July 30, 2025 • 22 mins
#011 and Part 1 of Building A Candle Brand series.
**This special series is brought to you by ToAuto Wax Melters. Our listeners will get a special deal at checkout when they use this link. **
Ready to build a candle business that stands out from the crowd? You've found your starting point.
This episode kicks off an exciting 12-week journey where I'll be creating a completely new candle brand from scratch—separate from my existing Garsnett Beacon Candle Company that has surpassed $1.2 million in sales over the past three years. Whether you're part of our Candle Business Pro Inner Circle or just tuning in for the first time, you'll gain invaluable insights to help launch your own successful candle business.
The foundation of any thriving candle brand isn't beautiful vessels or perfect scents, it's clarity about who you're creating for. Most new candle makers experience an initial burst of sales from friends and family, followed by crickets. Why? Because they haven't defined their niche or target market. I share how to discover your unique position in the market by connecting with themes or causes you're passionate about, whether that's mental health, luxury experiences, or eco-sustainability. For my new brand "Without Permission," I'm focusing on creating unapologetic, values-driven candles for empaths, creatives, and justice-minded individuals.
Understanding your target customer goes beyond demographics and it requires knowing their values, shopping habits, and willingness to spend.
From crafting a compelling mission statement to selecting your brand values and creating a mood board, each step this week builds the foundation that will guide all future decisions. Join me on this journey and discover how to create not just candles, but a brand that resonates deeply with the right customers.
Want to follow along with your own candle business launch? Grab a notebook and start mapping out your foundation—because clarity comes first, even before you pour your first candle.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So you're thinking about launching a candle brand?
Well then, you're in the rightplace, because over the next 10
to 12 weeks, I am going tocreate and launch a completely
separate brand new candlebusiness that is separate from
the Garcinet Beacon CandleCompany that myself and my
husband, chad, created aboutthree and a half years ago and
has now passed $1.2 million.
(00:20):
We're gonna start completelyfrom scratch with a whole new
brand and I want you to go onthe journey with us.
So now, if you're part of thecandle business pro inner circle
, you're going to haveworksheets and templates to help
guide you through this.
But if you're just watching orlistening to this and you're not
familiar with us or part of ourinner circle inside of candle
business pro, completely fine.
(00:41):
You're going to get tons ofknowledge from this and at the
end of this series, which isgoing to be about 10 to 12 weeks
long, you're going to have asolid ground to launch your own
candle business.
So we're excited to have youalong with us.
So let's go ahead and get intothis.
Now, before we get started, Iwant to give a shout out to
Tuato.
Tuato, wax Melter, partneredwith us to bring this series to
(01:03):
life.
So Tuato is a wax melter brandthat has been with us for quite
some time.
We started with other brands ofwax melters on our journey and
once we discovered Tuato, wewere set and now that we have
three stores, we use the Tuatomelters in all three of the
stores.
We don't need any other melterto run our business with.
(01:23):
They're fantastic, theircustomer service is great and
they're affordable.
So in the links below, I dohave a link for you to use to go
out and check them out.
You'll also get a discount byusing that link.
So let's get into this.
So the way we're going to dothis series is every week for
the next 10 to 12 weeks, basedon how long it takes to get this
(01:44):
business off the ground we aregoing to do basically a recap.
I am going to share with youeverything that I did that week
and tell you the steps for youto take so that you can follow
along and do the exact samething so that in 10 to 12 weeks,
you should also be able tolaunch a brand new candle
business.
So this first week I like tocall this laying the foundation
(02:04):
for your candle brand.
The guiding theme is going tobe clarity comes first Know who
you're building your brand forbefore you start pouring those
candles.
Now, of course, many of us havealready made candles and we're
coming back to this because wemight be struggling with
launching a candle brand.
I completely get it, because wedid the same thing when we
first started our candlebusiness.
We turned it on online and wedid have friends, family, those
(02:31):
that knew us that had beenfollowing the journey, to
support us.
They purchased from us, butafter about a week that all died
off and then there was crickets.
There was nothing.
Luckily, we were able to domarkets and then we were able to
do wholesale through thosewinter months and then we ended
up actually opening our brickand mortar store about four
months later, four or fivemonths later after our first
candle sale.
So we did move quick.
However, looking back and howwe run our business now, you
(02:55):
really have to have a solidfoundation of who you're making
candles for.
So that's what we're going todiscuss today.
So the first step is discoveringyour niche in your target
market.
Now, the candle industry isn'ttoo saturated, but you need to
stand out, so you've got todefine your niche.
Now, how do you do that?
What do you want your candlebrand to be known for.
What kind of experience do youwant your candles to create?
(03:16):
Here's some examples emotionalhealing, cozy, comfort, luxury,
gifting.
What's going to make yourcandle brand different from
others?
Are there certain themes orcauses or ideas that you feel
deeply connected to and you wantyour brand to reflect.
