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

Hi Bharvi, thanks for joining us today. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?

Karma and resilience are some of the top lessons my parents taught me. I worry all the time about the unknown, my mom who is my best friend in the world, had been diagnosed with auto immune kidney failure IgA nephropathy and is on waitlist for a kidney transplant. I have learned from her to keep on putting out good things in the world without any expectations but at the same time I am struggling with watching my parent suffer from CKD and I feel helpless in this journey of hers, having to watch this unfurl miles away in Chicago area. My mother is the rock of our family, and I was raised to choose the positive side of life and to this day she would minimize her actual problems even when her world is crumbling around her. Right now, our family is going through testing to see if one of her children would be a match to donate their kidney, but that decision comes with a heavy heart and a lot of anguish and turmoil. It all started to get too much and as a result I was a not nice person to be around. But the resilience to follow through led me to finding Expressive Aromas and my happy place so that I can share that joy with others.

Bharvi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Bharvi, founder of Expressive Aromas (EA). I am an Indian born American, moved to Illinois in my early twenties to be with my husband. We moved to Detroit area soon after and then to Texas over 8 years ago. We have two beautiful children Ishan (5) and Arna (2) and work hard every day to set a good example to our children and creating a happy life. I love reading, traveling, going to the movies, keep a running list of classics must watch movies, a sort of a cultural reference list and experimenting with my kids. I have loved the inclusion I have been offered by everyone around me and never felt out of place because of my culture, I never felt disadvantaged, never felt alienated, never felt “not white.” I love learning about new ways to expand my knowledge and grow my business. I am finding my voice in the community through my small business. • Imagine the oldest child in the family, a dogmatic Virgo, who is used to having things in order and maintain that control. Now imagine that same person with a one-month-old on maternity leave and COVID shuts everything down. Well, that was me, my well laid out life just upended, family help I was hoping for could not come and I was stuck home with a newborn and a three-year-old. Honestly because I was on leave from work at the time, I felt disconnected from the world and thought all the hoo-hah about COVID will blow over. But like any grief stage, when that denial stage was over, and I was in the acceptance stage and tried to make the best of everything, I even managed to join Tik-Tok to try all the challenges. While that was all fun, I needed my home back as I had been working from home ever since I moved to Texas and adjusting to having my kids home all the time and my husband also work from home was no fun. Fast forward a few miserable months, my girlfriend and I had an opportunity to experience fragrance blending and I could not get this experience out of my head. I wanted to share the joy I felt with others. It was a seed that took root and kept on growing. Through my rocky times, my rock of a husband was the one who said, “why don’t you spend an hour a night after the kids are in bed and figure out what you can do with this idea” and that was it! I took that suggestion to heart and with Netflix as my background noise started learning about creating my own scent and how I can bring that experience to customers. Now I have no knowledge for business or finances, but my husband does and when I was ready to buy my first item, my husband was like “so where’s your business plan?” I had to literally google what a business plan is what it looks like. But I persevered and of all this was born my third child, “Expressive Aromas”.

My main objective with Expressive Aromas is to spread the joy of creating personal signature scent to others. It brought me to my happy place & I found a little bit of escape, others can too. So expressive Aromas is built on having to experience fragrance blending and create your own custom scent that you add to a medium of your choice. Simply select your favorite scents. Combine. Experiment. Blend.

Tell us the story of how you came up with the idea for your business? Paint the picture for us so we really understand the context, circumstances, the emotions etc. Walk us through how you knew this was a worthwhile endeavor – talk to us about the logic of why you felt this would work? Were you solving a problem that no one else was solving? Were you offering a unique approach or what about this idea got you most excited?

Any good and powerful perfume consists of three or more complex notes, a base note, a heart or a mid-note and a top note. By adjusting the intensity of these notes, you can create something that stays on stronger or lasts longer. Expressive Aromas is unique in a way where it deconstructs a good aroma into their individual 40+ single notes made from ultra-premium quality fragrance oils and lets the user decide their favorite single aromas. When you mix and match from your favorite aromas, you will then create your custom fragrance that is unique to you and define you. Why let a store or company tell you what your perfume will be? Today’s customer demands independence in choice, why not give them the independence to create their own scents and give the choice in their hands. Imagine how fun this would be on a 2nd or 3rd date when you are getting to know the other person and finding the common scents that you both like. It brings you together with your friends, families, colleagues, and partners while spreading good smell around you. I am not the creator here, my customers are. I bring them the best available fragrances that allow them to create their scents and there are no limitations in the scents you create. You can even personalize your scent by giving it a unique name that is stored in our database for you to purchase again from.

I am a huge believer in what goes around comes around and have more faith in the greater good of the world. As such, I am working on creating agricultural sustainability for essential oil crops. I work for a botanical supplements manufacturer as their Quality Assurance and work with small and big growers day in and out to share with wild-crafters safe tips for wild harvesting. With farmers, we share crop rotation techniques so as a manufacturer we can contribute to a sustainable supply chain. I am able to do this through my job by working together with unique non-profit organizations and industry leaders such as American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) and American Botanical Council (ABC). This experience has placed me in a unique position to educate others about the effects of advertising campaigns led by multi-level marketing essential oil companies on world agriculture through Expressive Aromas platform. Now, I personally love essential oils, know their amazing effects, and use them daily for myself, my home, and my children. What I want is to raise awareness on overuse of essential oils, reducing waste by buying only what you need and their safe disposal.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

Yes, I do manufacture my own shower frosting and body butters. I have a bachelors in pharmaceutical sciences and a master’s in Chemistry. Formulations is something at which I am good. Back in college, we used to make experimental creams and soaps now I get to do that with added depth. Working with plants and natural herbs for the past 9 years has given me a plant-based perspective & what it means to have all natural products. Expressive Aromas shower frosting is loaded with sugar scrub, organic shea butter and other skin loving oils. So, when you are taking a shower it helps your skin stay moisturized and gently washed. Our whipped body butter is this all-in-one moisturizer, foot cream & massage cream that is made with just 5 ingredients. I use it on my children all the time.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My pivot story is not a new one and women take this step around us everywhere. For me, the biggest change came when my first child was born. I was on path to a fast-growing career with a pharmaceutical company working full-time when I moved over to the botanical supplement field. I had to choose between wanting THE career or wanting children. I was lucky enough to work for a small and intimate manufacturer in Michigan that supported my work from home when I moved to Texas and I chose to work part time from home with frequent travels back & forth to Michigan so that I could spend time with my baby but also not lose a part of my career. This crossroads is something I often go back & forth analyzing if it was the right decision for me and I keep thinking of going back to work full time here in DFW area instead of traveling for work as it does take a toll on my family. But looking back at the path chosen, I do not regret it one bit because as my children grew older and started going to preschool, I was able to find time in my day to work on Expressive Aromas and on myself. My reflection became my superpower. I have always been an introverted extrovert and when I get to share my love for fragrance blending with others, I get to make one on one connections, network with other impressive small business owners, and so much more. Expressive Aromas has helped me fill my personal happiness bucket and a void I hadn’t realized I had.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://expressivearomas.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/expressivearomas/
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/expressivearomas/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/expressivearomas/
• Other: Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTdvDBNKT/

Image Credits
Janki Soni