How A Spiritual Wake-Up Led To A Community-Fueled Mushroom Business

A curtain for a tablecloth and a pocket of courage—that’s how Courtney Anderson’s mushroom journey began. What followed is a rare blend of patient craft, community warmth, and customer-led innovation that transformed a flea market table into Mushroom Zen, a cozy apothecary in Aztec where the air smells like incense and conversations last as long as they need to.

We walk through the awakening that set it all in motion, the disciplined work of learning to grow mushrooms without cutting corners, and the partnership that makes it sustainable—Courtney’s intuition and customer care balanced by a behind-the-scenes co-founder who handles the grow and the paperwork grind. We talk microdosing for anxiety, PTSD, and building better habits; why locally grown, tested mushrooms matter in a market flooded with questionable imports; and how authentic listening can be a more powerful strategy than any ad spend.

The move from a busier Farmington location to a smaller space in Aztec seems counterintuitive until you hear the results: lower costs, stronger foot traffic, a richer sense of place, and a shop that doubles as a sanctuary. Courtney shares how product lines grew from customer requests, why she sometimes recommends riboflavin instead of selling a tincture, and what it takes to scale without losing soul—ultrasonic extraction, thoughtful wholesale partnerships, and a website that will help her spend more time in the lab while keeping local pickup and personal touch intact.

If you care about medicinal mushrooms, ethical sourcing, mental health, or the kind of business that treats people like neighbors, this conversation will stick. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves community-driven craft, and leave a review with the insight that hit you hardest.

Be sure to follow or subscribe!  And, if you're a local business owner who'd like to be featured - or know someone whose story should be told - get in touch at Ken@StrategicHorizonsConsulting.com

This show is brought to you by Strategic Horizons Consulting (a division of Ken Collins Marketing).

Transcript

Meet Courtney And Mushroom Zen

SPEAKER_01 1:05

I'm here with Courtney Anderson, the owner of Mushroom Zen. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

Hi, Ken. My name is Courtney Anderson, and I am co-owner of Mushroom Zen. A lot of people don't know that I have a business partner since I am the face of Mushroom Zen. I moved out here in 2023 from New England. And I just I couldn't be happier. Mushrooms came into my life in 2019. And so I started my work um just in my home with mushrooms. And my dream was to come out here and do this work uh full time, which really seemed like um probably wasn't gonna. I'm 47, so it seemed like it, you know, it wasn't gonna happen until 60, 65, good retirement plan. Sure. And um circumstances out of my control uh just all came into place and and got me here.

SPEAKER_04 2:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:13

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

Couldn't be happier.

SPEAKER_01 2:15

Well, we're glad to have you. Thank you. So um tell me, tell me a little bit about how you actually got started in this and mushrooms in.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

So when I came, I came out here, I had randomly met my business partner, who I ended up finding out was also a mushroom grower, which is super strange because we're we're very rare.

SPEAKER_05 2:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:42

And everything that he was doing work-wise was everything I wasn't, and vice versa. Oh, that's handy. And so it was we just came, he I remember him coming to my house and saying, you know, I made all these tinctures and I've been sitting on them, I have no clue what to do with them. And he just dropped them off, just jars and jars of tinctures. And um I uh kind of took took them over and started having to teach myself how to print labels and do all those things. And um, we just fit really good because all the things I wasn't doing or didn't want to do, he stepped in to do and vice versa.

SPEAKER_04 3:31

That's perfect.

SPEAKER_00 3:33

He'd much rather be behind the scenes. Um, and I'd much rather be in front of the scenes. Yeah, that's great.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

I haven't

Finding The Right Business Partner

SPEAKER_01 3:43

had great experience with partners. Um business owners in general, when they're when they have an opinion, their opinion is pretty strong, especially when it has to do with their business. Right. And so when you have three strong-minded people all trying to exert their opinion, it doesn't always work out. And that mine was three partners and and uh and whatnot. But when you can find somebody to fill the hole where where where you're lacking or or just don't want to do something and they love that stuff, and that's in their wheelhouse, and vice versa for them, like that's that's the perfect environment. It is.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

And I mean, we haven't, it's been uh going on three years, and honestly, there hasn't been one argument. There hasn't been, um, I would say I'm probably a little stronger-minded. Um, and he's really good at kind of letting me take the lead. He really trusts my decisions. Uh, he understands that I'm the one talking with the customers, and um I've got a wicked sense of intuition. And he's learned to trust that also over the years. So it works well.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Cool.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:54

So how'd you get started with mushrooms?

SPEAKER_00 4:57

Um, well, in 2019, I they it started with the psychedelic mushroom that everybody knows about. Um, in 2019, I um started working with these mushrooms, uh, not growing them, but using them for mental health reasons. And on uh February 2nd, 2020, I had what I would consider at the time um the biggest spiritual experience of my life. And I woke up the next morning and I said, I have to learn how to grow these from my friends.

SPEAKER_03 5:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:35

And then it just kind of took off where I started realizing like all mushrooms are magic. Now I want to like learn Wyansmane and Oyster and Reishi. Um, and it took me, it took me about four months to grow a single mushroom. Um I am pretty good in life at cutting corners and doing things my way, but there's a very uh not many people know uh everything that goes into growing mushrooms.

