We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brenda Burdette. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brenda below.
Brenda, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I think that resilience comes from picking yourself back up. That can come in many forms; rebuilding after a rough childhood, a failed relationship, a loss of trust, going into the unknown and having no starting point to build from. Resilience, for me, is this inner drive that has come from all of those things. Life is hard, but if we walk away from each experience with a perspective of learning, it’s really helpful in moving forward. I also want to say – many of us have trauma – and resilience in no way disregards trauma – but most things we can try to look at from a lens that helps us improve ourselves and keep going. I grew up in a family where you never thought college was a possibility, but I wanted something different. When I was 21, I became a single mom of a toddler, and another on the way. Being a mother has been the most transformative experience, that not only saved me – because I had these beautiful little souls who needed me, and for a time – they were my resilience. Once I had my footing, I started working on breaking those generational things. At 29, I was married, had three kids under the age of 10, was working full time, and went back to school. It was four years of tight schedules, all wrapped around the joys and challenges of having a family. I feel like I was able to teach my kids during that time, that all things are possible. Maybe hard – but possible.
The next step was learning all of the unspoken rules of the Corporate world – that they do not teach you or tell you about in school. There is an unspoken language, taken for granted by families who are not first-generation college graduates. Over time, I learned the language, balanced it with raising my kids, and eventually had enough grounding to start my business. I feel like each step along the way knocked me down, and I had to get back up. But every time I was knocked down, I learned something. Sometimes it was excruciatingly painful, including the mom-guilt of being a working mom. But I see my kids grown now, with knowledge and insight I didn’t have. I see how I’ve grown in my career, how I’ve been able to apply wisdom from my hard times to lift up young people who are faced with similar challenges. I see the business I’ve started – how it embodies all of the love, the learning, the passion, and resilience, materialized in this beautiful little space of kindness and inspiration – and that is what it’s all about. Navigating through life, knowing when to look at each second – in the moment, getting your footing – and knowing when you can step back again to move to the next phase.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’ve never been one to sit still. I’ve always had my “day job”, and then some form of enrichment on the side (farmer’s markets and lots of crafting activities along the way). Professionally, I’ve been in Finance and Accounting for many years. I’m also very into being creative with my spare time, making connections, and appreciating nature and all of it’s magic. This has been a bit of a conundrum, in terms of the huge difference between being a person working in a corporate environment, while also wanting to “be the change”. Ironically, this has created the perfect environment for me to start a business; bringing all of my passions together in a space that drives the community, engages my mind, and allows me to curate a feeling within a space. It has been so rewarding to hear my customers say things like “I could stay here all day – it’s just so peaceful here”. Resen Refillery and Natural Market is a little shop in Grove City, OH town center – in the most beautiful historic house – with so much history. When you walk in the door, we have a table stocked with handmade skincare products that I make in-house, welcoming you with the sweet smell of pure essential oils, all non-toxic, with familiar, simple ingredients. We also have a variety of refillable soaps and body-care products – so you can bring your own container or purchase one to re-use during your next visit. Along with our bulk body-care and home cleaning products, we also offer a wide array of Ohio-made soaps, plastic-free shampoo/conditioner, package-free and biodegradable packaged deodorants, and many other sustainable swaps. We carry local handmade reusable non-paper towels, local handmade produce and laundry bags – so many fun, local, and just plain cute swaps to make sustainability fun. We are also the only refillery in Ohio to offer personal care AND grocery. We have an entire room dedicated to bulk pantry items like organic beans, rice, grains, and pasta, as well as organic bulk snacks like chocolate covered pretzels, jelly beans, and over 100 herbs, spices, and baking ingredients! Finally, we are working on our eCommerce site for curbside and online ordering as well as starting our events soon, where we will engage the community in interactive activities and learning opportunities. The Grove City Farmer’s Market starts on May 11th – we will have a table outside, as well as putting activities like making a simple cleaner, room spray, or sugar scrub, or learning about the chemical compounds in herbs to help make a soothing tea, and many other fun activities.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Keeping creativity alive while working in a professional setting. 2. Picking up business skills to appropriately plan, forecast, and curate/purchase product mix.
3. Learning to communicate with people from all over the world has been transformative.
I think the key to developing these skills is to be open to learning. Always assume you have more to learn and you are missing a piece of the puzzle. Never assume you know more than the person sitting next to you, because you probably each carry an important piece. Surround yourself with people who have different experiences, backgrounds, and learn from them, share with them – and build a team of people who make a more complete whole. But never lose your sense of self, and what makes you, you.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Starting a business is a huge undertaking. It is even more challenging when you are balancing time between an existing career and a brand-new business. Opening a business is more than just seeing a dream to fruition. It is also creating a feeling for your customer. It is selecting the right product mix for your brand, which must align to the branding image, the philosophy and mission of your business, and it also has to be something that customers need or want, is accessible, and that also does the very real thing of keeping the doors open – paying the rent, paying employees, keeping the lights on, and replenishing inventory. It’s that old saying of “it’s a mix of art and science” and also some math!
I have a great team of young women who make this all possible. They are passionate, smart, capable, and love and believe in what we are doing. They help with taking photos for web development, they are knowledgeable in the space – informing our customers about herbs and sustainable approaches, and our impact. They share our content with their own social media audiences. They do more than come in and run the register – they are helping me build this business, and they are learning valuable skills to carry into their future. It is the best partnership, we lift each other up – and being able to do that, makes this all possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.resenrefillery.com
- Instagram: @resenrefillery
- Facebook: Resen Refillery and Natural Market
