Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Breonia Evans. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Breonia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

What i think it takes to be successful is motivation. Having that mindset will change your whole perspective of how you view your business endeavors as whole. Without motivation, you can find yourself slacking, not meeting your goals on time, or simply just wanting to give up. Most small businesses don’t make it far after the first year because they didn’t see the results they wanted within that timeframe. Success doesn’t come overnight. It can months, even years! I learned that myself and still learning it as i enter year 3 soon, in my candle business. When you’re motivated, you can achieve anything because with that mindset, you want what’s best for your business and you will work hard in making sure that your business will be the most successful it can be.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Breonia Evans and I’m from Jacksonville, Florida. All throughout high school i was a honors student and i studied communications. When i graduated high school in 2016, i went to college at Florida State College at Jacksonville the following year to study Business Administration. I graduated in 2020 with my Associates degree in Business Administration. After i graduated i wanted to start a business. I’ve always been a business oriented person and i knew i wanted to have a business of my own one day! I discovered my love of candles when i bought over $150 worth of candles one day from T.J Maxx (and we all know how cheap candles are at T.J Maxx so it was a buggy full of candles). I began to do my research on how to make candles, where to buy supplies in bulk and websites to sell my products on. After months of testing and researching i launched my candle business BreoniaLafayeCo on August 21st, 2020, my birthday!

As of right now, my Candle business only offers Candles and Wax melts. In 2023 i plan to add more products such as room sprays, farmhouse style home decor and so much more!

What i think sets me apart from others is my style. Within the candle industry you want to be different because competition is high. When people buy candles it’s not only because it smells good or the price is good, it’s for décor purposes. People want the candle to match the style of their rooms they decide to put them in. I LOVE farmhouse style so i decided to make candles in matte black jars with wooden lids and Amber jars for the ambience it gives. It’s very beautiful and fits the environment really well. BreoniaLafayeCo wasn’t always farmhouse inspired when i first started but as years went on and i rebranded a few times i decided to stick with modern farmhouse style here on out!

I can say I’m most proud of how far I’ve come. There have been many times where I’ve wanted to give up because i wasn’t seeing the results i wanted. As i enter year 3, I’m still not where i want to be but i know it takes time! 2023 will be a great year for my business, i’m manifesting that! So many new products and amazing smells to come. I even plan on doing a few pop-up shops at local events so I’m excited about that.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

One of my favorite sales stories happened in November 2020 i had a co-worker named ken who believed in my business and was very helpful in spreading the word about my candles especially in my first year in business. One day he told me i had a few potential buyers and the candles that they want (he had a list of my candles) we scheduled a meetup in the parking lot with the buyers and it was way more people than i expected! I was shocked when i pulled up and saw all the cars including my co-worker. that was the most money in candles sales i made that day and it was thanks to my co worker spreading the word! I was happy seeing the smiles on people’s faces as they received their orders! Just from that experience and the thanks of my co-worker i plan on doing same day local delivery/drop off in the near future!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been word of mouth from friends and family and social media! My friends and family play a big part of growing my clientele. They rave about my products to people they know then out of the blue i have orders from all over the country! It’s amazing to have friends and family that believe in your business, it truly helps a lot and its an amazing feeling! On the other hand TikTok and instagram reels has been a big help also. So many small business blow up on TikTok overnight and its truly shocking how that app works! I’ve gotten some sales from using those platforms but i plan on getting more consistent with uploading more on those platforms because it can do wonders for your business!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.breonialafaye.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breonialafayeco/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/BreoniaLafayeCo?__tn__=%2Cg
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/breonialafayeco
• Youtube: http://youtube.com/@BreoniaLafaye

Image Credits
Breonia Evans