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The Successful Dreamer:
Interview with Julie Cropp Gareleck
By Carin Chea
As the sentiment goes, great things can come from humble beginnings. Lucille Ball was once a soda jerk at Walgreens. While living in their van, Jim Carrey and his dad worked as security guards and janitors to make ends meet. Oprah (the queen of all media) was fired from her first job as a news anchor.
And now, Julie Cropp Gareleck joins an ever-growing list of trailblazers that defied the notion of “overnight sensations” and proved that blue blood backgrounds and ivy league educations aren’t requirements for success.
Today, Gareleck is the CEO of Junction Creative, one of the nation’s leading marketing firms.
Dare to Become: From Corner Booth to Corner Office is Gareleck’s first book and is an encouragement for those seeking entrepreneurship.
As practical as it is inspirational, Dare to Become provides more than the fundamental building blocks for those who wish to build their own business; it serves as a call to action.
Tell us how you became such a prominent figure in the business community. What were you like as a kid? I bet you were the class president!
No, I wasn’t the class president, but as a kid my parents would tell you I was always into something.
I loved to dance, run and tell stories. I was a social kid, actively involved in sports like field hockey and track, and was also a cheerleader. I was a motivated kid, an honor student and always dreaming of what the future would bring.
I grew up in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, a small town known for its historical significance. I attended Shippensburg University for my undergraduate degree and moved to Paris to work for a PR Agency post-graduation.
Not ready to make Paris my forever home, I moved back to the US and started my career in Philadelphia working for an entrepreneurship institute, eventually recruited by a venture capital organization.
I’ve spent the last 18 years in Atlanta, Georgia, 15 years of which I’ve spent growing my digital marketing agency, Junction Creative.
What made you decide to become an entrepreneur?
Having worked for my parents, at a young age, I learned a lot about what it took to make a business successful. When I started my career, I swore I’d never go into business for myself, because it’s a hard path.
However, as I moved through my early career, I faced challenging work environments. And ultimately, it was these experiences that motivated me to start my own agency.
I understand that your confrontation with “insensitive bosses” was also a factor?
Throughout my book, I do share stories and insights from my experiences working in what you might call toxic work environments. I worked hard to not let those experiences stop me from building my career.
I was desperate to find a safe work environment where I could grow without fearing retribution from those looking to climb the organizational ladder.
I’m so sorry to hear that happened.
After surviving a few of those experiences, I reached a defining moment where I made the decision to quit my job and start the business.
I was traveling with three male colleagues to visit a well-respected Fortune 1000 company for a strategy engagement. Unfortunately, I got the swine flu from another passenger on our plane.
It was horrible. It was the next to last day of the trip. We had just finished our session and we were on the way back to the hotel, one of my colleagues said to me, “You need to get ready. We’re going out to dinner and then a rave after that.”
I started laughing because I thought he was joking. He said, “No, seriously: We need you to drive.”
I had a temperature of at least 102. I asked if it was okay to skip dinner so that I could rest for our session the next day.
How did he respond?
He wasn’t happy. The next morning, all three of them smelled like cigarettes and alcohol. They had all gotten back at 5 am. He looks at me and says, “You have to lead the meetings today.” I could barely stand, but I did the best I could.
It was very obvious to our stakeholders that those three men were hung over.
During a bathroom break, one of the key senior stakeholders pulled me aside in the bathroom and said, “You need to cut this.”
She was extremely angry and wanted to end the session halfway through the day because she was so unhappy with the level of unprofessionalism that had been displayed. I had to somehow tell my boss.
I tried to sugarcoat the message, but he was already mad at me. He said, “We’ll be done when we’re done.” He wouldn’t do it. Eventually, the stakeholder got up and ended the session.
Was your boss aware that these three guys had gone to a rave the night before?
Yes!
I have no words.
So, I came back and sequestered myself at home for four days. The entire time, the boss sent me emails, berating me, demanding that I get my work completed, all while CCing the CEO. And this was all because I did not comply with his desire to go to this rave.
I’m not the type of person who’s going to get wasted on a client trip and certainly not comfortable going to a rave with three male colleagues.
The emails continued until I went back to the office. The CEO even emailed directly me saying, “He doesn’t mean it, Julie. He’s just upset.”
When I went back into the office, I remember turning the corner to walk into his office. There was a faint smell of stale beer and cigarettes. I looked at my boss and said, “Today is going to be my last day.”
Now, to be clear, I had no intentions of quitting my job that day. But, in that moment, I thought, “I could do better than this.”
