Editor’s note: This is the third story in a series about entrepreneurs from Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach.

By Molly Lovell

Staff Writer

Saco resident Shay Ayers, pictured with her daughter, Gaiya, which means goddess of the earth, opened Eye Sun Holistic Massage in North Dam Mill a couple years ago after being laid off in 2007 as an insurance agent. She decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship and described the process as life-changing and life-saving.

Tell me what you do here.

I practice Swedish, deep tissue, pregnancy massage. I also do off-site sometimes and sometimes during the auctions that are next door people come in on a walk-in basis for a chair massage. I also have my (other) side of the business, which is my retail end. I focus on potions and, as you can see, on the walls I have artwork. Some of it is mine, a lot of it is local artists.

 The wooden bowls are hand-spun by a local artisan and some of my clay mugs and what not. I also have a signature tea, which was blended for me by a certified tea specialist specifically for Eye Sun. I like to offer that with a massage along with bottles of water. It’s kind of a little niche I have going.

Do you make the products you sell?

I buy the products. I try to get local, fairly local, Massachusetts. I do have Kennebunk, Maine and Portland, natural hand-crafted small batch kind of things. That’s what I prefer.

Describe what holistic means in terms of your business.

Holistic means looking at a system as a whole – the body as a whole thing. So, if your arm hurts, getting a full body massage, including your head and neck, for instance, is going to help that particular pain. Also, the health maintenance aspect, where getting a massage you don’t have to be sick, you don’t have to be sore, but it’s a great way to maintain health and your whole being. And that’s the way I look at things, I’m very into massage as health maintenance. And it feels good. If you feel good, you’re going to treat other people better. So hopefully, that goes out there in spreading the happiness and health.

Has your business been affected by the weakened economy? Are people cutting down, and in turn, cutting massages out of their budgets?

Well, I’m not so sure. I’ve been in business two years, which isn’t that long, so I don’t have a lot to compare, but I’ve done much better, probably triple the business, the second year as compared to my first year. So I can’t really complain. I’m doing very well and you have to think – I hate to say an “affordable luxury,” because I don’t really consider massage a luxury because it’s a really good thing, a good way to maintain your health.  But it is, at $60 an hour, first session half off, at Eye Sun, people can still afford it. And it’s a lot less expensive sometimes than going out to eat. So, yeah, I can’t complain. I’m doing pretty well.

What does a small business owner like you have to do to thrive?

I have to say I think my biggest thing is the commitment. You have to love what you do and be committed and be available. I mean, at the beginning of my business, I had set hours, I sat here. I sat here at my desk and hoped the people would walk by. I advertise, I do constant contact, word of mouth, but you know it’s hard.

There were days I just wanted to cry and I could see how people give up in six months. But I’m on a mission. I love what I do and I firmly believe in it. When I’m here, people come in to ask questions. They might not make an appointment that day, but they do come back because I’m here, smiling and I’m ready to provide service.

I used to be a corporate climber, so this is hugely different for me and I never liked the corporate climber but I thought it was something I had to do to “be a success in America” if you will. But I finally snapped out of it after a layoff, which probably saved my life. I decided to do what I really wanted to do, what I really loved to do, and something to me, that’s very meaningful and fulfilling. So that’s part of it.

If I didn’t like doing this, I couldn’t sit here. When business would be slow, it would be very, very hard. But I love it, I always find something I can do. I’m always making plans to add value to what I do. The tea, I thought was a really cool thing, and helping other small businesses as well. My tea person is another local business, she’s in South Portland – used to be in downtown Biddeford. So yeah, everybody helps everybody.

What did you do for work before this?

I sold insurance. My very last job was selling medical malpractice insurance. It’s a national company that I worked for so I had this territory (southern Maine). So I worked out of my house and did a lot of traveling. I had New England and New Jersey as my territory. But they decided they didn’t need me after a year and a half so I really took stock and thought, “do I really want to go back into this?” – and insurance and corporate, and I decided to make the change. It was kind of a wake-up call for me actually.

Was it then you sought education in massage therapy?

I was already trained actually. You do have to be licensed and go to school and there’s certain requirements, but I had several years before, gotten trained, thinking I was going to do massage. I kept getting pulled back into the corporate, and the benefits, and so I’ve been trained for almost 10 years now. I practiced for a couple years and went all the way back into insurance and did that a while until this recent layoff. And again, I’m a mother, and that’s a very important job for me – I just started to realize I needed to do what was me. I get to make the decisions now and what’s right. And it’s been wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. I know it’s a weakened economy, but I’m very happy. I am very happy.

What’s the best thing about your job?

That I make people feel good. When you’re selling insurance, they have to buy, but when they come in for a massage, they leave very happy, and I feel, even if I have one client a day, it’s all worth it. It makes my day. When people leave here smiling and say “that was wonderful,” it makes me feel wonderful too.

How did you come to find this spot in North Dam?

I knew of the owner of the mill and again, I had gotten laid off and was trying to scramble – what do I want to do? And because I knew him, I said “yeah, let’s look to see what he might have to rent.” And there was a space available. It had a bathroom, which I needed, the rent is very reasonable, and then it turned out to be even better. The community aspect of being inside a mill is really wonderful. I think I made a good decision by coming in here.

What have you gained by being in this location?

There is a lot of walk-by traffic because of the other businesses here in the mill. The community is so important. People talk about each other, the referrals, and cross-marketing opportunities abound here.

How has Biddeford contributed to the success of your business – if it has?

Well, the fact that the college is here has been very helpful. Other mills developing brings more people and jobs, and people seem to be in and out. Being here in Biddeford for the tourist season has been wonderful – Biddeford Pool. I think because it is more affordable here, just comparing it to across the river in Saco. I looked there as well, and that was a big thing for me. I had just gotten laid off and the economy was terrible, it just was a hard decision, but I really needed to do something that meant something. The (Biddeford) ArtWalk has been one of the really great things. Especially since the last art walk where they’re bringing them into the mill for the winter. So many people come through here and it’s so wonderful. For retail, that’s my biggest day, art walk day. I’m probably not the only one that benefits from the art walk, so it’s been really wonderful.

Staff Writer Molly Lovell can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 223.