Julie Reif is the founder of The Good Snail, an online greeting card service that supports independent designers and allows customers to purchase greeting cards, personalize their messages and have them mailed. Today, the Good Snail has helped many people stay connected worldwide. Over the years, Julie has demonstrated her commitment to social impact by creating Mail with Love—a passion project that has worked with independent designers to help donate over 14,000+ greeting cards to non-profit organizations.

What was the biggest lesson you learned from 2021?

Although I learned many lessons, one that stands out that I have genuinely had to put into action daily is to live in the present moment. This lesson correlates to personal and entrepreneurial life. We cannot control later today or tomorrow, so to ease the anxieties living in the now helps me be a better friend, family member, founder to my team, and give better quality to my work. It also allowed me to take in my wins more and honor them instead of moving on rapidly to what is next.

How are you preparing for 2022?

I am preparing for 2022 by mapping out the three top priorities I want to build upon within The Good Snail. First, I believe in quality over quantity and I want to make sure not to spread myself or the team too thin, so prioritizing will help that. Second, I am also doing check-ins which I love with my designers and customers to understand how we can continually make our platform the best for them.

What advice would you give other female founders that are looking to create big success in 2022?

I would tell female founders to honor their wins more. We are so busy with many titles that we don’t have time to observe when we win. When you honor these, you will feel validated in your journey and see more small or large wins towards the bigger picture.

What’s your 2022 mantra?

You have to like the 90% of failures just as much as the 10% wins. It makes the 10% worth it, but as entrepreneurs, remember you’re in this because you love that 90% challenge.