SPEAKER_02 6:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

And um it was I always say that this work. Um

Psychedelics, Healing, And Microdosing

SPEAKER_00 6:14

the mushrooms are also my teacher. And so one of the first lessons they taught me was patience.

SPEAKER_03 6:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

And going back to the drawing board, you know, there's an order, there's a way that things have to be done. You're not cutting corners for the lady.

SPEAKER_03 6:28

Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

But I was locked in and I knew I was not going to stop. And so I could do it because I understood the power of them.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

Yeah. I've seen some things, uh, because you said all mud all mushrooms are magic. Yeah. And there's, yeah, there's definitely truth to that, but that's in reference to magic mushrooms, the psychedelics, yeah, and that thing. Um, I don't really have any experience with mushrooms, but I've been interested in the documentation of psychedelics um in in in helping mental health issues.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

That actually some therapists are using that microdosing and things like that to to help with some mental health.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

It's tremendous. And I have uh two close friends in Colorado who who do that work.

SPEAKER_03 7:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:20

Um, and it's just remarkable. Um, it brings hope to the hopeless.

SPEAKER_03 7:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:25

Uh people who've tried everything the doctors have given them and they're still dealing with PTSD, anxiety, depression, and and it's also beneficial too for people who aren't experiencing those things. Um, you know, we we talk about microdosing a lot, and microdosing is great for people who are trying to enforce a new habit, uh, learn a new study, because these mushrooms actually will reroute the neural pathways of the brain and they stick. Um, and some people think, well, do I have to microdose forever? And it's like, no, yeah, you could microdose for six months and then take a break. You might you might be fixed. Establish the pathway and then it's there.

SPEAKER_04 8:11

So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:12

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

And it's important to note too that these mushrooms they don't do any of the work for you. Um, but they are a solid support for you to do the work for yourself. And that's what's so beautiful about it.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 8:27

It's not a quick fix.

SPEAKER_01 8:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:29

Very cool. So so back to uh kind of business stuff on a business level, what was it like in the early days? Were there any lessons or mistakes or anything like that?

SPEAKER_00 8:43

Yeah. So we started with six different types of tinctures um on a table in the sand at the Farmington Flea Market. Nice. And, you know, extremely kind of awkward. Um, I was dealing with social anxiety at the time, so I had to learn how to talk to people. Um, and you know, the flea markets aren't, you don't always expect to see medicine being sold in a flea market.

SPEAKER_03 9:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

Um, and I will state too, I come from New England, so we're we're really uh just used to mushrooms and familiar with mushrooms. Um out here, it was it was a harder sell.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

It's a newer market, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

People scrunch their noses, they'd walk by and ooh, mushrooms, you know. And so we had to figure out a way to at least bring people to the booth and educate them. And I always knew that that that's part of the work. I call it like my in-service hours, just talk talking to people about mushrooms. So um, if you look behind you, that's uh antler raishi. Uh they're super cool. So we uh would start putting antler raisis all around the booth, and that started drawing people in, you know, what is that? What is that? And you know, okay, and um then we we started having other businesses

First Markets And Winning Skeptics

SPEAKER_00 10:08

come and support us, um, telling us where to go for markets, and um, I would I would honestly say that uh the Farmington Growers Market is really what opened the door for us.

SPEAKER_03 10:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Um, but yeah, lots of I feel like every time we make a change, and I'm like, oh, okay, we're here. This is how it's gonna be. It it's something else needs tweaking or changing.

SPEAKER_03 10:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

So in the past, and we've moved very quickly in the past two and a half years. We've secured this as our second shop. Um, the location here in Aztec is significantly better than the one we were at in Firmington.

SPEAKER_03 10:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

Um label changes, um just it's it's all we're always, always uh changing things, little things.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

I love the bravery because it it relates back to uh um a quote that I picked up somewhere, I don't even remember who it was, but they said the best way to be successful in business is to be in business. So you had an idea, you had a thing you wanted to do, you decided to just go forward, move forward, do that thing. And you didn't wait for a shop or plan this and plan that and whatever, you showed up at the barmington flea market. Right, right um with a table. Yeah, and that's it. That's how it got started.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

Yeah, but in fact, I have a funny story about that because our first market, uh, my business partner picks me up and I get in the truck and I it dawns on me, I don't have a tablecloth. I don't even have a tablecloth for this bang-dum table. So I said, I'll be right back. So I I ran into my living room and I took down my curtains and I put that over my table. So, you know, we we I mean, I started from scratch, yeah. Right down to like nobody knows anything about mushrooms, and right I don't even have a tablecloth, but let's see what happens, you know.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

The curtains were probably a a better option, a more interesting, a tablecloth no one has ever seen before.

