5 Herbal Business Ideas You Can Start with a Single Plant

Over the years, I’ve worn many herbal hats—tending an herbal nursery, crafting and selling organic herbal remedies, working with clients in a clinical setting, and now guiding the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine, which has grown into one of the most trusted and comprehensive online herbalism schools in the world. (Who knew my elecampane obsession would one day require a full-time support staff?) Through each of these chapters, I’ve come to see that the most successful herbal business ideas often begin simply, without complicated business plans or hefty investments.

When I started the Chestnut School, I borrowed $5,000 and invested it in childcare, a camera, fliers (this was pre-social media!), and my first computer. Our first classroom consisted of straw bales for chairs and tarps for a roof. Just ten students enrolled in my full-time program, but that was enough to pay me and keep the “doors” open.

Slowly, over time, I amassed business skills that supported and highlighted my herbal knowledge, and now the school has grown beyond my wildest dreams. We’ve had over 10,000 students train as herbalists with us, and the school has grown into a thriving seven-figure enterprise. Something I never could have imagined back on those straw bales.

One herb can be your teacher, your muse, and your ticket to launching a business that is meaningful and sustainable. You don’t need dozens of product lines, acres of herbs, or a full curriculum to start sharing your knowledge and passion. In fact, with a strong herbalism education and a bit of creativity, you can establish your business by building your business skills, offerings, and impact on the strongest foundation: a deep kinship with the plant world.

One of my greatest joys as a teacher is witnessing my students using their herbal education to make a real difference, while creating work that supports and sustains them. Whether they’re tending organic herb farms, formulating botanical remedies, teaching the next generation of herbalists, or working one-on-one with clients, our graduates are changing lives, guided by their love of plants and the healing arts.

I’m going to level with you: building a thriving herbal business takes adaptability, growth, and a good dose of scrappiness, qualities that plants have in spades. You’ll stretch in ways you never expected, learning skills you didn’t know you’d need (hello, spreadsheets and marketing plans!).

And like a plant turning its leaves toward the sun, you’ll need to orient yourself toward money and profit. That doesn’t mean selling out; it means anchoring your business in sustainability and allowing for growth. Just as plants maximize photosynthesis to survive and thrive, you’ll need a healthy, holistic mindset around money—one that supports both your mission and your livelihood.

Starting a business can feel daunting—especially your first. But when your “why” is driven by a deep love for your favorite herb, it’s like having a fragrant little sidekick whispering encouragement every step of the way.

Here are five delightful (and doable!) ways to get started on your herbal dream business.

5 Herbal Business Ideas

• Herbal Product Maker
• Herb Farmer
• Herbal Educator or Author
• Herbal Content Creator
• Herbal Shop Owner

Herbal Product Maker

An herbal product business grows from a connection, beginning with the plants themselves. By focusing on one plant at a time, you can cultivate a deep, intimate relationship and explore the many ways it nourishes and heals. From that authentic connection, inspiration blooms, and a whole world of products can emerge, each one reflecting the plant’s unique healing gifts.

With a few jars and a kitchen alight with intention, you can craft teas, salves, infused oils, or syrups to share with those around you. A single jar of salve gifted to a friend may become the seed of something larger—a certified kitchen, knowledge of product legalities, and a local apothecary table at the farmers market, or a small online shop filled with handcrafted remedies.

One minute you’re making tea for a friend, the next you’re Googling wholesale tin prices at 3 in the morning.

Strategy:

Start with a versatile plant—one with a wide range of benefits—and build a small, focused collection around a specific need it addresses, such as skincare, stress support, or respiratory health. Let this collection serve as your launchpad.

Your original formulas might spotlight that one beloved herb, but they can also include supportive plant allies to round out their effect. As customers begin to trust and love your offerings, you can grow slowly and intentionally—batch by batch, season by season—expanding your line to include more herbs and a broader spectrum of plant-powered remedies.

In Practice:

Herbal Immersion student Gaia Devi of Mama Gaia’s Zen Garden

Herb Farmer

Small-scale herb farming can begin with a single, well-cared-for crop. You don’t need a sprawling homestead or acres to get started—just a commitment to the plants and the people who need them. My own herbal nursery produced tens of thousands of plant starts every spring from under two acres of land (along with sprawling herb gardens, a home, and a small outdoor classroom)!

