DMEPOS Warriors: Brooke Strachan, Owner of The Boob Shop

Published in Member Communities on July 23, 2020

BrookeStrachan When hard times come, it’s not always easy to think on the bright side. For Brooke Strachan, finding the positives in any situation is her philosophy, and this state of mind is what led to her owning her own business.

“I try to make a positive come out of a negative situation,” stated Brooke, owner of The Boob Shop. “Sometimes bad things have to happen in order for good things to happen.”

A single mom, Brooke received her degree in medical billing, coding, and assisting. She began working in the medical field while still finishing her requirements for school, and that’s when she ended up in the DME industry. Starting in orthotics and working with bracing, Brooke found that she loved what she was doing because she was helping people. This passion progressed throughout the years.

“I’m a helper by nature. I love to help people,” said Brooke. “When I first entered as an employee 10 years ago for a hospital system and started getting into mastectomy, compression, lymphedema, and so on, I felt like I was meant to do that. It’s where I belonged.”

Although she loved the work she was doing within the industry, she never felt that she would ever own a business.

“I just never saw that path for myself,” said Brooke.

Then, tragedy struck unexpectedly on June 26, 2019 when her house caught on fire and she ended up losing everything.

“Our whole world turned upside down,” said Brooke. “Trying to stay on top of the aftermath was hard because it was just one thing after another.”

After a few months, Brooke made the decision not to rebuild and decided to move west to Texas. One thing led to another, and Brooke was given the opportunity to start and own her own business.

“As a single mom, I’m a planner,” explained Brooke. “I have a plan A, plan B, and plan C, and plan C was to start my own business, which is the route I ended up taking."

In January 2020, Brooke purchased the LLC and web domain for her company, and from there she started building up her business. Choosing products that were top-of-the-line from vendors that can offer the most to her customers, Brooke wanted to make sure that she offered great customer service, and a great product and fit for her customers.

When the public health emergency struck in 2020, this did not stop Brooke. She was able to adjust so that her business could be online and accessible for customers from home, from being able to shop and do their own measurements online to having products drop shipped to their home. Her goal is to continue helping women by giving them quality products in a timely manner from comfort of their home.

“It’s been a crazy year, but I invested in myself,” stated Brooke. “If you keep the positivity going, it helps you push through all the scary and unknown things that come along with creating a business in the industry we’re in.”

While there are still some challenges to navigate, Brooke is appreciative of the support she’s received from her community, as well as from her membership with Essentially Women and VGM, that has helped things fall into place.

“I’m growing into this position. I'm going to make mistakes, but the mistakes are minimized because of the tools VGM has given me,” said Brooke. “The professionalism, leadership, and how [VGM] guides you throughout the process is so helpful.”

As Brooke continues to build up her business, she continues to focus on the positives. She never felt that being a business owner was in the cards for her, but the events along the way led her to this journey of building up her own business.

“Since the fire, I tried to make a positive out of all the negatives,” said Brooke. “I really feel that all this stuff that happened, it happened for a reason and put me on the path that I'm on now.”

Focusing on the bright side has helped Brooke, and she hopes her business can do the same for others.

“I’m doing this to show my son, my daughter, other women, and people in general that have gone through such a loss, it doesn’t mean you can’t get back up.”

TAGS