Some examples of that would bemental health, eco-friendly
sustainability, resilience,activism, spiritual grounding,
(03:39):
design, forward, living, luxury.
These are all different areasthat you can connect with your
niche and defining that for yourcustomer.
Are you a stay-at-home mom thatis going crazy.
You have tons of kids andyou've got responsibilities and
there's going to be a niche ofpeople that can relate to that.
(04:00):
Or are you a world travelerthat stays in all of these
high-end luxury resorts and youwant to capture that scent and
you want to build a brand aroundthat?
You can build a brand around asports theme, candles you can do
all kinds of niches.
So take some of these ideas andthink about something that
you're truly and deeplyconnected to.
(04:22):
Do you want cozy, farmhouse,cottage, stick with a theme, a
niche, and you dial that in sodeep that when people see your
brand, when they visit yourwebsite, they know exactly, is
this candle for me or is it notfor me?
They should know, right awayfrom looking at the aesthetics,
(04:44):
the entire picture of your brand, without reading anything.
They should be able to know isthis brand for me or not?
And that's when you know thatyou have a specific, targeted
niche.
Now for us, I'm going to giveyou a little bit of what our
niche is going to be.
So for our new brand, we'regoing to go for a bold,
unapologetic brand.
(05:04):
We're going to use scent as aform of emotional release,
identity expression andresistance.
We're going to do all of thiswithout sacrificing any
aesthetics or quality.
So we're going to make highquality candles for this, the
kind of experience that we wantpeople to feel.
We want the candles to feellike a voice, a mirror, kind of
(05:25):
a battle cry.
We want a reflection ofthemselves in these products
that we're going to put out.
It might seem like how is thatpossible, but I think on this
journey over the next 10 to 12weeks, we're going to be able to
relate what some of this is.
So most brands out there.
They're going to focus on thatgeneric relaxation, eco-friendly
(05:46):
sustainability, and I didn'tmention those as examples, but
that in itself is such asaturated market, our brand is
going to try to challenge thatnorm.
I'm trying to be rebellious alittle bit in this new brand and
I'm looking at some of thenotes and some of the stuff that
I have in my mind to shareabout this new brand with you
(06:07):
and we are really going to bedeeply rooted in value and
intention.
With this brand we want to beable to connect with someone on
a lot more personal level thanwhat we do with our current
brand.
Our current Gcinet BeaconCandle Company brand, while is
successful we have that brand isvery community focused.
(06:28):
We are very local focused.
We do a ton of work in ourcommunity and that's what
supports our candle brand.
That in itself is somewhat of aniche because we are basically
the candle brand of, you know,western Michigan or the Lake
shore of Michigan, becausepeople know us.
We are volunteering, we aregiving donations and
(06:49):
sponsorships to all kinds ofevents.
That's what's gotten our brandthe recognition and that's
that's perfect and that's that'sa way that we have made a great
life for ourselves, that we canwork for ourselves.
But with this new brand I'mthinking nationally, so I can't
rely so much on local communitysupport and to grow this
business.
So we're going to have to lookat it a little bit different.
With this brand new brand weare going to get deeper with our
(07:13):
customers.
So a bit ago I asked are therecertain themes or causes or
ideas that you feel deeplyconnected with?
For us, we are going withunapologetic self-expression,
mental health, lgbtq plus rights, community centered activism
and the idea that softness andstrength can coexist.
That is the theme of our nichethat we're going to build this
(07:36):
entire brand around.
So let's see what it ends upbeing at the end.
Of course, some of this isgoing to adjust as we go through
this.
We're not putting anything inconcrete today, but we now can
take this and build out the restof our brand with these
intentions in mind.
So the next thing we have to dois define our target market.
So, once we have a niche, weunderstand the types of candles
(08:00):
we are making, who is thatperson that's going to buy that
candle?
And you have to define thatperson in and out.
You have to understand who theyare, how they live, what they
do.
So here are some questions tothink about, to understand who
(08:20):
that person is.
What values are most importantto them.
Some examples are going to bethat sustainability, self-care,
inclusivity, community focus,justice, creative, rebellious.
What do they do with their freetime?
Do they like to journal?
Do they like to bake?
Are they working full time?
Are they creating art?
Are they going to markets?
Are they just scrolling TikTok?
And then also, where do theyshop?
(08:41):
What other brands do they loveoutside of candles?
And then also, how much arethey willing to spend for a
candle?
So here's the thing If you'rebuilding a candle brand around a
customer that's only spending,let's say, $10 or $12 for a
candle, most likely that's notgoing to be sustainable for you,
(09:02):
because when we're firststarting, we are making candles
that are going to cost five, six, seven, eight, nine, $10 a
candle, because we're not amassive company that's buying in
such bulk that we're gettingour prices down to where it's a
two or $3 candle, like whatpossibly, say, path and Body
Works or Yankee might be making,right.
