The Beauty of Going Slow: Rebuilding with Grit, Grace, and Good Soap

We’re in the middle of something big, beautiful, and intentionally slow.

This isn’t just a website refresh — it’s a full-circle moment. A quiet (but fierce) comeback for our products, our collections, and the deeper purpose behind every blend, bar, and bottle. Southern Buffalo Mercantile was born from healing, crafted with purpose — and now, it's being rebuilt with heart and a whole lot of hustle. This is only a small part of what Southern Buffalo will look like 

Is it taking time?
Yep.
And that’s exactly how I planned it (well that is what I like to tell myself anyway, lol).

A One-Woman Show (For Now)

Every listing you see? I wrote it.
Every photo? I took it.
Every product page, every tweak, every tiny detail — yup that’s me again.

Please do not take this as my tooting my own horn, because it is quite the opposite. I’m learning to code from scratch, set up my entire e-commerce platform, juggle photography lighting, manage inventory, and figure out retail bookkeeping (have I mentioned my loathing of excel), all while staying true to the soul of what I set out to create.

There’s no fancy marketing agency, no VA, no team of elves behind the curtain. Just me. My camera. My laptop. And more late nights than I care to count.

Soap Is Not a Model (But It Sure Tries)

Next up? Photos. And let me just say — shooting soap is nothing like photographing a person. No blinking. No fussing. Just a stubborn little bar that somehow always finds the worst angle. It’s me, a ring light I never thought I’d own, and an unreasonable amount of time trying to get that one perfect “moisturized and mysterious” shot. I am not like snap with my camera, throw it into AI and find a suitable background. Easier sure, I have done it (my first product photos ever *grimace*), but not honest or transparent

It’s weird. It’s oddly fun. And it’s part of the real journey you don’t see in most glossy shop launches.

So… Why Not Wait to Launch?

Great question.

“Why didn’t you wait to go live with a full shop?”

“It feels like this isn’t real for you, like you don’t have the heart for it…”

Let’s be very clear — this is real. Every ounce of it.
The blood, sweat, and spreadsheets are all mine.

I didn’t wait for “perfect” because perfect is a trap.
Progress is where the magic happens.

I launched now because sometimes you have to show up before you feel ready. Small businesses don’t get to wait until everything is pristine. We grow in public. We build in real time. And heart? That’s the only thing keeping this whole operation afloat on the hardest days. It is also about accountability and not chickening out or coming up with every excuse in the book not to do this (although my LLC & DBA kind of makes it real!!)

So if you’re here expecting glossy perfection, hang tight. It’s coming.
But if you’re here for the story, the soul, and the slow build — you’re already home.

The Truth They Don’t Put on the How-To Blogs

I’ve read the blogs. I’ve skimmed the websites. I’ve even bought the books.

And you know what I found? Most of the real help, the useful, honest, actually-doable stuff — is always locked behind a paywall.

Want the full tutorial? $297.
Need the complete business road-map? $997 (with bonus pressure to upsell).
Trying to fix a simple Shopify issue? Hope you can decode CSS at 1 a.m.

That kind of system stopped me cold years ago.

I remember thinking:
“You want me to bankrupt myself — when I don’t have a spare dime — just to boost you and maybe, maybe get myself out of a hole?”
Uh… no. Absolutely not. Do not take that the wrong way, it just wasn't for me at the time and truthfully still is not. Bootstrapping is a real thing and we can discuss that at a later date.

I can do this myself.
Not the fastest. Not the flashiest. But with grit, determination, and zero fluff? You bet.

I’m not here because someone made it easy for me.
I’m here because for once I refused to quit.

This Is Messy. This Is Hard. But It Can Be Done.

Have I made mistakes?
Oh, more than you’ll ever know or I’ll ever confess to.
But I’m still here. Still building. Still showing up. Still exploding, but realizing not to sweat the small stuff and as my husband likes to remind me all the time "it is all small sh*t".

I celebrate every milestone, every sale, every “holy crap I did it” moment, because they matter. Because I earned them. Because you deserve to see the truth behind what it really looks like to build something with bare hands and a wide open heart.

If you’re a dreamer without a roadmap — I see you.
If you’re doing it all on your own — I am you.

You don’t have to have it all figured out to begin.

You just have to start.

Don’t let anyone sideline you with questions like, “But have you made anything yet?” or “Have you even sold anything?”
That’s not the point. The point is — you show up.
Every single day.
For yourself. For your dream. Through the fear, the breakdowns, and those not-so-pretty moments when you want to throw it all in the trash.

You keep going.
You learn, you grow, you mess up, and somehow — you still come out smiling.

This isn’t just about raking in the cash (though let’s be honest, that would help — like, a lot).
This is about building something that lasts. Something that matters.
Not an empire.
A legacy.

Because this?
This is not a sprint.
It’s not even a marathon.
It’s a walk-a-thon , slow, steady, a little sweaty, probably under-caffeinated… but still moving forward, one step at a time.

Ask any self-respecting entrepreneur what they had in their pocket when they started.
Chances are, the answer will shock you and inspire you to keep going.

Thank you for your support, your patience, and your belief in slow grown, soul-filled business. We’re only just getting started, and I’m beyond grateful that you're here to walk this journey with me.

Let’s grow this thing, one real, imperfect, and beautiful step at a time.