Jojo Struys: Honour All Your "Teachers" In Life
Welcome back to an all-new Head’s Up. Over the last two weeks, the team at Head’s Up wanted to show our commitment towards representation and diversity and in order to do so, we have decided to feature one female entrepreneur every week.
Today, we have Jojo Struys, the Founder of OhanaJo , who shares with us on the wonders Yoga, Sound Healing and Meditation can offer, her journey as an entrepreneur and the pivoting she had to do to overcome challenges.
If you missed our last story, click here
Business Shoutout
Caltrix
CALTRiX connects SMEs in Malaysia to Cloud Accounting Software, bringing them the digital transformation that will help the business grow. With a mission to unlock business potential through education and empowerment with cloud solutions, CALTRiX is a leading Gold Partner of Xero – Cloud Accounting Software in Malaysia.
The cloud solution of Xero – Cloud Accounting Software enables you to have access your business figures anytime, anywhere and with any device that is on your hands. Work with REAL-TIME financial reporting, online invoicing, automated transactions and invoices, with plenty more that will maximize your business’s potential.
With Xero – Cloud Accounting Software, you can make precise business decisions without having to depend on your gut feeling anymore!
Interested?
Visit our website at https://www.caltrix.asia/ for more information
Call +60137253131 or email us at connect@caltrix.asia to arrange a FREE Discovery Call with us!
Can you share more about your business and how did you get your start in the industry?
I was always interested in wellness. My production house produced a travel series called ‘Jojo’s Diary of Asia’ for Discovery Channel some years ago and I was the scriptwriter/researcher and host of the show. It was all about how to let go of stress. The passion was always there to work in this genre.
I have long been fascinated by the mind and how it can make or break you, so I also wrote a book on wellness and developed a Guided Audio Relaxation Album that used to be sold nationwide through Starbucks, to help alleviate stress and insomnia. After years of TV hosting and producing content, I decided to get immersed in yoga. I flew to the Himalayan foothills of Rishikesh in India and got accredited in yoga.
When I returned to KL, it had become a part of my daily regimen. I couldn’t wake up without doing some form of yoga or meditation. This led to me opening my own studio in 2017 called OhanaJo, where we offer yoga, sound healing and meditation sessions.
What do you hope to achieve with your business?
We were brick and mortar all the way but we wanted to go digital. When the first MCO hit, we had no choice so we started to teach online and this led to us developing an online platform called “OhanaJo awake” to help people deal with stress, anxiety, sleep issues and relationships. The good thing about this was it’s borderless with no space constraints.
However, be it on ground or online, we would naturally want to serve more people in need of our services especially with mental health issues on the rise. At OhanaJo, we have always focused on mental and emotional health. Many people have accessed different states of inner peace, self-awareness or relaxation through our uniquely therapeutic sessions. Sometimes, people get a completely different perspective on their lives from our classes/workshops, which can be very healing and insightful.
We’ve also run multiple Ho’oponopono workshops to help people learn how to forgive and move on. Ho’oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian practice of forgiveness revolving around four universal mantras “I love you, I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank You”. It’s incredibly powerful and life shifting to see people break toxic patterns from their past with simply more awareness and raising levels of gratitude and self love in their lives.
We’ve also done so many sound healing sessions which has been such an effective tool in relaxation and to help people with a whole range of ailments from insomnia, to high blood pressure, anxiety, chronic pain and tension in their minds and bodies.
Our classes sometimes even incorporate journaling your emotions, to help students really take a look within. It’s amazingly powerful what meditation and mindfulness can do to help calm and clear the mind, with some of our sessions also focused on achieving better quality sleep at night, or tools to release your daily stresses.
What challenges have you faced in growing your business and do you think challenges faced by women and men entrepreneurs are different? Why do you think so?
One of the challenges we had growing a brand name on ground is that we are located in a place with zero foot traffic. OhanaJo is in a standalone office lot, within a residential neighbourhood, so you need to know about us in order to come to a class. We have been blessed with strong word of mouth and high ratings on fitness apps but it took time to grow awareness that we were there.
