So much to do, so little time…
I make stuff. It is something I have been trained to do, and something I enjoy. Not just blending tinctures or mixing teas – but other stuff too.
Like:
Wart drops [popular and effective]
Herbal soaps
Natural hand crème
Magnesium lotion for better sleep and tense muscles
Toothpaste without fluoride
Face Oils
Balms to relieve period pain
Invigorating snuff…
So far I have been making stuff in dribs and drabs for friends, but at what point do I pop them on my website and get my techy guy to add a Stripe function? I have reached a ‘dip-your-toe-in-the-water fork where I must make up my mind.
Loads of people are in my position – not just with healthcare and body-care stuff. The decision point: where people have pursued an interest and can produce products, but is it worth trying to sell them? In my case, I dabble. I mainly see patients and make medicine specifically for them, and they pay a price for that. But there is so much in the artisan hand-made realm today [with better images than most of us could ever produce] that one can just think it isn’t worth jumping in.
But wait!
I have the ingredients. I have the equipment. I have the knowledge. I have the impetus. What is there to lose? [Mainly self-esteem if nobody buys anything?]. I am in my late 60s; I am not going to forge ahead into a new career as a product entrepreneur – but that needn’t stop me. I can have fun with this!
Seriously, at my age worrying about self-esteem has long been put on the backburner. What is more likely to prevent me is knowing how to make and print labels. I have, what I like to call my ‘botanical bungalow’ attached to my house, where I can play about with recipes and containers and scents, and time to play about with Canva and label design. As I ease into retirement during the next decade of practising as a medical herbalist, I can seamlessly drift into pottering about with emulsifying wax, organic cocoa butter and vanilla essential oil. What fun!
Is there anybody else that can segway into retirement using skills they already have? This seamless transition into retirement using skills already honed during a career.
But I am ahead of myself. I am not retiring quite yet.
So, if you would like to join me at HerbWorks [£9.99 a month] for a monthly live chat, and a bunch of videos and downloadables, click the button below.
