We recently connected with Anulika Agu and have shared our conversation below.

Anulika, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

Owning a business has definitely impacted my life for the better! However, don’t be fooled! Owning a business is no walk in the park at all. I always joke that I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started a business. The product and passion was there, but you start to realize that you are always on the clock as a business owner. I recently was fortunate to move my home-based business into a shop in May 2023. Around this time, we were also getting an influx of orders due to viral TikTok videos. Between getting the shop together, keeping up with shipping, making/posting content, and now having overhead expenses, it was lot! I remember having a moment and thinking how much stress-free things would be if I could just clock-in and-out and not have to worry about managing a business as a whole. It does get overwhelming at times, but this is why I emphasis the importance of self care and off days to avoid burnout and breakdowns. I still wouldn’t change being a business owner because the positives greatly outweigh the negatives. My business has truly been a blessing in my life. I love the woman I have become due to The Flower Plugg and I get to do something that I’m passionate about daily!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Anulika Agu, and as the owner of The Flower Plugg my goal is to bring herbal medicine awareness to communities that are not familiar or exposed to these benefits. Ever since I decided to live a plant-based lifestyle in 2017, I’ve been very invested in herbalism and holistic health. I was introduced to smokable herbs, but like many people, I was skeptical of this because I hadn’t heard of such a thing. I did more research and was fascinated by all the health benefits herbal smokes provided. As a stoner who is also into holistic healing I turned to herbal smokes when THC only left me with extreme anxiety and panic attacks. I began using my own herbal smokes that I made as an alternative to marijuana. It was definitely life-changing and also eased my depression, insomnia, and anxiety symptoms more than the other herb did. Juneteenth was when I decided to debut my smokable tea blends to my friends. We were at Leimert Park and I asked my friends if they’d be open to try a floral joint I made. They tried it and gave me that “Girl you might’ve just done something” look. That’s when I knew this was something that more people needed to become aware of and experience the holistic benefits! What started as an aid for me turned into an herbal aid for my friends/family, and now I’ve been blessed enough to share this with customers worldwide!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Initially, the only social media I had for the business was Instagram. There were several friends of mine that continuously told me that I should create an account for The Flower Plugg on Tiktok. I was apprehensive at the time because I didn’t have the app installed so I was unfamiliar with the platform. After putting it off for a couple weeks I decided to finally take the leap and create an account. It was December 25, 2020 when I got my first viral video on Tiktok. From there I’ve been able to reach a wider audience, increase traffic flow to the website, and help build other social media platform. Advice I would give those just starting to build their social media would be to capture everything when it comes to your craft. Everything is content and you never know when a specific photo or video may came in handy for future posts. Another good tip is stay consistent because you never know who is watching, it could be a potential customer or devote follower! Your content is also more likely to get pushed out the more consistent you are with posting on feed, story, going live, etc.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

My side hustle most definitely turned into my full business. Before, I was working at a private doctor’s office as a receptionist. I worked there for about 4-5 years; it was a good job especially for my age so I was very grateful in that sense but I always felt like I was destined for more. I started my actual business in 2020, but I was still working at my job. It was a side hustle/hobby for me. I was so excited to put more people onto smokable tea blends I wasn’t too focused on the business aspect of things yet. I didn’t really have any desire to quit anytime soon until the business began having continuous viral orders. It began to be too much and I had to have faith and put all my time, focus, and energy into my business. It’s been one of the most scariest yet best decisions of my life!

Contact Info:

• Website: TheFlowerPlugg.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theflowerplugg
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@theeflowerthugg https://www.pinterest.com/theflowerplugg

Image Credits
Photography: FromHeavensView