4. From Kitchen Stove to Business Growth: Kristy Miller's Path to Entrepreneurial Success
EPISODE 4
Have you ever been branded a failure for choosing a path less traveled? On the latest episode of the Figure Eight podcast, Julie had the pleasure of chatting with Kristy Miller. Kristy shared her journey from dropping out of university to becoming the founder of The Scented Market. Despite the resistance, her unwavering determination and strong support system proved that success doesn't always follow a conventional script.
Join Julie and Kristy as they discuss evolving team dynamics and strategies to align with the needs of a flourishing business, the art of hiring for brand wellness, and the tough decisions that spark monumental growth..
Catch the Conversation
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Kristy is the founder and CEO of The Scented Market, a homegrown business known for its self-care mission and soy wax candles, bath and body products, and home decor. With a passion for creating sensory experiences that transcend the ordinary, Kristy has built a reputation for excellence in the candle industry.
Kristy's journey began with a simple fascination for scents and their power to evoke emotions and memories. She was determined to craft beautiful, eco-friendly candles for her family and friends to enjoy, pouring countless jars out of her kitchen in Guelph, ON.
In 2018 her dedication and unique signature style paid off and she moved production into her first retail store. Five years later, The Scented Market has expanded to four retail locations in Ontario and supplies hundreds of stockists throughout Canada and the USA.An entrepreneur with an unstoppable drive for growth and connection, Kristy is a strong advocate for her community, empowering her audience and other women in business to “dream a size too big.” In November 2022 she faced the fire on Dragon’s Den, receiving offers from all six of the dragons. Fast forward to May of 2023, and Kristy was named Entrepreneur of the Year by CanadianSME Business Magazine.
Looking ahead, Kristy hopes to continue growing and inspiring her community with every new candle she creates.
You can connect with Kristy on Instagram or LinkedIn and with The Scented Market on Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, or LinkedIn. -
Julie Ellis (00:00:04) - Welcome to Figure Eight, where we feature inspiring stories of women entrepreneurs who have grown their businesses to seven and eight figures revenue. If you're in the mix of growing a bigger business, these stories are for you. Join us as we explore where the tough spots are, how to overcome them, and how to prepare yourself for the next portion of the climb. I'm your host, Julie Ellis. I'm an author, entrepreneur, and a growth in leadership coach who co-founded, grew, and exited an eight figure business. This led me to exploring why some women achieve great things, and that led to my book, Big Gorgeous Goals. Let's explore the systems, processes and people that help us grow our businesses to new heights. If you're interested in growing your business, this podcast will help. Now let's get going. Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Figure eight podcast. Today I'm sending a big welcome to Kristy Miller. A little background on Kristy. She's the founder of the Scented Market, where she recognized a need in the market for at home self-care.
Julie Ellis (00:01:22) - And she's created products like scented soy candles, room sprays, bath salts, and, well, really, the list goes on. I love that these products are eco friendly and they're made with really high quality ingredients. She has a great recycling program in her stores and she's building a candle empire. I'm super excited to talk to her today. Welcome, Kristy.
Kristy Miller (00:01:47) - Thanks so much for having me, Julie.
Julie Ellis (00:01:50) - Oh. You're welcome. I'm so excited to talk to you today. And I wanted to start off with having you tell me a little bit about your journey to this business and your journey with entrepreneurship.
Kristy Miller (00:02:03) - Absolutely. I mean, I think my entrepreneurial career began back in university. Um, I went I was finished high school and I went to university to become a nurse, and I completed my entire first year. And then I had this epiphany where I was like, I don't know if my heart can handle this, and I'm not sure that I want to work, shift work and weekends and and work the hours that the career demands.
Kristy Miller (00:02:31) - Um, but back, I mean, 20 years ago, entrepreneurship was definitely not romanticized like it is today. And I was actually viewed upon as a failure because I dropped out of university. I was a failure. I was going to amount up to nothing. And why ever could I even imagine that working for myself would be considered successful? So that's I mean, my maybe my journey started off a little bit rough and not exactly the feedback that I got from my friends and my family that I wanted. Um, but thank goodness I had a boyfriend and now my my loving husband. Um, in my corner 100% of the way.
