reveals trends in past sales and provides strategies to align inventory with future demand.

As a leading analytic consulting agency, the Boon team delivers solutions from custom, multi-purpose tools to time-tested strategies, all of which are tailored to the business needs of our clients. We work with direct-to-consumer businesses that might otherwise lack the resources to make the smartest planning decisions. Instead, our flexible and affordable full-time support allows our clients to have access to exceptional merchandise planning. With a solid foundation, they can create a reliable customer experience, grow profits and achieve their business goals.

My dream when founding Boon was focused on service and empowerment. My intent was to solve what I consider an out-of-date approach to business operations in the retail industry and better serve both businesses and employees. The two-fold mission of Boon is to provide best-in-class retail planning services to our clients empowering them to grow their businesses regardless of their size. We simultaneously create a flexible place for our team members to find career fulfillment without sacrificing their personal lives. Boon’s innovative business model is fundamentally different from many businesses that exist, and it offers the most benefits to the most parties. We employ consultants who might otherwise be out of the workforce and serve clients who might otherwise go without these skills in their critical years of growth.

In reflecting on 6 years of business operations, after a career of client-facing work, I’d actually say shifting myself out of project execution and billable client hours and into running the business was my biggest challenge. We tell clients all the time that even though they may have the skill to execute demand planning on their own they will wear themselves out trying to complete that detailed work while also running their business. I was in the exact same place!

Instead of developing custom excel tools, refreshing regular reporting and reviewing anticipated results with clients, I now rely on the newly restructured team of amazing industry experts to tackle this work. Turning to and trusting my team to execute the vast majority of our client work has allowed me to grow the business through focusing on operational efficiency, new client outreach, establishing client satisfaction processes, and innovating new business avenues like the recently launched downloadable tools. This leads to new clients, more meaningful client relationships, and brings me full circle by further developing the team who can take on even more.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My ideal week in Columbus, if I got to play “tourist” the whole time would include a few different factors: sports, shopping, kid-friendly and the outdoors.

As a big sports fan, I would include a game. Ideally a spring or summer Clippers game, but of course OSU in the fall is a great experience. And before any game I’d be sure to get one of the softest tees at Homage to support the team. I’d stay at the Graduate Columbus to really get into the fan spirit, which would also let you check out the Short North Arts District. But they have a Shake Shack – a favorite from my time in New York – if I wanted to stay in!

For a kid-friendly itinerary, I’d hit up Buckeye Donuts and then inspire learning with a trip to COSI. And if the kids still have energy to move, make a trip to Scioto Audubon Metro Park with their amazing outdoor rock climbing wall, or if the weather happens to be tough go to Vertical Adventures – my son’s favorite climbing spot.

I’d spend some time close to home. Westerville has great access to neighborhoods, our local parks, and great bike trails. Pick up pizza one night for the whole family at Cardinal Pizza and find a date night to experience the wonderful menu at Kitchen Social.

For shopping, I’d head to Easton. Our favorite local brands that Boon works with are mostly online but I couldn’t walk by without another stop into Homage and then into Sephora to see a few of our beauty brands. A spin through Zara – a favorite from my time in Madrid – and a final stop into the Sierra to be sure I am prepared for any and all outdoor adventures.

After shopping, it would be onto downtown Columbus. I’d recommend staying at the Marriott Le Veque. I’d be sure to stroll through the North Market and eat at one of German Village’s fabulous restaurants.

I’d also want to get outdoors and so would leave the city to check out Mohican State Park for a hike and a photo at the covered bridge. And then fill up at Early Birds Breakfast on my way back to the city.

There is so much this city has to offer and I am always excited to explore new adventures around town.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My first shout out goes to my TEAM! The team of amazing women that I lead is a huge part of my success and deserve a shout out. You won’t be surprised to know that they work hard, dedicate themselves to the mission of a Boon and serve our clients. I’m a proud boss. But a special element of many members of the team is that they were the original referral source for our first clients. My company relies on building relationships with founders and CEOs of brands that need the type of support that Boon can uniquely provide. The team each brings decades of experience for a total of over 150 years of combined experience and their connections and ideas help Boon to find great clients. We often find those through direct referrals and this has often meant that we find them where I and my team are: in Ohio!

And of course I need to recognize my family. The success of my company is the fortunate result of a lot of work to pull Boon and myself out of a challenging 2020. Many businesses and families faced incredible difficulty that year, but for Boon it was a pivotal moment as was able to change this side business to a full time job. In my marriage (at the time) the idea was for this “hobby” to cover the cost of daycare for my (at the time) two children. After the birth of my twin boys and the ending of my marriage, and at the height of the pandemic, I chose to commit to the business and see if I could make it fully support my family. I gave myself 18 months.

To face this challenge, I focused on the work that needed to be done and ramped up client and staff recruitment. I found time between diaper changes, in the middle of the night, and during early morning feedings to do the analysis that my clients needed, and to onboard and train good staff that could take on the work too. As a small and growing business, I had to be in the trenches on every deliverable, but in taking it to the next stage, I also had to learn how to make the time to be a CEO and business developer and my family was there to support me at every step.

As is the case with many challenges, this turned out to be an amazing opportunity, and I’m proud to say that I hit my 18 month metrics with flying colors in late 2021. Lemons into lemonade! This set me up for the growth we experienced in 2022 and so far in 2023, and I look to the new year knowing I get to continue to have this dream job, both for myself and to support my family.

Website: https://boonllc.net/

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Image Credits
Light & Lenses Photography Rachel Jacobus Photography