Moray businesswoman on navigating PTSD, women 'having it all' and release of debut single
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With International Woman’s Day taking place on March 8, we are sharing stories of inspiring business women across the Highlands and Moray.
A Moray businesswoman was thrown a curveball five years ago. Iona Housby (40), was now a mother to three children, one of which was just 12 weeks old. Her mother sadly passed away, and she found herself in charge of Findhorn Flower Essences, the business her mum had owned for 30 years.
As a trained professional singer and songwriter, Iona (whose stage name is Oran and will now be referred to as this throughout the article) had to put her passions on the backburner while she learned how to navigate a new way of life. Last year she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and realised she needed to re-evaluate where her energy was going.
Since then, she has been working on an album, and has now released her first single, which she hopes will help others who are facing struggles in life.
She said: “When my mum passed away, my youngest son was only 12 weeks old. I had to run the business and had a new baby. It’s been a big five-year course.
“Last year, I got diagnosed with PTSD and I realised that I was doing a little bit too much.
“It stopped me in my tracks and I had to look at what was important. I realised that I needed to get back into my passion and claim part of myself.
“I asked people for help and support, and I’ve been learning and letting go of certain things.”
When Oran was diagnosed through the NHS she was given PTSD therapy and it was suggested that writing her thoughts down could help her.
At this point she had no plan to get back into music, but she took pen to paper, and found the lyrics just came to her.
“I found that through a daily practice of writing I had so much to say,” said Oran.
“I felt the lyrics were probably relatable for a lot of people, as post Covid, many have struggled in various ways.
“So that’s why I’ve decided to share them and create an album out of what I’ve written. It feels like a good time to do it and it feels exciting to share it with people too, even though it wasn’t the plan when I began writing.”
Her first single, Falsely Faithful is out now and Oran says the song is ‘about having strength’.
She said: “It’s for people who have been told that they cannot do it, but its about saying maybe you can.
“The album will be released in Autumn, and it’s all about overcoming in life.”
Despite navigating various challenges over the years, Oran excelled with the business which ships natural aromatherapy fragrances worldwide. She won Moray Businesswoman of the Year in 2022, and employs an all-female team.
She said: “It’s been a super cool time and the business is going really well now.
“I have wonderful staff and I have a great manager, which is allowing me to be able to take this side-step to pursue my passions. I really want to empower the staff and we have a fully female company, which is incredible.”
Over the past five years, there have been some important lessons for Oran who has had some revelations about ‘women having it all’.
She said: “I think sometimes as women we want to have it all, but for me there’s been a lesson that I can have it all, but maybe not all at once.
“I also think sometimes we have more of a challenge in raising kids too. It’s easy to think ‘I can’t do this’, but we can, it’s just not all at the same time.
She added: “Asking for help and not limiting ourselves is so important – we are in a time as women where we can do many things.”