SPEAKER_03 12:20

Right, right.

unknown 12:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

I love it. I love it. I love it. So, so how's it? You've you've talked a little bit about that. Uh um go into more about how it's kind of changed and evolved over time from from a a table with curtains as a as uh as a tablecloth at the farm team flea market to your second location here. Um here here at a brick and mortar location in Aztec downtown.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

Yeah, so I we're up to about 32 different tinctures right now. Uh, most of these, I would say about 80% of these have come from people in the community who have tried our products. They know that they work and they understand our process. First of all, we grow all of our mushrooms. Um, a common theme in the mushroom world with a lot of um no specific business comes to mind, but you know, we're we're all hit with these ads online. Uh a lot of those mushrooms are bought from China. They're loaded with heavy metals, and people are getting heavy metal toxicity. So people feel secure knowing that we grow our own mushrooms. Uh so they would come and say, Hey, you know, I have a thyroid issue. Is there anything you could do or create to help me with my thyroid? Which I mean, honestly, it forces me to learn more.

SPEAKER_03 13:47

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 13:48

It's not just, you know, I came with all

Growing Trust By Growing Locally

SPEAKER_00 13:50

this knowledge, I know everything. I mean, I'm I'm always learning.

SPEAKER_03 13:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

And so I would do my research and create a product, and all of our products are tested. I have people test them before they go on the shelves. Um, and so now we're up to about 32 different cancer.

SPEAKER_04 14:08

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 14:09

Um, pain-relieving bombs and sauce. Um, now the change is I'm pulling back because we're actually uh in the process of creating our own website.

SPEAKER_04 14:20

Right.

SPEAKER_00 14:21

And it's a new lesson for me because you know, I I don't I don't know if it's smart to have five different salves. You know, I'll be working around the clock. So maybe just offering, you know, the top two that are best.

SPEAKER_04 14:37

Right.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

Um, so little little changes like that.

SPEAKER_04 14:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

Um, and and really I can say the customers lead. I I just do the work. That's it's all I do. Uh the customers and the mushrooms are the boss of this business. That's mushrooms and yeah. I always say I'm just I'm just the conduit. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

You know, I I um I was actually just having this conversation um a a day or two ago of uh organizations who forget to be customer-centric in their decision making. So they have an idea, they come up with their idea and they say, okay, people are going to love this or people should love this. This is how people want to see this, whatever it may be, and they push that out. And it's all based on them and how they feel about things and how they organize things and how they do things. And it might not be a great matchup for their customers, their actual clients. And so I think that's great that you let the customers leave, like you like you said.

SPEAKER_00 15:43

The whole yeah, yeah, yeah, all of it. It's perfect. And we could we custom make tinctures too. So I'll have people um say, you know, can can you uh make make this mushroom tincture, but can you leave out these mushrooms? And I can I can do that too. Okay. Um, and I think too, when you when you let the customers lead, um, there's this closeness between the customers and me. It's it even the word customer doesn't even sit right with me.

SPEAKER_03 16:18

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 16:19

Uh they've all become friends, and I can say without a doubt, 100% every person that has bought a product from me, I have had a conversation with.

SPEAKER_03 16:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

Um, I think listening is huge too. Uh a lot of people, most people who come to me are sick. And one thing I realized is um people don't listen to sick people.

SPEAKER_04 16:44

Right.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

The doctors everywhere from the medical community to maybe the family member who's just, you know, sick of hearing it. Yeah. And my door is always open. My door's always open. Um, you know, we're sitting at this table in these two chairs, and yeah, many people have a seat and um just let people talk, you know, and listen.

SPEAKER_01 17:04

Yeah.

Customer-Led Products And Testing

SPEAKER_01 17:05

Well, it it's a cute little place. Yeah, I wish people could see this. It's we're in this, this, this little, of course, it's Aztec, so it's a lot of a Adobe, um, that sort of thing. It's it's got a cute, comfortable little vibe. We're at this little table next to a fountain with a couple of chairs, and it's just all and you're very comfortable to be around and everything. So, yeah, it's just very nice and and cool.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

So I I have a little funny story about this shop. Uh, so this shop in the late 1880s was um his name was JM Palmer, and he was an attorney in Aztec, and he was in this space. Uh, and then his son in the 1930s took it over as a uh newspaper place. Uh, for before I even had my first shop, I would drive by this location for about a year and a half, and this space always called me.

SPEAKER_03 18:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

And I would park, I would look, who, who's the landlord? Who knows? Yeah. And it was just kind of this thing. Like I wanted to be in, I just knew I wanted to be in here. Um, well, fast forward about a year and a half, I have a housemate, and she goes on to tell me that, you know, my brother-in-law has a shop in Aztec, and um, they should look at it. And I thought, all right, where is it? It's this shop. That is so I thought. Yeah, I'm supposed to be in there, and I'm so comfortable. I just love that. People say it's cozy and they always say what you say when they come in. It smells so good in here. And yeah. I just want it to feel like um, you know, we're on a main drag here, and I want people to come in here and feel like they're in a different world.

SPEAKER_01 18:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

Perfect. So we kind of just covered that. I was gonna ask you, what makes you what what makes your business special in this community?

SPEAKER_00 19:00

Well, the mushrooms for sure. I think we're the only, I mean, there's other mushroom growers out here for sure. Um, but I think uh we're the only like front-facing business or that. Yeah, kind of pioneers in that aspect. Um, and I think I'm not one, I'm not one too, I'm not gonna say me, but the fact that I'm so passionate about this and that I really, really care about people. I think that people come in and they they sense the authenticity. Um, there's been many times I've told people, you know, I nothing, I don't have anything that can help you. A good example is I have a headache, a tincture to get rid of headaches. And I don't think I've ever sold one because when people come in and tell me they have headaches, the first thing I tell them is to go buy a riboflavin supplement because that most likely is what's going on. You're probably deficient in that. Um, so you know, money is um, I don't see dollar signs when I see people, I see people.

