We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kayla Fioravanti a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kayla, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Life has given me the opportunity to be chronically strong. I’ve been fighting since 1967 when I was in my mother’s womb while she had Hodgkin’s Disease. She refused all treatment until I was born and then I watched her fight for her life. She lived 44 years after being told she’d only survive 4-10 years.
I was also born with the genetic disorder, Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome (EDS), that went undiagnosed until just recently. EDS impacted my vision and kept me chronically injured and sick. I’ve battled my body every step of the way and refuse to let it slow me down. I’ve learned to advocate, research, and fight for solutions. And as if that wasn’t enough to make me resilient, I grew up as a third culture kid moving every few years between three continents. Along the way I picked up good habits, a deep faith, chronic resilience and strength, as well as passion for the natural wellness industry.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am the co-founder of Ology Essentials and Ology Essentials Labs, a cosmetic formulator, certified aromatherapist, hemp expert, award-winning author, and crazy cat lady. I am passionate about research–so much so that we put in the name of our company. The definition of Ology is a subject of study; a branch of knowledge which seemed like a perfect fit for us. As a formulator I see the synergy in natural ingredients and the modalities of natural medicine. I like to tap into that synergy by using the best of the best to mindfully formulate personal care products.
I am most excited about our labs division at Ology Essentials Labs. To me my lab is a giant playground where I develop the products that will become the foundation of multiple other people’s companies. I feel like the kid who loves the thrill of the swings and am perpetually inviting others over to ride the swing so I can watch their joy experiencing something that I am passionate about. I love entrepreneurship and the natural industry. And above that I love helping other people experience this playground with me.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Stick-to-it-ive-ness Growing up I had to overcome big and small obstacles. It did not matter whether I felt qualified and motivated to overcome or not. I was often the new girl in a foreign country with just myself, my family, and my cat to rely on. (Literally, my cat played such a big role in my perseverance that I wrote the book Puffy & Blue, The Chronicles of Nine Lives Together, to tell our story.) As a third culture kid, it always took time to develop besties who will walk through hard stuff with me. Learning to walk through these experiences without turning back gifted me with hardwired stick-to-it-ive-ness that I use in business, fighting for me and my kids health, and life.
2. Researcher
My deep abiding passion for research has guided my life in every way. Knowledge is power and I want all the power. Well, the good kind of healthy power. My skills as a researcher developed when I studied in Ireland in 1988 in a program led by Dr. Helena Carlson. She became the most influential teacher in my entire educational process because she taught me to truly think for myself. Really think, not just learn, absorb, and regurgitate, but to think as a deeply personal individual.
I always knew what Helena’s opinion was on any topic, but she never wanted us to parrot her. She wanted us to research and decide where we stood on every topic. She challenged us to think independently. Part of her method of teaching us about the history of Ireland was having speakers come from both the Protestant and the Catholic perspectives, political leaders on both sides of the aisle, and speakers for both sides of every controversy. No subject was taboo for Helena and we never got only one side of any argument—ever. She taught us to do research and make a decision only after collecting and evaluating all of the information. It was forbidden to only research the side of an argument you already believed to be right. I have lived my life since 1988 in an effort to not prove my own bias but instead gather all the information from every angle before coming to my own conclusions.
3. Hallelujah anyway attitude
I doggedly stick to my belief that attitude is the most important part of overcoming. During one of the hardest periods of my life I set a reminder in my phone that read, Hallelujah Anyway! Some days it annoyed me to no end to read that message in the midst of heartbreak, but it helped me recenter my attitude to one of praise rather than complaint. I learned long ago the power of a 1% change and so on the hardest days I shifted my line of vision just a degree higher, my activity just a moment longer, and my breath just a smidge past the shallow breathing I was practicing.
If following the same worn path as everyone else isn’t working out right for you, I highly encourage others to give themselves permission to forge their own path through life and business. Your own path doesn’t have to deviate greatly from the one you were on. If you were literally walking and you changed your path by one degree then each mile you would have deviated 92 feet from the original path. Over the years that could seriously accumulate and change your life and business. A calculated decision to turn up the intensity of your business could also make a huge difference–after all 211° F is just hot water but 212° F is boiling water.
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
Our ideal client is someone with a dream to be in the natural industry whether that is with products for skincare, bath and body, pet, home, hemp CBD, aromatherapy, or whatever niche fits their passion. The qualities that our ideal client has are passion paired with good decision making skills. We are able to support a customer who has an idea, but doesn’t have the time or skill set needed to develop and manufacture products. We can support a customer’s dreams with our R&D laboratory and manufacturing facility. Our low run minimums give any sized company the runway needed to take off and thrive in the natural industry.
We love to support the dreams of our customers. For some people that means we handle everything from R&D, packaging, labeling, and fulfilling orders. For other people that means ordering in bulk so they can do it all themselves. We are flexible and can support someone who wants to be hands off or hands on. We just want you to get your hands in the natural personal care industry with us.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ologyessentialslabs.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ologyessentials.labs/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ologyessentials.labs
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaylafioravanti/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/OlogyEssentials
