We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Georges recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica , thanks for joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Define success for YOURSELF first! Be honest with yourself on how to get there. Set clear goals and be compassionate yet diligent in reaching your goals. Try not to conform to what others may tell you what success looks or feels like. Grow how you want to grow and remember how much you want to grow is your choice.

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

I have always prided myself being labeled as a “Tree Hugger”. With concern of the plastic waste crises I founded Green Road Refill in the spring of 2018. I came to the end of a long road paying off my student debts and had some new financial to pursue something I felt passionate about and that could affect my community in a positive way. Even though I had no formal business training (I graduated with a degree in fine arts) I had a dream about opening a store where everyone felt good about where they were opening their money – kinda like a vote with you dollar place. Waking up from that dream I wrote down a napkin version of my business plan, a store that offered refillable plant based products and low to zero waste goods that we use on a day to day basis.

I was fortunate to take advantage of many free business programs here on Cape Cod and in May of 2018 I launched the mobile version of Green Road Refill from a retired school bus I named Bettie. Painted bright green and Lorax themed inside Bettie bus and I visited almost 100 farmers markets and festivals all over the Cape. We did this for two years and then – you guessed it – Covid. I pivoted to a delivery model during the height of the pandemic and also brained stored on how we could keep things going at markets seeing Bettie bus could only take on one customer at a time due to social distancing. Sally Sud Shed was born out of this hurdle and she is still rock’n markets to this day. She is basically a little shed with barn doors and shelfs that swing out and I tow her around to open air events. My sales doubled in 2020 so in hindsight Covid was a benefit seeing many people felt safer shopping outside.

Through 2020-2021 I was able to save the money I needed to bring to tuition my original dream – to open a store. I had built a strong refilling community and wanted to make it more convenient for them to find me for refills and to give my own body a break from the grind of set ups and break downs, bad weather and all the other not so pleasant things that come with being mobile. So November 7th 2021 I partnered up with an all natural refillable soy candle making entrepreneur friend and we had our Grand Opening of our Brick and mortar Green Road Refill – Green Goods, Gifts, and Candles!

It’s been an honor to survey community not only as an earth conscious store but as a resource for education as well.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

When I was still in the brainstorming process for my product line I searched out locally made vendors by visiting events on the Cape that featured all natural hand made products. It was at a Home and Garden show that I met my friend and business partner Tarraza. learning of the harms of many candle’s ingredients you find on the market today Tarraza did the research and created her own blend of non-GMO American Grown Soy, hemp wicks, & vegetable based dyes to refillable candles. Not only did our missions aline but our personalities did too and I consider her a dear friend in addition to being a wonderful partner. I carried her candles on the bus and in the shed for my first three years in business and when it came time to open brick and mortar I knew Tarraza was getting burned out from her own mobile business visiting craft fairs and other events and may be interested in sharing a space. We just celebrated our year anniversary in the shop together and I couldn’t be happier with our relationship. I especially enjoy our monthly dinner/business meetings!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

to be honest I have a love-hate relation to social media. I wasn’t really on it before I had my business. I has a personal FB page that I rarely posted on. I gave in and created page to document the creating of Bettie Bus but even that wasn’t consistent and I only invited family and friends. It got to be a week before I launched and my best friend made me go public with that page and also urged be to start an IG account. We have just under 2,000 followers now somedays I really have fun with it and enjoy being the face of my business, I feel proud of the base and customers I have gained because it. Other days I’m shy, un inspired and unorganized not wanting to even open the apps. I am happy to share that Green Road Refill is currently in the process of hiring a small, woman owned marketing business here on the Cape that will help me with growing and planning out my social media, We are going to set up scheduled posts, which I have yet to do and come up with creative content together as well. In addition this company will help me revamp and improve my current website and launching e-commerce to our business.

Contact Info:

• Website: greenroadrefill@gmail.com
• Instagram: @greenroadrefill
• Facebook: @greenroadrefill

Image Credits
First Photo of me in the shop credit goes to Big Tree Video