Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Morgan Mack. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Morgan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

If I could rewind 8 years of business and start over from scratch I would firstly take a few business classes in college but more specifically I would hone in on my target audience. I never set out to own a business, I liked making candles and the business side kinda just happened. I never knew that I needed to make a business plan where I figure out who my target audience was, I just wanted everyone to buy my candles, which lead to a lot of rebranding and having SO many different styles of my products.

I never had a clear vision of what I wanted RCco to look like, I think over the 8 years I have rebranded maybe 4 or 5 times in terms of website design and packaging. I also at one point had 15 different scents that came in 4 different products and each product was available in 3 different style bottles and jars. It was insane. The amount of money I was spending on having to keep everything in stock was absurd. Its the biggest thing I regret because I could have used all that extra money in such better ways, and my business would probably be bigger today.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Morgan, I’m a Rockaway NY native who started Rockaway Candle Co when I was a sophomore in college. I definitely didn’t intend on starting a business, but I was working at a local boutique and made a few candles to give as gifts for the holidays. I gave one to my boss at the time who owned the boutique and she asked if I could make more to stock in the store. 8 years later I’m now running the business full time in Rockaway

I think what I am most proud of is that I don’t have any business experience at all, I never took a business class in college or taken a private course (which I probably should) but I’ve been able to scale, grow, and maintain this business that has paid me a livable salary for the last 4 years. I don’t often take a step back to think about that but when I do, I really am shocked that through the extremely hard times, I still came to work, kept my head above water, and came out better for it.

I was never a candle burner when I was younger, mainly because my parents weren’t and I was living under their roof. As I’ve gotten older and have turned my apartment into my own sanctuary away from the outside world I’ve come to realize that scent is a vital part of making a house feel like home. Having a good smelling candle or room spray can immediately make your space feel more inviting, warm, and enjoyable. I can’t imagine having a stressful day and not being able to lay on my couch with my candles lit and comfort show on.

I strive that the quality of my products are top-notch so that my customers can have the same experience I get to enjoy everyday.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

Honestly, since COVID it seems like every week theres a new close call for my business. I feel like every time I go to reorder my supplies their costs have risen, or shipping costs have gone up. Its a very thin line you have to walk when you are a product based business because you can’t necessarily eat the costs of supply price increases, but if you raise your prices too much you could loose a lot of your customers. My saving grace is that I am my only employee, so in the past there have been times where I have had to skip out on paying myself for the week because sales were slow. I don’t know how I could ever handle having to tell someone else that I wouldn’t be able to pay them. Just thinking about that scenario makes me nauseous. I hired an amazing accountant and bookkeeper to help me make sure that those close calls don’t happen anymore, and that hopefully one day I can have employees and the possibility of not being able to pay them is non-existent

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

This lesson I’m still unlearning, and I’m not sure I’ll ever not be unlearning it. I’ll give you a bit of backstory, when I started RCco I was a 19 year old young woman with no background in business. I was kinda figuring things out as I went and learning from anyone who had even the tiniest bit of business knowledge. I think because I was so inexperienced in the business and money side of things I always felt inferior. Unfortunately that feeling hasn’t gone away even after 8 years. The fact that I have never taken a formal business class always pops into my head as I am discussing pricing for large wholesale orders to other businesses. It almost always makes me undervalue my products and my work. I often give discounts to people “just because” because I feel like the price I am charging is too high for someone who “doesn’t know what they’re doing.” Its a real struggle that I am trying to unlearn but seems to want to stick around

Contact Info:

• Website: rockawaycandleco.com
• Instagram: @rockawaycandleco
• Facebook: @rockawaycandleco
• Other: Pinterest: @rockawaycandleco

Image Credits
Tina Crespo