I hope you guys are crushing your goals this month. I'm revved up this February because I know how slow it can be for sales, and I don't want you to let that be an excuse to not succeed in the ways that I know you CAN.
It's all about moving forward, setting new records, and getting out of our comfort zones. And today, I'm bringing in a guest who had every excuse not to start her business. She didn't know what she wanted to do. She didn't have the clarity. Jen Roth wasn't given this big aha vision, but she committed to moving forward, and the product that birthed from that action turned out to be so incredibly important I just can't wait for you to hear her story.
Jen Roth is the owner and founder of Birds and Bees Tea, an herbal tea brand aimed at encouraging and helping the well-being of moms, moms-to-be, and their families. Each and every one of her products is crafted with love and intention, and it all started because she took that first step.
Today, we're discussing her background, how she found her handmade product, the importance of taking imperfect action, and how she generates all of that great traffic. Yes, even in a month like February.
Jen's Background Before Entrepreneurship
Jen went to Bastyr University and studied herbal science and herbal medicine. She's always been drawn to healing and even has experience in massage therapy. Her passions eventually led her to help women with pregnancy and infertility issues.
In Denver, she found herself at an herbal apothecary focused on women's health. She found the work incredibly rewarding yet exhausting and struggled to make enough income to live comfortably. It was then that she knew that there had to be another way to help more women. And eventually, that slow evolution led her to where she is today selling handmade products.
I love Jen's story because she didn't have a clear-cut path lined out in front of her. She leaned into what she loved and focused on consuming as much knowledge as possible and took that FIRST step forward. She slowed down and gave herself the space to indulge in her curiosities.
If you take anything from Jen's story, understand that you don't need to know what you're going to be doing ten years from now. Focus on the day-to-day and each individual step. The rest will reveal itself.
How Jen Roth Created A Successful Business Selling Handmade Products
I thought it was so important to have Jen on the podcast not only because she trusted herself to move forward but also because she created an original product! We talk a lot about finding the right vendor and finding your perfect product, but I wanted to remind you that you can CREATE that perfect product, too.
Because Jen is so motivated to help women, one of the early lessons she had to learn to be successful was to take a step back. She was juggling sales while also blending her teas, which left little room for the brainpower to actually grow her business. One of the best decisions she made was outsourcing the task of making the tea to focus on sales.
She kept herself open to accepting new opportunities and credits divine timing to finding the best people to work with. In addition to that, she is a big proponent for taking imperfect action.
Her first sale was for a friend's baby shower. She didn't have her labels yet so she just ended up printing labels off her computer and using double-sided tape. It was embarrassing at the moment, but looking back, those big moves propelled her to today's success.
Her traffic comes from relationship building and ads. In the past year, her best partnerships have been working with influencers and subscription boxes. If you know me, you know how much I LOVE influencer marketing. It's such a great opportunity to make strong connections with like-minded people, and I definitely prefer giving my money to people I can develop a relationship with. Influencers are just so good at what they do!
Jen Roth's Biggest Successes And Regrets In Selling Handmade Products
Jen says one of her biggest regrets was not joining the 0-$100K System sooner. (I didn't even tell her to say that). She regrets not diving in completely at first and wishes she'd welcomed the support sooner.
Her biggest success in selling handmade products comes from an Amazon course. While she loves serving pregnant women, it's such a short span of time in a woman's life. Jen was committed to figuring out how to provide a broader product that was equally life-changing. She set out to examine every herb that she has and see if she could sell it individually. It turned out that her findings were incredibly immune-boosting, and while she would never wish anyone to suffer in their health, it was definitely a perfect time and place opportunity.
Top Takeaways
- Give yourself permission to feel and think about what's right for you and your business.
- It's okay if you don't have a big vision yet. Sometimes it's the small steps that give you the clarity to your bigger vision.
- Make sure there is space in your brain to feel the inspiration and guidance you need to go. If you're so full of chaos and clutter, how will you know which way to go?
- Be patient with your journey.
- Focus on scaling your business and outsource the daily time-consuming tasks.
- Listen to inspirational people and stories every day. It's so inspiring to hear about the places that you want to go to as well.
- The packaging on your first product may be a little bit embarrassing, but more than likely, you're the only one going to be the one embarrassed by it. No one else is even going to know. Don't wait for perfection.
- Focus on one product.
- As you get started and are creating that clarity, you're going to find that one product to focus on. And then you're going to scale that thing to a million dollars.
- On your journey, you're gonna find that thing that lights up your heart just a little bit more. Lean into it because that's how you'll serve the world.
