Meet Katherine Zeerip | Small Business Owner of Homemade Non-toxic goods.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katherine Zeerip and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katherine, other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?
I have a couple words that I like to live my life by; compassion, integrity, authenticity and consistency. These personal convictions bleed over to affect all areas of my business. This devotion means that I also value and pursue the success of local businesses. I’ve had many amazing mentors in my life and even if my business outgrows theirs, it never means I outgrow their wisdom. Something one mentor and I discussed for a while was that fact that many business owners operate in survival mode as if success and wealth are a limited commodity. I’ve learned that this fear based in selfishness and greed leads to the corruption of the values that started the business. Instead I know that my opportunity to grow can also be a chance for growth and expansion for another small local business if I play my cards right. This choice holds a lot of power and value in how I form and expand my business venture. I love seeing that other small business can succeed because of my choices when considering the success of my own business.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Living Abundantly is my passion to encourage all-natural and non-toxic homestead living. Starting in the year 2018 I had started to foster a love for rural communities and self-sufficient living. This developed into a passion for living in a way that makes us healthy, simple and conscious consumers. We’ve lived in a society for a couple decades now where convenience has raided and taken over people’s lifestyles, and I believe now, more than ever, we’re beginning to see the negative effects. Inflammation plagues people’s bodies and we call it obese and just tell them to eat less, when in reality we just need to prioritize whole, organic, locally sourced foods and produce and stop putting processed chemicals in both our foods and cosmetics. Similarly, an epidemic of bad gut health and mismanaged hormones have had ravaging impacts on the life and daily functionality of women’s lives. All that to say, there’s so many examples where we as a society have done a terrible job of taking personal responsibility for our life choices and have become mindless users instead of creative nurturers. It was from this frustration and my desire to truly improve the lives of the people around me that I started to provide what I could so people have an opportunity out to take a step in the right direction. So, I started with Tallow. Currently my business specializes in creams, butters and balms made from tallow, but I have a dream to expand it to even more affordable and healthy cosmetic and natural lifestyle products. When you look at your cosmetics, mostly lotion and other body creams or soaps you will have an endless list of ingredients that you can’t even pronounce let alone be aware of their chemical makeup and how they’re affecting. Often those cosmetics have parabens and preservatives that have studies to back are harming hormones and even put you at risk of skin cancer. My goal is providing you with a simple lotion that is all natural and only has 3-5 organic ingredients at most. Tallow is the clean and purified result of rendering beef kidney fat. This fat has been used for centuries in ancient cultures as an amazing moisturizer. It’s naturally packed with vitamins and it’s oil make-up makes it compatible with human skin for better absorption than most lotions. And then in order to prioritize and value women’s hormones, we only fragrance our tallow lotion with organic essential oils. Tallow has amazing benefits for you skin, including natural Botox and anti-scarring agents. I’ve always been a personally motivated person, but that doesn’t mean it was easy getting started. I knew I loved what I did and loved the products I created, it was the bravery and leap of faith it took to start something that would share that ‘goodness’ with the world that was difficult. It meant stepping outside my comfort zone and being willing to embrace a lot of trial and error with all the learning curves that starting a business entails. Even then, I am so glad I decided to and with the help of my friend Sarajane I started to get the process down and persevere in the education necessary for this kind of a feat. Even if I’m not as big or successful as I’d one day like to be, the learning and education experiences I’ve received have made it well worth the effort. I’m excited to grow and provide opportunities for people to be self-sufficient and to live life abundantly as they work their way towards a more non-toxic and holistic lifestyle and find freedoms in their health and empowerment in taking responsibility for what their body consumes. I want people to know that determination and kindness and giving back always pays. The investment and risk are worth writing into your story. And encourage them to be stewards with their gifts and abilities. My story is one of innovation, trial and error, vision and dreams of a future where I can be free to live abundantly and I want to invite all those along the way to join me in the name of compassionate hospitality.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I currently live in Canon City Colorado and this small town south of Colorado Springs has my heart. It has beautiful sunny weather plenty of opportunities for outdoor adventures including hiking, camping, mountain biking, rafting etc. And the local community and boutiques and shops are so inviting and quaint.
If I had a friend visiting, would would probably start the day at my favorite Ciffee shop Cafe Belay, then we would go on a hike called Royal Cascade that takes you to a peak that overlooks Canon City. After the hike and sightseeing the Royal Gorge bridge we’d head to our local Duck Park where the Arkansas River runs through and offers and fun cooling spot for community to gather. After a picnic lunch cooling off in the park I’d take them to my other part time workplace; The Historic Hotel St Cloud where an old historic hotel (originally built in Silver Cliff Colorado and moved brick by brick to Canon city in 1887) has been restored and improved to host Canon’s classiest hotel, fantastic gourmet restaurant and the lobby which is coined by locals as the “living room of Canon City”. I love being a part of the team at the hotel because of their heart of hospitality for all people who enter their doors and their passion to bring life to beautiful small towns. Later in the week we’d go on more hikes and visit more of our awesome coffee shops, maybe a drive up to see the mountains in nearby Westcliff. I’d take them to eat dinner at Nirvana which has amazing Indian cuisine. We also have the Abbey winery and an old Abbey building which used to be a catholic school. On another day I’d take them to our well-presented Prison Museum and finally on Friday night I’d take them with me to volunteer at our local youth outreach ministry called The Bridge Youth center where we hang out, play games and connect with middle and high school students from Canon. Nearby if we wanted to fit in one more adventure, I’d take them to Bishop’s Castle which is an amazing architectural landmark along Highway 165. At the very end, we’d take in a sunset at Canon City’s own man made road called Skyline Drive which overlooks both the Royal Gorge park in the west and the City of Canon to the east. I have so much love and passion for this little town. And would love to tour anyone who wants to come visit.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I LOVE this question and even to if he’d on mentorship in the first question I answered. I 100% agree that humanity benefits when others chose to be selfless and sacrificial and I can only pray that I get the opportunity to mentor and steward into someone else’s life like I have been poured into.
First and foremost, I have to thank and credit my parents who taught me the values that have become the foundation of my business, they taught me that integrity and compassion are a powerful duo when it comes to connecting with community. They taught me to have a strong work ethic, to stick to it. Even when everything sucks. And they have faithfully taught me the value of living my life with generational vision; not just living to bring my own life wealth, health and freedom but to build something that will be a blessing my family, to my children and their children’s children.
Second would be my mentor Sarajane Snowden who owns and runs Snowden Meats in Yampa Valley Colorado. She has always been such a motivating force in my life, and has always been like a big sister figure in my life. Her words, actions and values inspire me. Watching and working with her and her family on their family ranch has given me a view into the value of family and being determined to live life to the fullest with those you love the most.
Finally another rancher wife and mother who I have never met but wrote a book called The Table by Lara Richardson. She taught me the value of sharing what we have with others, how life is fleeting and its true value lies in the community you get to experience life’s joys and sorrows with. To stay faithful to the path God has called us to and the power of hospitality.

Website: https://www.livingabundantlyhomesteadgoods.com

Instagram: @livingabundantlyhomesteadgoods