The Exchanges

Q All right. How did it start? How did this business begin? What, what were you doing in, in, in your life at the time when you started this business?

A It was our first year of homeschooling. So I was at home with all three of the boys and they asked for more money for Nerf guns, PS four games, toys, you name it. My husband and I were like, no, you get enough allowance money. If you want more, you have to get a job or start a business. And I said it, you know, just to encourage them, but I didn't think they would actually want to do it. So they were like, mom, let's start a business. And I'm like, are you serious? I said, okay, so if you want to do this, let's do it and be successful at it. So we did a research project because it was all homeschool. I was like, this is going to be a lesson plan. And they, they researched which kid businesses were the most successful. And those were bath bombs, soaps, and candles. So we learned how to make all three types. They, they know how to make hot process soap, cold process soap, All types of bath bombs, paraffin candles, soy candles, vegan candles, and we all use them as, as chemistry experiments.

AI assessment note: “It was our first year of homeschooling. So I was at home with all three”

Q Got it. Okay. So completely sold out. So that's a good sign that they're onto something. Um, what was the next step in, in expanding the business out?

A We joined the Made in D.C. program, which is a program for local makers, you know, D.C. and Maryland, Virginia area, and through the program, we were able to, one, meet other makers, find out about vending fairs, they had programs for us to attend, you know, to learn how to better our business, and through actually another program, we also, um, joined Market Seven, which is an initiative in Ward Seven in D.C., which is a historically black district, and the founder of that program, Brought black makers together, and she would present them to, to retail stores to say, look, I have these black makers, do you want to put them on your shelves? So through her, we ended up in a made in D.C. shop. So that was the first retail location because it was like a black history fair or something like that, and she got a lot of us together, presented us, and they picked the ones they wanted to be there on that night. So from November to February, they got their first retail spot.

AI assessment note: “We joined the Made in D.C. program, which is a program for local makers”

Q All right. Now, bring us to today. You're now in, in some retail, more retail locations, and I think you're, you have a partnership with Macy's to sell your candles and your diffusers and things online. I have to assume that the boys are not hand making the candles anymore because they, the capacity, right?

A No, they're not. No, they're not. I promised them, I promised them, was it, in 2019. I said, guys, if you all want to extend your business, I said, just trust me. I said, get it to a point where you don't have to make it anymore. So less, by twenty-twenty, we made it happen. In July, we got a warehouse, and we started hiring people for the warehouse. So now, at this point, they don't make, they make, if, if I say, guys, we need some extra production help, can you come in? They'll come in and make, but for the most part, they just kind of manage, they oversee, they go in, they, they train. Every now and then, they train people if they need to, but they're not the primary manufacturers anymore.

AI assessment note: “No, they're not. No, they're not.”

Q should explain this. NPR in Washington, D.C. has a, a craft fair around Christmas time, and it's all local makers, and you can, it's called the All Crafts Considered Fair, Plan All Things Considered, and you can go there and, um, and sell your stuff, and NPR employs, and the public can come into the building and buy stuff, and they, so they, how do they find out about it?

A Someone sent me an email. Like, someone knew what the boys were doing, and they sent me an email and was like, Selena, you should, you know, apply for the boys to vent. And I said, okay, I, I had heard of it, but I had never been a part of it. So I applied for them to vent, and I also, I used to sell t-shirts at the time. So I, I had a booth, they had a booth, and I asked the coordinator, I said, make sure that their table is not close to mine. I trained them, I said, look, this is what we say to people, this is usually what I do when I sell t-shirts, because the t-shirts was a side Like, kind of a side hustle, because I was full-time homeschooling.

AI assessment note: “Someone sent me an email. Like, someone knew what the boys were doing”

Q I read in your fellowship application that a part of what you do is not just make candles to make money, but there's a social side to your business. Can you tell me a little bit about it?

A Well, when we started, the boys wanted to, to definitely give money to someone in the community, and literally every time we saw a homeless person, they were giving money. Either they were giving their money, or asking me to give any cash that I had. And, and DC is a very large homeless population. So we decided that very early on, we're going to give, they want to give like, they want to give 50% at first. And I said, we can't do that because then you won't make any money. I said, you know, profit is after we pay our bills. So you won't make any money. Let's, let's give a amount that makes a significant difference, but also enough where you all can have a profit. So we decided on 10% and we work with three foundations in DC that we donate to. And then we also sometimes, and, you know, sometimes you just feel like giving, like every time we visit a different city, we'll give to a charity there. We just don't really publicize it. So we'll find a charity in that city and we'll donate to that charity. We donate to other charities around the city. I think we just don't publicize because we're like, you know, sometimes you just give to give. You don't give so someone can say thank you. Just give to give.

AI assessment note: “we decided on 10% and we work with three foundations in DC that we donate to.”

Q And, and tell me a little bit about your sales. I mean, I think you guys are close to, or maybe more, your revenues in the seven figures?

A Yes. Yes. We, we were very happy. They made seven figures in a pandemic. Wow. We were amazed because if you ask Ryan, Ryan is the middle son. He was nine when we started. From day one, Ryan has had the most consistent attitude with, we're a million dollar company. Ryan is the, the analyst. He says, okay, how many people are at the event? So we should talk to 10% of them. So this is how many we're going to talk to. And because of that, we should have this much in sales. But that's the way Ryan thinks. He's very analytical. Like he's a Lego head. Like you should see all the Lego creations we have. He's an engineer. He's an, he wants to be an architect when he gets older. So Ryan was like, we can make a million. We need to make this much to make a million and this much a day. And this is what we need to do. And that's just who he is as a person. I was just kind of fearful of saying yes to because I was like, are we ready? And Ryan was like, yeah, we're ready. We're ready, mom. Let's do it.

AI assessment note: “Yes. Yes. We, we were very happy. They made seven figures in a pandemic.”