Citrus+Sage Marketplace is a boutique gifting company based in the Greater Toronto Area. Owner's Kelley and Rosmarie share their story of how they started their business, what they look to for inspiration, and how they source Canadian goods.

Describe your business, and who you are

Citrus+Sage Marketplace is a female-owned small business founded by neighbours and friends ~ Kelley and Rosmarie. Following several conversations over coffee on our front porches, we both saw a need for unique and meaningful gifting experiences that offer quality sourced Canadian goods by small women-owned businesses.

We wanted to build a community of artisans and vendors whose values align with ours and who share the belief that being socially aware and environmentally purposeful is essential to our community and well being. We source products with the finest ingredients, stunning aesthetics and unique details and focus on natural, sustainable, eco-friendly items and packaging in wellness, food, home and accessories.

Whether it’s gifts for corporate events or client appreciation or to celebrate a special occasion, we offer authentically curated gift pairings that accentuate simplicity, thoughtful quality and a bit of indulgence ~ a stress -free, easy and enjoyable gifting experience.

Have you faced specific hurdles or adversity as female entrepreneurs that you’ve overcome to build your business?

While we haven’t come across any major hurdles or adversities, starting this exciting journey has come with its challenges. With both of us working full time outside of the company, we’ve had to make some sacrifices along the way, especially when it comes to carving out time for everything in our lives. But we made a promise to find that balance between growing the business and spending time on self-care, our families and just the everyday.

Something that has helped us stay inspired and focused as we build our business is making vision boards, both professional and personal. We use these as check-ins, a way to make sure we’re both on the same page with our shared vision for Citrus + Sage, as well as for ourselves and our individual goals.

What is one piece of advice you would give other women looking to start, or currently running a business?

Our best piece of advice when starting a business is simple - just start. Don’t wait for the perfect time when everything is in place, it never will be. Be simple in your approach - start small so that you can take the time to build the foundation, grow as you learn, raise your confidence and push yourself out of your comfort zone.

There’s a quote by Brené Brown that we just love: “The willingness to show up changes us, it makes us a little braver each time.” Starting a business is not easy. It takes passion for the product or service you want to provide; courage to take some risks along the way; strength to not take things personally and open mindedness to learn from mistakes and pivot when needed.

Every time you show up will not only change you, but also move you closer to reaching your goals. And don’t forget to surround yourself with people who lift you up and who you, in turn, lift up. Creating a supportive community will keep you inspired as you travel the exciting road of entrepreneurship. 

How can people support you?

We love filling a need and helping people with curated gifts that perfectly fit any occasion. Whether it’s a personal celebration, a client/employee appreciation or an in-person or virtual corporate event, sharing our products and services with your friends, family and co-workers is a great way to support our small business.

We encourage you to also visit our website to see our pre-curated boxes and reach out to us if you’d like something more personal or customized. Liking and sharing our social media posts and stories also helps us with visibility and growing our followers. We also hope our audiences not only see the value in our products and services, but also get inspired by our company pillars: sourcing Canadian goods locally and from coast to coast; supporting women-owned small businesses; and implementing environmentally conscious and purposeful practices.

Learn more about Citrus+Sage Marketplace by following them on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn

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