#awinewith Lilo Tierney
MEET Lilo Tierney, founder of LTS Botanical.
You can find them here:
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:07):
Oh my God. Lilo, we did it. We're here. We made it. Yay. Oh, the plight of a business owner. Just too much to do. Always
Lilo Tierney (00:18):
Never ate.
Danielle Lewis (00:19):
Oh my God. Well, thank you so much for being here. I am so excited to share your story with everybody. Let's tell everyone who you are and what you do.
Lilo Tierney (00:30):
My name is Lilo, the owner and creator of LTS Botanical, where I make handmade home and body products ranging from home fragrance like candles, incense, wax melts, skincare like scrubs, lotions and balms. I make herbal remedies such as herbal teas, tinctures, and syrups, and then also bath and body products. So like bath bomb shower steamers, bath salts and soap and stuff. All that fun stuff.
Danielle Lewis (00:57):
Oh my God, I love it. And are these all handmade by you or,
Lilo Tierney (01:00):
Yeah, all handmade by me, all my own recipes and design. So I'm a herbalist, formerly and informally trained. My mom is a herbalist. My dad is heavily knowledge born bush medicine, grew up in the middle of nowhere in Tassie. He basically built all the furniture in mom and dad's home, mom, upholstered everything. Taught me how to make my own clothes. Both of them taught me how to garden in different ways. So mom was really heavily into gardening for flowers and herbs and stuff, and dad was very much the veggie gardener taught me all of that. Yeah. So anything in the house, if they wanted something, they'd build it or if they didn't know how to make it, they would get an artisan that knew house. So that's the type of world I grew up in and I just had all of that knowledge passed down to me.
(01:51):
And then, yeah, I always had that type of, I don't want to say candyman, but I guess the crafter in me or the maker in me, and it never really came to us, I guess surfaced as a career until about three or so years ago when people, I'd make tea or barns and lotions or soap for people and they'd be like, oh, this is really good. You should sell this. I'm like, no, no, no. Everyone makes their, no one wants what I've got to offer. And they're like, no, this is different. This, yeah, this is not what I've seen around. I'm like, alright. So I entertained the idea of selling at a market and I was like, no one's going to even bother. And long story short, with that market, it went so well to the point where I got in my car at the end of the market and cried with just happiness and shock because I was like, oh my gosh, not just people liked what I made, but they enjoyed the story behind everything. Because everything I make has a purpose in my, I guess under my logo it goes Lt s botanical, handcrafting sensory experiences. And that's something that is within every single product that I make, whether it's herbal tea or a soap or a candle. Everything has some form of story behind it. And yeah, inspiring as well, I guess.
Danielle Lewis (03:26):
Wow. Oh my God,
Lilo Tierney (03:27):
Now I'm here.
Danielle Lewis (03:28):
That's so incredible. So you said, okay, so three years ago you went health leather into business. You mentioned you studied being a her biologist. Herbalist.
Lilo Tierney (03:39):
Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (03:39):
Herbalist. Oh my God, that was a mouthful. So was there a career or a job or work before the business venture?
Lilo Tierney (03:49):
So this is why tell. Oh
Danielle Lewis (03:52):
My God, tell me. When
Lilo Tierney (03:54):
People ask me about my story, I'm like, there's a lot. There's a in my story. So I've started more musically. So from the age of 13, I was doing, I in a classical classical choir. I did a lot of, I'm half Filipino, so singing is kind of built into you. And so I joined this classical choir when I was quite young, did touring around the world with them, and then that led me into doing more music stuff. I became a professional opera singer. And yeah, I've sung in front of the King of Samoa and stuff like that.
Danielle Lewis (04:37):
Oh my God. Yeah.
Lilo Tierney (04:39):
So I took this
Danielle Lewis (04:40):
Crazy.
Lilo Tierney (04:41):
So I did take more of, I guess a musical journey and I was in productions and stuff like that as well. And I am originally from Tazzie. And so I did a heap of study there, music-wise, theater wise. And then I started, I was left college around 18, and I was just working. And then I started to be like, oh, I miss performing, I miss singing. And I was like, oh, let's find something to get back into that. And so I ended up doing a audio degree audio engineering degree, which brought me up to Brisbane. And so did that and found a bit of work in that. I only planned to be in Brisbane for about three years and then go back home. But I finished my degree and then I was like, oh no, I've got some work in it now and oh, this, this and this.
