The Candle Couple Podcast: Recent Episodes
Katie Roering
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 9 employees. So how did we do it?
Welcome to the candle couple podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.
Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we spill the tea on how we scaled our e-commerce brand, Fontana Candle Co., from a basement hobby to a nationally recognized seven figure business. As founders Katie and Eric Roering, we understand the struggles of growing a brand and we're here to share our experience and tips to help you do it too. We've gone from selling candles at craft shows and maker markets to running a successful online business with 11+ employees.This is Season 2, Episode 2: Progress Over Perfection - Launching Your Business with a Minimum Viable ProductAre you waiting to launch your business until your products are perfect? Perfection isn't possible (and is truly in the eye of the beholder) and you may just be stifling yourself from trying anything new. We believe in launching with A minimum viable product (MVP). This is a version of a product with just enough features to be usable by early customers who can then provide feedback for future product development.This strategy aims to avoid building products that customers do not want and seeks to maximize information about the customer with the least money spent. This helps us to determine that our formulas are good, without spending too much on expensive custom packaging until we were sure that we were ready. It also helps us to see what will go wrong in manufacturing and fulfillment at scale. You can't test out or anticipate all the things that will go wrong without launching.By incrementally focusing on each stair in front of us, instead of the whole staircase, allowed us to make progress and eventually we had a candle brand that looked good, smelled good, and sold well. IF we would have expected to be perfect right away, we would have given up pretty quickly.We've also learned to block out the unhelpful criticism, and hone in on the feedback that we can use to actually improve our products and our company. Is there a pattern to the feedback you are getting or is it one off?There is actually a joy in the journey of learning and growing. So if you're ready to learn how to grow your own seven figure candle business (or any business for that matter), hit that play button now! Don't forget to like, subscribe, and leave a comment below with your biggest takeaway from this episode. Let's light up those sales together!Timestamps:0:44 Striving for perfection will stop you from launching1:25 What is perfection? It is a personal preference1:55 Minimum Viable Product for feedback3:40 Testing manufacturing and fulfillment at scale4:10 Don't go too big too fast5:00 Our Product Development Team for honest feedback6:04 MVP for a candle: safe and quality burn6:40 Pumps/Sprays and other packaging needs to work8:00 Evaluating feedback for repeated patterns9:28 Continuous Improvement11:37 Skip the process? Use a professional co-man13:13 The joy in the journey of creation14:25 This podcast is a MVP15:50 Makers Markets as a market test group16:30 Customer surveys via email are invaluableDisclaimer:Disclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.
Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we spill the tea on how we scaled our e-commerce brand, Fontana Candle Co., from a basement hobby to a nationally recognized seven figure business in just 4 years. As founders Katie and Eric Roering, we understand the struggles of growing a brand and we're here to share our experience and tips to help you do it too.We've gone from selling candles at craft shows and maker markets to running a successful online business with 11+ employees supporting not only our family but also 12 others. In this episode, we dive into the nitty gritty of our journey and discuss the importance of focusing on what truly matters in order to scale quickly. Trust us, we've learned this lesson firsthand.Join us as we reflect on the most challenging year yet for our business and share how we pushed through it all. So if you're ready to learn how to grow your own seven figure candle business (or any business for that matter), hit that play button now! Don't forget to like, subscribe, and leave a comment below with your biggest takeaway from this episode. Let's light up those sales together!Timestamps:1:06 Our business needed us more than we need this podcast2:40 We moved to a 6500 sq ft facility, doubling our size4:40 Cash flow got really tight in Q3. Growth consumes cash 8:30 We invested heavily this year and took big risks9:50 Pros/Cons of using a Co-manufacturer11:20 The year of custom packaging12:40 Barriers to entry are low, but now we see how funding truly helps scaling15:00 You're never off. Losing knowledgeable employees16:50 Managing a 7 figure candle business: experience matters now19:50 Should we spend time doing this podcast?!20:40 Broaden your circle for new ideas and ask for help!23:00 Data driven decisions27:00 Focus on quality and building processes30:00 Goals for 2024Disclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 14 employees. So how did we do it?
Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.
Its the end of June, and our facility is smelling like Fall and Christmas. So why are we starting production for "candle season" so early? We discuss how our peak season is getting earlier and earlier for us, and how with forecasting we know we can't pour everything we need to in October, November, and December. Instead of losing out on sales at our busiest time of year with out of stock scenarios, we are using our cash and excess capacity now- during our slow season.
Welcome to Episode 26: Should You Get Ready for Candle Season in June and July?! We are!
