What Happens When You Follow The Call

Jessica Lowry never planned to leave academia. As a university professor with a clear career path, starting a business wasn't on her radar until a desperate prayer during financial hardship changed everything. When three of her teaching courses were unexpectedly dropped while her husband faced health issues, Jessica found herself on her knees asking for guidance on how to support her family. The answer came through elderberry syrup.

What began as a mother's attempt to create a natural remedy her daughter would actually take quickly evolved into a full-fledged business. Jessica and her husband found themselves working late into the night, learning everything from food safety regulations to manufacturing processes with absolutely no prior experience. "I felt completely unqualified," Jessica admits, capturing the doubt many entrepreneurs face when stepping into unfamiliar territory.

The journey wasn't just about creating a product. For Jessica, it meant reconciling her identity as an educator with her new role as a business owner. "I believe a piece of my heart is still sitting at the podium in Kearns Hall, room 201," she shares, describing the emotional challenge of leaving teaching. But the perspective shift came when she realized God didn't pull her out of the classroom – he simply made her classroom bigger, allowing her to educate people about holistic wellness on a national scale.

Through trademark lawsuits lasting three and a half years, financial struggles that left them unable to pay themselves, and constant questioning about whether this was truly her calling, Jessica persevered. Today, The Power of Elderberries ships nationwide and is recognized by holistic practitioners across the country. Rather than expanding into multiple products, Jessica remains focused on their signature elderberry formulation that supports whole-body wellness.

For anyone feeling called toward something that makes your heart race with both excitement and anxiety, Jessica offers this wisdom: "Stepping into what we're being led to can open up our greatest purpose in life, even when we don't feel qualified." Her story reminds us that sometimes our most meaningful work emerges not from careful planning, but from having the courage to follow unexpected guidance, one faithful step at a time.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:14

Welcome to the SheSweet Society, a community where women from all backgrounds come together to share their stories, support one another and reveal the unfiltered reality of our lives. I'm your host, Dahlia, and this podcast exists to give voice and space to women whose experiences might otherwise go unheard. Today, I'm joined by Jessica Lowry, founder of the Power of Elderberries, whose story perfectly illustrates what happens when you drop to your knees and ask for guidance and then actually have the courage to follow it. Jessica's journey from university professor to holistic business owner wasn't part of any master plan. It started with pregnancy, flu symptoms, a desperate search for natural remedies and a two-year-old who refused to take medicine.

Speaker 1 0:56

What makes Jessica's story so compelling isn't just the business success, but her honesty about feeling unqualified, fighting trademark lawsuits for three and a half years and wondering if she was supposed to be doing any of this at all. As someone who spent years in academia with a clear path, stepping into entrepreneurship without experience or a business plan required a level of faith. Most of us can't fathom Whether you're questioning your current direction, feeling called to something you don't understand, or simply trying to trust that you're qualified for the life you're living. Jessica's journey reminds us that sometimes our greatest purpose emerges from our most desperate moments.

Speaker 2 1:33

You're in Myrtle Beach, is that?

Speaker 3 1:36

right, myrtle Beach, south Carolina.

From Michigan to Academia

Speaker 2 1:38

yes, your story is extremely fascinating from what I could, from what you sent and then what I could scrape and I'm very excited to learn a little bit more about you and for my listeners to hear your story. So thank you for joining the SheSweet Society. I'm very, very happy to have you here. Yeah, thank you for having me. Yeah, tell me so. Did you always grow up or are you from?

Speaker 3 2:05

South Carolina? I'm not. I'm actually originally from Michigan. No, no way.

Speaker 3 2:12

Where in Michigan and how long ago was that I grew up in a small town called Adrian, Michigan, and I lived in the same house my entire life and I actually moved down to South Carolina to go to Coastal Carolina University for college, and I moved down here at the age of 19. I've been here for 23 years. So I went to Coastal Carolina University for undergrad and then I went to the University of South Carolina to get my graduate degree and then I returned to my alma mater to actually teach public health courses in the same department I graduated from. So all my past professors became my colleagues, which was really, really awesome to teach. And then God had different plans for my life and a business was born. And here we are almost eight years later something I never expected for, you know, direction to take hold in this way for my life.

