Meet Mary Lewellin | Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mary Lewellin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mary, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
In 2015 we just had a baby and my husband had to switch his job schedule, which meant I would have to quit my job to make our life work. We decided that we had a good opportunity to start a business that would allow me to work from home in spare moments.

Right away my husband decided on loose leaf tea as a business. Over the years we had been growing herbs in our backyard and making herbal tea blends for us while learning about the health benefits. He had also done some traveling before we met and experienced the unique tea cultures of some interesting places – United Kingdom, Turkey and Argentina. The place that had the biggest impact on him was his time in Iraq as a US Marine patrolling the streets of a rough little town. He has fond memories of sharing chai with the locals, sometimes over difficult conversations.

We both knew that loose leaf tea was the right choice for us. It’s at the confluence of so many of our personal passions.

Neither one of us had any experience as entrepreneurs. We spent a lot of time looking up the answers to the hundreds of questions we had on the internet. We always believed in taking action and having faith that all the right pieces will eventually fall in place.

We got our humble start on a chilly spring morning at the local farmer’s market. We’ve learned a lot about business since then and learned a lot about ourselves. Today our business looks a little different from what we initially imagined years ago, but that’s only because sometimes when you start out on a journey you might find some better twists and turns along the way.

What should our readers know about your business?
Red Dragon Herbs is a family owned loose leaf tea business out of Des Moines, Iowa. Since our beginnings at the local farmer’s market, we’ve built up a loyal customer base in our area and beyond made up of people who simply enjoy a good cup of tea.

We got to where we are by taking risks, traveling and getting in front of as many people as possible to share our story. Much of our growth has come from building strong relationships with other small local businesses. We value these relationships greatly.

It has definitely not been easy. There’s no clear-cut template for a business like ours, so we’ve run into a lot of hurdles over the years that we needed to find a way over. Learning to manage our time has been a challenge, as it probably is for every small business. We don’t regret the lessons learned from mistakes made in the past, but going forward we try to place a greater value on our time. The husband/wife dynamic can be challenging at times as well, but there’s also benefits to it.

We put our heart and soul into our tea. We hope you’ll have a cup with us.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The small business community of the Des Moines, Iowa is amazing!

Website: https://reddragonherbs.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reddragonherbsandteas/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/reddragonherbs

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedDragonHerbsandTeas

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7p_dBFQR61z-EFDDqNX2GA/videos

Image Credits
http://www.ivoryhousephotography.com/ https://www.maggiegphoto.com/