XoXo,
Lisa
Monday, August 5, 2013
Heads Up!
There are going to be some changes over at the dot com...
Last year (or maybe longer?), I moved this blog over to the website. And now, I'm moving it back.
It's all a learning experience, and now I'm learning that I want a more streamlined website. It helps me work more clearly, and helps customers find what they're looking for more easily.
So, heads up!
Over the next couple days I'll be moving the blog over here. Physically. As in, reposting every blog. Not every article, most of those will stay on the website, but all the blogs are coming here.
So if you follow this blog on a feed, you'll be getting tons of notifications! It may just take a day, or it may take a week, but then everything will go back to normal.
Hopefully a little better than normal.
Last year (or maybe longer?), I moved this blog over to the website. And now, I'm moving it back.
It's all a learning experience, and now I'm learning that I want a more streamlined website. It helps me work more clearly, and helps customers find what they're looking for more easily.
So, heads up!
Over the next couple days I'll be moving the blog over here. Physically. As in, reposting every blog. Not every article, most of those will stay on the website, but all the blogs are coming here.
So if you follow this blog on a feed, you'll be getting tons of notifications! It may just take a day, or it may take a week, but then everything will go back to normal.
Hopefully a little better than normal.
XoXo,
Lisa
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
American Made Contest from Martha Stewart
I just entered.
It's a scary thing to put yourself out there purposely for people to judge you.
And that's what I just did.
Actually, I do it on a daily basis just having a business, but this feels different. It's more direct. People have to vote. And they judge you completely on your photos and two paragraphs of information where you're limited to 1000 characters. They judge you on your ability to convince them that you're awesome.
Especially with only 1000 characters. Or maybe it's better there's a low limit (I know I can get wordy!).
Anyway, here it is:
Check it out. Judge me. And hopefully vote for me. Voting starts at the end of August.
It only lasts for one week.
The shortest, most nerve wracking popularity contest ever.
It's a scary thing to put yourself out there purposely for people to judge you.
And that's what I just did.
Actually, I do it on a daily basis just having a business, but this feels different. It's more direct. People have to vote. And they judge you completely on your photos and two paragraphs of information where you're limited to 1000 characters. They judge you on your ability to convince them that you're awesome.
Especially with only 1000 characters. Or maybe it's better there's a low limit (I know I can get wordy!).
Anyway, here it is:
Check it out. Judge me. And hopefully vote for me. Voting starts at the end of August.
It only lasts for one week.
The shortest, most nerve wracking popularity contest ever.
XoXo,
Lisa
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
K.I.S.S. (not the band)
Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Although this saying, and its variations, have been around for decades, it's Michael Scott (from The Office) who taught me this lesson.
As I'm typing this, I think I may have written about this before, but it needs to be said again. Or maybe I just need to rant a little.
Keep It Simple (without the "Stupid" is much nicer, but with the "Stupid" in Michael Scott's voice is how it happens in my head).
Simple is how I like to do things. Sometimes I feel like I, and Wunder Budder, get judged for this. It could be all in my mind, because as I'm recently discovering, there are many things I've been tricked into thinking (it's a long personal story). But, I do sometimes feel like all the years I've spent studying herbs (plus my in-depth certification in 2000), and all the years I've spent studying aromatherapy (again, plus my in-depth certification in 2003), are ignored because I like to keep it simple.
I love experimenting, but my go-to herbs are the same, especially for skincare. Why would I use 10 different herbs in a skin formula when just one would do, and do better? Not only that, but putting 10 different herbs in one formula, means that there is so little of each one, you can't actually benefit from any of them.
The same with oils.
If you follow the trends, you might see, or believe, that coconut oil is thought to be practically magic. It's not. You probably have heard how you can use it for everything from skincare to polishing wood. Although that's true, it's true of most oils. Multiple uses is not a special characteristic of coconut oil. On a scale of 1-10 for skincare, I give it a 5. It's not a bad oil by any means, but it's not the best. This is just one girl's opinion, but it's one girl who has experimented with practically every oil available for over ten years. It absorbs pretty well, so it's not super greasy, but it doesn't feel that great on the skin, and it doesn't last as long as others. Plus it smells really strong, which is a plus for some, but not for me. Unfortunately, since most people know very little about oils, they try the ones that are hyped the most and think they're as good as it gets. I made a limited edition body butter with a coconut oil base, purely because I kept being asked for it. I love it, this body butter, but coconut oil is still not at the top of my list.
