We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dani Dircks. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dani below.

Dani, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

When my oldest, Thatcher was 5 he had just started kindergarten, I also had 3 year old twins and a 1 year old. Thatch, like most kids at that age came home with back to school germs and missed 3 days of school. As a mom of 4 and business owner I was desperate for a solution. Us being a self employed family pay 1500.00 a month with a 13,000. deductible, just to walk into the doctors office cost a few hundred dollars. I knew I needed an at home solution, I sat down at the computer and googled how do I keep my family healthy from home? And thats where the journey begin.

I came across elderberry syrup and learned that elderberry is an anti-viral herb, turned into a syrup it had the benefits of boosting immunity. I of course was skeptical, also determined to take at home steps to keep my kids from bringing home every germ they encountered. I purchased all the ingredients needed, a few more not needed and begin to make different batches of elderberry syrup till I found the perfect one I knew my kids would beg to take.

It was instantly a game changer in our families health. Quickly I had friends and family interested and a month later Sailor Mercy was born. I knew I had found a winner and sales and interest seemed to snowball rapidly for me. Other moms related to problem I was dealing with and also wanted a solution. I was able to offer them a high end, quality affordable fix. I started the business on Facebook, which allowed me to reach outside my own community, I began doing ‘meet-ups’ where I drove to surrounding communities and neighborhoods and met customers in parking lts. I knew from the start, although I offered a great product, people were not going to drive 20+ miles to buy it, I had to go to them. I quickly bult a loyal following due to my transparency, my belief of not taking short cuts and becoming legal with the state and FDA, my priority of making customer service number one and of course my openness and willingness to share my personal life and struggles of work, relationships and motherhood with my followers. Other women found Sailor Mercy relatable, trustworthy, humorous, reliable and a breath of fresh air. Sailor Mercy isnt just a business, we are a family.

Dani, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Im Dani, a 44 year old mom to Thatcher (10), Sebastion (9), Sailor (9) and Mercy (7), yes I named my business after my two amazing daughters. I also have been married to Dougger, my husband for 20 years, he is my biggest supporter, no one has encouraged me more than him to chase my dream. We live in Stillwater, the birthplace of Minnesota, where we purchased our home 15 years ago.

I have a interesting background, raised by a single mother, I found myself really struggling with school. I ended up dropping out of high school and started working in the restaurant/bar business at 16 years old. I continued to work in the industry for 22 years. I considered myself a career bartender/server, because I worked full time and to me it wasn’t a steppingstone while I looked for another career. I pride myself on all I learned in the business, I believe I wouldn’t be the successful business owner I am today if it wasn’t for what I was taught while slinging drinks and waiting tables. I was able to learn many positions including host, food runner, expo, cook, manager, it’s here where I learned so many great attributes including customer service, working smarter, not harder, full hands in, full hands out, inventory, payroll, team building, interviewing, problem solving, multi tasking. Too many people take their start up jobs as not being important, for me as an employer, I love seeing applicants with restaurant experience.

I married a roofing contractor, in 2010 he suggested I get my general contractors license so we could expand our business. At first I thought he was crazy and was scared to death of learning a new trade. I now know that achieving this was exactly what I needed to boost my self esteem. I remember entering the class of 150 students, there was one open seat and of course it was in the front row. I had to walk down that aisle, I told myself just raise your head high, there was only 1 other woman in the entire room, all eyes on me I earned my badass wings that day. After much studying I passed the 4 hour closed book test and became a general contractor, I now own my own exterior company and we specialize in roofing, siding and windows. There is nothing women cant do and my goal is to teach young girls that they can absolutely enter the trades, they are strong enough, smart enough and more than capable of becoming plumbers, electricians and carpenters.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

For us at Sailor Mercy, word of mouth and events is our best source for new clients. There truly is nothing more meaningful than a current customer sharing a testimony with their loved ones. It humbles me and still to this day i am deeply touched by how many of our customers go out of their way to help support our small company, I would encourage everyone reading this to leave reviews and comment/share social media posts from your favorite company, its a great, free way to help small business.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

Im still at the crucial time where every penny I make is being reinvested into the company. One of the hardest lessons of a manufacturing start up is when you realize you have to get cost down to turn a profit. But you have to hire more help because you cant do it all so your labor increases. And you find out you have to buy in bulk to get cheaper inventory and you quickly need to decide if going into debt will be the rescue you need or will sink you. It truly is hurdle after hurdle, making fast decisions, learning balance between home and work and digging deep into who you are as a person, what your dreams are and if you can accomplish them while holding onto your principles and ethics. Small business is not for the faint of heart.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sailormercy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sailormercy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sailormercyelderberrysyrup