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January 6, 2025 • 15 mins

Join us as we sit down with Cristina Saroli of Village Wellness Spa, a family-run business with over 35 years of history and deep community roots. Cristina shares her family's journey of transforming a local spa into a wellness hub, offering insights into balancing business and motherhood, creating meaningful self-care rituals, and navigating the challenges of a family-run venture.

Discover actionable tips for prioritizing self-care to better serve others, embracing innovation, and making execution count. Whether you're an entrepreneur, wellness enthusiast, or looking for inspiration, this episode delivers insights to elevate your wellness journey.

Learn more about Village Wellness Spa


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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jen (00:01):
Today we welcome Christina Ciroli.
Her family-run business, theVillage Wellness Spa, has deep
roots in our community.

Cristina (00:09):
Self-care, I think now is becoming more of a
priority for many people.
It really is like this shift inlifestyle that encompasses
holistic health and wellness andbeauty and self-care and
prioritizing oneself in order tobetter serve those around you.
In this episode, we explore theevolving role of self-care and
like prioritizing oneself inorder to better serve those
around you.

Jen (00:25):
In this episode we explore the evolving role of self-care
and how it has shifted frombeing a treat to becoming a
priority.
Let's dive in.
Christina welcome.
It's a pleasure to speak withyou.
We have a lot to talk about asrelates to women's self-care,
the evolution of self-care andgeneral advice for women in

(00:49):
business and entrepreneurs.
Before we get into all that,the story of Village Wellness
Spa.
This is a family run operationthat has been in business for 35
years.
What was the inspiration to getinto this line of business?

Cristina (01:02):
Yes, so my mom, she came to Canada from Colombia as
a teenager and she was anesthetician and it was, I think,
that she always had this likeunderlying drive to sort of have
her own thing and you know,working with customers at the

(01:22):
time spas were not really aspopular as they were here.
We're talking late 80s andsomeone kind of approached her
and said, you know, I reallythink that you could do your own
thing.
And so she did and she started.
It was like a two room spa withone like manicure station, one
pedicure station and oneskincare line, and it's just,

(01:45):
over the years has reallyevolved into this like community
staple of, like a bigdestination day spa in the GTA.

Jen (01:55):
What have been some pivotal lessons for you, like what has
really kind of shaped yourunderstanding of running a
business.

Cristina (02:02):
After watching your mom, she really involved us from
day one, and so I think thatwhen you grow up in a business
that is your family, you reallyfeel a sense of responsibility
and it becomes really like apart of your life.
So you know, we've learned likethe value of hard work it's not
easy to start something fromthe ground and we really foster

(02:27):
that sense of community in theplaces where we ran and operated
our businesses.

Jen (02:34):
Let's shift the conversation slightly and really
thinking about the evolution ofthe self-care journey.
What has been the biggest shiftthat you've seen in client
understanding of self-care?

Cristina (02:46):
Self-care.
I think now is becoming more ofa priority for many people.
It really is like this shift inlifestyle that encompasses like
holistic health and wellnessand beauty and self-care, and
like I think now it's very muchan understanding, especially
like I'm a young mom and likeyoung women in their like late

(03:06):
30s, early 40s are really using.
I guess they're like reallyprioritizing these treatments.
It's really become um there,there's become a rise in this
that where it's not a treat,it's more of like necessary.
It's become um likeprioritizing oneself in order to

(03:27):
better serve those around you.

Jen (03:29):
I think about the shift in longevity.
You know these kind of wellnessterms, but I think we're also
very aware today that it's apersonalized journey, like it's
not a one size fits all.
And how do you see thispersonalization of care showing
up in your business?

Cristina (03:48):
So I think that starts with just one knowing
your customer and having aconversation with them about,
like, what their goals are,whether it's skincare related or
treatment related, and we'vereally tried to related and
we've really tried to come upwith personalized treatments
that are self like focused onwhat the client really wants.

Jen (04:16):
What is the process that you take people through to help
them really tune into?
Is it acupuncture I need?
Is it this type of you knowlike?
How do people know, as long as,like they're feeling anxious,
I'm just like anxious andunsettled how do they know
what's going to work for them?

Cristina (04:29):
So I think that looks different for everybody.
Many people are looking forthese like short sort of bursts
of self care and wellnessthroughout their day, as like a
daily integration.
If you can find the one thingthat is like serves you and
makes you feel the best, thenthen I think that we have done

(04:52):
our job.

