When you think of groundbreaking entrepreneurship, the toilet paper aisle might not be the first place you look, but for Anja Christoffersen, founder of SHH!T Happens, the humble bathroom essential became the perfect vehicle to spark social change, challenge deeply rooted stigma, and build a more inclusive economy.
Anja is not only a business owner, but also a disruptor, a disability advocate, and a fierce champion of economic participation for all. Her company, SHH!T Happens, is more than just a clever name. It’s a proudly women and disability-owned social enterprise on a mission to destigmatise disability and increase representation in business, one roll at a time.
From Hospital Beds to Boardrooms
Anja’s journey to becoming a social entrepreneur began with deeply personal roots. Born with a complex disability that included bowel-related complications, Anja spent the first five years of her life in hospitals undergoing numerous reconstructive surgeries. Doctors eventually declared her “fixed,” but by her mid-teens, she became seriously unwell again. This was a turning point that would drastically alter her future plans.
“I was going to become a doctor. That was the goal,” Anja explains. “But I ended up having to give up that dream when I couldn’t manage study, life, and over 10 specialist appointments a month.”
Unable to join the traditional workforce due to her health, Anja took a detour and began working in her family’s business. It was there that the seeds of a new purpose took root. Motivated by her lived experience, she turned her attention to improving visibility and economic opportunities for people with disabilities. In 2021, she launched a talent agency representing diverse talent, offering a platform for people who often go unseen and unheard.
But service-based businesses posed their own challenges. “I was still the face of the business. If I couldn’t show up, neither could the income,” she says. “So I started looking at product-based business models. Something that could operate even if I was in hospital.”
The Birth of SHH!T Happens
So why toilet paper?
“Toilet paper resonated with me,” says Anja, smiling. “Obviously because of my own bowel condition, but also because everyone uses it. It’s not just for people who already care about disability. It’s for everyone.”
By choosing a universal product, Anja cleverly created an everyday way to spark meaningful conversations. Each roll of SHH!T Happens comes with messaging that challenges public perceptions of disability, while reinforcing the value and capability of people living with chronic illness or disability.
“There’s research showing that 85% of people think those with disabilities are less competent,” Anja says. “I wanted to use this platform to push back against that; to show that we’re just as capable of running successful businesses and contributing to the economy.”
Due to the prevailing opinion of people with disabilities being less competent, and the employment bias that brings, in Australia, people with disabilities have a markedly higher rate of entrepreneurship than non-disabled people.
According to a 2020 University of Technology Sydney report titled, “Australia’s Disability Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Experiences of People with Disability with Microenterprises, Self-employment and Entrepreneurship”, around 13.1% of people with disabilities are entrepreneurs or self-employed, while only around 9.2% of the non-disabled population are.
A Social Enterprise with Real Impact
SHH!T Happens operates as a social enterprise, meaning it reinvests profits back into achieving its mission: promoting disability inclusion and empowerment. By centring lived experience, the company creates not just a product, but a movement.
Every purchase supports workforce participation for people with disabilities, not just symbolically, but structurally. Whether it’s offering employment opportunities, platforming disabled voices, or supporting advocacy initiatives, the business is designed to create systemic change.
It also addresses a major gap in the business world – representation. With only a small percentage of businesses in Australia being disability-owned, SHH!T Happens is actively working to normalise disabled entrepreneurship and business leadership.
At the heart of SHH!T Happens is a multi-layered impact model designed to directly support people with disabilities, especially those facing financial hardship. From product donations to individuals in need, to creating powerful, life-affirming experiences that foster confidence and joy, Anja’s approach is both holistic and hands-on.
One standout example of this is SHH!T Happens’ first customer, a woman who became medically complex after contracting meningitis. To help her reclaim her confidence, Anja and her team arranged a photoshoot that allowed her to see herself as beautiful for the first time since her illness; an act that sparked profound personal transformation, leading to new relationships and renewed self-worth.
Whether it’s helping a woman with an intellectual disability finally experience the magic of Luna Park or stepping in to help a man on the disability support pension care for, and eventually say goodbye to, his beloved dog, SHH!T Happens doesn’t just sell products; it creates moments that restore dignity and humanity.
These acts of kindness are more than charity; they’re part of a larger push to elevate the voices and rights of people with disability in Australia. As Anja says, the company’s commitment is rooted in social justice: “There’s just that social justice and rights element to disability that needs to be elevated.” With a deeply personal connection to the disability community and a drive to make tangible change, SHH!T Happens is showing how social enterprise can be both emotionally resonant and radically impactful.
Challenging the Status Quo
In many ways, SHH!T Happens is flipping the narrative on disability. Rather than leaning into pity or charity, the brand is bold, witty, and empowering. It refuses to be subtle. That’s exactly the point.
“So often in disability advocacy, we’re preaching to the choir,” says Anja. “But toilet paper goes into homes and offices that might not have thought twice about disability inclusion. It opens up conversations in the most unexpected places.”
The business is also a clear reminder that accessibility and inclusion are not niche concerns but rather universal issues, and they benefit everyone.
Anja has used her entrepreneurial journey not just to build a social enterprise, but also to create a network dedicated to supporting women with disabilities in business. Drawing from her own experience navigating the challenges of starting a women with disability-owned brand, from branding nightmares to navigating supply chains, Anja recognised a significant gap in support for entrepreneurs like herself.
That gap inspired the creation of the Women with Disabilities Entrepreneurial Network, a space built to offer both practical resources and a supportive community for others facing similar barriers.
Through the network, Anja has begun leveraging SHH!T Happens’ growing list of industry contacts, including those in supply chain, legal, and branding, to help other women with disability entrepreneurs get started and scale their ventures. The initiative goes beyond mentorship; it offers access to networks that care about disability-led business and provides strategic support in areas that are often difficult to navigate alone.
The underrepresentation of women in the NDIS (only 30% of participants despite making up half of the disability community) was one of the driving forces behind Anja creating a space that empowers women to lead, scale, and succeed on their own terms.
Building a Circular Economy
From a sustainability perspective, SHH!T Happens also takes its environmental impact seriously. The company uses ethically sourced materials and sustainable packaging, ensuring that its social impact aligns with its environmental responsibilities. Anja is committed to building a business that is future-focused, not just socially, but ecologically.
As a female founder in a traditionally male-dominated business world, Anja is also paving the way for other women, especially those with lived experience of disability, to step into entrepreneurship with confidence.
What’s Next?
Looking ahead, SHH!T Happens plans to expand its product line, deepen its outreach, and continue pushing for better recognition of disability-owned businesses in Australia.
“We’ve only just scratched the surface,” Anja says. “There’s so much potential for businesses like ours to change the conversation, and the economy, for good.”
In a world where inclusion is often an afterthought, Anja Christoffersen has made it the entire business model. With toilet paper as her unlikely but powerful tool, she’s cleaning up more than just mess, she’s wiping away stigma and laying down a new path for equitable enterprise.