(05:33):
So I started exploring that a bit more. And then unfortunately I got hit with the industry issues, especially music and audio industry issues such as misogyny and just a lot of discrimination. So instead of pushing so hard that it killed my passion for that art, I just stepped away from it. So I still enjoyed it. I still have contacts and friends and still love going gigs and being in bands and stuff like that. But yeah, stepped away from it and ended up going, okay, I'm at an age now where I should get a salary job. None of this cafe work and
Danielle Lewis (06:12):
Responsibilities starting to gig in. Yeah,
Lilo Tierney (06:16):
I better get a salary job. So I ended up becoming a administrative coordinator for a construction company, construction insurance company. Oh
Danielle Lewis (06:25):
My God. Because that is the obvious next step after a music career.
Lilo Tierney (06:32):
And so I was loving, I have a bit of OCD with me, so I love really intricate work. I love spreadsheets and all of that. So I was enjoying the work itself, and my boss was the best boss I'd ever encountered. Best boss, 10 hour tent, never find that again.
(06:54):
But unfortunately, the team that I was working with, I just couldn't get along with them. There was no hatred or fighting or anything like that. It was just couldn't find any common ground. And it was kind of making me feel a bit ostracized. And my partner started seeing a bit of a decline with my mental health. And also it was around, not the same time, but it was coming into the pandemic as well. And so we had to work from home. So I was even more ostracized physically. And it got to a point where my partner was like, he would see me go to walk to the office and be like, I just loathed turning on that computer.
Danielle Lewis (07:33):
Oh, that's so sad. And
Lilo Tierney (07:35):
He could feel and see that, and he knows that's just not me. I'm not that type of person to be, it was a very depressive time. And he was like, you need to leave that job. And I was like, but I can't. It's pandemic times and a lot of people have lost their jobs. I'm lucky to have a job. And it was really good money as well. So I felt like it was just what I had to do. And then around that time, because a lot of us were either on doing Zoom calls or chats or whatever, and I would send people things like candles or tea or whatever to make 'em feel better or be like, oh, this is nice, or whatever, because I can't leave their homes. And that's when I started getting more of the compliments, you should sell this. Everyone's doing side hustles now. It's like the era of side hustles. Get into it. I
Danielle Lewis (08:31):
Was like,
Lilo Tierney (08:33):
Everyone's doing this. No, no. You see a thousand candles or a thousand soaps like that. They're like, no, yours is different. Okay. So that's kind of the in between where I came from doing not what I'm doing. And then all the way into everything that I do now is all about being a maker, being a crafter, being sustainable, being self-sufficient, and really not just saying, oh, if you've got an idea, go for it. But really delving into a passion of yours and realizing that it can be something that you can live off of. So yeah.
Danielle Lewis (09:13):
That's so cool. And I love, so I want to know because I'm super interested. So we were having a little ation of how hard it's to run a business sometimes, but I'm really interested in, so one of the comments we made was, oh my God, you leave year nine to five and you think that you're going to have all this freedom, and that's just a lie. Everybody is a lie.
Lilo Tierney (09:39):
Now you work 24 7.
Danielle Lewis (09:41):
Yes, totally.
(09:42):
So you mentioned how when you were at that full-time job that it was really difficult that your mental health suffered, that it was a really depressive time. How do you feel now knowing that business is so much fucking harder, let's be real, but do you feel different now that it's yours and it's fulfilling those, the craft side, the passion side, the creative side? Does it feel different?
Lilo Tierney (10:10):
Yeah, there's definitely an elation that I get, even though I say to people when I'm at the markets, for example, people are like, what time do you get here? And I'm like, oh, I wake up at 2:00 AM They're like, am, that's when I'm going to bed's. No way would I ever get up at 2:00 AM And once upon a time I would've said the same thing. But it's because I am investing time. I'm getting up for something that I'm passionate about. I would never get up at 2:00 AM for a job that I was working for someone for a c
Danielle Lewis (10:48):
Corporate admin job. Yeah,
Lilo Tierney (10:51):
That's not happening. And then, yeah, same with the late nights. I'll find myself working. My partner will be like, are you coming to bed? And I'm just like, oh, what time? It's midnight. I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm just stuck in the world of making, whether it be my candles or my soap or my scrubs, or it could even be down to I'll be doing design on the laptop, different design for my labels, or I'm working on social media content, or I'm planning different networking events or looking at things that I want to go to expand my business knowledge. And the time just flies. And once upon a time someone said, oh, this person they work from 2:00 AM to 2:00 PM or 24 7. I would be like, if they're working for themselves and it's something that they're passionate in, I totally get it. When you say that to someone who works a nine to five or hasn't have any knowledge of working for themselves, or maybe they don't even have such a passionate hobby and you say all this stuff, they think you're crazy. They're just like, you need to sort your priorities out.