But, this isn't supposed to be another rant on the trendiness of coconut oil, it's about keeping it simple.
If there are 10 oils in a blend, or 12, or 7, or any more than 3 in my opinion, you're not benefitting from them. Just like essential oils in an aromatherapy blend (any more than five is no longer a therapeutic blend, it's heading to a perfume), too many carrier oils is overkill. It serves no purpose, other than to make it (falsely) look fancy. Don't fall for it. K.I.S.S.
I don't mean to trash people who like coconut oil, or other small businesses like mine who make products with too many ingredients. I just want to spread the word that just because something is hyped, it doesn't make it better. And a product with too many ingredients just means you don't benefit from any of them.
Keep It Simple.
Although this saying, and its variations, have been around for decades, it's Michael Scott (from The Office) who taught me this lesson.
As I'm typing this, I think I may have written about this before, but it needs to be said again. Or maybe I just need to rant a little.
Keep It Simple (without the "Stupid" is much nicer, but with the "Stupid" in Michael Scott's voice is how it happens in my head).
Simple is how I like to do things. Sometimes I feel like I, and Wunder Budder, get judged for this. It could be all in my mind, because as I'm recently discovering, there are many things I've been tricked into thinking (it's a long personal story). But, I do sometimes feel like all the years I've spent studying herbs (plus my in-depth certification in 2000), and all the years I've spent studying aromatherapy (again, plus my in-depth certification in 2003), are ignored because I like to keep it simple.
I love experimenting, but my go-to herbs are the same, especially for skincare. Why would I use 10 different herbs in a skin formula when just one would do, and do better? Not only that, but putting 10 different herbs in one formula, means that there is so little of each one, you can't actually benefit from any of them.
The same with oils.
If you follow the trends, you might see, or believe, that coconut oil is thought to be practically magic. It's not. You probably have heard how you can use it for everything from skincare to polishing wood. Although that's true, it's true of most oils. Multiple uses is not a special characteristic of coconut oil. On a scale of 1-10 for skincare, I give it a 5. It's not a bad oil by any means, but it's not the best. This is just one girl's opinion, but it's one girl who has experimented with practically every oil available for over ten years. It absorbs pretty well, so it's not super greasy, but it doesn't feel that great on the skin, and it doesn't last as long as others. Plus it smells really strong, which is a plus for some, but not for me. Unfortunately, since most people know very little about oils, they try the ones that are hyped the most and think they're as good as it gets. I made a limited edition body butter with a coconut oil base, purely because I kept being asked for it. I love it, this body butter, but coconut oil is still not at the top of my list.
But, this isn't supposed to be another rant on the trendiness of coconut oil, it's about keeping it simple.
If there are 10 oils in a blend, or 12, or 7, or any more than 3 in my opinion, you're not benefitting from them. Just like essential oils in an aromatherapy blend (any more than five is no longer a therapeutic blend, it's heading to a perfume), too many carrier oils is overkill. It serves no purpose, other than to make it (falsely) look fancy. Don't fall for it. K.I.S.S.
I don't mean to trash people who like coconut oil, or other small businesses like mine who make products with too many ingredients. I just want to spread the word that just because something is hyped, it doesn't make it better. And a product with too many ingredients just means you don't benefit from any of them.
Keep It Simple.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Gone Coconutty?
Fads. I can't stand them. Almost to a fault.
Bacon? No. Get over it. We're unhealthy enough as it is.
Mustaches? I used to love them, I tried to avoid hating them, but when I heard about a mustache growing reality show, I started to tip.
Owls? I've collected them most of my life, the owl is my spirit animal and I wish I had them back (to myself), but those can stay (I think rainbows and owls might be the only fads I'll never get sick of. At least I hope I won't).
