There’s a new revolution coming. The Herbolution.
And leading the way is Paul Otote, co-founder of wellness brand ‘herby.’
Paul (left) with co-founder of herby and the HerbyBox, Yemi (right)
Over the course of six months, Paul and his business partner Yemi have pitched ‘HerbyBox’ to Selfridges. Which you can find in stores and online!
(p.s. how amazing do these boxes look?! 🤯)
The Zuwa Box, Imm+ne Box, and Athene & Imm+ne Bundles.
With the common promotion of artificial means of nourishing the body, achieving wellness seems to have been overcomplicated. To tackle this, Paul and his friend Yemi founded 'HerbyBox.'
Herby is a simple, effective way of mobilising the power of herbs in a tea designed to be taken over seven days. ‘HerbyBox’ has featured in the likes of the Sunday Times and has rave reviews online.
But HerbyBox and herby are not the only projects Paul manages.
Paul is a content creator, author, herbalist, and nutritionist raising awareness on the health benefits of herbs!
Juggling roles is something many of us struggle with. But for Paul, wearing different hats and managing many passions is what drives him.
If you’ve ever wondered how to manage and juggle different jobs and passions, look no further than Paul!
After reading you’ll:
Learn how to balance multiple roles and projects 💡
Learn what the road to a successful pitch looks like 💡
Learn what it takes to run a successful business 💡
Everything Supports Everything
For someone who manages a business alongside creative pursuits, it can be hard to know what to focus on.
But, Paul doesn't view his projects as stand alone tasks.
For Paul, everything he creates makes up a part of a whole, and fulfils his purpose to educate people on health, and herbs.
Finding your ‘why’ 🤔
A driving force behind why we do something can be a huge motivator in the work and projects we pursue.
A person who loves to draw might do so because their purpose is to share their vision of the world with everyone.
We should all have a ‘why’, or a purpose behind everything we do. But it can be hard to identify this driving force. 📝
Paul's 'why' behind HerbyBox, his YouTube channel, and his role as a nutritionist - is to share his knowledge.
Paul's passion for spreading awareness on the power of herbs is in everything he does.
‘Things should be an extension of you,’ Paul tells us. It is only through your passion and drive that you can carry yourself through stages of growth and development.
Having a purpose or a 'why' gives you meaning and direction. ➪
So, if you’re struggling to find your purpose, or your ‘why’ behind doing something, look within.
What parts of yourself can you see reflected in the work you create? 🪞
What can you give back?
‘You owe it to the world to share what you’ve learnt.’ Paul is a big advocate of giving back and sharing knowledge. 🌏
Paul has spent years learning about herbs and their effects on health. He makes sure that he shares his knowledge with as many people as he can.
One way he does this, is through his YouTube channel where he reaches an audience of 50.9K subscribers, as well as his range of e-books! 🤯
'Paul Otote's Nutrition Guide'
'The Complete Herb Guide'
But Paul isn’t sharing what he knows to prove that he’s an expert. He’s sharing what he knows, because it’s worked for him and he wants others to benefit.
Paul has created HerbyBox, his YouTube channel, and his books, to allow him to share his knowledge. Sharing what he knows comes at no cost to Paul- but the rest of the world can benefit.
Paul's e-books have rave reviews!
Remember: Knowledge has no value unless you use and share it.
The 80-20 Rule
During the pandemic, many people turned towards hobbies as a second source of income. But sometimes it can be difficult managing both a day job and a side hustle.
Which is why now more than ever you need the 80-20 rule! ⏰
Also known as the Pareto Principle, the 80-20 rule is a must have to increase productivity. And it's what Paul uses to run and operate HerbyBox alongside his other creative pursuits!
The 80-20 rule states that 80% of your time should be spent on your ‘day-job’, for Paul this is HerbyBox.
What about the 20%?
Well, that 20% is for your side hustle/creative passions. For Paul, that’s his YouTube channel and his roles as a nutritionist and herbalist.
Now, it may seem that the 20% could be better spent watching TV. But it’s that 20% that helps you maximise what you produce at your ‘day-job’, or that 80% of what you spend your time doing.
The 20% Paul spends on side projects, have a positive affect on his work with HerbyBox.
“Everything supports everything...it directly impacts and feeds into HerbyBox,” says Paul. And we can see that through his work.
