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

Hi Tammy, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
The most important lesson I have learned is to be unequivocally and authentically me. A little over a year ago, I was vending at a pop-up market when a customer suggested that I start making CBD bath bombs because she “loved them”. I did but they didn’t sell. I did not enjoy making the bath bombs and found myself dreading making them. What brought me joy well into the wee hours of the morning was handcrafting body butters and scrubs. There  was another time when someone asked me to make a body wash. I made several batches only to find myself with a hot mess of something that I could not in good faith sell to anyone. I often get suggestions and requests to make all sorts of things but I have learned to stay true to what Buttered is all about, whipped body butters and whipped body scrubs made to perfection. My advice to any budding entrepreneur, find what you are good at, perfect it and do not deviate from it for the sake of a sale.

What should our readers know about your business?
My business is Buttered where I handcrafted skin nourishment products including body butters, body scrubs, facial and bath products. I believe that what sets me apart from others is each one of my products are custom made and have absolutely nothing but organic ingredients with a whole lot of love poured into them! I am a one woman show who truly connects with my customers to know their story in order to better understand how Buttered can meet their moisturizing needs. I am most excited about a customer who says that they love their Buttered product and how much it has helped them. This is what keeps me going. My business is still relatively new but a lot of great things have happened over the past 2 years. I am here today because of my Heavenly Father who has given me the drive, capacity and will to move forward even when I didn’t think that I could. As with any start-up, it has not been easy. I have had a lot of learning lessons and I have taken each, embraced and used them to better myself as a business owner. I want the world to know I am Tammy, Buttered is what I do and each jar is made with organically nourishing love!!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Ahh, there so many wonderful spots in the metro Phoenix area that I would love to take a visitor to. If I have to pick a few, I would say the Phoenix Botanical Garden because it exemplifies what Phoenix is all about. I would also take them on a tour of Phoenix’s historical neighborhoods, showing the vibrancy of our diversity and history. I would also take to my favorite taco stand, Rito’s in Phoenix where they have the best tacos ever!!! For a great evening of music and dancing, we would check out the Womack, a really cool spot in central Phoenix. For a real treat, we would pig out at Rag’s Chicken and Waffles in Youngtown where they put their foot in the their chicken and waffles, lol!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Ahh, shoutouts! I have so many. First and foremost, I am christian woman and I would not be here crafting BUttered without my Heavenly Father and the blood of His son. Secondly, I want to give a big fat shoutout to my beautiful mama who first loved me. She has been there to lift me up, and sit beside me at many vending events rain or shine. She is always the one who says that I can do it when I don’t think that I can. Lastly I want to give a loving shoutout to South Central Mercado. This is a great biweekly market in the melanin-rich and vibrant community of South Phoenix that reached out to me last year and asked me to join them and it has been a beautiful marriage ever since. They believe in Buttered and always post a positive word about my humble business on Instagram.

Website: https://butteredorganic.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/butteredorganic

Image Credits
All photos taken by me, Tammy L. White