Prologue
It’s 2015, right in the middle of high season. I’m in The Villages, FL, running an integrative medical practice that I’ve built over ten years with strategy, teamwork, and a dose of luck. It’s during this time that I first encounter essential oils. What started as simple curiosity—a potential new inventory item—quickly became something much bigger. Honestly, I’m still not sure how I ended up here.
As a child on Long Island, I have faint memories of making mudpies in a tiny patch of woods wedged between houses on a busy street. Looking back, I realize that was the earliest spark of what would become my life’s work, even if it didn’t look like much at the time.
I was raised in the business world, not in the sciences. My family didn’t know a thing about this field, and in some ways, that worked to our advantage. So when I first smelled an essential oil, I couldn’t quite place the feeling it stirred in me. Suddenly, I was back in those woods, making mudpies.
Another memory surfaced—a rose-scented rollerball from high school. I remember being on the bus, kids in the back smoking cigarettes, then passing around the rollerball to mask the smell with its intoxicating rose scent. Later, in college, I’d find those same rollerballs in little “hippie” shops. This was the mid to late ‘90s.
So when these small bottles of essential oils entered my life a decade ago, all those memories came flooding back. I started to see a path forming, a sense that the pieces were finally coming together. I found my foundation, and with it, a sense of purpose—one I’m still discovering, even now.
I dove in headfirst: education, research, retail, manufacturing, labeling, legal—the whole spectrum. What I learned along the way has been nothing short of incredible, and that’s why I’m writing this.
Ours is one of the most underserved professions out there. I didn’t understand why at first, so I set out to find the answers.
I’m still in the middle of this journey. There are paths to explore and places to go that many of us haven’t even considered yet. My hope in sharing this is to give you a real-world look at what this journey has been like for me. Maybe it will inspire you. Maybe it will simply give you something to think about.
For those truly considering stepping into this marketplace, these are my stories and lessons learned. Building a business in this space requires clarity above all else.
So I hope these business lessons and stories offer you some clarity on your own journey—whatever shape it may take.
—Meredith
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