Nobody talks about the money you lose while you are learning. When we started Garsnett Beacon Candle Co. at our kitchen table during the pandemic, I thought the hard part would be making a candle that smelled good. That part came fast. The expensive part was everything I did not know yet: pricing, t...

The first real complaint I ever got about our candles still lives in my head. We were maybe eight months into Garsnett Beacon, still pouring on the kitchen table, and a customer emailed to say her candle "smelled like nothing" once it was lit. I stared at that email for a full day before I answered ...

When we started Garsnett Beacon Candle Co. at our kitchen table during the pandemic, wax melts were an afterthought. We were pouring candles late into the night, and at the end of every batch we had leftover wax and fragrance sitting in the pot. Instead of tossing it, we started pouring it into litt...

Everybody talks about wax and wicks and scent throw, and all of that matters. But the thing that actually keeps most new makers stuck is quieter than that. It is the fear that nobody will buy. When we started Garsnett Beacon Candle Co. at our kitchen table during the pandemic, I remember pouring a b...

When we started Garsnett Beacon Candle Co. at our kitchen table during the pandemic, I never pictured myself standing in front of a room full of people teaching them how to pour a candle. We were just trying to sell enough to cover the next fragrance oil order. But a few years and 160 plus wholesale...

When we started Garsnett Beacon Candle Co. at our kitchen table during the pandemic, our "packaging" was a candle, a strip of bubble wrap we saved from an Amazon box, and a prayer that it would survive the mail. Some did. Some showed up with cracked jars and wax smeared across the tissue paper. Ever...

Everybody wants to talk about wax, wicks, and pretty labels. Nobody wants to talk about the paperwork. I get it. When we started Garsnett Beacon Candle Co. at our kitchen table in Holland, Michigan during the pandemic, the last thing I wanted to think about was an LLC or a sales tax license. I wante...

People ask me all the time what tools we use to run our candle business. Not the fun stuff like fragrance oils and pretty vessels, but the boring back office stuff that actually keeps the lights on. The scale on the pouring table. The software that tells me if we are making money. The shipping accou...

Most stories about how to start a candle business skip the boring parts and the scary parts. You see the finished storefront, the pretty flat lays, the "we did six figures" headline, and none of the nights spent pouring wax at the kitchen table wondering if any of it was going to work. So I want to ...

When we started Garsnett Beacon Candle Co. at our kitchen table during the pandemic, I thought getting into stores would be the hardest part of the whole thing. Turns out it was one of the most learnable. Today we have more than 160 wholesale accounts and a couple of brick and mortar stores here in ...

Everybody wants to talk about getting new customers. New followers, new craft fair faces, new wholesale accounts. And yes, you need new people coming in the door. But I will tell you the thing that quietly built Garsnett Beacon Candle Co. from a kitchen table operation during the pandemic into a bra...