Timestamps: 00:40 Our peak is getting earlier 1:14 Wholesale is several months ahead 2:25 Pouring Christmas in June: our forecasting 3:27 Mitigating burnout for our team 4:40 This is cash intensive 5:00 Room for storage 5:50 Know your numbers 6:30 Opportunity cost of selling out during high volume seasons 6:50 Were moving in August 7:45 Launching new scents 9:10 Hiring temp staff? 9:50 Protecting our team and company culture 11:19 Opportunities for overtime
Disclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.
Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 12 employees. So how did we do it?
Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.
We avoided selling on Amazon for 5 years and we're talking about why it took us so long to get over our fears and join the platform. We discuss why we finally made the decision to sell on Amazon, working with an Amazon agency, and we talk about how it's going so far. Katie and Eric have different takes on how it's going. If you've been thinking about selling your candles on Amazon, this episode is for you.
Welcome to Episode 25: Arguing Over Amazon: Should You Sell Your Candles on Amazon?
Timestamps: 00:58 Avoided Amazon for 5 years 1:18 Fear of high return rates 2:00 The convenience factor 2:27 Satisfy the customer 3:30 Our decision to sell on Amazon 4:50 Using an Amazon Agency 6:03 FBA vs FBM: following the chocolate schedule 7:20 Speed of shipping 9:18 Trialing Amazon? The argument 10:24 Eric's take: Amazon is painful 11:02 Our Margin & running ads 13:27 This is an omnichannel world 14:38 We need volume 15:24 Our return rate 17:00 Let's reevaluate 19:40 Reviews are everything
Disclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.
Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 12 employees. So how did we do it?
Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.
Launching new candles is a big part of running a successful candle business. What is the best way to manage these launches?
We really streamlined this process in the last year, which now allows us to crank our new scents and products much faster than ever before, using collaboration from our entire team. We attribute having a process and a procedure which allows us to launch new scents several times a month to our engaged and enthusiastic community of customers. This has attributed to our 2x revenue growth YTD 2023, even as the economy is in turmoil.
Welcome to Episode 24: The Steps to a Successful New Candle Launch
Timestamps: 00:40 From struggling to streamlining the process 1:30 Use Tech to help you 2:00 How do we know when and what to launch? 3:20 Our scent development is complex 4:40 Scent Testing 5:50 Variability in formulation timelines 6:40 Caution when mixing fragrances 7:30 Candle Burn Testing/Wick Testing 9:05 The step you can't skip! 9:50 Building the Bill of Materials (BOM) 10:15 Determining the prices 10:50 Buying raw materials for production 11:05 Marketing: label design, barcodes, product copy 11:40 Start teasing the product 11:50 Label printing & photography 12:20 Professional contractors a key to our success 13:20 Identify a launch date 14:00 You want your customers anticipating the launch 14:20 Klaviyo waiting list 15:15 Using footage from production on Social 15:20 Our launch timelines
Resources: The Software We Use: • The Software We U...
Disclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable. Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 12 employees. So how did we do it?
Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.
We just got back from our first vacation in almost 3 years, and were talking about why it took us so long to go away, and how we're feeling about returning. We also discuss burn out, and our goals for the remainder of 2023.
Welcome to Episode 23: Real Life: Our First Vacation in 3 Years, and our Business Goals for the Remainder of 2023
Timestamps: 00:42 Still in vacation mode 1:30 Never fully disconnected 2:20 Why we didn't go on vacation for so long 4:46 How has the business affected Eric's family life? 7:40 Course correcting 8:02 Were you burned out? 11:20 Eric's business goals 14:04 Katie's business goals
Resources: Visit Gatlinburg, TN: https://www.gatlinburg.com/
Disclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.
Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 12 employees. So how did we do it? Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.Everyone has an opinion, and every follower and customer has a voice now with many avenues to express them on. Social media has erased so many barriers for customers to share their thoughts and feelings with companies. This can be such a positive thing for companies to listen to - you can spot problems and mitigate product and service complaints. However, this can be completely overwhelming and not every piece of feedback has merit, because your customers do not know the inner workings of your business, or even bother to read your business polices. We discuss the issues we receive negative comments for the most, and how we try to respond to mitigate the issue.Welcome to Episode 22: Responding to Negative Customer FeedbackTimestamps:00:50 Katie' struggles with this this most1:50 Customers are closer than ever to companies2:30 You hear negative feedback far more than positive feedback3:30 Managing customer expectations3:51 Personal opinion vs. a mistake4:20 Apologizing for mistakes5:10 Policies: guaranteeing defects5:50 Policies: dislike of scent6:20 Scaling customer service for consistency7:40 Peak times for negative customer feedback8:30 Policies: Products not arriving in time10:45 Negative comments on social11:58 Thank customers for their feedback12:12 Identify problem SKUs from patterns in feedback12:58 No knee jerk reactions13:22 Managing unrealistic expectations14:58 Customers that don't reach out to customer service for a resolution16:49 The internet is always on17:00 Any 3rd party companies that can help with your problem areas?Resources:The Software We Use: https://youtu.be/U1YjZazTJKoScaling Customer Service: https://youtu.be/gHCb2y9wC00Disclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable. Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, I'm Katie Roering... Eric looks a little different today...He is sitting this episode out because we have a special guest on our podcast today.If you've never gone viral before on social, the allure is there. You think this may be your one big break for your business to really make it.And it really could be.But is going viral once the answer to growing a sustainable business?Today we talk to a master of organic social content, Cameron Broadhurst.Cam has gone viral on TikTok more times than he can probably remember, for the cookie company Taylor Chip, where he is the Creative Director.We have a special relationship with Cam, as he also works on our social team, as one of our independent contractors. He is trying to create our own magic formula to keep our candle company going viral too. Timestamps:00:49 Cam's background: self taught social media 4:00 Collaborative Content: CEO swap5:27 Storytelling to grab attention: Cam's viral videos7:20 Donald the Mailman8:45 The first video to hit a million views: Jim10:17 Best performing video11:00 The barrier to entry to TikTok success is now really high11:30 Cam's idea for our TikTok13:49 Our biggest videos15:00 Responding to comments on Tiktok15:40 How did the viral videos effect the business?17:30 Driving conversions from the video views20:11 Going viral is a good foundation21:20 Constantly driving traffic: 48-72 hour window22:45 Cam's favorite platformResources:Taylor Chip Cookies: https://taylorchip.com/?sscid=51k7_him6l&CEO Swap Video: https://youtu.be/lEXg-6AFjJQTaylor Chip TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorchipCam's most viewed video: https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorchip/video/7097018511436074286?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7227793734669551147Donald the Postman video: https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorchip/video/7093994243168963882?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7227793734669551147The Original Jim video: https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorchip/video/6984927473397959942?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7227793734669551147Disclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable. Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 12 employees. So how did we do it? Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too. This is Episode 20: How to Market Your Candle Business Using Influencer & Affiliate MarketingAn influencer program can be a strategic channel for growth, if done right. Today we're discussing how our Affiliate Program started very organically with product seeding, and has grown into a full time program with over 100 active affiliates. We get candid with our frustrations with the program, our wins, and how we are continuing to learn what works best for our company!00:41 Whats the difference between Affiliates and Influencers?1:30 A strategic channel for growth2:00 Product Seeding3:53 Budget your gifting5:00 Every candle matters. Or does it?6:25 You need lots of eyes on your business7:05 Finding influencers in your niche is key8:50 Outreach in the beginning10:10 Our first big campaign: a turning point11:40 Loyalty?12:40 Current Market Rates13:20 Over saturation of the market?15:12 Take control of the deliverables15:40 Top of funnel vs. bottom of the funnel17:20 Time consuming program18:38 Our KPIs20:56 We're still learning
