Buffalo’s First Zero Waste Shop

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tracey Wei, Founder of Little Salmon LLC, located in Buffalo, NY, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My business provides personal care products and services that help customers reduce their daily waste. Our customers are people who are eco-conscious, educators, wellness-oriented, and/or minimalists.

Tell us about yourself

I started the business because I was on a soul search to find meaning in my work. It is hard because we are all tangled up in an economic system that prioritizes short-term profit and exponential growth when in reality, the resources we extract are finite, and the "growth" often leaves the balance of our ecosystem behind... I'm always parsing through this interconnected network that I'm a part of and trying to figure out how I can play my role in a more positive way.

Establishing this business sorta feels like I legitimized the reason for talking about our(the human) relationship to this world. The customers coming in and sharing their thoughts and feedback motivates me to do what I do every day. Like me, they are also trying to make sense of the world we are living in. It's layered, it's complicated, and it can get overwhelming. But instead of turning away from this gigantic problem, we choose to learn more and do little things to make it better.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

We've diverted thousands of single-use plastic from landfill or "recycling." The word recycling is in quotations because it is a big broken machine. If you are reading and don't quite understand what I mean, I invite you to do some reading on plastic recycling rate in the USA!

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

How not to think about it when you are with your family. My loved ones deserve me to be present 100% when I'm with them, so I have to try really, really hard not to think about my To-Do's for the business.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

It's ok to not be a perfectionist; start with good enough and make incremental improvements.
Choose an internet platform that's right for you & your business.
Strike a balance with patience & pivoting- Anything great takes time and hard work, but sometimes things won't work out the way you intend to, so you need to be ok with pivoting. Don't fall prey to magic bullet solutions.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://littlesalmon.co/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlesalmon.co/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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