Drop Offs
Welcome to the third episode of our ongoing webinar series, Hey Sendler! This time Jenn spoke with Moji Igun, founder of Blue Daisi Consulting, to talk about self-care for the small business owner.
Self-care is important not just for us as individuals but also as business owners and operators. Sometimes the best thing we can do is say no when we don’t have the capacity to take something on.
Watch the whole thing or read the transcript in full below.
Important links
- Website: bluedaisi.com
- other places to find Moji online:
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Self-care for the small business owner, a chat with Moji Igun of Blue Daisi Consulting (full transcript)
Moji: Hey, how's it going?
Jenn: Good, how are you?
Moji: I'm doing okay, a little tired, but okay.
Jenn: Very fair. I'm just trying to pin a message here, so give me a second.
Moji: Just gonna drink some water.
Jenn: Perfect. Okay, alright.
Hi everybody, thanks for joining us for Hey Sendler via Instagram Live. So excited to be chatting with Moji from Blue Daisi consulting.
Today we're gonna be talking about self-care for small business owners, and so we don't really have a super structured format. Hi everyone, thanks for joining.
We are just gonna kind of see where the conversation goes and see where it takes us.
Before we get started, I want to acknowledge that we're on the land at the traditional First People of Seattle, and so we recognize their continuing connection to land culture and waters. We pay our respects to elders, past, present, and emerging.
With that, I'd love to give Moji some time to say hello and introduce herself and then we'll jump right in.
Moji: Sure, yeah. So, I'm Moji, I am the founder of Blue Daisi Consulting.
And what we do is, we offer zero waste and sustainability consulting services specifically for small business owners.
So we talk about trash, we talk about sustainability, we talk about the environment, but all with the focus of helping small businesses be better for the planet. So yeah, I'm excited to be here. Thanks for having me.
Jenn: Of course, I love that. So Sendle was connected with Blue Daisi Consulting through the Seattle Good Business Network here in Seattle.
And I love what you're doing, I love your work.
I was interested when I met Moji, but I think one of the things that I loved the most is that I reached out to her a few times, and I love just how transparent and honest she is about whether something is gonna be a good fit for her and her business, whether it's not the right fit, whether it's a good time or not.
Personally, I love when people show their work, and I think that it's really awesome to see people say no sometimes.
And so when we started brainstorming what this conversation could look like, it was a little bit of, "How are you doing?" Because I think that that's really important right now.
And also, "How is your business doing? How have things changed with COVID?"
And then, "How are you taking care of yourself right now?" How are you taking care of yourself and your business? What does it feel like or look like when you have to say no to business opportunities or to partnerships?
Because you may not have the capacity right now. Or Because COVID has made things difficult. And so it's just not the right time.
I found myself in the last few months—'cause I guess now it's like seven months of where we've been in this situation—starting my emails with like, "Hey, how are you? I hope you're well."
Also knowing that that is frivolous and doesn't really mean anything right now, but also really just kind of gauging people's capacity for... Like, if you have capacity to do something right now or if you don't, like, "Let's check in later."
Hi everybody, thanks for being here.
So yeah, I would love to have you start just a little bit by talking to us about what COVID has changed for Blue Daisi Consulting? How things have shifted a little bit, or how you're feeling? How you're feeling, so how are you doing today? And then how's the business doing today?
Moji: Yeah, those are all great questions and just like you were saying, it's really helpful just to be fully transparent and honest.
I have said no more during this COVID phase than I have ever.
Not because I'm just having so many opportunities, but just because I don't have the capacity to take things on sometimes so saying no has been my number one form of self-care.
But yeah, I struggle a lot with self-care and balancing it all because I'm a solo entrepreneur, it's just me and my business.
Also trying to be a human, also trying to be healthy, so there's a lot to balance. But yeah, it's all about just finding the balance that works for you, and self-care isn't prescriptive.
It's not like, "Here are 10 things you can do to be happy again." It's what works for you, and keeps you healthy and sane and centered. And that's my philosophy on it.
Jenn: I love that so much. I love that you said no more in the last few months than you have kind of ever.