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 12 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too. This is Episode 19:The Biggest Challenges Running A (Million Dollar) Candle Business. Spoiler alert: our challenges are no longer about crafting the perfect candle anymore. Timestamps:00:25 The challenges continue to grow and change1:20 Failure is not an option: 12 people depend on us3:00 Employee challenges3:30 Hiring and firing5:00 Know your weaknesses6:49 Processes and standards for multiple candlemakers7:40 Growth consumes cash9:00 Seasonal Business13:00 We operate off 2 budgets14:00 Tax Implications16:00 Sales Tax18:25 We are no longer makers and artisans20:25 You can't do it all20:45 Work life imbalance23:00 Embrace the suck24:18 The love affair of entrepreneurship25:00 Starting with more money?25:35 Looking back at the last yearResources:Quitting Our Jobs and Going All In On Our Candle Business: https://youtu.be/FFw95o81M1kHow to Weather Seasonality in Your Candle Business: https://youtu.be/wRpSR_slmLoWhat Is It Really Like to Run a Candle Business with Your Spouse: https://youtu.be/QSga_Ieh48oDisclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable. Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 12 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.This is Episode 18: How to (Digitally) Market Your Candle Business in 2023We're now in Q2 of 2023, and we're ready to do a deep dive into which digital marketing strategies worked so far this year, and which ones didn't work. Digital Marketing is an always shifting landscape (those darn algorithms!), so how are we pivoting our marketing strategies with the information we have now?Disclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 12 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.This is Episode 17: What We Wish We Knew Before Starting Our Candle BusinessThis topic has been done quite a bit already on Youtube, but we think with our scale, we bring a slightly different perspective to this. We are sharing what we have learned from owning our million dollar candle business.Timestamps:1:15 What is your end goal? 2:40 Our life is our business3:00 We are not candle makers anymore4:20 This is a volume business5:00 The market is very crowded: what's your marketing strategy?5:30 Makers Markets & Craft Shows make great market test groups8:18 Record keeping for success9:20 Dead inventory is a cash suck10:00 How many scents should you start with?11:00 Make data driven business decisions11:50 Business Mentors are a key to success13: 40 Trust but verify14:20 It's ok to say no!Resources:Find a SCORE Mentor: https://www.score.org/Disclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 12 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.Today we are sharing one of the most important calculations that we use almost daily in our business: how to calculate margin per order. You may not have the capacity to do it daily like we do, but it is a tool to use to understand if you are truly making money in your eCommerce business once all fulfillment costs, labor, and platform sellers fees are considered. Because of this calculation, we know that one item orders have low margins and cost us money when we used a 3PL for fulfillment. This knowledge gives us the clarity to focus on incentivizing larger average order values (AOVs) through bundles, free shipping incentives, and up-selling accessories.Timestamps:1:11 Eric's background in Finance2:00 Strategy meeting with a CPA for your tax strategy2:40 Do your research for your own brand3:33 Sales margin per order4:20 Understand Excel for success4:30 Example: negative margin bundles, gift sets, heavy items6:50 Spreadsheet for margin calculation11:35 One item orders hurt our business12:13 Marketing Strategy: driving up AOV13:15 Using free shipping incentives to increase AOV14:10 Streamlining shipping to reduce labor costs14:29 Sorting the data: investigating orders under 50% margin17:00 Platform seller fees18:37 Selling on AmazonResources:How to Price Your Candles for a Profitable Candle Business: https://youtu.be/Ap6vodBP3dEHow Much Does it Cost to Start a Candle Business? https://youtu.be/KYiq2Gv1LNwHow Much Money Can you Really Make Running a Candle Business At Home? https://youtu.be/kBrUwM2PiTADisclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 12 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.Today we are sharing how our wholesale business has changed as our business has grown, how to protect yourself with large wholesale orders, and what it is really like to talk with big wholesale buyers. We're talking the BIG ONES. You will learn why we said no to Anthropologie, Whole Foods, and Thrive Market. And how saying no to one of these is one of Katie's biggest regrets in the business to date.Welcome to Episode 15: Selling Your Candles Wholesale: The Journey through Consignment, Faire, and why we said no to AnthropologieTimestamps:00:59 Sales reps for ourselves1:30 Wholesale pricing2:12 Drives volume2:40 Loss of control3:00 Networking through Makers Markets4:00 Consignment4:50 Risks of consignment5:40 Benefits of Consignment7:40 Paying rent for a retail space9:20 Don't shotgun every opportunity10:00 Stock for the season10:18 Our biggest order ever11:00 Logistics for palletized orders: INCO TERMS14:40 Scaling Wholesale: Faire16:40 When we turned off new wholesale accounts17:00 Wholesale packouts for shipping17:50 Large retailers: we said noResources:How to Price Your Candles for a Profitable Candle Business: https://youtu.be/Ap6vodBP3dEApply to sell on Faire: https://www.faire.com/apply/fontanacandlecoDisclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 12 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.Today we will discuss one of the most asked questions of those just starting in their candle business journey: how to price their candles. This is one of the most important foundations for a profitable business.Eric, a former CPA and our current Chief Financial Officer, will walk you through the pricing strategies he uses in our 7 figure candle brand.Welcome to Episode 14: How to Price Your Candles for a Profitable Candle BusinessTimestamps:1:46 understanding weights2:41 building a BOM (Bill of Materials)5:30 How often do we look at our pricing?6:06 Software needed for pricing7:15 Adding up COGs8:13 Direct Labor Costs9:29 Indirect Labor Costs10:45 Overhead Costs11:15 