August 31 - Interview - Business Advice

Interview: Sayaka Treeve

Sayaka’s holistic wellness experience

Wellness with Sayaka offers an answer to our modern, high-pressure lifestyles with small group retreats designed to provide the ultimate holistic wellness experience. We talked all things business, balance and the art of refocusing with founder, Sayaka Treeve.

Tell us about your business?

We are a boutique business focused on guiding people in the ways they can incorporate the five core elements of wellness into their lives: breath, nutrition, mindfulness, meditation and sleep. Wellness with Sayaka is aimed at individuals with high-pressure lifestyles – both in and out of the office – acting as a reset button to help them self regulate, reduce stress and bring some focus back into their lives. We offer small group, all-inclusive wellness retreats where participants have an opportunity to recharge, get some sleep, eat some really clean food, meditate and move their bodies through a combination of yoga, strength training and myofascial release.

Why did you choose to start a business?

I used to be very focussed on building a career and living fast and hard. I made poor food choices, I drank a lot, I didn’t sleep much and I had a very short fuse. That lifestyle catches up with you eventually and I had a couple of burn-outs.

I came to a point in my life a few years ago where I decided to make a change in my priorities and how I would balance each one. I parted with some people who weren’t good for me, I stopped drinking, I changed my diet and I got reconnected with my yoga after a bit of a hiatus. But the biggest game-changer was introducing a daily meditation practice into my life. It’s what made me want to share my journey with others who were going through the same thing but perhaps needed the space and a little help to get them on track.

What has been the most difficult part about being a business owner so far?

Balancing demand and supply.

Wellness with Sayaka is my passion project which I run alongside my, now part time, corporate job and some freelance work. Not only do I love my corporate job, but the security it provides has allowed me to take some risks which I may not have if Wellness with Sayaka was my full time gig. This feels like a very privileged and fortunate position I have carved out for myself but means I have to be strategic in this early, new business acquisition stage. I’m balancing the need to get new clients while the business is in its infant stages and I still want to deliver a really good product that makes people feel so much better.

A big draw card of Wellness with Sayaka is that the retreats are limited to a maximum of six participants and my client base is very niche. There is no point in creating huge demand for your product if you can’t meet that demand. At the moment, Wellness with Sayaka is not marketed widely as my intent is to keep it somewhat small and exclusive while I balance all aspects of my workload. In time, I’ll be able to scale up and market more broadly, particularly as demand for wellness services increases.

How has Future Advisory helped you along the way?

Jason from Future Advisory was the one who helped me launch the business. I came to Jason with an idea and he showed me how it could be possible and took care of all the administration involved in setting it up. That allowed me to focus on what I loved to do, creating the actual product. As the business changed and I took on some other investments, the Future Advisory team was able to advise me of the best way to structure my company so that it incorporated a number of revenue streams.

I am so grateful, not only for the support, service and advice I received from the Future Advisory team but mainly for the belief that Jason had in me when I came to him with a fairly fuzzy idea. That moment enabled me to turn an idea into something tangible and helped me realise I could actually create something I really believed in.

A piece of advice for aspiring business owners?

Just have a crack. Start small and build. Hold yourself to a high standard. And be a good person.

What’s one piece of wellness advice that we can all take?

Be grateful, especially for things you would normally take for granted. Honour the small things of the present moment rather than pursuing the idea of greatness. And try not to compare yourself to others. This is really hard due to the rise of consumerism that constantly makes us feel inadequate but the more you acknowledge what is good in your life, the happier you will be. The happier you become, the more positivity you attract. The more positive you are, the more people want to be around you. That’s a win in business and life in general.

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