(09:22):
So I'm not saying that theircandles are cost that little to
make, but I'm saying if yourcustomer is only spending $10
for a candle, you can't make acandle for $8 and it'd be
sustainable as a brand.
That's just not a reality.
So once we look at that targetcustomer and realize what
they're spending on a candle,you might have to pivot.
(09:43):
You might decide, oh, thatcustomer isn't buying my candles
.
And think about when we seecandle makers that get
frustrated when they see, say,walmart or Target or TJ Maxx or
these big box retailers wherethey have candles for sale for
$5.
And they're saying how in theworld am I ever going to have a
(10:07):
sustainable candle business whenI'm competing with $5 candles?
Well, you're not competing with$5 candles unless you're
competing for that customer.
If you're going after thatcustomer that buys their candles
at Walmart or Target or TJ Maxxor wherever you're finding that
price point, well then yeah,that's the problem.
But if you're going after adifferent customer with a
different niche, that's howyou're going to be successful.
(10:29):
So people would ask as far aspricing candles out for like
markets, we were always the mostexpensive candle out at the
markets on the weekends and thatwas fine.
Our candles are different.
Our customers are different.
Right, they could be the samevessels, same oils, same wax.
Customers are not going tounderstand any or know any of
that unless they're a candlemaker themselves.
But who we're trying to targetwith our branding, our design,
(10:54):
our layout.
That is what is going to drawin our customer and it's what's
going to help you draw on yourcustomers.
So the other things to thinkabout is what kind of visual
messaging is going to relate tothat customer.
You know, because we're goingto need to create social media
assets, we are going to need tohave emails that we're going to
create and it has to sound likean email that they want to read,
(11:14):
the way that I would send anemail to, let's say, my 15 year
old nephew, nephew, or mygrandmother, you know, or you
know, a coworker.
These are all going to bedifferent kinds of emails and
it's all because there's gonnabe different kinds of words that
I'm going to use when I'mtalking to them.
So you need to know themessaging for that type of
(11:34):
customer.
Also, be certain about what'sgoing to turn that customer off.
What is it something that youmight do that they would not
like?
If you're going for aminimalistic home decor lover,
if you are putting out somethingthat's way too glittery, right?
Something super shiny, way tooglittery is that going to turn
them off?
Are they going with classicinstead of traditional, or
(11:56):
modern instead of farmhouse,right?
What is it that they would notlike?
So think about that a littlebit as well.
Okay, so the next thing we haveto do is write a mission
statement, define our values andalso explain what our why is.
So this is going to be theheart behind our brand, that
it's just more than candlemaking.
Now here's a quick template foryou to use for your mission
statement.
We exist to what you do, forwho you serve, so they can
(12:22):
outcome or transformation thatyou're going for.
Let me read over what mymission statement is here that
we've started with.
Now, again, this is going tochange as we go through the
building out of this business.
But to start, here is themission statement that we came
up with.
We exist to create unapologetic, values-driven candles for
(12:43):
empaths, creatives andjustice-minded individuals, so
they can feel seen, empoweredand boldly connected to their
truth, without permission.
So that is our missionstatement that we're starting
with.
So that's going to relate tospecific customers and it
explains why we are doing this.
(13:03):
It's showing you that we arevalues-driven for specific
people.
After that, we need to definewhat our brand values are.
So you're going to want tochoose, say three to five of
these.
Write these down.
After you write down yourmission statement, you're going
to want to write down three orfive values, because we're going
to want to put all of thistogether here at the end.
So some example of values aregoing to be authenticity,
(13:26):
liberation, eco-friendly,community-focused mental health,
advocacy, boldness,sustainability, ritual,
emotional honesty.
So those are all differentvalues that you can have Now for
our brand.
We are going to go with.
The five that I chose isemotional honesty, liberation,
radical care, collective upliftand defiant expression.
(13:48):
So if you're seeing, afterreading my mission,
understanding who my niche is,who my target audience is, you
are going to start to see thisbrand come together.
The next thing we have to do isdefine our why.
So, in two to three sentences,we need to explain why we felt
called to create this candlebrand.
(14:09):
Why are we doing this?
This is like what is yourmotivation, and it's going to
help you shape your story.
So this is a.
The prompt for you to use isgoing to be what personal
experiences or frustrations ledyou here.
Who are you making your candlesfor?
Really, for us in this new brand, it's going to be, right now,
(14:31):
our why is that most candles onthe market?
They feel surface level andthey're disconnected from what
people are actually goingthrough.
I created this new brand forthose who feel deeply, who care
about justice and who are tiredof minimizing themselves to fit
in care about justice, and whoare tired of minimizing
themselves to fit in.
So these candles are a form ofprotest, affirmation and
(14:53):
self-connection.
These are built for anyonewho's ever feel like they've had
to dim their light just tobelong and to fit in.
So that is why we're creatingthis new brand.