Forecasting what you will sell13:23 How are you paying yourself?14:40 Reinvesting back into your business15:20 Shrink costs16:40 Selling wholesale18:46 This is a volume business19:00 Does your pricing make sense for your brand and niche?19:40 The Psychology of pricing20:17 Subsidizing shipping costs21:40 Decreasing COGS: vessels and labelsResources:Previous Episode: The Software We Use: • The Software We U... MRP Easy: https://app.mrpeasy.com/ctrl/partner/... Disclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 12 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.This is Episode 13: How to Weather Seasonality in Your Candle BusinessThere is no doubt about it, there is a definitive candle season. Ours is typically August through Mother's Day. There are several ways to weather this seasonality. How do we keep our employees working year round without crippling our cash flow in the slow months? And when we ship candles in the summer, how in the heck do we keep them from melting?Timestamps:00:49 Slow season is right around the corner for candle businesses1:30 Do you offer other products to offset slow season?2:20 How do you structure your labor force?3:17 Our peak season3:40 Diversifying our products4:00 Cash flow analysis of making fall & holiday stock during slow season5:42 Candles are not an essential item6:24 Collections of products by scent for cross-selling opportunities7:40 We made a mistake in naming our company9:20 Shipping candles in the SummerDisclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 12 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.Today we are sharing the foundations your customer service program needs for success: clean and concise policies and procedures that are on-brand and can scale.We will discuss returns & exchanges, support with lost and stolen packages, packages that are undelieverable, and so much more.You will learn that although Katie is in charge of the Customer Care Team at Fontana, it is one of the most emotionally taxing things she does.Timestamps:00:50 Customer Service can be emotionally taxing1:30 Outsourcing Customer Service?2:13 Unrealistic customer expectations2:20 Set your policies early and have them visible3:30 Avoid inconsistencies from customer to customer3:54 Allow edits of orders?5:50 Allow customers to choose their shipping options?6:50 Allow shipping to APO addresses? International shipping?8:20 Returns & Exchanges: Reverse Logistics13:18 Delivered but not received14:00 Fraudulent Claims15:00 Chargebacks & Route Package Protection16:40 Shipping Restrictions17:30 Undelieverable Packages: RTS18:58 Where do you want customers to contact you?19:30 Software: Gorgias20:31 Customer Service hours20:50 Our Customer Service BenchmarksResources:Gorgias: https://www.gorgias.com/ (Tell them Fontana Candle Co. referred you!)Previous Episode: The Software We Use: • The Software We U... Route Package Protection: https://route.com/merchantsDisclaimer:Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 11 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.Today we are sharing how it is has truly been to grow a 7 figure company with our spouse, and how our challenges and lack of work life balance, led us to a transition that we are currently going through.You will hear that working 24/7 with your spouse isn't all rainbows and butterflies.Timestamps:00:50 Immunity for this episode1:08 Background of our marriage2:00 Transition period: gaining independence2:40 Unhealthy amount of time together3:50 Setting parameters for the next stage of growth4:30 Separation of duties5:20 Different expectations: difficulties managing6:32 Expectations: theme from our marriage counseling7:20 Power struggles: who is really in charge?8:40 We just hired a general manager9:14 Work life balance: the business has become our identity10:48 We don't go on vacations11:12 Leaving our business wasn't an option12:12 Supporting our new manager by not stepping on her toes13:20 Spouses switching roles: watching your partner struggle14:40 You can only fake it for so long15:30 Seeing opportunity16:00 Making sacrifices18:12 Working together was our ultimate goal19:05 More opportunities to disagree20:00 Being a sounding board vs. a hindrance Disclaimer:Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 10 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.Today we are sharing how much it cost us to start our candle business in 2018! Welcome to Episode 10: How Much Does it Cost to Start a Candle Business?Timestamps:1:15 Choosing ingredients & supplies: testing, testing, testing $3,3003:43 Branding Costs: logo, label design $2,0005:29 Equipment Costs: presto pots, pour pitches, scales, heatguns $1,8006:40 Save big on shipping with local suppliers8:00 First year COGS: $12,0008:34 Craft shows and Makers Markets $60-$150 a show10:15 Website expenses: domain, hosting $400-$90011:00 Business protection: LLC filing $1,50011:38 Insurance $600 - $1,50012:20 Trademarks $500- $1,20013:50 Photography & Videography $250- $2,00016:00 Shipping supplies & expenses17:00 Using credit card rewards points for cash18:10 Marketing costs18:35 Don't over-market beyond what you can make and fulfill19:58 Software: Quickbooks20:18 Tax Accounting20:52 Total Spend to start our businessResources:Shopify: https://shopify.pxf.io/x9V6WxShipStation: https://mbsy.co/6rH6DqThe Software We Use in Our 7 Figure Candle Business: https://youtu.be/U1YjZazTJKoThe Marketing Strategies We used to Grow Our Candle Business: https://youtu.be/3EnLQY95PnMUsing Video to Market Your Candle Business: https://youtu.be/47koqe99edQBranding & Marketing a 6 Figure Candle Business: https://youtu.be/ZIBVWappTakDisclaimer:Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 10 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.Today we are sharing how and when we decided to quit our jobs and go "all in" on our candle