Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in candle-making but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jacki Smith, Co-Owner of Coventry Creations, located in Ferndale, MI, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
At Coventry Creations, we make candles. But not just any candles, we make intention candles. People all over the world and from all walks of life use our candles to help them achieve their goals, overcome challenges, or make positive life changes. They choose the candle which sentiment best fits the solution they desire and use it as a focal point for their intention. The blend of color, scent, herbs, and blessing creates an energetic shift, helping the intention manifest as a new reality in their life. As you can see, our candles – along with our oils, sprays, and other magical products – provide alternative solutions to everyday problems. We like to think that we help people live their best lives.
Over the past 30 years, Coventry Creations has become one of the most well-known and respected intention candle makers in the world. And while we’ve grown significantly over that time, our core values and approach to making candles have remained the same. We still mix and pour each candle by hand using locally sourced, all-natural ingredients. We continue to make Southeast Michigan our home base with our factory located in beautiful Ferndale, just minutes from downtown Detroit. And we still prioritize people over business, creating and maintaining long-lasting personal relationships with our customers.
So, yeah, we’re a candle factory. But, to the people who use our candles, we provide so much more. Our focus is on the retailer, specifically stores in the intentional, spiritual, insightful industry. Coventry is the leader of intentional candles in the New Age/Spiritual supply store, yet is not limited to this market. We reach out to and connect with any store interested in bringing empowering products into their store. To date, we sell to about 1,500 stores in the US and about 700 more in Canada and other countries.
Tell us about yourself
Back in 1992, I was doing whatever it took to get a higher education. From taking a correspondence course for herbalism and naturopathy to doing side work selling my crafts for extra money for college, I wanted to be more than a salesperson in a department store. My first passion has always been mysticism. My second passion has been psychology. My goal for college was to study psychology and business. Little did I know that everything I was doing at that moment was leading to a life filled with every passion and goal. It just looked a little different than I imagined.
All my passion, skills, and experience came together as Coventry Creations came to be. One holiday season, I created my first series of candles as gifts for my beloved family and friends who had been supporting my journey. Using my knowledge of herbal properties and magical practices and combining them with my love of candles and crafting, I made a unique gift for each person. I made them something I had always wanted, candles with a dedicated purpose. That first batch was so well received that they all asked for more. They even offered to buy them this time!
It took me another six months to make my next batches of candles after I got laid off from my job. I went to Kinkos to create labels and then took these candles to the local spiritual supply stores to see if they were interested. Boy, were they! Wherever I went, they would buy the majority of my stock and sell out within the month.
A few months later, I went to Seattle, WA, to look for work and took about 800 candles with me to sell and to pay for the trip. When I landed in Seattle, the day's headline was that 30,000 employees were laid off from Boeing, causing all of my interviews to be canceled. However, I sold all of my candles and walked away with orders for more. This was the true birth of Coventry Creations. I stopped trying to be an employee and started becoming a business owner.
What I did on that trip to Seattle was start a new candle industry. Coventry was the first on the national stage with dedicated, intentional candles. Many companies copied us after that; some literally photocopied our labels with a few cut-and-paste changes. You can see Coventry’s influence in large national brands and in small crafters on Etsy. I am humbled by what was started with just a few holiday gifts.
That is what motivates me every day. That one idea can change the face of a market. That one person can start a domino effect of blessings in the world. Coventry has made over 2 million candles that have brought positive energy to the world. I remind myself of that when I am at my lowest and know that accomplishment is enough. Everything else I do past that is an additional blessing and gratitude.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Being in business for 30 years is my biggest accomplishment. Since 1992 there have been four recessions (five including the one I started in), three significant changes in retail shipping, and two major shifts in consumerism. Coventry Creations was founded before the internet was a resource, and I found customers by ordering physical Yellowpages from other states. We started at a time when hand-made, local products were not desirable and have lasted until we are now trendy.
Over the past 30 years, there have been three distinct moments where I could have called it quits and gone bankrupt. There were years when I didn’t take a paycheck, and my partner and I were the only employees doing the work of 6 people. The big shift from surviving to thriving came when I stopped trying to know it all and realized I knew too little to stay in business. I started putting myself through “Entrepreneur School” and took every opportunity to learn how to run a successful business.
I got an education by starting with self-study courses “As Seen On TV,” books from the library, and eventually finding my way to the Entrepreneur Organization Accelerator Program and the Goldman Sachs 10K Small Business class. I have let go of the ego of being a big business owner and have room to learn and grow. Freeing myself from the need to have all the answers allows me to value my team and leaves room for their expertise to shine. Sharing the spotlight makes the burden of leadership lighter and goals easier to accomplish.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
When you start your own business, everyone tells you how great it will be as your own boss and set your hours. That is a lie. When you are a business owner, your customers are your bosses, and you end up needing all of the hours to get everything done. Then you get employees, and the complication is x1000. The hardest thing as a business owner is meeting the needs of everyone around you while holding your own boundaries. Yet having those boundaries is one of the most important tools to avoid burnout.
Boundaries are knowing when to say no. When first starting out, turning down any opportunity seems counterintuitive. You do learn over time what is an excellent opportunity for you and what is not. You learn how to get healthy by saying no to your ideas, commitments, and even your customers. It’s hard to do at first, and I still struggle with boundaries and am the eternal do-it-myself person. Boundaries are always a work in progress.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Hire experts - don’t go on the cheap and try to master everything yourself. Think about what your time costs you or what kind of revenue you can create in an hour of your time. Is it worth it to fumble through at double or triple the time it would take a professional to accomplish the same task?
- Make a plan and work it out. Business plans are not for the shelf, they are for the whiteboard - make them dynamic and SMART. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time Based. All of your efforts must go towards your goal; if they are not, you either have the wrong goal or are focused on the wrong thing.
- If you have employees, hire an HR professional to guide you through the delicate balance of employee dynamics and legal requirements. You cannot scale your business to the next level without staff. You need them, yet they can sap your focus and energy if they are in the wrong seat or unsuitable for the job. It’s so hard to find and train an employee, we tend to hang onto them longer than it is healthy for them, you, or the company. An HR professional can help you get the right one in the right seat.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Business ownership and entrepreneurship are fun. And keeping it fun prevents burnout and gives you the energy to keep going when things totally suck. When it stops being fun, there is something wrong, and it’s time to face it and fix it. Another pro-tip: only schedule 50% of your time or less. Your job is to oversee everything, and you will fill up your calendar FAST with day-to-day stuff. You are the last stop for problems, and they are pretty big when they land in your lap. If your calendar is full, the crisis gets bigger.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://coventrycreations.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coventrycreationscandles
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coventrycandles/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/coventryc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacki-smith-60676325/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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