Creating a business around your passions – with Kate Whorlow – Time for Me Tea

Vicki Weinberg: 00:00:01

Welcome to the Bring Your Product Idea to Life podcast. This is the podcast for you if you're getting started selling products or if you'd like to create your own product to sell. I'm Vicki Weinberg, a product creation coach and Amazon expert. Every week I share friendly practical advice as well as inspirational stories from small businesses.

undefined: 00:00:20

Let's get started. Hello, today I'm speaking with Kate from Time For Me Teas, Kate helps women to make time for themselves by nourishing and rejuvenating their mind and body while sipping on organic, loose leaf herbal tea blends which are not only beneficial, but taste great too. I learned so much about tea from talking to Kate, hopefully you will do too, it was fascinating. I am not sure I'm ever going to buy herbal tea bags from supermarkets again if I'm honest. I also learnt how to make the perfect cup of tea which, um, yeah, I found really interesting. Kate's background is a herbalist and she knows so much about herbs. She knows about what's good for us, what isn't good for us. Um, Angie also explained how she has some pharmacy experience as well and how that all ties together. Kate, as you will hear, is super knowledgeable and passionate about all things tea and herbalism, if that's the right word. Um, this is a really great conversation. Um, I really feel like Kate's enthusiasm and passion comes through. And I really hope you enjoy listening to this as much as I enjoy talking to Kate. So, hi Kate. Thank you so much for being here.

Kate Whorlow: 00:01:30

Hi, thank you for having me.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:01:31

Oh, you're really welcome. So can we please start by you giving an introduction to yourself, your business and what you sell?

Kate Whorlow: 00:01:38

Yeah, sure. Um, so my name is Kate. I'm, uh, my business is called Time For Me Teas and I create organic loose leaf herbal tea blends, which are designed to nourish and rejuvenate your body, mind and soul.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:01:55

Amazing, thank you. And am I right in thinking you actually blend your own teas?

Kate Whorlow: 00:02:00

I do. I'm a herbalist and I create all my own tea blends from scratch.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:02:05

Were you a herbalist before you started creating your teas?

Kate Whorlow: 00:02:10

Yes. Yeah, I, um, so I have a chronic illness. I have ME. I've had it since 1995. Um, and I, my doctors didn't know how to treat me. So I went down the natural route. Um, I was already a aromatherapist at that point. Um, well, actually I just, I just started training to do aromatherapy at that point and so I wanted to find ways to help my help myself naturally. And I ended up, um, going to university to become a herbalist. And that was back in 2007 that I qualified. Um, but it's only really after I had my kids that I set up my tea business.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:02:51

Amazing. So what was the inspiration for you setting up your tea business?

Kate Whorlow: 00:02:58

Well, it was, um, a particularly, uh, challenging day as a mum. Um, it was the summer holidays, and it was really horrendous weather, and the children were bored, they couldn't go out and play. Um, they were quite young at that point, they were about, sort of, um, my youngest was, um, about seven, um, oh no, yeah, about seven or eight. And, um, they were just, it was just like, mum, I'm hungry, mum, I'm hungry, and I couldn't get a moment's peace to myself. And I was just thinking, I know, I need to calm myself down because I was always going to start shouting at the kids and that never works anyway if you're trying to shout at kids. So, um, I plonked them in front of the TV as mums do when we're desperate and, um, giving them some food and I said, look, mum just needs, I need just five minutes peace to myself. It's like, just let me have five minutes peace. I wanted something just to really try and calm my, um, body down and I just don't, being very, very, all the energy's off in my head, um, and so I think, oh no, I'll make myself a cup of tea. So I went to my, what I call my home apothecary. With all my jars and my herbs, and I was looking at what herbs would work well to just try and calm my mind down. And so I picked a bit of this and a bit of that, and then I made a cup of tea and I sat down and I took the first sip and I felt my whole body just relax and I thought, oh, that worked way faster than I expected that too. And yeah. And so that was the birth of my first tea blend, which is called Serenity, uh, which I still sell in my, in my shop now. And then I, um, I passed it on to my best friend and my sisters and I said, here, try this and tell me what you think and they just loved it, they were raving about it and then they kept pestering me for about a year to actually say, you've got to sell this, you've got to sell this, and I'm thinking like, yeah, yeah, I will, I'll get around to it, and it's like, you know how it you is, you put it on the back burner. Um, and eventually I launched it in November 2019. Um, and I was amazed by how well it sold, actually. I was at a craft fair and it sold really well. And yeah, I was really surprised. And by then I'd had, I had four other tea blends as well that I created during the year before. Um, yeah, so that's kind of, that's how my tea business started, really, from trying to, a mum to try and calm herself down in a stressful moment.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:05:22

That's amazing. Thank you for explaining that. And yeah, I'm really, I'm really, I'm always impressed by people who make things, you know, themselves, you know, you actually make your tea by hand. What I'd like to know, and I don't know if this is an easy question to answer or not because I don't know much about it, but how do you create a blend of tea that does what you need it to do and tastes nice as well? Because that's quite a balance, isn't it?