Because I feel like it's hard to say no just in general, but it's also... It's like a form of resistance. It's an act of resistance to say like, "No, no thank you." And sometimes it's like, "Hard pass, absolutely not."
And sometimes it's just no, thank you. And sometimes it's no, not right now. But, yes I love this, someone just said it's so hard to say no to business opportunities, but really we all have to do our part, kind of protecting ourselves.
Moji: Absolutely.
Jenn: What are some of your best, do you feel like tips for things you've been doing to take care of yourself in quarantine?
Moji: So many things.
My personal definition of self-care is taking care of yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, financially, relationship-wise. And so, all of those things have been completely thrown out of whack because of COVID.
What you would usually do isgo to a coffee shop and get some coffee in the morning to start your day. That is no longer, or it's slightly modified.
So, just your basic things have really changed. So, it's really been recognizing that my self-care routine and rituals are completely different than they were a year ago. Before, I would just do some yoga and meditate, and that does not work right now.
Jenn: Not anymore.
Moji: Yeah. So, it's more like asking for help, and delegating things, and saying no, and investing in therapy.
Just all of the things that have shifted from earlier this year to now are completely different, but it's adapting to what you need.
Jenn: Totally. It's like that personal pivot, too, right? I told you this already, but many plus-ones for therapy. I started therapy in quarantine, which was a choice.
Moji: Damn.
Jenn: But it's been... Yeah, it was a really interesting conversation with myself 'cause it's a very personal journey and decision to make, right?
But it was really thinking about that investment of, "What does it mean for me? How am I doing right now? Not well. Why am I not doing well? And what am I gonna do about it, right?"
And so, are there band-aids? Or are there things? And so, part of saying no was looking at those boundaries.
So for me, that's been part of it too, is just like really assessing what those boundaries look like and how they shake out personally and professionally, but yeah. It's been really, really interesting.
I do see a question really quickly about Sendle Service.
And so, I'm happy to answer any questions if you have things that come up about packages or parcels. If you have questions about delivery or pick up, please send us a DM and someone from our support team will get back to you.
I do not have all the answers or information if you have specific package-related questions right now, but I promise someone will get back to you and we will help out.
So, I love that. Okay. So, saying no a little bit more. Definitely routines changing. Yeah, for sure. How has Blue Daisi Consulting changed?
I know you were doing some workshops in person for a little while. We're giving away... Everybody get super excited, one of the spots to Moji's next or last, I guess, it's the last one you're doing. Zero Waste Workshop at the end of the month.
So, everyone who's here is eligible to win. And we'll pull a random name afterward and share that with you. But tell us a little bit about how your workshops have changed and what that looks like.
Moji: Yeah. So, I started doing workshops the last week of February, with the intention of doing them for the rest of the year in person.
And of course, that didn't happen. So, I immediately had to pivot to online. And that actually has been really helpful, because the limitations of in-person only means that people in Seattle, who have that time available, who can make it to where the spot is can come.
And now, I have people from all over the world able to join and able to share recordings that you can watch at your own pace. And so, it's been a wonderful actually to be able to make this pivot.
It's not what I intended, but rolling with the punches and understanding that things are gonna have to shift and change. So, all of my work now has to be done online because that's the only way that we can communicate right now and meet for long periods of time.
So yeah, it's all been about just adapting and making sure that I can be available and still give the same quality of service over Zoom, or FaceTime, or whatever it may be.
Jenn: For sure. I love that. I have joined way more Zoom calls, or Instagram lives, or web... All of the things over the last few months, but I think that that's been the coolest thing, is definitely being able to meet people from all over the world in these different workshops.
I did something with In Good Company last week or the week before. And I've always watched their stuff, or followed them online and thought, "Oh it would be so cool to go to San Francisco for In Good Company one year." And this year, I was like, "I don't have to go to San Francisco, they're gonna bring everything to me, which is amazing."
Moji: Yeah. I have a feeling that things are gonna stay virtual for awhile. 'Cause it's just so much more accessible and so much easier to just get messages out. So, I think it's gonna be a new thing.
Jenn: Yeah, totally. We had big plans to do the same thing, we were gonna go... So many hearts coming in. You guys are amazing.
