Why have I chosen to work with Essential Oils?
After two decades of teaching yoga and meditation, I hadn’t been able to save for the future. A dream of mine was to be freely philanthropic, save for retirement and be able to live more easefully. Having opened a doTERRA account a couple of years earlier, as a customer I saw the Oils help clear up my skin and have a positive impact on my emotional wellness. At that time I was sharing Oils sporadically, saying an emphatic ‘no’ to the business, when I began reading the doTERRA Leadership magazine.
Those short pieces from leaders in doTERRA showed me that I could grow a thriving business sharing the efficacy of Essential Oils with my community. Since then, my life revolves around learning and teaching, researching and connecting, giving back and investing in meaningful ways. From clear medical evidence to simple daily rituals, the plants have taught me volumes about how to live my life with more presence and better health.
Why doTERRA? Our company was founded in 2008, with a commitment to establishing patterns of giving. There are no outside investors; the founders personally funded the startup and own 100% of the company. Back then, they took second mortgages, scaled back and worked without pay in order to own their work and make their own choices. doTERRA is now the largest oil company in the world, debt-free. Here is a sweet introduction to one of my personal heroes, Emily Wright.
We are family-focused and empowerment-centric. Mamas, babies and families are welcomed, encouraged and supported at classes and conferences. One of the seven founders, Emily Wright, is a mother of four; her commitment to our families is felt.
We give back. Healing Hands is our non-profit foundation, funded by the members, employees and executives of the company. We have an option to donate as little or as much as we wish with each order, and certain products are earmarked only for Healing Hands – our Hope Touch roller, Rose Hand Lotion, and currently, Shea Butter Collection as well. Wellness Advocates are also invited to submit projects to doTERRA for support; I’ve helped usher three projects to completion thus far – the build of a school in Cambodia, the distribution of Oils and Diffusers to a mental hospital in New Zealand, and most recently, we’ve raised over $70k in two fundraisers for Girls on Fire Leaders, including matched funds from Healing Hands to support adventure camps, books, education and oils for the most at-risk girls in Kenya.
Healing Hands offers support to Operation Underground Railroad, also known as OUR, an organization committed to rescuing children from sex trafficking in several countries, with operations happening regularly. Our donations also help fund the construction of safe house facilities in Thailand, Cambodia and Haiti where rescued children are educated, cared for and rehabilitated in safety back to freedom through Rapha House. We’re also helping 3 Strands to educate, empower and engage students and teachers all over the world to observe signs of human trafficking, take precautions and practice preventive measures to keep children safe from these predators. Listen to a recent podcast about 3 Strands here.
Days for Girls, another organization to which doTERRA offers support, educates both girls and women to empower feminine health, providing sustainable feminine hygiene and care. Having served over one million girls and women to date, Days for Girls affords these girls and women dignified education and supplies in order to function in society during their cycle so they aren’t missing chances to learn and grow out of poverty. Without sustainable solutions to manage their monthly cycle, women are abolished from society for the duration of their menstrual time every single month. More than 1 in 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa, 113 million adolescent girls in India, and 30% of girls from rural areas of Brazil would miss school each year without the help of Days for Girls.
Our Oils are of the highest quality. Pure, high quality, optimally-sourced Oils are at the heart of our success. Working closely with smallholder farmers, we ensure that these families are able to maintain their traditions and optimize growing and harvesting practices, form cooperatives for more bargaining power, eliminate middlemen, and get paid on time. In the villages where we grow, harvest and distill our Oils, we help renovate and build schools, much-needed medical facilities and infrastructure for clean water. As a result, the farmers are equally as committed to us. Visit Source to You for detailed information on sourcing, quality and testing of our Oils, including our projects in Bulgaria, Kenya, Madagascar, Nepal, Guatemala, Haiti, Somaliland and beyond.
This video describes why and how dōTERRA uses the Co-Impact sourcing model.
Our testing practices are stringent. For transparent accountability, we’ve created a standard called Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® (CPTG), verified by respected third party labs. This standard is based on stringent testing throughout the entire process, from the monitoring of soil quality to testing for chemicals and adulterants in every liter of Oil. All of the basics are checked first: sight, smell, taste and touch. Then the lab rules out any presence of fungus, mold, pesticides, extenders and any other contaminants. If you wish to learn more, the science of the testing practices is here.
Each location has its own specific laws and rules governing agriculture and collecting wild-crafted botanicals. If an Oil fails the test, there is no secondary process for removing the pesticides or foreign matter; that batch is simply rejected. Other than the careful distillation of the Oils from the plant material, no other processing takes place. In each bottle, you are experiencing pure aromatic extracts; nothing added, nothing removed.
We focus on your education. On doTERRA’s site, you’ll find hundreds of hours of free education, guidance, recipes and other support for both oil users and those building businesses. And when you create your own account with my team, I’ve created an extensive private educational website with archives and resources to help you learn about the Oils and grow your own thriving business if you wish. Once you’ve arranged your own wholesale account here, I’ll receive a notification, and will email your access link and a proper welcome.
We are helping you clear your home of toxic products and chemicals. Harsh, toxic chemicals have no place in our cleaning and family care. From On Guard Cleaner Concentrate, Detergent, Hand Soap, Toothpaste, Mouthwash, and bar soap to all the Oils I use to diffuse and clean the air in our home, the plant molecules provide natural protection in a non-toxic and biodegradable way, to clean and keep us safe.
Our connection to each other. As we consistently connect as a team, I’m reminded of why this is a good choice for me. I love teaching yoga and meditation, but I also love switching on my business brain and empowering myself to reach past where I thought I could go, in order to cultivate a thriving organization of my own. We are exchanging information on how to keep ourselves well, based on our findings and our own experiences. Together we are empowering families to lead and learn, grow and earn well. And after many years of resisting, I’ve begun offering Study Groups of my own (ask me for my next virtual study group via email at info@elenabrower.com). Diving into various topics, from Essential Oils in Chinese practices to Oils for kids, breaking habits and everything in between, stretching my mind in new directions has been a welcomed shift here.
Email me at info@elenabrower.com if you’d like to learn more; I’m here to learn with you and serve you.
Thank you Elena for carving the way as yoga teacher, role model and also leading by example showing us that we can make a living with a conscience, that doing well by doing good is possible and that abundance is OK! As a former marketing exec turned yoga entrepreneur and Doterra loyalist I am working on being ok with making a living (not just volunteering) doing what I love, holding space for other people.
Elena, I was looking for inspirational stories of doTERRA business people and absolutely loved your story and company recap that you’ve laid out here. Thank you so much for your strong entrepreneurial outlook. Our world needs more people like you who obviously care about your customers, giving back and helping others use proven, tested products for their health. Keep charging forward inside your business and making a difference!
Thank you for your thoughts, Matt. x