Danielle Lewis (11:58):
Yeah, this is my life.
Lilo Tierney (12:00):
That's it. But it's like, yeah, this is my priority, this is my life. And it's something that one, I am able to get that mental relief. It's not oppressing me, it's empowering me. And it's more of a, even though people go, I'm so stressed, and as we were talking before, it can be very stressful. It can be very scary, it can be very, feel like you're hitting your head against a brick wall sometimes with some things. But that's growth to me, that's growth. If I wasn't hitting those issues, it means I'm not growing, I'm not spreading my knowledge, I'm not able to, the issues or challenges to me is more of a growth rather than a full stop problem. A barrier. There we go.
Danielle Lewis (12:54):
Yeah, no, no, no. And I love that. I always say that to people, as stressful as business ownership is, I never would have gotten the experience and life skills and personal development if I was sitting behind a desk. So I worked for Telstra for a decade. I was like, if I had have stayed behind that desk, I'd be dumber. I would just not have experienced half of the things that I've experienced over the last another decade in business. And you're so spot on. I feel like, because also the problems and challenges don't end. I think that there's this false sense of at some point I will hit a revenue number or this milestone or that milestone, or I'll have the course created or whatever, and I'll have no more problems in my business and my life, but they just actually get bigger.
Lilo Tierney (13:53):
You
Danielle Lewis (13:54):
Two problems.
Lilo Tierney (13:55):
Yeah, that's it. You get to level a hundred of, oh yes, this is the stuff I've completed, and you've got another hundred levels of things that now are going to become challenges or more milestones. And you're like, alright, let's get this going.
Danielle Lewis (14:14):
It's so true too. Even then, oh, tiktoks now a thing. Or this happens. And it's so funny. Even if it's not a business milestone, the landscape changes and you've got to learn something new just to keep up with where you're currently at. It's pretty full on.
Lilo Tierney (14:34):
Yeah, that's another reason why, as I said before, you always looking at different seminars or networking things or just other programs that I can be a part of because yeah, sales is always changing. My industry is always changing. Economies are always changing. Tactics, strategies, platforms. They're always changing and evolving. And I want to be able to, not saying that I'm ever going to conquer a platform or a strategy, but being able to be like, I've tried that and it worked for me. Yeah, I tried. That didn't really work. Or, oh, there's this particular thing I want to try. I can't get a hold of it, but I'm going to keep pursuing it. Try and find people that can help me or educate me. And it just keeps you building that knowledge, building that growth that, yeah. Otherwise, if you are working with someone, just kind of living out your days in front of a screen or in front of a coffee machine, that's used to be, I want to say it dumbs you down, but I feel like it dulls your passion or enthusiasm for life.
Danielle Lewis (15:40):
Oh my God. And I think that's why people, to your point earlier, people with nine to five jobs look at us and go, you are crazy. You need a life, you need a hobby, you need a something. And I'm like, I don't get it. Because people always say to me, so what do you do in your spare time? And I'm like, what? Spare time? I don't know what you mean. I I don't have anything. I'm a loser. I love my business. Okay,
Lilo Tierney (16:04):
What do you do with your spare? I'm just like, oh, I'll watch some informative stuff on YouTube. I'll read some resource books, or I'll do some admin. They're like, no, whatcha doing spare spare 90? What I do with my hands is making, and I'm the type of person that I like to know. I guess the mechanics of things. So I was always a little bit of a shy fan of science and stuff when I was growing up. And so anything to do with space or science or mechanisms or mechanics in that I was always excited about, I was always intrigued about. And so people were like, oh, whatcha doing with your spare time? I'm like, oh, do that, but that's still work. I'm like, yeah, but you could also say, me going for a walk in a forest is also work because I'm being environmentally minor. I'm thinking about different ways of how I can bring different ecosystems, not bring different ecosystems. Think about different ecosystems. With my backyard, I'm starting to do a composting series and starting to do a gardening series. And a lot of that is thinking and talking about soil. And so while I'm going for a walk of thinking of about the types of soil I'm seeing and the humidity, and to me that's work. But to other people, no, go for a walk that release your mind of work. I'm like, nah, that's me working.
