Sweet Grass Essentials, Getting Back to Basics

Jennifer Pazaruski’s mother has made a significant influence in her decision to open up Sweet Grass Essentials, which officially started in 2017. Pazaruski grew up in a holistic, organic, and natural environment thanks to her mother who grew up in India, where she was raised on holistic natural practices. Pazaruski grew up in the suburbs of Ohio, where her mother one day moved to and started a family.

Her mother built a 5,000 square foot garden that was pesticide-free and organic. When it came to medicines, Pazaruski recalled her mother going out to the backyard to dig up the roots of their plant to be turned into a remedy for treating injuries. She would grind up the plant and mix it with vodka, which would then be applied as a paste for injuries. Pazaruski took some of these practices she learned from her mother and incorporated them into her life, which eventually turned into a career.

An Essential Decision

“It pretty much started out of necessity for me to make my own products for my children,” Pazaruski said. “Since I was having a hard time finding products I trust and trying to understand the ingredients, I decided to make it myself.”

Sweet Grass Essentials’ mission is to help customers return to basics with handcrafted herbal and wellness products. Pazaruski makes her own aromatherapy blends, sprays, creams, and herbal elixirs with all-natural ingredients.

It started off with aromatherapy, which Pazaruski said worked better than anything she had ever bought. Eventually she started sharing these homemade products with friends who found her product to be intoxicating. They all expressed how Pazaruski’s homemade products were better than what they had previously bought in stores. After that, Sweet Grass Essentials came to life for Pazaruski.

Growing with Support

When Pazaruski’s children got older, she was able to devote more time and energy to her business. Pazaruski took two courses, one through Business Impact NW and another through Pierce County. She took the classes to help her figure out how to grow her business and reach a larger demographic.

“I’ve always put the focus on my family over my business,” Pazaruski said. “With that being said, my customer base has grown mainly through family and friends. Using the Etsy platform, I was able to grow outside of that network. I have a really good friend from my childhood who had a very successful Etsy business that came to me and mentored me on how to do the little tweaks here and there on my Etsy site to get that larger audience.”

With Pazaruski being her own boss and her only employee, she was able to afford to launch her business within a small budget. She was even able to put a commercial kitchen on her property.

“I worked with the State of Washington on what I would need,” Pazaruski said. “I have my own small commercial kitchen just to make the herbal tinctures. Now I’m not driving to go rent a kitchen and pay that extra cost. And that extra time! I can just walk out my front door.”

Less is More

Pazaruski wants people to be able to take charge of their health and hopes her products can help induce that. A lot of Sweet Grass Essentials’s products support daily wellness and prevention.

“My line of products is more to empower a customer that you don’t need to go for the newest type of product on the market, because there are so many rolling in every day where they say, ‘I’m the best product,’” Pazaruski said. “But my products are a shift backwards to the basics. Simple and less is more and what works.”

Pazaruski said going back to ancestral routes is the best quality of material because it’s plant-based, which means you know the product is derived from plants and is all natural.

To help her reach a larger customer base and effectively reach out to a larger demographic, Pazaruski took advantage of Business Impact NW’s Digital Business Accelerator class last summer through the fall. The class helped her gain knowledge on how to accelerate her business on an online platform.

“Business Impact NW, I am so happy with learning about the program,” Pazaruski said. “I’m currently enrolled in another Business Impact NW course for my small farm and it’s just amazing! All of the resources I have gained with both those courses, and it’s actually given me the confidence I’ve needed.”

Pazaruski also found customers by utilizing social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, and participating in pop-up markets. This has helped her expand her customer base and get her name out in the community.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

“The best advice I can give any entrepreneur is if you have a passion, and you have the drive, just start whatever you want to start,” Pazaruski said. “If you don’t start, you never know how well you will do.”

With a strong support system and connections within her community, Pazaruski turned her business into a rousing success. We cannot wait to see where her ambition and vision takes her next.