Speaker 2 3:06

So how did that answer my story? I know, I read about it. I read about you were in your pregnancy and you had the flu, but I'm sure it felt awful and would love to hear exactly how was this born.

Speaker 3 3:23

It's interesting that you bring that up and we do share that. And I'm just kind of getting to the place throughout this story of really sharing even more to the story kind of the untold story and it being such a story of faith that a lot of people don't really know which. We can get into that later, but it's oh no, go ahead, I'm here for it.

Speaker 2 3:44

I, first of all, I love a good story. Second of all, that's part of it. That's part of it. That's the whole point.

Discovering Elderberry During Pregnancy

Speaker 3 3:51

Yes, so really it did start. Back in 2013, when I was pregnant with my son Beckham, I got cold and flu symptoms. I was at the doctor's office just desperate for a natural alternative because I really didn't want to go Western medicine route. And I was at the doctor's office just desperate for a natural alternative because I really didn't want to go Western medicine route and I was more concerned about the baby than anything. So I started doing some searching on my phone and it led me to elderberries. For the very first time I discovered this word, elderberry, and started leaning in and learning that it was nature's top antiviral herb and that a lot of people use it during cold and flu season. It's really great for your immune system. So I had reached out to some local moms groups on Facebook and they were like hey, does anybody know of elderberry? I have cold and flu symptoms right now I'm at the doctor's office and I'm pregnant. And they were like, yes, go get yourself some. So I actually left the doctor's office, went and got myself some elderberry and after a few doses my fever broke, my chills went away and I could not believe the life giving effect that it brought to my body, and I was instantly a believer.

Speaker 3 4:55

Okay, so here at this time I had a two-year-old, I was pregnant with my second and at that time I was really wanting more holistic remedies for my daughter. At the time I grew up sick all the time, constantly on antibiotics. Hating the way that medicine tasted gave my mom such an awful time when it came time to taking medicine. And so here I had a two-year-old daughter and I was starting to have flashbacks like oh my gosh, it's me all over again. She hates the way medicine tastes. I want parenting to be like at ease and just not this like emotional distraught, like every time I'm trying to put something in her mouth it just be a fight, you know. So I actually brought home several different brands of elderberry and she disliked the taste of each and every single one and it was frustrating because I was like I know how good it is, not only for her immune system, but hey, I know that she doesn't feel well, I can also give this to her because it worked for myself, right. So I kind of gave up because she didn't like the way that anything tasted. So I knew that I could turn to it if things came my way and I needed something and I could take it for myself, but it wasn't worth the fight for her. So fast forward five years and now we are in 2018. And at this time I have a five-year-old, a three-year-old and a one-year-old.

Financial Crisis and Divine Guidance

Speaker 3 6:16

Okay, so at that time in my life, here we are financially and emotionally and physically distraught. My husband was very, very sick. He was having issues going on with his health. We didn't really have a whole lot of answers, but we did go the holistic, functional medicine route, and I can just remember an entire counter full of supplements he was juicing every day. We were trying to eat really, really clean. We were actually leaning into the paleo diet together, which means that we were eating no gluten, dairy, soy, refined sugar, peanuts, you name it. And so here we were trying to get his health in order.

Speaker 3 6:56

And then, for the very first time in years, I get three of my courses dropped for the semester ahead that I was going to be teaching at the university for, and so what that means is that I wasn't going to get paid for three classes, right, and that was the first time that had ever happened. They actually put too many courses and sections in and they had to retract and move students into more sections to fill up the classes, and so at that point I was like, oh my gosh, like what are we going to do? We have all these additional bills piling up and now I just lost work, right, so I can remember dropping to my knees and just praying like God, show me, what is it that you want me to do to show up for my family right now? Do you want me to get a second job? Do you want me to wait tables at night? Are there things within the house that I can sell? Like? Just show me and I'll step into it.

Speaker 3 7:52

So meanwhile, here we are in cold and flu season and ding, ding, ding elderberry. Like we need elderberry in our home. Because I have three kids, I want to keep their immune system supported and because of my own experience, I know that if anything comes our way, we can instantly have something as a natural remedy. So I was like you know what Ro and my daughter never liked any other brand I would bring home. I'm going to make it and I'm going to tailor it to her taste buds. So she absolutely loves it no kicking and screaming and it's something that all three of my kids can take each and every day. So that's what I did.