Jen (04:53):
You're a busy mom running a business as you think about
self-care and just kind ofstepping outside of spa services
and just your daily practicelike what, what is it that you
need to do for you on theself-care journey?

Cristina (05:09):
so there's a couple things I don't compromise on.
Uh, one of them is my skincare.
So in the morning andespecially at night time after
my kids go to bed, I have askincare ritual.
It changes like based on howmuch time I have really, but I
do not compromise on that.
Two is getting outside.

(05:30):
Even if it's for five minutes,and sometimes it's with them, I
think I we all feel better ifwe've like gotten outside, even
for just a few minutes, if theyare riding their bikes or, you
know, going to the park.
That's my time to just like beoutside.

Jen (05:46):
And I think the question I'd invite listeners into.
It's like and I found this formyself, you know I might be, you
know, doing one thing, but if Ireally asked myself deeply,
like what do I need right now,listen to that answer and giving
ourselves permission to act onthat desire, because I might be

(06:08):
thinking, oh, I have to get thisdone for so and so.
But if I actually ask thequestion of what do I need right
now and the answer is forso-and-so, but if I actually ask
the question of what do I needright now and the answer is you
need to pause.
This is the practice that I'mnow trying to be a little bit
more mindful of within myself.

Cristina (06:23):
I agree and I think that when I feel like that, for
me personally, like a face maskdoes a lot for me, like just to
sit in the silence for a fewminutes with a face mask on, is
really big for me, and there isalways going to be a to-do list
like and that can really, it canreally take over.
You know there are, there is ahundred things to do all day,

(06:46):
every day, and um, it's justlike you said, you can't really
pour from an empty cup.

Jen (06:54):
Cannot, and the quest to understand when the cup is
depleting and be mindful of thatcup is really something I'm
going to kind of challenge usall to think about.
Getting kind of back into thebusiness here, has there been
anything that you guys have beeninnovating on as it relates to

(07:14):
clean beauty, sustainability,mindfulness?

Cristina (07:17):
Yes, so we use raw ingredients and botanical
extracts from the ColombianAmazon to create a full skin
skincare and wellness line.
So that includes face, body andapothecary.
So, for example, like for theface, we have phenomenal face

(07:40):
products.
But also for like, moving intothat wellness space too, we have
a lot of like essential oilroll-ons that are like for the
temples and wrists before you goto sleep, with valerian root
extract and it just like allowsyou to unwind and like it's just
like something that you can dofor and it just like allows you
to unwind and like it's justlike something that you can do
for yourself for just like 30seconds before you go to bed.

(08:00):
It's used traditionally in likeancient medicine and we made
like our whole line, like thewhole skincare and like this,
the wellness line is anextension of that.
So we use a lot of likebotanicals from the Amazonian

(08:22):
rainforest that were likeancient medicine and we use
those to create a skincare linefor the face and body.

Jen (08:30):
That feels like such an ambitious uh thing to solve and
you know, walk me through thebackstory here this is.

Cristina (08:36):
My mom says I think we should do this, and then we
do um, and like where there's awill, there is a way.
Truly so she traveled literallyto the mountains of bogota,
which is like the capital ofcolumbia, and met with these
farmers, um, who harvest theirown natural remedies that are

(08:57):
wild there, right?
So that's something that wereally wanted to bring to our
customer base here.
It's a lot of research you haveto, and it's a lot of trial and
error too.
So you know, we work with achemist here in Toronto and
he'll say okay, here are yourthree prototypes for so we talk
about the consistency of theface oil, what we want it to

(09:18):
look like, what we want it tofeel like 15 minutes after it's
applied, and all of that stuff.
So it's a lot of trial anderror.
We give it to our friends andour family.
They try it, they see what theylike, what works for them.

Jen (09:30):
I feel very empowered by hearing these stories.
It is a process and a journey,though right Like test, test and
retest.

Cristina (09:37):
It doesn't happen overnight, it's not something,
and like we have also made manymistakes too, you know it's.
I think now, though, is likethe time like there's so much
information out there, and whenyou know listening, coming on
podcasts like this and listeningto things like you really do

(10:00):
get some valuable insight aboutwhere you can start.

Jen (10:03):
Creativity builds off of execution, and we have to get
the first version done before wecan get the second version done
.
How has it been, you know,going through all this with your
family.

Cristina (10:15):
Listen, I think we've been very fortunate.
We definitely collaborate andwe work really well together
because all of the departmentsand all of the roles are so
intertwined.
At the end of the day, we arestill a small team, so sometimes
we do have like our hands inmultiple things.
But I think you know like Ithink also growing up in it, I

(10:38):
don't know, it's kind of alwaysbeen in our blood, I think.
Has there been any lessonslearned growing up in it?
I don't know, it's kind ofalways been in our blood, I
think.

