We were lucky to catch up with Lyndsay McLeod recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lyndsay, thanks for joining us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

Access to raw materials continues to prove to be a challenging factor for my company. We are looking to offer a very specific product and in order to do that, the materials we use are very specific. We walk a fine line of making sure we are stocked with the things we need while avoiding over ordering and risking certain ingredients expiring.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I originally fell in love with herbal medicine when I was studying abroad in Peru. I was in Cusco exploring the local market place when I found a woman sitting on the floor surrounded by fresh herbs. Our guide told us that people would come to her with their ailments and she would give them plants to take home and use. This idea of using plants to treat illness was not completely new to me but I was so intrigued seeing that in this area it was the default method for treatment. And it makes sense, doesn’t it? The medication‘s that we buy from the drug store or the pharmacy were originally based on plant compounds.
The more I learn about plant medicine, the more excited I become about it. Plants are life. Plants are magic. They are the answer to so many of our questions and unfortunately we’ve been taught not to see that.
This is not to say that I don’t fully support Western medicine as well. I have struggled personally with chronic health issues due to a rare condition called Silent Sinus Syndrome. Without the necessary surgeries and medication‘s it’s possible that I might not be here. I started getting constant infections that would take me out for two weeks, always requiring an antibiotic and a steroid. I began to feel an immense amount of guilt for using these medications. I own an herbal medicine company and I can’t even keep myself well? This was such an unfair thing to put on myself. I was doing everything I could for my health but at this point it was out of my control. The answer to my health issues was a surgical procedure which has completely changed everything.
If there’s one thing I would want people to know about my brand and the philosophy of my business is that we support you. We support you getting the help you need. Sometimes that will be through plants, and we can help with that, Sometimes it will be through traditional medical treatments, and we support that. We are not the herbal medicine company that will shame you for using pharmaceuticals and we will always be completely honest on whether or not our products would benefit you, If you do choose to use Respect Your Elderberries, you can be sure you will be getting the highest quality products made with integrity and good vibes.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is harder than it looks! I will be the first to say that I’m much better suited to formulating herbal preparations than running a social media page, but as a small business owner you wear many hats. My philosophy has always been, if I’m authentic, people will see that and connect to it. We serve a wide array of people but my target customer is parents with small children. I also happen to be a parent of small children so I try to showcase the real issues that others are probably also experiencing, Most people know that its annoying to have a cough, but parents know that a simple cough can be what robs you and your child of a restful nights sleep. All of my products are things that I actually use and I think that this helps me connect with other people like me who are looking for answers to the same questions.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I am extremely meticulous about the products that I offer. From using sustainably sourced and high quality herbs, to making sure my labels are applied correctly, I’m striving to put out a superior product. As a small business, I know there are other larger, possibly more reputable companies offering products that are meant to perform similar actions, When somebody chooses to spend their money on my product, I try to treat that person as if they are my only customer. I am here to answer any questions, provide flexibility for order fulfillment, and even offer refunds in the case of delayed shipping or other unexpected problems.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.respectyourelderberries.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/respectyourelderberries/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/respectyourelderberries/

Image Credits
Amy Weiss