How long do you sleep every night? If that’s less than eight hours, then Richelle Oslinker believes you need to start rethinking your routine. The wellness entrepreneur, whose career has skyrocketed over the past few years, didn’t always prioritize sleep. But as she developed more expertise within the wellness industry, she realized the importance of investing in her own health to feel her best and achieve her professional ambitions.
I spoke with Richelle about the lessons she learned in the industry and why we shouldn’t listen to what we hear about entrepreneurship and health online. Our work and our well-being should be about ourselves and the bigger picture, not others — including making sure to get eight hours of sleep every night.
Beth Doane: Building a business is not an easy task. How did you decide to be an entrepreneur and go into the field?
Richelle Oslinker: It’s far from easy! My first job out of college was working directly with one of the biggest entrepreneurs in the real estate industry (Ian Schrager), so I was able to see firsthand the hardships and successes of entrepreneurship. At 22, I was sitting in on C-Suite business meetings with seasoned executives and was in awe of their decision-making skills and the way they communicated with each other.
My job was to be front-facing and manage relationships for them, so while I didn’t have many skills on the backend, like making a spreadsheet or running numbers, I knew how to talk to people, and I used that in my power.
The next year, I was at an event at Soho House, and I met a woman who was currently in the early stages of opening a wellness company. We stayed in touch and a few weeks later, I left my first job to help her run her company, HigherDOSE. A few years and a wealth of business knowledge later, I asked myself what was next for me? I started as a partner at my current company, Plump, in 2018 and have been working on scaling our business nationwide. I am so grateful.
Doane: It sounds like a busy few years. Working in wellness, how did you practice what you preached and maintain balance between your health and your career?
Oslinker: In the beginning of my entrepreneurial career, I didn’t even know what balance or wellness meant. My professional life involved a lot of social outings, so I had to be out late in order to broaden my network. I was running all over the city with alcohol and no sleep. It wasn’t until I pivoted to working for a wellness company that I was like, wow. I should have been doing this all along.
Practicing wellness has helped me stay calm and focused on the bigger picture. I used to get really bent out of shape overthinking if I performed well in a meeting, or if my boss liked the email that I wrote. The small things really don’t matter. Practicing wellness has taught me to just be passionate about what I am doing — and to keep going.
Doane: Proper sleep is often overlooked in the entrepreneurial community. Why should it be an essential part of our routine?
Oslinker: Beauty sleep isn’t just a cliche. I always try to get at least eight hours of sleep and turn my phone off an hour before bed. If I wake up exhausted, I know I won’t be able to perform well at work, and I cannot have that.
Doane: What’s one thing you wish people took more seriously about their health and wellness?
Oslinker: Doing it for themselves and not because of others. Right now, health and wellness is trendy. There are so many marketing ploys and gimmicks that can make health and wellness seem appealing. Be healthy because you want to, not because you saw someone on the internet post about it.
Doane: What are three health tips that you swear by and turn to on a daily basis?
Oslinker: Get eight hours of sleep. Second, sun gazing: right when I wake up — before I even grab my phone — I head outside for a few minutes of direct sunlight. I find that it helps with my sleep/wake cycle to watch the sun rise and set. Finally, I recommend that people microneedle the skin every two months.