About a month ago, I introduced the Herbal Activity Kits with the intention of launching the boxes for pre-sale in the beginning of November. Since then, I have also been frantically trying to keep up with all of my other business responsibilities, and which includes staying on top of packing and fulfilling holiday orders, hand crafting marketing campaigns and newsletters, writing and editing for multiple media platforms, vending at holiday events, staying organized, keeping my head screwed on.

I have slowly been chipping away at the extensive content I promised for the Herbal Activity Kits, but in typical ADHD fashion, I grossly underestimated the amount of time and physical labor that launching these kits was going to entail. Shocker.

And then last Friday, after too much physical therapy (don’t even get me started), I threw my back out. I have been slowly recovering, but am still finding it difficult to sit, stand, or walk for extended periods of time. I don’t know about you all, but trying to be productive while horizontal is not a skill I am particularly adept at.

On Sunday evening, I was frantically trying to get some herbal monographs finished so that I could move on to prepping the 5 pound brick of beeswax I have into cute little pre-measured molds- a process that is doomed to take at least 4-6 hours on my feet (as a manufacturer for 6 years, I have gotten much better at estimating manufacturing labor.. though clearly I can’t say the same for other aspects of my business).

What I expected to only take a day for each herbal monograph, has taken closer to a week per herb. And those are just the research drafts, not the beautiful laminated prints I hoped to include in each kit. I still have not formatted the perfect recipe card, nor have I had the time to stage a photographically appropriate work space in my shared kitchen, and photograph the process I promised for said recipe cards.

The realization dawned on me last night that I think I may be trying to accomplish too many projects at once. I have been experiencing increasingly unkind self talk about this particular project for weeks since it has been several since I missed the promised launch date. You know, the usual “you’re so lazy, just get it done!” “Done is better than perfect!” “Stop spending so much time on one task!” “just focus!” and while, admittedly, some of those might be partially true, I also have a tendency of taking on way more than I can handle, and then beating myself up for not, er, handling it.

Between the holiday chaos that is already well underway (and certain to become even more of a crisis as these cyber-sales invade our inboxes and minds), and trying to actually take care of my human and dependents needs (ya know, eat, shower, walk the dog, play with the cat, clean, laundry, repeat), I have found myself making more self sacrifices.

I’ve been attempting to do more, more, more to keep up with other businesses who have massive marketing teams and virtual assistants, all while putting an entire workshop together with a busted back that will hardly allow me to sit in one position for longer than 30 minutes at a time. So, I am waving my white flag for all of you to witness.

I have made the difficult decision to stop beating myself up (yep, that was the hardest part!), and to release myself of the burden of trying to launch these workshops with an increasingly narrowing deadline to the holidays. As with most things I embark on, I want to do them really well. The perfectionist in me refuses to under-deliver what I had promised. I do not want to provide underwhelming and half arsed entertainment boxes, but very comprehensive, informative, unique workshops that you can actually learn from.

As as result, I am postponing the Herbal Activity Kit Launch to 2025. I am giving myself the gift of room to breathe. And in exchange, I am offering you all the following exclusive offer.

Our gift sets have been getting a lot of attention, but I have been getting some feedback for a lower price point option for folks who will be gifting my products to loved ones who are new to this whole world of herbs. I decided to put together a selection of Limited Edition gift sets under $35 to provide a range of options for every household.

I don’t want to be another natural products business who is reserved only for high earning demographics. It is my firm belief that my products can make a huge difference for people, and I want to get them into as many hands as possible without feeling like someone is making a huge financial sacrifice and taking a chance on something that they’ve never tried before.