If you're inside of the innercircle, we talk a little bit
more about this, a little bitabout our journey, some of the
things that really are importantto myself and my husband, chad,
(15:13):
and we want to create a brandthat is for that person, and so
defining our why is really goingto help shape the direction we
go.
Now.
You can do this with any typeof niche.
Once you have your niche, onceyou have your target audience,
you're then going to do thesethree things You're going to
write your mission statement,you're going to create your and
(15:35):
choose your brand values Threeto five of those are fine and
then you're going to define yourwhy.
So step three is that we haveto now name our brand.
Now it's optional, for now youdon't have to have a brand name
already picked out, butunderstanding you don't have to
have a brand name already pickedout, but understanding who your
audience is and what niche youwant to be in.
That should hopefully start tobuild some clarity around what
(15:56):
you should name your brand andthis should start to help giving
you some ideas there.
Now a couple of tips here.
You know, don't rush you.
You know, build clarity first.
Make sure that you have thatniche and target completely
understood in and out.
Then you can align that withyour values, your tone and your
target.
Start to brainstorm some wordsor phrases that might evoke the
(16:20):
brand's emotion.
And what is your customer using?
How is your customer speaking?
Pull from that some words andstart to put that together.
You can certainly use like chat, cvt or AI, but I really think
that naming your business isgoing to be really personal and
does it have to relate to yourcustomer?
Not necessarily.
(16:40):
It can be something that on thesurface doesn't necessarily
connect, where people may notunderstand it, but those that
know know if that makes senseand that's kind of a way of
bringing people in even closerand building those super fans.
So for us.
We named our new candle brandwithout permission.
(17:02):
So we are building a productfor that person, that empath,
that creative person, thatperson that gives love and care
for their neighbor just as muchas they do themselves and that
want to resist when they seeothers being hurt, in whatever
capacity that might be.
(17:22):
So that is what we are buildingthis brand around.
Now that might not resonatewith other people.
You might just think, oh, I'mjust trying to put a candle out
there to sell to people thatlike minimalistic home decor.
That's fine.
We're going to go really deepwith our candle brand and if
you're in the inner circle, wetalk about that quite a bit,
about some of our why and whatwe're trying to do.
(17:44):
But so that is going to be ourcandle brand.
Now, again, you don't have tohave one named today.
You can take some time, but Ireally work on putting meaning
behind it.
I think that's going to makeyour brand be more successful,
because when people see thiscandle now that says without
permission on it, and then theysee the visuals that go along
(18:04):
with it, they're going to reallyunderstand that we're putting
something together that they aregoing to relate to or relate
with.
And, again, it's not going tobe for everyone.
We will want everyone to wantour candles, of course, but
we're not targeting every singleperson and you're definitely
going to see some of thatthroughout some of the
advertising and the marketingand some of the copy that we're
(18:26):
going to be using for this newbrand.
So, by excluding some people,it's okay.
So the last step of the week isto create a mood board.
So that's the homework that Ihave for you Create a mood board
.
You can do this inside ofPinterest, inside of Canva.
This is putting together thevisuals that are going to
reflect your future candle line.
So this is going to be colors,fonts, aesthetics, different
(18:47):
quotes that you love to read,spaces that you like to be in,
and also the people.
What kind of people are goingto be buying your candles?
This is going to set the tonefor your packaging, your vibe,
your scent mood.
What you don't want to do is youdon't want to just copy what
someone else is doing.
You don't want to just copysomeone else's aesthetics unless
you're actually aligning withthat target.
(19:08):
Then you can make your ownmodified version of that brand,
but you really want to make surethat you're aligning with it
with what your niche is going tobe so that you can understand
you can relate to it, right?
So I'm not trying to put out ayou know Gucci line of candles
because I can't relate to that.
So hopefully that you knowresonates with you.
(19:30):
You want to put together a moodboard of all different types of
things that you like and seewhere the cohesion of those is
going to cross over so that youcan put out a brand that makes a
lot of sense.
You don't have to stick to justtwo or three colors.
We are actually going to haveseveral colors in our brand that
(19:51):
we are going to be able tochoose from.
So don't feel like you have tojust do like, say, black and
white.
You know, get more creative.
There's lots of tools out thereto set up a mood board, but I
think just doing it inside a canor Pinterest is going to be
completely fine.
So your homework is I challengeyou to build your mood board and
then write a paragraph thatdescribes that vibe that you're
(20:11):
going for, and then the lastthing that we're going to do is
we're going to end up bringingall of this together.
So you're going to bring inyour niche, your target market.
You're going to bring in yourmission, your values, and then
you're going to bring in thismood board and you're going to
create an entire brand with allof these things in mind.
And what's going to happen is,over the next several weeks, all
(20:31):
the decisions that we make isgoing to be based on everything
we did this week.
So this week we set afoundation.
