A Day In The Life: How I Make A Living As An Herbalist – Part 2

When I left my job as a registered nurse to stay home with my first baby, I would never have dreamed I’d end up where I am now. In fact, I thought I’d be perfectly content to not have a career and instead to devote myself to caring for my family, but that wasn’t the case.

I’m the kind of person that likes being busy. I like challenges. I like having something of my own that pushes me.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Being a stay-at-home-mom… keeping my house in order, caring for my family, homeschooling my children, and everything else I have to do keeps me plenty busy, and those things are fulfilling to me on a certain level. But embracing a career in a field I’m passionate about, on my own terms, is fulfilling on a totally different level, and it’s something I’ve always wanted. Thankfully, with my husbands encouragement and help, it’s become a reality.

How I Make A Living As An Herbalist

The evolution of my “herbal career” has been a slow one (which is a good thing seeing how herbalism is something that takes time to learn), but looking back, I can see how all the little progressions have led up to big wins. A little over a year ago, I wrote a blog post on how I make a living as an herbalist which detailed my own personal journey in becoming an herbalist. 

It was a slow start with a lot of self-study and trying new things, and it moved me in the right direction.

However, this year, my herbal journey has taken some big turns. Let me tell you about some of them before I share my newest adventure.

First off, I’m no longer working as the blog coordinator for Bulk Herb Store. BHS has/is going through a big restructuring process, and the blog needed to take a backseat to that. I’m sure they’ll bring it back in the future, but it won’t be with me at the helm. Bulk Herb Store is a great business… one that I’m happy to continue to support (I love their products), and I can’t wait to see what all they have in store in the future!

Next, I’ve been working this past year as the blog coordinator for the Herbal Academy (my alma-mater). This job has grown me so much as an herbalist! Not only has it grown my leadership skills, but it’s challenged me to step it up with my herbal education and to prioritize high-quality, accurate information which is so important in the herbal community. The team at the Herbal Academy is no joke. They are serious about providing their students with a high-quality herbal education, and I’m super grateful to be a part of their team.

I’ve also been keeping up with my own blog, Growing Up Herbal, but I’ve been shifting it into more of a personal, lifestyle type blog as opposed to a primarily educational blog. Now, I love blogging… don’t get me wrong, but I’m a extravert and thrive off of interaction with people. Basically, I like team work and group projects. Blogging on your own can be (very) lonely. It’s rare that you have someone that gets what it’s like to be a professional blogger (unless you have a bestie that’s also a blogger) so talking to others about what you do and running ideas past someone is totally hit or miss. Nonetheless, I love this blog, but earlier this year I decided that, at this point in my life, transitioning it to a lifestyle blog was best. Sure I’ve been updating my ebooks, adding some mini-courses, and creating an herbal membership site—Herb Folk, but my business plan no longer includes my blog being my sole source of income.

Changes… They Are A Comin’!

Now, all of this is what I have been doing and what has changed over the past year. But now, I have another new change to announce.

I’ve recently accepted a big promotion with Herbal Academy to come on board as a core team member!!

I’ll still be coordinating their blog (because, again, I love blogging, I learn SO MUCH in that position, and I love the group of writers we have), but I’ll also be assisting the marketing and administration teams in various ways. This will have me more involved in managing and organizing writing teams beyond the blog, in working to do all. the. things. to promo Herbal Academy offerings, and to be more involved on the Herbal Academy social media sites. Plus more, I’m sure. 

I’m super excited about this promotion. It feels like a step in the right direction. I mean, one day you may even see me over there teaching a course with them! Who knows! I’ve got to finish my Advanced studies before that happens, I’m sure! Anyway, I’m grateful, and I can’t wait to see where it leads!

What This Means For Growing Up Herbal

Seeing how we all have 24 hours in a day, things will definitely be changing around here.

My plan is to cut back how often blog posts are published to one post a week, and to bring on paid blog contributers as well. (Email me at meagan [at] growingupherbal [dot] com if you’re a natural living blogger and interested in contributing at GUH!!) Another change that you’ll see happening ASAP is that I’ll be cutting my Letters To Natural Mama emails back to bi-weekly emails. I asked the mamas on my list how often they’d like to get these letters, and the majority said every two weeks would be perfect, so that’s what I’m doing. 

Also, Herb Folk is in the beta phase of launching, and I’ll be putting a lot of time and energy into making this membership site amazing for you over the coming months! This is a one-of-a-kind membership site, and I really want to make learning about herbs fun and doable for you. If you’ve not already signed up to get your first month free, you can do that here. Once you’re first month is up, I’ll tell you how you can join me inside the full program!

Okay… so, all this to say… blogging has opened up a lot of doors for me as far as my “herbal career” goes. Again, I never imagined that I could sit at home in my PJs and have a fulfilling, financially rewarding job all while being the kind of wife and mom I want to be for my family.

I owe so much of this success to you. Thank you for reading my blog! Thank you for buying my products! And thank you for sharing Growing Up Herbal with your friends and family! Without you, this wouldn’t have been possible. THANK YOU!!! And definitely, definitely keep it up. I love connecting with you in this space!