We were lucky to catch up with Nikki Santigati recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nikki, thanks for joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

Starting my own business was the best decision for me. I have never been happier in my life and am so grateful for the enrichment both personally and professionally that owning my business has allowed me to experience. For over 20 years I had worked for someone else whether it was managing pet resorts & retail stores, to cashiering, or hospitality I knew that job setting was not my end goal. When I left my last industry I knew I was given an opportunity to bet on myself. But after a year of being in business learning, growing, succeeding, struggling, etc. it can be a lot. Going from a steady paycheck to living order to order is a scary jump of faith. One day out of the blue I was offered an opportunity to manage again in the animal care industry. This offer came with a decent salary, comfortability in my environment and skills, along with a steady paycheck. When the offer came through I was flattered and appreciated being considered for this position. The money and steady paycheck along with other perks was hard to turn away, because living order to order is very different than living guaranteed paycheck to paycheck. But I knew in my hearts of hearts that I was destined to keep moving forward on this path I had created for myself. To keep dedicating my time, energy, and resources to growing my business, and in return continuing to grow both my personal and professional enrichment. This wasn’t a decision made lightly but was eased with the support from my friends and family. I am grateful to have such an incredible support system that allows me the freedom to discuss even the most difficult of situations with them. A support system that also celebrates even the smallest of victories with me. This personal journey is something that I wouldn’t change for the world. But, everyone’s journey is different and these decisions are very personal, but I feel that when the time comes deep down you know what is best for you.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Copper Crescent Botanicals is not just any company it is someone’s dream, someone’s passion. That dream that passion is mine my name is Nikki Santigati. I founded Copper Crescent Botanicals for people like myself searching for handcrafted botanically infused products that align with the ebb & flow of daily life. By celebrating the natural medical properties of our botanical allies; while harnessing the lunar and solar cycles that are intertwined with our daily lives and daily routines. Providing handcrafted products and hand chosen accessories that assist with bringing us close to nature and closer to those who came before us.

For as long as I can remember I have suffered from eczema but while in college I had a allergic reaction to commercialized soaps and fragrances. Little did I know how significant that reaction would be in changing the trajectory of my life. Having to change my day to day routine I fell in love with cold process soap and when I graduated college it was clear I wanted to start my own company. The idea originally was to make soap but during my studies as an herbalist I truly fell in love with the skincare side of herbalism. In addition to understanding the importance of whole body wellness. My education gave me the tools to properly source my raw materials, what it means to create intentional products, how to honor mother earth and her celestial bodies, while honoring your own self. I will forever be grateful for my herbalism training as it laid the foundation for me to get to where I am today.

During my first year in business I hit so many milestones. When the company launched in January I had 125 followers on Instagram my goal was 500 followers by July well July came and we had hit over a 1,000 followers by the end of the year over 3,000 and growing. Launched an e-commerce site. When I launched my business so many people asked me if I had a website. Since my company was brand new I had not established a website or ecommerce platform. After the spring season had come to a close I decided it was time to launch a website and ecommerce store. With so many different options available it is so important to research which platform will work best for you. When doing research, reach out to your friends, family or colleagues who are using the different sites and gather intel pros and cons of the different sites you are thinking about using for your website and ecommerce store. When creating my website I found it very beneficial to use free source stock imagery with my products to give that extra polished professional feel. Pixabay is an excellent source for free source and they also have a feature to link you to professional images and videos for purchase. In addition the site builder may also have free source imagery that is available as well. I found it important to also gather an idea of your theme and aesthetic for the site such as fonts, photo’s, written material needed to build and flush out the site, have photos of products and product descriptions ready as this will make it easier to simply upload the images and copy and paste written material. What is your mission statement? Do you have a tagline? These were all things I never really thought about until I built my site. Was featured in two local retail locations. Was featured in a local magazine Shout Out Arizona. But, for me my biggest accomplishment was winning a microgrant from My Founder Story. A foundation that empowers women. Thanks to the microgrant money I was able to rebrand the company and launch a men’s skincare line.

My hope is to inspire people to find their path to their happiness. This journey is my personal happiness and what I have always truly wanted out of my life. Even though I knew it was gonna be tough, scary and unknown. I knew I had to try. I didn’t want to look back 30 years from now and ask what if?

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

The very first product I ever created was an herbal bath tea satchel for a project in school.  As I was developing my product line I knew I wanted to include the herbal bath tea satchels. While creating my blends and researching reusable tea bags I came across a neutral colored bag. With the neutral color selected and a wide range of scent profiles this item was flying off the shelves until one day it wasn’t. From customer feedback to data reports I knew these products were worth keeping in production. But how do I take this stellar product from zero sales to multiple sales? I started to wonder if the issue to the problem was a simple one. I decided to try a slight shift by finding reusable bags with patterns. After searching for sometime I finally found the perfect bags that gave each herbal scent profile it’s own pattern and uniqueness. Once, I introduced the new bags the sales started flowing again. This endeavor taught me a valuable lesson in pivoting as I evaluate the trends in my products, in sales, and in the market.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

When I launched my business so many people asked me if I had a website. Since my company was brand new I had not established a website or ecommerce platform. After the spring season had come to a close I decided it was time to launch a website and ecommerce store. With so many different options available it is so important to research which platform will work best for you. When doing research, reach out to your friends, family or colleagues who are using the different sites and gather intel pros and cons of the different sites you are thinking about using for your website and ecommerce store. When creating my website I found it very beneficial to use free source stock imagery with my products to give that extra polished professional feel. Pixabay is an excellent source for free source and they also have a feature to link you to professional images and videos for purchase. In addition the site builder may also have free source imagery that is available as well. I found it important to also gather an idea of your theme and aesthetic for the site such as fonts, photo’s, written material needed to build and flush out the site, have photos of products and product descriptions ready as this will make it easier to simply upload the images and copy and paste written material. What is your mission statement? Do you have a tagline? These were all things I never really thought about until I built my site.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://coppercrescentbotanicals.com/
• Instagram: coppercrescent
• Facebook: Copper Crescent Botanicals
• Youtube: Copper Crescent Botanicals
• Other: Tiktok: coppercrescent Google Business: Copper Crescent Botanicals