We recently had the chance to connect with Ben Kowalczyk & Julia Kowalczyk and have shared our conversation below.
Ben & Julia, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
We try to get up at least 90 minutes before our 18 month old, Atticus gets up to have some “me” time for both of us. Ben usually gets up first and feeds the cats, makes a smoothie and works out in our home gym. The mornings look different each day for Julia right now. She’s currently 23 weeks pregnant. So if she gets a good rest, she’ll get up early, have first breakfast, work out a bit, and prep Atticus’s breakfast before making her second breakfast. If she’s feeling extra tired, she’ll sleep in, then prep Atticus’s breakfast and then we’ll both get him up and ready for the day.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, we’re Ben and Julia, or more commonly known online as The Beard & The Broad. We started our blog in 2015 on vacation in San Diego as a way to document our adventures in craft beer. Our blog slowly evolved into a space where we share all different parts of our life including trying local restaurants, our travels, home improvements, and starting a family. As content creators we offer a unique perspective on things by sharing both of our points of view.
In addition to this little space of the internet, we both have full time jobs. Ben works as an account manager at Overdrive and Julia is an estate planning/probate attorney.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who taught you the most about work?
For Julia, it’s her dad Jeff. He’s retired now but he was an attorney. He had a private practice and was also a city prosecutor. He worked his whole career to provide for me and take care of my mother who was chronically ill. No matter how hard he was working, he still made time to either coach my sport teams or to make it to every game. He really taught me the important of having a good work life balance and ultimately being there for family.
For Ben: My first “adult job” after college was at a talent agency in Los Angeles. I was the assistant to an amazing agent who was head of the talent department. In a male dominated industry, she was the exception: a compassionate woman who was always honest, put people first, loved her family, and was absolutely hilarious.
She taught me so much about so many aspects of life and work. She was incredibly successful while balancing family/career, never took herself too seriously, never stopped asking questions, and knew a person is never done learning. She always strived to be the best agent, wife, and mother she could be. Above all, she taught me that being a good person and having a great career were not mutually exclusive.
With her guidance and l encouragement, I was promoted to an agent in under 3 years, when the typical track is 3-4 years. I since switched careers, but I’ve taken her lessons everywhere. She now owns a management company with her husband and we still keep in touch.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes. We went through infertility struggles for over 6 years before having Atticus. We were diagnosed with unexplained infertility, meaning we were both healthy and all our parts were working but they didn’t know why we couldn’t get pregnant. We went through 4 IUIs, 1 superovulation, two egg retrievals, and 4 embryo before before the 5th one worked to give us Atticus. It was the hardest time of our lives and we wanted to give up so many times during the process. Especially after the 3rd transfer resulted in a 12 week miscarriage. At that point we were about ready to throw in the towel because we couldn’t imagine going through this type of heartbreak all over again. But after really reflecting on us and the journey we were on we ultimately decided to continue to push through and realized that with each other we could face anything.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes the public version of us is really us! With doing content creation, it’s very to fall into the trap of trying to please everyone and being afraid of criticism. We knew right when we made our page, that we were always going to be authentic. That meant, not taking some large brand deals because we’d having to shift our values or views. That also means not having over 10,000 followers because not everyone aligns with our thoughts and that’s ok with us!
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. When do you feel most at peace?
At home and in our kitchen. We both love to cook and Ben loves to bake. If we had a long week at work or are just feeling stressed we find relief in the kitchen. Atticus sits at the counter with us and we show him how we make our favorite recipes and it’s always really special. The most peaceful time is during the weekend mornings when we all get up and huddle up in the kitchen to make a nice large family breakfast.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thebeardandbroad.com/
- Instagram: @beardandbroad
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beardandbroad/
