9 Years.
It's hard to believe as I type these words, this number, that we're NINE?!
Almost a decade of formulating and producing small-batch, all-natural products, almost 10 years of bringing pure plant wellness to you.
Over the course of this journey, this story that continues to be written, there have been many highs and many lows, many moments of triumph and many that just about broke me. As any entrepreneur will tell you, you need a tough skin in business, a strong, dig deep mentality to rise above when the pathway feels riddled with obstacles.
As I reflect on these past nine years, I'm sharing some highs and lows, moments of incredible celebration and moments I wasn't sure Maison Apothecare would continue. A lot goes on behind the scenes of a company, the inner workings, the moments of magic, the conversations where new ideas and products are hatched and before we know it a new collection is born.
These are the moments.
High - believing in myself, staying the course and realizing that everything that I had ever hoped for was possible and within reach.
Low - the world of manufacturing was complicated and I wasn't being taken seriously.
High - seeing my products in the hands of actual customers eager to buy them and not just my family and close friends. (Thanks Mom!)
Low - having to wait 4 very long years before paying myself because ever penny went right back in to the company.
High - opening my first brick and mortar location in Niagara-On-The-Lake and realizing that I had an un-tapped ability to bring spaces to life.
High - Inadvertently creating a nationally-recognized cleaning brand out of my obsession with all things lemon, and by extension almost a cult-following around it.
Low - the realization that people and partners whom I thought had my back, while I took leave to have my second child, were in fact stabbing me in the back.
High - securing my company back, re-establishing it and making it soar higher than I ever thought possible.
High - *Sanitizer Day* - May 2020 when the launch of one product almost crashed our website.
Low - having to find a new warehouse and touring some pretty drab, downright dirty and sometimes really creepy locations (flashback: opening dark closet to find child manikin) before find the ONE.
High - finally having the the best core team I could ever wish for!
On this, our 9th birthday, I thank you for following the journey of Maison Apothecare, for supporting us through your purchases, for your notes of gratitude and personal stories of how my products have helped you and your family. Cheers to the next 9!
XO, Natacha.
