Motherhood, it changes you.

For four weeks now, we’ve been taking a look at moms across the Comox Valley who have taken the ingenuity thrust upon them by parenthood and turned it into businesses.

Today, we get to know two local mamas who took their passion for health, the environment and family and worked together to build each other’s businesses.

The passion to dream big and succeed often does run in families – never more true than with these two sisters, Kyla and Marussia Nesling.

Motherhood, it changes you.

While there’s a whole list that involves sagging and wrinkled, exhausted and emotional that can be wrapped in there, for many women becoming a Mom takes life to a whole other level.

It brings out our genuine loves, forces them into places creatively and personally that reveal talents and ingenuity unrealized until that point.

It inspires.

Moms see a need and create the solution.

So, with this now occasional series we celebrate the genius of Comox Valley women who turn the lessons of parenthood into a resource for the community.

We celebrate local mom entrepreneurs.

Names: Kyla and Marussia Nesling
Ages: 28 & 30
Businesses: Goodness Family Grasses & Quench Smoothies
Towns: Courtenay & Cumberland

Tell us a bit about your work:

Kyla: I grow, sell and deliver trays of organic wheatgrass and bags of frozen wheatgrass juice. Wheatgrass is a very nutritional plant that is generally used for juicing. One ounce of wheatgrass juice is the equivalent of 2 pounds of leafy green veggies in the nutrients that is possesses. It gives people lots of energy and is well known for improving digestion and bowel function, cleansing and detoxifying the blood, and just imparting a general sense of health and well being to all those who drink it.

Marussia: Born out of frustration at never being able to eat at outdoor events due to severe food allergies and the desire to provide children with good healthy eating choices, we built a mobile concession trailer and we specialize in smoothies and wheatgrass. All our smoothies are made with real fruit and greens, with no added sugar, no dairy and no flavour syrups, just real ingredients. Our wheatgrass is supplied by the Goodness Family which is my sister Kyla’s business and it’s really great to be helping them out by selling their product to our customers. We are also really excited to be serving our smoothies in compostable corn cups and hope to one day use bicycles to power our blenders.

Kyla: I have always wanted to have my own business and having a child just made that more of a priority since the thought of leaving him while I went off to work was totally unacceptable.

I had been managing Zen Zero Juice Fountain before I became pregnant and had always had a hand in growing their wheatgrass. When the operation got too big for them to handle all on their own my partner, Duston and I jumped right in and took it over. Duston had previously quit his job as a commercial diver so he could spend more time with us so we were in a really good position to start a business.

The Comox Valley is the ideal place for this business as we deliver wheatgrass to Zen Zero on a daily basis but also because of the growing number of people here who are passionate about health. Plus I couldn’t imagine a better place to raise my son. We are surrounded by beautiful rivers, forests, the ocean, and so many loving friends and family.

Marussia: Even before we had kids my husband and I talked a lot about job sharing. He has always made it clear that he didn’t want to be the kind of dad that only sees his kids in the evenings and on weekends, he wants to play a major role in their upbringing and be a first hand witness to all their amazing developmental achievements as they happen.

We had been looking for some sort of perfect job for me that would allow us to finally realize this dream when the perfect job found us in the form of a smoothie trailer. So our original thought was that he would look after the kid’s while I worked the smoothie trailer. So far though we’ve been working together and his parents have been looking after the kids. And you know what, it’s kinda nice working side by side each week, like a date almost with just a little more work than a movie and dinner!

We are also going to sell smoothies at the Big Time Out Festival in Cumberland at the end of the summer thanks to the help of our wonderful network of family and friends. The Comox Valley is teeming with new families trying to make healthy choices for their loved ones. We feel so blessed to be a part of this growing healthy community. I can’t imagine raising my children anywhere else.

Kyla: To be honest I am finding it relatively easy right now. We are always busy but with Duston and I running this business and the parenting of Halen together as a solid team I feel like there really is a nice balance.

We manage to do the bulk of our work while Halen is napping in the afternoon and then we take turns hanging out with him while the other person gets stuff done and still seem to still have time left over for family fun. Some days I do feel the need for a little personal space and I am definitely due for a night out dancing but really who isn’t?

Marussia: Being that our business is only operational 2 days a week, so far the biggest challenge is that my breasts are rather full after 3 hours so I have to pump sitting in my car at the market! Also if we have a night like we had last night where my little Nadia had a fever and we hardly slept at all, it’s going to be fairly difficult to burst out of bed and get into work mode right away. I’m sure like all things these minor challenges will work themselves out.

Kyla: Something creative like sewing some new clothes or else meditating or tai chi or practicing the piano that is sitting gathering dust.