Tropical "super fruits"? Blueberries are better than most, and they're a native food (if you live in the US).
I recently realized, that when I start getting sick of hearing about something, it usually means that it's about to get really popular.
I'm not trying to claim I'm cooler than anyone because I get sick of things easily. Pretty much the opposite. Like I said, I'm against fads almost to a fault (my favorite band didn't get less awesome because more people liked them, so why don't I like them anymore?). I actually got nervous a while back when I started to hear about calendula in the media. Hating things because other people like them is not something to be proud of. Although I won't go as far as to jump on the hipster-hating bandwagon (see?).
What my dislike for fads does do, though, is help me be more critical of things. Critical in a positive way. Critical thinking. It helps me to be able to look at things objectively, no matter how much I'm surrounded by good or bad things said about them. It helps me cut through the hype (ok, it's also partly because I'm an over-thinking Cancerian).
About a year ago, I got my cholesterol levels checked. I'm a 16-year vegetarian who doesn't eat much dairy or eggs regularly, and is in love with fresh vegetables, so I was surprised to find out that my LDL (bad cholesterol) levels were so high that my doctor was thinking of putting me on medication. High cholesterol runs in my family, so I wasn't totally shocked, but definitely surprised. Especially since in the last couple tests, it was only slightly high, but "nothing to worry about".
What had happened to increase my LDL in one year?
I cut back on: drinking (no), fried foods (no), dairy & eggs (no). I started eating more leafy greens (no), and started replacing many fats with coconut oil (wait a second...). Those were my only dietary changes. Cutting back on "bad" things, and adding "good" things.
I had started eating coconut oil based on the hype. Against my better judgment. I could feel something inside me saying that solid at room temperature meant that it wasn't a good oil for nutrition, but I like experimenting. I wanted to see if my health would change by eating more coconut oil, and less of other fats. As I was eating the coconut oil, I couldn't stop thinking about how I had only heard good things about it, and how people claimed that old studies were wrong, and it was actually "good for you". Seriously, I hadn't heard one bad thing, which pretty much always means something is fishy. There's always a bad side, at least to someone. Even a rainbow, possibly the happiest thing in the world, needs rain (I happen to love rain, but lots of people hate it).
And it kind of seems that coconut oil did have a bad effect on my health.
Now, my scientific side was, and still is, telling me there is no way I could blame the high LDL levels entirely on coconut oil. I don't know for sure. There are other factors. I can't narrow it down to one without an official experiment. But, my intuitive side told me to stop eating it. Completely (well, not completely... I think I still eat it on occasion if I have a vegan dessert). And I started feeling better. I haven't had my cholesterol rechecked yet (soon!), but since then I've also quit smoking so I still won't know for sure if it was the coconut oil. I just have a feeling.
At the time, I sent out a post to Wunder Budder's Facebook fans telling them about my experience, and asking if anyone else had a similar experience. Unsurprisingly, the answer was no. "Coconut oil is the best", "coconut oil is a super food", etc. I don't blame anyone for believing the hype. It's hard not to. I even started to wonder if my intuition was wrong.
And then I forgot all about it...
until today.
I'm taking a COURSERA class on nutrition. This week, the first class, is an overview of nutrition. In the lecture on fats, the teacher mentions coconut oil. Coconut oil as being "heart unhealthy" fat and as raising LDL levels.
What? Yes! I knew it! (More than I hate fads, I love when my intuition is proven right.)
Good news for my intuition (really, I got so excited, that I took a break from class to write this blog), bad news for everyone who has been adding coconut oil to their diets based on the latest fads and "information".
The teacher also mentioned that we'd talk more about it later (since this was just an overview). When we do, and when I do more research on my own, I'll be back to share.
I'm not telling anyone to stop eating coconut oil, or that I know more than some of the "experts" (are they really experts?) out there, but I do find this information interesting and important enough to share. Especially with the amount of people basing their diets on coconut oil. If you haven't heard about it, some people even add it to their diets where there were previously little to no fats, like in smoothies. Seriously. The hype is that good. But, it seems that might be all it is... hype.
