Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jasmine Cormier. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jasmine, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
In September 2021, I left my full time job as a middle school/high school dance teacher. I felt strongly enough about Soy Society, our growth and future, and my own will power, that it seemed like the best move to make given the circumstances. I started Soy Society Wellness in 2018, the same year that I started teaching at a local charter school. Along came the pandemic in 2020 and teaching and my business moved to the online space. For the next year and a half, I juggled them both with relative ease.However, like many teachers returning from virtual learning, it was a hard transition back into the classroom and it no longer seemed like a good fit for my mental health. .
Little did I know that the next 6 months were really going to test and stretch me. I made a plan that I thought was solid and worked it as hard as I could. Determined was that season, for sure. I was attending 2-3 in person markets a week, fulfilling wholesale orders for multiple WholeFoods Markets, and packing orders for our website along with Amazon, Radical Girl Gang, The W Marketplace, and Etsy. And let’s not forget, the hand-pouring of each candle and getting them store ready. Even with two assistants, I was working 14+ hour days. It seemed that even with working harder and doing more, I wasn’t making enough income to support myself and the business.
The holiday season was nearing its end and I had to make another hard decision. I would have to go back to the corporate world. It was an incredibly hard decision to make. I slowly rolled it out in phases. Wholesale was the first to go. Then selling on other platforms stopped. Lastly, I announced to my followers that we were closing down. I worked tirelessly for Soy Society over the 4 years and ended everything abruptly in April 2022. Emotionally and Mentally I couldn’t handle it anymore. I was crying at least once a week and telling myself “you can rest when you finish the work, just don’t think about it.”
What I was really telling myself was that my feelings and emotions weren’t valid. That it was more important to produce for others consumption and enjoyment rather than operating my passion project with love, wellness, and self care which are our true values. I was a hypocrite. That realization hit me hard and I couldn’t argue with that. I was making intention candles for self-healing and harming myself, not keeping any promises to me, and just being a people pleaser.
It is now 7 months later and I couldn’t be more happy with my decision to shut down. Have I lost all of the momentum I had created? yes. Was I disappointed and had to grieve the loss of my business? yes. What I gained is invaluable. I spent time traveling and enjoying my friends. I had time to guiltlessly watch TV shows and Movies. I was able to workout consistently and lose 7 pounds. I was able to clearly reconnect with the original vision I had for Soy Society Wellness and that was to focus on wellness and healing.
What am I doing now? We just relaunched! I’m back AND I’m better. I’m posting reels and showing my personality to my community, doing behind-the-scenes and showing my work space, I’m working with a fulfillment company to send out my orders, and I’m on course to be a certified life coach in the next couple of months. I’m showing up 100% in an authentic way that I was afraid to do in the past. Plus, I have all of the knowledge from the previous 4 years and my email list, IYKYK.
I found my journal where I had written out my 2019 Soy Society Wellness business goals on it. One that vividly stood out was that, even back then, I wrote down that “I will offer life and wellness coaching and be a business coach.” I had lost that vision in the hype of explosive growth during the Pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement. People were looking to shop with black-owned brands and I was being seen and supported. It was beautiful.
My journey with Soy Society Wellness is a direct reflection of my journey in life. It’s about learning and pivoting and taking leaps. I’d say the most important lesson learned was that I needed firm boundaries around protecting my happiness. That whatever I’m working towards or involved with will pan out the way God has planned it. I don’t have to try and control everything. I see a shift happening and I’m proud of myself for making the choice everyday to have a company and not a business that is solely dependent upon me.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I started Soy Society Wellness in 2018. Back then it was called Soy Society Candle Club. I thought that it was going to be a candle subscription company because at the time the monthly subscription boxes were starting to get popular and I hadn’t seen many candle companies doing it. As I worked more on creating an authentic brand, my yoga training played an enormous role. Essential oils and intention themes brought it together. Our candles are made with 30-100% essential oils for real aromatherapy. The vision for our candles is that they “Lighten Your Lifestyle” through mediation, self- healing, and experiencing the scent to transform your atmosphere. I truly enjoy hand making each candle and curating one-of-a-kind fragrances that are specific to our brand. As I expand this year and going forward, there are new services that will be offered in phases. The first was the relaunch that happened back in November. At the start of the new year, the greater Austin area can look forward to donation-based yoga classes co-taught by myself and a guest yoga teacher. It’s important to me that we have the opportunity to build community with other self-healers and wellness lovers. Although Soy Society Wellness started as a product, I recognized the importance of pouring into our supporters. Which many businesses do not. The idea is that people trade their dollars for a good. I want to use those “dollars” and pour back into the community in the wellness area. There are many stigmas around Yoga and whose body can bend the most or arm balance the longest. That wellness is just a buzz word like self-care and it’s only available for people who can “afford” to rest. Let’s change that. Come to a class, pay what you can, and see how that hour experience can transform and shift your mindset.
The third phase is offering self paced e-courses on living your full potential in areas like confidence, setting boundaries, and showing up for yourself. I grew up feeling invisible and below the poverty line and when I got to college I was a late bloomer socially and relationally. Like many of my peers, I accepted that it was my responsibility to change that. I’ve worked with counselors and life coaches to transform my own mindset and view on life and start to uproot limiting beliefs that were holding me back. Now, it’s time to help the next person. For the final phase, I’ll be offering one on one coaching for clients.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Consistency. I was going to farmer’s markets and pop up events consistently for two years. That two year time period allowed me time to perfect my candles and packaging while I was in a “hidden place.” There was a moment, around the two year mark, when things began to feel like overnight success. Whole Foods Markets had reached out in February of 2020 about being in their new 5th street location. Then the outbreak of Covid 19 and the BLM movement peak brought in a second wave of growth with online sales that put us on the radar. Even during this time, we still participated in pop up events, they were just virtual now. Being consistent allowed people to follow us on our journey and buy or support us when the timing was right for them. Another way being consistent affected the company was it helped me grow confidence in what I was doing. I was showing up afraid and unsure, yet I still had enough faith to keep signing up for events, making candles, and speaking up for the brand.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
If I could go back, I would still choose the same path. I would prefer to go back with the knowledge that I do know now! That would really spice things up, ha ha. I have switched career paths numerous times resulting in multiple certifications and equipment that I dust off occasionally to see if I still “got it.” Back in 2015, I signed up for a Yoga Sculpt teacher training as a way to prepare me to open a dance studio. I fell in love with Yoga Sculpt and changed careers to stay in the fitness industry. In 2016, I went for my 200 hour power vinyasa yoga teacher certificate. My yoga training influenced the candle brand in a multitude of ways including the essential oils we use and their intention names. There was a moment after I made another career shift, that I wasn’t sure I’d ever use my yoga certificates aside from my own individual practice. Next month, I’ll be co-teaching my first yoga class in over 5 years. One of the benefits of having a yoga certification is that they never expire. What you learn(ed) will stay the same as the practice is thousands of years old. All the knowledge that we gain can and should be taken with us into our future, along with an open mind because we never know what can happen.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.soysocietywellness.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/soysocietywellness
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/soysocietywellness
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-cormier-6a030160/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@soysocietywellness
Image Credits
– THE LAB @ UT – Celtic Viking Photography – Fluff Media