Moji: Thank you.
Jenn: All the validation, which is awesome.
Yeah, we had so many plans to go to craft fairs, and trade shows, and meet makers and small businesses where they are with their customers.
And then we were like, "How are we gonna do this differently?" So, that's where Hey Sendler came in and was like, "Let's share resources and information, and things with people, and meet them where they are."
Which is why I'm so glad you were cool with doing Instagram Live, 'cause it feels like a less resistance sort of joining function, right?
You don't have to make sure Zoom is up-to-date, or that you have the right Google Hangout or anything like that. You're just here, and that's awesome.
Moji: Absolutely.
Jenn: I love that. I'm just gonna say hey to some folks.
If anybody has questions, feel free to pop them in. We'd love to answer them for you. If you have questions about self-care or what folks are doing to take care of themselves, any tips that you'd like to share, please let us know.
Moji: Yeah, I put up a question box on my...
Jenn: Yeah, I saw that.
Moji: I had some questions about therapy and how to get started.
So, I just wanted to share my overarching tips. So, this is actually my third instance in therapy. I've been in and out throughout... From past six or seven years, so college to now.
And yeah, it's been just like a flux because sometimes because you're just like, "I really need help." Sometimes you're like, "Ah, I can manage without."
So flow in and out, but some people ask, "Where do I even start with it? How do I find one?" Some of my favorite tips are, if you have insurance, start with your actual insurer, they might have a directory of who they cover.
Jenn: I love that you have the patience for therapy, yes.
Moji: Yes, or there's psychologytoday.com, and they will have a whole directory and you can filter by your insurance, so you can search, see who's close to you, who has virtual, if you don't have therapy...
Or if you don't have insurance, a couple of good places I've checked are Open Path Collective, they have a sliding scale, so I think it's between $30 and $60. All of their therapists are covered under that range, or they have state-by-state funds.
For example here in Washington, there's the Washington Therapy Fund, where specifically black women can get access to free therapy, so there are tons of funds around, just do a little bit of Googling and I'm sure you'll find something that will help you out.
Jenn: Yeah, definitely, I felt like it took me a long time, partly because I was probably a little resistant as well... Sorry guys.
Yeah, I felt like I was a little resistant to the idea in general, just because it's a lot of work to find somebody.
And so for me, I was very intentional about like, "I want to find someone who is a woman of color, I want to find someone who's in the Seattle area, I want to find someone who's also a mom 'cause I have a toddler,” and so I felt like it was a lot of sussing out, and I feel like a lot of folks I've talked to have said like, "It's worse than dating." 'Cause you have to find the right vibe with someone, right?
Moji: Yes.
Jenn: Like you need to feel like you're... For me, I need to feel like I'm being challenged a little bit, I need to feel like we're having fruitful conversations, like I'm leaving with things that... I have things to think about, and already it's like an emotionally charged time, and so I feel like I'm frequently sobbing hysterically before, after, and during, right?
Yet it's very cathartic because it's just like... One of the things my therapist said to me was like, "Ignorance is not bliss anymore."
And I was like, "Oh, right." Like I know all of these things now, right? It's very casual, and then they just drop all this knowledge on you where you're like, "Right, yes. Okay, sure."
Moji: Absolutely.
Jenn: But yeah, it does feel like dating a little bit where you're just like, "Okay, are you the right fit?"
And we see someone asked, "How are companies dealing with more or less business? Or more or less opportunities with the pandemic? And by that, I mean staying determined and strong even when it's hard?"
That's such a great question, and I just wanna say solidarity, because it is hard right now, and so you're not alone, and I think everyone is dealing with that.
Is there anything you'd like to add or share about what things look like right now or how you're feeling?
Moji: Yeah, I would just say, remember and acknowledge we are in the middle of a pandemic right now, so there are so many things going on right now.
And that's what I mean by capacity, is that you usually might have been focusing on yourself and your business, and then your family, but now it's like keeping yourself healthy, wearing your mask, washing your hands, there are so many other things going on in your brain.