Kate Whorlow: 00:05:46

It is, because most people think of herbal teas as being really bitter, or really green, as in the taste, not necessarily as green tea. So that was my, that was kind of what I wanted to do, was my, my um, goal, was to create teas that taste great, so, which are good for you, because you're not going to drink a tea if it doesn't taste nice. Um, and it's not, so it may well be that somebody said, oh yes, have this tea it's full of dandelion leaf and dandelion roots, and maybe it's a bit of licorice, but people were thinking like, oh my God, that tastes foul. How, I mean, how, I know it's good for me, but, oh no, I can't, I can't drink it. So, um, because I also have problems with kind of like sour and bitter tastes as well, I wanted to help my health. And so I think, well, I've got to make it taste nice, otherwise I won't even drink it. Um, so it's, it's very, it's kind of, it's getting the ratios right with the herbs, and then knowing which herbs synergistically work well together, um, which also complement each other with the healing properties as well. So even though two herbs may taste really great together, they could have completely opposite uh, benefits. So one could be re stimulating and one could be re relaxing. And if you take them together, yeah, it tastes nice, but your body is there going, hmm, are we trying to relax or are we trying to wake up? And so it was kind of looking at all different herbs and working out, okay, those are all nerve vines, so they work well together. Uh, these are great for anti inflammatories, they work together. And then it's trying to then add in something else that will maybe, sometimes you still want a little bit of that bitter taste because it's going to stimulate something in the body to actually help, help it to heal and support it. But you don't want it so bitter that you just, you won't want to drink it. So very often I'll add in something like lemon balm because it, it's, lemon balm is a great herb. It's, it's nice and sweet, but it's also refreshing. And most people like taste of lemon balm, because it's not too citrusy, because it's not really a citrus anyway, it's just a lemon, uh, flavoured, uh, plant. Um, and it's part of the mint family actually. Um, so it's, it's really, it's a fine, it's a fine balance of working out kind of firstly, what kind of tea do I want to make? What benefit do I want this tea to have? And then what herbs are going to work well together and which herbs are going to taste great together as well. Um, and then I test them on my family and then see, see which ones get a thumbs up and which ones get a thumbs down. Um, and my youngest is autistic. So if, um, if they like my tea, then usually that one ends up a bestseller, which I found actually in the past, which has been really great. Um, but yes, I tend to, that's my sort of formula, I suppose, behind the creation of my teas is trying to yeah, just work out. And again, it's just the ratios. If you put too much of one herb in, not enough of another, then you can tip the taste completely. And sometimes I can nail a blend. I have an idea of a blend in my mind. Sometimes I'll nail it first time, the first tasting. A lot of times it will take me 10 or 12 goes, and I still haven't got it right, and I just put it back to one side going, okay, right, we'll scrap that one, we'll work on a different one, and we'll go back to that and see if I can try and tweak it again. Um, yeah, I've got a couple which I'm struggling with trying to get the taste right. Um, but, uh, but generally most of them I can get within the first or second sort of tasting, um, to actually get it tasting really lovely, um, but also feeling but it's actually doing something good in my body at the same time.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:09:39

Yeah, there must be a lot of, well, in some cases, a bit of trial and error. And I guess, are you having to write this all down as well? Because I suppose if you do find something that works, you've then got to be able to do it again.

Kate Whorlow: 00:09:51

I've done that before and I'm thinking, oh, that's brilliant. I can't remember how much of that powder I put into it. Did I put in half a scoop, or one full scoop? I'm going to try and make it again. And then trying to get it right again. So sometimes, yeah, sometimes I do forget to write it down, but I'm getting better now at writing down, uh, or even it's just on my phone, on the notes to my phone, somewhere in the kitchen, um, just blending it all. Um, yeah, sometimes I, I do forget.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:10:17

Oh, I think you've just paused, Kate. Can you still hear me?

Kate Whorlow: 00:10:21

I can hear you, yes. I can hear you.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:10:23

Okay, um. Don't worry, don't worry. I will just, I think we're, I'm just making a note of how far in we are. And it's fine, we can get it edited out. So, I was, it was a good time we were at, you were at the end of a sentence. I was going to ask another question. Don't worry at all.

Kate Whorlow: 00:10:39

Cool.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:10:40

So you've spoken a little bit about different herbs having different benefits. So what are some of the benefits we can get from herbal teas? Because I'll be honest, I like, as you alluded to earlier, I kind of liked the idea of herbal tea. And I do have one that I've found that I sort of can take to, which is like a calming bedtime one, but in general, a lot of them don't taste that nice. I'm talking about supermarket bought teas. They don't always taste that nice. And I'm not even really sure what I'm taking it for. So there's not even that incentive. Um, but your teas are obviously different because you've created them for a reason, you know, they, they're designed to do something. So what are some of the benefits? And you can talk specifically about your teas if you'd like to. So what are some of the benefits of herbal teas?

