We were lucky to catch up with Jasmin Forts recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jasmin , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

My start into horticulture came from being fully immersed in Corporate HR for the last 18 years. I never really had a dream of climbing the corporate ladder but made a lot of successful leaps up chain through my career. Even while raising a family and being married, my career seemed fulfilling but my love for wellness and calm pulled at me. While entering the leadership ranks about 8 years ago I started learning about rest deficits and how to invest back into my true, innate talents and desires. The overwhelm and constant need to prove my skill for the next promotion got exhausting so I took a deep dive into all things wellness. I became a certified Yoga teacher and learning about herbology. It felt like home and spoke to all the things I was doing in my free time. I began taking additional courses at a local college to really deepen my knowledge on Horticulture and connecting with my family roots in cultivating the land. I am grateful I took that time years ago to slow in my career and ask questions on what I truly want professionally. All the things I learned in corporate helped me keep structure; but my new path in horticulture and herbology have brought me to a fulfilled place to share wellness with others.

Jasmin , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I love being in calm environments. I speak calmly. I move calmly… I don’t yell at home or raise my voice. I share that because being in Corporate can be just the opposite. I found that as I grow more attuned to what I wanted and my true talents surface the old things I thought I wanted are obsolete. That is where my pivot into dealing with plants, plant medicine, and wellness collide. I came from a long line of working women. They worked hard and long and because of that they partied just as much. My Grandmother is the ultimate social butterfly and was known for parties and going out. Her Grandmother was the same. From the lifestyle came alot of self medicating behavior to mask the overwhelm and sometimes destructive consequences we are all familiar with at times. After taking introspective looks at my life and self medicating my overwhelm and exhaustion from work with wine or cocktails– I started researching my maternal’s family tree to uncover their stories and how they dealt with stress and overworking. It was very telling and this is when I realized that ‘there is nothing new under the sun’. What they experienced I was dealing with in present time. However, I am blessed to have access to education and form new habits for myself and family. I did not want to continue drinking and coping with food or smoking. I truly wanted to understand how plant medicine could aid the way I rested and edified my body.

So Juanita’s Balm Likka was born. Juanita “Sweet” Jackson was born in South Carolina in 1910… at age 14, she was impregnated and migrated north to Connecticut. Juanita is my Grandmother’s Grandma. She was feisty and always had a cigarette and brown liquor in hand. As it’s told, she worked without missing a day. But she used alcohol daily to cope.
No one calls her an Alcoholic because she managed her day + family responsibly through self-medication. But we have language and understanding now as to what she may have been experiencing. My herbal mixologist business, Juanita’s Balm Likka is restoring the relationship with the menstruum, liquor. Using what was consumed in excess to cope with exhaustion and overwhelm to now bring balance in healing and nature. Restshops (we don’t do workshops ), herbal drinks/punches, mocktails, and accompaniments curated for the well-rested.

Rest in peace while Alive. Tonics, elixirs, oxymels, etc. for the ones looking for calmness and beverages that support rest.

I am proud to provide options for people looking for social drinks outside of alcohol. I get to service baby showers, birthday parties, sober parties, and anyone looking to learn more on botanical beverages to support getting easeful rest. It makes my soul joyful to know I am honoring the hardworking women in my family through this business. I think they are proud of me… and hope to pass this knowledge on to my daughter and sons.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn that hard work alone will equal success. I really thought that when you put in the hours and worked hard at something success would come. Which is true in some respects if you define success the same way the masses does. I saw so many talented people at work get overlooked for promotions and given more work just to prove what was already obviously noticeable– they are worthy. But after one incident in my previous happened, I truly learned that success happens when you make solid connections and seize opportunity.

What incident am I talking about? Well, I had a client in previous business that I was helping redo their LinkedIn page. I gave them all the insights and tips because they were in HR too. The client was so happy with the results they said I should sell my LinkedIn workbook online to other HR professionals. I shied away from the idea — and never thought about it again. Until, this same client repackaged my workbook as their own and was selling it on social media! They were receiving great reviews and by all accounts it looked like a success. But I knew their integrity was lacking and it was my fault for not capitalizing on my own talent and knowledge. From that experience, I learned so much about myself and what I define as success versus what others are willing to do to be looked at as successful.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think being someone who is a community builder is important. I have all the degrees and the training and even the experience. However, being someone who is innately passionate about building connections and community is a necessity for Horticulture in this day and age. It has helped me build strong relationships for new opportunities and also lending my knowledge to help build other gardens. I don’t think this is a skill you learn but one your born with and I am grateful it is in me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.balmlikka.com/
• Instagram: @signedwellrestedjas and @juanitasbalm
• Youtube: Signed WellRested Jas