SPEAKER_02 20:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

Yeah. Um, and I just I just know we're supposed to be doing this and uh it's all it's all good.

SPEAKER_01 20:17

You know, it's all gonna be good. That's another customer-centric um idea. You you have people and the money will come. You're you're not absolutely you're not the the money isn't first on the on the list. Pay me and then we'll have a discussion, you know, kind of a thing. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:33

And I I feel too, because these mushrooms have done so much for me, I'm also responsible to them.

The Shop As A Community Sanctuary

SPEAKER_00 20:40

So I kind of promised, you know, a long time ago to the mushrooms, I'll always share information for free. I'll always hold classes, periodic classes, where we just talk about the mushrooms we grow and what they do. Um, and again, I think that's just part of my um gratitude towards the mushrooms.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

Yeah. So what what's what are you most proud of with say your team process here or or customers or um customers?

SPEAKER_03 21:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:19

Yeah, just just the I I you know, I guess maybe people expect me to say, oh, that, you know, we've tripled our our earnings or we moved to a better shop. But I'm most proud of the fact that the last space I had and the space I have now have almost become like sacred spaces, um, where community comes and we like last night we had a free drum circle just because I just cause I wanted to play drums with people. And so people came and and just when people leave the gratitude um that that they feel, yeah. Um it that it's really the customer base, yeah, and and what I get back from them that I'm most proud of.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

So seeing them and their reaction and their results and everything, right?

SPEAKER_00 22:13

When people like I do get really um grateful and proud when people, you know, they'll they'll say things like um, I've heard people say like this this medicine changed my life, or this, this, you know, it that just makes my heart sing. Yeah. Just knowing that these work and that people are having relief.

SPEAKER_01 22:36

Um if no one's ever heard that from somebody, um, for whatever whether you're in business or not, if no one's ever heard the thing that you did or was involved in or whatever it is, changed my life. If you've never heard that before, you don't really understand how impactful that is. That hits you right in the heart.

SPEAKER_00 23:01

Because really we live in their world. We live in the mushrooms world. They were here long before us and they're gonna be here long after us. And uh the fact that I get to uh speak their language and live in their world is is such a blessing. And so when people try to give me credit, there is some I will take credit for some things, but when it comes down to the actual medicines, uh, this is what mushrooms do. Yeah. And so it just I'm proud to be a conduit that that go-between, where I can, I just, you know, I understand their language and just to be able to bring it to people.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Love it. Yeah, yeah. Cool. So if no one's ever been here before, um, what's one thing do you'd want them to experience?

SPEAKER_00 23:48

Well, when you walk in, it smells amazing. Sometimes I have to apologize. I'm like, I'm sorry it's smoky in here, I was burning incense. Um, but I want them to notice uh the customer service. I want them to notice that I'm listening. I want them to notice that

The Move To Aztec And Why It Worked

SPEAKER_00 24:12

when when you come here, I want you to feel like you're my only priority and my only customer. Um people share a lot of personal things with me.

SPEAKER_03 24:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

And that's um it's not to be taken lightly, sure, you know. Um, so I that's what I want people to notice most.

SPEAKER_04 24:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

Yeah. I want them to come in, have their questions answered, and I'll never answer, give you an answer if I don't know. I will find somebody who knows, I will research, um, and I want them to leap with hope.

SPEAKER_02 24:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:49

Um, so again, that one-on-one contact with people is most important. And my my it doesn't change day to day. It's not like, oh, today was a good day. I'm, you know, right. And today was a bad day. And you know, it's slow, and I just want to be bothered. You're gonna get the same me. Sure.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:09

So a little bit that feeling of um uh somebody coming to visit their best friend. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

Yeah, definitely. Yeah. And I have people, I tell people too, you don't have to come in and purchase anything, just have a seat and have tea. I mean, I've I've hit a few people out in my shop from their family. My kids are driving me nuts. Hang out here for a little bit, you know. Have some tea. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:35

So, what's something that people don't see that's crucial to keeping your business running smooth?

SPEAKER_00 25:41

My business partner, uh-huh, a hundred percent. He's he works full-time plus overtime gas and oil, and um, up until about six months ago, now we have an apprentice, which is nice, but there's so much involved to the process of growing mushrooms. Um and he was managing to do all of that that I needed from him, plus his work, plus being a single dad. Um he, you know, he handles, you know, the taxmen and getting the LLC when we had to do all that, all these things that I'm very feelings-based. So all these things that a, I don't want to be bothered with, but two, my brain just really isn't wires to be bothered with. And um, so a hundred percent my business partner. And sometimes people are uh surprised that I have one. Yeah, but I it's always uh important to me to give credit where credit's due.

SPEAKER_04 26:48

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 26:49

I I he was uh the key that unlocked the door to all this.

