Shirley Razbully’s story of how she came to set up her business, Muse Retreats, is an incredibly inspiring one. When we spoke to Shirley we were overwhelmed by her positivity and it was surprising to learn that things hadn’t always been so easy for her, as Shirley decided to set up her business as a result of a breakdown that she suffered a couple of years ago. We think the Shirley’s journey of overcoming adversity and setting up a business that can help people is a fantastic one and we wanted to share it…

Shirley Razbully
Muse Retreats is a monthly subscription box service for ‘the creative soul’. Instead of delivering beauty products or food products like other subscription services, Shirley delivers a creative retreat for people to explore at home at a time to suit them. It includes sweet treats, organic herbal teas, step by step retreat guidelines and art/craft gifts as well as other surprises based on the month’s theme. Shirley says;‘It’s a great way for us to reclaim a bit of ‘me time’ by taking time out, just for ourselves, to get creative and reflect on what we think and feel.’ 

Each month Shirley chooses a different theme and creates the box around that and although it is a subscription box service there are one-off boxes available which make great gifts! ‘The main purpose of these creative retreats is for women to reconnect with themselves and their joy.’

It’s incredible to think that something as positive as Muse Retreats was borne out of such a dark period of Shirley’s life. She told us; ‘I decided to set up my business as a result of a breakdown. After working in an extremely pressured environment for so many years, I burnt out. I was also dealing with multiple family bereavements. The combination of burnout, bereavement and breakdown let to me being off work desperately ill for six months. During that period I had a lot of time to reflect, and I realised I wasn’t really living; I was just about surviving my life.’

Read Shirley’s full story here…

If like Shirley you would like to access expert advice to start a business contact the Enterprise Hub team on 0151 706 8113 or email enterprisehub@thewo.org.uk