Julie Ellis (00:03:17) - Thank you. That's amazing. And so interesting that you met with that sort of resistance and people saying you're a failure. I mean, did that light a fire underneath you?
Kristy Miller (00:03:29) - Absolutely. I mean, you hit the nail on the head every time someone told me that I couldn't do it or I was a woman, I didn't belong in the industry. That really was the fire in my belly.
Kristy Miller (00:03:40) - That I needed to prove them wrong and to prove to not only myself and my family, but like just to society in general, that I could be an entrepreneur. I could make a living out of it. And and honestly, I could just have personal happiness and do what I wanted to do in my life, living it the way I wanted to, and not necessarily the way everyone else thought I should live it.
Julie Ellis (00:04:08) - Interesting. Yeah, I think that's something that really resonates with me around, you know, the idea of wanting that control over the pieces. So being able to control what you do with them and what you want in life.
Kristy Miller (00:04:24) - Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it was a choice that I made. Like I was going to endure the hardship and the like, the social stigma of dropping out of university to take a major risk, which 20 years later, I think has paid off.
Julie Ellis (00:04:39) - Yes, I think so. I'm curious about how you started this business, the central Market, because you had a very successful business already before you started this.
Kristy Miller (00:04:51) - Yeah. I mean, I was running a seven figure food business that I had built literally from the ground up. Um, and I, um, was able to take a break from the day to day. And I was we were a growing family at that time. You know, I just had our third boy and I felt like, what are we like? I am the main provider of bringing everything into the home. I bring the groceries into the home. I bring the cleaning products, I bring all the products into the home. And I thought, what are we eating? What are the ingredients and not? And what am I cleaning with? What are the ingredients in that? And then honestly, Julie, I looked up at my ceiling and saw all this black soot and thought, I've never considered like what type of candles I was bringing into the home. And I was burning around my pets and around my young children, and it sort of sent me spiraling into this rabbit hole of what kind of ingredients are in them.
Kristy Miller (00:05:46) - And also, can I find a candle that I love and that's beautiful, that I can also multi-purpose as part of my home decor because, let's face it, I was a woman who, you know, took care of myself, took care of my family, took care of my home, and I really loved a quality product, but also like a beautiful product that I could display in my home.
Julie Ellis (00:06:09) - And so you began.
Kristy Miller (00:06:10) - And I made my very first candle five years ago on my kitchen stove. And all of a sudden my friends and my family were like, whoa, what's going on here? What? What are you doing? And I was like, I don't know, but it's gonna be something fun. Um, and honestly, five years later, never in my wildest imagination did I ever think I would be running a multi-million dollar candle organization and, um, really just having fun all along the way.
Julie Ellis (00:06:41) - Yeah. And you have physical stores as well as selling your product online.
Kristy Miller (00:06:46) - Yeah. We have, uh, four physical store locations.
Kristy Miller (00:06:50) - There are our flagship store is in Guelph, Ontario, and then we have a store in Fergus, Ontario, downtown, beautiful Niagara on the Lake, Ontario. And then not too long ago, we opened a store in the Blue Mountain Village, um, in Ontario. And our online store is still hustling and bustling. You know, where we're chatting around Black Friday and we're going through all that Black Friday madness. Um, but definitely our online store is our busiest.
Julie Ellis (00:07:19) - Yeah. That's great. So tell me a little bit about how you built the team that's around you to help you grow this business.
Kristy Miller (00:07:29) - I think I recognized very quickly that I couldn't do this journey alone, and I learning from everything I did wrong in my first business. Really, I was able to have an advantage of not to make that mistake the second time around. So I knew quickly that I needed to build a team, and I needed to build a team of really knowledgeable people and people that really thought about the wellness of the brand and put the brand first.
