We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Candace Fleming a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Candace , thanks for joining us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

One of the topics, charities and underserved programs in the community I am a huge supporter of is Open Doors for Lanark Children and Youth. Every year with my customers and humans willing to participate, I raise funds for this amazing not for profit charity. They provide a safe space, education and a multitude of healing modalities for the children, youth and their families in our Community.
It has a very special place in my heart and touches close to home. Over 25 years ago when the facility opened, I was one of the first rounds of kids to experience first hand the benefit of the services they provide.
“75% of mental illnesses start before a child reaches there 18th birthday” – mentalhealth.org and this is the exact reason myself and my business are huge supporters and advocates for this underserved population.

Candace , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

It’s circa 2018 and my love for beards was at an all time high. Beards were and are everywhere #beardsarebeautiful and the products I was buying for my husband were full of funk and junk. Meaning heavy on the chemical side, with shine and nice smell being the only benefit. #lame

Now if you didn’t know, I’m a licensed stylist and you can ask my clients, I have ALWAYS been passionate about the integrity of hair and how you treat it.
Like I always say Hair is the only thing you literally never take off, LOOK BETTER NAKED.

Am I right?

So back to the story at hand here. I was bound and determined to create and formulate a beard oil with the help of a seasoned cosmetic small business owner. I wanted a beard oil that was not only great for shine and softness, I needed to have a product that didn’t have a chemical load, that didn’t aggravate sensitive skin and that didn’t have a shelf life of 5 years.
Now if you also didn’t know I’m full of sauce and beans and speak fluent in puns.
So of course my beard brand needed to reflect that. If you don’t have a snicker or giggle when saying the products names out loud, you’re doing it wrong. Try again.

So hear we are heading into my fifth year of business, with many products that are not just a one trick pony.
These are products that provide multiple benefits, they support and give back to our local economy, and they give back to our community.
I am fan mom proud of BUSH and I hope you will be too,

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Having a dream is the first part of starting a business, and funding it is the second and hardest part. In my experience starting BUSH, I pulled a small amount of money from my full time career and had a partner in the beginning to share the costs with. It started with just two beard oils and a dream that people would love and need it. We were very strict not to over spend in the beginning, every sale that was made went right back into the company. Over time I was able to gain momentum and add to the product line up and apparel by continuously reinvesting the money back into the business. In my experience this is key to build a good foundation.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think that fostering community over competition and authentic and genuine relationships are what has really helped me build my reputation in a saturated market. Authenticity is where my heart and brand is at. And being aware that not everyone is my customer. Staying true to my brand and self allows me to connect with the right customers, and more often than not a friendship and commonality is fostered.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bushbeard.ca
• Instagram: @bushbeard.ca
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bushbeard.ca/

Image Credits
Michael Anderson Photography