Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Sondra Johnson, Owner of Nature's Common Scents, located in Front Royal, VA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We make products almost completely from herbs and plants to help people with skin problems, pain, or other common maladies.
Tell us about yourself
I began making products from the plants I grew when one of my adult children was diagnosed with psoriasis. Having studied plants for nearly 30 years, I told him I grew a plant I thought would help. He said, "No wet leaves, Mom." I began to research ways of turning my plants into creams, oils, and soaps that would be healing as well as safe for him to use. Though I never intended to actually have a business (I was 55 years old at the time), I began letting folks try what I was making when my daughter suggested I sell at craft fairs because of how helpful the products had been to her children. It wasn't long before we had a website, and a business was born.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment is my repeat customers, especially those who have been helped with skin conditions, particularly.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
For me, the hardest thing has been that I did everything, from growing plants, and processing them, to making the products, purchasing jars, making labels, etc. Twenty-plus years later, we still do all of that ourselves; nothing is outsourced. But now my son and his wife do most of the work.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Have a purpose you believe in.
- Give it your all.
- Do all that you can to help others.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.naturescommonscents.club/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sondrasnaturescommonscents/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sondrasnaturescommonscents/
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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