Meet Christine Young

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christine Young. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christine below.

Hi Christine, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

This is a great question that I think ties in with a lot of other topics. For me personally, it takes practice and figuring out who you are and what you stand for. Stepping out of my comfort zone and learning about myself. My motivations, my fears, my joys and observing what inspires me and where I might find challenges. I think the biggest gift we can give ourselves is to find out who we are without the noise of expectation from others. I spent a lot of my early career in service of others whether it was at my detriment, worked hard for companies that touted being a family business until I was run down. At the end of the day, I really wasn’t left with anything except realizing I can work really hard, and then finally turning that to myself. I was discouraged from art and writing, creativity and sort of pushed into a mechanized production machine and to this day still struggle with needing to accomplish things. But as I write more, invest in my own shop as a business owner and find creative outlets like painting and pottery, I’m settling back into myself.

When I stand back, I know what I love in this life, I know what I stand for, what my values are and what motivates me everyday. To know where I came from, the gifts my ancestors have passed down and the own value I add to my life. That gives me my confidence and self esteem.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’ve just opened my little herbal apothecary and tea shop in the LoHi are of Denver as of June 2024. The neighborhood has been so welcoming and people are slowly finding their way to my shop. I also sell my special teas online. I center on sustainability, community and quality products. A lot of my herbs and teas come form local farms, direct from Korea where my family is from, and from ethical farms around the globe. I use my experience as an herbalist and my love for tea to create wellness blends and also sell bulk herbs and teas. I love making custom formulas and holding workshops. I often have a tea crafting workshop that has been selling out each month. The workshops are small and intentional.

I also sell Kimchi at the shop, with a recipe straight from my grandmother and mother, it’s currently sold out but will be in stock again at the end of March. Everything is hand batched by me including the tea blends so everything is intentional and sold as I am able to keep up with inventory.

I also hold pop ups for local businesses that don’t have a brick and mortar whether its a baker every Sunday or a small business on Saturdays, it’s been great meeting with other small businesses and supporting each other.

I have a tea tasting and chocolate pairing coming up for the Mile High Asian Food Week, so stay tuned for those pairings! I’m headed to Korea in April 2025 and bringing back new teas straight from farms to pair and share.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I think it’s important to know what you’re actually interested in, it’s hard to be in business if you don’t believe in what you are doing. Being able to pivot and make changes is important to survive, take your ideas and look at them from different points of view, let go of something that is dragging you down, and notice what is working and what isn’t.

Believe in yourself and work towards that. Some people might not be able to see the idea, but once you’ve put it into creation and work hard to make it a reality, they’ll finally get it, or the right people will find you who support your mission.

Collaborations have been everything for a small business like mine. Reaching out to adjacent businesses, supporting small makers, and finding organizations that are supportive are integral, It’s difficult to do this alone, lean into community. Tell your story.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

I think there are general challenges that most small businesses face, and for me in particular it’s marketing and funding. I pay for everything out of pocket and do all of my own social media, and it’s time consuming to say the least. I’m also the accountant, production hand, front desk register, receptionist, you name it, I’m doing it. It’s hard to get the word out, but publications like this, word of mouth, and social media have been a huge help. Some of us smaller businesses aren’t picked up by big newspapers because we aren’t sensational enough, or can afford big marketing campaigns. So I just do what I can, the growth becomes slow, but builds up over time and I’m able to keep up with demand while learning about my business. It takes about 2 years before any bank will seriously consider funding, but until then I’ll be applying to grants, and continuing to push along.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hearthandseoul.com
• Instagram: @hearthandseoulshop

Image Credits

All photos are my property.