Kristy Miller (00:07:55) - Um, and people who knew more than me. I never, ever hire anyone who knows less than I know. You have to know more than I know or know something, or be an expert in a field that I am not in for you to join my team. And I think that just really like, sets a standard of the quality of people that work for us. But also, you know, I wanted to make sure that the team I was building felt valued and felt like they had input on the day to day, the year to year, um, building of the brand. And I think that really pays off in the long run.
Julie Ellis (00:08:30) - And how has the team sort of shifted as the business has grown from you at your kitchen stove to four stores and now a dedicated production space and all of the things that come with that.
Kristy Miller (00:08:43) - I think the team has shifted in really great ways. I mean, I don't ever feel bad about outgrowing someone or outgrowing an individual. I mean, the truth is, we're all learning and growing as we build our businesses on a day to day basis.
Kristy Miller (00:08:59) - What you have to be okay with as an entrepreneur, as a boss, is recognizing those moments when you've outgrown a team member, or you've outgrown a strategy in your business to be able to give you that boost to the next level so people, employees, mentors, business coaches have come in and out of my life and I'm it's not been a negative experience. It's been a really positive experience because they were put in my life or I believe they were put in my life to teach me something at the time that I was meant to need that in my life. And then and then, like the seasons, they too shall pass and I should meet really great, inspiring people on my next journey or in the next season of my business.
Julie Ellis (00:09:49) - From where it really came from. Okay. Yeah. And as those seasons change, what do you find the hardest? What's tripped you up that you didn't think would be a hard season?
Kristy Miller (00:10:01) - I think it's just not knowing what you don't know already. So there's lots of times where I walk into a room or a meeting, or I just have a coffee with someone and I was like, okay, tell me the things I don't know that I need to know.
Kristy Miller (00:10:15) - And maybe not necessarily knowing what the right questions are to ask, but putting it out there, taking a chance, taking a shot on saying, hey, you know, I'm not an expert in this. What do I need to know about it? I think there's something so humbling about being in, you know, that kind of situation and just recognizing that, you know, I don't know everything. And you know what? I rely on experts in my life and sometimes random people to to just teach me the things that I don't even know that I should know.
Julie Ellis (00:10:51) - Yes, some days the light bulb turns on above you and you're like, huh, I didn't know I needed to know that.
Kristy Miller (00:10:58) - Yeah, absolutely. Or like, why didn't I think of that?
Julie Ellis (00:11:02) - Totally. Yes, that's another good one. And so what have been some of the big struggles that you've overcome as you've built to this level?
Kristy Miller (00:11:10) - So interestingly enough, I like to put a twist on struggles, and I like to put a twist on the word struggle maybe.
Kristy Miller (00:11:19) - So I think before anything enters my aura, my energy, my space, I immediately turn the struggle or the negative into a positive. So let me break that down. Lots of negative things happen on a daily basis, on a yearly basis as I'm growing the business. But what I like to do is that as soon as it hits my bubble, it flips to a negative, like, okay, this happens to me. How can I change it into a learning and growing experience? And what did I learn from it to not make that mistake again? So, for instance, um, you know, a person came into my bubble. She was at the time exactly what I needed. She taught me lots of things about building the business, building the brand, and building the sales. Now, in hindsight, I really wish I could have hung on to her. And I really wish she could have stayed with the company. I didn't want to lose her. It wasn't a choice I was able to make.
Kristy Miller (00:12:17) - But I look at that struggle and like, okay, it's not a struggle. It's a what can I do to retain employees longer? What could I have done with this particular employee? Yes, it's too late now, but what can I do with employees moving on in the future so that when I know that I need them or they're really beneficial to the brand, how can I keep them and what does that look like? But like, what are the conversations I can have before it gets to that point? How are you today? Is there anything I can provide you with to help you grow in your role? Where do you see your role in a year from now? All of those things I've learned through the experience or the struggle, um, to think that I can do so much better moving forward in the future.
Julie Ellis (00:13:05) - I love that framing, because I think you could get to wallowing in your struggles some days as an entrepreneur. And it's true that often, you know, your example of people is a really good one.
Julie Ellis (00:13:19) - You can't save what was, but you can change what will be.
