Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Spears and Marina Perelman.
Hi Anna and Marina, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Anna’s point of view: Aphrozodiac was created from the belief that everything happens for a reason. My name is Anna and I’m 26 years old. My spiritual journey truly began almost three years ago when I was blessed with the birth and death of my little girl. When I was four months pregnant, I found out there was a 75% chance my daughter wouldn’t live because of a brain disorder called anencephaly. I was given the choice to terminate or carry and I wish I could say It was an easy choice but I actually called my doctor 4 times, changing my mind about what to do. After about two weeks, I decided to visit a nearby park and sit down and have this conversation with God, Spirit, The Universe and ask myself the difficult questions and listen for the answer. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this is actually a powerful form of meditation. And I remember vividly the exact moment I actively and consciously chose my journey. I asked “God, would you ever forgive me if I choose not to carry this child?” And the response was immediate, a calming and nurturing voice in my head that replied simply “Child, would you forgive yourself?” And my response was immediate without a doubt in my mind. I chose to carry her to full term and it was during those final five months I had no choice but to make peace with what I could not control, the outcome of my daughter’s birth.
During those five months, I meditated and prayed each night for the highest good to be done, even if it meant the loss of my daughter. Calla Mae was stillborn on February 01, 2020 at 11:18 am. and this is to this day my greatest transformation, death and rebirth. It was just a few weeks later I wandered into a small crystal shop in my hometown, with no particular reason why simply a curiosity. I was drawn to a specific crystal pendant, Lumerian Quartz and I didn’t know it at the time but later found out it is a crystal known for ancient wisdom and healing. It’s funny to think back because at the time I couldn’t afford it. I couldn’t afford a $30 crystal pendant and almost three years later, thanks to a beautiful friendship and a commitment to hard work, we are about to have our first million-dollar year. We are so beyond grateful. So back to the crystal shop… and so I told myself if it was still there when I came back, that it was meant to be and if it wasn’t, well it wasn’t meant for me. And this was I believe where my complete shift in mindset and awareness began. When I came back a week later, I bought the pendant and wore it around my neck every day for almost two years.
Naturally, without doing any research I began to bring awareness of my healing journey to the light. I would spend an hour or two each day just sitting in the sun, charging the crystal around my neck and some nights when the moon was full and bright, I would hang it in the window. It was as if this was completely natural to be doing these things. And eventually, I began to research the truth behind these actions and It became an incredible part of my life, something I’m very passionate about today. And it was about one year into my journey that I realized this was something I wanted to share with the world. I began researching crystal shops and gem shops all the while staying in contact with my best friend in California. I was set to visit her for a couple of weeks and I was making a list of shops to visit in hopes of creating a store of my own to share my love of crystals and spirituality. Once I was in LA with Marina and shared my vision, we right away decided to go down this journey together. It turned out to be the perfect partnership. She brought experience to the table that I didn’t have and I brought the creative vision. Together, we started an Etsy shop during the peak of Covid, August 2020 and for our first two months we brought in a total of 2 sales. There was never a point where I felt discouraged because this was also a time when TikTok was gaining popularity and I began to post videos consistently every day. And for two months, I couldn’t surpass more than a couple of thousand views on my videos. And I remember the night we finally had a breakthrough and my first video went viral, almost 3.5 million views and about 30 Etsy orders for the month of December. It was the beginning of January we launched the idea of the “Blessing Box” our best-selling spiritual subscription box.
For the price of one crystal necklace, we offered people a new variety of crystals, jewelry, incense and ritual tools and carefully took the time to wrap each box with a red wax seal, a butterfly (a tribute to my daughter). And for each box, I write a letter of encouragement to those who are on their own spiritual journey. This is our favorite part as we are able to personally connect with people so it’s not so corporate. We believe it’s very important for people to feel and experience the love and energy that goes into each box. So about a month after we launched our Blessing Box, we had four months of viral videos that led to $10,000 sales/ viral day. It was such an incredible experience. At one point, Marina’s entire living room was taken over by inventory and hundreds of orders to pack. We were lucky enough to have family and friends helping us during these days. Even with the help, marina and I were working nonstop from 8 am to 2 am, uploading products, fulfilling orders, taking trips to the post office. And we were lucky enough and blessed to be able to build our brand for the entire year of 2021 just from a TikTok account. Now two years later, thanks to some new team members and some Facebook advertising, we are doing $70-$88k months with over 1400 subscribers and loyal customers. We began in August 2021 packing 1 – 5 orders a week, and all of our inventory and supplies was in a few black plastic bags that could be tucked away into my closet. Now we are quickly outgrowing a two-bedroom apartment and in search of a warehouse to continue this beautiful journey. All because of a Lumerian Quartz Crystal, a life-changing experience, and a soul friendship.
