Misha Moran is the Woman behind local apothecary Heart Therapeutics. With a jam packed repertoire Misha landed on creating healing herbal teas by chance.
Four years in and Misha has used her skills to grow her passion for healing and wellness into a heart driven successful business.
In this interview Misha shares with us the importance of connection with others and yourself, growing with your business and creating space to be creative.
Q1: Hi Misha, welcome to the Woman Of Series! Can you tell us what it is you create?
I am the founder and formulator of Heart Therapeutics, a boutique apothecary based here in the Noosa Hinterland on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
I am a qualified Naturopath, Chef, passionate self care advocate, strong ambassador for sustainability and most importantly a Mum. I have put my life's work together to create organic, wellness teas and products that not only taste good, but impart potent healing properties to support everyone on their wellness journey.
Our Mission here at Heart Therapeutics is very simple. To create products that people can use in their daily routines, to create their own rituals, evoke a strong sense of self-love and care, leading to a path of healing physically, mentally and energetically uniquely for that person.
Q2: Can you share with us a bit about your journey so far and where it all began?
Heart was a natural evolution in my life, like a cosmic epiphany that was born from 20 years of study, work, life and travel. I guess you could say it was something the Universe destined me to create in 2017. Whilst I was pregnant with my daughter, I naturally created herbal blends that I knew would support me and honestly couldn’t find on the shelf at the time. It was completely natural for me to use my extensive knowledge of herbal medicine to create these blends; products that are now known as ‘The Milk Maid’ and ‘Mother Lover’.
The course of how I then took my experience and turned it into a business began in a previous incarnation where I used to blend herbal teas for a reputable company in Melbourne. They were incredibly popular and poured all over town. The business sadly closed down and they offered me my blends back.
Skip to my maternity leave, a few years later and I offered a friend a cup of tea at my house. They loved it so much and wondered where they could buy it, BAM! My business was born with a gentle nudge from my dear friend.
The name, the logo, the colours all naturally flowed from me the minute I had the epiphany of creating my own Apothecary here in the Noosa Hinterland. Heart Therapeutics is a beautiful collaboration of my life’s work.
I also can’t forget to share the representation of Heart which is specific to my Heart; on the 24th May each year I celebrate with my closest friends a day we named Heart Day. We live all over Australia yet on this day come together to celebrate each other, our friendship and our life. We show up for each other, share our worries, thoughts and happiness and most importantly empower each other on a path to healing.
These values are deeply embedded in my brand and my products and represent what drives me to keep creating and keep people connecting.
Q3: Can you share with us how you are creating a point of difference in tea game?
I am so glad you asked this question. There are so many incredible tea companies out there and in my opinion, the more the merrier! When it comes to a point of difference though, Heart Therapeutics and the products I create are a beautiful symbiotic relationship between Health and Wellness and the potent therapeutic actions of my blends and the fact they also taste really good so can be just a humble beverage; a delicious cup of tea.
Beyond the ingredients, which are all certified organic, is the commitment I have to sustainability. From the packaging, labels, suppliers I use, everything is as sustainable, ethical and traceable as you can get. We’ve even gone that little bit further and have just become a certified carbon neutral brand, which just makes me so happy!
It’s also really important to note here at Heart we have strong in our belief in Connection and its best representation; when we are connected to self, earth and each other. That is why our guiding symbol and foundation of Heart Therapeutics is our ‘Connection Triangle’. Our ethos and actions are aligned with this; it takes a humble cup of tea to a whole new level and encourages a conscious ritual that we can all take part in.
Humans in our world right now spend a lot of time disconnecting from our true selves. The impact of Covid, the drive to use social media, to care for families and loved ones, to work hard or fall victim to stress and overwhelm, leads to us often losing our sense of self.
The earth we live on has provided us with potent healing plants that our Ancestors used centuries ago and their healing properties are still being used in much the same way today. It’s an incredible connection and there’s nothing more grounding than sitting with a cup of aromatic herbs and connecting with the Earth they have come from.
Connection to each other. How much have we learnt about this element over the last year of social distancing, quarantine, border closures and lock downs. Being with each other, sharing stories, catching up and giving space to talk is so healing and an incredibly important element, more now than ever. Even over Zoom, this ritual of the humble cup of tea with friends works to connect, recalibrate and life the spirits.
