Here at Sarah Badeni we love supporting other small businesses and are always amazed by their start up stories and the inspiration behind the brands. This week we have interviewed some inspirational small business owners to find out how they started their brands and what advice they’d give to other people looking to launch their own company, especially in these challenging times.
Alexandra Badeni Candles
Alexandra began making small batch hand poured, soy wax candles during lockdown and they have been a great success! Being such a new business start up, she has great insight into what it takes to make a small business flourish, especially in lockdown, when so many small companies are struggling! Her candles are made from high quality wax and fragrance oils and 10% of all her profits go to charity.
Why did you start your business?
It was a spur of the moment thing in lockdown. Before the first lockdown was announced, I had already decided to make my own candle for personal use, so I ordered enough stock to make 3 candles. It was a really fun process and I loved the way that they smelt. It was then over the early summer months that I thought it would be an idea to make this into a business.
How did you start your company?
I did the test run on myself when I decided I wanted to make my own candle. Having enjoyed the process so much of making the candles and doing my research in to my labels, I decided to invest in the equipment needed to scale it up and put the profit generated in this first batch of sales straight back into the business to upscale further.
What was the inspiration behind the brand?
I wanted to create a candle brand that was affordable but also great quality and good for the environment. Making sure I was using high quality wax and fragrance oils.
What has been your proudest moment since starting the business?
Making my first sale. It doesn't sound like a huge thing but that first ever order is always an exciting moment.
What has been the biggest learning curve you’ve faced?
Nothing is ever easy, especially with Covid-19 going on in the background. You need to be patient and understand that there will always be hurdles that you need to overcome. Persistence is key.
What has been the biggest challenge that lockdown has provided?
There are huge delays on getting the candle jars and boxes that I use, with no actual date of when they will be back in stock again. Sadly, it is just a waiting game now. This has really held me back from the end of last year to where we are now.
Any big plans for 2021?
The aim is to continue with making candles to keep up with the growing demand, but I am also looking in to making room diffusers in the same fragrances as the candles.
What has been your go to outfit during lockdown?
I hate to say it but my outfits have been very relaxed - either gym kit or tracksuit bottoms and a jumper. My Sarah Badeni Sloppy Joe has been a real wardrobe staple too, just worn over a skinny jean.
What are you most looking forward to wearing when we can get back out and socialise?
Well hopefully we will be out of lockdown by the time our baby arrives - so am hoping to be out of maternity wear and into something a little more glamorous.
What advice would you give for someone looking to start their own business?
Do your research, make sure there is a market for what you want to sell/create. Put yourself in the customers shoes - would you want to buy what is being sold, is it at a price point you would be willing to pay and would you would be a repeat customer.
Montana Optimum Wellness
Started by Melissa Sturgess in 2017, Now award winning luxury CBD oil brand, Montana Optimum Wellness, stock a range of oils that promote sleep and relieve pain and anxiety. We caught up with Melissa to discuss the beginning of her brand journey and how she got the company to where it is now.
How and why did you decide to start your business?
I was an investor in medical cannabis and discovered how amazing CBD was for my sleep and menopause symptoms. I then found a scientist to be my partner and set about getting the science right to make an amazing CBD oil.
What was the inspiration behind the brand?
My rescue greyhound, Montana! I wanted to call the company something non-hippie and not involving the colour green as that was already ‘done’. Montana meant so much to me and seemed like a fun, off-piste and memorable name.
What has been your proudest moment since starting the business?
The first email from a customer I didn’t know saying that Montana CBD oil had literally changed her life.
What has been the biggest learning curve you’ve faced?
That it takes time to build trust and you can’t just push harder to make it happen.
What has been the biggest challenge that lockdown has provided?
Keeping everyone’s spirits up, from suppliers to clients to stockists to partners to my team. We have all needed a bit of a lift!
Have you got any big plans for 2021?
No! I get a huge amount of satisfaction helping people with sleep, anxiety, pain, and menopause symptoms. I want to keep doing that. I am still learning how much of a game-changer it is if you can help people sleep better.
