We recently connected with Kimberly Richardson and have shared our conversation below.

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

As I started to get more of my books published, I also learned about the health benefits of tea. I wanted to exchange my coffee-drinking ways for something better, so tea was the likely choice. Once I realized how wonderful tea was to my body, mind, and soul, I delved deeper: attending tea festivals, participating in a Japanese Tea Ceremony group, and finally becoming certified as a Tea Specialist through World Tea Academy. Finally, I wondered about creating tea blends inspired by my books, and Viridian Tea Company was born. I wanted to ensure that my readers would enjoy a fulfilling experience that involved reading my books and drinking the accompanying tea blend. My blends are now inspired by books, art, music, and science, I currently have over 30 blends.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am from Memphis, Tennessee, moved to New Orleans, and landed in Colorado four years ago. I’ve always been a bookworm and loved going to the library as much as possible when I was younger. The first stories I wrote were about a little black girl who went on adventures – my version of Indiana Jones! I never got those stories published, but a desire to write began to bloom within me. When I was published for the first time, I couldn’t believe it; my seemingly unreachable dream had come true. My creativity has expanded from writing books to creating tea blends, playing the violin (her name is Frederica!), knitting, and taking photos (I am a cemetery photographer). My company, Viridian Tea Company, reflects my various creative pursuits. Moving to Colorado has caused my company to explode in ways I didn’t think were possible and all I can do is enjoy the ride!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One big lesson that I am still unlearning is PATIENCE. It’s been tough yet I understand why patience is necessary for me. I used to want everything to happen all at once and when it didn’t, I would stress out and wonder what I had done wrong. After many years of meditating and journaling, I realized that having patience means that there are many things beyond my control. The only things I could honestly control were within me, causing a great weight to be removed from my shoulders. Instead of worrying about matters that weren’t happening as fast as I wanted them to, I turned that energy to matters that I could accomplish. Every day, I write Be Patient in my journal and then I go out and do it.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I used to have business cards with all of my information printed on them. I thought that was the perfect way for people to keep up with my social media. However, when I ran out of cards, I learned about creating one link that showcased all of my social media. Now, all of my tea bags have a QC code for the customer to click on and see all of my related links. Having a QC code for customers to scan when they meet me at an event has steadily increased my audience and also saved me money in the long run by no longer ordering cards that people would throw away later. No mess, no fuss.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://viridianteacompany.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viridiangirl/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ViridianTea
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@viridianteahouse
• Other: My blog – Eccentric Tea Woman: https://eccentricteawoman.blogspot.com/

Image Credits

Jackie Verona and Order of the Black Silk book covers by Pro Se Productions.

All other photos by Kimberly B. Richardson.