Marussia: Curl up with a good book and drink tea. Do a ton of gardening. Go for a super long bike ride. Sleep.

Kyla: I just like talking to people. We are at the farmers market now and so many people have no idea what the heck wheatgrass is or what you do with it. It’s exciting for me to be able to give people some new knowledge and to maybe help them achieve better health as well.

Marussia: I think word of mouth, being that we will be a part of the Farmer’s Market and people already know and love it so much.

Kyla: There have been a few good lessons so far. One is to learn to accept constructive criticism from my partner. We had to realize that the only way this business was going to advance was if we learned from our mistakes. For example I recall him telling me that he thought I was under watering the wheatgrass. Instead of listening to him right away I turned it into a big argument about who was the better watering person. Turns out I am but hey that’s not the point!

It’s all about bettering the business and not taking things too personally. Another lesson would have to be that whatever you think it’s going to cost to start your business double that and you might be closer to the truth! The biggest success so far has been trusting our intuition and being able to do what we love every single day. It really never seems like work and just being around all that beautiful green grass everyday has a very energizing and also calming effect on us.

Marussia: A wise soul (Bob) told us when we were thinking about starting this business that we should expect to double what we expected to pay and triple the amount of time we thought it might take to finish it. He was absolutely right and we have learned a huge lesson in patience. Our biggest success is that we actually pulled it off and have a fully operational smoothie trailer which is a lot of fun to operate each week.

Kyla: I looked to my former bosses at Zen Zero as they really are an inspiration and also very close friends of mine.

Marussia: My sister Kyla has worked at Zen Zero for years so she has been a huge resource for what to expect. We also got a lot of advice from that wise soul named Bob, one of the vendors at the Market who once had a coffee trailer that he ran at all the festivals. Also 2 very good friends of mine, Kendra from Cinderella Diaper Service and Sherry from Koochie Koo and Little Me have been a great inspiration as I’ve seen them start their own businesses and still continue to be truly wonderful mommies.

Kyla: My partner and I have just initiated daily mommy/daddy time. Even though we work and live together everyday sometimes we’d get to the end of the day and realize that we hadn’t even touched each other once. So now as soon as Halen is down for his nap before we start work we try to spend at least 20 minutes just relaxing and connecting with each other and if we can we will squeeze in some massage time in the evening.

Carrying trays of wheatgrass around is surprisingly hard on the muscles! As for Halen I make sure that when he is awake it’s all about him. Usually I will take him to a playgroup or park in the mornings while Duston gets some work done and we try to go for a family walk everyday. Once he is a little older I foresee him hanging out with us while we work, tending to his own plots of wheatgrass….

Marussia: Well I’m not going to lie, although I have started my own business and am now officially a mompreneur, my family still has to rely on my darling husband to make a living. This summer we are really just going to iron out the kinks and then perhaps next Summer I may very well be able to support my family with this business and give the daddy a chance to be home with the kidlets.

Kyla: Right now the plans are more for Vancouver Island domination. We’d like to be the wheatgrass suppliers from Port Hardy to Victoria. I see BIG greenhouses in our future.

Marussia: In my perfect world there would be healthy options for kids and families at every event in the whole entire world. But for now we’ll aim to fill the bellies of Comox Valley event goers with healthy delicious smoothies.

Kyla: DO IT. Do it now. Seriously if you are passionate about something just jump in and do it. As long as you are doing what you love the universe will help you out. Have faith and trust in yourself, you only live once so you have to find the ways to enjoy every second of every day and what could be more enjoyable than working for yourself?

Marussia: Follow your gut. Right from the start this business opportunity just felt like the absolute right thing to do. If you can get behind an idea 100% and feel really passionate about something – then go for it!

Kyla: Actually I am so grateful for the resources the Valley does have. I am on the Business Futures program and it is incredible. It is available to anyone who has been on EI including maternity EI in the last 3 years. There is an application process and they only accept a few people every month but if you get accepted they pay you a wage for the first year of your business, give you 3 weeks of classes to help you write a business plan and teach you about marketing etc, help you get loans and grants and just generally support you along the way. It really is the best program ever.

Marussia: NA

Kyla: Hmm I am not online that much and when I am it’s all about looking at new raw food recipe ideas on sites like Gone Raw or else checking the ever addictive Facebook. Oh and CVK of course!

Marussia: I check up on a ton of mom blogs almost daily for inspiration and camaraderie. I still follow along on people’s pregnancy journeys, not sure when I’m going to get tired of that subject! I am a huge fan of Facebook and I chat with friends in far off places whenever I get the chance. Like my sister, I am an avid checker of the Gone Raw Website for great recipes and support. CVK is also a daily stop as you may well already know!