Kristy Miller (00:13:23) - Absolutely. And I think just like saying it out loud and recognizing it like, okay, I screwed up with this person or I screwed up with this decision. You know, I made a bad financial decision. But like, it's not necessarily a bad financial decision because it is going to teach you some sort of lesson which you have to spin into, like a positive growth mindset attitude, or else you're right, you can dwell on it. You can, you know, fall into a slump with it. Um, but you just have to really turn that corner really quickly and use it as a learning experience and move forward immediately from that. There's been times where people say to me, oh my gosh, you're so lucky you built a seven figure business in under five years. That's not work. That's a lot of hard work. That's a lot of behind the scenes conversations happening on a daily basis. But the ability to see, okay, I we're doing this wrong or we're going down the wrong path, but let's not make it a negative and dwell on it.
Kristy Miller (00:14:19) - Let's turn it into a positive. You know, I'm coming back full circle to that positive growth mindset and how fast we can get out of that slump and move forward into, you know, something even more amazing than we had even anticipated.
Julie Ellis (00:14:35) - Yeah. And so what's next? What are the next big changes that you need to make in the business? Or the question I'm thinking of is what's your biggest struggle on the horizon?
Kristy Miller (00:14:46) - I think the biggest struggle for us, or like the biggest growth move is I would love. I love being Canadian, I love living in Canada. But at some point there was I felt like I was capped in Canada, just, just mainly due to our size. Really nothing that anyone's done but just our size. I would love to make a huge push into the States, and I'm looking at 2026 because, um, the struggle with that is making sure all the legalities are in place the trademarks, the copyrights, the paperwork, the tax business account. Like there's so much, you know, being able to just say, oh, we're gonna move into the States.
Kristy Miller (00:15:29) - That comes with a lot of underlying issues that we need to, um, legally and financially work through before we're able to accomplish that. And, um, I think being in such a fast growth mindset, there's been multiple opportunities, um, in the last year of, like, this is your way to get into the states or this is, you know, people have approached me, oh, you know, sign with this influencer. They are huge in the States. And I've had to like, unfortunately, say no, but not because I don't love that influencer or that company, because The Scented Market and the brand is not ready to make that move yet. And I didn't want to race or rush into something to not do it. Now, contradictory to my I'm able to move fast. I'm able to move fast, but you still need to make sure you have the legal and the financial things set before you're able to make that leap.
Julie Ellis (00:16:27) - Yeah, and moving to another country is not a small leap, you know, opening up those markets. It's a big deal.
Kristy Miller (00:16:35) - Yeah. I mean, I think I always live by the motto of dream a size too big and then grow into it. So I'm always dreaming of these wild things. But then, you know, I put I put it out to the universe, I put it in the subconscious mindset. And then it just comes to fruition. Not by luck, but by hard work.
Julie Ellis (00:16:59) - Definitely. Yeah. I think of all the things that come with a project like that, and it's also having the right amount of time to plan it and do it well, not half baked. And you don't want to be doing a toe dip and use an influencer, and then you can't really deliver on the promise or the product, or you have problems. You don't want it like that.
Kristy Miller (00:17:21) - Absolutely not. And I'm definitely one for like, not like it doesn't have to be perfect to get it to the market, but like you have to make sure that you're doing your due diligence.
Julie Ellis (00:17:30) - Yeah, yeah.
Julie Ellis (00:17:31) - And I'm getting the picture of how you really want to set yourself up for success in every way you possibly can before you go there.
Kristy Miller (00:17:39) - Absolutely. And I think too, like, I definitely have to applaud you and give you a big pat on the back because through your book, big Gorgeous Goals, I've really thought about like what my one year, five year, ten year, 15 year goals are, you know what retirement looks like for me, it's really like through reading your book, it's really opened up my mindset to like, man, I should start planning maybe an exit strategy 20 years from now, but like putting that in my universe and in my mindset to be able to grow, but like in the right direction.
Julie Ellis (00:18:13) - It's like having those puzzle pieces laid out on the table for you to play with as you start figuring out, um, where you're going and to also revisit the goals.