SPEAKER_01 26:54

That's perfect. Yeah, that's great that you guys are are so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:59

Well, in the state of breath, all of these medicines, you know, he doesn't really know what's in them or what I'm making. Or so when somebody does come in, maybe on a Saturday and they see him and they have a question, and they'd be like, I gotta go get Courtney, you know. So we just it's like handing glove that fits perfectly.

SPEAKER_03 27:19

That's perfect.

SPEAKER_00 27:20

And I'd like to say also, contrary to popular belief, we are not married. We are not people always say, you know, your husband, your husband, we just laugh. Yeah, because it almost is like a marriage. I mean, in in many, many ways.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

Being a business partner, it it is a bit like like a marriage.

SPEAKER_00 27:37

The first joint bank account I ever have with a man. So yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

Yeah. So what's um what is a let's call it small but mighty system or process that you put in place that made a big difference?

SPEAKER_00 27:54

The move. The move to Aztec, which was beneficial in so many ways as a business owner, we save $500 a month on rent. Um I am in a much more comfortable spot for what we do. Uh, the last place we had the now, the last place we had was really nice because I had the whole grow there. We had the space for it. But um in the sense of retail and what I'm trying to bring uh to the business, you know, it was a lot of like the overhead LED lights, the drop ceiling, brown panel. Um, and it it was it was it was a it was great.

SPEAKER_04 28:34

It worked, it just wasn't divided.

SPEAKER_00 28:36

It worked until uh summer when we realized that that space was not conducive to mushroom growing in the heat that we were experiencing.

SPEAKER_04 28:45

Right.

SPEAKER_00 28:45

Um, so moving here uh from a business perspective, we've uh quadrupled

Collaboration, Labels, And Operations

SPEAKER_00 28:50

our business. We've stayed $500 a month on rent, and um, you know, we get all the tourists and I'm a lot happier because I see a lot more people and um yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:03

Because um it's not necessarily um an intuitive move, right? Right. Uh it seems a little bit counterintuitive. You're in Farmantin, a bigger market on an extremely busy main drag, and um um and then you leave that and come to a smaller market off of the the that same main drag, just off of it. So um it's not the main drag for Aztec, but yeah, um so it seems a little bit counterintuitive, but it was actually the perfect decision.

SPEAKER_00 29:37

And and this is where too the trust from my business partner comes in. Uh, I never make a decision. I would never make, well, that's a big decision without you know talking to him. Um, but I it's kind of a woo-woo story. But I had my uh, I was getting my Reiki attunement done. And while it was being done, it something just kind of told me you need, you need a second, you know, you need location. It just kind of pointed me in this direction. Um and it I just felt very strongly about it. And so again, going back to my business partner, you know, if I had a business partner who was like absolutely not, because he did at first he looked at me like I was crazy. Like, where are we gonna put these tents? What are we gonna do? And I'm like, I don't know, but I I just know this is what we're supposed to do. And um, you know, allowing me to make these decisions, yeah. Um, so yeah, back back to him. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 30:45

Awesome.

SPEAKER_00 30:46

But it was single handedly the best move. And now we're in a position where I don't, I don't market, you know, the idea of do I want it in the beginning? I love the marketing because it it was, you know, social interaction. Mushroom work is very uh solo lonely work, sure. But now I don't feel the need to market. Maybe big, big markets, maybe the San Juan County Fair next year, something like that. For sure, the Farmington Growers Market. I love that market. But I just don't feel the need to, you know, do I we're in a position where I can say, well, do I want to load up all the tinctures? And you know, the labels take a beating, the sun fades them, uh, putting up the 10. And um so that's that's a luxury to me now to not have to do that.

SPEAKER_01 31:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

Yeah. You're at a place where that's not completely necessary to keep the machine running.

SPEAKER_03 31:47

Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:50

Cool. Has anything gotten easier or harder over time?

SPEAKER_00 31:55

Um easier. Easier in some ways. Um over the past few years, I've kind of come into myself more and um for sure in that axe aspect. Um harder, I don't know about harder. It's just again, it

Space Tradeoffs And The Craft

SPEAKER_00 32:15

goes back to that. We're always tweaking something out. Something's always, as soon as I think like this is what it's gonna be, we're done. There's like, no, we could do this, and and we will inconvenience ourselves to level up, sure. Which we've done many times. Many, many times. Like, how many times are we gonna move all this stuff? Um, some things have become a lot easier just because other businesses have come to collaborate with us.

SPEAKER_03 32:48

Uh huh.

SPEAKER_00 32:49

So uh Burning Barrels Dispensary. Um, there's one in Aztec and one in Bloomfield has been phenomenal. Uh, Brian over there has kind of taken me under his wing and we've collaborated on some things. Um one of the girls that works over there, she does my labels for me now. So that's a lot easier. I'm not very computer savvy.

SPEAKER_03 33:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

Um, so yeah, I I think nothing too difficult.

SPEAKER_01 33:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 33:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:21

Yeah. Um, what's something you you wish ran a little smoother behind the scenes?

SPEAKER_00 33:28

Um, I I do miss the space, I will say. Sure. Um, it's tight back there. Um and the grow is now uh on my apprentice's land in Bloomfield. Okay. And so my business partner works directly with him. Um, so I do I do miss that.

SPEAKER_02 33:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:47

Um I would I would say that I would say the space. Yeah. And again, it it kind of seems um there's a little cognitive dissonance going on, right? Because I I chose to move to a smaller space, which has been better for us.

