I Quit My Job to Run My Business...Pop-Up Shop is Closed...YouTube...New Products

Hello! I hope you're doing well. Just wanted to pop in and talk about the things that have been happening in the last few months.

I quit my nursing job to run my spa product business full-time

For starters, I quit my job at the beginning of December 2025 to run my business full time. I need to write an entire separate post on this, because there's so much I need to say about it. My work environment became an unpleasant one, and was affecting my mental well-being, my physical and emotional health, and how I interacted with my loved ones and other people. As abusive as it was, it was what I was familiar with, and the thought of leaving my comfort zone was scary. The day I said, "I'll walk into a hundred unknowns than spend one more minute at my job," was the moment I knew I was ready to move on.

It wasn't until I had been away from the job for a month that I realized I had actually suffered burn out. Long before I left I did know this: I needed to take better care of myself. So right after leaving my job, I promised myself one year of self-care, where I have been taking small steps each day to improve my well-being and establish healthful habits. I'll talk more about this in future blog posts.

The pop-up shop is closed for now...but there will be more (including Valentine's Day weekend)

A pop-up shop is a temporary retail space. Last August I opened a pop-up at Nicole M. Boutique at The Canal Barn. Still working at my nursing job, I went to the shop and made products when I could. Right after I quit my job, I jumped right into being at my shop full time and making more products for the holidays. My plan was to remain there through December then close it down, since the number of customers there tends to decrease in January and February. I learned so many things from the boutique owner, who has over 30 years of experience in retail, and met many wonderful people who came through my shop.

My next pop-up event at Nicole M. Boutique is on Friday 2/13 from 10am-5pm, and Saturday 2/14 from 10am-3pm.

January was challenging

January is the time of year I do my inventory, organize my workspaces, and deep clean my workshop, so I spent a few weeks doing this. During this time, my father was also in and out of the hospital a few times (he's doing fine, we got him tuned up!), and then late in January I got sick with a cold. At that point, my body was sending me a message and I had no choice but to slow down and recover.

Seasonal Self-Care Boxes

Once I felt well, I began putting together the seasonal self-care boxes I've been wanting to do for so long. The winter ones are now on the website. My plan is to release these at the beginning of every season. Each one will have a theme, and there will be two sizes to choose from. I'll choose items that go with the theme that I think can help nurture self-care for that season. Each box will have items I've made, items other artisans have made, and other fun things. The winter 2026 box's theme is cozy.

Digital Magazine

I released my first digital magazine last autumn, which was a free copy. I recently uploaded the winter issue, which is only $0.99. This issue is 17 pages, with journaling prompts, recipes and self-care practices to help us embrace winter.

At-Home Self-Care Retreats

I'm putting together at-home retreats you can do in the comfort and privacy of your own space. I started doing at-home retreats a few years ago, and have really enjoyed them. I'll be putting together videos, printed materials, and kits you can purchase to build your own custom retreat. I may do virtual retreats via Zoom as well.

Other new products coming soon

My Nurses's Hand Cream...this has been a tremendously popular product over the years. It's been a hit with fellow nurses, but it's fantastic for anyone to help care for the hands. I started making it 20 years ago, and formulated it with intentional ingredients to help reduce moisture loss from the skin, help seal in moisture, and keep skin soft but not greasy.

Whipped Body Butter...luscious is all I can say. Made with Nilotica shea butter, cupuacu butter, mango butter, cocoa butter, and virgin coconut oil, it's a silky treat for the skin that smells lightly of chocolate and coconut.

Foot Ritual Kit...this is a product that has sold out at every show and the pop-up shop. In it I provide both of my foot soaks, a body butter, a loofah soap, cozy socks, and instructions on how to create your own foot ritual.

Authenticity killed my YouTube channel...or did it?

I host a YouTube channel called Jeannette's Essence: Healthy Over 50, where my dad and I do plant-based food recipes, and I offer self-care tips and travel vlogs. I started this channel in 2018, but it was called I Kill Chickpeas back then, and I created content only on plant-based eating. At the time I was eating a 100% plant-based diet, and my channel quickly grew to over 20K subscribers, with tens of thousands of views per video.

From 2019 to now, I've gone through a lot of life changes. I had my second divorce. We entered the pandemic. I met the man who is now my husband. I was in perimenopause. I was in an abusive job. I was juggling two jobs. I wasn't sleeping. Menopause was starting. Menopause happened. I quit my nursing job to run my business.

Somewhere in there, I started straying from a 100% plant-based diet and moved to a Mediterranean-style diet. I was eating 90% plant-based, and not worrying about the other 10%, which allowed me to be flexible as I adjusted to the changes in my life. I felt weird having a YouTube channel about eating an exclusively plant-based diet when I wasn't doing that any longer. Plus, I was interested in creating content on other topics like self-care and travel. I decided to be honest.

I made a video about why I was 90% plant-based, a video about my channel name change, and started creating more content I enjoyed - so I basically re-branded my channel. I expected a drop in views and subscribers. I also expected backlash from my video about no longer being 100% plant-based, and that's exactly what I got (which is why I took it down, it wasn't worth the abusive comments). After that I did some traveling and vlogging, and received quite a few nasty comments my choice of hotels or what I ate (when I go on vacation I enjoy eating whatever I want, especially if there are local or cultural specialties to try).

I was getting discouraged with social media. It's a sea of content where I don't know what's real and what isn't anymore, the land of filters, where people type horrible things to other people (when they likely wouldn't say those things face to face), and where many comments aren't even coming from real people (they're bots). I was also disappointed in the lack of support and the harsh judgement among people in the plant-based community that I was experiencing. But instead of staying discouraged, I started viewing things through a different lens.

I no longer discuss in my videos whether I eat a 100% plant-based diet, because it doesn't matter. I'm not the food police and am not here to control how others eat. People should eat the way they want, not try to be like me. I simply offer plant-based recipes and information, along with other stuff I find fun and interesting.

I learned from the author Dr. Martha Beck that once you tell your truth, you rock the social boats you are in. You can also suffer loss after loss after loss as people sever ties with you, you sever ties with others, you realize you hate your job and quit, etc. I told my truth. People's time is valuable. I wanted to be honest so people knew what my channel was now about so they could choose if they still wanted to spend time on my channel. My video views and subscribers dropped drastically. And you know what? I'm okay with that. I'm more than okay with that. Because with all the losses from telling my truth, I've also gained something invaluable: staying true to myself.

I have a small community of people who enjoy my content, and there's something to be said for that. When I had thousands (sometimes hundreds of thousands) of views on videos, I got an ego boost. But I now know my value and worth are inherent in me; they don't come from likes or views. I now recognize the names of the people who comment on my videos. I create content I enjoy, and I'm grateful for the people who view my videos. I'd call that a major win.

Well, I think that's it for now. There's been a lot going in the last few months, and it's been a wonderful adventure so far. Take care, and I'll be doing more blogging soon.

~Jeannette