Introducing Your New Wellness BFFs, Jessica Sheppard and Rhaelyn Gillespie, the Co-Founders of Taurah

 

Taurah is a Canadian-made and female-founded brand that locally produces all-natural wellness products. Founded by Jessica Sheppard and Rhaelyn Gillespie, the brand is super transparent about all of their ingredients – think vegan, cruelty-free, synthetic-free and alcohol-free. 

Taurah is committed to producing products that make you feel good and do good! One of their best-selling products is their all-natural Yoga Mat Cleanser, a product that washes away your last workout with a few little spritzes (and it smells beautiful!). They have also curated the perfect multi-use wellness essentials, including a Calming MistCooling Mist and Face Mask Mist. Additionally, they released a Zinc Sunscreen Stick that’s formulated with 100% natural ingredients (sunflower seed oil, beeswax, organic olive oil, tocopherol, aloe vera leaf extract, canola oil) and a mineral zinc base to protect your skin.

Jessica Sheppard

For people who don’t know, who are you?

We are Jessica and Rhaelyn, the co-founders of Taurah!

Tell us what you do, respectively? 

We are each a partner in Taurah, wearing many different hats and collaborating on absolutely everything. 

Rhaelyn Gillespie

What made you want to do what you do? 

We were working at a tech startup in Toronto where we were meeting hundreds of e-commerce entrepreneurs who all pursued their passions for creating and selling online. We saw the benefits of putting yourself all in on a project and the opportunity that e-commerce can bring. Since we were working so much, pursuing our own e-commerce business was definitely on the back-burner, until we shifted to working out from home and had this crazy idea for a Yoga Mat Cleanser- because no one was cleaning their yoga mats! Coming from sales backgrounds, entrepreneurial backgrounds, and e-commerce backgrounds, we knew it was our time to “just go for it!”

What advice would you give to someone looking to break into the industry you’re in?

Be prepared to work extremely hard. Expect to put your blood sweat and tears into your project, and learn how to deal with an absolute rollercoaster. But, with all that being said, do not delay. Get started as soon as you can and learn as you go!

What is your mission in your career, especially with Taurah?

Our mission at Taurah is to solve unrealized problems in an eco-conscious way. We know there’s always room for improvement, and we strive to always do better. We prioritize self-care practice and wellness rituals that truly make you feel better because that’s what self-care is all about anyways!

Why these three products?

Our current product line is all about creating better-for-you products that solve unrealized problems. We started with a yoga mat cleanser because none of us knew that there’s up to 100,000 bacteria per cubic centimetre on our yoga mats! Unrealized problems, solved in a natural way!

We then decided to tackle “maskne,” which was a fairly new unrealized problem since we had to wear face masks on a daily basis, which irritated people’s skin! Cue the Face Mask Mist! Next, we created our top gifted product, which is the Calming Mist to spray your pillow at night and often throughout the day just because. Our new Cooling Mist was created to do just that- cool you down after an intense sweat sesh or hot summer day in the sunshine. Then we obviously needed to figure out the most convenient, natural, and clean face sunscreen possible and that’s where our current top seller Zinc Sunscreen Stick originated from!

How do you sweat (spin, yoga, running?)

R: I’m big on intuitive movement so as much as I try to plan my workouts, I really prioritize listening to my body. Some days that may look like going outside for a run, or a long walk, maybe having an awesome HIIT session, or weightlifting, or a guided yoga flow. No matter what though, I make sure to move my body every single day!

J: My go-to aside from walking my dog is going for a jog (especially on a hot summer’s day!) or moving my body on my mat. Pre-covid I was going to hot yoga regularly and I loved it. I’m really looking forward to getting back! 

How are you keeping motivated during Covid?

R: Accountability is big for me so I write down my workout of the day and check it off when it’s done. I check in with my friends as well and we cheer each other on and keep each other accountable!

J: Covid gave me a lot of time back in my day as I wasn’t commuting to and from the office anymore. I try my best to stay in a grateful state of mind which keeps me motivated. When I’m not spending quality time with my family then I’m building this business with Rhae!

What would you tell your teenage self, if you were to meet them today? 

R: I would tell her that “if not you, then who?” I think we’re all capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. You can really achieve your wildest dreams with the right mindset and a dedicated work ethic. I always encourage my friends and family to shoot for the stars and I whole-heartedly believe that they are capable of extraordinary things. 

J: That it’s ok if you don’t have everything figured out yet and it’s ok if you choose a different path than the rest. If you keep following your heart, all of the choices you make will eventually make sense. Never second guess yourself.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received? What advice do you give to your “mentees”? 

R: The best advice I’ve been given is a bit cliche but “kill them with kindness.” I really believe your moral compass will put you in the right direction and I trust in karma. Sometimes taking the high road sucks in the moment, but I always stay true to my morals and values.

The advice that I give anyone is that you can figure anything you want out, but you need to be willing to work extremely hard if you want it. It’s so important to regularly reflect on what you want, and your “why”.

J: That everything happens for a reason. This has always stuck with me and guided me through times when I thought I was failing but I can see now that it was all happening for a reason. This could go hand in hand with ‘obstacles are detours in the right direction.’

To echo what Rhae said, we love to say that everything is figureoutable. If you put your mind to something and have the courage to believe in yourself, there’s nothing to lose, only wisdom to gain. 

What, if any adversities did you have to conquer, and what do you attribute your success to? 

This has been such an amazing journey for us, but really it’s still only our first year in business so we have a lot more to do. As much as Jess and I tried to prepare, things come up all the time and some days are hard. We’ve had issues with site glitches, lost parcels, hearing “no” without feedback from retailers, freelancers not delivering on projects we prepaid for, opportune competitors when we’re just looking to boost and support all small businesses. I don’t think people talk about that enough, because a lot happens beyond your control and my mindset is always to “control your controllables.” Things are going to come up (usually on a daily basis), and you can either sulk and get down because things aren’t going your way or get creative and find new solutions to achieve your goals. 

Tell us a secret about your job. 

We follow a lot of entrepreneurs that we look up to and they really seem like they have the secret sauce for how to be successful.

Our secret is that we learned that no one’s secret sauce is replicable, you must figure it out on your own  – to your unique business and your unique qualities. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution in business, you need to stick to your work ethic and creative abilities!

Anything exciting coming up? Please plug a project

The launch of our Zinc Sunscreen Stick has been incredible and we can’t wait to promote this all summer long, and fall and winter because we really should all be wearing SPF all of the time! While our new sunscreen is definitely at the forefront, we do have a few tricks up our sleeve for the end of the year. We’re creating a first of its kind product that we can’t release just yet, and we may have our eyes set on some amazing giftable products just ahead of the holidays! Stay tuned!

How can we get connected? Where can we learn more about you / connect with you / your social channels?

Please reach out to us anytime! Our promise is that when you DM @shoptaurah, email us at info@shoptaurah.com or visit our website shoptaurah.com, it is literally always one of the co-founders getting back to you. We absolutely love talking to our customers and answering their questions. We even collaborate with customers who are looking for specific products that aren’t on the market yet- we’re your girls for that because we love creating!

We love instagram, facebook, pinterest, twitter and the world of tikok and our handle is always @shoptaurah!