People often said we were like a hidden gem and parking was free, because it’s within a leafy, green neighbourhood called Sunway SPK Damansara (next door to Desa Parkcity) but we slowly but surely grew through doing such uniquely therapeutic classes that combined mindfulness meditation with journaling of emotions, sound healing with yoga etc.
So, one challenge was location though it’s the best part of the experience of coming to us because it’s so private and homey, and so easy to park but the other challenge was the fact classes are very inexpensive to attend and physical space is limited. It was a challenge to strike a balance with cash flow though I wouldn’t have stopped doing it because the gratitude alone from my students is what kept me going.
How can we tackle issues related to stereotypes and have you faced any from investors or consumers?
In a predominantly female centric industry like yoga, being a woman entrepreneur was never an issue at all. However, if I tried to set up a business in a male dominated industry, maybe that could have been different, though I believe in energy and how you carry yourself and treat people. Respect amongst your peers and staff members is something you earn, and can never demand.
How has the industry and government policies helped you to grow your business?
This was more applicable to me when I was running my production house as we got a grant from FINAS to produce the largest co-production documentary series between Singapore and Malaysia for Discovery Channel and Animal Planet (called Frontier Borneo). Without sponsorship help and this government grant, it would not have been possible to shoot this series.
For OhanaJo, we were awarded Top Yoga & Sound Healing Studio of 2020, according to Malaysia Tourism. This helped to raise the profile and awareness of OhanaJo and the work we do, which subsequently led to us creating our own online platform called ‘OhanaJo awake’ with trainers from all over the world.
How can we encourage for more female entrepreneurs to join the business ecosystem?
I think a female entrepreneur needs to first find what is authentically her passion. We must be driven by something that inspires us and makes us feel alive because running your own business requires such dedication and staying power. Not everyone might be able to handle the risks and instability that being an entrepreneur might bring whereas a corporate employee will always get his or her paycheck without the burdens, joys and sorrows that come with building your own “baby”.
What more can be done?
It would be great to see more incentives available to stimulate more entrepreneurs to start building their own dreams. My advise would be to do something you really love, not just because it’s in trend or what others think you should be doing. If you love what you do, it wouldn’t feel like a job. It becomes a passion. You ideally want to wake up every day excited to be in this line of work.
How has this lockdown affected your business and how can better policies/aid help you to overcome and survive stronger in the coming months?
We are temporarily shut down on ground. It’s been really harsh and we’ve seen some gyms unable to sustain themselves. If we had not ventured into e commerce with our new age shop selling crystals, home made essential oils and space clearing items, we would be in serious financial trouble. It is difficult enough as it is because we still have rent to pay but the studio is closed to the public and we are on two floors and we’ve sadly had to let a couple of staff members go, along the way.
It would have been helpful to have more monetary packages for businesses affected or rent moratoriums. In the meantime, how we are pivoting is we are focusing on e commerce, our online platform on “OhanaJo awake” which offers micro content across many categories to help people with stress, insomnia, anxiety, detox, relationships, forgiveness and so forth. We are also serving livestream workshops on zoom. Moreover, we offer private healing sessions or counseling for mental health.
How will potential investors help to elevate your business?
It would likely be in the area of e commerce expansion as it’s something we are focusing on now to grow this portfolio and to help spread awareness of the unique items we sell. It would be great to be able to export our products overseas as well. Right now, it’s predominantly local customers.
What are some of the lessons you have learnt and how has failure shaped your journey as an entrepreneur?
Failure teaches you how it’s not about falling but standing back up and learning the lessons of adversity. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. When viewed from this perspective, even people who let you down or failed projects you might have entered into are also “gifts” to teach you more about the path you’re meant to really be following.
Every business lesson is precious, no matter how painful. When we stop learning, we stop growing so honour all your “teachers” in life. Don’t ever give up on your dreams. Follow your heart because it will lead you to where you really want to be.
How can Malaysians show their support to your business?
Please visit us for a relaxing sound healing/meditation session when the lockdown lifts but in the meantime, you can check out a free trial of our online platform called OhanaJo Awake by visiting www.ohanajo.com If you are in need of some beautiful essential oil roll-ons, or room sprays, please check out our e-shop. All our essential oils have been infused with sound healing vibrations!