MY STORY
How My Journey Started
Hello everyone, my name is Valerie Plotnikova, and I thank you for your interest in my story. Over 27 years ago, I started my journey in the beauty industry. From a very young age, I realized I had a knack for business building and leadership; it felt organic to come up with out of the box ideas and techniques, and I soon won over 30 industry awards and gained nationwide recognition. At that point, I knew I’d found my niche.
After pivoting into the corporate side of skin care, I was asked to travel to some of the leading department stores across the country in order to share my sales strategies and techniques and to spearhead product trainings. My career expanded into working for industry giants, after which I helped launch several—now prominent —brands. These launches led to collaborations with well-known New York Fashion Week designers and fashion magazine editors, further growing my breadth of knowledge.
In 2016, I grabbed an opportunity to branch out into the formulation side of skincare. Working with a laboratory in France, I learned all about the natural alternatives to synthetic and chemical ingredients. This expertise allowed me to expand my portfolio by collaborating with dozens of conscious beauty brands and hundreds of contract manufacturers.
How My Business Development & Wellness Experience Merged
Although I was grateful to have learned all about formulation, I wanted to jump back into the more dynamic side of beauty. Accepting a position for a respected French skin care brand, especially prominent within the high-end spa industry, I was thrilled to join the world of luxury spas. Ironically, this highly social job began in March 2020, the week of the pandemic. Needless to say, there were many challenges to overcome when the world shut down due to COVID.
Even as industries had to adapt to a now mostly virtual world, unexpected opportunities to connect still arose. Utilizing new technologies, industry leaders such as Live Love Spa and We Work Well developed interactive virtual events that quickly got me in front of influential people all over the country.
2021 was a game changer. As travel re-opened, I was finally able to visit spa locations for the first time, meeting familiar faces from virtual events face to face. It was thrilling to be welcomed to the spa community with open arms by some of the most influential spa professionals in the industry! I instantly knew this is where my journey had led all along—I found my home.
Spa professionals understood the power of wellness, so I found myself speaking freely about my “other life”—those 15 years of studies within the holistic healing space. Today, I continue to add to my holistic tool belt and have obtained new and exciting certifications as a breath coach, meditation guide, Kundalini yoga teacher, and holistic energy healer and sound practitioner.
How Shamballa Wellness was Born
In Sept 2021, I had an accident that resulted in a concussion. Unable to curtail my work or travel load, I suffered silently while struggling with memory and speech, sometimes forgetting even simple words. Coming into the new year, I wasn’t getting better and in fact felt more exhausted and overworked than ever. At that point, I knew it was time to take back control of my life through self-care. As my health became the #1 priority, I brought mindfulness into my daily practice and only then began to heal.
I know I’m not alone in feeling depleted. Many of us struggle with heavy workloads that prevent us from making ourselves a priority. That’s why it’s critical to bring positivity and wellness into the workplace—to give back to our teams and our clients in exciting and beneficial ways. This understanding is how Shamballa Wellness was born. Shamballa means peace, tranquility, unity, and community, and these are the aims Shamballa Wellness seeks to achieve.
Since we spend a third of our lives at work, why not impact each other positively and meaningfully, the Shamballa Wellness way!