We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nakita Gee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nakita below.
Nakita, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea.
Starting was hard at first, because it took me weeks to come up with a business name. Once I did, I immediately began researching my market and what all I needed to do to actually make a candle. The next step was making them, and at that moment I felt like I had gotten in over my head, ha! I didn’t have a clue what I was doing and others made it seem so simple. That was far from the truth! However, I kept pushing for over 8 months, buying different wax, fragrances, and jars, to test the best look and best smell I needed to put out a great product. I launched right before Thanksgiving of 2020 and I was beyond proud of the feedback I received. I never had a feeling of wanting to give up, specifically because I love candles. The simple thought of having my own candle and body care line meant everything to me. After I made the first set of candles and they actually sold, I learned a very valuable lesson, never make product based off the word of someone saying they would consistently buy it. I was disappointment several times by false hope. Moving forward I truly understood the means of testing for the quality I want and expect for my customers, and putting something out that the masses would love. My family and friends aren’t my audience and once I learned that, I was full steam ahead! The next hardest part that I had to conquer in this business, was scaling my products properly. I used to feel so bad for pricing my products at $15 dollars, because I knew others could get bath and body candles for that price on sale. It wasn’t until I had a long talk with my mentor and business bestie, where I understood that Bath and Body Works is a large corporation who can afford to mass produce their products. They can afford to run sales like that, however my lane is completely different. I am one person who hand pours each candles and provides the same great quality products. Which means I also have to be priced to charge my labor to produce as well and what it costs to make the candle. Now with that understanding I feel so clear and have been very successful in curating excellent products that individuals have grown so fond of! Now as I am going into year 2 of business, things have been challenging, but yet successful! I hit my first 1k month and have been excelling every since. I am proud of the brand I am building and can’t wait to see what the next level holds.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Well, I began this business just months after launching a marketing and branding agency curated for small business owners. Because, I work with my team so often I wanted to have something I could be selfish with a bit, lol. So, I thought long and hard of what I could do and candles have always been my first love. Getting into the candle industry made me truly understand that being consistent and consistently marketing your business even when you get no traction works. I have tested my creativity to infinity and beyond once I began making candles, I had to be the graphic designer, the website manager, social media manager, content creator, shipping and receiving team, and customer service all under one hat! I am super proud I have never given up on myself and my business and truly trusted myself to step outside of my comfort zone. I have curated a brand that allows people to enjoy every day luxury! The most important details that you all should know about Sultry Essentials, is that we are a luxury candle and body essentials company that takes pride in creating hand crafted products that allow our clients to enjoy the life of everyday luxury from our fragrances.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Whew the very first lesson that I had to unlearn was depending on close friends and family to always support me or be there for me in my business. Initially at first you want those who love you to see your vision and be by your side every step of the way, but that doesn’t work like that majority of the time. You have to target the strangers who are looking for the things you have to offer. I had a family member, who promised to buy a particular sent they loved every time I made it, but as soon as I restructured my pricing they immediately told me that I was too expensive and they couldn’t afford me. They even hit me below the belt and said your candles are smaller and I can get this from bath and body for cheaper and bigger. From that moment on I didn’t care what my family or friends had to say about their thoughts of my business. Why? They were not who I was selling to. Now don’t get me wrong I absolutely love my family and are very appreciative when they support me, but as a business owner I have to do what works for my customers, current and future!
Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?
I chose to set up a e-commerce website to create an avenue for my customers to buy whenever they feel like it. The pros of having the platform is to create trust with my clients that they are purchasing from a real business or person. I also have the option to use several different plugins to reach them and give them different incentives or gifts for being loyal customers. It streamlines my back end and allows me to fully run all of my business needs from one place rather that bouncing from app to app. The only con I would say is when building out your site to have the sleek look you have to pay for those premium templates or invest in a graphic design team to code you a custom site. However, that isn’t a big con for me, because I believe you invest in the business you want.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.sultryessentials.com
- Instagram: Thesultryessentials
- Facebook: Sultry Essentials
- Other: Email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Photo credits for headshot: Daniel Wheat w/ Dwheat photography FB: d.wheatphotography