Q4: We’re noticing more and more brands and businesses are creating purposefully, including Heart Therapeutics! Do you believe it is important to have a message behind what you do, and if so, what is this to you?
Yes, 100%! I don’t think it’s enough anymore to just create a business without intention or a story. I believe we as consumers in 2021 need that connection with a brand and desire businesses to have integrity and purpose, even if it’s just to make someone feel good, that’s a perfect and desirable intention.
For me it’s really specific to the ‘connection triangle’ I mentioned in the above question. The integrity and purpose of Heart Therapeutics is down to its foundation; Connection to Self, Connection to the Earth and Connection to each other. Everything I work for, create and live by is down to these core elements.
Q5: What’s been the most challenging lesson learnt so far in your career?
Wow, so many challenges in such a short period of time, but I think the biggest lesson I have learnt is to trust my intuition. I have been burnt so many times when I have doubted myself and not listened to my gut instinct. But on the flip side I have managed to learn a lot in a really short period of time.
So as I am emerging out of the Start Up space and scaling my business, I am now much more savvy to the workings of the business world, the people who may not have my best interests at heart and of course losing money in the learning process- that sucks! I
can cope much easier when things may not work out how I expected, I can also make experienced decisions based on my failures and also not turn into an absolute mess if things fall apart or become super challenging. Everything always works out in the end.
Q6: What’s been the best thing that’s happened to you since you started your career?
I’d have to say validation from my beautiful Heart Community, which includes customers, stockists and followers. When someone goes out of their way to tell me how much they love my products or my brand it’s like I’ve been handed a million dollars! It’s just the best feeling to know that you’ve made a difference to someone, gets me every time.
Q7: Where do you go or what do you do to recharge your creativity?
Well running a business and living in Noosa has definitely got its perks. I am really good now at creating boundaries, so if I become overwhelmed, run down, stressed it’s my signal to tap out, switch off, live my truth and head to the beach. Right now it’s winter so I often switch the beach for a forest or mountain hike.
Taking time off has become crucial to my ability to keep working at a sustainable pace. I also live this philosophy in micro doses throughout my work day. I have scheduled time off periods throughout the day, which last 10 minutes and are of course based around making a cup of tea. It’s incredible how a break however big or small can make a huge difference to your energy levels, passion and creativity.
Q8: How are you fulfilling your creative passions this year?
Firstly for me it’s definitely about creating space to be creative. So taking on extra staff and sub- contractors to delegate my work load to.
Second is creating firm boundaries around this space I have for myself and my time to create.
Finally it’s delving back into my deep love of herbalism, ancient traditions, mysticism and healing along with current and emerging trends in science. I love going deep with all of this and then popping out the other side with new products and healing concepts.
Q9: We’re all about women inspiring women. Who inspires you?
I have a bunch of celebrity names who for some reason or other inspire me, but I feel like in this context it’s really important to talk about the women around me who inspire me daily.
I have been incredibly blessed ever since I started my Heart Therapeutics journey to be surrounded by supportive, hard working and beautiful women in business. These are the women who inspire me every day at the moment. Seeing them up level their business, pivot, create sustainable boundaries, scale, take a break and somehow keep their lives moving, it’s just so inspiring!
To have a strong and healthy community of women who are putting themselves and their businesses out there everyday, it’s the best motivator. When you ditch the comparison syndrome and all the negatives that come with that and look at the women around you thriving in themselves and their business it’s a wonderful boost of inspiration. Very grateful to be surrounded by these beauties.
Q10: What advice would you impart on the next generation of women, and women in business?
Patience
Integrity
Boundaries
Passion
Trust your gut!
It’s not easy being in business, but sticking to these core principles will help you through the hard times and make sure you are creating a business that will last the distance and keep you getting up every morning feeling good about what you are doing.
Also, look after yourself. You just have to, no questions. If you are grinding yourself down, stressed, not sleeping, not eating well you and your business will eventually fall apart. It’s ok to ask for space and take a break, in fact it’s mandatory.
