A Wellness Line Encouraging You To Treat Yourself

For Myself Body Care & Wellness is a business that handcrafts natural bath soaps, body lotions, and facial care products. It was conceived in June of 2020, during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic when Aneesa Salmon and her daughter were inspired to make their own products and sell them online. That’s when she discovered the ShopHERE Powered by Google Program on Instagram, and that ad helped her take the next steps.

The program made it easy for Aneesa to get started, with a helpful Coordinator to guide her through the process. Through several weeks, she was able to build her first online store with Shopify, and attended informative webinars with great tips on social media and marketing. As a result, Aneesa’s website turned out much better than she could have expected, especially given the short amount of time it took for her and the Coordinator to design and implement the overall look and feel. 

During the pandemic, Aneesa started feeling down and went bird watching with her daughter to get some much needed exposure to nature. She was motivated to start her business after her daughter suggested she sell the homemade bath soaks they made at home online. 

As Aneesa describes it, For Myself is a business for people looking to add something new to their self care routine. She and her daughter produce and curate the products she sells online and are expanding to other ventures such as teas, water bottles, and guidance cones among other lifestyle products. 

“The ShopHERE Program is great for people who have a business they want to adapt to an online eCommerce marketplace,” she says of her overall experience. “You’ll learn new skills that will take your business to the next level.”

She felt a great sense of accomplishment after getting her online store live, and it was enlightening to have her daughter help her along the way. Aneesa’s new business gave her something to look forward to every morning, and remind her to take care of herself and enjoy the little things in life. 

This self-care philosophy continues to translate into how she operates her business today. As a mother, Aneesa has found it tough to maintain a healthy work/home balance, especially with being under lockdown for so many months. Nevertheless, she is grateful to the team at Digital Main Street for providing a helpful service for many small business owners like herself. 

Aneesa still faces challenges on a daily basis, like social media marketing, stock inventory tracking, and sales analysis. However, the ShopHERE Powered by Google Program and Shopify’s internal database has given her all the right tools, resources, and insight to not be intimidated and get through her tasks. 

“[The program] just makes sense,” she says. “If you’re an older business owner, it might be hard to consider change, but this pandemic has shown there are weaknesses in the traditional brick and mortar [store]. Converting your business to an online eCommerce store will get more eyes on your products.”

Aneesa is excited to continue growing her online business. Another new venture she’s explored with her daughter is designing t-shirts to sell on her online store. This has given her more things to look forward to, and reminds her that self-care is especially important during uncertain times. “Meditate, drink your favourite tea, and get into nature,” she advises. “Dance, sing out loud, laugh, and cry. Do what you need to do to feel your best. Do it for yourself and thank me later.”

You can follow Aneesa’s business activities on her newly launched online store or her Instagram profile @fmsbcw. You can also find her on Pinterest as well. If you want to learn more about the ShopHERE program, click here. To learn more about Digital Main Street's other programs, read more about them here.