OM DENNE EPISODE
Hurricane Maria changed Terri Henry-Lovell’s life.
When she returned to Dominica after the storm, much of the tourism and nature-based work she had built her life around was no longer viable.
So she started again.
The first product was a handmade lip balm made with beeswax.
That experiment eventually became Bee Natural, a Caribbean wellness brand producing deodorants, body butters, balms and other hive-based products from Dominica.
Today, Bee Natural sells across several Caribbean islands, works with hotels and other businesses, and is preparing for its next stage of production growth.
Terri shares what building a physical-product business from a small Caribbean island actually looks like, from grants and bookkeeping to manufacturing, shipping and having cash tied up in inventory.
We also talk about the personal cost of entrepreneurship, why Caribbean exports remain harder than they should be, and why she says she might never have started if she knew everything the journey would require.
In this episode:
How Hurricane Maria led to Bee Natural
Why she started with a single lip balm
Building handmade products from Dominica
Turning grants into real production growth
Why Caribbean shipping is still a major problem
The “Space in Your Case” solution
Running almost every role in a small business
Building systems that let a founder finally let go
Working with her daughter and husband
Why Caribbean-made products deserve more regional support
