Today we’d like to introduce you to Oddra Lacs
Hi Oddra, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
It all began in a quiet apartment, by myself, in Jerusalem during the height of lockdown. With the world on pause, I saw an opportunity to rethink my path. I’d been climbing the advertising agency ladder for a while, but as I climbed higher, the top seemed to drift further away. That constant grind, especially as a woman trying to balance my professional ambition, and creativity, with my role as a woman at home, left me questioning the “9-5 productivity model” we often measure ourselves by.
I realized I wanted something different, something more aligned with who I am. So, I decided to open my own creative studio—a space where I could help bold entrepreneurs and small but fierce business owners build their brands, offering everything from photography to social media, content creation, branding, copywriting, and more. It was thrilling, and I met incredible people while learning so much about the business world, my local community, and myself.
But in the midst of it all, I burned out. The one-to-one client model drained me, and I found myself falling out of love with the very thing I’d built. I knew my story couldn’t end like this—there was still so much creativity left in me. So, I reimagined my business, shifting away from the traditional agency model to focus on digital designs—products that people could purchase, download, and customize on their own. No clients, no burnout—just the freedom to create and still help entrepreneurs in a way that felt meaningful to me.
It took time to get the new business model up and running, and I had to work hard to translate everything I knew into digital products, all while figuring out how to help my ideal clients find me. The process was eye-opening, to say the least. I became more tech-savvy than I ever imagined, fine-tuned my design skills, and learned how to create products that truly solved problems for my audience. Fast forward a year and a half, and my Etsy shop has sold over 100 products, each one earning 5-star reviews. I’ve built a supportive TikTok community, and—I’m proud to say—I built my very own e-commerce website, featuring over 80 products.
I manage it all from my home office, which only takes up a tiny corner of my house, proving that you don’t need a fancy office to build something.
Now, I’m not just designing and overseeing the backend of my online shops; I’m starting to teach others the tricks and hacks that took me years (and many sleepless nights) to figure out. It’s my way of giving back. I’m launching a series of podcast-style videos where I’ll dive into the things no one talks about—things that anyone launching an e-commerce business while trying to juggle other things in life, will need to know sooner or later.
I’ve come a long way since those days in the apartment in Jerusalem. My journey has taught me that you don’t have to do something flashy for it to matter. As long as it makes you happy and you do it with love and a smile, that’s enough.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Challenges? Oh, they came in abundance. One of the first struggles I can remember was shedding the familiar comfort of the “9-5 model.” Letting go of my beautiful office with its window view, and the social interactions that came with having an office in one of the newest and trendiest spots in the city. Seeing myself working from home in pajamas with a coffee mug in hand gave me so much anxiety. The structured hours were replaced by the unpredictable hours of working at my tiny home desk while being interrupted every 20 minutes by home life.
Then came the technical challenges. Without a physical office or tangible products, I had to work twice as hard to get clients to find me—and, more importantly, to trust me. Let’s talk about the biggest one: the financial challenge. Rebuilding my business from scratch meant income was rare and unlikely. I wasn’t just reengineering a brand—I was doing it without the safety net of working capital. How do you build something with no budget? Somehow, with creativity and tons of resilience, I pulled it off.
Everyone around me thought I was out of my mind, and I had no support system. No cheerleaders. It was just me, myself, and I, turning in the keys to my office, saying goodbye to my parking spot, and waving off those coffee shop dates with colleagues and clients. Instead, I found myself sitting at my little corner desk at 6 PM, staring at zero sales. There were days when I didn’t sell a single product. It was crushing.
But I pushed through. On days when my original, professional product ideas didn’t sell, I would design things just for fun—hand-drawn menus, cute wall art, and party invites. Things that made me smile, even if I didn’t expect them to sell. And guess what? Those were the products that took off. The ones I never expected. Funny how that works, right? Sometimes, it’s the things we least imagine that make the biggest impact.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Being an artist and a creative—it’s in my bones. I was born in Guatemala, and by the age of two, my parents had split. My dad was an architect, and my mom didn’t get the chance to study until she was in her late 40s, working behind my dad’s back, no less. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in Political Science at almost 50 years old. Let’s just say I had plenty of inspiration growing up. I wasn’t raised in a cookie-cutter family, and I think that definitely shaped the way I see the world. Creativity has always been part of my DNA.
At 14, I moved to Israel on my own. Eventually, I followed in my mom’s footsteps and studied political science back in Guatemala. Writing was always my thing. It’s how I escaped, how I made sense of the chaos. I’ve been creating things that since I can remember. Whether it was making herbal pillows for menstrual cramps, selling art door-to-door in San Francisco, or designing plush animals to help addicts in recovery—I’ve always been pushing some crazy idea forward. From baking chicken pies with a family recipe older than me to starting a digital magazine, interviewing politicians who later became presidents in Guatemala, to opening my own creative studio-slash-e-commerce site—it’s been a wild ride.
Sure, a lot of those ideas didn’t exactly go as planned. Like any good artist, I start things with excitement and sometimes lose complete interest halfway through. But that’s what makes me who I am. How I let everything shape me. I’ve learned that the process, whether messy, chaotic, or unfinished, is where the magic happens. I don’t pretend to be something I’m not, and I’m not trying to impress anyone with things I haven’t done. I own my journey—every twist, every success, and every mistake. It is what brought me to the place where I stand today and I try to honor it. I guess it shines through everything I do, and that sets me apart from others.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned, and yes, it may sound cliché, is to believe in yourself. To trust yourself. There’s this powerful shift that happens when you stop overthinking, stop waiting for the perfect moment, and just go for it. Because let’s be real—there will be days that feel discouraging, days when there’s no obvious reason to keep going and days when there’s not a single cheerleader in sight. But when you start believing in yourself, you push through. Overcoming that imposter syndrome and letting go of the need for perfection is what gives you the momentum to move forward.
Another lesson? Work hard, but keep it close to your chest. Silence is powerful. When you stop sharing every plan, every idea, every next move with the world, you cancel out the noise, the doubts, the judgments. It’s almost like saving that energy for the work itself. I truly believe in the energy we put into our dreams, and if we’re constantly talking about what we’re going to do, that energy can scatter. So, if you believe in something, protect it. Hold that vision, trust yourself, and keep moving forward without needing validation. That’s when the real magic happens.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pinksaltstudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pinksaltstudio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pinksaltstudios
- Other: https://pinksaltstudioshop.etsy.com
Image Credits:
Oddra Lacs
