We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jacquara Graham. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jacquara below.
Jacquara, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
For someone who has suffered from anxiety and still struggles with, I found that lighting candles has helped relaxed my mind and calmed my spirit. My love for candles and the affect they have on me initiated the conversation to start the business. From this, my favorite creation became Melanin, a twist of Orange, Butter, Milk, Coconut, Vanilla, Musk, and Caramel notes which is also a customer favorite. In all, I hope to reach those who have the same love and appreciation for candles as I do.
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 am Jacquara Graham, an HR guru by day and candle maker by night. Originally from Florida now residing in Maryland, my connection and love for candles developed into a business. I’ve found that candles bring me a lot of peace. Candles have improved my overall mood, reduced my stress and anxiety, and have helped to create a relaxing atmosphere in my home. From my own experience with candles is how Waxed & Wicked was birthed. I’m hoping to not only esthetically reach people, but also reach those who are looking to improve their overall mode as well.
Have you ever had to pivot?
For the past year, we’ve had some busy days, some slow days, and some extremely slow weeks where I’d go a month or two without any orders. Nevertheless, I knew how much inventory I needed and always had inventory on hand because of this; however, I knew I needed a change. I’d recently made a change in my business in the way I marketed on social media. From taking marketing classes from Ariel Carr and Mahdi Woodard to name a few, I found that customers and potential customers love raw, authentic people who are not afraid to show up for their business by simply just showing my face from time to time on a live sessions, reels, connecting with people in their dm’s etc., showing behind the scene success and pitfalls, and connecting with others on the platform, and so much more. As a result, business had picked up and unfortunately my inventory was not ready. I had ran out of packaging to box my candles, vessels, wax, and stickers. The turnaround to have these products shipped to me would be 2-3 weeks, so I knew I had to pivot and not panic and come up with something to ship my products to my customers who had recently placed orders in the meantime. I ended creating my own business stickers on Avery and utilizing the boxes the vessels originally came in to be able to ship my products. I also made a video on social media explaining my pitfall to my customers, but also showed them how I planned to fix the issue. I received a warm response from my supports which helped me pushed through.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
So far the best new source of new customers for me is through word of mouth and customer reviews. Word of mouth from creditable and reputable sources such as Morgan Sandiego, has increased new customers. Reviews from my day one customers have also helped to bring in new customers as well. They’ve helped impact purchasing decisions for other customers, build trust with customers, and helped the business to determine which scents should stay or go. Word of mouth and reviews are a trust thing when customers invest in the opinions and experiences of the person they trust especially when most of my marketing is currently on social media and there’s no way a customer can small a scent beforehand. So I truly appreciate all my current customers who have influenced my customers to purchase.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.waxedandwicked.com
- Instagram: waxedandwicked
- Facebook: Waxed & Wicked
- Twitter: waxedandwicked
- Other: Email: [email protected]