Danielle Lewis (17:40):
Yeah, that actually makes it worse. When I walk or have a bath to relax or something, that's when my brain goes mental, okay, now I'm going to give you 20,000 ideas of all the things that you should be doing to make your business better. I'm like, this is why supposed to be relaxing time. Yeah, exactly. Oh my God, it's so funny.
Lilo Tierney (18:03):
My look to me, it's like, oh, whatcha thinking about? And I'll be like, talk about something. And he is like, oh, we're supposed to be out having a relaxing.
Danielle Lewis (18:13):
Oh my God,
Lilo Tierney (18:14):
Don't lemme think then.
Danielle Lewis (18:16):
Yeah, totally. Totally. I'll just press the off switch. That'll be fine. It's so true though, and I don't even think it's a bad thing, but does business consumes you? Absolutely consumes you. And I think that it can be a good thing, especially if you do love it, and especially if you are super passionate about your vision and mission and the difference and the impact you have on the people who buy your products or buy your services. I think it's awesome.
Lilo Tierney (18:49):
Yeah, once upon a time, I used to, my mind would go to places that I didn't want it to go, and now I'm happy for it to be like, oh, this, that you could try, oh, I read this article or saw this video on something else. And something that really gives me that mental health boost is finding people that are making breakthroughs in not just sustainability but environment as well. It's like a mesh of those two things. People that are creating solutions of replacing styrofoam. With mycelium, they're able to make this medium where they mix it with organic material, put mycelium through it, and they're able to dry it. They can put it at different densities, they can make it into different, they can make it fake leather or they can turn into a lamp or they can make it an acoustic brick. And to me, I'm just like, wow, I love learning about that because that essentially is the same as, well, not saying it's the same, but the excitement and enjoyment someone gets from a video game, I get from that and hearing about that. So I dunno.
Danielle Lewis (20:01):
I know because I have a hard time. I'm like, okay, so you are giving me shit for being obsessed with my business. I'm like, I have a hard time not looking at people playing video games and going, why are you wasting your life? Do you know you could be spending that time growing a following on social media.
Lilo Tierney (20:16):
Yep.
Danielle Lewis (20:19):
I look at it the complete different way. Why are you wasting time?
Lilo Tierney (20:22):
Yeah.
Danielle Lewis (20:24):
Oh my God, that's so funny. What did you find, so when you took the leap from a corporate employee to business owner, what did you find some of the biggest challenges or because talking about learning, what are some of the biggest lessons you had to learn becoming self-employed and a business owner?
Lilo Tierney (20:44):
The biggest one is imposter syndrome. The feeling that, as I said before, telling everyone makes this what makes me different. And I guess in the business realm that I grew up in, especially with hospitality, you are not necessarily given recognition for anything you do. You may get told you make a great coffee or you are efficient or you are fast, but in a way they're kind of like the 1 0 1 of hospitality. You need to be efficient, you need to be good at your job. That's
Danielle Lewis (21:24):
Baseline.
Lilo Tierney (21:28):
And with the stuff and with also my family mentality, it's not like we had outsiders. I mean, we may have had other friends or whatnot be like, oh, this is brilliant. But we never kind of took on that as recognition, be proud of. And so whenever I did make something for someone or whenever someone did buy it or when it was a repeat customer, they come back three or four times. In my head I'm still just like, it's just not good.
