Meet Rachel Schneider Courtney Willis | Co-Founders of PRE BOX, LLC

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

Hi Rachel Schneider, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
As Speech-Language Pathologists we often have families who bring in their sensory boxes, asking us how they should be using them. We noticed many of the items in theses boxes are toys we used in therapy. However, while we viewed these items as tools to help elicit language and develop new skills; most parents were unaware of the power of play. We thought, what if we put our therapeutic knowledge in the boxes with the toys and gave parents a chance to interact with their children in a way that was both fun and functional. We also felt that the other sensory boxes were missing out on a key opportunity to prepare kids for new experiences using the five senses. So, we decided to pack our knowledge and training into a box that not only teaches parents how to use these items in a functional way, but also helps ease children’s anxieties surrounding new or difficult experiences.

What should our readers know about your business?
We (Rachel and Courtney) are both Speech-Language Pathologists with over 25 years combined experience helping families and patients achieve their communication goals. Starting our own sensory box company definitely had many hurdles, the first being that we typically negotiate with toddlers, so the adult business world was a new arena for us. It was a lot of trial and error and knowing that mistakes are really just an opportunity to learn. We want parents to know, you don’t have to struggle with the anxieties of new or difficult experiences. There are a variety of tools available that children and parents can use to help navigate life’s adventures.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For daily activities here are some of our favorite spots: Arboretum, Smoky Rose (lunch and live music), Klyde Warren Park (food trucks and playground for kids), Dallas World Aquarium, The Rustic (brunch), Sadelle’s at HP Village (brunch and shopping). Breakfast: Maple Leaf Diner. Then, for dinners we would head to the Mexican, R and D Kitchen, Terry Black’s, Roots Southern Table, Mi Cocina for a Mambo Taxi, Uchiba and Nick and Sam’s steakhouse.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Stacy Wright who founded Stacy’s Sensory Solutions was a huge help and support from the very beginning.

Website: www.getmyprebox.com

Instagram: @getmyprebox

Facebook: @getmyprebox

Other: TikTok: @getmyprebox

Image Credits
Photography by Alyssa Berkowitzc