Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Evie Levitin, founder, and president of The Balanced Company, located in Toronto, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
The Balanced Company is a women-owned subscription box company, curating better-for-you boxes of healthy snacks, pantry staples, lifestyle items, wellness products, and home decor. Our boxes are curated with quality and value at the top of mind, focusing on nourishing the mind, body, and soul, with the aim to help people live a balanced life. We are Canada's leading subscription box company and gaining speed in the US very quickly! Our customers trust the products and items we include in our boxes to help them make better, more healthful choices to live a more balanced life.
Tell us about yourself
I am a mom of 3 girls, originally from Toronto, Canada. My story is an interesting one! I am a CPA and used to work in financial statement audit and taxation at one of the top international accounting firms. After working there for over five years, I quickly realized it was not what I wanted for my life. It was not a conducive environment for me to be the type of parent I wanted to be. If I wanted to grow within that industry, I would have to give up parts of my family life that I simply did not want to give up. After a lot of conversations with my husband and a lot of self-reflection, we decided I would take a few months off to determine what would be my next career move.
During those few months, I embarked on my own health journey. I decided to go back to school to study holistic nutrition, and I became a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. One day while doing grocery shopping at my local health food store, I was scanning the ingredient labels of some snacks for my family, and it occurred to me to start a subscription box of healthy snacks. I went home, started to research, and a few months later, The Balanced Snack Box was born! About 1.5 years later, The Balanced Company released The Balanced Pantry Box and The Balanced Lifestyle Box, and most recently The Balanced Home Box. I have found my absolute passion. This company gives me pure joy and fulfillment, and I am immensely grateful for it. I often refer to it as my 4th child. I love waking up in the morning to go to work; I love watching it flourish and grow. I love every minute of this wild ride, through the good and bad. My motivation stems from building something from the ground up, from knowing I am setting an incredible example for my children to follow their dreams and intuition, and from knowing I am contributing something to this world that people love. The drive and motivation feels euphoric at times.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I would say my biggest accomplishment thus far is growing enough to be able to hire employees and that The Balanced Company is responsible for the livelihoods of an entire team. To me, this is mind-boggling, in the best way! A few months ago, while I was driving to work, it occurred to me that The Balanced Company has an entire team of staff, all working together for the goal of growing the company. It felt miraculous to me. Not just because I am proud that The Balanced Company continues to thrive enough to grow with team members, but because there are actual people who rely on The Balanced Company for their livelihood. This is an absolute honor and extremely humbling at the same time. It provides even more motivation for me to grow The Balanced Company into the empire I see it becoming!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things is striking a balance (no pun intended!) with my personal life. As an entrepreneur, work is always on my mind. It never stops. And because I love it so much and I love thinking about current projects, future projects, and dreaming about what I envision for the company in the future, I have to be mindful of how that affects how present I am being when I am with my kids. I want them to have 100% of my attention when I am with them, and I am learning to "turn off" work in those moments. I am learning to be present in the now moment, especially when I am with my family.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don't wait; just start. Google is your best friend. Research, talk to people, dream big, and write down your vision. You don't need everything perfectly in place to get started; you will figure it out along the way. Just trust the process.
- Don't be afraid to ask for help and take what resources are offered to you that will make your life easier. This is applicable to your business and your personal life.
- Listen to your customers! Ask for feedback, listen to that feedback carefully, and mold your business to ensure you are giving your customers what they want. Place value in your customers' opinions, and they, in turn, will place value in your product/service.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://thebalancedcompanyinc.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebalancedsnackbox
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebalancedcompanyinc/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thebalancedcompany
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.