From solopreneur to national brand
Patrice Mousseau was on maternity leave in 2013 when her daughter Esme was diagnosed with eczema, which made her arms and legs itchy. Eager to find a natural alternative to the topical steroid creams prescribed by her doctor, the resourceful mom decided to make her own.
Undaunted by the task of developing a product formulation from nothing, she started digging into medical research and academic studies. After working for years as a journalist, she had strong investigative skills that gave her the confidence to undertake the task.
What she came up with was a non-toxic and fragrance-free cream backed by scientific research. Mousseau blended the first batch in a slow cooker. Made from a number of ingredients, including calendula and almond oil, the balm was completely natural.
More importantly, it worked: it healed her daughter’s skin in two days.
Having leftovers, she offered the cream to her Facebook contacts. It was an immediate hit. The demand was so strong from the start that she had to make three more batches. A business was born.
According to a 2026 BDC study, up to 11% of self-employed Canadians plan to hire their first employee in the coming year, contributing 213,000 business openings to help offset the normal rate of yearly micro-business closures in Canada.
It never was a side hustle. Satya supported me and my daughter from the very beginning because the sales grew rapidly from the start.
Patrice Mousseau
Founder and CEO, Satya Organic
By any measure, Satya Organic is now a successful business. Her products are sold in 3000 stores across the country, on top of serving customers around the world. The B.C.-based skincare company earned B Corp certification.
BDC supported her growth with financing to help ease cash flow and inventory purchases.
But getting there wasn’t always easy. Mousseau, who is a member of Fort William First Nation, is the first one to acknowledge that making the jump from self-employment to entrepreneurship was challenging.
The right product-market fit
Satya Organic is different from other businesses in that it didn’t start as a project run alongside full-time work. “It never was a side hustle,” explains Mousseau. “Satya supported me and my daughter from the very beginning because the sales grew rapidly from the start.”
Part of the explanation for this fast growth comes down to the cream’s effectiveness. But Mousseau recognizes that the underlying demand was already strong.
“In a way, gaining traction was easy because Satya treats a condition that affects 20% of the population, and there are few options on the market when it comes to natural alternatives for steroid creams.”
In other words, Mousseau had a great product-market fit from the start.
Finding the right people is the most important thing you can do as a business owner.
Patrice Mousseau
Founder and CEO, Satya Organic
Hiring to keep up with the demand
At first, Mousseau did everything herself, from shipping to marketing and production. She started selling in the fall of 2013 through farmers’ markets. On the first day, she made $110.
But things grew quickly. It only took a year before Mousseau simply couldn’t handle it all herself. That’s when she hired her first two employees.
“For a long time, I was making my product at night after putting my baby to bed. But at that point I needed support, so I hired two stay-at-home mothers through Facebook to help me with the shipping.”
For regulatory matters, she decided to work with external consultants rather than hire in-house staff.
Nevertheless, handing over part of her business to someone else represented an entirely new step. And Mousseau had to learn how to go about it. Her first lesson: it’s always better to have another person’s help in the hiring process.
According to Mousseau: “As a person, I naturally like people and see the best in the them, so I quickly discovered the value of having another person offer a different perspective.”
Once the choice is made, however, she never has a problem trusting her team. “My first hires were exacting and competent so I knew I could trust them. And that’s the lesson here, I think, when you transition from self-employment to entrepreneurship. Finding the right people is the most important thing you can do as a business owner.”
Finding a support circle
Making the jump from a one-person operation to a business with employees comes with plenty of challenges. To help relieve the pressure, it can be helpful to connect with a group of like-minded entrepreneurs with whom to discuss your situation, share experiences, and exchange advice.
For Mousseau, this group was called Coralus (formerly SheEO). Connecting women from different horizons who are looking for support, funds and new ways of thinking, it has helped her feel that she was part of an entrepreneurship community.
“In a way they are a family,” she says. “The value of this community, for me, was having someone understand what I’m going through, and knowing that others are walking a similar path, ready to offer their perspective on this new journey.”
Next step
Find out how to grow your small business by downloading BDC’s free guide.