business.Welcome to Episode 9: Quitting our Jobs and Going All In on our Candle BusinessThis is a scary step and took us 3 years into our business to make the leap! Learn all about how we prepared our finances, lived frugally, and never took any money out of our business up to that point.Timestamps:0:53 What is our definition of going all in?1:49 Our timeline2:40 Eric quits his job3:37 Saving up but having a back up plan4:48 Never taking money out of the business and reinvesting for growth5:40 Living frugally is a key to our success: financial literacy6:30 Success: never worried about money since Eric left his job8:49 We don't have children- that would change everything for us9:19 Our largest PO solidified the decision10:35 Our whole life went all in on the business11:40 We work all the time12:30 Hiring a manager because our schedule is not sustainable13:10 Do not burn any bridges13:50 Growth consumes cash15:00 Conclusion: should you go all in?Disclaimer:Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 9 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.The biggest operational challenge with scaling is ensuring your processes are able to handle the growth. With increased volumes, your procurement, inventory of raw materials, demand planning, production scheduling, finished good inventory, and cash management processes need to become more robust. You need to be able to also scale your marketing efforts, and your customer service to both generate large volumes of traffic, and then also serve the volume. Yes, you could hire more and more employees to handle the volume that comes with growth, but we have learned that you also need to have the right technology in place.Today we are sharing the technology we used in the last year to generate a million dollars in revenue, and were also sharing how much we spent on the different software and apps.Welcome to Episode 8: Our Tech Stack that Made us a Million Dollars (and how much it cost us!)Timestamps:1:40 Technology fuels growth2:15 Our eCommerce platform: Shopify4:35 Shopify help as you grow4:55 Shopify Capital for working capital6:52 Route Package Protection8:17 Bundle Builder App8:45 Recharge Subscriptions9:19 Wholesale: Faire11:13 Task Management: Asana12:35 Finance & Payroll: Quickbooks13:57 Employee Time Management: UAttend14:32 MRPeasy15:34 Customer Service: Gorgias18:35 Shipping: ShipStation20:10 Graphic Design: Canva20:20 Video Editing: Splice & Adobe Premiere Pro20:59 Email Marketing & SMS: Klaviyo23:50 Total Cost of our Tech Stack25:30 Making Changes to our tech stack to help us double revenueResources:Shopify: https://shopify.pxf.io/x9V6WxFaire Wholesale: https://www.faire.com/apply/fontanacandlecoMRPeasy: https://app.mrpeasy.com/ctrl/partner/link/170Gorgias: https://www.gorgias.com/ (Tell them Fontana Candle Co. referred you!)ShipStation: https://mbsy.co/6rH6DqKlaviyo: https://www.klaviyo.com/Disclaimer:Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 9 employees. So how did we do it.Welcome to the candle couple podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too. This episode is a little different- our first one with a guest! Please welcome our good friend Logan Tremellen, owner of Tremellen Media House, and host of the Defying Odds Podcast! Logan is one of the videographers that we use to help us market our candle company.Today we are talking to Logan about how you MUST use video to market your business!Resources:Tremellen Media House: https://www.tremellenmediahouse.com/Defying Odds Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@LoganTremellenWe are now available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Timestamps:0:24 Logan's background3:01 Using video to deliver value5:04 Why do businesses need to use video for marketing?5:45 Scaling opportunities with video6:45 The algorithms are pushing video7:00 How long should a video be?7:55 Using one video to make dozens of pieces of content8:35 Tips for businesses getting started: add value11:15 How do you know if you should hire someone to help you make content?12:51 Consistency matters13:30 Which platform should you start on?15:40 What kind of content should a business make?17:15 What should you look for when hiring a videographer?19:38 Staging matters for our candle shootsDisclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable. Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.Key moments
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 9 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to the candle couple podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too. Welcome to Episode 6: Scaling MarketingThe different marketing opportunities truly are endless- I could talk for hours about different marketing options to drive sales, and today I will try to sum up the Marketing Strategies we used over the last 4 years to generate 6 and 7 figures of revenue.And yes, it did include sending out LOTS of free candles!Timestamps:1:38 Foundations: branding and understanding your niche2:18 Organic marketing vs. paid marketing2:57 We focus on organic marketing4:05 Email marketing5:10 Incentives for joining email list5:38 Protect your sender reputation6:01 SMS/ Text Marketing6:41 Instagram was our everything7:40 Edutainment8:25 Doing marketing as a solo entrepreneur9:33 Interact for a highly engaged account10:06 Collaborations11:15 Going Live12:20 You can't say yes to every opportunity13:34 Affiliate Marketing14:13 We give away a lot of free product18:35 Follower count doesn't mean everything20:30 Pay Per Click22:08 Search Engine Optimization23:30 Time & Testing for success25:35 You have to spend moneyDisclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable. Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 9 employees. So how did we do it?
Welcome to the candle couple podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.
