Michelle Crow spent 20 years in the medical field, where she was working “too much,” was burnt out and wasn’t doing what she loved. So she quit her job, took $5,000 to put up a storefront, and decided to cater to Northeast Georgia’s Pagan population instead.
“It’s actually my dream job,” Crow says. “I knew I didn’t want to work the rest of my life for somebody else, I just wanted to work and have something that I enjoy doing. That way when I retire, I’ll enjoy retirement because I’ll be doing something I love.”
Her passion for entrepreneurship started when her daughter was diagnosed with severe eczema. As a single mother, she couldn’t afford to buy the specialty soap the doctor prescribed for her child. When she started making her own gentle soaps and lotions for her daughter, she realized her passion. “We found a space and opened the doors within two weeks,” Crow says.
Over the years, her shop has expanded. Crow sells not only her natural body care at Sun, Moon and Stars, but crystals, herbs, candles, literature, gifts, tarot cards and much more. “I’ve been a practicing Pagan for 10 years. Anytime I can help somebody, I don’t mind. And I believe that offering the resources for alternative studies for things is helping people in this community,” Crow says.
When it comes to owning a metaphysical store in Habersham, which stands out from the other businesses nearby, she says she doesn’t get a lot of grief. “People are really, overall, just accepting,” Crow says. “Some people will walk by and they’ll look, I don’t know if it startles them or what, some people will walk in and walk out, but that’s fine.”
Crow says over the years, her customers have started to feel more like a family. “Sometimes we just sit around the table and just talk all weekend, it’s a community,” Crow says. She only has one rule in her shop, and it’s to be kind. “It’s a very, very supportive community. It’s a tight-knit community, that’s what I like about it so much.”
It’s not just her customers in that community, but the local businesses in Habersham as well. As part of the Clarkesville Business Association, Crow hosts meetings at her shop and works with the other businesses around her to help support one another. Crow says how important it is that businesses and customers work together to keep money in the community.
“I shop at a lot of businesses around Clarkesville, I try not to go to big chain places because I believe in supporting our community,” Crow says. When it comes to other metaphysical shops in North Georgia, Crow networks with them to help their customers find the things they need. “If we don’t work together, [our businesses are] not going to work. It’s a community with a lot of different paths that are coming to work together.”
For anyone who wants to start their own business, Crow says to take the leap, no matter how old you are or how much money you have.
“You’re never too old to start. Look at me, I did at 45 and actually raised a granddaughter right here,” Crow says. “I think a common misconception is that you have to be in your twenties and do all this stuff, but you don’t have to have a lot of money to do it. I’m not saying we didn’t struggle sometimes, but you learn when your busy seasons are, when your slow season is, so you prepare for your busy season and for your slow season, it just balances out.”
Crow says that if you want to live your dream and find happiness, you have to take the steps to get there in your career.
“I was miserable for a long while, now I’m doing what I love. I’m happy every day I get up. I’m smiling, I come to work. It makes me happy,” Crow says. “If you don’t love what you do and it’s not part of your life, then why do it?”