Speaker 3 8:24

So I got all these ingredients together ginger root, cinnamon, clove, raw honey because you know nature's best sweetener the European black elderberry and I formulated this elderberry syrup and I was like you know what I need to tell people about this. I can't keep my own testimonial to myself. Here we are in a flu epidemic right now. I need to tell all my friends and family about my experience with this.

Speaker 3 8:48

So I put a batch of what I had made in my own kitchen for my own family and put it out there and was telling everybody about it and, to my surprise, a couple hours later, I had a couple of friends ask if I had any extra that I could sell them. Okay. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is the answer. Prayer, right. That I was looking and praying for. And okay, here we go. God, you're wanting me to make elderberry syrup Like this must be it, right.

Speaker 3 9:15

So I looked at my husband.

Speaker 3 9:17

I was like you're not going to believe this, but people want to buy this.

Speaker 3 9:21

Should I make some bigger batches?

Speaker 3 9:22

So I stepped into it, right, and before we knew it, we were literally running a full-blown side business out of our home.

Speaker 3 9:33

We were up from 7.30 at night to 3.30 in the morning after putting three of our kids to bed.

Growing a Holistic Business

Speaker 3 9:36

My husband was right next to me, by my side, each and every single night in that kitchen cooking and within a couple of weeks, it's like we were getting a business license and reaching out to, you know, higher agencies and learning more about consumer safety and quality control and food safety, certification classes and liability insurance and all this stuff that like went into it so quick and you know, so fast, and that's kind of the origin story on how all this started. So a couple months in, after you know, sleepless nights and what these this one little batch started, turned into hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of bottles a week. I looked at my husband and I was like, okay, so this is a lot and I think this is too much. Um, you're either going to have to quit your job or we're going to have to shut everything down because we're both trying to keep up with full-time careers that we thought we you know we're leading down this road to do and God had other plans, but it's just too much no, you just follow your calling.

Speaker 2 10:42

You were called to do something different and push to go.

Speaker 3 10:45

Do it as you did it, and you're right. And in that moment, though, when my husband said let's go and I'm ready to jump, I wasn't expecting that. You know. Honestly, I didn't know that he would fully step in and support me so quickly. Yeah, and quickly.

Speaker 3 11:05

After you know, he put in his resignation for his job and he was all in, and so at that point, uh, we found a space to start manufacturing it out of our home.

Speaker 3 11:15

Uh, we had hired someone that we knew personally to become our director of operations.

Speaker 3 11:20

That was a former chef, had all the certifications for compliance and, you know, food safety certifications and all that that really knew what he was doing in the kitchen.

Speaker 3 11:30

So I, as a mom of three, wasn't making this at a larger scale, not really knowing much about calibration and ph levels and water activity and third-party lab testing and all this stuff that we had to step into, and so we just started to grow in that way and get into wholesale accounts once we had to step into. And so we just started to grow in that way and get into wholesale accounts once we had a place to start manufacturing it. And since then, we have been blessed with this opportunity of being recognized as a premium elderberry syrup company recognized by holistic practitioners across the country. So it's been a blessing to not only serve our local community, which started out of people meeting us at the libraries and playgrounds on Saturday mornings with three kids strapped in car seats and getting out of the cooler and checking off Google forms, and now we're able to serve our country at a larger scale and we ship nationwide, and so I'm now for you.

Speaker 2 12:30

What does that feel like for you to be? To go from academia and corporate jobs to being in the holistic community full on 100 percent. 100%.