Kate Whorlow: 00:11:25

Well, the benefits mainly of herbal teas, um, is that the different herbs, because your body recognizes them as a supporting tool, they will be more absorbed into the body and actually get to the right areas of the body to help with various elements. Um, and the problem we have with supermarket teas is that they are usually ground up to such a fine powder or what I call herbal dust. Um, is that you, there aren't any, there's not really any flavour left in the actual herb. Because the majority of the time, probably like 99% of the time, it's tea bags that you buy at the supermarket. And so I call it herbal dust, um, because the, when the, um, the herbs are broken down and they're crushed up, the actual, uh, cells that contain the, um, the tastes and smells of essential oils are broken up to a point where they actually all evaporate off. There's no actual taste left in the, in the herb itself. Which is why very often many supermarket blends will have flavourings added to the teas to make them more palatable, so you'd actually want to drink them. But there isn't actually any healing benefit left in those herbs at all. So the difference with my teas is that because I try and keep all the herbs as whole as possible, um, I mean with one of my, with a couple of my tea blends, um, I have lemon verbena, and it's actually the whole leaf. You actually see it in the tea tin, it's a whole leaf inside the tea tin. I do kind of try to break them up a bit, otherwise we end up with all of lemon verbena and nothing else, because it just takes up so much volume of the tin, but it's still very much as whole as possible. And because it's as whole as possible, you're going to get the full flavour from that herb. It's just like if you picked a herb from the garden and popped it into, um, a mug and poured on hot water, then, um, you would get all of the flavour from that leaf will be in that cup of tea because of the surface area of the of the whole leaf. Um, so I do try and keep my herbs as whole as possible. And I think that is really how I get the best tasting teas, uh, because I've kept them as whole as possible. Um, but the specific benefits, I mean, by my best selling blends are, um, Amber's Rose tea, which is actually named after my youngest child. They, um, because as I mentioned, they're autistic, um, and they came to me and they wanted a blend that would help to calm them down when they're feeling overwhelmed and like, um, so they're, they felt triggered, they're about to have a meltdown, because they, luckily they can recognize when they were about to, looking really overwhelmed and overstimulated. And they said, oh, can I make a tea blend? And I went, yes, of course. And what do you want to do? And they said, well, can I have, can I have rose? And I said, yes, that's great. Have rose. And they said, well, can I have lemon balm? And I said, yeah, that's, that's a great combination. So we made up the blend for her. And, um, and she loved it. And then, um, a few days later, she said, can I have a cup of my tea? And I said, yes, of course. I made a cup of her tea. Um, because I could see, I could see that she was, she was overstimulated. Um, and the verge of a meltdown. Um, and within 20 minutes, she came back and she was like a different person. She was calmer, she was more focused. And I was absolutely amazed by how quickly that worked, even on her. Um, and I mean, I know that the benefits of Rose and Lemon Balm are very much that Lemon Balm is a nervine, which means it helps support your nervous system. It helps with, um, stress relief. It helps to calm. It kind of helps to regulate your nervous system. So, excuse me, when you're feeling overwhelmed and you're feeling anxious and you're feeling just a bit panicky, it just helps to just calm your nervous system right down. So you just feel more in control of your body and more in control of your emotions. Um, and you just feel calmer generally in your body and more able to, um, to focus and, and, and actually, and actually, um, continue with your day and continue the task that you want to do. And Rose is brilliant because it is also, it's also nervine, but it's a slightly, um, slightly, even though it's more, some say it's bitter, some say it's sweet. It really depends on the rose it's used. The one that I use is rosa damascena. Which is a Damask rose. Um, but it's, uh, it's. And then more of an emotional well being herb, um, it will help you with self love, it'll help you with self worth and confidence, and it kind of gives you that, um, more sort of, um, uplifting your mood, and lemon balm will also uplift your mood as well. So it really helps you to feel more in control, uh, feel, um, more able to actually complete things and more able to, the confidence to be able to do something, um, but it's a really lovely one just to help when you're feeling overwhelmed and stressed and, and you feel that, um, everything's on top of you and you actually can't see the wood for the trees that kind of moment when it, I mean, we all, we all experienced that at some point or other. Um, but it's a really lovely one. And it's also one that you can take every day as well. So, um, a lot, and all my teas generally are ones you can take every day. The only ones I'll say probably, uh, don't take long term are the ones that have, um, maybe the, um, Echinacea in them, which is actually a blend of what's coming out soon. Um, because some herbs you're better off just taking it for a couple of weeks. So your body doesn't get used to it. Um, and starts relying on it too much, and then you should have a break, that kind of thing. But, uh, yeah, so lemonbalm is probably the one that's in most of my blends, actually, because it's such a great herb to really calm the nervous system down. Um, and we all, in this kind of day, this society, uh, especially nowadays, um, this, everyone is so stressed. And so overwhelmed by everything they have to do, especially, um, as a small business owner as well. When we tend to, we wear all the hats in our business and we're trying to do everything at once and getting overwhelmed with everything at once. It's having something that can support them, our bodies, um, to actually feel that we're, we can actually cope better in our life and, um, and feel happier and, and, and calmer, but also more uplifted and able to move forward rather than feeling overwhelmed and then wanting to give up.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:18:09

That makes total sense. And I see what you mean about supermarket teas as well. I mean, one thing that I've noticed, if you look on the back of the box and you look at the ingredients, there's quite a lot of ingredients, whereas I would assume that teas like made by yourself have just got herbs that are in, that are in the tea. Um, so yeah, that, that must make a difference as well. Because I know that I've been in the past, you know, got some mint out of the garden and poured hot water on it, for example. And that tastes a lot different to a mint tea bag.