Danielle Lewis (21:58):
Oh my God, it's,
Lilo Tierney (22:00):
It's very clear that people like what I do, they enjoy what I do and they share what I do with people and are just like, oh wow, she did this. She went there and blah, blah, blah. But in my head it was always like, it's not good enough. There was always a standard that I'm never going to reach, but I think, yeah, so imposter syndrome is one of the biggest challenges. I'm not through it yet, but I'm definitely taking steps to give myself more recognition of, Hey man, you're actually doing really well. Look at whether it be figures of sales traffic or following with social media, it all goes up and I need to say to myself, I did this. This is all me. And I mean, I'm a social socialite type person, but I've never been one to sell to me. And that's also another challenge that I've had to not had to but started to grow into is that I'm not selling a product, I'm selling me. I'm selling my skill, I'm selling my story, so I need to stop looking at it as the product and start looking at it's me. It's like, this is me. You're buying, this is my story. You're buying, this is my skill you're buying. So yeah, it's like pasta syndrome sounds two biggest challenges that from the start to now, I can see a big improvement.
Danielle Lewis (23:35):
And I love what you said about monitoring your numbers because sometimes I think it's super easy for us to just go, this isn't working, I suck. This is horrible because I do this. I have basically a monthly cycle where I have a mental breakdown to my husband. He's like, well, where are things at? And I was like, oh. He's like, are you kidding me? That's better than it was last week. He is like, what is wrong with you? So I think actually doing the boring stuff and checking in on your numbers is so important because it actually helps to take the emotion out of things when you're like, oh, logically I can look at these numbers and go, yeah, I am growing and maybe it's not as fast as I wanted to. Maybe I haven't gone viral. Maybe I'm not a billionaire yet, but things are actually improving. And you're right, you're like, I did this. I'm the one that shows up every day and puts in the work and I I'm achieving. But I think sometimes we can just get in our own heads, and if we don't actually look practically at the customer feedback or the growth or the numbers, then it's so easy just to spiral out of control.
Lilo Tierney (24:50):
The biggest thing I've found as well is getting that customer feedback, whether it be in forms of, excuse me, because being at the markets, I get a lot of return, one off all return, customers coming in and showering me with compliments and, oh, gave this to my daughter, or I gave this to my son, or I gave this to my mom, or I've been using it myself, and it's always these flourishing compliments of it helped me. It made someone happy. It's something that someone hasn't had before and they loved it. And getting that feedback, it's one of the biggest boosts of like, yes, I'm doing it right, but it's also good to get that. I also try to make sure that whatever feedback I receive, I'm like, post a Google review, post it share on Instagram. Thank you for the feedback, but also share it for me as well. It also helps others. Yeah, it helps others be like, oh, wow, this person said this about this thing. Especially with the classes as well. I think I forgot to say, yeah, what
Danielle Lewis (26:08):
Classes was it?
Lilo Tierney (26:10):
I run tea blending and candle making classes as well, and I love hearing the feedback from that and when people post that, when it's in the class again, because that imposter syndrome will creep in. People will be, not saying that they're dead quiet, but you can tell they're in thought and after the class, how did everyone enjoy that? Are you proud of your creations? They're like, yeah. And in my head I'm like, is that a polite or is that a Yeah. But then they'll post a review and it's just absolutely stellar and it just gets me all emotional. I had that impact on someone. I'm going to get emotional now, but I'm like, I had that impact on someone. Wow, that was, that's big for me. I never knew. I never knew that that person felt that way or got that type of experience from the class. So yeah, I enjoy, yeah, the feedback is important.
Danielle Lewis (27:13):
It really is. And I love what you said as well about getting the people to actually post it, because that actually also helps with, so I know selling you mentioned as one as the challenges. It's a challenge just for so many women in business, and it's like that positive social proof actually makes the selling a little bit easier. Then your customers are kind of doing it on your behalf, which is so helpful and so beautiful, but also hard. I even know I am a salesperson. I've been a salesperson for 20 years, and I still see everyone screenshot the nice emails they get and messages, I don't want to do it. I'm a salesperson by trade, and I'm still like, I don't want it. I don't want to do it. I'm like, damn it, you tell people to do this. Why can't you yourself? Oh, it's so annoying. But it is so good. It is so important. If people are saying nice words to you, then they're very, very much going to then say, oh, absolutely. Share that on social media, or Yes, I'll post a Google review. People inherently, especially when they love your product or service, they want to help you and they want to support you. So
Lilo Tierney (28:31):
That's another thing that I've also enjoyed learning is that people want to help you. People want to support you, people want to encourage you. It was something that I, yeah, not that I never thought was a thing, but just for myself, I never thought, oh, you know what? Again, again, it must be that imposter syndrome telling me that you're no good. Other people are better than you. Why would anyone support you? But the fact that, yeah, I've had people be like, no, I want to support you. They will come up to me and say, what do you need? Where can I share your stuff? Do you need help with events? Do you need help with? They'll always ask me, what do you need help with? Because we want to help. And they may not even be, not saying that I have to have affluent people, but they could be someone that walks their dogs and walks their dog is a dog walker and goes, oh, I was walking so-and-so's dog, and I told them about the scrubs that you have or some of the candles that you have, and I got to sail that way.
