We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Asia Ingram a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Asia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
One thing that most people don’t know about me is that I’m dyslexic; such a confusing word for people with reading and writing issues, right?!
I can vividly recall being in the first grade and wanting to learn the basic alphabet but having issues with p’s, q’s, b’s, d’s, and 9’s. Not only did my parents invest in buying me an easel that was chalk on one side and dry-eraser on the other but they also stayed up with me night after night sometimes until 2 in the morning going over my letters until one day it just clicked. They always invested in exposing me to new ways of doing things, supported my areas of interest, and transparently shared their stories of success and failures.
Their support over the years made me feel confident and capable. From not being able to properly read to attending the University of Georgia, graduating Cum Laude with a dual degree in both Psychology and Advertising and moving on to work for companies such as Omnicom Media Group(GlaxoSmithKline and SAP Technologies), Marvel Entertainment, VMware, to now owning my own business…Their influence drove me to believe that my only limitation was me, I am my competition. If I want something to happen and I fail at first it can be the greatest teacher for how I can improve myself for next time. I am eternally grateful to my parentals and I spend almost every Sunday with them to this day :)
Asia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
The Origin Story
Before moving back to Atlanta, Georgia in 2018 I lived in Brooklyn, New York for 4 years; which is a very fast past city with a stressful environment. One thing that I would do monthly to help center myself was going to the nearby department store and smelling the different variety of candles that they had available and picking my favorite to purchase for the month. This personal experience gave me the idea to create those moments of peace and nostalgia for others. However, I rarely found candles made by Black women or minorities available for purchase in retail.
Since launching in January 2020, we’ve released over 15 different candle fragrances, which are custom blended to not be duplicated by other candle companies. We’ve worked with local artists to photograph the artwork and each candle has a story that leans itself to our motto “Strive to create candles that align with significant moods and moments that occur in everyday life.”
The Name
The name No Label comes from two schools of thought: 1. People shouldn’t be prejudged or labeled because of their physical appearance.
2. A lot of companies want you to care most about their brand name than the quality of the products they’re offering. We prioritize making quality products with locally and regionally sourced materials that our customers can connect with over brand saturation.
Our Focus
What motivates us to keep going is sponsored by one of our favorite way to sell candles. Community-based selling at farmer’s markets and other local events. We love being able to connect with each customer and hear which fragrance they align with the most. Along with community selling, we’re also big on recycling materials that are used to create our candles, leverage tins, amber glass, and ceramics that can be upcycled, and donating candles to causes we believe in, most recently donating to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention fundraiser.
This connection also inspired the next extension of No Label, the creation of the Candle Club which launched this past March. The Candle Club is a personalized candle subscription service with a community-based feeling. Each member starts by taking a custom scent profile survey which lets us know exactly what type of vibe they’re trying to create with their candles. Each membership comes with 2x 15oz personalized natural soy ceramic candles monthly. We believe in fair pricing therefore subscribers can choose either a $49 month-to-month, $130 quarterly(13% off), or $500 annual subscription (it’s basically like getting two months free).
What’s Next
No Label Candle Company started and continues to put people first with the idea that shared experiences matter most over differences.
As mentioned, there’s an opportunity for more Black and minority-owned candles in retail. We’re currently working on networking strategies so we can start building relationships with regional buyers and merchandisers that will hopefully lead to getting our products in stores.
So stay tuned as we continue with our journey!
-Asia
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
I think that to determine how you want to grow your clientele you have to first build your ideal client profile: meaning industries you’re looking to target, companies and people within that industry that you’d love to have access to, etc. You also have to have realistic sales goals, and understand your competition and how you’re different; e.g. what’s the benefit to YOUR potential client if they choose to work with you? Also, realize that you might have to test out a couple of growth methods before finding the one that works best for your business.
For example, I’ve taken a long-tail approach, I’m less concerned with getting a lot of ad hoc sales and am more focused on having brand-loyal subscribers and B2B clients. Therefore my growth isn’t based on having a million clients or customers that each buy one item but fewer clients that buy one million dollars worth of product. I know that I’m targeting people and businesses that care about ethics and the communities their businesses serve; that’s my niche.
The most effective way to achieve this goal is through consistency and patience. I use LinkedIn to extend my network online and community selling events to build my network offline. I think that in today’s society, the hardest thing to foster is trust and that takes time.
So my recommendation would be to focus on building relationships that will lead to a sale vs. focusing on just the sale and that’s how you’ll be able to grow your clientele and have them be loyal to YOUR product or service vs. your competition.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
My resiliency comes from experiencing loss. Last April one of my best friends randomly passed away in his sleep, he was 34. He and I were currently in the middle of brainstorming ideas for our businesses, he was a chef, and how we could support each other. I had written the business plan for the Candle Club and he was going to help me with the launch. After he passed I was consumed with grief, and I chose to focus on my healing instead of my business, in turn, my sales did go down. I have no regrets for the time I took however knowing him he wouldn’t have allowed me to stop! Therefore I picked the idea back up at the beginning of the year and labored until the candle subscription service came to fruition this March. Regardless of the result, I know he’d be very proud and that’s what matters most.
Contact Info:
- Website: nolabelcandlecompany.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nolabelcandlecompany/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nolabelcandle
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asiamartiningram/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/no-label-candle-company/
- Tiktok: @nolabelcandlecompany
- https://linktr.ee/nolabelcandlecompany
Image Credits
Photography taken by the wonderful Atlanta-based artist De’Auntae Trice. For booking you can find him on Instagram @dtricephotography