Kristy Miller (00:18:25) - Absolutely. I just it's like, you know, someone gives you a tool, it's up to you whether you use it or take advantage of it or not.
Kristy Miller (00:18:32) - And if you choose not to, okay. But that's on you.
Julie Ellis (00:18:36) - Um, what's one thing you're looking for in your business right now, um, that you're looking for help with to help lever yourself forward in the next 3 to 6 months?
Kristy Miller (00:18:50) - Oh my goodness. That's a fantastic question. You know what I'm always looking for? What are the things taking up my time that I don't need to be doing that I could be, um, delegating to someone else. And I think I've just hit the realization that I could probably use a VA. The fact that I don't have a VA already is mind blowing to some business people, but I just feel like I've always, right from the inception of the Scented Market, been very hands on, been very vocal. So I think I would love to move to, uh, founder and creative director role instead of a founder and CEO role.
Julie Ellis (00:19:30) - Oh, that's an interesting transition.
Kristy Miller (00:19:33) - Yes, it's a whole other conversation.
Julie Ellis (00:19:37) - It's fascinating though, because that is big. It's a big change, but one that if that's where your true gifts lie in the creative direction and the dreaming up of the products and the marketing and all of those places, then it will probably be somewhere that you can sustain yourself really well for the long term.
Kristy Miller (00:19:59) - Yeah, you're absolutely right. And interestingly enough, um, I was on Dragon's Den last year. It's our Canadian Shark Tank. Um, and I actually pitched to the Dragons for an hour and 30 minutes. I mean, TV slims that down to five minutes. But what I kept hearing from all six of them over and over and over again was you're basically like the next Martha Stewart. And all I could think of at the time was, didn't she go to jail for tax evasion? I should really look more into her. And so that's really resonated with me, because maybe my passion is not in like a CEO role of the day to day operations, of the build of the business. Um, but you're right, my zone of genius is the creative is the face of the brand.
Kristy Miller (00:20:47) - So I've really, like, taken the last six months to like, for lack of a better word, noodle that I'm noodling that, uh, option. Um, and I really like the way it's sounding, but also, I, um, I also accept that that would come with a lot of challenges and a lot of changes, which, um, people in general are just not, um, excited about sometimes. But, um, I think it's a conversation to be had for sure.
Julie Ellis (00:21:19) - I think it's interesting because at Mabel's Labels, when we reach the seven figures and we were climbing up towards eight, it's where I started to be like, oh, I kind of didn't sign up for this part of the job, or I didn't know the job would look like this when I had 30 employees, 40 employees, 50 employees. Like, it really, really changes from, you know, the dream and from in some cases, you know, in some cases, my case, the dream we had in a basement of making labels for moms who needed their kids stuff to come home to them.
Julie Ellis (00:21:51) - That is very different than leading an IT team, of which I had no experience. So I think it's a real time when we start to ask ourselves questions about what we really want.
Kristy Miller (00:22:05) - And I think that that should not be frowned upon. I think that should really be like a shining North star in every entrepreneur's life. Like really ask yourself the questions and reflect on like what this could mean for you. Or you know what this next chapter, next challenge could bring you. And recognizing that as your business grows from 7 to 8 figures or or or maintain at seven figures, really, um, is like, are you happy? Is this what you wanted? You know, I always swore that the day I wasn't happy doing this is the my last day at the company. So I always want to make sure that I set myself and I set my team up for success.
Julie Ellis (00:22:46) - Yes, I think it's a great point. And so. What do you mean? We've talked already about some of your biggest dreams or the big dreams that you're chasing.
Julie Ellis (00:22:57) - But what are some of the biggest dreams you would have if everything you can imagine came true for The Scented Market and Kristy Miller?
Kristy Miller (00:23:06) - Yeah, I think definitely moving into a creative director role and not so much hands on day to day is definitely like a goal that I would have for, say like the next ten years, what retirement looks like for me, I'm, I really, um, I really struggle with finding a business coach or a business mentor. So I mean, a business mentor maybe is not someone you pay, but this is just willing to do mentorship versus a business coach, which is someone you can pay up to thousands of dollars a year. So I feel like I struggle finding, um, this role. And so I think, you know, when my time frees up, I would love to give back and maybe do some business coaching myself. And, you know, but coming from a place of experience, like, hi, I'm Kristy Miller, I've had two, seven figure businesses grown from scratch.
