Leeatt Rothschild
Founder and CEO of Packed with Purpose
What inspired you to start your business?
It was a typical cold winter day in Chicago and I was in the middle of my job as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) consultant. Our office was riddled with the classic corporate holiday gifts – tins of popcorn, boxes of food, and more. All of them were amazing, but as a CSR consultant responsible for helping executives effectively invest dollars to do good, I felt these gifts were missing an opportunity. Here I was surrounded by this transaction of appreciation and gratitude and it was devoid of any social impact. I wondered – what if I could create a better gift? A gift where social impact is integrated into its core and elevates the exchange of giving thanks to something more meaningful. A gift that would be inspiring to both the recipient and the giver and ultimately be more effective for the companies that send them.
What advice would you give to other woman entrepreneurs?
Surround yourself with good mentors and advisors. These are people who have done what you want to do and can provide valuable insight into future obstacles that you haven’t thought about, share their experience to help you recognize patterns and pitfalls, and offer opportunities to run your business better than if you were just going to use your own brain.
What three traits define you?
Optimistic. Driven. Connector.
As a business owner, what keeps you up at night?
The economy and the broader macro effects that we as a company cannot control. Our inventory and ensuring we walk the fine line between enough product for demand and limited waste. But what actually keeps me up at night is the process of identifying what I have control over as a business owner, and where my decisions can make a difference. Then it’s running through the various scenarios and how each decision could play out.
What do you love about being a business owner?
Being an entrepreneur is one of life’s greatest journeys! The highs are the highest highs. The lows are the lowest lows. It’s like going to the world’s best amusement park and being on the latest and greatest roller coaster… really just a thrill.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Nurture every relationship you’ll ever come across because you never know how that will come back to support you in the future.
Fill in the blank:
When I face a challenge, I seek outside counsel.
If I could go back in time, I would tell myself you don’t know what you don’t know, so speak to people who have done what you’re doing.
The one thing I couldn’t live without is my family.
By this time next year, I will be even more proud and fulfilled of the business that I built.
To get my creative juices flowing, I change things up (work out of a different location, use a pen and paper instead of my laptop, delve into other industries to get out of my comfort zone and shift my thinking).
Packed with Purpose
Packed with Purpose is a Woman-Owned business on a mission to create meaningful social impact while strengthening human connections. Since our launch in 2016 we have been committed to discovering “the best” products from across the United States and beyond to include in our curated gift collections. Crafted by purpose-driven organizations, these high quality products are what make our gifts unique- each one represents an inspiring story of change and positively impacts our communities.