Last Episode we talked about Procurement Success, because you need enough supplies and ingredients to make enough candles to make 6 and 7 figures. But now, it is important to talk about another key to operations success: having a place that is set up to help you (and not hinder you) to make your revenue goals.
As we talked in our first episode, there are low barriers to entry for candle businesses (and almost all eCommerce businesses). Most people start them out of their home, which is a really great way to help your cash flow while you determine if you have a viable business. When we started our business, we operated out of our home for ten months before signing the lease on a small warehouse space. So, how did we know that our business was ready for that move? And how much revenue did we end up making out of our home?
Join us as we talk about all the financial considerations, insurance impacts, legal considerations, and even considerations when needing to hire employees. If you have an at-home candle business, you won't want to miss this episode!
Resources:
What Percentage of Rent Should You Pay? https://smallbusiness.chron.com/percentage-rent-should-pay-according-business-gross-income-71111.html Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/candlecouplepodcast
We are now available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
Timestamps: 1:33
Our history of starting in our home
3:14 What percentage of revenue was our rent at our first warehouse?
3:40 Problems operating out of our home
6:08 Are you legally allowed to operate out of your home?
7:20 Moving out of our warehouse and back into our house
8:11 Not enough room at home: outsourcing to a 3PL
9:14 What is a 3PL?
11:20 Cost analysis for a 3PL
12:01 How much revenue did we really make at home?
13:11 Insurance Considerations
15:10 More financial considerations
16:05 We've outgrown our space now
16:50 Commercial spaces can be really hard to find
18:20 Space requirements with employees
18:50 Having a commercial realtor is a key to success
21:39 Using us as a benchmark: We did $1 million in a 3,000 sq ft space
Disclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable. Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
When talking about success in eCommerce, we split eCommerce success into two branches:you must have both Product success and Operations success. You must have an online ready product, as well as a marketing strategy across many different channels. We discussed the marketing and branding foundations that we felt were requirements for having a 6 and 7 figure business in our previous episodes. Now we are going to move onto building Operational Success.The biggest operational challenge with scaling is ensuring your processes are able to handle the growth. With increased volumes, your procurement, inventory of raw materials, demand planning, production scheduling, finished good inventory, and cash management processes need to become more robust. Our first year, we sold just under 2,000 candles, this year we are projecting selling nearly 50,000 products. Making 25 times more product than our first year, requires a very different approach. Today we have a full blown MRP (material requirements planning) system that manages every aspect, from procurement, to production, and inventory management.Why do all of this work? One of the most difficult tasks for companies is cash management. When you have payroll, rent, insurance, utilities, car payments, etc, all these fixed costs take your cash. You cannot have cash tied up in raw materials that are not needed, nor in slow moving finished goods. Having a good, and well set up, MRP system along with good historical sales data can really help you plan inventory needs. You do not want to run too lean that you risk out of stock scenarios, this is especially evident the last two years, but you do not want to tie up too much cash in unnecessary inventory.Resources:MRPeasy: https://app.mrpeasy.com/ctrl/partner/link/170 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/candlecouplepodcast/We are now available on Apple Podcasts and SpotifyTimestamps:1:22 Are your processes able to handle growth?2:02 Our Benchmarks: where we started vs. now4:33 Buying ingredients at the grocery store? 5:16 Everything is a time cost5:39 Eric's Corporate background in Procurement8:25 Developing Supplier Relationships for consistent products10:20 Technology to streamline Procurement: MRPeasy12:27 Excel spreadsheets for Procurement?13:05 You have to invest in software to grow13:32 How we use MRPeasy15:57 MRPeasy saved us over the holidays16:69 It takes a lot of time to maintain18:34 How do you forecast growth?19:27 We refuse to more than 2x sales year to year20:00 Understanding Working Capital & Cash Flow21:51 Out of Stock Scenarios22:40 Slow moving inventory is a killer23:25 Know your data24:20 Having options is the best thing in ProcurementDisclaimer: Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 9 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to the candle couple podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.When talking about success in eCommerce, we split eCommerce success into two branches:you must have both Product success and operations success. You must have an online ready product, as well as a marketing strategy across many different channels. The different marketing opportunities truly are endless- we could talk for hours about different marketing options to drive sales, and I will definitely talk about several of them more in depth in future episodes. Last episode we discussed finding your niche, so you can truly understand your customer and their needs.The next foundation for product success is having strong brand elements. Customers have their expectations, and we think having a professional brand presence is a non-negotiable element to building a 6 or 7 figure brand. Timestamps:00:46 eCommerce Success: Product Success and Operations Success1:27 Strong brand elements lead to product success1:50 Customer Expectations2:25 Your product conveys a message4:01 Does branding get overlooked?5:25 What would we