Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Brinkman.
Hi Christine, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My name is Christine Brinkman and I am the crazy dreamer and founder of Babes Support Babes, LLC. I am thirty-five years old, mommy of three precious kids (Halle, Landon, and Scarlett), and married for thirteen years to my forever crush/ husband, Eric. I have a deep passion to connect women into transformational friendships that will spur them to pursue their dreams. Dance parties in the kitchen with my family blaring “Best Thing Ever,” soulful conversations with cackling laughter intermixed with tears of joy are my happy place. I am big and bold in all things. From the way I show my love for others, dreams for myself and family, to my Texas-sized, Mexican hair. I serve a big and bold God, who is unapologetic with his love, grace, and mercy. I guess you can say, I’m a lot like my Father.
I believe in the importance of female friendships and the power of feeling seen and heard can change your life. Before starting Babes Support Babes, LLC I really struggled with finding a community where I could be authentically me. When I got pregnant with my third baby, I stepped away from my career as an elementary teacher and lost the built-in friendships I had with my coworkers. Loneliness crept in during my days at home raising three kids while my husband traveled for work and also was gone in the evenings to get his MBA. Add Postpartum Depression into that and I was really in need of friendships. That big and bold personality I have was stifled to a flickering flame during my depression in 2017.
What got me out of that darkness? Jesus, therapy, and friendships. I turned to my mom and sister during that time of need and I was met with unconditional grace and support. I took baby steps into getting myself back out to meet new friends and also found the love of sewing again. I have been in the pit of loneliness and not knowing who I was, but through the community I found my joy again and was able to discover my deep passion for connecting, supporting, and teaching women. I believe when we belong in a healthy, thriving community we feel empowered to step into the gifts and talents we are created to use on this earth.
I’m about to embark on a beautiful new season in Fall 2022. I am no longer covered with babies and bottles. My three kids will all be in elementary school and I will be able to step into my role as Founder of Babes Support Babes, LLC full-time. For three years I have had to press pause or say “no” to opportunities to grow BSB faster and bigger to be fully present for my family. My ultimate vision for my life is to be 80 years old with my husband in a rocking chair on our front porch reminiscing about our life.
I know my role as a wife and mother will hold the greatest achievements for me. My pace might seem slow in building my business, but I see Babes Support Babes outliving me. I believe in God’s timing and lean on Him for direction for BSB.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The past almost 4 years Babes Support Babes, LLC has been around I have felt the mountain highs to the valley lows of almost closing the doors to this dream.
Enter COVID-19 and our main product for BSB, events, were no longer an option, but we always knew BSB was much more than that. We created virtual sacred spaces for our boss babes to come and weep at the loss of their sources of income. Those spaces also gave way for ingenuity and innovation that launched special products that kept businesses afloat. We used our platforms to shout those products to the high heavens and continued to offer opportunities for each of them to strengthen their brands while they waited for the chaos to settle.
Our community at large was feeling so alone. We heard heartbreaking stories of women struggling with loneliness and not knowing how to create friendships under the heaviness of COVID. It’s hard making friends as an adult so we decided to teach women how to do it. During the most isolating time we’ve experienced in our generation, BSB hosted a Sister Friend workshop. We shared the pillars that create deep relationships: positivity, consistency, and vulnerability. These three areas gave way to conversations around the room of women who finally felt they had permission to pursue friendship as passionately as they did their roles as wife and mother.
We came out of 2020 stronger than before without hosting one market. We had a clear following beyond female small business owners and they craved more quality experiences with the women they had grown close to. In April of this year we officially launched the Babes Support Babes membership, offering three distinct tiers to our community: BSB Directory- $12/month, BSB Sister Friend – $20/month, and BSB Boss Babe – $40/month.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Babes Support Babes began with a relentless, still small voice that moved me to put the thoughts and dreams I had onto paper. It was April 2018 and I was a stay-at-home mom of three small children. I owned a small sewing business that brought me so much joy and was my outlet after the long days of changing diapers and cooking meals for my family. My business allowed me to connect with other “boss babes” that were such an encouragement to me as I learned the ropes of being a business owner.
The phrase “Babes Support Babes” came to me one night when I was dreaming of hosting a market that I could invite my family and friends to shop at. My vision of this market would be a physical representation of “loving thy neighbor” and being an example of uplifting a fellow sister vendor and exhibiting “community over competition.”
I asked twelve small shop owners to be vendors and told them my heart and vision for the market. The email was sent out and ALL twelve vendors said “yes” to the idea and the $25 vendor fee. The fee was just enough money to pay for the rental space of my sister’s neighborhood pool pavilion we would host the event. On Thursday, May 30, 2018, I debuted the first Babes Support Babes Market. Vendors sold items like macrame, hot teas, clothing, dog accessories, and jewelry. Walking into the pavilion and seeing this dream come to life is an experience I will never forget. It was amazing to see 75 attendees come and support and shop at the market (even if most of them were there for the neighborhood swim meet).
From 2018 to the present, Babes Support Babes has hosted 10 markets, 5 workshops, and 4 socials. In the fall of 2018, I asked my older sister Leslee Owen to join me in this mission as co-founder. She is a marketing consultant and coach who added the personal and business development our community desired. We hit the ground running and invited three more incredible women into the BSB team in 2020; Sarah Wilburn, Maggie Blair, and Brittany Paul. The five of us have been the hands and feet, continuing to dream big for BSB and believing in the power of transformational friendship in a woman’s life.
We’ve come a long way from being a market-based business. Today, we have pivoted to meet the needs of our growing community of women and business owners. We proudly stand on these core principles:
Mission: Babes Support Babes connect women in transformational, deep friendships that empower them to pursue their passions.
Vision: Babes Support Babes is the leading women’s community for transformational growth through deep and powerful friendships.
Values: Representation, integrity, authenticity, empowerment, and fun.
I can’t wait to celebrate our one year of our membership in April. It’s been an incredible journey for myself and the BSB team as we continue to grow and focus all of our efforts in cultivating a transformational community through deep friendships.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.babessupportbabes.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/bsbsatx
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/bsbsatx
Image Credits
Bend The Light Photography, Brittany Paul Photography, and Cloverbud Photography
