We recently connected with Shay Koloff and have shared our conversation below.
Shay, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
The biggest risk I ever took was starting my own business and next to that it was moving to Colorado. I had come from a very traditional family and many of them work regular jobs. When I first became a mom, I tried working many jobs and different schedules but those never really worked out for our busy family. It was in 2019 that I decided to take the first step into owning a business. It was just me and a bag of beads, I had no idea what I was doing nor what I was making. It started with simple pairs of jewelry and over the course of 4 years it has blossomed into a herbal business with so much more. Taking the risk to start my business was only the first step. Once it began I realized quickly that the community of which I lived made it difficult to expand and so in 2020 my husband found a job in Manitou Springs, and we moved to start our life in Colorado! The risk we took moving over 700 miles away from family and friends was the best decision for our business because in a community more open and supportive we were able to build our brand and once we established our home here our sales increased 4x over the course of 2 years.
Shay, 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?
A little about my story started in 2014 I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. At the time I had poor lifestyle habits and at the age of only 20 I knew I had to do something to change it. Fast forward to 2016 , I found out I’m pregnant. This point in my life really changed everything for me. I no longer only thought of my own health but my daughters as well. I became experimenting with herbal teas and remedies to help me with my health issues and what started as experimenting to find delicious combinations of tea blends really took over my entire business and became my passion.
We help our clients come to find herbal accommodations to fit their health regiments. With our blends the goal is to remain complimentary to modern medicine life styles while offering tasty all natural healing options. We offer consultations and custom made orders to fit any ones needs based on current health!
What sets us apart is our approach to our blending, we use organic herbs and each tonic is made with apple cider vinegar, containing no alcohols. This makes our products safe for anyone including kids and they taste better than most herbal medicine!
What makes me the most proud of my business is the way it helps my customers, and the impact we have made on others to take control of their health! It’s one of the driving forces behind my business , is knowing that I am helping others!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
My business starting out in Jewelry in 2019 was a huge learning curve. In small business there’s so many factors to successful outcomes and I had no idea how to target my audience. I worked really hard the first two years of my business to not only offer jewelry to offer variety and the more I added the more overwhelmed I became. I made a pivot in 2020 when I realized that instead of having 40 products in different categories , that the best way to help my business expand was to rebrand and scale down. I took my jewelry / art business and pivoted to a herbal based business and cut my product list down to under 20 which in turn pushed my business forward!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
In the beginning of this year, I began seeking out other business owners from around the area to collaborate on a brick and mortar business location. I was able to rally up 20 business owners and over the course of 4 weeks I was rejected by realtors and shown over 10 properties, when the time came to sign I was only left with 2 serious candidates out for my 20 and I felt devastated. The resiliency of getting knocked down and getting back up takes so much courage. I was unable to get the location I truly wanted but I did not give up, instead I persevered and in April 2022 with only 1 other person instead of 20 I was able to sign and get the keys to my own commercial space! Your journey may not always be what you envisioned but that doesn’t change the ending! We are preparing to open The Broom Circle Holistic Healing and Tea Room in Colorado Springs, May 2022!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zenithmoonco.com
- Instagram: www.Instagram.com/zenithmoonco
- Facebook: @zenithmoonco
- Other: https://linktr.ee/thebroomcircle
Image Credits
@thephotobabe @D20 photography