As the founder of Gilly’s Organics, Gillian Stollwerk Garrett has built a beloved non-toxic skincare brand while raising three kids (21, 19 and 15). Most recently, she’s also conquered the podcast space with Everyday Rockstars. But her success hasn’t been linear, and on a recent episode of MomCast, The Local Moms Network’s new podcast, she chatted about her journey with host Demetra Ganias. Below is an adapted excerpt of this insightful interview, where she talks about why it’s important to “take the chance,” and how she does it all. For more, listen to MomCast, here.
Your business, Gilly’s Organics, has been around for almost 20 years. Can you tell us about the journey?
Just like life, and just like any business, and just like any career, there have been big ups and big downs. I’m on my way up from a down right now, which is really good, but one of the things I’ve learned as an entrepreneur for so many years is if you’re going to stick it out, you’re going to hit highs and lows and highs and lows.
I got into Whole Foods in 2015. Up until then, I was taking on lunches with my friends more frequently and spending time having coffee or I’d fill orders, but I wasn’t selling. Yes, I had my hands in everything because I was really a solopreneur. I was putting stickers on things, and I was invoicing and doing all that. But I realized one day, “what if I just acted as though I’m paying myself to be the CEO of this company?” Not just, “Oh, if the orders come in, I’ll get them.” So I started to have this mindset, and then in 2014, I was doing a giveaway for mothers. And this one woman, Wendy, who’s now my friend, asked why aren’t your products on the shelves of Whole Foods? I had all the reasons—the packaging needed upgrading, or I didn’t have the certifications yet. And she said, “why don’t you just go up to that guy and ask?” And he said, “these are really great, this is the insurance and paperwork you need, and it takes about six months to a year”. And no joke, within a day of six months I got my first order at Paramus Whole Foods in New Jersey.
So basically, you’re saying to take the chance, and ask the guy?
Yes. But I wouldn’t say it was that simple for the next eight years. In fact, there were so many battles and not bad battles, not aggressive battles, but uphill battles like getting certain things, insurance, doing demos. It wasn’t like we were so comfortable that someone or we were funding this business. The business had to fund the business. I know I have an amazing product, but the hustle is real—the sacrifice, the time management and fitting in the kids.
But now, you’re not in Whole Foods anymore. Why?
When I was told that they had some new rules and I was no longer compliant in the packaging, the product inside is totally compliant, but without going into it, the packaging needs a certain Latin nomenclature, and you can’t say words like antiseptic and certain things, even if it is. And we had to change the labels, but I had just spent all of my last year’s earnings repackaging. So it was devastating when Global, who didn’t even know me, just pulled me. And when I spoke to them on the phone, it was kind of like, it’s nothing personal.
I just want to say that the main lesson that I learned is that you shouldn’t put all your organic eggs in one basket….So that was hard, but at the time I met this incredible woman through this person I heard on a podcast. She [helped] me pivot and we started taking Amazon seriously.
We look at you building a brand, launching a podcast…and so many of us ask, how? What’s your answer to the question “How do you do it?”
I try to be present like that saying “be here now” because it’s so easy to get your in your head. I’ve got ten things to get done the rest of the day all the way till nighttime, and then I’ve got someone on my podcast tomorrow that I’ve got to finish preparing for, and there’s so many things swirling. But I just say to myself “be here, now.” That sort of mantra and yoga is a meditative form for me to stay present. My morning yoga class is like an anti-anxiety pill.
Anything else you want moms to know?
For every mom listening, know that you can have your hand in so many pots. You don’t have to be put in a box and say, “this is me, this is what I do.” Do 10 different things and see what sticks.
Read more MomCast interviews here:
Meet a Mom: Mom Advocate and Influencer, Paige Connell
Zibby Owens on Finding Time for Creativity in Motherhood