Now, back to class.
Bacon? No. Get over it. We're unhealthy enough as it is.
Mustaches? I used to love them, I tried to avoid hating them, but when I heard about a mustache growing reality show, I started to tip.
Owls? I've collected them most of my life, the owl is my spirit animal and I wish I had them back (to myself), but those can stay (I think rainbows and owls might be the only fads I'll never get sick of. At least I hope I won't).
Tropical "super fruits"? Blueberries are better than most, and they're a native food (if you live in the US).
I recently realized, that when I start getting sick of hearing about something, it usually means that it's about to get really popular.
I'm not trying to claim I'm cooler than anyone because I get sick of things easily. Pretty much the opposite. Like I said, I'm against fads almost to a fault (my favorite band didn't get less awesome because more people liked them, so why don't I like them anymore?). I actually got nervous a while back when I started to hear about calendula in the media. Hating things because other people like them is not something to be proud of. Although I won't go as far as to jump on the hipster-hating bandwagon (see?).
What my dislike for fads does do, though, is help me be more critical of things. Critical in a positive way. Critical thinking. It helps me to be able to look at things objectively, no matter how much I'm surrounded by good or bad things said about them. It helps me cut through the hype (ok, it's also partly because I'm an over-thinking Cancerian).
About a year ago, I got my cholesterol levels checked. I'm a 16-year vegetarian who doesn't eat much dairy or eggs regularly, and is in love with fresh vegetables, so I was surprised to find out that my LDL (bad cholesterol) levels were so high that my doctor was thinking of putting me on medication. High cholesterol runs in my family, so I wasn't totally shocked, but definitely surprised. Especially since in the last couple tests, it was only slightly high, but "nothing to worry about".
What had happened to increase my LDL in one year?
I cut back on: drinking (no), fried foods (no), dairy & eggs (no). I started eating more leafy greens (no), and started replacing many fats with coconut oil (wait a second...). Those were my only dietary changes. Cutting back on "bad" things, and adding "good" things.
I had started eating coconut oil based on the hype. Against my better judgment. I could feel something inside me saying that solid at room temperature meant that it wasn't a good oil for nutrition, but I like experimenting. I wanted to see if my health would change by eating more coconut oil, and less of other fats. As I was eating the coconut oil, I couldn't stop thinking about how I had only heard good things about it, and how people claimed that old studies were wrong, and it was actually "good for you". Seriously, I hadn't heard one bad thing, which pretty much always means something is fishy. There's always a bad side, at least to someone. Even a rainbow, possibly the happiest thing in the world, needs rain (I happen to love rain, but lots of people hate it).
And it kind of seems that coconut oil did have a bad effect on my health.
Now, my scientific side was, and still is, telling me there is no way I could blame the high LDL levels entirely on coconut oil. I don't know for sure. There are other factors. I can't narrow it down to one without an official experiment. But, my intuitive side told me to stop eating it. Completely (well, not completely... I think I still eat it on occasion if I have a vegan dessert). And I started feeling better. I haven't had my cholesterol rechecked yet (soon!), but since then I've also quit smoking so I still won't know for sure if it was the coconut oil. I just have a feeling.
At the time, I sent out a post to Wunder Budder's Facebook fans telling them about my experience, and asking if anyone else had a similar experience. Unsurprisingly, the answer was no. "Coconut oil is the best", "coconut oil is a super food", etc. I don't blame anyone for believing the hype. It's hard not to. I even started to wonder if my intuition was wrong.
And then I forgot all about it...
until today.
I'm taking a COURSERA class on nutrition. This week, the first class, is an overview of nutrition. In the lecture on fats, the teacher mentions coconut oil. Coconut oil as being "heart unhealthy" fat and as raising LDL levels.
What? Yes! I knew it! (More than I hate fads, I love when my intuition is proven right.)
Good news for my intuition (really, I got so excited, that I took a break from class to write this blog), bad news for everyone who has been adding coconut oil to their diets based on the latest fads and "information".