SPEAKER_03 34:04

But there's a trade-off.

SPEAKER_00 34:05

In some ways, yeah, it's been more difficult on me.

SPEAKER_03 34:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:09

Um, but I I think I'm just so passionate about this that I think I've been more inconvenienced than I realized since I moved here. Yeah, I I'm just this is um I always joke and say that, you know, if mushrooms then shut down tomorrow, you'd still be catching me back there doing the same thing. I mean, it's just what I I don't know what else I would be doing.

SPEAKER_01 34:34

Yeah. Yeah. Do you ever feel like you're juggling too much or wearing too many hats?

SPEAKER_00 34:39

Uh, sometimes. But it's just, it's just my life. My kids are grown, and um, I have I 24 hours a day dedicated to this. Yeah. I always say there's 24 hours in a day. So you could use any of them.

SPEAKER_02 34:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:54

Sometimes I'll put a cot out in the back room and still work throughout the night.

SPEAKER_04 34:58

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 34:59

Um, but I I um I don't know if anybody or if you have uh ever walked into something that you just yeah yeah, and that that's what this is. It's got a mind of its own. It's its own beast, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

Mine aren't my um my main gig, right? So uh I know that about myself, and so I have to actually be careful about what I start because some of those become an obsession and nothing else is gonna happen until that is satisfied. Yes, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:37

That's me with this. Yeah. And I and it doesn't, it doesn't wear off, it doesn't get old.

SPEAKER_03 35:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:43

Um, of course, some things that I when it was a hobby, some things that I couldn't wait to do, you know, oh, it's my day off. I'm gonna go, you know, run grains. Uh now I'm like, oh, I gotta run grains, you know.

SPEAKER_01 35:57

So there are aspects of the job I, you know, but um so what would be your your biggest headache right now if you don't mind my asking?

SPEAKER_00 36:06

That's okay. Um, I think my biggest headache personally is this website that's getting put up. So I'm not building it. We have somebody doing that, but um creating all the descriptions for

Obsession, Boundaries, And Balance

SPEAKER_00 36:25

the products, taking the pictures, trying to figure out because we're also going on uh leafling, which is like it's a website for all dispensary owners in the state of New Mexico. And again, going back to burning barrels, um, he carries all of our products. And he said, I'd love to get your products up on this website. So trying to figure out how I can supply the community, also supply a personal country wide website, and what what's gonna happen with Leaflink and going wholesale. Sure. So lately I'm just creating gallons and gallons of tincture. I'm like, I don't know. They don't expire. So that's the good news. That is good. Yes. So I think that's the biggest headache now is that you know, we're in another transition and I'm okay. It's one of those time's gonna time will tell.

SPEAKER_04 37:23

Right.

SPEAKER_00 37:23

Uh the good news is we use an ultrasonic process to create our tinctures. So I literally can make a liter of tincture in an hour.

SPEAKER_04 37:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 37:32

Um, so I'll never be too far behind. And we have mushrooms for days. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:39

So hopefully it's just uh growing pains instead of a headache.

SPEAKER_00 37:44

It's all learning lesson. I just look at it like the mushrooms are my teacher, and they're like, okay, you're ready for your next lesson. And yeah, and I I truly, truly feel that if and and I and again, we're gonna guess on a little woo-woo, but I've been working with these mushrooms, and other people I know who work with these mushrooms understand that there's a sentience behind them. And I truly feel that they will never bring me up to something that I can't I can't handle.

SPEAKER_04 38:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 38:16

Yeah. I just it's a lot of trust.

SPEAKER_04 38:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:19

And things you can't see. Right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:21

Yeah for sure. Wow. Um, what are you most excited about for the future?

SPEAKER_00 38:27

Yeah, the the website.

SPEAKER_01 38:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 38:28

For sure.

SPEAKER_01 38:29

So my my plan so so your headache is your most excited about.

SPEAKER_00 38:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

That's true. That's great.

SPEAKER_00 38:37

Um, so the plan we we are doing a transition where I would like to work online only. Um, so this area would be shut down as retail, and we would have tents in here, and I would do the grow. We would have an extra grow here, my lab back there. Burn and barrels offered me space in their warehouse, which is awesome. Um, so I I think I think that, but it gets tricky because the customers in the care the people in the community, uh, they're they're like, what are you talking about? You're gonna shut down the space, and um, you know, we're gonna have to order online for a pickup time. And I'm like, yeah, probably not. Like, you know me. Like you could just text me. You know, a lot of people just text me and hey, can I get one of the, you know, can you put three of these aside for me? And and that'll never go away.

SPEAKER_04 39:32

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 39:33

Um, but that is kind of where I'm because as much as I do love handling the customers, my passion is being in the lab and doing all the lab work. And um, it's strange when you take it on as a business, it's almost kind of like the last thing that I do.

SPEAKER_02 39:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:48

And um, it's important to me that I never become jaded by this work, that I never become resentful of I wasn't able to do the lab work I wanted to do because I had to uh, you know, do the businessy things. Right. Um, so just trying to keep that balance of um, you

Website, Wholesale, And Scaling

SPEAKER_00 40:10

know, just making sure I'm still getting what I love out of it.

