Life, Love & Mushrooms: Building a Business (and a Life) Together

Love Meets Entrepreneurship

When you mix marriage with entrepreneurship, you create a unique blend of joy, challenge, personal growth, and transformation. For my husband Craig and me, co-founding Eversio Wellness was never part of the original plan. In fact, if you’d asked us in the early years of our relationship if we’d ever run a business together, the answer would have been a resounding “no.”

But life — and a pandemic — had other plans.

What began as a journey to heal myself through functional mushrooms became a shared mission to help others do the same. Along the way, we’ve discovered not just how to build a thriving business, but how to deepen our marriage, grow individually, and create a team culture that feels like family.

So, here’s our story — the real, unfiltered version — along with the lessons we’ve learned about balancing love, business, and purpose.

 

 

Chapter 1: The Origin Story – From Classrooms and Construction Sites to Mushrooms and Mindfulness

Before Eversio Wellness, Craig and I were living very different professional lives.

I was deeply rooted in the world of education, working long hours as a teacher and pouring myself into my students.

Craig was in project management and land development, building and managing large-scale projects.

Our worlds couldn’t have been more different, but our shared passion for wellness, nature, and meaningful work began to grow.

Then came the pandemic. Like so many, we found ourselves at a crossroads. Schools closed, construction projects halted, and we were suddenly home together 24/7. Instead of crumbling under the uncertainty, we saw an opportunity — one “brilliantly disguised as an impossible situation,” as Dr. Joe Dispenza says.

“We are all faced with incredible opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” – Dr. Joe Dispenza

It was during one of those long, uncertain days that Craig said the words that would change everything:

“What if we started a mushroom company?”

Chapter 2: Why Functional Mushrooms Changed Everything

My health journey was the catalyst. Years of chronic inflammation, burnout, and always putting others first had left me depleted. When I discovered functional mushrooms — particularly lion’s mane, reishi, and cordyceps — they became a turning point in my healing.

Craig, always the big-picture thinker and “adrenaline junkie,” saw the business potential immediately. But more importantly, he saw a chance to create a conscious company that could genuinely help people.

We wanted to build a business rooted in our values:

People first

Planet second

Profit third

And we wanted to do it differently than the profit-first, burnout-driven models we’d both experienced before.

 

Chapter 3: Working in Your Zone of Genius

One of our earliest lessons as co-founders was understanding the importance of working in your zone of genius.

For Craig, that means vision, strategy, finance, and the long game.
For me, it’s storytelling, education, and translating complex science into simple, usable tools for healing.

This difference isn’t a point of friction — it’s our secret weapon. Everything Craig excels at, I don’t. Everything I’m great at, he’d rather avoid. Together, we cover the spectrum of what a conscious wellness business needs to thrive.

We’ve built our team using the same principle — finding people whose zone of genius complements ours and giving them the freedom to thrive.

“If you’re lucky enough to find the people who love what they do every day, you’ve got a real shot at success.” – Craig Garden

 

Chapter 4: The Bus Analogy – Right People, Right Seats

We often talk about our company like a bus. Craig, as CEO, is the driver — but the real magic happens when the right people are on board, sitting in the right seats.

Every quarter, we review not just who is on the bus, but whether they’re in the seat that lights them up. Sometimes a shift in role unleashes untapped potential.

For us, building Eversio Wellness isn’t just about selling mushrooms. It’s about creating a workplace where people feel aligned, inspired, and empowered.

 

Chapter 5: Marriage + Business = Lessons in Communication

Was there hesitation about mixing marriage and business? Absolutely. But we made a pact early on:

Lead with compassion

Stay curious

Protect each other’s wellbeing

 

We also learned early that boundaries are everything.

A few of our musts:

No business talk first thing in the morning

Regular tech-free walks in nature

Monthly date nights (or mornings)

Listening when the other says “I need a break”

 

Protecting our marriage protects our business — and vice versa.

 

Chapter 6: The Biggest Joys and Hardest Challenges

The Joys

Waking up knowing we’re changing lives

Reading customer testimonials and reviews

Building something lasting together

Watching our team thrive

 

The Challenges

Turning off “entrepreneur mode”

Managing different work styles

Protecting personal time from business creep

Navigating uncertainty together

“We’ve never been closer than we are today — and we’ve evolved into people we never would have been without this business.” – Brandi Garden

 

Chapter 7: Mushrooms as a Metaphor for Marriage

Functional mushrooms have taught us lessons far beyond health benefits:

Growth happens underground before it breaks the surface.

The mycelial network teaches us we are all connected.

Resilience is built quietly, in the dark.

These lessons show up in our marriage every day — in the way we nurture our dreams, weather challenges, and stay rooted in shared purpose.

 

Chapter 8: Redefining Success

For us, success isn’t just revenue. It’s:

Peace in our hearts when we wake up

Work that’s aligned with our values

Quality time with our kids and family

A team culture that feels like community

We measure success in laughter, connection, and purpose as much as we do in metrics.

 

Chapter 9: Advice for Couples Considering Entrepreneurship

If you’re thinking about starting a business with your partner:

Get crystal clear on your values — personally and as a couple.

Communicate daily and vulnerably.

Define your non-negotiables.

Make space for the relationship, not just the revenue.

Accept that it will change you — for the better, if you let it.

 

Chapter 10: Final Thoughts – Love is the Real Legacy

At the end of the day, the business is an extension of our love, not the other way around. We didn’t just start a mushroom company. We created a life together that reflects our values, supports our health, and contributes to the collective good.

The journey hasn’t been easy — but it has been worth it. And like mushrooms in the forest, the most beautiful growth often happens quietly, underground, until the moment it’s ready to be shared with the world.

With all my love and light,

Brandi xo