We were lucky to catch up with Denise Reese recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Denise, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

During a beach vacation in Summer 2019, just before I started a new position, I was reading an article in O, The Oprah Magazine where Melinda Gates was interviewed. She said something about grace that struck me. She was talking about the work the Gates Foundation was doing and mentioned the grace we have to extend to others when we’re telling their stories. I remember how profound that seemed. And there was something about that word — grace. It lingered in my mind, but eventually vacation ended and I went back to work and my day-to-day life.

The new year was fast approaching and while many people create resolutions, I had spent the last few years selecting a word that would guide me throughout the months ahead. In past years, I had chosen words like elevate, unapologetic and authentic. I wasn’t yet sure what my word would be for 2020, but the word and idea of grace began to appear — in things I was reading and hearing and even in conversations I was having.

And though the word grace itself didn’t give me the warm and fuzzy feeling that my words had in the past, it stuck with me and I decided to go with it.

As the year began, I was devastated by the loss of my beloved Grandmother. And unfortunately, as 2020 went on, COVID-19 devastated the entire world and so many of us were hit with heartbreaking losses. And then, with the tragic death of George Floyd, a momentous racial uprising followed, one that rippled throughout the United States and across the globe.

That’s when I realized there was no other possible word that could fit a year full of unimaginable realities that have hit us all. It was then that I understood why this word had been following me around all that time.

Grace was the perfect word for 2020 and the perfect anchor for Grace The Collection!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’ve been in Technology Sales, Business Development and Strategic Alliances for over 25 years. In that time, I’ve had some amazing experiences both in the US and Internationally. I’ve always considered myself somewhat of a trailblazer…I’ve often been the only woman, Black person, or American in the room.

My roles have been always had an intrapreneurial slant. Whether it was moving to the UK to help take a Florida based software company global, or establishing the Southeast office for a London based IT Consultancy, these experiences helped shape my vision and an entrepreneur and gave me the confidence to start my own company!

I settled on luxury home fragrance because it’s something I love and spend far too much money on! As I started researching the home fragrance space, I realized this is a multi-billion dollar global market that’s growing consistently year over year.

Once I decided to embark on my journey as an entrepreneur, I took close to a year to get the foundation in place. Establishing my LLC, working on trademarks, securing the domain name, working on branding, and carving out a business plan that would set me up for long-term success. I also made the decision early on to outsource production to a supplier. This also includes working with a fragrance house to create the fragrances for each of the Grace The Collection scents. Given I’m operating in the luxury home fragrance market, it was imperative to have a product that consistently provides a stellar experience for my customers.

Above all, it was ( and still is) important to build community. Grace the Collection is more than the beautiful products we provide…it’s a movement and a call to action…a reminder to extend grace to ourselves and each other and to open a door to the divine that exists in all of us!

I’m super proud of what I’ve created. Since launching in January I’ve sold out multiple times and had to increase inventory. I’ve also established multiple collaborations and retail partnerships. Soon, I’ll be announcing a partnership that will completely change the trajectory of the business!

I’m still working a day job, so managing that with building a business isn’t an easy feat, It’s a journey….full of ups, downs, twists, and turns…but I wouldn’t trade it for anything! I’m excited about what I’ve created and I’m ecstatic for what the future of Grace The Collection holds.

The best is yet to come!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I decided to launch Grace The Collection, I used a consultant to help keep me on track as I was building the business. This person had a track record in the luxury home fragrance space and I was also a customer of their line, so was excited that I’d be able to learn from them as I grew my own business.

As we neared the end of our paid engagement, I started to vet suppliers who could bring the brand to life. As fortune would have it, the supplier who was top of my list was the same supplier my consultant was using! Although I reached out to the supplier and got preliminary information on their services, things weren’t moving as quickly as I liked. When I mentioned this to the consultant, they offered to facilitate a warm introduction.

After an initial discovery conversation, I knew this was the supplier I wanted to work with. We started the process of choosing packaging, branding, and getting samples.

A few months prior, I participated in a bespoke fragrance experience with the consultant. They asked if I would be interested in using that fragrance as my signature scent. This was a dream, because not only did the scent capture the ethos of the brand, it was something the consultant and I worked on collectively and would be, or so I thought, a great way to solidify an ongoing partnership.

The consultant mentioned they’d entered into similar partnerships and in lieu of payment, would facilitate an equity agreement. In the excitement of the moment, I verbally agreed to an equity stake. However, after thinking about this from a business perspective, and considering the several thousands of dollars I’d paid for consulting services, I quickly realized that an equity agreement should’ve been negotiated at the start of our paid engagement.

I also consulted with my attorney, who was in complete agreement with my sentiment. Instead of an equity partnership, my attorney advised that we we create a schedule of products that would allow the consultant a percentage of gross profit on any products that included fragrances they created for the brand. Not only was this a generous agreement, it would have given the consultant a steady stream of recurring revenue.

Not only was the consultant unhappy about the agreement, they completely blocked my relationship with the supplier.

To say this was devastating would be an understatement. At this stage I was weeks away from launch, and despite my best efforts, the supplier refused to even have a conversation with me.

I seriously considered whether I’d continue building the business. The thought of having to go back to the drawing board after pouring so much into the business and getting so close to a launch date was daunting. Nevertheless…I persisted!

After 8 months of supplier conversations, I found a supplier who was not only sympathetic of what I’d experienced, she let me know all wasn’t lost.

We immediately got to work on negotiating a supplier agreement, started discussions with fragrance houses to cultivate fragrances for the brand, and started the process of creating packaging that would bring the brand to life!

Keep in mind this was all happening during the COVID-19 pandemic. Supply-chain issues, created delays with packaging, and the global glass shortage meant the vessels would also be delayed.

My supplier could sense my frustration and disappointment. And so that I wouldn’t lose momentum, they suggested pivoting to launch with a 6 oz candle that would be packaged in an aluminum tin. They had the tins in their warehouse, and could easily fulfill my order for delivery within 60 days.

I was initially reticent about this change, but after some coaching and advice from my personal board of directors, I decided to proceed.

Finally, a year and 1/2 later, Grace The Collection launched in January 2022.

Resilience and tenacity has, and continues to carry me. It’s not always easy, but I’m thankful that I’ve stayed the course!

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

I’m super blessed and fortunate to have an amazing network. And I’ve not been shy about maximizing those connections!

Before launching the business, I let folks know my intentions and shared with them a bit about the vision I had and the community I wanted to create.

I took folks on a journey with me as I got closer to launch and shared details of branding and even asked for opinions on the direction I was taking. It was almost as thought I was conducting a mini focus group. This approach allowed me to facilitate introductions to folks outside of my immediate network, and allowed me to gain access to new customers and sales channels.

I also started building a social media audience before the official launch. This created an excitement that, by the time the site launched, I was able to sell out of my initial inventory within 3 weeks.

I continue to leverage social media as a growth engine, and have also created collaborations with other established women owned brands as means of broadening Grace The Collection’s reach. I’m now focused on creating retail partnerships to create additional brand exposure.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gracethecollection.com
• Instagram: @gracethecollection
• Facebook: @gracethecollection
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/denise-reese
• Twitter: @denisereesevo

Image Credits
Marissa Godinez