Speaker 3 13:03

You're in this, quite frankly, a very powerful, strong community of people that have deep thoughts and feelings towards medicine and just treating your body a certain way, and I feel like you grew up one way and embraced a whole other way and a whole other identity. Almost how does that feel for you? Absolutely Well. I have to thank my chiropractor that I got connected with at a very young age of 19 years old. That really shifted my thought process on Western medicine into more of a holistic approach. When I met him, he had shared that he had three children that had never been on an antibiotic and had never had a sick doctor's visit in their life and I looked at him like he had 10 heads and I was like how is that even possible? And I really embraced him as a mentor. I was so excited to just jump into learning more immediately after meeting him and naturally I was moving towards a holistic approach to wellness for myself and my future family at a very young age when I started college and you know leading down that path and having three natural childbirths and can proudly sit here and say that my kids have never been on the antibiotic outside of a spider bite that we couldn't get rid of and they've never had a sick doctor's visit. They don't even know what it's like to go to a doctor and be sick. So it's been such a blessing to understand the power that nature has, and I believe that God put everything on this earth to heal us and that our bodies innately have this ability to heal itself if it's fed the right nutrition and given what it needs to help heal. And so stepping into this holistic space fully embraced it, because that's the road I was down already in my own parenting, even prior to this business starting, and so it's been. It's just been awesome connecting with people that have lost hope, that are in pain, that tell their doctors what they're experiencing and in return they look at them like they're crazy and that they don't really understand what they've been through. And I get to connect with my local community like face-to-face and hear these stories and see the agony in their eyes and they have lost hope.

Struggles, Faith and Finding Purpose

Speaker 3 15:19

But I think we're at an age now where people are stepping into, wanting to learn more about holistic health. You know they're leaning in, they're starting to do their own research, they want to feel better, naturally, without side effects, and they just want to start stepping into well, what if I can use nature's healing properties to help heal my body. I've tried everything else. I mean, why not try one more thing to see if it can help me feel well? And that's been such a blessing with our formulation that we've created, because when I first started this business, I knew that it was great for cold and flu. I knew that it was nature's top antiviral herb and that it was great for the immune system. But, just like so many other people, when you think about immune system, you're just thinking, naturally cold and flu season, right, to try to prevent myself from getting sick.

Speaker 3 16:21

But what people have to understand is that our immune system controls our entire body right At a cellular level our brain, our nervous system, our cells, our organs, everything. So supporting your immune system year round is imperative, right? And what also struck me is our customers running to us very early on, just sharing, jessica, you're not going to believe this. Running to us very early on, just sharing, jessica, you're not going to believe this. But I no longer have joint pain, like my hip, my knee, plantar fasciitis, a carpal tunnel in my hands, like I'm able to switch light switches on and grasp things again.

Speaker 3 16:57

My daughter, she no longer needs her asthma inhaler. My, my husband. He's off his Zyrtec and Claritin. My blood sugar it's like regulated to like normal levels, like this isn't. This is just crazy, right? So you want to talk about a blessing to be able to the community and beyond in this way of transforming their health with what we call our restorative and reparative formula. It's not just supporting the immune system, it's supporting whole body wellness, and I think that that in itself is why we continue to wake up and put one foot in front of the other, because we're making such a big impact on people's health.

Speaker 2 17:40

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I'm a fan. I was a fan of Elder Barry's performance and also, like you, when I became a mother. My firstborn, my son. He had what is called his FPI food protein enterocolitis syndrome. He also had GERD. He had everything you can imagine to not want to eat. He was in just a lot of pain. A lot of pain all the time, and certain foods would bring that out of them. So I started learning to read labels, understanding what was in everything, cooking everything from scratch, and started to embrace a more holistic lifestyle as well. That I still live to this day. I'm a huge fan. I'm so glad that we connected because I will absolutely be getting a few bottles of elderberry yours only. It's impressive how I think the power of motherhood really does bring us there. It really does push us to want better and for our, for our next generation, like it's innate in a lot of us. I just think that's it so what is?

Speaker 3 18:41

what is your day today?

Speaker 2 18:42

like it sounds like you're in a few different directions all the time. Because of all these both emotional, inspiring and then educational parts of what you do, what does your day to day look like?

Speaker 3 18:58

Well, I have to say here, most recently, it has changed a lot, changed a lot. I think stepping out of the classroom and resigning in 2020 was one of the hardest things that I've ever done in my life. In fact, I recently caught myself saying that I believe a piece of my heart is still sitting at the podium in Kearns Hall, room 201. Oh, wow, yeah, I know that's what I'm saying too is just wow. I think that, if I could be honest here, I really struggled stepping into, like business ownership and taking on this complete different direction that I never imagined being part of my life, and, quite frankly, I felt unqualified. I had no experience, nor did my husband, so we learned literally everything from scratch and reaching out to people that knew more than us, that could step in and help, asking a lot of questions, doing a lot of research and just figuring it all out from scratch, and that is hard, it takes a lot of perseverance. Then you add additional business struggles that we've had along the way, that we've had to overcome, and all the while, you're just wondering, like, really what is my bigger purpose here? Like, is this really like what I'm supposed to be doing? Because I really love teaching, teaching and here recently it's like well, no, jessica, I didn't pull you out of your classroom, I just made your classroom bigger, because I know you're a storyteller, you have a powerful story to share and, quite frankly, you haven't shared the real, untold story to very many people and I've been waiting for seven and a half years for you to tell them about me.