Once you have all this together, then every decision that we
make from the supplies we choosewhat we can spend to create our
new product, from the marketing, the advertising all that stuff
(20:52):
that we do going forward isgoing to be based on what we did
this week.
So it's really important to getthis week's foundation set so
that we're going to have asuccessful next several weeks
together.
So thank you so much for beinghere.
Again, a big shout out to Tuatofor assisting and putting this
together for us.
Again, there is a link to theirwebsite below, where you can
(21:14):
actually save an additionalamount of money on top of any
sales that are possibly going.
So it is a unique link for youto click on.
And if you have any questionsfor myself, put them in the
comments below.
Come and join us in ourFacebook group or just visit
candlebusinessprocom, whereyou're going to get all kinds of
information.
You can actually come and joinus inside of the inner circle as
(21:34):
well.
Take care, and I'll see younext week.
Bye-bye.
So you're thinking about launching a candle brand?
Well then, you're in the rightplace, because over the next 10
to 12 weeks, I am going tocreate and launch a completely
separate brand new candlebusiness that is separate from
the Garcinet Beacon CandleCompany that myself and my
husband, chad, created aboutthree and a half years ago and
has now passed $1.2 million.
(00:20):
We're gonna start completelyfrom scratch with a whole new
brand and I want you to go onthe journey with us.
So now, if you're part of thecandle business pro inner circle
, you're going to haveworksheets and templates to help
guide you through this.
But if you're just watching orlistening to this and you're not
familiar with us or part of ourinner circle inside of candle
business pro, completely fine.
(00:41):
You're going to get tons ofknowledge from this and at the
end of this series, which isgoing to be about 10 to 12 weeks
long, you're going to have asolid ground to launch your own
candle business.
So we're excited to have youalong with us.
So let's go ahead and get intothis.
Now, before we get started, Iwant to give a shout out to
Tuato.
Tuato, wax Melter, partneredwith us to bring this series to
(01:03):
life.
So Tuato is a wax melter brandthat has been with us for quite
some time.
We started with other brands ofwax melters on our journey and
once we discovered Tuato, wewere set and now that we have
three stores, we use the Tuatomelters in all three of the
stores.
We don't need any other melterto run our business with.
(01:23):
They're fantastic, theircustomer service is great and
they're affordable.
So in the links below, I dohave a link for you to use to go
out and check them out.
You'll also get a discount byusing that link.
So let's get into this.
So the way we're going to dothis series is every week for
the next 10 to 12 weeks, basedon how long it takes to get this
(01:44):
business off the ground we aregoing to do basically a recap.
I am going to share with youeverything that I did that week
and tell you the steps for youto take so that you can follow
along and do the exact samething so that in 10 to 12 weeks,
you should also be able tolaunch a brand new candle
business.
So this first week I like tocall this laying the foundation
(02:04):
for your candle brand.
The guiding theme is going tobe clarity comes first Know who
you're building your brand forbefore you start pouring those
candles.
Now, of course, many of us havealready made candles and we're
coming back to this because wemight be struggling with
launching a candle brand.
I completely get it, because wedid the same thing when we
first started our candlebusiness.
We turned it on online and wedid have friends, family, those
(02:31):
that knew us that had beenfollowing the journey, to
support us.
They purchased from us, butafter about a week that all died
off and then there was crickets.
There was nothing.
Luckily, we were able to domarkets and then we were able to
do wholesale through thosewinter months and then we ended
up actually opening our brickand mortar store about four
months later, four or fivemonths later after our first
candle sale.
So we did move quick.
However, looking back and howwe run our business now, you
(02:55):
really have to have a solidfoundation of who you're making
candles for.
So that's what we're going todiscuss today.
So the first step is discoveringyour niche in your target
market.
Now, the candle industry isn'ttoo saturated, but you need to
stand out, so you've got todefine your niche.
Now, how do you do that?
What do you want your candlebrand to be known for.
What kind of experience do youwant your candles to create?
(03:16):
Here's some examples emotionalhealing, cozy, comfort, luxury,
gifting.
What's going to make yourcandle brand different from
others?
Are there certain themes orcauses or ideas that you feel
deeply connected to and you wantyour brand to reflect.
Some examples of that would bemental health, eco-friendly
sustainability, resilience,activism, spiritual grounding,
(03:39):
design, forward, living, luxury.
These are all different areasthat you can connect with your
niche and defining that for yourcustomer.
Are you a stay-at-home mom thatis going crazy.
You have tons of kids andyou've got responsibilities and
there's going to be a niche ofpeople that can relate to that.
(04:00):
Or are you a world travelerthat stays in all of these
high-end luxury resorts and youwant to capture that scent and
you want to build a brand aroundthat?
You can build a brand around asports theme, candles you can do
all kinds of niches.
So take some of these ideas andthink about something that
you're truly and deeplyconnected to.
(04:22):
Do you want cozy, farmhouse,cottage, stick with a theme, a
niche, and you dial that in sodeep that when people see your
brand, when they visit yourwebsite, they know exactly, is
this candle for me or is it notfor me?