The teacher also mentioned that we'd talk more about it later (since this was just an overview). When we do, and when I do more research on my own, I'll be back to share.
I'm not telling anyone to stop eating coconut oil, or that I know more than some of the "experts" (are they really experts?) out there, but I do find this information interesting and important enough to share. Especially with the amount of people basing their diets on coconut oil. If you haven't heard about it, some people even add it to their diets where there were previously little to no fats, like in smoothies. Seriously. The hype is that good. But, it seems that might be all it is... hype.
Now, back to class.
XoXo,
Lisa
EDIT: I should probably clarify things and mention that one of the main reasons people say that coconut oil is ok for cholesterol is that it increases the levels of HDL (the "good" cholesterol). This is true, but it's only a half-truth. The full truth is that it increases ALL cholesterol. The good and the bad. If you're looking for a healthy oil, this is not it, no matter what the hype says.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Good News & Bad News
Ok, friends...
I have news that affects each one of you who use Wunder Budder.
As you may or may not know, I'm not a business person. I mean, yes, I'm learning, but it's been something I've only been learning for a couple of years.
I'm a maker of things.
I've always made things, and I've always wanted to create a business out of making things.
I started as a kid with lemonade stands at the bottom of my driveway. I moved onto making patchwork hats and beaded dread wraps as a teenager, selling them to a shop in Faneuil Hall. In my early 20's I made jewelry and sold it on the streets, spread out on a blanket, of a city I lived in. Mixed in were lots of trades: my work for someone else's.
After studying herbalism and essential oils, my path was clear. Even though I still make other things, my business was formed around my obsession: plants and things made from plants.
I started Wunder Budder many years ago, but it was just a hobby-business for a long time. I had no idea what I was doing, business-wise. In early 2010, I decided to just go for it, and try making Wunder Budder into a full time business.
Most of the time, I still don't know what I'm doing, but I am finally starting to learn from my mistakes.
One of the mistakes I've made, and continued to make for the last three and a half years, was to underprice Wunder Budder.
I like cheap stuff. I shop second hand. Most of the furniture in my apartment (and in my studio) was first owned by someone in my family. In fact, I'm guessing about 90% of my stuff has either been owned by someone else first, or it's something I've made.
One big reason is that I just like things with history. But, the other big reason is that I went from a full-time adult student to a full-time bootstrapping business owner. Which means I haven't had a full-time paycheck in eight or nine years. I've had to live as frugally as possible, and I have a bad habit of thinking other people are like me. Not that anyone is swimming in money, but if it weren't for my husband, I'd be living in my studio, hiding from my landlady, and eating nothing but Ramen noodles.
I've been out of touch. I've been trying to keep Wunder Budder "cheap".
Well, I'm learning that, like most things, Wunder Budder can't be cheap and high quality. It just can't. I tried. And I'm failing. I'm heading towards low-pricing myself out of business.
Another thing I'm learning, is that as the demand for natural products grows, so do the prices of natural ingredients. The price of jojoba oil has nearly doubled in the last two years. Nothing else has gone up quite that much, but every single ingredient is more expensive now than it was two years ago. Increasing demand is just one reason.
Natural ingredients are completely dependent on Mother Nature. If there is a drought, a flooding, a heat wave, an early frost, or any other major weather event, crops are effected. Which means things like apricot kernel oil and lavender essential oil, for example, are affected. In a good season, prices will fluctuate slightly, but loss of crop in addition to increasing demand, means major increase in price. I haven't kept up.
After a few months of cost analysis and market research on similar products, I've realized that not only have I been nearly pricing myself out of business, but Wunder Budder prices were far lower than similar products, even products that are not handmade.
Realistically, what I should have done is started with much higher prices, and then increased them slowly and steadily as prices for ingredients rose. But, I was caught up in trying to remain a lower-priced item, and to not offend all of you with constant price-raises.
It backfired. And if things went on as they had been going, I'd be at risk of total business collapse.
So, prices had to go up today. Some by a little, some by a lot.