(29:39):
It's not, again, I'm not asking for affluent people, but the fact that people anywhere and everywhere are like, I want to support you. I want to share what you do, who you are and what you make, because it's just so good, and I'm just like,
Danielle Lewis (29:56):
I didn't even ask for,
(29:59):
It's so awesome and it's so cool because it's like that doesn't cost them anything. That's just them loving what you are doing, loving your story and sharing it, and that's so powerful. Oh my God, incredible. Oh my God. We could talk all day, I'm sure. But let's wrap up with one last piece of advice. So reflecting on your time in business, what would be a piece of advice that you would give to another woman in business to help her on her journey? We need a whole another half an hour.
Lilo Tierney (30:41):
I hear it a lot, and sometimes it's thrown away as a thrown away statement, but the more and more I go into business, the more and more I find truth in it is trust the process. Whatever you do, whatever you are starting, however nervous, scared or messy you feel it is, trust the process. Just pursue what you want to do in that business, whether it be sell something, design something, create something, write something, trust the process in how you are doing it. Don't try to rush it. Don't try to slow. I don't try to slow down. Don't try to make it messy in the way of rushing it. Trust the process. Get opinions, get advice, guidance. Have people have chats with people. Be like, this is an idea. This is a product or project. All of the answers or all of the advice you're going to get, some of it may not apply, but some of it could be super important.
(31:51):
I've had chats with so many different people from so many different business backgrounds, and a lot of the things I've applied, and again, nothing explodes immediately. It's all about trusting the process to stay on track with whatever advice you get. So with me, it's been with social media content, like creating a content calendar and social media has always been something that's been really hard for me, but I know it's kind of crucial in the realm of e-commerce, and so making a content calendar, banking, not banking, but creating a surplus of content that you can then send out, especially with emails as well, like getting a mailing list or a newsletter or a community list and being able to email out to people. I've been able to increase my sales that way. I've been able to increase my classes, my class participation. Yeah, it's just all these things that I never thought was going to work out. I was like, oh, I don't want to do that. I don't want to try that, because I was afraid that it would fail. But again, it's trusting the process. When you bake a cake, it may not look right in the beginning. It's just a heap of we ingredients wet and dry, but then you pop it in the oven and you give it some time. It creates a really lovely cake.
Danielle Lewis (33:24):
Oh my God, I love that so much. Sorry
Lilo Tierney (33:24):
That this is the analogy I'm going with.
Danielle Lewis (33:27):
I'm so into it.
Lilo Tierney (33:30):
That's literally what I've found. Again, my business isn't like woo, straight away, but as we said, it's all going up and it's because I'm trusting that process. I'm putting in the time, I'm putting in the effort, I'm giving things a chance, and it's proving to be beneficial. So hopefully that's a good answer.
Danielle Lewis (33:50):
No, and I love it so much because I think you are right. I think sometimes we want a silver bullet. We want just one idea, one tactic to just explode our business and everything's hunky dory, but it isn't. It is just that trusting the process, putting one foot in front of the other, trying this, trying that, and even stacking that, like, okay, now I'm doing social and I'm doing email and I'm doing influencers and I'm doing this, and it's like, it all adds up and you are right. I had that beautiful element of time and things do start happening, but trust the process. That's absolutely beautiful. I love it.
Lilo Tierney (34:28):
Thank you. Thank you.
Danielle Lewis (34:30):
So good. Lilo, thank you so much for spending your time with us today on Spark tv. Thank you. Yeah, it was an absolute pleasure to chat with you, and I know so many people listening gotten so much out of that. So thank you. Yay.
Lilo Tierney (34:44):
No, thank you. I appreciate it a lot. It's been great chatting to you.
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