They should know, right awayfrom looking at the aesthetics,
(04:44):
the entire picture of your brand, without reading anything.
They should be able to know isthis brand for me or not?
And that's when you know thatyou have a specific, targeted
niche.
Now for us, I'm going to giveyou a little bit of what our
niche is going to be.
So for our new brand, we'regoing to go for a bold,
unapologetic brand.
(05:04):
We're going to use scent as aform of emotional release,
identity expression andresistance.
We're going to do all of thiswithout sacrificing any
aesthetics or quality.
So we're going to make highquality candles for this, the
kind of experience that we wantpeople to feel.
We want the candles to feellike a voice, a mirror, kind of
(05:25):
a battle cry.
We want a reflection ofthemselves in these products
that we're going to put out.
It might seem like how is thatpossible, but I think on this
journey over the next 10 to 12weeks, we're going to be able to
relate what some of this is.
So most brands out there.
They're going to focus on thatgeneric relaxation, eco-friendly
(05:46):
sustainability, and I didn'tmention those as examples, but
that in itself is such asaturated market, our brand is
going to try to challenge thatnorm.
I'm trying to be rebellious alittle bit in this new brand and
I'm looking at some of thenotes and some of the stuff that
I have in my mind to shareabout this new brand with you
(06:07):
and we are really going to bedeeply rooted in value and
intention.
With this brand we want to beable to connect with someone on
a lot more personal level thanwhat we do with our current
brand.
Our current Gcinet BeaconCandle Company brand, while is
successful we have that brand isvery community focused.
(06:28):
We are very local focused.
We do a ton of work in ourcommunity and that's what
supports our candle brand.
That in itself is somewhat of aniche because we are basically
the candle brand of, you know,western Michigan or the Lake
shore of Michigan, becausepeople know us.
We are volunteering, we aregiving donations and
(06:49):
sponsorships to all kinds ofevents.
That's what's gotten our brandthe recognition and that's
that's perfect and that's that'sa way that we have made a great
life for ourselves, that we canwork for ourselves.
But with this new brand I'mthinking nationally, so I can't
rely so much on local communitysupport and to grow this
business.
So we're going to have to lookat it a little bit different.
With this brand new brand weare going to get deeper with our
(07:13):
customers.
So a bit ago I asked are therecertain themes or causes or
ideas that you feel deeplyconnected with?
For us, we are going withunapologetic self-expression,
mental health, lgbtq plus rights, community centered activism
and the idea that softness andstrength can coexist.
That is the theme of our nichethat we're going to build this
(07:36):
entire brand around.
So let's see what it ends upbeing at the end.
Of course, some of this isgoing to adjust as we go through
this.
We're not putting anything inconcrete today, but we now can
take this and build out the restof our brand with these
intentions in mind.
So the next thing we have to dois define our target market.
So, once we have a niche, weunderstand the types of candles
(08:00):
we are making, who is thatperson that's going to buy that
candle?
And you have to define thatperson in and out.
You have to understand who theyare, how they live, what they
do.
So here are some questions tothink about, to understand who
(08:20):
that person is.
What values are most importantto them.
Some examples are going to bethat sustainability, self-care,
inclusivity, community focus,justice, creative, rebellious.
What do they do with their freetime?
Do they like to journal?
Do they like to bake?
Are they working full time?
Are they creating art?
Are they going to markets?
Are they just scrolling TikTok?
And then also, where do theyshop?
(08:41):
What other brands do they loveoutside of candles?
And then also, how much arethey willing to spend for a
candle?
So here's the thing If you'rebuilding a candle brand around a
customer that's only spending,let's say, $10 or $12 for a
candle, most likely that's notgoing to be sustainable for you,
(09:02):
because when we're firststarting, we are making candles
that are going to cost five, six, seven, eight, nine, $10 a
candle, because we're not amassive company that's buying in
such bulk that we're gettingour prices down to where it's a
two or $3 candle, like whatpossibly, say, path and Body
Works or Yankee might be making,right.
(09:22):
So I'm not saying that theircandles are cost that little to
make, but I'm saying if yourcustomer is only spending $10
for a candle, you can't make acandle for $8 and it'd be
sustainable as a brand.
That's just not a reality.
So once we look at that targetcustomer and realize what
they're spending on a candle,you might have to pivot.
(09:43):
You might decide, oh, thatcustomer isn't buying my candles
.
And think about when we seecandle makers that get
frustrated when they see, say,walmart or Target or TJ Maxx or
these big box retailers wherethey have candles for sale for
$5.
And they're saying how in theworld am I ever going to have a
(10:07):
sustainable candle business whenI'm competing with $5 candles?
Well, you're not competing with$5 candles unless you're
competing for that customer.
