Keep showing up, even if you think you’re failing

Being an entrepreneur is a weird journey. I’m writing this story in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic which is even weirder saying out loud. We have been on quarantine for over a month and it’s scary, but what it has done is given me a new perspective and helped me pivot my business offerings. It hasn’t allowed me to clean out my home of all the things I don’t want because my candle business is now busier than ever. I’ve learned over the years that it is the ability to be flexible that will either make you or break you being a “Girl Boss” and that, my friend, is proving itself as we speak.

My business journey started like many entrepreneurs, we find ourselves in search of a fix, and when we don’t find it, we create it. One thing leads to another and before you know it we are in business. My story is not that different. In 2014 I gave birth to my first daughter who was unexpectedly born with Spina Bifida (an opening in her back where her spine doesn't fully close). She developed Hydrocephalus (water on the brain) as a result. That led to a number of surgeries for my new baby girl straight out of delivery. A month or so later when we finally got home we noticed that her skin was starting to severely break out. When prescribed medicine didn’t work I turned to my roots and started using natural butters, herbs, and oils as my grand and great grandmothers used on me back home in Jamaica when I was younger. It was after using our homemade concoctions that I finally started to see improvements in my daughter's skin.

I became obsessively interested in essential oils, so much that I went out and got my certification in aromatherapy because I wanted to know more about how oils and scents affected us on a deeper level. I’m glad I did that program because it boosted my confidence in starting to explore creating more products. I started creating skincare products that my friends and family enjoyed and after seeing huge results they encouraged me to start selling these products. In 2015 I opened my Etsy shop and started selling my creations.

I started out with a variety of products, which was mistake # 1 looking back. I was making all the things with no set direction, but I kept on going. If I were to do this over I would start with fewer products targeted to a specific need. Over the years I refined my product line and eventually moved onto my own website, naturalannieessentials.com, where the real work started. It is one thing to flourish on Etsy as they have a built-in audience, but what I didn’t realize at the time was how time-consuming and hard it would be to have my home base website. I was still new, and not many people knew about me so now I would have to work overtime to push traffic to my new site. 

“In comes social media and pop-up shops….”

I can honestly say social media and pop-up shops have brought great exposure to my business. This is how most shoppers have found me. It was also a pop-up shop experience that switched the entire direction of my business in 2018. My husband and I traveled to a small pop-up shop in Brooklyn New York, our very first out of state show. It was at this event that we realized 3 out of 5 people who visited our table, after using our body washes, oils, and butters, asked about a candle. On our ride home from Brooklyn that night my husband kept on talking about adding candles to the lineup. I was hesitant at first but he persisted. We googled our way from Brooklyn to Connecticut that night (roughly 1.5 hours) to see what it would take to get into the candle space. That night when we got home I purchased my first candle kit and started making and testing candles within a week.

The process was fairly simple, the hard part was the testing. What a lot of people overlook with candle-making is how important the testing phase is, and in all honesty, I didn’t take it that serious then, either, which was why my first few batches of candles were less than perfect. No hot throw, lots of tunneling, you name it! But over time I perfected my art. In December 2019, I announced we were no longer moving forward with our bath and body line and would focus fully on the candle business. I can say that it was being willing and able to add candles to my company that has truly given us so much success.

Starting the Business

NaturalAnnie Essentials, the lifestyle candle company… this was definitely not what I had in mind when I started out, but it's the direction my business took on. We now offers soy candles for the home that are fragrant and true to scent, make beautiful decor pieces, and are colorful, witty, and relatable. I wanted my candles to stand out on a shelf. I wanted someone to be able to look at our Thoughts Collection and laugh. Or say, “OMG THAT IS SO ME!”

I mentioned social media earlier, and Instagram in particular has played such a huge roll in the company’s success. In 2019 I got an email from a Maker’s Mark looking to have us at their summer event. They found us on Instagram (@naturalannieessentials) and loved our vibe and candle designs. They hired us to create over 1,000 custom candles for the brand and to run a “make and take session” throughout the day at their 4th of July event. This was mind-blowing! First when I saw the email I thought it was yet another scam, until they reached out again two days later.  Finally, I replied and eventually got on the phone with them. THIS WAS REAL! To date, it has been one of our biggest brand collaborations, definitely one for the books. 

The entrepreneur journey is not a sprint, be ready for a marathon!

Somedays I feel like I'm spinning my wheels with no end in sight. It gets tiresome and sometimes discouraging. But it's the small steps we take day after day that eventually add up and will take us to the next level. Instagram, for example, has been a ride for me. I've spent years trying to make the ‘perfect feed’ but soon realized it’s the connections I make on the platform that really matters. Being professional, but real, showing the pretty, but also showing the not-so-pretty. It’s what I feel brings my audience to me. 

It’s not always fun and successful, and I also do not mind sharing this with my fellow entrepreneurs and audience. I found the ability to be able to share my wins and failures have opened up an unexpected door for me during this pandemic. For years I've had fellow aspiring and new candle makers reach out to me for help. I often felt terrible because time just did not allow for me to get back to everyone, and sometimes when I was able to reach out it was time I was taking away from my kids or business to do so. So I’ve now carved out some time to help these makers through what I call a “Pick My Brain Call.” This is where start-up candle makers or product-based entrepreneurs book a 30 or 60-minute time slot with me via my website to “pick my brain,” the call allows them to ask me whatever candle business-related questions they have and I help them in providing clarity on their business. My grandparents always said to me, “experience teaches wisdom” and I truly believe that! I lost thousands of dollars through trial and error when I started. I remember spending over $5,000 to do a wholesale trade show. Over the course of 3 days, I walked away from that show without a single order. Will I ever do a show again? Absolutely, but with a better strategy. I now get to share stuff like this in great detail with others and provide clarity as they look to get started.

Keep showing up, even if you think you’re failing! I live by this now as I have seen it happen so many times on my journey. If I stopped engaging and posting on Instagram every time someone didn’t like my photos I probably would have never landed that Maker’s Mark deal. If I had quit after every failed pop-up shop I participated in I would have never learned about a better show that turned out to be my best show. If I had quit after my first few batches of candles were a flop, I would not have a booming candle business today. If I had quit and not invested in masterminds and a coach I would have never had the courage to mentor someone else to be the best version of themselves. So to you my fellow maker friends, keep showing up! Adjust as needed and keep on going.

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