HOW MY BUSINESS SAVED MY LIFE

THIS WEEK ON THE BLOG WE HERE FROM MICKI, OWNER OF THE OLFACTORY SHOP. MICKI TALKS ABOUT HOW HER BUSINESS SAVED HER LIFE. SCROLL ON TO READ THE FULL STORY!

Father’s Day is right around the corner and don’t let Dad’s gift get lost in the mail and order a customizable Rad Dad Giftbox from Olfactory Shop your Rad Dad Giftbox here!

My name is Micki and I’m the founder, and, well, the only human, behind The Olfactory Shop. The Olfactory Shop is a line of all-natural fragrance for the wild at heart. I created it in 2015 as a way to explore entrepreneurship through my love of natural home and body products. 

 I’d been making my own products for years due to synthetic fragrance sensitivities when I came to realize that many others were on the run from toxins in their daily lives. It started as an experiment - something for me to pour heart and purpose into during the evenings. But it evolved into my full-time focus over the course of 3 years and another “dream job” later. 

I mention the dream jobs, because as someone who has strived to fit “the mould” for most of her life, I found myself landing in dream job after dream job with some of the world’s and the country’s coolest places to work. But every time, I hit a wall of dissatisfaction that I can only name today as “entrepreneurial drive”. It never felt right. It always felt like someone else’s dream. 

So when illness suddenly struck me at 29 in 2017, I was literally knocked to the ground, and forced to listen to my soul. After waking up one morning unable to walk and in the most excruciating pain I’d ever experienced, I finally began listening. For anyone who has gone through the health care system, you understand that appointment after appointment, tests after tests and the straight-up fatigue that accompanies being ill, is entirely exhausting. I had nothing left to give my 9-5. The stress of suddenly not being the same top-performer that I had always been was disappointing and frustrating to say the least. I was beginning to not even recognize myself. 

At the same time, my passion for The Olfactory Shop was ramping up. It was the thing that no matter how the rest of my life was changing, I still had energy for and I started to see a clear future with my little online shop. After another 8 months of trying to figure out what was going on inside my body and losing my flame for my 9-5, it became immensely clear to me that I was not living in alignment with the life I wanted for myself. It became scarier to stay at my job than it was to leap into the unknowns of entrepreneurship. In 2018, I left my role with the shiny, beautiful tech company and threw my whole self into my calling - The Olfactory Shop. When diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease later that year, it became even more of a blessing to be my own boss, to be able to put health ahead of anything else. 

I can’t even express all the ways my life has improved since listening to my Soul’s calling, breaking from the moulds I imposed on myself, and designing the life that I always envisioned. The days are challenging but in the most gratifying ways! And I’ve gotten through the tough times with my village nearby. I call on my friends at Local Laundry, who I consider my big brother in business. I have a biz-bestie (but also a bestie-bestie) in Jess at Lilac & Clover Soap who is my ride-or-die to quietly celebrate my wins with and get through the lows with. I have a whole village of local entrepreneurs who help me grow, lift me up, allow me to share my gifts and ultimately understand that quitting is not an option. 

Today, I run my business with a focus on self-love, collaboration and adventure. I believe that in loving and accepting ourselves, we are able to love and accept others and overcome absolutely any obstacle. Collaboration is key because we can do so much more good together! And a drive to help others connect with their own adventure and their inner wild child has always remained. Because life should be fun and we are all wild at heart! 

While it feels a bit yucky to dish advice, I do have one message. If there is a change you’ve been meaning to make, no matter how big or small, make it. Empower yourself and don’t wait for a major life event to drive what you already know is within you. 

Thanks for reading and lots of love.

x Micki

Follow the adventure over at @theolfactoryshop and sign up for my email at theolfactoryshop.com for insider deets and deals.