So be patient with yourself and understand if you need to maybe scale back your business, take a step away, delegate, whatever, but understand that it's okay if things are shifting because circumstances have shifted, so just allow yourself that grace to move and flow as things change.
Jenn: Yeah, definitely. That totally makes sense. I love that.
Hi, everybody. So many folks joining. So I'm talking to Moji from Blue Daisi Consulting. We're chatting about self-care for small business owners.
If you have questions, if there's anything you'd like to know, specifically from Moji, or about self-care, or how... Thank you... how she's taking care of herself and her business, feel free to hop in any questions.
Did any other questions come through from your question box?
Moji: I think it was just like, "How do you feel about online therapy versus in-person therapy?"
And I've done both, and I think the one... I love online therapy, it's a video chat, so it's just like this and it feels personal and it's great, the only thing is just like the silent moments, because I like to fill those when I'm...
Jenn: Oh yeah.
Moji: And in those, and talking to myself like, "It's okay."
If it's quiet for a second, if I need to think or if they need to think, like allow that to happen, but other than that, online therapy has been just wonderful.
Jenn: I agree. I felt like I wasn't sure how it was gonna be, but I'm somebody who's distracted by... So like you came on and I was like, "I love Moji's top, that print's just so cute, what's the photo behind her?"
Just so, like visually always needing to see things, and so being... Like on Zoom, it's the same background all the time, right? Like there's nothing really for me to look at, or change, or anything, and so it's just focusing on me and my feelings, which is so exciting and prolonging sometimes, but...
Totally fine. I'm gonna say hi to all of you who are joining, thank you for being here. I love this. Anywhere that you recommend for online therapy?
Moji: Yeah, so Open Path Collective is a really good place to start.
They have a lot of people who are doing virtual right now, so they can accommodate you. I've tried, I think it was BetterHelp, and I like that because they have a bunch of different varieties, but I would definitely suggest looking into the one that feels best for you.
Jenn: Cool.
Moji: Yeah.
Jenn: Awesome, thank you.
I hope that answers your question, SophieSoap so what a cute name also. Anybody else have any questions for us?
Moji, when we talked initially about this chat, you had mentioned just some storytelling components too, so I was curious if there was anything that came for you that you were wanting to chat about, or things that you wanted to share or not, if I'm putting you on the spot, you're welcome to...
Moji: No, that's fine. I always have a story for almost anything, so...
Jenn: I love it.
Moji: I think a good one... So, someone the other day was asking me about taking time off as a business owner right now, especially when you're trying to just make sales, and all of your things you're trying to handle.
And so, I think it was three or so weeks ago, I took a full week off, just like, "I'm outta here." People were like, "How did you do that? How did you prepare for that?" And the key for me with that was just setting a boundary and telling everyone like, "Hey, anyone who sent... " I think you sent me an email.
Jenn: Yeah, totally.
Moji: "Hey, I'm going out of town, from this time to this time. I'm not gonna respond but let's wrap this up before and then we'll get to this after."
And so, just understanding that if you don't take care of yourself first, how can you take care of your business, your family, anything else?
So that's what I'm learning and processing in therapy is that I have to feed myself, nourish myself before I can do anything else. So take off if you need it.
Jenn: Yeah, definitely. I love that.
Question here from the Secondary Market. Hi, Maria. “What's the best way to show support to the communities you want to uplift with your small business without culturally appropriating or maybe inadvertently causing more harm?” Big question.
Moji: Yeah, I think I know what you mean by this. So if it's like, if you see minority-owned businesses or any other marginalized group owned business, like how do you support them?
And I think just like all the free ways that you can support anyone, if you're on social media, re-posting their stuff, sharing their stuff, buying their stuff, getting it as a gift for a friend, whatever you can do to patronize those businesses and help them out is wonderful.
And if they have specific asks like, fund our GoFundMe or whatever it may be, amplify their message and make sure that other people know about it so that they can get the word out.
Jenn: Yeah, definitely, I love that. Buying their things, I feel like, key trick now and I love that, just making sure that we're supporting small businesses, people that we care about, folks that actually...
Shout out to Velorea in Pioneer Square 'cause I have one… their top underneath but I love them and they make the cutest stuff that's made in the US and Canada.
