Starting Soft: Why Am I Here

Hi! Woohoo to my first blog post! I would say I'm nervous, but I've been working on Kiyora for more than a year now and honestly the scariest part was getting started (and dropping your monies on the inventory - ouch to my savings).

I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone for supporting Kiyora in their own shape and form! It's been an incredible early journey and honestly the encouraging support from friends and family (and also from those I haven't spoken to in ages - I see you!) have enabled me to get this far

I've wanted to open an online business since forever but I found myself in a constant cycle of "it's too much work" or "it's too expensive" or "I don't know what I'd sell". It's crazy thinking back about when I tossed and turned over several different products - I'd get super motivated about them, want to work on it, then give up before I've even started.I felt like the only way to naturally commit to opening a business (or anything new, really) is… *drumroll*….."to find something you're passionate about".

Lol I know - it's the most cliché thing ever, but it's so true. I was finally able to commit to Kiyora because I stopped getting so fixated on the product, but focused on how I could express myself and connect with people experiencing the same journey in self-care industry.

In the lead up to Kiyora, I was going through some mental challenges around my whole career, doing meaningful things, my longer term goals, being happy and all that stuff. I guess people call it a mid-life crisis? I swear I've had a few mid life crises from being burnt out before but I had a really big one that stuck around from 2021-2024. I'll probably write more about that in a separate post. But in short, I started Kiyora as a space to express myself, share experiences, and build a community with people who feel the same—those with tired souls, constantly overstimulated, caught up in the hustle, and burnt out from trying to be a 'hard worker'. It’s for those who need a reminder to slow down.

So, thanks for reading this far and supporting the start of Kiyora! I intend to publish a range of posts in this blog including personal 'from the founder' journey snippets as well as selfcare and wellbeing discussion posts.x CL