We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marsheila Joy Hayes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Marsheila Joy, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The Hayes & Foster Candle Company was born from personal convenience and necessity. I’ve always been a fan of candles—the sensory experiences they can provide and how they can quickly shift your mood or create a vibe. Everywhere I went, from farmer’s markets to vendor pop-ups, I was sniffing out the candlemakers, anxious to get lost in a new scent. After investing significant time and money in an unofficial field study on candle performance from multiple vendors, I decided to make my own.

I was then engulfed in the world of candle making, learning about different waxes, wicks, hot and cold throws, and vessels. It was dizzying but also pretty fun. My goal was to make a product that wasn’t harmful because I burn candles in my personal space daily. I also wanted a vessel that could be easily recycled or reused, as lessening our carbon footprint should always be the move.

In my research, I learned about more eco-friendly waxes, wicks, and fragrance oils and purchased them. My first candles were in metal tins that I previously used to store my hair accessories. I shared them with family and friends as gifts and later asked them for feedback on the burn time and how much of a scent the candles projected. I’m so thankful for their early insights because I used them to refine my candle-making process further.

After getting requests for specific scents and candle sizes, I thought this hobby of mine could be a lucrative business. But I hesitated. The idea of starting a business was overwhelming, as were all the subsequent responsibilities that fell upon a small business owner. And what if people beyond my circle liked my candles? How could I scale this pending business while working full-time in a demanding job?

I put my business potential on the back burner until May 2020. We were all navigating the height of the COVID pandemic and had been sheltering in place for a few months. To battle the anxiety that I felt and best manage my mental health, I poured (pun intended) myself into candle making. I pulled out my supplies and decided to make a set of six signature scents inspired by the candles I’d been making for family and friends over the years. Candle-making is such an intentional process. You must be mindful of how your fragrances interact with your wax and how both will amplify the candle’s performance when paired with specific wicks. The company’s tagline is ‘Intentionally Lit™’ as a nod to the intention that I put behind the creation of every product. The level of detail required provided a necessary outlet for my nervous energy and need to feel in control of something when our collective world was in a seeming tailspin.

I researched, created a business plan, and formed Hayes & Foster Candle Company, LLC in June 2020. My favorite part was naming the candles, designing the labels, and staging the product photos. I also flexed my tech and digital design muscles by designing my website, which taught me valuable lessons on creating a seamless site navigation and purchasing experience for my customers.

The business officially launched in July 2020 and fulfilled over 45 orders in the first two weeks of launch. In those gratitude-filled moments of packing orders, I was sharing with people something that was indeed an extension of me as an individual and a creative. That made creating the business worthwhile.

Marsheila Joy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hello there! I’m MJ Hayes, the Head Chandler in Charge at the Hayes & Foster Candle Company. Our hand-poured, coconut wax blend candles are eco-friendly and lovingly made in small batches in Harlem, NY. All candle vessels are reusable, wicks are 100% cotton, and our fragrances are phthalate-free and cruelty-free. We create H+F products responsibly to ensure quality and consistency and reduce product waste. We offer nothing to our customers that we haven’t extensively tested in our homes.

As a self-professed candle lover, I started H+F to create little luxuries anyone could frequently indulge in and integrate into spaces where warmth and light were needed and welcome. I’m also a sucker for anything that smells good! How a particular scent can capture or invoke a memory amazes me. Creating positive sensory experiences is a passion of mine, and the scents we curate for H+F are our ‘Intentionally Lit™’ love letters to you.

In addition to our original six signature scents, which also come in wax melts, we offer two scent collections. The Joy Luxe Collection is all about lush, intention-inspired scents with notes of Night Jasmine, Lily of the Valley, and Vetiver within gorgeous collectible vessels. The High Life, our first collection featuring wooden wicks, explores scent notes and blends of Indica Kush, Hashish, Gardenia, and more!

The beautiful individuals who have graciously invited us into their spaces have found joy and comfort in our suite of offerings, many times replenishing their supply and gifting H+F to their loved ones and colleagues. You can confidently enjoy our products, knowing we have developed them with your wellness in mind.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

When I decided to take myself and my products seriously by creating H+F, my next thought was, “How much is it going to cost to start this business?” We frequently see posts across social media touting how someone started a business for $100 and made $100k in the first month of its launch. While that kind of success was aspirational, I knew I needed to set realistic expectations, be fiscally responsible, and create a business plan to fully understand the nuances of launching an e-commerce-based business. Self-funding my venture was always my primary option, but maintaining my finances amid an unstable economy while navigating a global pandemic was paramount to me.

I researched to understand what I could do and what I needed to outsource. After equipping myself with actual and proposed costs of services and products required to prepare for a soft business launch, I created a budget and invested in myself by taking funds from my savings. I leveraged free resources to design my logo and subsequent marketing materials to cut projected costs. I also created business accounts with vendors where available to reap the benefits of discounted bulk buying. My goal was to recoup my initial investment within the first six (6) months of H+F’s launch, which I achieved just shy of five (5) months post-launch.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn in launching H+F was that I needed perfect conditions to start a business. There will never be completely perfect conditions to initiate anything in life. There will always be external—and sometimes internal—factors that can impact your ability to take that first step. But you can’t allow that to paralyze you.

Launching H+F when I did — amid the COVID pandemic — was not ideal. However, I found solace in lighting and making candles during an emotionally and mentally challenging time. They were my literal light at the end of an isolating tunnel. If I could share a little piece of what comforted me, why wouldn’t I? Is the candle market oversaturated? Yes. But that would remain true whether I launched my business or not.

If I couldn’t take a chance on myself to see how successful (or how much of a failure) I could be, I would always regret doing myself such a disservice. My grandmother, Edna Brown, always says, “You can learn anything from anybody. Even if it’s what not to do.” Her words stayed at the forefront of my mind as I took every step towards developing and ultimately launching my business. In doing so, I learned much about myself as a small business owner, including fighting my internal battle with a fear of being perceived to market myself and my products adequately.

To anyone contemplating not taking a step because every aspect of everything you want to do isn’t at 100%, I implore you to give yourself some grace. There is only so much that we can predict, plan for, and anticipate. Every situation will never be completely ideal, but time is not a renewable resource. None of us have it to waste ruminating on what could happen instead of making things happen.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to launch the Hayes & Foster Candle Company and how and when I did. Every obstacle I encountered became a lesson I value and apply to managing my business today.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hayesandfoster.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hayesandfoster
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/HayesandFoster

Image Credits
Marsheila J. Hayes