Hi, Wearable Masks. Thanks for joining. We're chatting with Moji from Blue Daisi Consulting about self-care for small business owners, so if you have questions about self-care or if you have tips for things that you're doing for yourself, for your business, for your family, please share. We would love to hear.
That's awesome, so what did you do with your time off?
Moji: So I spent a lot of time journaling.
Jenn: Oh, I love that.
Moji: Resting and watching Netflix, and making food from scratch, like focaccia.
And just really just living it up and treating myself because, I mean during regular days, it's really just like wake up, breakfast, emails, emails, emails, work, work, work, go to bed. That's what it feels like.
And so, giving myself that week off just to like, "I'm gonna go for a bike ride in the middle of the day on a Tuesday." That's what I was hoping for, just to refresh and reset and it was truly magical.
Jenn: That's so amazing. I love that, especially because we're all home all the time.
Moji: In the house.
Jenn: And so, yeah, it's like time doesn't really mean anything. And it's difficult to find routines or new routines of things that you can or can't be doing. And so, I love the idea of just taking time to do whatever you want and reset and...
Moji: Absolutely. And a week long seems way too much 'cause I know that it sounds like a lot. Just maybe a long weekend, take a Friday off and truly tune out until Monday and see how you feel because it's so easy just to grab your phone and check your email.
Try just tuning it out and see how you feel.
Jenn: Yeah, that's awesome.
For small business owners who have a shop or who like... Product and things like that, do you have some ideas or tips for folks on how they can do the same thing but different?
I guess, ways that you feel like that could be helpful for people to re-center themselves?
Moji: Yeah, so I don't own a shop, I don't have a physical space.
But if I were to give someone advice, just to recommend, I would say if you can delegate it to someone else, so if you have a team and you have a manager who can handle it and just take over, give it to them.
Let them take over. So if you need to train them some more, whatever, but see how much you could take off your plate and even if it's just for a one time, just try it out. See how it goes.
Jenn: Yeah, that sounds fantastic. I love that.
Alright, more folks joined. Hi, everybody. Thank you for being here, I'm just going to see if we missed any questions from anybody.
Anybody have any other questions? I just wanna give folks lots of time to ask all the things that they may have.
Moji: We can talk about saying no 'cause I know that...
Jenn: Oh my gosh, please, yes.
Moji: Yes, so like I was saying earlier, I think I've said no more times in the past six months than I have in my entire life, and it's not because everyone is emailing me for stuff, but it's just like... I have a calendar that I make every month.
I handwrite it and I write my big deadlines, my big events, like this is on it, and I make sure that I look at that whenever I take something on that's new and say, "Right now, I am booked through the middle of September, if not later."
Jenn: Sounds amazing.
Moji: "If you want me to do something for you, whether it's an Instagram Live, if it's a project, write something, I'm not available until the end of September."
And it's not because I can't physically fit it in, but because I'm spacing things out in a way that is sustainable for myself.
So I know that I can't work at 100% workload like I was before the pandemic, so I'm at, honestly 50% right now. So I have to cut back my workload accordingly.
Jenn: Totally.
Moji: So it's saying no to clients, it's saying no to opportunities, but because I need to stay healthy, so that's the ultimate goal is...
I understand that it's really hard when it's like money coming in, you really need to make the revenue you're trying to make, but what is that costing you in peace, in your self-health? So it's really just finding that personal balance for you.
Jenn: Yeah, definitely. That's so true.
I also feel like it's been... I know you work from home, and so finding that balance is a little different, but if working from home is new for you, then I think it's difficult to find that balance.
Or shout-out to people who are like homeschooling right now or have school-aged children or anything, it's difficult to parent and pandemic. I don't know how people are doing it.
I feel like we're barely doing it adequately, sometimes. My kid is home for 14 days because we had a COVID scare at his daycare.
And so it's just like... Any time you feel like you have taken things into like, "Yes, I have this plan. It's going well, it's fine." It's like the life, all of that is here, sort of throw in something new and you end up with a different plan, or thing that has to happen.
And so definitely like looking at what your capacity looks like and being true to that.
