Meet Julie Walz

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Julie Walz. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Julie , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

As I approached my mid-40s after a challenging decade of health struggles, I embarked on a profound journey of self-discovery. Reflecting on my failures, revelations, and honest conversations with myself, I realized that they all served as a map guiding me towards a deeper understanding of my purpose. While women may encounter various forms of suffering in life, within that suffering lies a valuable gift – the opportunity to learn and discover a sense of purpose. Throughout all my setbacks and moments of triumph, I believe I discovered an enduring purpose in helping and supporting those who may feel invisible or unsupported.

My purpose has helped me create genuine connections, illuminate the unique qualities in others and to support valuable members of my community who contribute to the resources of Montana. Women often underestimate their contributions, become overwhelmed by setbacks, and feel lacking in support. Our organization aims to assist women in rediscovering their purpose, whether they are in mid-life or just beginning their journey of self-discovery. IWD406 is a distinctive platform tailored to serve Montana Women and shed light on the communities they aspire to support.

Understanding what we are destined for and how we can positively impact others is key. Discovering your purpose is a transformative experience that leaves a lasting impression on those around you.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I relocated to Montana with my family in 2020, where I encountered the distinct culture thriving within Montana Communities. Despite the state’s recent significant population growth, I struggled to access resources. Often, I had to rely on word-of-mouth referrals or advertisements from major chain stores, leading to prolonged waits for responses. Upon discovering that many women in Montana possessed remarkable skills or ran side businesses with limited marketing budgets, I recognized a pressing need to support and showcase these talented individuals. Research revealed that Montana women faced challenges in accessing childcare, elderly care, and essential family resources. Furthermore, women in Montana earned only 70 cents for every dollar earned by men.

Feeling that Montana women were overlooked, unsupported, and lacked visibility, I decided to establish a platform and officially launched it on February 3rd, 2024 to foster collaboration, promote visibility for women with resources to offer, and honor their significant contributions to their communities. I initiated collaborative events to spotlight Montana Women-owned businesses or organizations and marketed through local chambers to assist in promoting their services when women lacked the financial means to join chamber memberships or marketing organizations that could raise awareness about their work. Our efforts began at the grassroots level, organizing meetups and events, sponsoring women-owned businesses through our marketing channels, and providing a platform for women to sell and promote their offerings with support from our organization. We started with roughly 20 women in our network and have organically grown to over 980 connections throughout the state in less than 5 months.

In March of 2024, we created a podcast to increase visibility on Montana Women who make a positive impact on their Montana communities. The IWD406 Podcast is a platform committed to empowering the women of Montana. Our episodes include a special segment called ‘Pass the Mic’. This provides a chance for our guests to shine a light on, support, and celebrate another remarkable Montana woman who they believe should be a guest on our podcast. Our episodes have received state and worldwide attention due to the exceptional lineup of Montana Women.

Realizing the importance of our impactful values, we identified issues in rural Montana communities that were overlooked due to a lack of oversight on predatory activities. To address this, we launched a pilot program aimed at educating business owners in rural community business districts to recognize predatory behaviors that are impacting our sacred communities. Our watch program enhances visibility and establishes protocols for businesses in central districts, in partnership with a nonprofit agency dedicated to providing basic human trafficking education. These initiatives align with our platform’s mission to raise awareness and visibility of resources that benefit & safeguard Montana Communities.

While our organization runs impactful campaigns such as “Safeguarding Montana Communities in Business Districts” and we also host yearly statewide events to unify, empower and celebrate Montana Women. We have organized a statewide Ski for IWD event to be held at five major ski resorts in Montana, including a women-owned ski resort in Neihart, Montana. Women from different Montana communities are invited to join the Women of IWD406 at one of the five resorts for a unity costume themed ski parade to celebrate International Women’s Day held on March 8th 2025 at 1:00 pm. We aim to promote this significant event through our marketing channels and are actively seeking sponsorships for this statewide event.

Additionally, we are in the process of planning a statewide retreat/conference scheduled for June 2025 in Northwest Montana at a luxury Woman Owned Lodging and Retreat Center. This event will offer women opportunities for growth in various business aspects like Branding, Marketing, Finances, Product or Service Quality, Pricing, and Website/Social Media Management. We will have experts and mentors in these fields to help facilitate conversation and provide insight and resources to Montana Women in all aspects of entrepreneurship. The retreat will stand out as it will be held outdoors in a Picturesque Montana style venue with a wellness component to kickstart the conference.

Our goal is to support Montana women by creating a platform that fosters heart-centered connections, collaboration, sharing of wisdom, and encourages a growth mindset leading to impactful opportunities for Montana Women.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three key aspects that have greatly influenced my journey are humility, grace, and listening. I’ve come to understand that my shortcomings are not weaknesses but opportunities for introspection and personal growth. Instead of viewing my failures negatively, I now see them as valuable life lessons that contribute to my personal development. Embracing grace has allowed me to extend more compassion to others, even when it’s challenging. By listening to my inner voice, I’ve gained insight into my deepest desires, which has enhanced my ability to listen attentively to others. Building connections with others involves understanding our own sources of connection. Trust your instincts and have faith that your heart will lead you in the right direction, whether the answers are immediate or lie ahead on your journey.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

Our organization serves as a platform for collaborative promotion and resource visibility. We seek to partner with Montana Women who share our values, mission and align with collaboration over competition. With a focus on compassion, we aim to achieve our objectives by exchanging knowledge and fostering cooperation to raise awareness of Montana Women provided resources and offerings. Our core principle is mutual support, and we believe in a collaborative growth mindset as the key to our success. In Montana, where opportunities abound and communities are close-knit, our impact may be modest but powerful. We are dedicated to collaborating with Montana Women across various industries and roles to promote unity and empowerment throughout the state of Montana.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Ember & Rose Photography

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