Kate Whorlow: 00:18:39

Yes. A lot. Yeah. A lot different. Yeah. Because you've got the essential oils that are still in the, the fresh leaf. You taste that first and you just don't taste that in a teabag, um, sort of supermarket tea. I mean, obviously there are some supermarket tea blends which are a better value, a better, a better quality herb, um, but majority of the ones, yeah, they've been crushed up so finely that there's not really much taste left. And even if, and also another thing which actually has pointed out to me recently, which I've, I've forgotten about, you don't know how long, though, how long go those, uh, herbs were just sitting on the shelf before they were made into teabags, um, so you don't even, you don't know the shelf life, maybe the shelf life of a teabag is maybe like a year or something, but you don't know how long that herb was sitting around before they even processed it and packed it into teabags. Whereas all my herbs, um, I do very small, I do small batches and for my orders I make to order. Um, but when I'm doing farmer's markets, I'll make up small batches because I know roughly how many I'll probably sell at a fair or a farmer's market, so I just have enough, enough stock just for that fair and I'll make up fresh for the next one. So, um, my, because I, I buy my, I buy my herbs in bulk, but not a huge amount. It's only like about a kilogram at a time. Um, and then it means that I can have a good turnaround of the herbs keeping as fresh as possible. Um, and then there's always at least, at least a year or two years expiry dates. on my tea blends and you can even ones that I've literally made like even two or three years ago um are still going strong because they still smell really strong in the tin and if you can smell them then you know that they're still uh viable to drink um if there's no smell at all then it's there's no it's no point it's no herbal benefit there at all because if you can't smell anything at all then they're not I'm not going to do anything, me better off just putting on the compost bin instead.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:20:41

Oh, that's good advice. Thank you. That's really interesting to know. Yeah, that's really useful because I was about to ask you that. I was about to say, well, how do we know whenever they're okay? But it's great that they still have, I was going, I was expecting that you were going to say that your teas had a much shorter shelf life than that bearing in mind that they're so fresh. So that's really interesting. So I guess if they kept sealed in the tin. They're going to last.

Kate Whorlow: 00:21:03

They do. Yeah. Other difference between, uh, supermarket blends and mine is that they, when you make a cup of tea with the teabag and very often people will pour on boiling water onto the herb. And actually that's the worst thing you can do is actually pour boiling water onto a herb because what happens is that it scalds the herb. So the, and the high temperature, but it's, as it's like a rolling boil. Um, you've just, literally the kettle has just turned off and you pour it straight into the cup. Because it's a higher temperature, it will pull out all the bitter flavors from the herbs first. Um, so that's why people very often don't like herbal teas because that was too bitter. If they don't like it, it's too bitter. It's because the water's been too hot. So I do, um, I put it on the side of my tin, the perfect temperature. water to add to the herbs, which tends to be about 95 degrees Celsius, which basically is just boiled water. So you boil the kettle and you wait till all the bubbles have died down first. And that's, and then that just slightly drops the temperature and that's, um, slight drop in temperature when you then pour it over your herbs. It pulls out the full flavor of the herbs and not just the bitter flavors. So then you get a much more rounder taste of the tea blend. So you pull out it and it will give you out the lovely richness of the sweetness and the floral or the citrus, um, without, and then it actually makes it much nicer to drink. And when I've been at fairs, um, which I love it, it's my favorite part actually at fairs is when you have somebody approach you going, Oh, I don't like herbal teas. And I say, well, would you like to try a sample? And they go, Oh, I don't know. I don't know. I just give it a go. I mean, you know, I'm not going to say you're going to like it, but you might be surprised. And probably about eight times out of 10, they will try it again. Oh, actually, that's quite nice. I didn't think, I didn't think, I didn't think herbal tea can taste that nice. Um, and especially when people with the rose, because, um, not everyone likes rose and they say, Oh, it's too floral. It reminds me of granny's perfume and that kind of thing. And they will take, they'll take a sample of my Elvis Rose tea and they're going, Oh, actually, that's not too floral at all. That's. It's sweet and it's, oh, it's quite nice. What's, why, why is that sweeter than normal? Is it, well, because the lemon balm will offset the sweetness, the floral taste of the rose, but you're still getting the benefits of the rose and the lemon balm. And so I really love converting people at fairs and farmer's markets. Um, especially the complete skeptics going, I will not drink herbal tea. I will not think, oh, actually, I quite like that one. Okay, I'll buy a tin. So, um, yeah, so that's great fun. And then it's just educating people on how to actually infuse the perfect cup of tea, um, is, yeah, is to get that temperature right of the water and that is the, probably the greatest tip. Um, and you can, and you can still do that. With teabags, but travelers, because they are in the teabag, they haven't got a lot of room, really, to infuse, to move around in the teabag, even with these, these lovely pyramids, teabags are supposed to give more room to, to, uh, to infuse. Um, because you're still trying to get to the barrier of the teabag, you're still not going to get the full flavor of the herb inside. So, I don't recommend... putting my tea in tea bags at all, what I recommend is using, well, the ideal, um, scenario is a teapot with a strainer, but that's not always practical. And even today, I've got my travel mug with my tea blend inside, which has got an infuser inside the tea, inside the travel mug. So a stainless steel infuser, um, which I sell, I sell those on my website as well. And the travel mugs actually, um, is probably the easiest way. to make a cup of loose leaf herbal tea, which will still have the benefits and also the really lovely taste. But again, it is the tip is that hot water and using hot water and not boiling water.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:24:56

That's so helpful. That's such a good tip. Thank you. I love as well that you mentioned, you sell these other things now around your tea as well, because that makes so much sense because of course, someone coming to your website to buy your teas might say, Oh, but how will I actually make it. So I think that's, I noticed that on your shop, you know, you had a few tea, I don't know what you call them, tea making items. And then I thought that was really, really smart to sell things that compliment your products.