Begin with one plant you feel an affinity for, one that thrives in your region’s soil and weather patterns, and that you can harvest and prepare without overly complex equipment.

Once you’re grounded in your flagship herb, you can begin exploring other plants that thrive in your bioregion and consider whether there’s a market for them too. You’ll always have your first plant love, but welcoming new herbs into your landscape will help you grow as a farmer and business owner, adding versatility and resilience to your offerings.

Before planting, spend time researching your chosen herbs’ preferences, including how they respond to heavy rain or late frost, which pests they attract, and the best methods for drying or storing them. Equally important is understanding its place in your community—what herbalists, markets, or makers might need and when they need it. The right crops can offer not only an abundant harvest but also a foothold in meaningful, place-based herbal work. When your neighbors start dropping by with empty baskets, you’ll know you’re on the right track.

Starting with the idea of just one plant can ease the overwhelm that often comes with launching a business or farm. You may find yourself expanding into other herbs within weeks, once that original seed of an idea starts to flourish. But the key is to begin. If keeping it simple is what helps you move past fear and into action, then by all means, start sweet and simple.

Strategy:

Start by imagining who will use the herbs you grow and why. Are you supplying a nearby apothecary? Supporting a local tea maker? Offering seedlings to home herbalists? Once you know who you’re growing for, you can time your planting, harvesting, and processing to meet that need with intention. Consider how you’ll package your offerings—loose leaf, bundled, bagged, or potted—and what scale you can realistically manage without compromising quality. Clear communication about how and when your crops are grown helps build lasting relationships with your customers, even when you’re working on a small scale.

In Practice:

Herbal Immersion graduate Shaena Hartwood of Humble Creek Farm

Herbal Educator or Author

It often starts with just one plant—a single herb that captures your attention and won’t let go. Maybe it eased a personal wound or illness, or simply sparked your curiosity. You learn its energetics, test out every preparation, read everything you can find, and observe how it changes with the turning seasons. That focused devotion deepens into understanding—something rich enough to share.

One of the first wild herbs I fell head-over-heels for was honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)—a sprawling, fragrant vine that twined itself along our garden fence and spilled over the shrubbery in our front yard. I became utterly enchanted while brewing teas, tinctures, honeys, syrups, and poultices from its golden-white blossoms. Every elixir I made bore a proud label detailing not just the preparation, but also its actions, uses, and energetics. To this day, honeysuckle remains one of my most trusted herbal allies that I return to again and again in my seasons of healing, my programs, and my writings.

From there, your circle of plant allies begins to grow. One herb leads to another, and before long, you’re weaving a rich tapestry of knowledge, experience, and reverence. Teaching becomes a natural extension of this journey, an offering born of your lived relationship with the plants.

The most impactful teachers are those who’ve built longstanding, heartfelt connections with the herbs they share. That depth of relationship shines through in their teaching, helping the plants come alive for students as they learn the subtleties of their actions, energetics, and uses.

Some herbalists turn that devotion into a free class or download, like our Calendula eBook. Others go on to author entire books centered around one beloved plant. Whether your path leads to community workshops or full-length online courses, such as the Herbal Immersion Program, your voice as a teacher can grow from a place of lived experience. Eventually, you’ll be the person friends avoid at dinner parties for turning every salad into a plant ID lesson.

Strategy:

The path to becoming a thoughtful herbal educator or author begins with learning from a trusted source. Studying with a well-respected herbal school or teacher gives you a strong foundation—not just in plant knowledge, but also in safety, ethics, and responsible communication. Observe your favorite instructors and read your favorite herbal writers closely. You’re not looking to mimic their work, but to discover what motivates you, what makes their teaching or writing especially compelling, clear, or memorable.

From there, choose the herbs you’ve studied and worked with deeply. Begin sharing what you’ve learned in a simple, accessible format—a short class, a written reflection, or a live demonstration in your community. Teach what you know well, in your own voice, and let your curiosity guide you forward. Be honest about your limitations. Never shy away from saying “I don’t know,” and make a point to follow up later with the answers. Above all, keep cultivating that same spark that first drew you to the plants. The most resonant teachers are often the ones who remain students at heart.