SPEAKER_01 40:14

Yeah. Have you considered um uh sooner, sometime in the into the future, maybe um either part-time or full-time help, some that that you can vet out that's gonna give that same uh vibe, customer-facing vibe that you're looking for?

SPEAKER_03 40:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:34

To where you could spend more time in the lab and they could spend more time about the city.

SPEAKER_00 40:37

Well, I'm gonna have to. So I'm like push, if we're pushing this a certain way, um, and again, like the lesson of, you know, do I how much control do I need to have on these things? You know, I all these my all these medicines are like my my brain child, my brain children. And um, I did have um a young girl come in uh a couple months ago and um just offered, like, if you need any help. And um, so I've been slowly calling on her to help me with just little, little things, and it helps me kind of warm up to the idea of another person um being in on this. But I've had multiple people in the community. I think they just want to be part of it where they are like I've a volunteer, like whatever you need. Do you need me to fill tinctures? Do you need me? I've had customers go to the post office for me or pick something up. So I just I love it out here in that aspect that you know, not a lot of people aren't expecting anything in return. They just want to help.

SPEAKER_01 41:46

Well, that's kind of the vibe I was at because I'd never met you before today, and I'd never been to your shop before today. There's kind of the vibe I was picking up is that people just love you.

SPEAKER_03 41:54

Oh I love that.

SPEAKER_01 41:56

Adore you. Oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 41:59

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 42:00

So that's when you were saying that you wanted to kind of pull back and be in the spend more time in the lab. I was thinking, hmm, what because there is that customer-facing element that you bring a very particular flavor to.

SPEAKER_00 42:14

Right.

SPEAKER_01 42:14

And so to replace that, it would you would need to vet really well.

SPEAKER_00 42:19

Very well. And it would be a requirement that, and I don't know how you would vet this out, that the person would have to be equally as passionate.

SPEAKER_02 42:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:30

Um, I because of customer service being so important to me, you know, I would, I would not tolerate one no call, no show, one disrespect to a customer, uh, anything, anything like that. And just holding people to the standard that I hold myself to.

SPEAKER_03 42:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:49

Um, yeah, then that makes me nervous thinking about I'm very, very protective in um of this work.

SPEAKER_01 42:58

So if time and money weren't an issue, um what's what's something that you you knew you'd want to try?

SPEAKER_00 43:09

Uh like related to the business, yeah. Yeah. Um maybe opening multiple locations. That that could have been ideal if other factors were in play with keeping the Farmington shop open and the Aztec shop. Um when I was in Farmington, a lot of people out here, they were like, Oh, it's too bad. I'm never in Farmington. Now I'm out here. People in Farmington are like, oh, I'm never up this way. But I think the way I'm gonna ease into that is I'm I was talking with the girl, her name is Katie, who came in, is maybe next year she runs the market while I run this side of things. Yeah, you know, something like that. And just slowly again easing into the idea of um sharing this when with other people, right? Yeah. I'm I'm a stickler for my work. Um it's this is your passion. This really is just I I I I love this work.

Going Online-First While Staying Human

SPEAKER_00 44:15

I love this work, and um, I would want somebody who equally loves the work, too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:22

Perfect. So what's uh what's a piece of advice for somebody that may want to they're just starting out in this industry?

SPEAKER_00 44:32

Let your customers lead.

SPEAKER_01 44:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 44:35

Let your customers lead, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 44:37

That's great advice.

SPEAKER_00 44:38

Absolutely. Um, I'm not trying to push anything on anybody. I don't I don't advertise. I'm not um maybe to a fault also. I don't, you know, I'm not trying to come up with great deals to get you in, or I just truly believe that the people will come. Um and so that would be the number one thing. And consistency, discipline is huge. Um, I am days like everybody else. I don't want to go to work.

SPEAKER_03 45:09

Right.

SPEAKER_00 45:09

Um, when we first started, I was able to do those kinds of things that slow, close down, and now we're at a point where I just can't. And and I also um kind of want to show the universe, like, you know, it may have been slow all day, but I said I'm gonna be here till 5 30 and I'm here. Right. I'm not leaving, I'm here till 5 30. You know, I'm showing up.

SPEAKER_03 45:30

You show up.

SPEAKER_00 45:30

So and that's yeah, that's it. So but I think letting the customers just lead. Yeah. Um always being in tune with them authentically.

SPEAKER_01 45:39

That's great advice for for people in so many other industries as well, not just this industry. Just let the customers let you know what they are looking for, what they want, what they expect, what all of it.

SPEAKER_00 45:53

Right. Yeah, right. Listening to complaints. Yeah. Now I I mean, I don't think I don't think we've ever gotten one, but I think like if somebody did come in with one, I'm like, I'm I'm gonna do everything. I'm not I'm not proud where I can't bend or uh meet meet somebody with where they are.

SPEAKER_01 46:17

Right.

SPEAKER_00 46:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:18

It's great. It's a it's a great out of two times. It just is.

SPEAKER_00 46:22

Well, without them, there's no mushroom zen. And I say it all the time. I'm like, you guys are mushroom zen. Like, not like me. I'm just, you know, yeah, just a crazy lady who likes mushrooms. Without you guys, I'm just a crazy lady who likes mushrooms. I mean this is their mushroom zen. Yeah, yeah. This is their store.