Jen (10:43):
Has there been any lessons learned?
I think about kind of theuniversal themes even if you're
working inside of a company orwith a close team of conflict
resolution, especially when youdeeply care about the opinion of
the person that you're workingalongside Any lessons learned
there that we can impart?

Cristina (11:10):
Yes.
So I think moving into anyconversation, um like with
kindness and respect, is veryimportant.
Especially when you're workingwith your family.
You can have this familiaritythat will cause you to, can
cause you to get very emotional,Um, and so really approaching
and sometimes I feel like evenjust taking a step back and
taking a day to, you know, sitwith it and see how you're going

(11:31):
to approach it is reallyimportant.

Jen (11:33):
You and I were chatting before we started the recording
and you made the choice to kindof move outside of city life and
and I am now on side of thisjourney I've been thinking a lot
about nature and what naturedoes for creativity, innovation,
ideas.
What has been your experienceby having more time in nature?

Cristina (11:55):
I think it's made a big difference in terms of the
way that you can like ease intothings and like.
It's just great for youroverall well being.
And it also helps with likemental clarity, especially if
you are sitting at a computerscreen all day or if you are,
you know, connected all day long.

(12:16):
I think five minutes justwalking around outside in the
peace and quiet can do wondersfor your mental health.

Jen (12:24):
Small changes in the right direction and you know, for some
of us going to be nature likeyou, it's like really noticing
that that impacted you.
For me it is.
It's not that way for everyone.
So back to kind of theimportance of the
personalization along thejourney.
Where do you think the trendsare going Like, if you have to

(12:44):
kind of forecast five years, andwhere we're all going to go in
our self-care journey like whatdo you think is going to be
important for people?

Cristina (12:52):
I think, especially after the pandemic, I feel like
a lot of people really wanted tohave these like small moments
of wellness and self-care forthem to take home with them,
because not, like you said, noteverybody has the time or the
resources to visit a spa everyweek, and we totally understand
that.
But I think people are reallyinterested in like these little

(13:13):
self indulgences, small thingsthat they can do, whether that
means like buying a new lipgloss or, you know, doing a five
minute meditation, and it'sjust like incorporating and it's
so like your every day, and itdoesn't have to be this
extravagant thing, it reallydoesn't it.

(13:33):
It can be something so smalland that might even just mean
like a sleep mask at nighttime,like you know, just small things
that I think we're going to bedearlier, right, like turning
off the TV, stopping the scrollgoing to bed.
And that's very challenging, youknow, because I feel like
people are more connected thanever these days, like on their

(13:55):
digital like devices, andthere's this expectation that
you have to be like working oryou know you have to always be
connected, and it was a bigthing that came up during the
pandemic.
Since, like working from homebecame such a big thing.
Nothing is going to changedrastically.
If I don't respond to an emailat eight o'clock at nighttime,
they can wait until tomorrowmorning.

(14:16):
It would be very valuable foryou know people to kind of like
take this into consideration toovaluable for you know people to
kind of like take this intoconsideration too.

Jen (14:31):
I'm with you.
I'm on a mission I have veryclear ideas of after speaking to
so many fantastic women comingon the show and yourself
included.
There's a very clear underthread that goes through every
single one of these and sleepand the importance of us like
managing into that evening spacecorrectly.
I think it's, it's going to be,it's critical for me.
It's changed a lot for me, um,but I love what you said.
It's like we have to giveourselves permission that like

(14:52):
the world's not going to changeif the email doesn't get
answered at eight, 30.
And so like what bad habits arewe just in a guilt loop on here
, thinking we have to meetcertain expectations for
everybody, including ourselves?
I hope that if anybody takesanything away from just that our
chat is just to settle into thepiece that is inside of them

(15:13):
and to give themselves a littlebit of time, space whether it's
treatment or something in thehome otherwise, a bit of time
and energy for self-care.
Thank you so much for coming onand sharing kind of all of your
insights and the evolution ofthis journey for everyone to
listen to.

Cristina (15:30):
Thank you so much for having me.
It was such a pleasure.

Jen (15:34):
Thank you for joining us.
Don't forget to follow us onInstagram and LinkedIn, where we
transform the wisdom from ourpodcast into practical tips,
tools and takeaways for yourleadership journey.
Find us at gritgracepodcast.
See you next week.
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