Kristy Miller (00:23:59) - So like, uh, relying on my experience, but not necessarily my business school degree. Um, and also giving back. I always like, I built this business so that I could position myself to give back. I do a lot of mentorship through our local business center where I volunteer, um, to mentor business or entrepreneurs. And I love going to speak at I speak at the University of Guelph, which, uh, university? Um, I speak at their entrepreneurship class, and I love going into high schools to speak at their entrepreneurship class, because I feel like there's something so real about an average mom making a multi seven figure business out of candles. When you think about it, you know, you can, you know, you could get up right now and go to your local craft store and buy a candle making kit. But like the ability to turn that into, you know, a seven figure business is like next level. And so I really don't think I, I saw my value, um, my own value for a long time because I just thought it was normal that when you were an entrepreneur, you built a seven figure business.
Kristy Miller (00:25:09) - And then, you know, I was able to sell my first corporation and negotiate a successful exit to build my next seven figure corporation. So it just felt like, doesn't everybody do that? And so I'm very quickly learning that, no, not everyone does that. It's a very like unique type of person. And um, I'm really starting to see the value in myself.
Julie Ellis (00:25:32) - I'm thinking about your comments around business coaches and what's out there. What do you wish for that you were never able to find? And what do you think it is that's missing?
Kristy Miller (00:25:43) - I think there's something different about I've always find myself in this gray zone. So like, I'm not I. I am retail and I am manufacturing, which makes me both, which puts me in this gray zone. I am a brand product and I put myself on social media as an influencer. So I'm kind of in this gray zone of both. And so I'm really feeling like from a mentor, I would love a mentor who is physically in the day to day of a 7 or 8 figure business themselves to be like, okay, not necessarily gone through the schooling of being a coach, but who has the life experience of being a business mentor or coach and has been through it themselves.
Kristy Miller (00:26:24) - So I think I found with my last two business coaches, they were both extremely wonderful, and I have nothing but positive things to say about them and a positive experience. But like at the end of our sessions, I was just finding like I was outgrowing them and like I had learned what I learned when I needed to learn it, but I needed to like level up. And I just am feel like I'm struggling finding that like level up coach that is doing it or had has done it themselves that could come full circle to coach or mentor. It just it sounds so funny to say, but like, I've never been a CEO before. I've never like ran a multi like I did in my last business, but it was like way different than this business. And like, I don't like, what is this CEO SOP look like? I don't know, I better Google it. Like what do those things look like and like what are the questions? As a CEO, I should be asking myself or my team.
Kristy Miller (00:27:27) - And so I think that definitely is a struggle.
Julie Ellis (00:27:31) - And learning where to find those resources. I know I often felt like I needed to find my sounding boards who were away from the business, because the bigger the business got, the more I felt the pressure to present myself as a leader and not look like I was figuring it out as I went along.
Kristy Miller (00:27:52) - Absolutely, 100%. That's like the like I come home and I'm just like, mom Kristy. But then I go to work and I'm like CEO Kristy Miller. But I'm like, I don't even know. Do people think I'm doing a good job as a CEO? I don't know, you know, I must be because the financial data is telling me I'm doing a good job. But I'm like, what am I missing as a CEO? That I think that a business mentor or business coach could really help and guide in that direction. You know, I'm, you know, in five years I want to be an eight nine figure business. And like, I want to dream a size too big.
Kristy Miller (00:28:24) - But like, I need to make sure that my foundation of my business and of my brand is there and supported successfully in order to make that leap.
Julie Ellis (00:28:34) - And when you're making leaps, how do you decide what to hang on to and what to make really important, and how to decide what to let go of because we need to let go of things we might not want to as our business grows. How do you decide?
