Brooke Berndt

What was the best advice you received when you were starting out, and how did it shape your early decisions?

The best advice I received early on was to bet on myself and trust God with the outcome.

When I was starting out, I didn’t have everything mapped out, and I certainly didn’t feel fully ready. What I did have was vision, a strong work ethic, and a deep reliance on my faith. There were moments when the numbers didn’t make sense yet, and moments when I questioned whether I was capable.

That advice shaped my early decisions because instead of waiting for perfect conditions, I chose obedience over fear. I would take the next step, pray over it, and move forward. I learned that faith doesn’t remove risk, but it gives you peace in the middle of it.

I stopped asking, “What if this fails?” and started asking, “What if this is part of the calling on my life?” That shift changed everything. It gave me the courage to launch, pivot, raise my standards, and build businesses that reflect my values.

Betting on yourself is powerful. But betting on yourself while relying on God is transformative.

 

What’s a professional challenge that still keeps you up at night, and how are you navigating it?

One of the biggest professional challenges I’ve faced recently was navigating business while fighting breast cancer last year, and now regaining my momentum.

There is something incredibly humbling about being forced to slow down when you’re used to building, producing, and constantly moving forward. Cancer reshaped my perspective on time, energy, and preparation.

If I could tell every business owner one thing, it would be this: protect your future. I wish I had living benefits in place before my diagnosis. When you are the engine of your business, your health truly is your greatest asset.

I’m navigating this season with faith, smarter systems, and a deeper commitment to building sustainability—not just success. Adversity refined my priorities and strengthened my resolve.

If you were given $10 million tomorrow, how would it change the way you work—or would it?

A large amount of money like that wouldn’t change who I am or my work ethic. It would amplify it and deepen my legacy.

I would invest in startups—especially founders with strong vision who need capital and belief behind them. I would also create grants for women walking through breast cancer so they could focus on healing without the added burden of financial fear.

Beyond that, I would give myself more margin: more time with my family and more space to live fully.

Money doesn’t change your character. It reveals it. I’m a giver at my core, and greater resources would simply allow me to expand my impact and steward what I believe God has entrusted to me.

What values guide the way you lead, create, and do business?

Faith, integrity, and stewardship guide everything I do.

I lead with the belief that business is a responsibility, not just an opportunity. How you treat people matters. How you steward money matters. How you show up when no one is watching matters.

I value alignment over hype, sustainability over ego, and impact over applause. I want the way I build to reflect my faith, strengthen my family, and create real value in the marketplace.

Success without character is empty. I’m committed to building both.

How do you hope your work and story will inspire the next generation of women and girls?

I hope my story inspires the next generation of women and girls to anchor their identity in Christ first.

The best decision I’ve ever made was to follow Jesus. Everything else—business, confidence, resilience, and purpose—flows from that foundation. When you know who you are and whose you are, you move differently. You build differently. You love differently.

I want young women to know they don’t have to chase the world’s definition of success. True fulfillment comes from walking in what God has called you to do and trusting Him with the outcome.

What did cancer change about the way you lead and live?

Cancer stripped away the illusion that I have unlimited time.

When you hear the word “cancer,” everything sharpens. The noise fades. The pressure to impress disappears. What remains is truth—faith, family, and purpose.

It forced me to confront what truly matters. Not the optics. Not the applause. Not the hustle. I had to ask myself whether I was building what God truly called me to build, or simply what the world rewards.

Cancer didn’t weaken me. It refined me. It made me bolder, clearer, and less willing to waste energy on things that don’t align.

I no longer build to prove. I build to steward. And survival changed my standards forever.

Brooke Berndt is a business coach who teaches entrepreneurs how to grow their business online and create passive income with digital products. She’s also the founder of The Activated Entrepreneur Podcast and Virtue Beauty Co, a clean, vegan, and cruelty-free cosmetics company.

Reprints of Boss Babes Magazine featuring Brooke Berndt on the cover are available through our on-demand print partner.