Now, please understand: I do not advocate that people quit their jobs. Please don’t do that. Personally, though, I chose to invest in myself. I believed in my own capabilities even though others in the workplace didn’t always honor or recognize that. That was 15 years ago.
I just can’t believe it! All the stereotypes and cliches you see on TV are real?
My boss had a reputation for being this type of person. I respect the CEO of that company very much, even to this day. He put a lot of trust and faith in my boss, but my boss was all about himself.
Shows like Mad Men glamorize this lifestyle. It definitely trickled into current day agency spaces. But, these agencies weren’t good stewards of the money they were receiving from their clients.
The cultures they were putting out there were terrible. I’d tell my husband these stories and he also responded in disbelief.
Those were incredibly difficult times. But, the process of getting through them and moving forward is a life lesson. We’re always going to run up against challenges.
For me, I didn’t have the ability to give up, and I’ve never had the ability to walk away. It doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard. And, it doesn’t mean I didn’t cry in my car on the highway. I just didn’t let it break my spirit or my stride.
Your book is 30 years in the making. What made you want to complete Dare to Become at this time in your life?
I reached 13 years in business and accomplished some milestones, but I was searching for inspiration to set the next goal, to look forward and say, “What’s next?”
I felt stuck. I felt like every business book I picked up was telling me about the $100,000 side hustle or the $100 million startup. But, I wasn’t looking for that. I was looking for someone to motivate me to press forward.
A lifelong writer, I sifted through journals that I had written since the age of 16 to present day. In the process of revisiting my past, I found my way forward.
Dare to Become is a candid, collection of experiences and insights that I’ve learned from waitressing at my parent’s restaurant to building a successful company of my own.
It reminded me of my fearless, 20-year-old self.
What was it about our 20s that just gave us this undefeatable confidence?
Well, I was 44 and re-reading all these journals. I was in awe, realizing everything I accomplished. It was as if (after reading all that) I found the words to write this book.
The stories are authentic, funny, raw and emotional. I was reminded of my unbridled belief that the world is my oyster.
I wanted to write a book that was conversational. I wanted readers to hear my voice saying back to them: “You got this. I’m in this with you.” While our journeys to success may be different, we will all experience similar challenges along the way.
Would you say that is the primary message of your book?
I want readers to understand that, to truly be successful, it isn’t in a 30-second sound byte. It’s a journey of perseverance, of grit, and it takes a lot of hard work.
But, if you work hard and keep moving forward, and you do the best you can do, you will get there.
It’s really nice to hear someone say that out loud.
There were times in my career where I felt alone, unsure of myself, and at times terrified. But, when I look back at the things I put down on paper when I was 16 and realize that I’ve accomplished those goals – it’s pretty profound.
Even though I’ve accomplished quite a bit, I am just getting started.
Who do you look up to? Who would you consider your mentors?
My first role models are my parents, Mark and Donna. They have been a constant support to me throughout life and my career. They led by example. They’ve been wonderful to learn from.
When I worked in Philadelphia, my first boss taught me so much. He didn’t treat me like I was at my first job. He was instrumental in giving me the push that I needed to be seen in the business community. He was also someone I looked up to.
You’ve mentioned that your first job was working for your parents in the restaurant. Could you talk about that?
I was 16 and my sister was 18 when my parents bought the place. Of course, I wanted to be a waitress because I had heard about how much they could make. But, my dad said, “This is a family affair. If we work it, you work it.”
My parents made sure we knew how to do every job in the restaurant: We mopped floors, we were sous chefs peeling potatoes in the kitchen, we were hostesses.
Then after a year, a position finally opened up for me to be a waitress.
I think it is so amazing that your parents didn’t show favoritism toward you or your sister. They really ingrained some strong life lessons in you.
As a 16-year-old, I was indignant, as most 16-year-olds would be. But, what I realized was, working as hard as we did, we started to see the fruits of our labor.
We saw that the restaurant was growing, that we were increasing the number of meals we did every year. The reputation and business had improved. We saw the results, which made the long shifts and tasks bittersweet.
We were part of an organization where our work mattered.
You’re so inspirational. Who would play you if your life story were turned into a movie?
I look at Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon and how they’ve transformed The Morning Show. They weren’t in these girl-next-door roles. They were women who were fighting corporate politics.
Also, maybe Blake Lively?
Any upcoming projects you’d like us to know about?
I will be speaking at upcoming events and will continue to do consulting work and working with business owners and companies on strategies.
I have an outline for a second book with more stories to share, with a special focus on relationships.
For more information, please visit JulieCroppGareleck.com.
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