Kate Whorlow: 00:25:22

Yeah. I wanted to make, make it as easy as possible for people to, to, to make the, like the switch over from normal tea bags or normal tea to herbal tea. Um, And I was just kind of thinking, okay, what, and it's everything. I mean, everything's there apart from the water and the kettle, pretty much. Um, I also sell mugs as well. Well, I've got so many mugs, but I still can't resist a pretty mug or pretty teacup. Um, and, but yeah, so I wanted to like, even at farmers markets when I sell and also at fairs, I will have the tea infusers there and I will and they will say, oh, which is the best one? And I'll say, well, the mug infusers are the best ones because they have a finer, um, it's not mesh because the meshy ones, um, like the really wiry ones, like we used to get years ago, which you still can get, aren't great, um, because a lot of the sauce will fall through the mesh. Um, and they're difficult to clean as well, but the stainless steel ones that I have, um, are more of a, a finer. brain. I'm not sure it's the right word, but, um, they're not as huge holes in them as some of them can be as well. And they were actually really easy to clean. I'm actually quite surprised by how easy they are to clean. So just trying to make it, because, because I built the business really as a mum, and also I was initially, um, kind of promoting to other mothers, um, like my sisters, my friends, um, I wanted to try and make it as easy and as fast. Um, To create it and take it around with you, um, because we haven't got much time as mums or business owners. Um, you want something that's like, you just want to make a tea and take it off with you. Um, and not have to faff around with a strainer very often. But when you do have the time, it is really lovely to use a teapot and a strainer, because that, you get probably the best tasting tea with a teapot. But it's not always practical, as I say. I very often would just use my travel mug even when I'm at home. It was just easy just to grab and take it up and put it on my desk. That makes sense. And I really like the fact, as I say, that you've made it so easy for people by selling not just your teas, but the things that people will need to enjoy your teas.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:27:30

So let's talk a little bit about that, sort of how you went about setting up as a business, because you mentioned you were trying your teas on friends and family, first of all. Um, How did you go from that to, I know you mentioned markets as well, going to craft markets, but from that to having a business, having a website, um, let's talk a bit about that.

Kate Whorlow: 00:27:51

Well, I've been a holistic therapist since, uh, 1998. Um, and I originally trained, um, as a robo therapist and reflexologist and massage therapist. Um, and then, um, during that, I'm also having me as well. I was. wanting to know more about other ways that I can help myself and other people as well. Um, and having children that kind of put paid to my practice because the spare room that was my therapy room became the kid's room. So I needed to find other ways to make money, which didn't involve having clients come into the home because there wasn't any space to have people at home anymore. Um, so I was working in a therapy center for a little while. Um, but then that ended. my eldest, my youngest son to school actually. Um, and so I wanted to have a business where I could work around the kids easily to fit in with the school hours as well. So, uh, my husband's also self employed. He's a photographer. And so we do a lot of fairs. together, um, um, over the years. And, uh, before I did my tea business, I actually had a business selling children's clothes, where I used to actually make children's clothes, those little tie dye clothes for my kids, and then sell them as well. Um, but I wanted something that was just a little bit... Less time constraining, um, because obviously making clothes, I love, I still love making clothes, but it is, it takes a long time to make dresses and tops and things. And I wanted something that was just, just a lot easier being a mom of kids that were growing up. So yeah, so I initially opened an Etsy store in, in, uh, January, 2020. Um, and because I. I'm not very tech savvy, actually trying to build, I've been trying to build a website for years and not really done very well with it. Um, and so I thought, well, let's just jump on the Etsy wagon and then just open Etsy store and see what happens. And I had one sale, I think in February 2020, and that was it. And then I was like, Hmm, I don't know, maybe I'm not doing the right thing. Maybe, um. Maybe I'm not meant to be doing this after all. So you start getting that, like, doubt in your mind. And, um, and yeah, almost thinking like giving up. And of course then pandemic hits and I suddenly realized how useful it was actually to have an Etsy store. Um, and I started, uh, joining more groups on Instagram, um, kind of like selling groups on Instagram and like selling pages. And we were doing online fairs when we were on lockdown. There wasn't anything else to do, um, but shop online. And, um, so I joined a few, uh, selling pages on Instagram and we started doing online fairs and I started just having people promote me on their, um, pages and, um, try and talk more about the teas and talk more of the herbs. Um, and then, um, as on that, it was like the one walk a day we were allowed to do during the beginning of lockdown. Um, I was then. doing herb walks in my local area because I was like, how far can I walk in this one walk a day? And I managed to work out I could do like a mile loop, um, in my local area with the dog. And as I was on my wild dog walk, I was discovering all of these herbs growing in my hedgerows, which I had no idea were there. Um, and I'm thinking, Oh my goodness, I didn't know we had that growing here. That's amazing. Oh, I can forage this and I can make something from this. So I was sharing that on my Instagram and that got more because of, um, interest in my account. Um, and then I had more people going to my Etsy shop and my Etsy shop, um, was actually really picked up from about April onwards, um, until about Christmas that year. Um, so I was really going to rebuild my confidence up being, Oh my God, people actually want my teas and people are raving about it. And I'm getting very confused from them. And I'd like, I've only ever had, I mean, I was like, I don't like bragging, but I've only had five star reviews on my Etsy shop, which has been amazing. I haven't had many sales in that one. But it's most people go to my website, but from that I have more creative control over what I put up. And then also not Etsy, which, which is a great starting point. And I still have an Etsy shop for some people. obviously prefer that, um, but, um, by building my website, I felt I had a bit more creative expression and I could then put my blog on there as well. Um, so, but then of course, when it got to, I think, sort of going back to normal, uh, beginning of 2021. Yeah, it's 2021. Um, after that, that January lockdown we had as well, I discovered the farmer's market in my local area and, um, I applied for a place and I got a place and I've been there ever since. And actually every month it's just got better and better at the farmer's market because I was able to be there in person and give advice and that kind of thing. So it that's kind of how. the tea business started in that sense of actually trying to build contractual strength. Um, and now as a kind of, um, from that as well, I, I get lots of feedback and regular customers now that buy my teas every month, which is, I love, which is brilliant and get to have a good chat with them. And they say, well, they say, okay, yeah. What do this or this? And I love that interaction I get at a fair or market really be able to problem solve, uh, something that somebody is going through and what they need support with. So kind of, that's the part of the business I actually love the most. Um, it's actually, they come and get, they see the whole range on the stand and they're going, Oh my goodness, it's so pretty, but which one do I choose? And then I can say, well, What benefits are you looking for? Are you looking to calm yourself down? Are you looking to weigh yourself up? Are you looking for help with maybe your digestive problems? Um, and I get a lot of people who, um, ask me mainly about help with sleep and help with like IBS and that kind of thing. And while I'm not allowed to say that, oh, this herb will definitely help with IBS because that's making a claim, which we're not allowed to do as a herbalist, I can definitely, um, direct them to us. The T blends that said, these have been traditionally used to help support your body with this condition. Um, so that, and, and that they want to research. There's so many books out there which give all the research behind the herbs and their benefits, et cetera. Um, yeah, so it's, it's, we've gone from strength to strength in that sense because I've, it's built my confidence up by being able to see people face to face again. But also I've done lots of lives on Instagram with those. accounts as well and I've spoken about the herb benefits, um, and then which, uh, people have asked questions or what do you recommend and I can give my advice on that as well. Um, but it's, it's really is, I think it's trying to get out there and in front of people and really kind of talk about the benefits of my work. I think that's the The best way I've been successful so far.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:35:15

