Meet Rachel Baumel | Founder & CEO of Sleep Again Pillows

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rachel Baumel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I have been a risk taker my whole life. I am not sure why, but I have always jumped in to new adventures without any hesitation. I started my first business when I was 30 years old and my children were very young (2 1/2 years old and 3 months). Each business that I started (that was ultimately successful) focused on filling a need. The first one being a mommy and me program, which evolved into a preschool.

Over the last 20 years, I started Creative Learning Preschool, Rachel K. Baumel LLC (Family Law & Mediation Practice), and now Sleep Again Pillows (post surgical pillow system). I have started other businesses along the way, but these are the ones that stuck. So many people are scared to fail, so they don’t take the risk. I seem to be missing that gene, so I constantly try new things. I am not afraid of failure. I have failed many times and some of my businesses have not worked out. The ones that have worked have brought me so much pride, joy, and fulfillment. I feel good about helping so many people in so many different ways.

I truly believe that without the risk, there is very rarely the reward. We have been very fortunate to have grown our businesses and to be able to invest our money in real estate. Whereas, most of our friends have their money in retirement accounts and the stock market, we chose a different path. The goal being that we will receive passive income from our real estate portfolio and “retire” early. Risk has played a huge role in my life and career and I am incredibly grateful for where I am now.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I have always been an idea person. I see a need and I want to fill it. My desire to help people and make a difference is always at the forefront. When we moved to Stapleton, Denver in 2003, there were not any child focused businesses. We started Baby Power & Forever Kids in 2005 and (over a 13 year period of time) we evolved that business into Creative Learning Preschool with two locations. We grew our business slowly and we eventually owned the business and the real estate associated with both preschool locations. We currently still own the preschool building in Central Park. From 2012 until 2022, I also practiced Family Law with a focus on Family Law Mediation. Mediation is required in almost all Family Law cases in Colorado, so I was able to stay extremely busy and to help people resolve conflict in a positive manner. In 2016 and 2017, I was mediating full time and running two preschools. I was also primary for our two daughters ( who were 15 and 12 at the time) with respect to driving, doctor’s appointments, and school activities.

In September of 2017, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a hormone positive breast cancer. I was simply doing too much. I was trying to do everything for everyone all the time and my body broke down. I am absolutely relentless when I want to reach a goal, but one thing I realized at that time was that my body had limits. I like to think that I have learned a lot from that experience. We reorganized our lives and balanced things out a bit. At the end of 2017, my husband quit his full time job and took over running the preschools and I focused 100% on my mediation practice.

In November 2017, I had a double mastectomy. I created a pillow system to help me sleep and heal. I used that pillow system for a total of 4 surgeries within that year. I started lending out the pillow system and that is how Sleep Again Pillows was started. I believe I have stayed true to my desire to help people while maintaining healthy boundaries. I love to feel like I am making a difference for people. We have sold over 1200 pillows and we do our best to talk to as many people as possible. We want to provide people with comfort and support as they are going through such a difficult time in their lives. Our pillows are fully supportive, thoughtfully designed, and are able to help anyone who is required to sleep on their back following surgery.

I have always run service focused businesses, so manufacturing and selling a large pillow system is a whole new world for me. I really like to start small and to grow businesses slowly, so I can learn lessons without a major financial hit at the beginning. We have learned many lessons with Sleep Again Pillows and have been able to overcome them, due to our slow evolution.

I truly want to put good out in the world. Every step of the way, I try to do what I think is right. I am a motivated person, but I put kindness above all else.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I LOVE to travel and to have new experiences. I also love food! Here are some of my favorite activities and restaurants in Denver:

Activities – Meow Wolf, Hiking (my favorite is Maxwell Falls in Evergreen), Denver Botanic Gardens, Walking around Cherry Creek.

Favorite coffee shops and restaurants – Aviano Coffee in Cherry Creek, True Food, Humboldt, Borollo Grill, Postino, and Hillstone.

Denver has so much sunshine and beautiful scenery. I absolutely love living here!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have two shoutouts! The first shoutout is to my incredible husband, Dan, who has always believed in me. His belief in me and my “ideas” has truly motivated me to keep going and to keep growing as a person and business woman.

I also really want to give a shoutout to my business partner, Kate Devlin, who is amazing! She has been with me from the start of Sleep Again Pillows. I approached her with this crazy idea and she has believed in Sleep Again Pillows every step of the way. Kate is truly the best business partner and friend.

Website: www.sleepagainpillows.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sleepagainpillows/

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ rachel-baumel-2b1874

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SleepAgainPillows/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAX1vwZYPZFvtCHgiMUdOQQ