Moving Forward with Focus

Speaker 3 20:46

And that was pretty convicting, right, because this entire time my story always started with overcoming flu symptoms while I was pregnant with my son Beckham. But not very many people really know that story of obedience and stepping into this calling. Even though I didn't feel equipped or really want to do it, I was led to do it right, and I think that happens to a lot of us in life and we're not really sure what to think of it or really what to do, and that's just kind of where I've been for a really, really, really really long time, and so I feel like I'm finally finding my voice and finding my greater purpose, even though this product is amazing and it's helped so many people with their health, I think being able to share my faith and how this story has transformed my own life, but also bringing back the power of prayer and bringing hope to people that maybe have lost it, and sharing my story. And even though we have struggles and we have these weaknesses, they can become our greatest purpose and strengthen life.

Speaker 2 22:02

Yeah, they oftentimes do they. Oftentimes it's almost like you have to be broken down a bit or you have to find some sense of humility, to remember what being human is all about and to know that your life is exactly what it is. You make it. You are qualified. You are 100% qualified to live your life, otherwise you wouldn't be here. You are literally here to live your life, otherwise you wouldn't be here. You were literally here. Now you have to follow your path that's set before you, which is a lot scarier and a lot harder for people to grasp.

Speaker 2 22:34

I find that for a lot of people, they have to go through some of the hardest times in order to hear that calling the loudest. Otherwise, it gets muffled by the normal noise of social media and people around you, and sometimes just even work, because work can be dominating in so many ways. Did you hit any sort of I hate to use the term rock bottom, because there's always a more rockier bottom than rock bottom, but did you find that you hit that space or was it more of a? Enough's enough? Did you find that you hit that space or was it more of a enough's enough? I'm putting everything down and I'm listening. I'm going to reclaim my power, or was it more gradual for you?

Speaker 3 23:13

Well, it's been a long journey over the last seven and a half years. About a year into our business we actually were booming and having such great success and then we get served a cease and desist letter, yeah. And so now we have another brand coming after us with a trademark infringement lawsuit and we fought that for three and a half years. So that was really really hard. Gosh, I can just remember crying just so often and just feeling so defeated and like why us Like we are so innocent, we've done nothing wrong, our name is nothing like yours Like why do we have to be in this fight right now, you know? So that was debilitating.

Speaker 3 24:04

Then you add, bringing on probably more employees than we could really handle. But looking into the investment of our hope of them helping us grow our business and not paying ourselves for years and just being financially under, and almost like, really like, why are we doing this, like this, like we just worked so hard? So that was really hard, you know. And then, just kind of me coming to this point of realization that I've been hiding for years and that my own community of people that this product is been so restorative for in their health, they don't really know me as a person and they know our brand and what we've created, but they don't really know our story. They don't really know the grit and the faith and the mission and the purpose behind we do what we do.

Speaker 3 25:07

I always tell people what I want for my own family is also what I want for yours, but maybe saying that they don't really understand really what that means, that they don't really know the backstory and how all this got started Right? So, coming to terms of okay, jessica, we can't be scared to be in the spotlight. Terms of, okay, jessica, we can't be scared to be in the spotlight. Like, we know that you've been hiding underneath the rug and you might not feel qualified or you might not want to be in the spotlight. But what if there was a different way to bring this incredible, inspiring story of not only faith but also purpose to a broader audience, to just bring hope to them and, you know, make this story much bigger and something that someone can appreciate as they understand where we've been, where we are and our vision to where we're going.

