This month’s client of the month is Ashley Wray co-owner of Mala Collective an online store and wholesale distributor that sells hand made Mala Beads.
Simply stated, mala beads are a set of beads that are traditionally been used in prayer and meditation — often called prayer beads.
All of Mala Collectives jewelry is handmade, fair trade, authentic, and blessed before leaving the island.
Their team in Indonesia receives fair trade wages, and also benefit from profit sharing from world-wide sales.
How many years have you been in business?
What do you enjoy the most about being a business owner?
What motivated you to start your own business?
Our business was motivated by serendipity. It was a chance meeting on a plane that inspired us to create Mala Collective. The short version of the story: the woman who created the jewelry we work with sat next to us on a flight from Bali to Thailand. She noticed we were wearing her mala beads, we started chatting, and it grew from there. Her vision was to spread peace through rudraksha seeds — the main material in our jewelry. We simply wanted to help her on that journey, which has in turn created our own.What advice do you have for other people who would like to start their own business?
Do it! I’m not sure if it was a blessing or curse to start a business with zero business background, mentorship, or advice. However, I’m thankful we started with that level of naivety, as it allowed us to take risks we wouldn’t have otherwise taken. It also taught us more through actually doing than we could have learned in books. We avoided the analysis paralysis phase that a lot of entrepreneurs come across. We’re now finding a great balance between what we’ve learned, mentorship, and following our hearts. That’s the secret — following your instincts, working on projects you are passionate about, and surrounding yourself with people that uplift and empower you.
How do you achieve a work life balance?
And finally who could benefit from your services?
Everyone. Essentially, we’re all looking for peace in one form or another. We’re not here to dictate what that peace looks like. We simply want to help people discover their own interpretation of mindfulness, and what a conscious lifestyle means for them.
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If you would like to be featured as our client of the month please let us know by contacting us.
