We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Heather & Jesse Waltz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Heather & Jesse, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Two things have always been important to us: ensuring the products we consume are natural, and doing our part to reduce negative impacts on the enviroment.
We knew we wanted to create something with ingredients we would feel comfortable using ourselves while also helping reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up polluting our oceans and affecting wildlife.
With these core ideas in mind, our business developed naturally into something larger than we could have ever imagined! Everyday we get the opportunity to educate and share these ideas with others and encourage them to start thinking about the bigger picture. Every choice we make is connected to something bigger than ourselves. If we all start to make small changes, together we can make a big impact.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
We are Heather and Jesse Waltz. We officially started Humble Harvest Homestead in April 2023.
From what started as a hobby without any direction has quickly grown into a successful business in the last year and a half.
Before we started this project, we were working on ways to be more self sufficient. We had started gardening, raising livestock, and making our own cleaning products. It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to make everything you need on your own and not feel like you have to rely on the store for your basic needs. The shortages during the pandemic were an eye opener to just how reliant our society is on basic things we could make ourselves.
We had also done a lot of research into the ingredients many home and body products contain. Many of these ingredients can cause skin conditions, cancer, contain endocrine disruptor, and affecting your hormones. Searching for products with 100% natural, non-toxic ingredients has been very difficult to find. Even the word “fragrance” which seems unharmful could contain 4,000 additional ingredients that the manufacturer is not required to disclose to you.
We think everyone should have access to truly all natural products at an affordable price. You shouldn’t have to pay a high premium for a product that does not contain cancer causing chemicals. We currently offer natural home cleaners, skincare, and body products.
We love being able to help others start the journey to detox their home and body from harmful chemicals and want to help support our environment at the same time. We aim to avoid single-use plastic packaging. Our solution is to offer reusable, refillable glass containers for all of our cleaning products. Our customers are encouraged to reuse the container by getting a discount off their refill if they return their container. We also offer solid shampoo bars and a solids dish soap in a refillable ramuken. We hope to encourage others by providing an easily accessible alternative.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Do not wait until you have a perfect plan and all the supplies to get started. We certainly had no idea what direction this project would lead. If we had waited until we had everything we needed, it never would have happened.
Every experience, even if it feels like a failure, is a learning experience to bring you closer to your dream.
Nobody starts out as an expert in something. Some of the most successful people failed many times before getting where they are. What matters is how you react and move past it.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
We are so grateful to have found a community of other like minded vendors with similar goals. They, along with our customers have been our biggest source of encouragement. Other small businesses can relate and understand your struggles more than anyone else can and can be a huge help in sharing wisdom from their experiences.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://HumbleHarvestFL.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/humbleharvesthomestead/profilecard/?igsh=MTlyYXNoZDE0OGlyYQ==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091672699630&mibextid=ZbWKwL
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