That's really interesting. Thank you. And I totally see what you mean that the more people can learn, because I guess it's something that a lot of us need, not need, but we do in a way need educating on because I wouldn't know, for example, which tea would suit me best and having, you know, been able to. sort of speak to you and for you to explain the benefits is that it must be so invaluable for your customers. And if that's the content you're sharing online as well, I imagine that's incredibly helpful. So I can definitely see why people are drawn to buying from you.

Kate Whorlow: 00:35:45

Yeah. This is, it's really, it is a really fun part of it. And it's the same, but it's also much. information out there that is not quite right. So it really annoys me when I, I see something, oh, this herb's good for this. I'm thinking, well, it is, but you've got to be careful if you're on medication or if you're pregnant or you're breastfeeding, you can't actually take that. It could actually cause adverse. reactions and people don't always know that. Even like with licorice, people say, oh I love licorice tea, um, and licorice tea is great and it's really good for you, but there are some, um, if you have high blood pressure, you shouldn't drink licorice tea because it can actually raise your blood pressure. Um, And again, with certain herbs like hibiscus, I have a couple of blends which have hibiscus in them. And I've got a warning on my tin saying if you're pregnant, don't drink hibiscus tea because it is known as a mannigold, which means it could stimulate your uterus and cause you to go into labor early or even threaten miscarriage if you're in the first trimester. So it is, it's, I'm trying to create blends that. are safe for everyone pretty much, but there's always going to be some instances where somebody shouldn't actually drink a tea containing that herb, especially if they're on certain medications or they have certain health conditions. Um, and I always kind of ask, especially if it's, I mean, not limited to Because of a cliche, but because I'm more of an elderly person is asking about my teas, I will very often ask them, are you taking any medication? I do have high blood pressure or heart problems and that kind of thing. Um, because to say some of the herbs may. may react with the medication. And the great thing about it is before I actually became a holistic therapist, I worked in pharmacy for 12 years, so I know all about drug interactions and the different drugs that people take for various ailments like high blood pressure and diabetes and that kind of thing. So, I'm confident to actually be able to advise them on which ones they can take, which ones they should avoid. And then what alternatives are out there, which I could make up a different blend for them, which still have the desired effect or the desired taste, but it just wouldn't interact with anything they might be taking.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:38:01

Yeah. That's amazing. It sounds like all of your background and experience just comes together so well.

