Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Hammonds

Hi Lisa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?

Full Leaf Tea Company’s background is one of very humble beginning. With only one-hundred dollars and a twenty-five-hundred-dollar line of credit my husband and myself started FullLeafTeaCompany.com. Neither one of us had a background in e-commerce, design, marketing, product development or photography. We had to get creative! Our first product photos were taken with an old digital camera, and our lighting source was our side table lamp.

Flash forward to 2024, Full Leaf celebrated its tenth birthday. What started as my husband and myself has now grown to a team of 29.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

One of our biggest struggles turned into a blessing. Like the rest of the world, in 2020, everything at Full Leaf shut down. We sent everyone in our office home to work remote, but we continued operations with only three people, Matt, myself, and our operations manager. At first, it ran smoothly, but as people began relying on shopping online, our numbers began to grow. One of the products we offer is Organic Lung Health Tea. Before 2020, it did ok. It wasn’t one of our best sellers, but had some following. When people discovered the tea and started to read the reviews, Organic Lung Health became one of our top selling products. We have incredible testimonials about how it helps with breathing, asthma, and clearing of airways. With the influx of orders, we were run into the ground. With only a three person team, we worked endless hours. I remember thinking my hands weren’t going to make it through. I learned how to tape a box shut with my elbow because I couldn’t use my wrists anymore to apply pressure. It wad a chaotic time for sure, but it taught us resilience and allowed us to share our incredible products with people.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

My husband and I are complete opposites. I think that’s why we work so well together. He is very analytical and a “numbers guy”. I am a worker bee. I love being on the move.

I have worn many hats. In the beginning, I was the label and packaging designer. I ran our social media pages, wrote our product descriptions and wrote blogs. As we have grown, we have found people who are much more talented than myself, and I am so thankful for them.

The last few years, I have specialized in production and fulfillment. My day to day has been lining out production for the day and setting goals and foreseeing inventory needed. I also handle all ordering of raw ingredients and work to find different sourcing options and set contracts for materials needed.
As we are continuing to grow, we have a warehouse manager and my role has once again began to change. I am excited to see where I find myself next.

What I am the most proud of is my ability to be flexible. I may not be the best in every area, but I am willing to learn and to try. Being an entrepreneur requires an open mind and thick skin. Not everyone holds that quality.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?

That’s an interesting question so I’m going to break it down into different parts.
For people who know me outside of work, I think they would be surprised how much time I put into Full Leaf. Most days, I am in the office/warehouse 10+ hours. When we are really busy I will be there up to 14+ hours. I try my best to be there for our team. If they are there at 4am, I want to be there too. And if we are running long days, I want to be the last one out.

For people I work with, I think they would be surprised to know my “former life” was a cheerleader. I was a high school, collegiate, and professional cheerleader. I travelled around the country as an instructor, coached for many years, and competed in multiple national competitions.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://FullLeafTeaCompany.com
• Instagram: @FullLeafTea
• Facebook: Full Leaf Tea
• Twitter: @FullLeafTea
• Youtube: Full Leaf Tea Company

Image Credits

Personal Photo Credit: Carly Pearl-Sacks
Additional Photo Credit: Haley Sullivan