Paul can use what he’s learnt from his creative pursuits in his main job to be more productive and successful. ⭐️
The next time you feel that your day job and creative passions are in conflict with each other- try the 80-20 rule!
The road to a successful pitch
Once you've got that great product or idea, it can be easy to get caught up in the excitement.
But, Paul tells us it's key to stay grounded. Keep working and building towards delivering that successful pitch.
A little bit of luck, a lot of hard work
Paul and Yemi pitched Herbybox to Selfridges in 2020. Now you can buy HerbyBox in store and online.
But getting to that successful pitch didn’t happen overnight- it was a lot of work, and a little bit of luck as Paul tells us. 🍀
“Being in the game,” Paul tells us, was a huge factor in raising interest from investors and buyers.
Being surrounded by like-minded people brought luck and opportunities. This helped Paul take HerbyBox from idea to reality.
You can find Herbybox on the Selfridges website and in store!
Never underestimate what being around the right people can do for your business.
Be active, push boundaries
So what do you do once you're in those meetings, and at those networking events?
“Be active,” says Paul, and “push boundaries.” Don’t wait for people to approach you- be proactive and approach them first.
Being in the right environment is the first step. But Paul emphasises that what you do in that space is even more important.
Being active will open doors. 🚪
Actively look for ways that you can promote your business to the right investors and buyers.
Research before your meetings. Take an interest in the people that are investing and buying from you.
How would you make your product stand out as something they need?
So you run a business- now what?
Being able to say that you run a business or have a start-up isn’t enough.
You have to put in the work to ensure success and happiness with the products or services that you provide.
So, what are some sure-fire ways of ensuring success?
Paul knows a thing or two about that… 🤩
Learning comes from unexpected places- and people
The first thing to learn when starting something new is - things aren’t as difficult as they seem!
Pitching HerbyBox to Selfridges was a whole new experience. But now Paul’s done it he has the knowledge to understand what a buyer like Selfridges expects.
If Paul didn’t believe he could pitch to Selfridges, he wouldn’t have tried.
“If you don’t believe it’s possible, you won’t try, and you won’t see it as a potential route.”
Keep an open mind when considering new experiences- they could be learning opportunities.
Trust and believe in yourself. You got this! 😄
Other people can be a great source of knowledge and wisdom. From mentors to your investors- ask around for advice and tips!
If your mentors or investors aren’t giving you the advice you’re looking for, then turn to your customers!
Paul did exactly this. He spoke to the first group of HerbyBox customers who told him they wanted tea bags included in their boxes. The next iteration of the product had tea bags, and they grew their customer list.
Learning from your community and customers is instrumental to growth. 🌱
Don’t be afraid of feedback- take it on board like Paul did, and do something with it.
Looking Back
We can all look back in our lives, and think of a million things we could have done better. Hindsight can be a good thing- if you know how to use it.
When thinking about mistakes, don’t focus on the negatives, focus on what your mistakes can teach you.
Looking back at what the very first version of HerbyBox was, Paul tells us, was embarrassing! But, it was a step in the right direction, because they were able to learn from what went wrong to make improvements.
The beautiful Imm+ne tea once looked very different
Being able to look back at your original idea or is useful because you can progressively add to it and improve!
Staying Ahead 🏅
As important as it is to think about how far you’ve come, it’s also important to take a moment and think about the future.
Paul and his business partner took HerbyBox from an idea to a physical product in a year. A lot can happen in a year, so it’s important that you enjoy the process! Remember and celebrate your successes- no matter how small!
Understanding your key milestones is also important, advises Paul. HerbyBox’s first press feature in the Sunday Times brought the team a lot of orders. Luckily Paul and his team had planned ahead and had the capacity to fill these orders.
Planning ahead can be crucial in moments like these.
Take the time to think about where you see your business going in a year or even five years from now- it could save you!
Mindful Manifestation
The power of a positive growth mindset has an impact on our mental and physical wellbeing. The same is true for your business.
The Zuwa tea
Paul tells us his next steps are to be more purposeful with his content creation and energy. He understands mindset and outlook impacts and feeds into the success of HerbyBox.
Be mindful about what you do and create. Everything you do - from hobbies to creative pursuits, feeds into your business.
So have a positive mindset. Remember your positive energy can feed into all areas of your life, and lead to success!🙌🏽
Find Paul's e-books here 📖:https://nutrients.dungubook.com/nutrient-guide & https://nutrients.dungubook.com/herb-book-1