Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Josey.
Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started Golden Poppy in 2011 and began by selling products at farmers’ markets.
In 2012, I opened a small space inside of a local yoga studio, and then later that same year, I was able to open my first storefront.
We moved into our current location in 2016 once we outgrew the original location, and we’ve continued to grow from there.
In the beginning, it was just me doing everything, with the background support of my husband and other family members. Over the years, Golden Poppy has grown into an incredible team of 12 herbalists, nutritionists, and aromatherapists who all share a passion just as deep as mine for keeping the store running and our vision alive in the community.
I no longer make (or even formulate) everything myself; most of the product making is done by my incredible team, but everything we sell is still hand-made in small batches by us in our dedicated kitchen. This includes everything from tinctures and teas to body care and skin care, and we’ve built a community around helping people learn about herbs and take a more active role in their health.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Running a small business is a constant learning experience, and there have been plenty of challenges along the way.
I’ve had to learn how to be a business owner, not just an herbalist. In the early days, I was doing everything myself, and as the business grew, I had to learn how to build a team, delegate, manage people, and make decisions that would support the long-term health of the business.
Learning how to be a manager has been one of the hardest and also most amazing parts of the journey. The store would not be what it is without the amazing team I have keeping it all going.
It really would not exist without the love and dedication that my whole team has for the store.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We specialize in herbal medicine, tinctures, teas, and natural body care, but we’re also a place where people can come to learn. We want everyone who walks through our doors to feel comfortable asking questions without judgment about what they don’t yet know.
Everyone was a beginner once and we want to make sure we are supporting those folks, as well as the experienced herbalists.
One of the things that really sets us apart is that we’re making all of our products ourselves. We do carry things from other small crafters, things that we don’t make like candles and soaps and ceramic mugs and such, but otherwise we are the creators of everything we carry, which feels really special.
We also have the ability to customize things for our customers, and that is a really important piece to what we offer. Each person is unique, and what they experience and the herbs that may support them best are going to be different, so we love having the ability to create customer formulas for our clients and customers.
When people come in and talk to us they can be confident that the person they are talking to is a knowledgeable herbalist (or nutritionist or aromatherapist), and they can be confident in knowing that if we don’t know the answer to their questions, we will be honest about it, and then help them find the answer.
We also have 6 staff members who are practicing clinical herbalists, which means they sit down and offer one-on-one sessions with people who want to do a deeper dive into the world of natural health, or are looking for more personalized support on their health journey. I really think our ability to meet customers where they are at makes us unique.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned along this whole journey is really one of communication. How you communicate with the people in your life is everything.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.GoldenPoppyHerbs.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldenpoppyherbs
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoldenPoppyHerbs/