And I also want to acknowledge that I know folks are coming up on holiday, and so it's getting ready to be the busiest time of the year where we don't know what things are gonna look like. And it's a little bit scary to think about what holiday is gonna look like in COVID.
But eCommerce is booming, which is really exciting. But also lots of folks are struggling right now, and so what does that look like?
And so it is very difficult to say no right now, but I think if you're saying no to things, you're also saying yes to yourself. And so that's really amazing.
I had a question that came through that I wanna share. Okay. So it's so tough to shift the mindset from, "Can I physically fit that into my calendar and what is this costing me? How do you say no purposefully and gracefully?" I love that.
Moji: Yeah, so it's about balancing what do you physically have time for? What do you want to do? What is adding value to yourself or your business?
So asking yourself all those questions is kind of how you can suss out like whether or not you should even consider this thing.
For example, people have asked me to... "Can you do this thing, but for free? Like, for free, and you know we'll make it a collaborative thing?"
And sometimes that's great and beneficial because if you have a relationship then it's like, "Yes, why not." But it's people that I don't know that it's not adding any value to me, and I actually don't really wanna do it, why am I even wasting energy considering it?
So thinking about what is my intention with this thing that I'm saying yes or no to, and then moving forward that way.
So yeah, absolutely, if you're saying yes... Or you saying no to something, you're saying yes to yourself, and you really wanna remember that yourself is the important thing.
Jenn: Yes, totally. Have you found people to be more understanding when you say no? Or are they getting frustrated?
Moji: Oh, they're so understanding... I mean, everyone is in a pandemic right now. We are all struggling. Like, let's not even front about that.
We are all struggling. I mean, yeah, I said no the other day and it wasn't like, "No." It was, "Right now, I just don't have the capacity. Check back in six months and I'm happy to consider 'cause I really love what you're doing, but right now it's a no."
Or, "No, like right now... That day is busy for me. I have something planned that day and I don't wanna pack it full of stuff. Sorry, no, like, can you pick another day?"
Maybe if you really are excited about it, giving them an explanation and seeing if they can shift and change to adjust to you, but everyone I've said no to has been so understanding because we are all stressed out right now, so it's just like communicate with each other.
Jenn: And I love that just the idea of being more empathetic to everyone right now, taking time to take care of ourselves, and taking time to take care of the people around you.
And so if someone comes to you with a business idea or comes to you with something, and they're frustrated or it's difficult, I think that you can sort of understand like, "Okay, I understand this might be hard for you to hear no right now."
But also like hopefully we're all holding each other close and taking care of one another and saying like, "I understand," or, "Let's revisit." Or something like that.
Let's see, "It's so easy to place your own fears and insecurities on how someone else will respond, love to be pleasantly surprised when boundaries are met and understood." Yes.
Moji: That's so healthy.
Jenn: Yes, that's so true. Let's see, mic drops, I love this. "Wise." Noah Catherine says, "Yes to yourself, that is my family, so thank you so much for being here."
Moji: Oh, my gosh.
Jenn: You're being so supportive, that's very cute.
"I love it when I hear not today from somebody because it feels like it empowers me to do the same, boundaries are love." Yes, so true.
Moji: Yeah, I've even... I've had like projects that I've had deadlines for that were set either pre-COVID or right when COVID was starting, and I've had to be like, "I'm sorry, I know we agreed to this, and I know that this is what we agreed to, but right now I'm gonna need an extra week or I'm gonna need to completely take this off my plate because this is what I need."
And have a conversation about it. So boundaries are absolutely love.
Jenn: Yeah, definitely.
Can you tell us about a time... Or was there something that you had going on kind of pre-COVID? I know you talked about switching workshops a little bit, but did you have something big that you were planning to do this year that fell through that you had to like re-adjust for? Or that just isn't happening anymore and what that's meant for you?
Moji: Yes, so I'm not like a huge New Year's resolution person, but I do every year, make general goals for my business and map it out and think of my fund project.
And I was gonna... So I'm living in Seattle now, but I'm originally from Michigan and the Midwest, and I wanted to go back to the Midwest and visit all the places that I have lived and bring my work with me.