Kristy Miller (00:28:49) - I used to decide with a gut feeling right from my gut based on no data whatsoever. And I think since my Dragons Den episode, it's really like gave me the kick in the butt. I needed to get the numbers in front of me, get the reports in front of me, start making. I mean, obviously my gut is good and I'll always rely on it to some degree, but I, I was I learned to start looking at the numbers and the analytics and really reading them and putting time and effort into learning which ones I need to look at every day, which ones I need to look at every month, and like really letting them be my guiding star to, okay, let's make this leap.
Kristy Miller (00:29:30) - But like, what do the reports and what did the analytics tell me? I also think it's very important to have a bookkeeper and or an accountant on a daily basis as your phone a friend, because I learned going from my you know, I had my head down in my single car garage in 2019 doing $1 million in sales, not even knowing I hit $1 million in sales because I was so knee deep in the making. I was like, I looked up one day and I was like, oh, our sales are over $1 million. But like having the support of a really great I mean, my bookkeeper is amazing. You know, I say, hey, I want to open a new store in the Blue Mountain Village. She walks me through all the numbers we need to know. She walks me through all the financial data that we need to compile, and then what sales look like and what our forecasts are. And if it is even a financially responsible decision to open a new retail store. I mean, in the midst of an economic crisis, um, what does that look like? And so I think having the right people around you and the right data in front of you is easier to make a gut decision then, um, not having the support.
Julie Ellis (00:30:43) - In the gut decision making days. As the business got bigger and the decisions were harder, did you find it took you longer to make them?
Kristy Miller (00:30:52) - I want to say yes, but the true answer is no, because I was really a risk taker and I was a trigger puller.
Julie Ellis (00:30:58) - So you were like, boom, I.
Kristy Miller (00:31:00) - Was an instant. If you messaged me and said, Kristy, you should sell bath bombs because your candles are amazing. Next week, later I was launching bath bombs. Like that's literally. And like I stayed up 24 hours a day, seven days a week, trying to figure out how to make a bath bomb. But like that is like how fast we were moving. And like, honestly, Julie, we went from half $1 million to over $2 million in less than a year because I was making decisions that snap and fast.
Julie Ellis (00:31:31) - And that is, as you know, not a well, the revenue growth part is sustainable, but the 24/7 schedule is not a sustainable way for you to grow a business.
Kristy Miller (00:31:42) - Well, and interestingly enough, you know, my husband, my kids, my you know, my two year old boy at the time was helping stick wicks to jars. And so I, I called my bookkeeper up one day and I was like, hey, like, when can I hire my first employee? Because I don't even know, like, if I can afford one or like, I'm working too much. And she literally was like, well, let's see what the numbers tell us. And I was like, well, what do you mean what? What numbers? Like she's like, well, if you want to pay someone $60,000 a year, do you have $60,000 a year to give up and pay someone? And I was like, oh, it like it clicked immediately. I was like, oh, okay, I have to pay people, which means I have to have the revenue and the money. Um, and like since that literal conversation that day, I like haven't stopped building a team since.
Kristy Miller (00:32:29) - And like, even now, when we sit down for our monthly meetings, we're like, okay, what is in the budget for next year for growth? Does it look like outsourcing growth? Does it look like we can hire a full time in-house person? Like what? We're always like pre-planning for the growth. And that includes like wages and infrastructure in the company as well.
Julie Ellis (00:32:51) - And that's the interesting, I think, secret sauce of the gut, combining with the facts and the numbers to really help you make great decisions.
Kristy Miller (00:33:01) - Yeah, there's definitely a real balance between like listening to both, um, you know, the gut is the heart and like what feels right. But I always, no matter what decision I make personally or professionally, I always start with, is this good for the brand? You know, I mean, even in my personal life, if I'm doing something or, you know, I'm going to event and I'm wearing something, I'm like, am I on brand? Are these colors on brand? You know, it's all like, I am brand obsessed.
Kristy Miller (00:33:31) - But like, that's such a great thing because I'm always considering the impact on the brand. And I think that the scented market, you know, has really great brand, um, value. And I think it's because it's always in the back of my mind. It's always on my mind on a day to day.
