Author Archives: karensbotanicals

About karensbotanicals

Owner of Karen's Botanicals.

The Topic Will Appear When The Writer Is Ready

I am a busy woman. No women is as busy as I am, and, “no!” I don’t care to hear about why you are so much busier. It takes a lot of energy to run my life, business, and my family. So I was not thrilled to find my all-wise husband had, “accidentally, opened my social media emails, and was reading news from Miss Donna Marie.
He is like, “Pam, you really need to take this Blog Challenge. You need the practice, and admit it, your business blog is lost somewhere in Bloggy Bottom Swamp. Besides, Miss Pamela don’t you pay for all of these extra Miss Donna Marie perks?

Now I am thinking, “Yes, Sweetness, and mind your own business.” However, being the precious and dutiful wife I am, I added this blog challenge to my growing list of things to do for the month.

But Gee! As days went into a blur, I could not find a good starting topic for my blog submission. Today is the deadline and at 7:00 P.M., I was still without a topic, and time was running out, when just like the proverbial teacher, appearing when the student is finally ready to learn, my topic presented itself. As I sat down to the computer, I could hear in the background a national newscaster discussing something very interesting about the Mighty Amazon. No, not the river in South America, rather the modern online super-store, and a distributor of my own many wonderful products. I listened with great interest to the subject, and I might add, what fortuitous timing.
It seems Amazon is not happy with merchants who are paying for subcontracted individuals to post untrue reviews, and positive claims for pay. They are so distressed at this practice that they are employing an army of legal-beagles to file monetary claims against all one thousand, and one hundred, and fourteen individuals who falsely claimed they have used a particular product, when they have not. They are also looking for those who have written, for pay, negative claims about competitors products.

Well, you ask, “What has this got to do with (1.) me being so busy, and (2.) Miss Donna Marie’s Blog Challenge? ”

“Everything!” I answer.

You see, we are too busy. This busy-business can cause a girl to lose sight of her values. Ethics can get in the way of a good production schedule. We start cutting corners. You need a good review, so you hire a professional lair. No one is really looking, so pad your resume. Need more sales, so you make unfounded claims about your products. Finally you falsify a formula when creativity escapes you.
It is so easy today for all of us cut corners. It is so appealing to take the shortcut, the easy route, and just phone it in, so to speak. Not because we are innately evil-doers, but because we are tired, over-worked and we succumb to the need for success at all cost.
An additional reason this is happening is because we lack the business ethic normally taught somewhere after business marketing 101, and business accounting. We no longer send our young professionals into the marketplace with a basic ethical grounding once necessary for true success.
Seriously, it actually crossed my mind, about a week ago, to hire a, “Fiver,” gal or guy to write a snappy post for me to submit to Miss Donna Marie’s challenge. I mean the Fivers need the money, I need the time, and Miss Donna Marie wants her blog challenge filled to the edges with all of us submitting our postings. It is a win, win, win.
However, this idea was only a momentary and fleeting thought with me, besides I am much to cheap to pay anyone five dollars for something I can write in 5 hours.
The dead-line is still mid-night, Right?
I know that there are going to be a lot of small businesses caught up in this legal issue with Amazon with their false review submissions. I really do not want anyone hurt. I don’t like seeing people hurt; even those who sometimes hurt me. I must lack the killer-business gene.
I just know nobody needs a law suit. Also, I understand why they did this. They were simply trying to find a way to shorten the course, fill in the blanks, and take the path of less resistance. However, taking shortcuts will always cut the person taking them. They cut them out of the opportunity to learn, grow, and develop.
I applaud Amazon for this move. This is an attempt to bring ethics into their relationship with customers and vendors. We need a return to ethics in all of our business relationships. Three cheers for Amazon, and a return to black and white. I’m not being foolish, I know gray is lurking in the next review; however, Amazon light a candle today.
Mostly, I applaud all of us hard-working, super-busy-overworked-under-appreciated indie-makers, who have never paid for a review, and especially those who would close a business before taking such an unethical short-cut, including yours truly

Pamela Mitchell, EOE (Exhausted Owner Extraordinary)
Karen’s Botanicals LLC

Here Comes The Sun

Our Karen’s Botanicals’ Blog Has Disappeared!

Happy 238th Birthday

Our national birthday is July forth. A celebration of the signing of our Declaration of Independence.

There will be great picnics, and amazing fireworks, which I always think of as the official start to summer-fun. July the Forth is also the day each year when I don’t apologize for telling everyone we are an American-Made company, and we buy from other American-Made businesses at every opportunity.

