As an herbalist, I sometimes find my private practice to be isolating and limited in scope. When I have questions about a client or want to bounce ideas off of someone, it's hard to find time to talk to other herbalists, when your client wants a program quickly in place for them. Also, if I wanted to open my own storefront to see clients, it would be too expensive and I would have to charge more than is accessible to my communities, and I don't want to work for someone else who would charge more and keep the profits .. So, how do we as herbalists create businesses that are awesome, profitable, and accessible?
Try opening a worker cooperative like Third Root Community Health Center in Brooklyn. Third Root was started in 2008 with the radical idea that they would provide accessible, sliding scale care in a setting that was not a nonprofit, where there would be no bosses and no hierarchy. 8 practitioners - yoga teachers, herbalists, acupuncturists, and massage therapists - banded together to raise money collectively to build out a storefront and open their doors as widely as possible for the most amount of folks - through offering services on a sliding scale, by offering scholarships, by holding space for the hard conversations of racism, classism, and other forms of oppression that saturate the healthcare community. Their unofficial motto was 'for us by us' - outreaching to communities least served by holistic care and creating a diverse, welcoming healing space that most people feel better just by walking through the doors. All of the practitioners are also owners of the business, reaping both the rewards and the risks.
I joined Third Root 3 years ago while I was being trained as an herbalist and massage therapist. I can't imagine working anywhere else. The collective has grown to be 10 people and I am constantly learning from my fellow worker-owners. The community of knowledge and support I receive on a daily basis is unparalleled in any of my other work enviroments. Herbaly speaking - we have a shared apothecary of more than 100 herbs (would I be able to have this on my own - no way!). Herbalists at Third Root teach workshops and classes together, constantly learning from each other. I get referrals from other practitioners, and I'm able to develop specialties and offer classes in different areas - like addiction/recovery, trans health - commonly ignored by herbal curriculum. Most importantly of all, my clients are happier and better served than if I was a sole practitioner.
Try opening a worker cooperative like Third Root Community Health Center in Brooklyn. Third Root was started in 2008 with the radical idea that they would provide accessible, sliding scale care in a setting that was not a nonprofit, where there would be no bosses and no hierarchy. 8 practitioners - yoga teachers, herbalists, acupuncturists, and massage therapists - banded together to raise money collectively to build out a storefront and open their doors as widely as possible for the most amount of folks - through offering services on a sliding scale, by offering scholarships, by holding space for the hard conversations of racism, classism, and other forms of oppression that saturate the healthcare community. Their unofficial motto was 'for us by us' - outreaching to communities least served by holistic care and creating a diverse, welcoming healing space that most people feel better just by walking through the doors. All of the practitioners are also owners of the business, reaping both the rewards and the risks.
I joined Third Root 3 years ago while I was being trained as an herbalist and massage therapist. I can't imagine working anywhere else. The collective has grown to be 10 people and I am constantly learning from my fellow worker-owners. The community of knowledge and support I receive on a daily basis is unparalleled in any of my other work enviroments. Herbaly speaking - we have a shared apothecary of more than 100 herbs (would I be able to have this on my own - no way!). Herbalists at Third Root teach workshops and classes together, constantly learning from each other. I get referrals from other practitioners, and I'm able to develop specialties and offer classes in different areas - like addiction/recovery, trans health - commonly ignored by herbal curriculum. Most importantly of all, my clients are happier and better served than if I was a sole practitioner.
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