In CafeMom's monthly series, Work It, Mama, powerful moms detail how they navigate their professions and home life.
From accelerated hair growth and expanding body parts to funky armpits, none of us went through puberty unscathed. Deodorant was a necessity when it came to keeping those gross smells at bay. There was Teen Spirit or Secret for the girls and Old Spice or Degree for the boys. There wasn't much of a choice when it came to products that actually made us feel good about ourselves. We only hoped that when our own future kids hit that awkward stage, they'd have something a little more suitable.
Enter Carly Broderick. Carly is the founder of Miles, a dynamic personal care brand designed to help ease the stress of being a teen. It prides itself on being an inclusive, modern brand focused on individuality rather than enforcing gender roles and expectations. Miles is focused on paving a path in the self-care market that supports teens on their journey of smelling good and feeling great.
We spoke with Carly to get the lowdown on how she created Miles at the start of the pandemic while juggling motherhood and prioritizing her own joy.
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Carly has a wealth of experience in consumer-facing industries.
Carly has always worked in consumer-facing industries, which made her really invested in how consumers experience different brands. She was a brand manager at Universal Studios, a buyer at Target in various categories, and a consultant working with emerging brands.
"I believe that my whole career has been full of opportunities and moments that have led me to starting Miles … I was also fortunate to go to business school where I was surrounded by classmates who either had already started companies or were in the process of starting a company," Carly tells CafeMom.
Carly's son inspired her to start Miles.
Carly's inspiration for Miles came from a moment with her son in the early days of the pandemic. They were doing remote learning for the first time during lockdown. In Minnesota public schools, kids get health education in fourth grade about puberty and how their bodies will start to change.
As Carly and her son were going through the curriculum together at home, she started thinking, "Wow, he's going to need deodorant soon. What should I get him?"
Carly knew the category well from her time at Target and she was cycling through and discarded several options. She noticed a gap in the personal care market. In particular, she realized there weren't any "clean" options she felt good about for her son, from ingredients to scents. She didn't need focus groups to sniff out her idea, it was right there, hitting puberty in her home.
"I realized there's no 'go-to' personal care brand for these kids — of all genders — during these exciting, tumultuous tween and teen years. And that's when I started putting together the foundation for what would become Miles," shares Carly.
Carly has three effective systems to balance business and motherhood.
Carly believes that everyone has a superpower and hers is creating order out of chaos. She explained that this comes in handy for having two busy kids and for building a brand. She relies on three systems:
1. Lists
Carly is addicted to making lists. She has a list of all the things she needs to do in her business. She also has a smaller list of the things she has to do each day that she writes in the morning when she's having her coffee. She has a list of personal tasks to do. When she and her family travel, she has packing lists that both kids know to expect and follow.
"I prefer writing physical lists but also use an app in my phone to keep track of ongoing lists like goals for Miles, ideas for social media posts, documentaries I want to watch — that list just keeps getting longer since I don't often have time for a whole movie," adds Carly.
2. Meal Planning
Carly and her husband trade off doing the meal planning for the week and grocery shopping each Sunday. The meal planning is built around sports, activities, and other evening events. They splurge on a grocery delivery service, which they discovered during the pandemic — it has changed their weekends.
Lastly, they post the dinner schedule (another list!) on a wall near the kitchen which helps answer the inevitable question, "What are we having for dinner tonight?"
3. Time Segmentation
Carly explained that at the end of each week on Friday afternoons, she looks ahead to the next week. She thinks through the big blocks of time she needs to get certain projects going. Then she blocks out that time on her calendar, typically in the morning, which is when she does her best thinking.
She also dedicates certain days of the week to certain activities. Tuesdays are for marketing activities. Thursdays are when she tries to do all her meetings and phone calls. She uses her Friday mornings to connect with other entrepreneurs or new contacts.
Like many of us, Carly's biggest challenges happened during the pandemic.
CafeMom asked Carly about the biggest challenges she had to face as a working mom and entrepreneur and how she overcame them. She shared that she started Miles during the early part of the pandemic. The supply chain crises that followed put her business in a difficult position.
Right when Carly's manufacturing partner was supposed to begin Miles' initial production run for her largest retail partner, it informed her that a key ingredient in her formula was experiencing national and global shortages. The partner couldn't manufacture the products.
Carly had to call her retail partner and push off the launch. She shared that it was her lowest point. It occurred right before the December holidays and she was struggling to find joy in the season. She found it hard to participate in the family activities they would typically do that time of year.
Eventually, Carly decided to snap out of it and take charge of the things she could control, so she could still enjoy that time of year with her family.
"I don't shy away from sharing the highs and lows of building Miles with my kids. I think that's important for them to see. But I also want them to see me being resilient and solution-oriented," says Carly.
Carly sometimes has to battle the loneliness of being a solo entrepreneur.
Owning your business isn't for the faint of heart. You have to muster through the thick and thin, most of the time by yourself. Carly feels incredibly fortunate to have a really supportive network of friends, family, and former colleagues.
She has a good friend who started her own successful hair care brand. When Carly was in the early days of building Miles, that friend was instrumental in helping her identify partners for branding, manufacturing, labeling, and packaging. She also has two other good friends from her Target days who have been informal advisors to her the entire time. She bounces ideas or decisions off them all the time.
"As a solo entrepreneur, it can get lonely and tough at times, and that's usually when I call one of the two entrepreneurs I worked for at my last job before working on Miles full-time," shares Carly.
In Carly's family life, her husband is incredibly supportive. He was really the person who convinced her to go for it and start Miles. Carly also has family nearby and they help with everything. As she was responding to our interview, she mentioned that her sister-in-law was packing boxes for her.
Carly's self-care routine is basic but effective.
We often associate extravagant spa packages and deluxe relaxation getaways with self-care. However, true self-care is prioritizing your well-being in a way that is easy, simple, and maintainable. Carly shared that her self-care tactics are incredibly basic.
"I prioritize sleep and ideally need eight hours. I know there are plenty of younger entrepreneurs who pride themselves on getting way less sleep than me, but for me to function at 100%, sleep is key. I wake up early to get one to two hours alone before my kids get up and I try to do a workout of some sort every morning. I try to get the occasional massage but find that I feel best if I'm sleeping, drinking a ton of water, and eating healthy whole foods," explains Carly.
So what are Carly's plans for growing Miles and involving her kids in the business?
As much as Carly has on her plate with growing Miles, she loves the fact that she owns her schedule. She's excited to continue to do that as her kids get closer to going to high school.
"I also look forward to involving them more in the business — if they are interested — as a way to learn. I want Miles to become the go-to personal care brand for kids 11 to 17, and there's plenty to do to achieve that goal," shares Carly.