do differently to our branding?6:35 You can only go so far with DIY branding7:15 The time cost of doing your own branding7:50 What is your goal for your business?8:40 Our journey to our branding9:50 Making changes to your branding as your grow10:45 The investment we made12:00 Brand Guidelines: consistency is everything13:30 Our branding opened big doors for us14:57 Our designer is an independent contractor, but we work with her frequently15:50 Different design elements for the segments of the candle industry17:17 Professional Photography and videography20:07 Professional Social Media Presence20:38 Having a distinct brand voice22:20 Protecting your brand elements with trademarks24:30 Episode Summary26.42 GS1 Barcodes are an investment but also a necessityResources:*We are not on this platform to educate on the toxins in Fragrance. We do this daily with Fontana Candle Co. If you would like to learn more, please visit the articles in our Bee Well Blog: https://fontanacandlecompany.com/blogs/bee-well-blog or follow Fontana Candle Co. on instagram https://www.instagram.com/fontanacandlecompany/Disclaimer:Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi, we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 9 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to The Candle Couple Podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too. When talking about success in eCommerce, we split eCommerce success into two branches:you must have both Product success and operations success. You must have an online ready product, as well as a marketing strategy across many different channels. The different marketing opportunities truly are endless- I could talk for hours about different marketing options to drive sales, and I will definitely talk about several of them more in depth in future episodes. But first lets lay the foundation to all of your future Marketing with step 1: Finding Your nicheA niche is a targeted product or solution for an unmet need or under-served market. Having a niche determines the focus of your business, it determines the audience that you are targeting and building a relationship with. It allows you to focus on an area to become an expert and a leader in.Timestamps:0:46 eCommerce Success: Product Success & Operations Success2:13 The Competitiveness of the Candle Industry2:37 What is your niche?3:52 What is you why? Everything starts with why.7:01 How did we find our why?10:10 Find your niche as early as possible12:20 We know our customer really well13:10 Targeting our audience14:05 Expanding our niche?16:40 Our affiliate program represents our niche17:40 Caution if you are starting a candle business!18:52 Will your customers connect with your story?19:05 Driving repeat sales because customers are expensive12:30 Takeaways from this episodeResources:Simon Sinek: “Start with Why.”*We are not on this platform to educate on the toxins in Fragrance. We do this daily with Fontana Candle Co. If you would like to learn more, please visit the articles in our Bee Well Blog https://fontanacandlecompany.com/blogs/bee-well-blog, or follow Fontana Candle Co. on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fontanacandlecompany/Disclaimer:Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Hi we’re Katie and Eric Roering; the founders of Fontana Candle Co. In 4 years we took our hobby of making candles in our basement, and selling them at craft shows and makers markets and we turned Fontana into a nationally recognized eCommerce brand. This year we are doing 7 figures of revenue and have 9 employees. So how did we do it?Welcome to the candle couple podcast, where we will share the nitty gritty of scaling our e-commerce brand quickly. We are spilling the tea, so hopefully we can help you scale your brand quickly too.We won’t be talking about how to make candles- there’s plenty of resources about this topic already.Instead, we want to talk about all the business aspects behind being a “candle business.”So many others talk about their story of scaling and really skip through all the blood, sweat, and tears. They start out by talking about their journey making the product at home, and then quickly skip to the end where they sell their company for billions to a big CPG. No, but really, we found stories like this so frustrating. Like how did you really scale procurement, manufacturing, and fulfillment? How did you handle your marketing? Your HR? That is what we are diving into.We may be a candle business, but we also identify as being a marketing company, a manufacturing company, and a logistics company. There are so many things that we have to be good at, to be a successful company- that just happens to sell candles. So even if you aren’t wanting to own a candle company, but want to learn more about eCommerce and social media marketing, or influencer marketing- this podcast is for you.Timestamps:0:55 Why are we doing this podcast?2:27 What do we want to cover on this podcast?4:55 This podcast is for all eComm businesses, and not just candle businesses.6:54 Our backgrounds12:10 Why did we start a candle business?17:01 Process is everything, but it is always changing as we grow rapidly17:50 Time costsResources:The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber *We are not on this platform to educate on the toxins in Fragrance. We do this daily with Fontana Candle Co. If you would like to learn more, please visit the articles in our Bee Well Blog: https://fontanacandlecompany.com/blog... or follow Fontana Candle Co. on instagram https://www.instagram.com/fontanacand...Disclaimer:Everything shared in our videos is from our own personal experience, and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek legal guidance from a business attorney and certified public accountant. Everyone is responsible for their own business structure and business practices, and we will not be held accountable.Since we love the companies we talk about so much, we may have an affiliate relationship with them. If you make a purchase through the above links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. There is no additional cost to you.