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

Tessa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Walking Lightly grew out of my own frustration with plastic packaging. The more I was learning about the realities of recycling, the more I realized that recycling really needs to be a last resort. Pre-pandemic, I was able to get most of our groceries plastic-free, but I struggled with home and body goods. I didn’t want to manage a bunch of subscriptions (or weigh the carbon footprint of that), so I began searching around and discovered the refill model was prevalent in the UK, in Canada and California. Once I realized the possibility, I started planning. This was 2019, so of course there have been some twists and turns, but with each iteration of our business, our mission remains the same: We help Metro Detroiters reduce their waste and better our planet by offering a community space to reduce, reuse & refill.

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

I’m an accidental entrepreneur. I’m a social worker by trade, and really it’s how I still think of myself. When I started Walking Lightly, I was still working as a social worker and began doing local deliveries of zero waste goods (milkman style) and at pop-ups on the weekends. When the pandemic hit and my three kids shifted to virtual school, I was really struggling to do my social work job and help my kids navigate their school needs at the same time, so like a lot of moms during COVID, I stepped back from my job. It allowed me to put more energy into the business, and really create the business model for the flexibility I needed. It really took off, and that’s because so many other community members were also struggling with not having options to reduce plastic packaging and waste. The business was able to grow slowly and sustainably, and I’m very grateful for that. We have been able to keep thousands and thousands of bottles out of the waste stream, and as this model has become more popular, I feel really proud of the impact our community has made together! When people vote with their dollars, they really are able to have big impact on markets. That has been incredibly exciting to be a part of! But I also want people to know that no one needs to do this [sustainability] perfectly. I don’t, and I don’t know anyone else that does, either. We aren’t striving for perfect. We’re striving for better. And we’re doing it!

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

I will say I think our social media needs are different from what all of the advice out there is geared towards. Because we are so locally-focused (we don’t currently ship), we aren’t aiming for as many followers as we can get. And a lot of the advise you’ll find is how to get the most followers. Our focus is to connect genuinely with the people right here in our community. We share consistently, pay attention to what content most folks engage with, and we’re transparent about why we do what we do. We are clear about our impact and our values, and I think the folks coming in our door appreciate that. We do donate to local organizations and partner with other local businesses, so that helps to build a good foundation. I don’t pay for followers, I don’t think that’s a sustainable model, and it isn’t what I want to engage with. I feel very lucky that I know a lot of our followers IRL, because they’re customers. I will say it is such a huge gift with people share our posts, our efforts, tag us, etc. Honest reviews are invaluable!

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

I think one thing I’m still working on unlearning is that there will be one right path. There have been several different potentials I’ve gotten very excited about over the years only to be disappointed when they didn’t come to fruition. And whether they were potential buildings, suppliers, or partnerships, them falling through wasn’t an end for the business. I think each time this has happened, I’ve learned something valuable, and the sort of overarching lesson that I’m trying to learn is that while I’ll keep exploring what avenues will be the best fit, there will always be shifts and changes and things that don’t work out. I’m not sure what has taught me to have a flexible mindset more: the pandemic or running a small business, but either way, I’m learning.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.walkinglightly.net
• Instagram: @walking.lightly.mi
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/walking.lightly.mi

Image Credits
*the pic of syrup bottle being filled: Elsie Herrmann rest: Tessa Benziger