Speaker 2 26:05

I love that. You started because you had your calling no business plan, no real clue, just you knew that you had a good product, you knew that you had something that could help people and you knew that it is for the betterment of your community and the people around you, quite frankly, for everybody. Do you see any growth? Because there's so much faith in the holistic I've heard so many things about like Lion's Mane and things like that have you thought about expanding your product line Because it's all in alignment with your mission, it's all in alignment with who you are. I can tell just by meeting you. You mean the words you say when you say you want for other families which you have for your own. I feel that you want that for everybody. So I wonder for you does it stop at elderberries or does it keep going?

Speaker 3 26:54

Well, you know, that's a great question and a lot of people have asked us that what's next? What's next? What's next? And I feel like, because of what our product is doing for people in their health, adding additional supplements to our line may distract or detour them from actually getting that bottle that they need in their house, right, that he ultimately formulated to heal from within. So I don't want it to cause distraction from what really the one product they need in their body.

Speaker 3 27:29

So, with that being said, I always tell people, you know there's fast food restaurants out there, right, that are known for just chicken fingers and French fries and they do it really, really well.

Speaker 3 27:38

And that's kind of what we see here at the Power of Elderberries is, we have one formula and it's working across all sectors, young and old, and we even have people giving it to their pets and we are yeah, it's just incredible on how this whole body wellness is supporting you know, just everything that our body needs. So, to answer your question, we're going to stick with our one formula. We have in two different forms a liquid form that's refrigerated. A chewable form that we call our bites, at a shelf stable so that people can reap the same benefits of our liquid wherever they go. And then we're also going to be stepping into supporting dogs with our formula as well, so we're super excited. And then, beyond that, we are implementing employee wellness programs to help support businesses and their workforce and helping keep their employees healthy. We're tapping into supporting athletics and working with some universities, so there's a lot of opportunity out there to just continue to share what we do really, really well, that is, supporting the body in a way that we never imagined.

Speaker 2 28:50

Oh, I think that's just a beautiful plan and I'm here for all of it. So, interest of time, I end every episode exactly the same, where I ask you to provide us, the audience, people listening, with a piece of advice. It can be life advice, it can be any advice. What's a piece of advice that our listeners can take away with and use as they go through their day or their lives?

Lessons on Following Your Calling

Speaker 3 29:18

Well, I think we can all agree that there are many, many moments in our life where our heart is racing. We feel anxious, we know that we're being called to do something, to say something, to reach out to somebody, whatever that may be, and it can feel really scary, and sometimes we're a little bit confused and not really understand why we're being led to do that, whatever it is, and I think I would just encourage listeners to step into that this week or this month or this year ahead, and I think that stepping into what we're being led to can open up sometimes our greatest purpose and calling in life. And it's just that step, even if we don't feel qualified, even if we don't feel like we know how that is going to help lead us to a greater purpose in life.

Speaker 2 30:08

Oh, I love that. Well, thank you so much, Jessica, for your time today. I appreciate it and I can't wait for our listeners to hear all about you and the power of elderberry.

Speaker 3 30:19

Well, thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Speaker 1 30:23

What I love most about Jessica's story is how it reframes the concept of being quote-unquote qualified. She spent years feeling unequipped for business ownership but, as she beautifully puts it, God didn't pull her out of her classroom, he just made it bigger. Her realization that she's been hiding the faith-based foundation of her story speaks to something so many entrepreneurs struggle with showing up authentically, whether you're not sure people will understand. Jessica's advice to step into what we're being led to do, even when we feel unqualified, resonates deeply because it acknowledges that our heart racing might be guidance, not fear. The idea that confusion and anxiety could actually be calling us toward our greatest purpose challenges everything we've been taught about following clear, logical paths. I'm particularly moved by her transparency about the struggles, the lawsuits, the financial strain, the years of not paying themselves, while building something that helps others heal. It's a reminder that purpose-driven work isn't always easy, but it's often exactly what the world needs.

Speaker 1 31:26

For those of you sitting with something that makes your heart race, something you feel called to but don't understand why, maybe Jessica's story is permission to take that step anyway. Sometimes our greatest gifts emerge not from qualifications but from our willingness to show up despite feeling unprepared. If today's conversation inspired you to consider your own calling. Share it with someone who needs to hear it. Remember she Sweet. Society exists to amplify women's voices from all walks of life. Proving that purpose often finds us when we are least expecting it. Until next time, this is your host, Dahlia, reminding you that your life is your message to the world. Why not make it extraordinary?