You’ll also want to practice teaching wherever there’s interest, especially in the beginning. My first classes were all volunteer-based: I shared what I knew with local midwives, herb growers, and native plant enthusiasts. I bartered with volunteers who helped with my tincture business, teaching them about each herb as we blended formulas and poured medicine into bottles. These became my first apprentices—a tradition I carried on for decades. Through these early experiences, I learned how to break down complex concepts, weave in personal stories, and sprinkle in humor to help the teachings sink in and stick.

In Practice:

Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine Founder Juliet Blankespoor

Herbal Content Creator

Creating and sharing content about the plants you love can be deeply fulfilling—and far-reaching. The words and images you post may find their way to thousands of people, many of whom are just beginning their herbal journey.

With that reach comes responsibility.

Inaccurate information about foraging, preparation, or dosage can lead to harm—not just for individuals, but for families and ecosystems alike. A safe and meaningful way to begin is by centering your content around a single herb you’ve come to know well through study and hands-on experience. Share what you’ve discovered, what you’re still exploring, and how your relationship with the plant continues to unfold.

As your understanding deepens, your content will naturally carry more texture and trust—and that’s what invites others to truly listen. Let’s be honest—sometimes the algorithm will ignore your nettle leaf in golden hour lighting. Post it anyway.

Be sure you have thorough training in plant medicine by choosing a school or teacher you resonate with. Be honest about your limitations, what you’re still learning, and what stage you’re in on your herbal journey. Know the contraindications for each herb you are teaching about: who should not use it and where it isn’t appropriate. A great starting point for learning about herbal safety is our free guide on herbal safety, which includes my favorite references on the topic.

Strategy:

To grow your reach, focus on clarity, repetition, and rhythm on both social media and your website. Use consistent language tied to your herb and niche. Free tools like ChatGPT can help you brainstorm keyword ideas, organize topics, and shape SEO-friendly content. For blog and website strategy, use Ubersuggest and Google Keyword Planner (both offer free versions, no active ads are required) to check search volume and fine-tune your keywords.

Start your caption with a hook—something that invites curiosity or emotion—and pair it with a visually engaging image or video. Posting regularly and engaging with your audience (through comments, questions, or stories) signals reliability and builds connection. Series-style content based on a single herb tends to perform well, especially when it teaches, tells a story, or follows a seasonal arc. And remember: when your love for the plant is sincere, that energy comes through—and it’s often the most shareable thing of all.

In Practice:

Medicine Making student L. Leland of Blossomwood Botanicals

Safety Note:

While AI can assist with outlines, SEO guidance, or shaping ideas during the content creation process, it lacks the nuanced insight needed to safely identify herbs or recommend appropriate dosages and preparations.

It will also omit key herbal safety knowledge. Because it can generate text, videos, and images without confirming their accuracy, AI may unintentionally circulate harmful errors—mistakes that could result in real-world harm. You’ll need to double-check everything that AI helps you with, and don’t let it take the lead! It is your assistant and it knows far less than you on the topic of herbalism.

Herbalism demands precision, discernment, and a depth of knowledge that comes only through mentorship, focused study, and direct, hands-on experience with the plants themselves.

Herbal Shop Owner

An herbal shop is more than a storefront—it’s an invitation into a world shaped by plants, textures, and intention. The most memorable shops tell a story, and often, that story begins with the essence of a single herb.

Think of the cooling calm of lemon balm, the seasonal allure of elder, or the dreamlike mystique of mugwort. Each carries its own mood, colors, and message to guide your curations.

This is branding at its core!

The plant becomes a creative compass, infusing everything from product labels (the first labels I created on my tincture business featured a fairy perched on top of an elecampane flower) to the shop’s color palette and packaging. Soon, your friends will wonder if you’re running a boutique or if you’ve just become a forest sprite with a Square account.

Strategy:

Start with a mood or need your plant evokes, and curate a small line of offerings that speak to that theme. Consider pairing your own herbal creations with goods from other makers who align with the same energy.

This focus makes your boutique memorable and helps customers form a personal connection with your offerings. And remember, a brick-and-mortar shop isn’t the only path—a thoughtfully crafted online store can be just as immersive and magical (and a lot lighter on rent and interaction with the general public).

Take local small business classes and soak up everything you can from experienced business teachers—both in-person and online. Learn the essentials: pricing, marketing, product display, customer service, and what it takes to run a sustainable business. Let those who’ve walked this path before you share their hard-won wisdom, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel—or repeat their mistakes.

In Practice:

Herbal Immersion graduate Jodi McKee of Jewelweed