This is the second half of the Disaster-Proofing your Herbal Business theme.

Economic uncertainty is part of business – but there’s so much you can do to make sure your business stays strong throughout the ups and downs.

In the previous episode, we covered the first three steps in the work of diversifying your revenue streams and your product/service offerings to make sure that your herbal business keeps growing!

In this episode, we’re talking about expanding both your offerings and your target audience so that you can broaden your reach into more markets. This takes some creativity and some market research, but don’t worry! It’s not hard to do and this episode has plenty of tips. The most important take-away is that if you stay flexible and try several different ideas at a small scale to see what gets traction, shifting your business with the economic conditions becomes a lot less challenging.

Most importantly though: you don’t have to do all this alone! Join our Herbal Business Program and let’s do it together! Not only will i personally help you, but you’ll also have access to our private community of herbal business folks – so that you get a nurturing peer support group as well!

The Herbal Business Program covers every aspect of GMP compliance, as well as every other part of running your business, from getting registered, paying taxes, and getting insurance to building your website and marketing without selling out – even hiring employees!

All of our courses include twice weekly live Q&A sessions and you can ask questions in the discussion thread attached to every lesson – we answer them ever day! Plus we have a student community where you can get support from other business herbies too!

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Economic uncertainty is part of business – but there’s so much you can do to disaster-proof your herbal business and make sure it stays strong throughout the ups and downs.

This episode is the first three steps in the work of diversifying your revenue streams and also your product/service offerings to make sure that your herbal business keeps growing!

We’re focusing here on how to shift your marketing so that your products/services remain essential as people tighten their budgets, as well as shifting which products or services you offer to make sure that you really do remain essential! In order to do that, you’ve got to really know your customers, and so we’ll talk about exercises for how to do that, too. Taking the time to gather some data will help you to stay relevant and survive the budget cuts!

And if your business is still in the planning stages, that’s great – that means that you can be structuring your business to be economically resilient right from the start.

Most importantly though: you don’t have to do all this alone! Join our Herbal Business Program and let’s do it together! Not only will i personally help you, but you’ll also have access to our private community of herbal business folks – so that you get a nurturing peer support group as well!

The Herbal Business Program covers every aspect of GMP compliance, as well as every other part of running your business, from getting registered, paying taxes, and getting insurance to building your website and marketing without selling out – even hiring employees!

All of our courses include twice weekly live Q&A sessions and you can ask questions in the discussion thread attached to every lesson – we answer them ever day! Plus we have a student community where you can get support from other business herbies too!

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

In our fifth installment in this series, we address the facts & fictions about ginkgo, guarana, and maca supplements in commerce! These were #13, 14, and 15 on the top-selling herbs list for 2023 (the most recent data).

This series is all about sharing an herbalist’s understanding of herbs very popular as commercial supplements and other mass-market products. We want to share perspectives of both traditional and contemporary herbal practice, so people can understand these are “good for” more than just what’s on their labels.

It’s too easy for herbs to be boxed in to smaller and smaller ranges of application when they’re commercialized. This is an antidote to that movement!

For practicing herbalists & clinicians, it’s very important to know well those herbs which are most commonly consumed. Your clients will ask you about them, or be taking them before they even visit you – so you’ve got to know what they do! You might be able to give advice about a better remedy, or a compensation for some effect of the plant. This can help your clients just as much as a new recommendation, so don’t neglect it.

If you’re new to herbalism, this can also serve as an inoculation against “herban legends” and misinformation – which is rampant on today’s internet.

13. Ginkgo – Ginkgo biloba

• HHP 139: Six Herbs for Cognitive Decline Prevention
• HHP 047: Tinnitus & Headaches

14. Guarana – Paullinia cupana

• Guarana at Examine.com
• Guarana in King’s American Dispensatory (1898)

15. Maca – Lepidium meyenii

• Maca at Examine.com
• Maca at Herbal Reality

Find the previous episode of this series here:

• (Part 1): Psyllium, Elderberry, Turmeric, Ashwagandha
• (Part 2): Apple Cider Vinegar, Cranberry
• (Part 3): Wheatgrass, Beet Root, & Ginger
• (Part 4): Green Tea, Fenugreek, Ivy Leaf

Whether you’re a brand-new beginner or an herbalist with experience, it’s always helpful to study the herbs in depth! Our comprehensive presentation of herbal allies is in our Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica course. It includes detailed profiles of 100 medicinal herbs!

This self-paced online video course comes with access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions with us, lifetime access to current & future course material, open discussion threads integrated in each lesson, an active student community, study guides, quizzes & capstone assignments, and more!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!