So basically make it like a work/play trip, and I was gonna be gone for a month and do workshops in person and go visit sustainable places, all of that...
Jenn: Oh my gosh, I love...
Moji: And that's not happening. So I was really bummed about that.
Jenn: Yeah, I'm sorry, that sounds so amazing, but I guess just more time to plan it out and make it more special. But that's so cool.
When did you first get interested in zero waste and sustainability and stuff like that? Has it always been important to you? Is it something that you felt like you really came into in the last few years? What has your journey been like?
Moji: Yeah, So I found out about the concept like, zero waste as a concept a few years back, like 2017-2018, I wanna say.
There were some YouTube videos and BuzzFeed videos that were going around about people fitting their trash into Mason jars, and I was just like, "What is this? Why are people doing this?"
So I started digging in and there were some communities on Facebook and Instagram that were people talking about this topic, and the more that I dug into it, I was realizing that I have been living a zero waste lifestyle my whole life.
My parents are immigrants from Nigeria. And so, just by nature, immigrant people are naturally sustainable, we reuse things, we buy less expensive things, we repair, and all of that stuff is really just native to those cultures.
And so it was really just a mindset shift of bringing that mindset that I was raised into this modern world that's all about consumption and having the next new thing.
And so it was really just connecting the dots for me, of, I know this in my head, I know these practices of reduce, reuse, recycle, be conscious of what you buy.
But then putting a name of the zero waste lifestyle on it, helped me just bring it into my daily life.
So it's been really interesting just opening my eyes into the way that we impact the planet on the things that we buy, the things that we use, the way that we interact with nature, and so it's just been this whole rabbit hole that I've been slowly falling down, so...
Jenn: I love that so much, and it's so true.
Our indigenous communities were our first zero waste communities. It is not a new phenomenon or anything like that, it's definitely... I love that.
What's something that you are like, "Yes, I buy this. Yes, I make this investment in." When you're thinking about your shopping habits and stuff like that. What are the ways you treat yourself?
Moji: Like things that aren't zero waste that I do?
Jenn: Yeah.
Moji: Okay, yeah. I can go off on that.
For example, last week was a really tough week, there were a lot of things in the news and current events that felt really heavy, and so I was just like, I need to comfort myself, the normal... I usually have oatmeal for breakfast, a nice healthy thing, and I was like, "No, I need Lucky Charms. I need my favorite cereal, and I'm gonna eat the whole box like this week."
And that's what I did. And I wasn't thinking about ethical or healthy, but I was thinking about, "What do I need right now?" And it's not an everyday thing, but occasionally, I get Lucky Charms.
Jenn: I love that, that's good. I love that it is Lucky Charms too.
Moji: Yeah, it's the best cereal.
Jenn: And how this feels very nostalgic, so that's awesome.
Moji: Yes, exactly.
Jenn: What are some of your favorite zero waste places to shop? Or things that you made the switch to? Like your toothpaste or toothbrush, or things like that. What are some easy ways that people can start their switch?
Moji: Well, my absolute favorite zero waste shop is Eco Collective here in Seattle. And they are Sendle customers, so we...
Jenn: They are, we love them too. Hi.
Moji: We love you guys.
But yes, they have so many lifestyle goods that are amazing. From silicone plastic bags, instead of plastic you get silicone baggies... Toothpaste, toothbrushes, cleaning supplies, they have it all and I highly recommend. Their new thing is they have a bulk section so...
Jenn: I saw that, yeah. They're like bulk bar. Yeah.
Moji: Yeah. Shampoos and oils, and they deliver, so it's amazing.
Jenn: That's awesome. That's amazing. So wonderful.
Thanks for joining everybody. I just wanted to quickly shout out and see if anybody has any questions that we missed? Or if there's anything that you'd like to hear about? Thanks for joining. Sorry, it's so weird to read and look and talk at the same time.
Moji: I don't wanna touch my screen.
Jenn: No, you're totally fine.
Moji: Tell me what to say.
Jenn: Hi thanks for joining.
Okay, so then you love the Eco Collective, let's talk about some of your favorite online places to shop.