If you're going after thatcustomer that buys their candles
at Walmart or Target or TJ Maxxor wherever you're finding that
price point, well then yeah,that's the problem.
But if you're going after adifferent customer with a
different niche, that's howyou're going to be successful.
(10:29):
So people would ask as far aspricing candles out for like
markets, we were always the mostexpensive candle out at the
markets on the weekends and thatwas fine.
Our candles are different.
Our customers are different.
Right, they could be the samevessels, same oils, same wax.
Customers are not going tounderstand any or know any of
that unless they're a candlemaker themselves.
But who we're trying to targetwith our branding, our design,
(10:54):
our layout.
That is what is going to drawin our customer and it's what's
going to help you draw on yourcustomers.
So the other things to thinkabout is what kind of visual
messaging is going to relate tothat customer.
You know, because we're goingto need to create social media
assets, we are going to need tohave emails that we're going to
create and it has to sound likean email that they want to read,
(11:14):
the way that I would send anemail to, let's say, my 15 year
old nephew, nephew, or mygrandmother, you know, or you
know, a coworker.
These are all going to bedifferent kinds of emails and
it's all because there's gonnabe different kinds of words that
I'm going to use when I'mtalking to them.
So you need to know themessaging for that type of
(11:34):
customer.
Also, be certain about what'sgoing to turn that customer off.
What is it something that youmight do that they would not
like?
If you're going for aminimalistic home decor lover,
if you are putting out somethingthat's way too glittery, right?
Something super shiny, way tooglittery is that going to turn
them off?
Are they going with classicinstead of traditional, or
(11:56):
modern instead of farmhouse,right?
What is it that they would notlike?
So think about that a littlebit as well.
Okay, so the next thing we haveto do is write a mission
statement, define our values andalso explain what our why is.
So this is going to be theheart behind our brand, that
it's just more than candlemaking.
Now here's a quick template foryou to use for your mission
statement.
We exist to what you do, forwho you serve, so they can
(12:22):
outcome or transformation thatyou're going for.
Let me read over what mymission statement is here that
we've started with.
Now, again, this is going tochange as we go through the
building out of this business.
But to start, here is themission statement that we came
up with.
We exist to create unapologetic, values-driven candles for
(12:43):
empaths, creatives andjustice-minded individuals, so
they can feel seen, empoweredand boldly connected to their
truth, without permission.
So that is our missionstatement that we're starting
with.
So that's going to relate tospecific customers and it
explains why we are doing this.
(13:03):
It's showing you that we arevalues-driven for specific
people.
After that, we need to definewhat our brand values are.
So you're going to want tochoose, say three to five of
these.
Write these down.
After you write down yourmission statement, you're going
to want to write down three orfive values, because we're going
to want to put all of thistogether here at the end.
So some example of values aregoing to be authenticity,
(13:26):
liberation, eco-friendly,community-focused mental health,
advocacy, boldness,sustainability, ritual,
emotional honesty.
So those are all differentvalues that you can have Now for
our brand.
We are going to go with.
The five that I chose isemotional honesty, liberation,
radical care, collective upliftand defiant expression.
(13:48):
So if you're seeing, afterreading my mission,
understanding who my niche is,who my target audience is, you
are going to start to see thisbrand come together.
The next thing we have to do isdefine our why.
So, in two to three sentences,we need to explain why we felt
called to create this candlebrand.
(14:09):
Why are we doing this?
This is like what is yourmotivation, and it's going to
help you shape your story.
So this is a.
The prompt for you to use isgoing to be what personal
experiences or frustrations ledyou here.
Who are you making your candlesfor?
Really, for us in this new brand, it's going to be, right now,
(14:31):
our why is that most candles onthe market?
They feel surface level andthey're disconnected from what
people are actually goingthrough.
I created this new brand forthose who feel deeply, who care
about justice and who are tiredof minimizing themselves to fit
in care about justice, and whoare tired of minimizing
themselves to fit in.
So these candles are a form ofprotest, affirmation and
(14:53):
self-connection.
These are built for anyonewho's ever feel like they've had
to dim their light just tobelong and to fit in.
So that is why we're creatingthis new brand.
If you're inside of the innercircle, we talk a little bit
more about this, a little bitabout our journey, some of the
things that really are importantto myself and my husband, chad,
(15:13):
and we want to create a brandthat is for that person, and so
defining our why is really goingto help shape the direction we
go.
Now.
You can do this with any typeof niche.
Once you have your niche, onceyou have your target audience,
you're then going to do thesethree things You're going to
write your mission statement,you're going to create your and
(15:35):
choose your brand values Threeto five of those are fine and
then you're going to define yourwhy.
So step three is that we haveto now name our brand.
Now it's optional, for now youdon't have to have a brand name
already picked out, butunderstanding you don't have to
have a brand name already pickedout, but understanding who your
audience is and what niche youwant to be in.
That should hopefully start tobuild some clarity around what
(15:56):
you should name your brand andthis should start to help giving
you some ideas there.
