Any entrepreneur will tell you turning a passion or hobby into a full-blown business is more difficult than one might expect. For entrepreneur Lizz Tsosie Stachura, scaling up her homemade tea business, Tootsie’s Tea, involved a complicated balancing act of selling enough product to then be able to order more raw material. “I was at
Any entrepreneur will tell you turning a passion or hobby into a full-blown business is more difficult than one might expect.
For entrepreneur Lizz Tsosie Stachura, scaling up her homemade tea business, Tootsie’s Tea, involved a complicated balancing act of selling enough product to then be able to order more raw material.
"I was at a point where I almost didn't have anything to sell at two big markets," said Stachura. "Now, I can buy in bulk and focus on growing my business. It's like night and day."
Stachura is being supported through a $8,000 Kiva loan. Kiva loans are often given to startups or small businesses that need an extra piece of equipment, funding for a marketing campaign, or something else to help them jumpstart the business. First American Capital Corp. matched the final $4,000.
The 2x Kiva Loan Match Program is supported by WEDC, which provides resources to Native-owned businesses.
Tootsie’s Tea officially launched in December 2022 after Stachura had the chance to reconnect with nature. While spending time at Native Wellness Garden, housed at Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center in Milwaukee, a lightbulb went off in her head.
Stachura is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, with ties to the Lenca tribe.
“I’ve always loved tea, but growing things for the first time was really a whole other level of connection to the tea-making process,” she said.
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She started her business with just two types of teas, one inspired by a coconut tea she had purchased at a farmer’s market nearly a decade ago.
Tootsie’s Tea has since grown to offer 74 varieties of loose-leaf tea, ranging from strawberry basil to red hatch chile pepper tea.
After launching her business, Stachura spent time traveling to farmer’s markets throughout southeastern Wisconsin to sell her products.
The process of sourcing ingredients became frustrating. She often had to rely on earnings from one weekend’s market to order raw materials for her next event. This meant making orders at the last minute.
Stachura recalls missing one of her Friday events after one of her packages got lost in transit the day before.
"I was basically depending on my market sales to be able to buy more things for the next weekend," she said. "The Kiva loan gave me enough capital to have some product ready to go, as opposed to buying so last minute."
She’s been able to build up a stock of three weeks’ worth of product thanks to the Kiva loan. That’s in addition to the trainings she’s been able to focus on, including a nine-week WWBIC course.
Stachura grows a fair amount of her own ingredients, but also sources materials nationally. She makes her teas in a commercial kitchen in Cudahy before storing them in an office space she uses for a separate shoe painting business in Walker’s Point.
In the future, Stachura would love to purchase her own plot of land to continue growing raw materials. A brick-and-mortar location isn’t a goal now. Instead, Stachura sees herself focusing on wholesaling.
"When it comes to a small business, money can go so quickly for every little thing," she said. "It was so nice to know that I could comfortably focus on these things without saying, 'Well, I have to put money aside.'"
Tootsie’s Tea products are currently sold at Potawatomi Casino Hotel and the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend. Tootsie’s Tea will have an official website launch in the coming days.
