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

Jennifer , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

I was really excited to have a customer recommend my business for an event at her workplace which would result in my company fulfilling a large order. This was a great way to showcase not only my candles, but getting my business out there to a larger audience. The organization decided to use my company and after preparing the large order, delivering the candles to the event, and seeing the satisfaction of the organization on my presentation I was ecstatic. I decided I needed to really take the opportunity to thank my customer for giving me this experience and helping grow my business. I put together a gift basket for her with all the seasonal scents and added extra mini sample, wax melts, and a thank you card for the gesture. It is awesome when customers love your product so much they want others to love it too. She was not only appreciative of the gift, but she was excited to share my company with her coworkers.

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?

My name is Jennifer and I am a candle enthusiast. I started making candles as a hobby while I was teaching middle school. I gave them away as gifts to coworkers and family. People were always telling me I should be selling my candles because they were awesome. I thought about it, then shortly before the pandemic hit, I decided to open an Etsy shop. I started fulfilling online orders and within three months applied to have a booth at the local farmers market. I have never owned a business before that produces a product, having to conduct sales, and managing a booth, so it was a little scary at first. I went though many changes with the look of the candles, labels, how I wanted the company to look overall, and making sure I had everything ready for each weekend at the market. It became a bit overwhelming. Lessons were learned and progress was made on making Brutal Creations Co. what it is today. What sets me apart from others is I make a candle that I would love in my own house. I make it personal. I listen to customers and try to create the experience they long for when searching for the scents they want in their homes. I am most proud of how far we have come in the last three years. This is a family business and I am proud that my kids know how to work the booth, have conversations with customers, learned how to manage inventory and setting up every weekend. We have managed to make this business into something that is growing, something we can all share together, and something we can all be proud of. One of the main things I want my customers to know and potential customers to know is that this is a craft that I love making. I put passion into my craft and I want them to experience a product that is made with love and passion. I also love to hear feedback and advice from my customers. I have learned many new things from customers asking for certain things or making suggestions about other products. Overall, this journey has been so much fun and we have met some of the nicest people through our farmers market adventures.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Word of mouth. Every weekend we are at the farmers market so many of the customers are regulars. This is helpful because after trying my candles or other products they like to tell their friends. So, this not only helps me but it brings more people to the market and helps the other vendors as well. It is a win-win. People talk, and offering a quality product, conducting business professionally, and listening to customers, have afforded me a great customer base. There is nothing better in my business than a repeat customer or a new customer who excitedly says my neighbor sent me.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had to take a second look at what my purpose was and what I wanted to get out of this candle business. It took my some time to find my place and decide for certain how I wanted my business to be represented. I know what I liked in terms of logo, theme, and overall feel of the company. What was missing was my sense of appreciation for what I was doing and where I wanted to go. I took a step back to the beginning. I loved making candles as a hobby and when your hobby turns into a business you can lose sight of the enjoyment of making your craft. I reflected back to making candles because I love candles and enjoy making them. This was a pivot moment for me to stop pressuring myself to make for quantity but more for quality. I decided then I would scale down my presence in the areas around my city, focus on being present at my farmers market in Tomball, and bring the quality of a Brutal Creations Co Candle every weekend. This has made the experience more enjoyable and allowed me to become more familiar with my customers.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @brutalcreationsco