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| Sandy Fenton, owner, Sandy's Herb Shop |
Nearly four decades ago, Sandy was working from the basement of her home in Rich Hill when a man who was delivering products gave her a piece of paper that showed what individual herbs are for “If you educate people on herbs, your business will survive” he said. And that is exactly what she did- converting her basement to product storage, with ample room for meetings, and holding ‘herbal hours’ meetings as she called them. Over time, she added refreshments and bingo to make it fun. It was a hit and his suggestion of education was clearly the key.
All the while, she’d been toying with the idea of moving her business to Butler when a couple from Butler came to her store and by chance, she asked them if they had any idea where she might look. Their answer was quick, “Yes, right across the street from us, we’d love to have you as a neighbor!” Hence, Sandy’s Herb Shop took up residency at 200 N. Main street, a move that would turn out to greatly benefit her business as the location was easy to find and there was plenty of room for additional products.
Yes, there were some growing pains. Sandy had taken notice of the Nature Sunshine line of products, which clearly appeared to be of the best quality; and she wanted to broaden her stock but finding a steady supply was a bit of an issue. Early on, replenishing supplies required a four hour drive but fortunately the internet, while still in its infancy, was the answer. With a little help, she was ordering online and able to trade windshield time for more important things such as learning about the other offerings of Nature Sunshine.
Her store, now located at 507 S. Orange in Butler, is bigger than ever with row after row of every conceivable herb, spice, essential oil and some little known secrets… such as, do you know that putting lye soap in the fork of fruit trees will help keep insects away?
With that in mind, we had some fun and ‘tested’ Sandy, throwing out a variety of issues such as insect and pest control; stomach, aches and pain issues; relief for common illnesses and more. And with every question, she replied in rapid fire succession and pointed to the exact product needed, with nearly forty years of experience behind every answer.
All that aside, customer testimonials seem to be the truest method of gauging success. She has what appears to be an endless list of customer praises saying her oils are of the purest; her spices are the freshest; and her pricing is easy on the pocketbook. And for those looking to explore, new customers get 10% off.
Sandy’s Herb Shop has become one of the largest health food stores between Kansas City and Joplin, open 8 am to 8 pm Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm Sunday. Got a question? Sandy has the answer, as we can attest. Feel free to stop by or call anytime at 660-679-5060.