What has been your go to outfit during lockdown?
My Sarah Badeni
Sloppy Joes. I have two of them and covet a third. (Need to sell more oil!!)
What are you most looking forward to when we can get back out and socialise?
Seeing how many amazing pairs of earrings Sarah Badeni has collected during lockdown!
What advice would you give for someone looking to start their own business?
Start small, dream big. Be focused and do not be distracted by all the shiny sparkly things you ‘could’ do. Do not be afraid to do your own thing and do not look at what everyone else does and do the same. It is hard to be different but stick to your initial idea and vision.
Rich Pickings
Evolving from a garden design business, Rich Pickings, which is based in Gloucestershire, transform a whole array of venues with their gorgeous floral displays. Run by the lovely Clare and Kate, they take inspiration from our surrounding countryside's and woodlands, utilising flowers that they grow in their own gardens, to create these beautiful bouquets and arches.
Why did you decide start your own business?
Kate and I met through our children and discovered we shared a love of gardens and flowers. We set up Rich Pickings, originally as a garden design business, and then started to take on commissions to decorate weddings and other events using the flowers and foliage we grew in our gardens and cutting garden. Decorating with flowers is now our passion and has become the focus of our business. We wanted to provide flowers for weddings and events that were different and by growing and picking our own, often scented, flowers, and using foliage for scale, we create the sense of ‘bringing the outside in’ that we love.
What was the inspiration behind the brand?
We chose the name Rich Pickings because we felt it represented the essence of our flower and garden business. We love working with the seasons and all that they offer – bare branches with emerging buds in the spring, fresh greenery and English garden flowers in the summer, seed heads, fruits and berries in the autumn and winter. We use growing plants in many of our installations which add to their sense of magic and we create simplicity and scale with branches of foliage, blossom and fruit and great wands of roses.
What has been your biggest highlight since starting the business?
We are so lucky in our job as flowers tend to inspire compliments and we have had so many lovely and appreciative comments from our wonderful clients over the years. We are often told that we have gone way beyond what they could have hoped for and that does make us feel proud.
But I think a real highlight is when client says, in the very early stages of planning, that they love what they have seen of our flowers and they trust us to do what we think would look best.
What has been the biggest learning curve you have faced?
Our biggest learning curve has been scaling up from small weddings, where we did all the designing and creating, to large weddings and events where we could no longer do everything ourselves and had to start employing people. We have been so lucky to create a team who have our ethos and work ethic and who we trust to carry out our vison.
What has been the biggest challenge that lockdown has provided?
2020 has thrown huge challenges – the postponement of all our large events and workshops and the uncertainty of planning. Adapting to numbers and venues changing, literally at the very last minute, and making sure we continued to create wonderful flowers for our clients despite the circumstances. We have learnt that we are good at quick decision making and thrive in an environment where we have to use the best ingredients available at that moment in time.
However, it has been difficult to remain positive in these uncertain times, especially when our area of business has received no help from the government. On the positive side we have taken the opportunity to increase our local flower delivery service, using only flowers from our gardens, which has been well received and supported and we have been lucky to have had enough small events throughout the year to keep our hand in.
Do you have any big plans for this year?
We are Looking forward to getting back to doing what we love most - hoping that most of the events booked in will be able to go ahead and that we will also be able to start running our flower workshops and garden days again – which we so enjoy. But knowing that we can do it, however large or mini an event is, whatever the circumstances or venue, we will rise to the challenge and create magic!
What has been your go to outfit during lockdown?
We spent the Summer months in a skirts, pretty shirt/tea shirt – Clare in flip flops and Kate trainers.
We have both spent the colder months in trainers and jeans but discovered we both love to change into something prettier in the evenings. It has made us realise just how important what you wear is to how you feel!
What advice would you give for someone looking to start their own business?
It helps so much if you are passionate about what you do and love your product. Keep at it! There will be knocks but try and create new opportunities from them.