I know this will affect people. I know some people will be mad and I'll lose some of you. But my hope is that you'll understand that I had only two choices: raise prices or close shop and lose Wunder Budder forever.
I chose Wunder Budder.
I hope you will too.
I have news that affects each one of you who use Wunder Budder.
As you may or may not know, I'm not a business person. I mean, yes, I'm learning, but it's been something I've only been learning for a couple of years.
I'm a maker of things.
I've always made things, and I've always wanted to create a business out of making things.
I started as a kid with lemonade stands at the bottom of my driveway. I moved onto making patchwork hats and beaded dread wraps as a teenager, selling them to a shop in Faneuil Hall. In my early 20's I made jewelry and sold it on the streets, spread out on a blanket, of a city I lived in. Mixed in were lots of trades: my work for someone else's.
After studying herbalism and essential oils, my path was clear. Even though I still make other things, my business was formed around my obsession: plants and things made from plants.
I started Wunder Budder many years ago, but it was just a hobby-business for a long time. I had no idea what I was doing, business-wise. In early 2010, I decided to just go for it, and try making Wunder Budder into a full time business.
Most of the time, I still don't know what I'm doing, but I am finally starting to learn from my mistakes.
One of the mistakes I've made, and continued to make for the last three and a half years, was to underprice Wunder Budder.
I like cheap stuff. I shop second hand. Most of the furniture in my apartment (and in my studio) was first owned by someone in my family. In fact, I'm guessing about 90% of my stuff has either been owned by someone else first, or it's something I've made.
One big reason is that I just like things with history. But, the other big reason is that I went from a full-time adult student to a full-time bootstrapping business owner. Which means I haven't had a full-time paycheck in eight or nine years. I've had to live as frugally as possible, and I have a bad habit of thinking other people are like me. Not that anyone is swimming in money, but if it weren't for my husband, I'd be living in my studio, hiding from my landlady, and eating nothing but Ramen noodles.
I've been out of touch. I've been trying to keep Wunder Budder "cheap".
Well, I'm learning that, like most things, Wunder Budder can't be cheap and high quality. It just can't. I tried. And I'm failing. I'm heading towards low-pricing myself out of business.
Another thing I'm learning, is that as the demand for natural products grows, so do the prices of natural ingredients. The price of jojoba oil has nearly doubled in the last two years. Nothing else has gone up quite that much, but every single ingredient is more expensive now than it was two years ago. Increasing demand is just one reason.
Natural ingredients are completely dependent on Mother Nature. If there is a drought, a flooding, a heat wave, an early frost, or any other major weather event, crops are effected. Which means things like apricot kernel oil and lavender essential oil, for example, are affected. In a good season, prices will fluctuate slightly, but loss of crop in addition to increasing demand, means major increase in price. I haven't kept up.
After a few months of cost analysis and market research on similar products, I've realized that not only have I been nearly pricing myself out of business, but Wunder Budder prices were far lower than similar products, even products that are not handmade.
Realistically, what I should have done is started with much higher prices, and then increased them slowly and steadily as prices for ingredients rose. But, I was caught up in trying to remain a lower-priced item, and to not offend all of you with constant price-raises.
It backfired. And if things went on as they had been going, I'd be at risk of total business collapse.
So, prices had to go up today. Some by a little, some by a lot.
I know this will affect people. I know some people will be mad and I'll lose some of you. But my hope is that you'll understand that I had only two choices: raise prices or close shop and lose Wunder Budder forever.
I chose Wunder Budder.
I hope you will too.
XoXo,
Lisa
I'm back!
Well, we'll see how it goes.As you may have read in my last post (you know, the one I wrote over a year ago), I created a new website.
Which I love.
And so do Wunder Budder fans, it seems.
Except....
for the blog.
The format is different, and unless you're searching for Wunder Budder specifically, I'm basically talking to myself.
And that's not really that fun.
So, articles about herbalism, aromatherapy, living naturally, etc will be staying over at the website, and the bloggy blogs are staying here. The one's where I ramble. Hopefully not to myself.
XoXo,
Lisa
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