Celebrating Women Entrepreneurs: Olivia Alden

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What started as a tattoo shop for Olivia Alden is now evolving into a business focused on guiding people toward clarity and transformation through inner healing and creative processes.

Alden owns Lumos By Olivia Alden, 6 S Commercial Alley, which provides custom-designed tattoos created uniquely for each individual. In the coming year, Lumos will transition to The Illumination, where Alden will continue to offer custom-designed tattoos as well as begin to offer sound healing services, intuitive tattoos, and permanent and semi-permanent sigils.

Alden was at River City Tattoo Company for 10 years before opening her own studio in 2018, Benevolent Studios. She has experienced great gratitude in assisting so many individuals on their personal journeys.

“For many of my clients, the entire tattoo process, start to finish, is a transformative embodiment of processing & healing,” Alden said. “Allowing each person the time and space to process and move through the energetic challenges they may be experiencing.

“It is fun and exciting to create beautiful artwork that is for the sake of its beauty for clients, but I have found a deeper passion in holding space for individuals committed to healing themselves. By Assisting clients through unsettled energies, we are able to transmute energy, enabling the client to grow and process.”

This is where the new journey of “The Illuminarium: Healing & Creations” has developed.

“Now I will be able to offer multiple modalities to further assist individuals on their healing journey,” she said. “Whether that be through sound healing sessions, intuitive tattoos, sigils, permanent tattoos, or a combination session of all, I look forward to getting to hold this honor and space for individuals searching for a deeper understanding of themselves and our inner woven connections with the universe.”

Alden wants other women to listen to their intuition and be honest with themselves if they are truly passionate about what they want to create.

“The passion and love you have for what you are creating will help you continue when working through the mundane tasks of paperwork and the “business” side of it all,” she said.

And lastly, don’t dim yourself or your vision for anyone.

That advice was something Alden had to follow in her career as a woman-owned business. When she first started Benevolent Studios, she bought in to the “work-all-day-every-day” mentality, which took a toll on her both physically and mentally.

When Alden had her daughter a little over 3 and a half years ago, she realized she had to find balance if she was going to be the mother she wanted to be. That’s when she switched to part time business hours.

“To be clear, that does not mean that I stop working the other days or outside those hours; I was able to create a more balanced life by reducing my physical work hours, to have less work during “non-active” business hours,” she said. “An entrepreneur is always working." 

The change wasn’t easy as Alden still felt like she needed to please and serve every client like she did before having a baby.

“I had to start saying no, turning people to other artists, but not everyone was always so understanding or accepting.

“In the long run, it has been the best thing I have chosen to do. Stepping away from the grind of productivity all the time and serving all, down to aligning with clients that understand and respect my goals and new ways of running my business.”

ABOUT THIS SERIES: Here in Mason City, we are proud to celebrate the women at the heart of the Main Street Mason City district, whose businesses not only add vitality to our downtown but also serve as cornerstones for growth, creativity, and connection. Follow along as we spotlight our community's innovative, resilient, and inspiring women entrepreneurs.

Originally posted by Main Street Mason City via Locable