Every time I purchase organic flowers from an American farmer, I am producing a job, which will support organic industries in America. We actively look for American farmers to support. Additionally, we purchase our printing, bottles, jars, and equipment from American-Made companies. We do this, because we want to support our economy. We want to provide jobs. How can Americans bless and support other poorer nations, when we can not provide enough jobs for our own needs? Think of the airline steward’s instruction, “first apply the air-mask to your own face, before reaching out to help others.” This is not selfishness, but practical. When Americans are strong we are the most generous people on earth. No country on earth gives anything comparable to what just the average American family gives each year, in charitable contributions. Once, we were able to extend our hand in millions of aid dollars. We were proud to send food, clothing, medical supplies and dollars where needed. American Aid allowed the poorest of the poor to thrive and move toward greater economic independence. I create jobs here for you and your neighbors, and that is the very best thing I can do for my country’s women.

We also buy American, because I know, it is the best I can do for the environment. I can depend on the American Organic Farmer, and the quality of herbs, spices, plants, and flowers, which we purchase when creating our unique brand of organic skin care products. When comparing apples to roses, there is little real control overseas concerning the use of pesticides, herbicides, and GMO seed. Additionally, everything brought across the seas creates a monster carbon footprint. The less we ship by massive ocean tanker, the better we serve our environment. I might pay a bit more for American-Made, but it is worth the peace of mind I have when certifying a bundle of calendula blossoms as pesticide free. This is the best I can give you.

Most importantly, we support the ethical treatment of employees, everywhere. I know the American farm where my flowers were grown treated her farm workers in an ethical manner. We do not fully know of the economic and physical abuse endured by those who labor in foreign fields. I have no desire to aid the suffering of others by supporting large industrial farms, which create little better than slave conditions for their workers. There are places in this world where children are forced into labor, which is little more than a slave camp. These are places where children are routinely forced into employment at the sacrifice of their education and families. We support the ethical treatment of all persons and one day, hopefully very soon, all persons will be valued and cherished. While American Farms are not yet perfect, few things in life are perfect, but the organic American farm is the best I can give you.

Now, back to the picnic planning. Have a safe and Happy Forth of July.

Clean Up with 20% Sale

Read & Repeat

Message Worth Repeating

This message comes from one of our herbal suppliers. At first sight it was hard to read. Slowly, I began to see the value in repeating this message, even if fear of rejection was seeping into my mind. We are barraged with news, which is less than uplifting, so once in a while we need to know that people are thinking about how to improve the world and making small efforts at bringing a smile to others.

It Has Melted!

It was a long dark winter. Most of the country has experienced the season as the bitterest of cold, and it never seemed to end. I know we are exhausted from winter; therefore, sighting a first sprig of green, or the annual appearance of a robin is cause for momentary celebration. It feels so good to open a window for fresh air and not hear the, “you’re letting the cold in!”

Our 10th Anniversary Sale

1 Reply

2004 ~ 2014

It’s our Birthday!

Karen’s Botanicals is celebrating ten years of formulating organic creations for wonderful customers, family, and friends. This is a huge event in the world of small business, as ten years is a milestone. Everyone is familiar with statistics for business failure, with few companies surviving the first eighteen months.

This is Karen’s Botanicals’ 120th month.
That’s a big, “Wow!”

We recognize this accomplishment is a shared one. We want to take this opportunity to thank you, the customers, for helping us succeed. Your support can not be measured. You are the front line of this success. Our very best ideas come from you and I am always grateful to hear from you concerning our product line. I might sit quietly on your ideas for months, but they are recorded and every effort is given to implement your suggestions. We are so very grateful to you our customers.

Thank you for your supportive attitudes and the graciousness you show to our company. Ultimately you are the reason we can celebrate our anniversary.

Secondly, We share this accomplishment with Karen Palcho, and she has given us plenty of reasons to celebrate. Her artistic vision, knowledge and expertise made this company possible. Karen moved her products beyond the hip, “natural-label,” to a very organic and pure label. Everything Karen brought to this business was authentic, because she was true to herself and her ideals. She was ahead of her time in 2004 when most people were still using the terms, “Natural, and Organic,” as interchangeable descriptions. She could have settled, but she did not.

Thank you Karen. If not for your willingness to take this risk we’d be missing the greatest fun of our lives.

We want to mention the suppliers and the import role they play in our development. This might seem an odd group to thank, because I pay them; however, without our wildcrafters, organic farmers, and corporate suppliers we could not work with the quality of ingredients necessary for truly pure and wholesome products.

We have a wildcrafter in Northern Alaska. He works for us in the very worst of winter, as that is the only time the buds can be harvested correctly. His land is the most remote location you can imagine. There he selects only the finest buds, and these produce our wonderful oils with that delicious aroma. He does all of this with the greatest care not to injure the buds, and he works land that has never been commercially cultivated. The land is free from pesticides, herbicides, and all harvested in the most ethical possible manner.

How can we not love this guy.
He is fantastic.

Personally, I want to thank my family. I have such wonderful sons and the most terrific step-son, and these guys have been so supportive of my efforts. Our son, Stephan, has served as the greatest technical adviser I could ever have. He has assisted on projects to numerous to list, and is Vice President of our company.

Thank you, Boys.
Your emotional support has sustained me.

Finally, to my husband,
Truly, the only animal we use to test our products, and who suffers much, but says little.
I love you.