Kate Whorlow: 00:38:07

Yeah, it does. It really, I mean, that's what I love most about, about what I'm doing now is I can pull everything together. I can pull the pharmacy experience, my holistic therapy experience, the, being a herbalist, putting all that, putting it all into one and really kind of creating, um, a solution for somebody. And that's what I do in my herbal consultations as well. But also, um, I've got a subscription box coming out next month, which is also, um, a tailor made. kind of solution for people as well, which includes the T's, but also includes other things as well. Oh, I wanted to ask about this actually, because I've heard about your subscription boxes. So tell us more. So what does it include? What, what, what's it about? Yeah. Tell us everything. Right. So it's called make time for me time. Um, and I created it because I realized I wasn't making time for me time. Um, and, um, so, so my youngest is autistic. My eldest child has ADHD. Um, I don't know how I have me. And so it's very, it gets very challenging in our house with, um, low moods, high moods, erratic moods, generally having teenagers as well to throw into the mix, which is always fun anyway, for any parent having teenagers, um, without everything else going on as well. And it dawned on me that I was, I was, obviously as a mother, we, we Or even anyone is as a woman generally or anyone we we give so much that we forget to give to ourselves Uh, so I wanted to create my own products Because i'm a box that um, gave people, um, easy options on how to create time for themselves. And the box is split up into three sections. But it's not exactly you have to go through three sections. It's basically designed on however much time you have available, there is a product in the box that will accommodate that time. So, if you only have a few minutes, like you just want to grab something and go, there's going to be like a rollerball, um, blend. And in it, and it will just, you just rub it on your wrist or your, or your, um, or your, um, your forehead, and then just breathe it in, and then the essential oils will help to calm you down, or uplift you, or energise you, depending on which oils are in that blend. And then if you have, say, 10 minutes to spare, you can make yourself a cup of tea. Um, if you have 20 minutes to spare, you can light a candle, and there's going to be, um, a, a Spotify. playlist of various kind of meditation music or nature sounds is really is to give you permission to give yourself a moment to yourself. And then if you've got longer than that, then it's going to be bath teas or, um, uh, yeah, products for the bath or a body lotion or body oil or something where you can actually just take time to apply the lotion or the oil and really kind of connect to your body to give yourself that me time as well. But the most important part of the boxes is because every single box is completely tailor made for that subscriber. So it will go by what your skin type is, if you have any allergies, like I'm, I'm allergic to shea butter. So, and so many self care boxes out there, there's amazing self care boxes out there. But majority of them all use shea butter in their products and I can't use anything with shea butter in it because it is, it naturally contains latex and I'm allergic to latex. So I can't use shea butter. So about 90% of products out there I can't use because I get allergic reaction to it. So I wanted to create something that if I know what their allergies are, what their preferences are with essential oils or with herbs, because I've noticed by starving at farmers markets that as soon as somebody sees there's got chamomile in a blend they go, oh no, I can't stand chamomile, it smells like old socks. And I don't, I don't see that going, I don't really, I don't get that, but then I love chamomile, so maybe I'm not, not spreading it that way. Um, so lots of people have an aversion to chamomile or valerian roots or. or even lavender and even rose as well. Some people don't like rose. And one person actually decided they said they couldn't, they didn't like lemon balm, which I thought was very rare, but, but it's their own. Um, so because of my background knowledge of being in pharmacy and also being holistic therapist for 20 odd years now, um, Well, yeah, 25 years this year, that's quite surprising, you wouldn't realise that. Um, I can really tailor make the products exactly to your requirements. So, um, I will look at what, if you have high blood pressure, I'll make sure not to use herbs or essential oils that can make that worse. Or if you have low blood pressure, I can make sure that the herbs and essential oils won't make it go lower. Um, or if you have even diabetes, because I know that like my mother has diabetes and you can't use You can't take turmeric if you're diabetic, because it can actually interfere with the medication you take, um, if you're, if you're diabetic. And so it's little things like that is to actually create a box that is completely tailor made to what smells you like, what tastes you like, uh, what you want to put on your body, what you don't want to put in your body. If you're allergic to them, we have health conditions. Um, but also to make it as easy, again, as easy as possible. So if you really got 10 minutes, do this. If you've got 20 minutes, do that. If you It's just put a rollerball on your, um, on your wrist or something, and, or just take a sniff of something, um, it's just, it's, I wanted to make, make it time, make it, making time for yourself to be something you can easily incorporate into your daily life, um, and not just feel like, oh, at the weekend I'll maybe have a bath for an hour, but then the rest of the week, I won't have time to do anything because I'm too busy. But really, during the week is when you need that me time the most, because by the weekend, you're shattered, or you're so, so stressed that you can't even relax properly in the weekend, because you've had such a stressful week. So it's trying to educate people to do something every day, no matter how much time, even if you have to literally schedule in your diary, Right, so I'm, I'm blocking out 30 minutes each day. That's my me time. Even if I urge my lunch break or, uh, before I leave for work or when I get back from work, 30 minutes, that's my time. I'm going to lock myself into the bathroom or in my bedroom. I'm going to put some music on. I'm going to, perhaps I'm just going to apply, even apply hand cream and then just smell the the oils in the hand cream. Or I'm just going to, I'm going to sit here and I'm going to have a lovely shower and I'm going to put some beautiful body oil all over me to kind of re nourish my skin, but also the essential oils and it will re nourish my senses as well. Um, so yeah, it's, it's, that's basically the, the idea behind the box. Um, and I'm aware that it's obviously, for me, it's going to be a lot more work because I'm... Purposefully looking at somebody's client intake form because it's going to be like a questionnaire to fill out when you apply for the box, um, and really look at how I need to tweak things every month to accommodate everything they need. So I'm not going to have it open to a huge amount of people. Initially, um, I'm aiming to maybe sort of 20 to 30 boxes for the first month and then to see how I go after that. Um, but yeah, I just, I think it's, it's the. It's the looking after each other and looking after ourselves and, and, and just having someone to make something personal for you is as part of the me time as well as having that specially formulated product, which somebody has taken time to create exactly for you. Um, it's kind of like a more like a nourishing, caring experience knowing that going, Oh my God, they actually made this and this is. Just for me and nobody else in the world will have the exact same as me because it's purposely made for me. And it's something I can easily just pick up and go or just around how much time I've got. So it's, it's, yeah, it's trying to help people to, because we all, we all need help with just calming our nervous systems down at the moment in particular. Um, and it's, yeah, it's the education and it's, but making it as easy as possible because we're all busy. Um, and I know that myself that I'll make a cup of tea or sometimes I will literally just, take, um, like flower essences just to calm myself down, that kind of thing, just a little quick things or a little perfume balm or just rub onto my wrist or something. Um, yeah, it's, but it's easy. It's making time. That's, that's kind of the key is that we have to start making time for our own self care.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:47:02

