Willow Balm founders Mike and Michelle

Everybody hurts, sometimes.

But far too often in modern society, common pain can lead to severe addiction to prescription painkillers.

“You really should try something topical before you start popping pills,” said Mike Hutsell, Murfreesboro resident and co-founder of Willow Balm pain relief cream.

While training for a half-marathon years ago and experiencing some soreness, while also observing family members and others in the community dealing with chronic pain, Hutsell and Michelle Mills set out to develop a new pain relief cream featuring natural ingredients.

After trying 20 different formulations, the entrepreneurs felt like they got it right on their 21st try. Those who tested the cream—a plant-based combination of white willow bark, helichrysum, camphor, menthol, eucalyptus, lavender, geranium, spearmint and other ingredients—on their areas of soreness, reported great results. The inventors had developed a new way for the average American to combat pain and soreness without entering the world of prescription pharmaceuticals.

Mills and Hutsell named the product Willow Balm.

Then, like so many upstart businesses, they had a great product but also a lingering question: how to sell it?

They began going door to door in Rutherford County, selling jars of Willow Balm where they could.

During that time, Tractor Supply Company, a national chain based in Brentwood, Tennessee, held an open buying day in a Williamson County hotel, which the Willow Balm founders attended.

Mills said they went into the hotel very proud of their product, but after it quickly hit them that they were competing for TSC shelf space with brands like Laredo, John Deere, Purina and other established “big guys,” she grew a little self-conscious of the small homemade display they brought along.

However, the Tractor Supply buyers actually responded favorably to the product, saying that if it went through the FDA approval process, and if it got some proper packaging, that TSC would test it in 25 of their stores.

“The only guarantee,” at that time, Hutsell said, “was that they would test it.”

There was no purchase order or promise that they would sell much of anything, but that encounter gave Willow Balm some direction, and within a few years, 1,200 Tractor Supply stores across the country would carry Willow Balm on its shelves.

TSC has been a perfect fit for the product, the Willow Balm team says. While many drug stores have an array of medicines and pain relief products in an abundant supply where an additional one may get lost in the crowd, some Tractor Supply customers were using horse liniment products for their aches and pains prior to the arrival of Willow Balm.

“We wanted somewhere with no competition,” Hutsell said.

“We took market share from horse liniments,” Mills added.

Farmers, ranchers and rural families all across the country became a prime demographic for this Tennessee-based product, proving that there is indeed something to the relationship between the willow and physical healing.

Native Americans, Chinese and Greek people have long used bark from the white willow tree—which is related to, but a different species from, the popular weeping willow—as a medicine.

Today, many with arthritis say that the Willow Balm product has helped them overcome their pain.

“I have had severe tendinitis for a long time now and Willow Balm is the only topical pain relief cream that is fast-acting and stops the pain,” another pleased customer said.

Others say the cream relieves itching from bug bites and rashes; even say the powerful blend of essential oils help deal with congestion as well.

“We’re a small brand, but a national brand,” Hutsell said.

Willow Balm was one of only 10 winners in Burt’s Bees 2018 Natural Launchpad Cohort program, which recognized, and invested in, businesses that “honor the beauty, power and wisdom of nature.”

In addition to running the Willow Balm company, Hutsell and Mills also run Wicked Stepsister Productions, a video production company they founded to originally create their own television commercials for Willow Balm.

Now, Wicked Stepsister also provides video and editing services for other area small businesses and bands, and is involved in producing video content for Murfreesboro country and bluegrass music expert and fan Justin Reed, local personal trainer Alex Antoine, Dewdrop Jamboree, Uncle Dave Macon Days and other individuals and organizations.

The Pulse spoke with the Willow Balm founders about their journey in developing the formula, bringing Americans a high-end natural pain relief product and reducing people’s dependence on oral pain relievers.

Murfreesboro Pulse: What challenges have you overcome in starting and growing your business?
Michelle Mills: We have overcome tons of challenges, from having no advertising budget to starting our own manufacturing company when we were in Smyrna, to growing enough to transition into contract manufacturing.

What other local businesses or people were an inspiration for you?
We had several inspiring mentors along the way. One of our first customers and mentors was Rachel Holt, a massage therapist in Smyrna, and she is still a customer to this day. When I was out knocking on doors in 2009, I walked into Natural Health Massage and Rachel was working that day. She gave Willow Balm a try on her customers and loved it. We have learned so much from her and she’s been a guiding force in growing our company. Her business has since been renamed [Relax & Repair] and she’s become the owner.

What’s your favorite part of running your business?
Getting to talk to people who use and love Willow Balm. I don’t get to talk with the end user very much; I’m normally working with buyers who put our product on shelves. Talking to the end user reminds me of why we started the company all those years ago.

What is your advice for local business owners?
Network, participate in community events and don’t get discouraged. When things don’t work out, change your approach and try again. It took us 21 formulations to get Willow Balm right, and that process alone spanned a year and a half. . . . Don’t quit your day job until you have money in the bank.

How are you getting the word out about your business?
In years past we have run TV ads on small networks such as Heartland and Retro in order to get the word out about Willow Balm to rural customers. Now we focus on social media for reaching new customers and staying in touch with our original ones as well.

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For more information on Willow Balm, visit willowbalm.com or call 1-888-60-WILLO; find the product in Murfreesboro at Tractor Supply Company or Fleet Feet.