Women In Wellness: Grace Martin of Edens Garden on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
Part of living a healthy lifestyle is choosing healthy foods. Each meal is a gift and should be treated as such. Eating nourishing whole foods and limiting the number of processed foods you take in can be life-changing. From breakfast to dinner, it’s important to keep an awareness of what you are putting into your body.
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Grace Martin.
Grace Martin founded Edens Garden by following her dream to share high-quality, affordable essential oils and make them easily accessible to everyone. Since conception, her dream has grown significantly with support from her incredible team that continues to innovate, educate and foster community around essential oils. Edens Garden’s story is rooted in natural and conscientious living — as a women and family-owned company, Edens Garden is inspired by their loved-ones to put safety, quality and sustainability at the forefront of their goals.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
I grew up in a home that valued natural and holistic living. Those values extended into my adulthood and initially got me interested in natural products. In 2009, I decided to launch Edens Garden as a way to make the highest quality essential oils affordable and easily accessible.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
I started Edens Garden with next to nothing. Unlike some businesses, I didn’t have a big investor or wealth of funds I could pull from. My husband and I had $1,000 to our name and moved into his parent’s house to save money. I started the entire business on my Visa credit card.
For the first two years, I was mostly on my own. I taught myself Adobe Illustrator so I could design the labels and build the aesthetic of the brand. I did all my own sourcing, web development, selling and shipping through Amazon and our website.
In all that time, I learned that if you truly want something, there is no waiting for someone else. You have to learn it, get uncomfortable to get comfortable. You are your own motivator. I was willing to take all risks because I believed in it, enough to start the business on credit.
Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
A big lesson was learning to lean on other people for their expertise. For the first two years, I ran everything on my own. It took time for me to realize that I am not an expert in all things and gaining insights from others could actually help the business thrive. I learned that everyone has their area of expertise and we are uniquely different.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
The person who has made the biggest impact is my COO, Erin Sweeney. Since 2011, she has been through the thick and thin with me. She is very detailed, whereas I lean more towards the bigger picture. We balance each other out and our strengths complement one another. She carries a large daily load at Edens Garden.
Our entire management team is made up of women. On top of that, we are also a team of sisters. My sister, Charity Dykstra, is our amazing CPO. Her visionary skills and incredible talents have consistently delivered value to our customers. Our CMO, Jenna Jones, is Erin’s sister. We each bring something special and together we keep the brand on a strong path of growth.
We have also been blessed enough to have industry leaders mentor and encourage us. As a moral and ethical brand, Edens Garden has attracted many like-minded individuals who have helped us grow. After we found success as a brand, a lot of essential oil companies started to pop up. I learned that if they’re not doing business with pure intentions, their motives get exposed eventually.
Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
Edens Garden really does help people in their daily lives. Our 100% pure essential oils help people relax, sleep better, clean and so much more. It’s so rewarding to know we are having a personal impact on people all over the world. Since I started the brand, I am even more passionate about what we do. I still get my hands dirty in the day-to-day. Just yesterday, I was sitting at my desk testing the aroma of our new Lavender batch to approve. I care deeply about the people and the business because I respect how much trust people are putting in my hands. It truly is a gift.
Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.
Living a healthy lifestyle starts with gratitude. It’s so important to be thankful for the little things. Every day, I spend time reflecting on all the good in my life. The health of my family, friends and community give me so much to be grateful for.
Part of living a healthy lifestyle is choosing healthy foods. Each meal is a gift and should be treated as such. Eating nourishing whole foods and limiting the number of processed foods you take in can be life-changing. From breakfast to dinner, it’s important to keep an awareness of what you are putting into your body.
One of the many reasons I am passionate about essential oils is because of their versatility and lifestyle applications. Incorporate essential oils into as much of your life as you can and eliminate anything in your house that has an artificial smell. It’s easy to replace toxic cleaning agents with Lemon essential oil or our Cleaning synergy blend.
I am a big promoter of research and really digging down into the truth of ingredients. The more you find out about most commercial products, the more you realize how important pure ingredients are. This is one of the reasons we developed our deodorant and bar soap lines, to provide natural alternatives made with the therapeutic benefits of 100% pure essential oils.
If you start with small things that you use daily, like using an aluminum-free deodorant or all-natural bar soap in place of products that contain synthetic chemicals, it’s a quick and easy tweak that your body will thank you for. While staying active each day, it’s invaluable to take stock of the products that surround you and try to replace them with healthier alternatives.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I would start a “trash the toxins” movement that invites people to choose natural and safe products. Many everyday products include toxic ingredients and synthetic fragrances. It affects us and our culture has made it so common to inhale so many chemicals every day. It’s so important to be mindful of what is right under your nose.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
I have learned so much over the last 12 years leading Edens Garden. Here is a list of things I wish someone told me before I started:
- Don’t live in fear. It takes courage to grow.
- Stay in your lane and don’t be ruled by what others are doing. What works for one brand won’t necessarily work for another.
- Stay true to your original mission and goals- it is about building a brand, not just selling a product.
- The key to success is building a strong team.
- When things get hard, don’t get bitter, get better.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
Mental health is very important to me. I’ve learned that self-care and taking your mental health seriously is what allows you to thrive, stay present and enjoy life.
What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?
On Instagram and Facebook @edensgardenoils
Thank you for these fantastic insights!