Obviously Sendle does carbon neutral shipping for mostly small businesses, and so most of our customers are e-commerce folks who don't have a brick and mortar, and I think that while you're trying to think about what zero waste or sustainability looks like.
We're also in this new age were like, because my kids sick, we just had to have Amazon Prime deliver Oatly because I needed to have coffee today.
What are some places that you feel like are doing this online thing well? Or places that you love supporting that aren't Seattle-based for our folks who are around the world.
Moji: Yeah so thank you for complimenting my outfit today, it's actually from thredUP.
I bought this at an online thrift store. And I love them because it's amazing, putting thrift online is genius, so I love them.
I've just been supporting a lot of, any local artisans, and so it's not national, but local people who are... We're pivoting. So the art behind me is from a local Seattle design studio, and they started doing that.
I'm trying to think of national places, I really shop local a lot. So I don't have a lot of placed that are national.
Jenn: That's amazing.
Moji: Yeah, I have to think about that, I'm not sure...
Jenn: No, that's great okay.
If we don't have any more questions, I will let us wrap up our day, but I want you to take some time to tell people where they can find you.
And tell us a little bit about the zero waste workshop, and all the places that they can follow you and your work.
Moji: Yeah, so if you joined late, my name's Moji, I'm the founder of Blue Daisi Consulting, and we offer zero waste and sustainability consulting services for small businesses.
So you can find me here on Instagram @bluedaisiconsulting, Facebook, LinkedIn, my website bluedaisi.com.
And the workshop that's coming up at the end of September. It's the 29th at 11 o'clock Pacific. And basically it's the introduction to zero waste in the workplace. So, if you don't even know what a zero waste is, that's okay.
If you wanna learn how to take it further than you are now, that's great too. It's really for everyone. And it's just giving you a roadmap on how to go zero waste in your business.
So, are we giving away our spot ticket right now?
Jenn: Yeah. We totally can. Yeah, I love that, let’s see who's here, and we will. I'm just gonna... What's the best way to do it? I feel like I need a randomizer.
Moji: Yeah.
Jenn: Let me... Okay, JK that was a let down because I was like, "Yes." And then I'm like, "Wait."
Moji: Maybe not.
Moji: But yeah I wanna make sure its equitable, and that we can do a randomizer so that it doesn't look like I'm just pulling... Yeah. Just scrolling randomly, and now I'm sweating 'cause I feel like I didn't...
Moji: If you can't make it during the actual time. There will be a recording so you can watch it at your own pace if you're in a different timezone or whatnot.
Jenn: Perfect. And I joined, I think... I don't remember what time it is anymore 'cause it was... I think it was pre-COVID and so... Oh, for World Environment Day, we did a voice chat with Moji.
Yeah, and then I joined the zero waste one before that, and so it was super helpful, just if anyone's interested or thinking about it. And I think even if you run your business from your home, so you're not in the office you'll still get some really great insight.
And the thing that I remember taking back to my team was how relatable and not scary it felt. Because I think that sometimes the zero waste world can feel very... Like, "If you're not doing all of the things, you're not welcome here."
And that was the exact opposite of the vibe that I got from your workshop.
It was very welcoming, like, "Start where you are, you're welcome where you are, use what fits for you, and make sure that you're taking care of yourself, and your business, and your office, and all of the things." So, yeah, that was awesome.
Okay, well thank you guys so much for being here, we're gonna have this on our IGTV. This is our first live, so I'm gonna learn how to make all of it work afterward. And then we'll hopefully have it up some other places well. We'll get a transcript for anyone who needs it, sent out afterward.
And then if you have any questions, feel free to send us a DM or reach out to Moji directly. And thank you guys so much.
Our next Hey Sendler is gonna be September 17th. We're talking with a photographer who's gonna share some like hot tips and tricks about ways to style your photos and product, and things like that.
She's really talented, it's gonna be amazing.
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today, I really appreciated it. It was so nice to see your face, I'm glad to hear you're doing well. Thank you for sharing your tips.
And thank you to everyone who joined. You're all amazing. It was so nice seeing everybody.
Moji: Bye.
Jenn: Thanks, bye.
