Five Years of being a Tea Lady.
I was reading that the month of July signifies the ambition that you have to take you towards the future that you desire. This felt particularly relevant for me. As it was in July, five years ago, that I took the plunge and ran my first market stall as 'Crazy Tea Lady'. For a long time, I had been known as the crazy tea lady by my family and friends, so the name was a given. And it had always been my dream to be able to share the comfort and pleasure of tea with others. Finally I was able to make my dream a reality. 
I remember the day like it was yesterday. The feelings of excitement along with a good dose of the nerves. And all the questions - what if no one likes my teas, what if I don't sell anything! What if I don't like it?.... Luckily I had my family there for endless hugs and support! 
The morning was a blur of activity. At the end of it, I realised two things - I loved talking to others about my favourite thing, tea. And running my own tea business was exactly where I was meant to be.
The morning was a blur of activity. At the end of it, I realised two things - I loved talking to others about my favourite thing, tea. And running my own tea business was exactly where I was meant to be.
For 2 years, I was the 'Crazy Tea Lady'.🫖 I was living my dream of owning a tea business, and taking part in markets nearly every weekend, selling High Tea with Harriet teas. I remember thinking, yep, I've got this! 🤩
And then the universe decided to ramp it up, by providing me with the opportunity to purchase Harriet. What a huge decision I had to make. Sometimes, you never know where you can go until you take that first step. So, holding onto my husband's hand, I took a deep breath, and signed on the dotted line! ☑️
Then came the enormous task of packing Harriet up, and moving her from her home in Melbourne, to Perth. The previous owners were amazing and kept saying they were so happy that Harriet was going where she would be well cared for. It was such a busy time, I didn't really have time to reflect on the enormity of the decision I had made. That bit was yet to come.....🙃
A few weeks later, Harriet and all of her luggage arrived in Perth. And let me tell you, she is not a girl who travels lightly! The newly appointed Office Manger (Tully the Border Collie) thought it was all fun and games. But for me, the caption of this photo is "what have I done?" And "where do I start?". I know for a fact that there were more than a few cups of tea consumed while I worked out how all of this was going to fit into our house, and into our lives. You could say that chaos reined supreme! Bit by bit, I managed to sort through everything. Of course, we still had to supply tea to our customers. So at the same time, I began the learning process of packing and shipping orders. And there was also the website and social media to contend with. I didn't even have an Instagram account before this. #instanewby Some days, I thought my head was going to explode! Thank goodness for tea, and I thanked my lucky stars that I now had an endless supply! There was so much to learn about Harriet, and about looking after my tea customers throughout Australia. Several month passed, and although I wasn't quite out of the water, I didn't feel like I was drowning. And then the pandemic hit, and the roller coaster truely began. 🙃
I can't lie and say that the last few years have been easy. There have been lots of ups and downs. I feel a bit like a small boat in a vast ocean, constantly changing and adapting in order to stay afloat. And running a small business is like being the parent of a small child - all consuming, exhausting, but oh so rewarding. And three years later, Harriet continues to grow and is now my full time gig...and yes, that does mean that I get to drink cups of tea all day long! And I love it!. I am really living my purpose of making the world a more comforting place by providing a chance to pause and reconnect. And my journey would not be half as rewarding or fun without my 'Harriet Family' of tea lovers. I love the quote 'remember that you once dreamed of being where you are now'. Five years ago, I dreamed a dream of running a tea business. And right now, at this moment, I am doing it! 🫖