☕ Beccy’s Journal | 5 minute read
Pop the kettle on and make yourself comfortable…
This journal is a little more personal than most. It’s the story of how Olive Glow came to life, from leaving a career that never felt right, to building a business around my children, and finding the confidence to create a brand I truly believe in.
If you’ve ever had a dream tucked away in the back of your mind, I hope my story reminds you that every journey starts with one small step.
The Beginning: A Seed of Passion
“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.”
– Cynthia Occelli
Stuck in a 9–5 job in finance, I found myself dreaming about something more. I didn’t want the office life, especially having to leave my children so young. I wanted a career that fitted around my family, one where I could be there for the school runs, sports days and everything in between.
Whilst I was searching through endless jobs, an advert for spray tan training kept appearing. Looking back now, it almost feels like it was meant to be.
The journey wasn’t easy. My girls were little, and balancing motherhood whilst trying to build a business definitely had its challenges.
When my youngest started Reception, I decided it was time to stop treating spray tanning as a hobby. I’d been quietly building my business for a couple of years, and I knew it was time to give it everything I had.
The Challenges: Pushing Through the Soil
There were plenty of times I felt like giving up, more than I’d like to admit.
That quote about a seed always stayed with me. Before a flower blooms, the seed has to push through darkness, crack open and completely change. Growth isn’t always pretty, and sometimes it feels like everything is falling apart. But without that struggle, nothing would ever grow.
Whenever things felt difficult, I’d remind myself that every challenge was helping me become stronger.
One of the best things to come from those early days wasn’t just a career, it was the friendships. I met a couple of lovely girls during my spray tan training, and over ten years later we’re still friends today.
As the years went on, I was lucky enough to work for another professional spray tan brand. I absolutely loved it. The owner believed in me from the beginning, and together we’d bounce ideas around, create new products and build something we were both really passionate about.
In early 2019, I even created the finishing powder, which is still something I’m incredibly proud of.
When the owner decided to sell the business, I was genuinely sad. Deep down, I knew that chapter was coming to an end, but I still wasn’t ready for it.
Then, within a couple of months, I found myself doing something I never thought I’d be brave enough to do…
Creating my own brand.
The Birth of Olive Glow
If I’m honest, I’d always had the idea tucked away in the back of my mind.
Working within the spray tanning industry gave me so much experience, but there was always a little part of me that wondered what it would be like to create something of my own.
It wasn’t until I was chatting with a family member about my grandma, Olive, that everything suddenly clicked.
The name.
The branding.
The vision.
It all came together.
Naming my brand Olive Glow felt like the perfect tribute to my grandma. Although she passed away when I was little, her kindness has always stayed with me, and I wanted my brand to reflect that same warmth, care and genuine love for helping people feel good.
Spray tanning is such a wonderful community. I’ve made incredible friends through this industry, some I’ve never even met in person, yet we speak almost every day. It’s a community that supports each other, celebrates each other’s wins and picks each other up when things get tough.
Balancing Business and Family
As my girls have grown older, balancing family life and business has become much easier. They’re now 12 and 14, and although life hasn’t always been kind to them, they’ve grown into two amazing young ladies.
That freedom has allowed me to work around our family life, enjoy holidays together and keep building the business I’ve always dreamed of.
If I can do it, honestly, so can you.
One thing that has never changed is my passion for helping others. Whether it’s answering questions, supporting fellow spray tan artists or sharing advice, kindness has always been something that’s really important to me.
It’s also one of the reasons I’ve worked so hard to keep Olive Glow affordable without compromising on quality. I want professional products to be accessible, while still using ingredients I’m genuinely proud of.
Olive Glow Today
Launching Olive Glow was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done, and trust me… I’ve climbed Ben Nevis and I’m terrified of heights!
Thankfully, I had the support of my family, my clients and some amazing friends who believed in me, even on the days I doubted myself.
Olive Glow has always been about more than just tanning.
It’s about skincare.
It’s about confidence.
It’s about creating products that I truly believe in.
Every product is vegan friendly, cruelty free, alcohol free and paraben free because caring for your skin has always been just as important to me as achieving a beautiful glow.
Looking Ahead
Olive Glow is still growing, and that really excites me.
My first product, the Olive Glow Finishing Powder, launched in 2019, and in 2024 I proudly launched the professional tanning range.
Looking back, it’s been a rollercoaster.
But I wouldn’t change a thing.
I’m incredibly grateful to my family, my clients and the amazing spray tan community who’ve supported me from day one.
This is only the beginning, and I can’t wait to see where the next chapter takes us.
🤎 Beccy’s Thoughts
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s that there’ll never be a perfect time to start.
There will always be reasons to wait, reasons to doubt yourself and reasons why staying where you are feels safer.
But sometimes, all it takes is one small step.
Olive Glow didn’t happen overnight. It grew from years of experience, a lot of hard work, plenty of self doubt and a dream that slowly became reality.
If you’ve got an idea that’s been sitting in the back of your mind for a while, maybe this is your little reminder to believe in yourself just a bit more.
You never know where that first step might lead.
☕ Before you go…
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story.
Whether you’re one of my lovely clients, a fellow spray tan artist or you’ve only just discovered Olive Glow, I’m so grateful you’re here.
I hope this journal has given you a little insight into why Olive Glow means so much to me, and maybe even inspired you to believe in your own dreams too.
Until next time…
With love,
Beccy x 🤍
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