Founder and director of glowgetter.co.uk Georgie Wolfinden

“Since the credit crunch we’ve seen our sales quadruple”… Encouraging words in a climate where debt collectors and pawn brokers seem to be the only businesses thriving. Georgie Wolfinden established glowgetter, her online wellbeing store and magazine, 18 months ago, just as the City started to cave.

After years of struggling with Polycistic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and a frustrating merry-go-round of doctors’ visits, she decided to take the alternative route. Georgie sought out various treatments and products, and took up yoga to help alleviate the lethargy and chronic acne she was experiencing as symptoms of PCOS. As well as providing relief for her health problems, this process triggered her business
journey: “All the people I knew started asking me to recommend different treatments, therapies and products so it just seemed like the natural thing to do.”

This quickly developed into the idea of creating an online source for all things wellbeing: “There wasn’t a trusted source of information so people didn’t know where to turn. I wanted to combine editorial with the products. Basically, less is more.”

The products, such as luxe LA spa brand Arcona and NYC’s raw food skincare brand Yummy Bee, are all free from harmful chemicals - the more natural and cold pressed the better. “We call them performance naturals” explains Georgie. “It’s gone beyond people just wanting natural products that are pure, they want results. A 45-year-old woman who wants to brighten her skin isn’t going to happy with it just being natural. Expectations are higher.”

Seeking out these new products that her faithful customers will love is a big part of Georgie’s job, as well as being a private obsession:
“I was in the airport in Kuala Lumpa once and I said to my husband I have to look in the pharmacy. He said,’Georgie you’re mad, it’s four in the morning, we’re knackered’ but for me it’s an instinctive thing. I just love discovering new, unusual products that actually work.”

Since its creation, Georgie has doubled her glowgetter team from two to four and seen demand grow and grow - the site currently has 90,000 hits a month: “People are spending more money on their health. Products like our homeopathic sprays by Sprayology, and vitamins, are flying off the site. Plus, at the moment, it’s all about indulging in some pampering at home.”

Not bad for something that started out as a bit of a hobby, but then a passion for your work is mandatory in Georgie’s eyes: “If you’re sitting in a box, feeling completely uninspired and just doing it for the money, you’ll probably stay in that position for the next ten years. There comes a real joy with doing something that you love and believe in. It’s exciting, exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. I have no regrets.”

Georgie's CV:

1997 - Marketing and events for MTV, London
1998 - Moved to New York - PR for a bar in Soho
2001- Marketing Manager for triyoga, London
2004 - Set up healthy and wellbeing PR company Blossom
2007 - Launched glowgetter

www.glowgetter.co.uk

For Part II of our Inspirational Women series, click here.