Today we’d like to introduce you to Sadie Schultz.
Hi Sadie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve learned that my story isn’t a straight line, it’s more like a winding mountain trail. There have been moments of deep clarity, long stretches of learning, and a few steep climbs that asked everything of me. All of it has shaped how I lead, how I build, and how I stay rooted in service.
I’m the owner of The Spice & Tea Exchange of Idaho Springs, a retail shop nestled in our historic downtown. On the surface, it’s a place for spices, teas, and gifts yet at its heart, it’s a community space. A place where people slow down, talk about food and ritual, and reconnect with simple pleasures. Opening the shop in Idaho Springs was a dream come true, I love this small town and the everyday magic that happens when people gather, and that is what keeps me going as a small business owner in Idaho Springs.
At the same time, I serve as the Director of the Idaho Springs Business & Community Promotions Board, where I work closely with the City, local businesses, and regional partners on economic vitality, tourism strategy, events, and storytelling. That role grew naturally out of years spent in community leadership, including my time as Director of the Idaho Springs Chamber of Commerce. I’ve always been drawn to the space where people, place, and purpose meet and Idaho Springs became the landscape where that work could take root.
Parallel to my civic and retail work is Chamomile & the Sage, my holistic practice centered on herbalism, nervous system care, and plant-based ritual. This work is deeply personal. It comes from my own healing journey, my relationship with the natural world, and a belief that leadership whether in business or in life, must be grounded, embodied, and human. Plants taught me how to listen, how to slow down, and how to lead without burning myself or others out.
For a long time, I tried to separate these identities: business owner, director, herbalist, community builder. What I’ve learned is that they are not separate at all. They’re expressions of the same thread, a commitment to building systems that are regenerative, relationships that are real, and places that people feel connected to.
Today, my work lives at the intersection of entrepreneurship, community development, and care. I support local businesses, steward public-facing projects, welcome people into my shop, and create spaces both literal and symbolic where people can feel grounded and hopeful about the future. I didn’t arrive here by accident. I arrived here by listening closely, staying curious, and choosing, again and again, to build a life and a body of work that feels aligned with the place I call home.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road…and honestly, I don’t think the meaningful ones ever are.
One of the biggest challenges has been learning how to carry responsibility without letting it consume me. I’ve held roles where the needs of a whole community were suddenly on my shoulders, during economic uncertainty, major construction disruption, a global pandemic, and periods of rapid change for a small mountain town. Navigating public expectations, limited resources, and very real human emotions while trying to move projects forward has required resilience, discernment, and a thickening of my skin without hardening my heart.
As a retail business owner, the challenges have been equally real yet very different. Opening and operating a retail shop in this tiny mountain town means navigating seasonal swings, supply chain disruptions, staffing challenges, and the constant tension between rising costs and keeping things accessible for locals. There were moments where keeping the doors open required creativity, sacrifice, and faith in the long game. Small business ownership teaches you quickly that success isn’t about perfection, it’s about adaptability and showing up even when the margins feel thin and balancing the needs of my community role within the needs of my business and staff.
On a more personal level, one of my greatest struggles has been unlearning hustle culture. For a long time, I believed that being capable meant being endlessly available, that leadership required constant output. That mindset led to burnout and forced me to confront how unsustainable that way of living truly is. My work with plants, ritual, and nervous system care didn’t just support my clients…it saved me. It taught me that rest is not a reward, boundaries are not failures, and slowing down can actually create stronger, more resilient outcomes.
There’s also the challenge of being visible. Leading in a small community means your work, and your mistakes, are seen. You don’t get to hide behind titles or distance. That level of proximity requires humility, accountability, and the willingness to stay in conversation even when it’s uncomfortable.
Every obstacle has shaped how I lead today. I’m more grounded, more collaborative, and more honest about what sustainable leadership looks like. The road has been messy, challenging, and formative and I wouldn’t trade it, because it’s taught me how to build not just businesses or programs, for me it has been about trust, endurance, and a sense of belonging that lasts beyond any single project.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work lives at the intersection of community, commerce, and care, I could not pick a topic from the drop down because I see myself in all those areas, business, employee, professional, creative…so other it is.
On a very tangible level, I’m the owner of The Spice & Tea Exchange of Idaho Springs, where I specialize in creating an inviting, sensory-rich retail experience rooted in connection and storytelling. The shop is known for its warmth, not just in flavor, for me it is in creating a feeling. It’s a place where locals and visitors alike can slow down, ask questions, and rediscover everyday rituals around food, tea, and gathering. I’m proud that the shop has become a trusted, welcoming anchor in our downtown and a reminder that small businesses can still feel human in a fast, transactional world.
In my civic role, I serve as the Director of the Idaho Springs Business & Community Promotions Board. I specialize in place-based economic development, supporting local businesses, leading marketing and tourism initiatives, producing community events, and helping guide long-term projects that shape how people experience Idaho Springs. I’m known for being a bridge-builder: someone who can translate between city leadership, business owners, residents, and visitors, while keeping the heart of the community at the center of decision-making.
Alongside that, through Chamomile & the Sage, I work as an herbalist, guide, and nervous system–informed practitioner. I specialize in plant medicine, ritual, and trauma-aware practices that help people reconnect with themselves and the natural world. This work informs everything else I do. It’s where I’ve learned how to listen deeply, work with complexity, and hold space without rushing to fix, skills that translate directly into leadership and community work.
What I’m most proud of is not any single project, for me it is the ecosystems I’ve helped nurture, the community that is stronger because we seek to know and understand one another. Businesses that feel supported instead of isolated. Events that feel intentional rather than extractive. Systems that balance economic vitality with care for people and place. I’m proud that I’ve been able to stay rooted in integrity while working across very different worlds…public and private, practical and spiritual.
What sets me apart is that I don’t believe these worlds are separate. I bring nervous system awareness into leadership. I bring long-term thinking into retail. I bring reverence for place into economic development. I lead with empathy, clarity, and a commitment to sustainability, not just environmentally, for me it is important to recognize the importance of emotions and relationships.
At the end of the day, I’m known for creating and holding spaces shops, programs, conversations, and communities where people feel grounded, seen, and invited to belong. That, more than anything, is the work I’m here to do.
What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is connection…to people, to place, and to ourselves.
I’ve seen what happens when disconnection shows up. As burnout, division, anger, broken systems, and a sense that we’re always behind or not enough. I’ve also seen the opposite: when people feel rooted, supported, and genuinely connected, creativity returns, collaboration becomes possible, and resilience grows both individually and collectively.
Place matters deeply to me. Idaho Springs isn’t just where I work; it’s where I’ve chosen to invest my care, my energy, and my leadership. Honoring the history, landscape, and living community of a place creates a kind of stewardship that goes beyond short-term wins. When decisions are made with reverence for place, they tend to serve people better in the long run.
Care matters…especially in leadership. I believe how we do the work matters just as much as what we build. Nervous system health, rest, and humanity aren’t luxuries; they’re prerequisites for sustainable impact. Whether I’m running my shop, supporting local businesses, or guiding someone through healing work, I’m always asking: does this create more safety, clarity, and possibility?
I also care deeply about integrity. About doing work that aligns with my values even when it’s slower, harder, or less flashy. About building trust instead of chasing visibility. About choosing collaboration over competition and depth over speed.
At the core of it all is a simple belief: people and places thrive when they are treated as living systems, not resources to be depleted. What matters to me is being part of work, and a way of living that helps restore that remembering.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.visitidahospringsco.com/
- Instagram: iamsadieschultz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TSTEIdahoSprings
- Other: https://substack.com/@chamandthesage?utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page
Image Credits
Ross Brier