Marina’s Point of view: Gift giving has always been my way of self-expression and showing something a loved one would like I have a hard time not getting it for them. I love to shower people I love with gifts and that has been a passion of mine since I can remember. I love to wrap gifts and make sure that they are thoughtful and have special touches to show the ones I love that it was meant for them. When we first came up with the concept of a gift box my love for doing something like that for friends translated to doing it for strangers because how cool is it to surprise someone with items that we hand-pick for them monthly. We have always been very particular on the items that we wanted to include in the boxes because if it was something that we wouldn’t like we were sure no one else would like it either. The responses we got in the first few months were incredible and with social media a lot of those “strangers” turned into people I follow, people I now know about and some that are now friends. They have followed our journey from the very beginning, they have loved our gifts, supported us and encouraged us to keep doing what we are doing, I now hold them in my mind when we are attending crystal shows looking for the next cool thing. My love for crystals was fast and blind. I could honestly say I fell in love and first site. Fast forward two years later I still can walk around staring at them and touching them for hours. I get so excited to bring them home share them with my friends and with strangers that sometimes-become friends. I love learning about what they mean and what properties they hold. I think they are magical and have helped me through a very hard time of my life for which I will forever be grateful.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Our journey has been anything but smooth, which we have come to realize is all part of the incredible journey that life is. We reached a point in November of 2021 where our TikTok videos stopped going viral and we were sitting on over $30,000 worth of inventory and renting a two-bedroom apartment. We had very little experience with business, especially a business of this size. We would be lying if we said we were smart with our money and spending in the beginning of our viral months. We’ve had to learn how to budget large amounts, how to track inventory, how to operate on a daily basis efficiently, as well as how to plan for the future. When our videos stopped going viral, naturally we started freaking out. Everything that happened next was a completely new learning experience. We had to learn the ropes of Facebook advertising as well as let go of the wonderful TikTok videos that started it all. It was in a way a death and rebirth of our company. We partnered with two silent investors who were able to offer advice at the time to get over the hump of lack of sales. Our most viral month, July brought is $55k of sales, but by August, we were down to $35k. It took almost all of 2022 to sort out this new way of growing slowly and consistently, as well as getting used to new operations and hiring employees. We currently have over seven part-time employees, a wonderful handful of people who feel more like family than employees.
On a smaller scale, we have definitely had our fair share of expensive mistakes. One time, Anna accidentally double-printed almost 50 orders, so that means 50 people got two boxes, almost a $1,000 mistake. And there has been a handful of incidents like this. Luckily, we understand that mistakes are a part of the learning process.
Marina for the first year of the business was getting her Master’s Degree in Social Work and was balancing full-time grad school with full-time business. So it was definitely a solid partnership where we were able to rely on one another and get everything done we needed to but we would be lying if we said it wasn’t stressful as heck sometimes.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Aphrozodiac is a business created from the idea that Self-Love and Care should be our first priority. And that starts within you and your journey of Healing, Awareness & Self-Discovery.
We are known for our monthly subscription box, “The Blessing Box”. A box designed for your zodiac sign, with different crystals, jewelry, candles, incense and spiritual items each month that we personally pick out ourselves. We work with other small businesses so it’s really an incredible connection all the way around. In the box, we also include positive affirmation cards and a handwritten letter to encourage you on your personal spiritual journey. We also include meditation guides and zodiac information.
What sets us apart is exactly that…our personal touch, love and good energy in every box. When you support a small business, you are supporting people who are grateful every moment of every day to be able to share this dream with the world. We take careful time to sprinkle flowers and affirmations in each box as a way of Cleansing. We also hand wrap with a wax seal and that will never change no matter how much we grow.
We offer Live Sales once a week where people are able to join us and build their own “Custom Blessing Box” live with us on instagram. This has been really fun because it gives us a chance to get to know some of our customers a little better as well as connect with our community to build a beautiful box together.
We are proud to give our time and energy to something beyond ourselves. We have recently developed a program to help show love and support to the homeless in Los Angeles. We build Blessing Boxes with different self-care items such as: socks, gloves, first aid kits, deodorant, toothpaste, lotion, lip balms, snacks, drinks powders, etc., and this is Non-Profit, purely donation. We actually offer this on our website if people would like to pay it forward!
All of our products are house-made or ethically sourced from small business owners such as ourselves. We’re actually really proud of that because you’re not just helping support your own dreams but also so many other peoples and that’s such a beautiful display of divine connection.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Good luck played a hugeee part in the building of Aphrozodiac! The Good Luck was that we went viral. The Bad Luck was when our videos stopped going viral and we had to basically start from the ground and build up again. But again, all a beautiful learning process that we are incredibly thankful for.
Pricing:
- The Blessing Box – $39.99/mo
Contact Info:
- Website: www.aphrozodiac.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aphrozodiac.co/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AphroZodiac/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aphrozodiacco.1556