Julie Ellis (00:33:49) - Yeah. And then your customers become really brand loyal.
Kristy Miller (00:33:53) - We do have brand evangelists. Absolutely. I always keep circling around like, what can I do? What event can I host? And just invite our brand evangelists just for fun? Because these women are absolutely incredible. And I think it says something because every time I go to a networking event or I, you know, I go to the mall, I'll have someone come up and they'll be like, you don't know me, but I used to pick up candles from your bin at your house in the front of your driveway. And like, it's been incredible watching your journey. So like, as much as society tells us to watch the negative look at this bad thing happened to this person.
Kristy Miller (00:34:32) - Like, I'm really created an incredible community around the candle based on positivity, you know, uplifting comments a very like a very a community you want to belong to because it's just a lot of fun and it's very positive. Um, and I think, like, I hold my community very sacred and very valued. I'm so grateful them because they are truly the drivers of the brand and they're incredible.
Julie Ellis (00:34:59) - That's such a great thing to have behind you.
Kristy Miller (00:35:02) - Um, yeah. I mean, I attribute a lot of our success to, to, like, I knew from day one exactly who our target audience was. It was me. I never, ever veered from that. Like, oh, I can capture everybody. I was always laser focused every day on who my customer was, and I went after them. I sought after them. So, um, like a great example of, you know, oh, I buy my candles at the dollar store. And I'm like, that's great. Like, I all the power to you.
Kristy Miller (00:35:39) - That's your zone. But like, you are not my customer. I'm not going to, um, you know, put advertising dollars. I'm not gonna, you know, not a waste of time, but I'm not going to try to attract someone who's not my customer. And I've always been laser focused from day one, because I recognize the value of not trying to sell to everyone niche down to who your people are, and that's where you'll be the most successful.
Julie Ellis (00:36:04) - And so what does 2024 have in store for the scented market?
Kristy Miller (00:36:10) - Well, um, so October 2023, we opened our Blue Mountain store and we moved to a new manufacturing facility that's five times the size of our existing manufacturing facility. So in that move, we were able to hire, uh, four more full time people, um, local, local people, local women, actually. And I think 20, 24, we are still on track with for some incredible growth. But also just like looking at our hero products, looking at our hero SKUs, really being dialed in on what we're great at and eliminating, um, the frills, because I think that, you know, I was just at an economic outlook, um, this morning actually.
Kristy Miller (00:36:56) - And although on the news it's negative that the impact was very positive and very positive things for our economy. So it really gave me hope that in the short term, we might feel a squeeze or a pinch. But coming into late 2024, things are going to really open up. And I think the economy is going to really turn around and and do wonderful things. And I just want to be able to support people in their self care at home. I want to elevate their every day. I want them to indulge in the in the sensory experience and, and really be there for them and be customer focused and customer driven to show, you know, to show them what we really do care about our community and making sure that their, you know, everyday they're taking, you know, even if it's three seconds of self-care time or some time, you know, to themselves whether that looks like reading a book or lighting a candle or having a bath, really focusing in on the things that matter.
Julie Ellis (00:37:55) - That's great, because I'm very interested to continue watching your journey and buy your products, because they really are fantastic.
Kristy Miller (00:38:05) - Thank you so much, Julie.
Julie Ellis (00:38:09) - Thank you so much for joining me today and sharing about your journey. It's been a real treat.
Kristy Miller (00:38:15) - Thanks, Julie.
Julie Ellis (00:38:17) - I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please remember to hit subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. So you won't miss any episodes. Figure Eight isn't just a podcast, it's a way of seeing the big, gorgeous goals of women entrepreneurs coming to life. If you're interested in learning more, you can find my book, Big Gorgeous Goals on Amazon anywhere you might live. For more about my growth and leadership training programs, visit www.julieellis.ca to see how we might work together. Read my blog or sign up to get your free diagnostic. Are you ready for growth? Once again. That's julieellis.ca. When we work together, we all win. See you again soon for another episode of Figure Eight.