Now a couple of tips here.
You know, don't rush you.
You know, build clarity first.
Make sure that you have thatniche and target completely
understood in and out.
Then you can align that withyour values, your tone and your
target.
Start to brainstorm some wordsor phrases that might evoke the
(16:20):
brand's emotion.
And what is your customer using?
How is your customer speaking?
Pull from that some words andstart to put that together.
You can certainly use like chat, cvt or AI, but I really think
that naming your business isgoing to be really personal and
does it have to relate to yourcustomer?
Not necessarily.
(16:40):
It can be something that on thesurface doesn't necessarily
connect, where people may notunderstand it, but those that
know know if that makes senseand that's kind of a way of
bringing people in even closerand building those super fans.
So for us.
We named our new candle brandwithout permission.
(17:02):
So we are building a productfor that person, that empath,
that creative person, thatperson that gives love and care
for their neighbor just as muchas they do themselves and that
want to resist when they seeothers being hurt, in whatever
capacity that might be.
(17:22):
So that is what we are buildingthis brand around.
Now that might not resonatewith other people.
You might just think, oh, I'mjust trying to put a candle out
there to sell to people thatlike minimalistic home decor.
That's fine.
We're going to go really deepwith our candle brand and if
you're in the inner circle, wetalk about that quite a bit,
about some of our why and whatwe're trying to do.
(17:44):
But so that is going to be ourcandle brand.
Now, again, you don't have tohave one named today.
You can take some time, but Ireally work on putting meaning
behind it.
I think that's going to makeyour brand be more successful,
because when people see thiscandle now that says without
permission on it, and then theysee the visuals that go along
(18:04):
with it, they're going to reallyunderstand that we're putting
something together that they aregoing to relate to or relate
with.
And, again, it's not going tobe for everyone.
We will want everyone to wantour candles, of course, but
we're not targeting every singleperson and you're definitely
going to see some of thatthroughout some of the
advertising and the marketingand some of the copy that we're
(18:26):
going to be using for this newbrand.
So, by excluding some people,it's okay.
So the last step of the week isto create a mood board.
So that's the homework that Ihave for you Create a mood board
.
You can do this inside ofPinterest, inside of Canva.
This is putting together thevisuals that are going to
reflect your future candle line.
So this is going to be colors,fonts, aesthetics, different
(18:47):
quotes that you love to read,spaces that you like to be in,
and also the people.
What kind of people are goingto be buying your candles?
This is going to set the tonefor your packaging, your vibe,
your scent mood.
What you don't want to do is youdon't want to just copy what
someone else is doing.
You don't want to just copysomeone else's aesthetics unless
you're actually aligning withthat target.
(19:08):
Then you can make your ownmodified version of that brand,
but you really want to make surethat you're aligning with it
with what your niche is going tobe so that you can understand
you can relate to it, right?
So I'm not trying to put out ayou know Gucci line of candles
because I can't relate to that.
So hopefully that you knowresonates with you.
(19:30):
You want to put together a moodboard of all different types of
things that you like and seewhere the cohesion of those is
going to cross over so that youcan put out a brand that makes a
lot of sense.
You don't have to stick to justtwo or three colors.
We are actually going to haveseveral colors in our brand that
(19:51):
we are going to be able tochoose from.
So don't feel like you have tojust do like, say, black and
white.
You know, get more creative.
There's lots of tools out thereto set up a mood board, but I
think just doing it inside a canor Pinterest is going to be
completely fine.
So your homework is I challengeyou to build your mood board and
then write a paragraph thatdescribes that vibe that you're
(20:11):
going for, and then the lastthing that we're going to do is
we're going to end up bringingall of this together.
So you're going to bring inyour niche, your target market.
You're going to bring in yourmission, your values, and then
you're going to bring in thismood board and you're going to
create an entire brand with allof these things in mind.
And what's going to happen is,over the next several weeks, all
(20:31):
the decisions that we make isgoing to be based on everything
we did this week.
So this week we set afoundation.
Once you have all this together, then every decision that we
make from the supplies we choosewhat we can spend to create our
new product, from the marketing, the advertising all that stuff
(20:52):
that we do going forward isgoing to be based on what we did
this week.
So it's really important to getthis week's foundation set so
that we're going to have asuccessful next several weeks
together.
So thank you so much for beinghere.
Again, a big shout out to Tuatofor assisting and putting this
together for us.
Again, there is a link to theirwebsite below, where you can
(21:14):
actually save an additionalamount of money on top of any
sales that are possibly going.
So it is a unique link for youto click on.
And if you have any questionsfor myself, put them in the
comments below.
Come and join us in ourFacebook group or just visit
candlebusinessprocom, whereyou're going to get all kinds of
information.
You can actually come and joinus inside of the inner circle as
(21:34):
well.
Take care, and I'll see younext week.
Bye-bye.
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