For three years Helen has operated her business - Living Earth Aromatherapy - from her Wingham home.

It's a true labour of love which combines Helen's passion for the natural world with her desire to share the therapeutic benefits of all-natural, pure essential oils.

Her home made products are sold through stockists in NSW and Queensland and customers from all over the country also buy directly from her website.

Until COVID hit Helen was also a regular stall holder at the Olive Tree Market and the Homegrown Markets in Newcastle.

She's loving having more customers closer to home.

"It's easy to forget there are local people who like buying locally," she said.

Helen thinks local shoppers are getting more comfortable shopping online, particularly since COVID.

It's a trend she's seen play out in other areas too. Recently Helen took part in her first virtual market when the Olive Tree Market went online in October.

It's all a far cry from her previous profession.

Helen's background is in environmental science and when she started dabbling in aromatherapy it was more a hobby 'on the side' to her job with the (then) Great Lakes Council as an environmental officer.

However it wasn't long before her hobby became a true passion project and thanks to her supportive partner Lee, Helen was able to leave her job and turn her attention full time to starting her business.

"The learning curve in regards to business has been so steep," admits Helen.

After three years of hustle to grow her brand and online presence she concedes it's still a work in progress.

"I'm not at the point where it's a booming business," she laughs.

"I'm still very much in the learning phase."

But Helen loves what she does and she relishes the opportunity to work from home.

She also acknowledges one of the keys to growing a fledgling small business is to not rely on it too much in the early years for a regular income.

A year ago she took on a part time role with Manning Landcare as a coast care coordinator to give her business a better chance to grow.

Helen said running an online business has some unique challenges.

"There's so much to learn," she said.

"It's a really crowded market place and you have to learn to get good with SEO (search engine optimization)."

So far Helen's biggest source of new customers has been Facebook and it is here that she has also found a good support network via women in business Facebook groups.

Connection is important to Helen and she readily admits she's happy to keep her small enterprise a one woman show.

"I want to keep it human scale," she said.

"I've designed everything I sell and everything I make is very personal."

Helen is offering Wingham Chronicle readers a 15 per cent discount and free shipping on their first order if they use the discount code WINGHAMC when ordering from her website www.livingeartharomatherapy.com.au