That's really exciting and it does sound like you say it does sound like for you, like that's a load of work, but I think you're right. I think that'd be such a lovely thing for people to receive every month, um, especially because of all the sort of care and knowledge that you're going to put into it. Yeah, I think that's a really great idea. And, um, we will make sure that we include a link to that in the show notes for this episode as well. So people can go and take a look at your teas and your subscription boxes and say, um. Yeah. And are you happy if people have questions about tea blends or which ones to take? Are you happy if?

Kate Whorlow: 00:47:32

Oh, yes. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. That's, I mean, on my, um, I mean, I'm on Instagram and Facebook. I tend to check Instagram far more often than Facebook. I just find, I just find it easier to even try and get to the messages. But I also, um, on my, uh, website. Um, there is, uh, my email address is on the, I think it's on the front page, or there is a contact page, which I might need to update. Um, but I'm more than happy for people to contact me, uh, with any questions they have about various tea blends, or if a tea blend would be right for them. Or if, I mean, I also do, um, a personalised tea blending session for people. So, um, I will, um, create tea blends, uh, for people, there is a tea blending fee. Um, on top of the price of the tea as well, but only because it's, I'm very often doing a taste testing to make sure it's exactly, it's something that again, they would like to drink. Um, but yeah, I do, I do do it like a tailor made, uh, tea blend. Um, sessions with people as well, um, which they can always just contact me and we can book that book. And that's no problem at all.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:48:37

Amazing. Well, when this goes out, I think you're going to get lots of questions about tea. I'm going to say for when we're not recording.

Kate Whorlow: 00:48:45

Um, when I'm talking about herbs, so that's no problem at all.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:48:50

Oh, good. So I have one more question for you, Kate, before we finish, which is what would your number one piece of advice be for other product creators?

Kate Whorlow: 00:48:58

Okay. Um, I was thinking about this when we were discussing about it before, and I think my number one is to join a community of other business owners. Um, because I found that once I actually joined a group, either on Instagram or Facebook, um, my sales did increase because I had. that support behind me of other people who understood exactly what I was going through, um, the trials and the stresses and the disappointments and, you know, something doesn't go right or your cells are a bit low and you feel like giving up. There's always somebody there going, don't give up. You've, you've set this business up because it's your dream. Um, so don't give up. How can we help you? And there's always somebody there that can help with technical advice or with just a little bit of a pep talk. Um, and that really is a huge thing. I think it's probably the thing that helped me the most actually in my business. I think if I hadn't had that support behind me, um, I probably would have given up probably a couple of years ago. Um, I mean, friends and family are great. And, um, and they will support you and they love you and they were always going, Oh, you're doing great. You're fine. Keep going, keep going. But sometimes you need the constructive criticism as well. So I very often when the group I'm in, I will, uh, put a post up saying, okay, I want to do a new blog post. Can somebody read through it? Cause I'm not sure if I'm overthinking this, does it sound okay? Have I used this word to me too often or something? And I get really great feedback from people going, well, I really love it. However, you got to be careful. Like using that word because people might take it the wrong way or, and it's great to get that feedback from other business owners who really are, we're all in the same boat. Even though we've got completely different businesses, we all have the same, um, same sort of problems and, and, um, things we're trying to achieve in our business. So I think that point, my number one is to join a community. Um, and it doesn't have to be on Facebook or Instagram. There are lots of other It's just, it's just going for one that you can easily afford. Um, that's another thing is really is, is if you're, if you're paying a lot each month for the group and it's making you stressed because of that you're paying out and it's perhaps best to go for one that you can more easily afford, otherwise you're going to be stressing over paying it rather than actually trying to get the benefit from it. But there are so many different groups out there these days, um, which are really supportive and really can help small businesses, especially right from the, the moment you decide to become business. If it's even if you're successful business, you still need that support, even if you're a successful business as well.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:51:36

That's really good advice. Thank you. I completely agree. It's just, it's no fun doing it on, well, it can't be fun, but it's more fun doing it with other people than doing it on your own. Exactly. Yeah. And as you said, there's so much to learn as well. Well, thank you so much Kate for everything you shared.

Kate Whorlow: 00:51:50

No, thank you. Thank you for having me. It's been an absolute pleasure to be able to chat to you about this today.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:51:55

It's been lovely, and I've learned so much. Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you so much for listening right to the end of this episode. Do remember that you can get the full back catalogue and lots of free resources on my website, vickiweinberg.com com. Please do remember to rate and review this episode if you've enjoyed it and also share it with a friend who you think might find it useful. Thank you again and see you next week.