Today we’d like to introduce you to Dia Slaeh.
Dia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Growing up, our house was always full of herbs, salves, supplements and natural remedies. My brother (Chad Slaeh) and I used to joke with our parents that we had so many supplements that we could open a health food store. Natural was more than just a way of living; it was our passion. After my brother and I had both graduated from college and entered the business field, we kept coming back to the idea of turning our passion into a reality.
We had always enjoyed visiting the small, local health food stores as kids. However, with time, these smaller stores became less and less common. They were disappearing, and so was the personal touch that you could only get from a local, small business. We knew we wanted to bring this enchantment back to our community.
We decided to focus on carrying the highest quality products, with education and the personal touch at the forefront of our philosophy. Not only do we focus on teaching and empowering our customers, but we also learn and grow from them. We know many of our customers by name. We know their stories. They give us feedback on what has worked best for them, what they’d like to see more of, etc. When people are in search of the unique, harder to find products, they usually turn to us. As a result of this collaborative effort, we’ve been able to cultivate a unique environment in which we as a community (customers and staff alike) grow and learn together.
Has it been a smooth road?
When we first started out, we thought we were prepared! We had done our research, had a detailed business plan and a can do attitude. We were perhaps too overly enthusiastic and dived right in. Instead of starting small– with a small selection of products– and growing gradually, we ordered EVERYTHING we had ever dreamed of carrying. When the deliveries started pouring in, we couldn’t keep up. We actually ran out of space and had to stop any further deliveries. The boxes were piled so high in the store that we couldn’t see out the windows. The aisles were so full of boxes that we had to walk sideways through the aisles just to be able to get through. We had maybe one and a half feet of walkable space in each aisle due to all the boxes stacked on top of each other on all sides of us. We had over ordered and had not spaced out the deliveries. All of our largest deliveries had arrived within the same week, and it was far more than what we could handle or what our store could stock. We had to call in friends, family and staff from our suppliers to help us sort through the mountains of product. It all happened so fast. We ended up having to donate cartloads of product to local food banks because we simply didn’t have the room for so much inventory. I can tell you that our customers were really loving the sales on the remaining items, i.e. $4.50 boxes of cereal that were marked on sale for 99 cents and free bags of granola with any purchase over $5. That was definitely a big lesson for us to pace ourselves.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Natural Health Shop is one of the few remaining family owned health stores in Dallas. We are known for carrying unique and hard to find items. Hand made African Black Soap and Shea Butter that comes from a co-op in Africa. i.e., an ayurvedic herbal cough drop that is wildly popular despite its strong bitterness… A spicy apple cider based elixir that gets the circulation going and provides a quick pick-me-up with a kick! Unique, earth-based toothpastes, South American bombillas and gourds, etc.
We spend a lot of time researching products from around the world in order to deliver the best selection of product offerings. We have a very loyal base of customers that helps us determine which products get the most positive responses. Further, many of our most popular and unique items were things we initially learned about from own customers. Our shop is a reflection of our local community, and we are very proud of that.
We also have a wonderful Health Essentials Club program, which is a monthly membership that allows you to try out new products each month and receive exclusive discounts. Our members get a new box full of goodies and surprises each month, which allows them to enjoy a variety of products without spending a lot of money. It makes being healthy and learning about health even more fun!
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I definitely feel that our city is a great place for our type of business. Our customer base is incredibly diverse, which in turn helps us deliver a more unique line of product offerings. We’ve learned so much from our customers (i.e. what kind of natural products they grew up on, what they use on their kids, herbs and formulations used around the world, etc.).
Pricing:
- Health Essentials Club Subscription $10 to $15
Contact Info:
- Address: Natural Health Shop
430 N Coit Rd, Ste 300
Richardson, TX 75080 - Website: www.NaturalHealthTx.com
- Phone: 972-664-1990
- Email: naturalshop123@yahoo.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/naturalhealthshop
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