SPEAKER_01 46:41

So, what's something that um people don't know about you, like your customers, but should?

SPEAKER_03 46:48

Um I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 46:55

I don't know. I think everybody knows that I'm not from here. I came from New England. Um, and I I think that's an asset. Coming in as an outsider, it seems it kind of blows me away that how well I was received. Um being I mean from New England. I it's not even remotely close uh to where we are in Aztec. Um and just uh I th I think that was a a benefit. I came here with new eyes.

SPEAKER_03 47:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:36

Um, so I hear a lot of people here have the say the same thing that I said in my hometown. I can't wait to get, I gotta get out of here. You know, you're just looking at the same stuff and you almost go to sleep when you're in the same environment all the time. And I just had brand new eyes and just a fire inside of me. And those two things um yeah was exactly what kind of laid down the foundation.

SPEAKER_01 48:06

I think some of that's a little bit normal for hometowns,

Culture Shift, Community, And Belonging

SPEAKER_01 48:10

right?

SPEAKER_00 48:10

Right.

SPEAKER_01 48:10

If you spent your life in your hometown, you're like, ah, I want out, yeah, definitely. And and it's for that reason. You've you've um back in the marketing world, I I used to tell people you're putting you putting your poster up two months before your event, that's way too early. Right. You're gonna put it up, people are gonna see it for about a week, and then it's gonna fade into the background, and they're not gonna remember. It's too far ahead of time, they're not gonna remember it. And even though it's still posted, they don't even see it anymore. And so that's kind of what happens in in a hometown is those things that maybe make your hometown really cool, you just don't see them because it's faded into the background by now. It's old news, you've known it's been there forever, and right, and and so um, but this place has several elements that make it very different than other places in the world. And I think that hometown bubble type of thing combined with this place being very different, um I think people get in a bubble mentality sometimes where they need that influx of people and ideas and and outside influence coming to influence this particular market.

SPEAKER_00 49:29

Right. And so um And it's interesting because people who've been here their whole lives will tell me stories about this area. And I had one man come in a couple months ago and he said, Wow, it's changed so much on Main Street, like it wasn't like this before. And you know, when I was younger, Aztec wasn't very open-minded. And they look, you got a dispensary. He's like, the fact that you're here is like wild. And I'm like, really? He's like, Oh yeah, yeah. So I do I I don't think I could have pulled this off back in New England. Uh, even if everything I did, everything, and even if my business partner was up there, I just I just don't. But I I think a lot of that too has to do with the culture here.

SPEAKER_02 50:17

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 50:18

There's a heavy marketing culture here in terms of you know, events going on, yeah. And I think that's great. Like anybody can pretty much set up a booth, yeah, and and do that.

SPEAKER_01 50:30

There's a ton of events.

SPEAKER_00 50:31

The the barter culture out here too is amazing. That's something that I was not. You don't you don't ask anybody back in New England, well, you will you barter for it? Right. You're like you're crazy. And um, so it's very laid back out here, and I hope nobody takes offense to this, but it is almost like it's about 15, 20 years behind from where I am, and I fell in love with that. Yeah, absolutely fell in love with that. I never felt, I always felt like I was born displaced, you know. Like I don't really fit in here and in the community that I create so badly in my hometown.

SPEAKER_04 51:11

Right.

SPEAKER_00 51:12

I found here I have more friends, family, obligations to people, the whole nine than I ever did.

SPEAKER_04 51:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:21

Back home. Back home, it was, you know, just you go to work, you go home. You go to work, you go home. And out here, people really get together and sit and they take their time when they talk, and they're really talking to you and with you.

SPEAKER_04 51:35

And right.

SPEAKER_00 51:36

And I just fell in love with that.

SPEAKER_04 51:38

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 51:39

I almost miss sometimes when I first moved here, that excitement and newness and like the like everybody's just you know, so different from where I'm from and everything. I miss it sometimes because I'm I'm used, I'm kind of kind of used to it now. And um, and sometimes I think I wish I could go back to and I have and see this place for the first time again. Yeah, and I kind of felt like I was off the hook in life, you know. I'm like so far from home and I don't really have any obligations here yet. And it was just it was so new and exciting. And yeah, yeah, I I just I absolutely I I love deeply love the people out here. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:21

Awesome. Well, I'm so glad I got to meet you and glad you came. Visit your shop. And I know I've seen it online. There's a ton of people that are so happy you're here.

SPEAKER_00 52:31

So I'm so grateful.

Advice: Let Customers Lead

SPEAKER_00 52:35

Um it just means a lot. I uh I'm just so grateful for it again. It just always goes back to the people because without the people, there would be no mushrooms on exactly.

SPEAKER_01 52:49

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Awesome. Well, keep doing what you're doing. You're you're doing something very right, apparently.

SPEAKER_00 52:56

So I have no clue what I'm doing, but the days keep rolling and it keeps getting better. So we'll just keep doing that.

SPEAKER_01 53:02

Oh, thank you for coming on the show. Thanks. It's been great.

SPEAKER_00 53:06

Thank you for inviting me.