Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kari Ainsworth. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kari, appreciate you joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Why Moonbeams Unlimited? One night, over wine, my mom, Truddi Chase, author of “When Rabbit Howls” & “The Creature of Habit, A Journey” and I tried to come up with a name for this business we were dreaming about. We thought about how far we wanted to go with it. We were shooting for the moon, for the Moonbeams. And that there were so many things we wanted to do that it would be Unlimited. All the products, lotions, potions, soaps, creams, and all the things that we would create. My mom passed before she could completely see that dream come true. My mom, Truddi, was an amazing artist but due to her diagnosis of Multiple Personality Disorder (now called Dissociative Identity Disorder), she was great with the creative portion but like many of us the marketing and business side gave her trouble. After my mom passed, in 2010, I let the business go. In 2021, while cleaning out our storage unit, I came across books containing our notes and product recipes that we created and realized how much I missed making all those beautiful products; it brought back all the good memories of us working together.
My husband and I want to own a farmstead one day. As we talked and planned and dreamed, all the excitement of what my mom and I were working to build came back to me. I started dreaming of what I could create once we had the farm. I planned all the potions, lotions, and beautiful-smelling things I could offer. Then I thought, “why wait for someday?” Why not start now?!

Moonbeams Unlimited is where I create those lotions and potions and soaps, body sprays, potpourri, and all these beautiful, natural, organic products my mom and I envisioned.

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

Growing up, I was in the kitchen with my Great Aunt and mother melting my crayons to make candles, hot gluing pinecones to make wreaths, and later in life, making cold-process soaps and lotions. I pursued a degree in Landscape Technology and while working at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, DC focused on Herbalism. After 9/11, I followed my passion for helping others to heal and became a licensed massage therapist, Reiki Master, and Holistic Health Coach. The candles, soaps, lotions, and other products I make are infused with Reiki energy. The clients I work with want to incorporate more self-care into their daily routines. I love reminding caregivers that self-care isn’t selfish.
My passion is making self-care easy and guilt-free.
I specialize in coaches & consultants who host retreats and desire a more personalized gift selection for their participants.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have had many opportunities in life to pivot. Some may look at this as a tiresome and frustrating circumstance but I tend to take events like these as “my glass is getting another chance to be filled again” instead of a “my glass is now empty” approach. My most recent pivot was when we moved to a new state during the pandemic. I was with a direct sales company at the time and was having difficulty because I didn’t know anyone locally. People were keeping their distance so trying to build relationships became tough.
I took the time to reflect on what I had been doing vs. what I wanted to do and what was going to bring joy into my life. I made a list of all my previous training & certifications, what I was good at, and what I wanted for my future.
I actually came across old notebooks from a previous business that I started with my mother years ago and started to play with what we had originally created. There was a lightness to the process and it ignited a passion in me that I thought had been long buried.

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

First, I am still building my presence and some might think that my numbers aren’t all that great, yet. I don’t have posts or videos that went viral and I have not become an overnight success. I like to think of myself as the tortoise from Aesop’s fable “The Tortoise and the Hare,” slow and steady wins the race.
I have a like/dislike relationship with social media, so I told myself that I wasn’t going to play the comparison game and instead would just put myself out there and grow organically.
I have kept track of my numbers and have watched them grow over the past year. Could they be better? I suppose. But better according to who? I want real numbers, not inflated numbers from bots or trolls.
I want real customers and people who genuinely like my work to like, comment, and share my social media.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://moonbeamsunlimited.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kariainsworth/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoonbeamsUnlimited
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kariainsworth/

Image Credits
Kari Ainsworth  & My headshot credit should be Dave Koster from Portraits in the Sand