Overcoming Fear: Standing Out in a Crowded Market

Cathy Blachowski shares her journey into the competitive world of candle making, highlighting her fear of blending in with numerous vendors on platforms like Etsy. She emphasizes the importance of differentiation and staying true to her unique product, targeting individuals who truly appreciate her craftsmanship. Cathy’s courage to face failure head-on is central to her approach, enabling her to take bold steps in her business without the fear of setbacks. Her story is an inspiring testament to the resilience needed to carve out a niche in a crowded market. Join us to hear more about her path to creating a standout candle business.

 

Contact Cathy

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-blachowski-39736355/

Website - www.yellowleafcandlecompany.com

Email - cathy.blachowski@gmail.com

 

Special Thank you to our Sponsors – Genhead – www.genhead.com and Sales Rescue – www.rescuemysales.com

Robb Conlon – Intro and outro – Westport Studio - https://www.westportstudiosllc.com/

The Brave Ones – Instrumental Version Song by Jan Sanejko - https://artlist.io/royalty-free-music/song/the-brave-ones/119489

 

Leighann Lovely: Welcome to another episode of love your sales. I am so thrilled today. I am joined by Cathy Blachowski.

She is an entrepreneur and owner of Yellow Leaf Candle Company, an e commerce store. And I would love, you know, Kathy, for you to tell us a little bit more about, , you know, what Yellow Leaf Candle Company is and does.

Cathy Blachowski: Yeah, so basically I created this company last year, um, based on my own health history.

So for years I've been suffering [00:02:00] from, chronic migraines, uh, severe sinus pressure, allergies, asthma, and was no longer able to breathe. Burn store-bought candles in my house. So I started making them myself for about five years and then realized that there are a lot of people out there that have the same sensitivities and struggles I do.

So I decided to bring them to the world in 2023, and now I am out there on the website, um, and I'm going out to fairs and craft. Any kind of expo I can get my hands on to share, , these clean burning eco friendly candles that don't irritate all the things, , that I've got going on with myself.

Leighann Lovely: Wow. So explain how that, how, cause I suffer from horrible allergies year round.

So explain to me how these candles work. don't affect, [00:03:00] you know, us who have the hose, those irritants, especially in the house. And, you know, we all bring these things into the home. We're like, Oh, it's, it smells great. It, it's awesome. But yeah, that's a real thing.

Cathy Blachowski: Yeah. So I realized that there's a bunch of candles that big box stores sell and they use the cheapest kind of wax that they can find.

So they can mass produce it. And the wax burns very fast. And the scent goes almost away immediately. And not only are you not getting the full effect of that candle, but you're not getting the full effect of how it burns to like the wicks that they use are cheap wicks. Um, I've noticed when you move furniture around, after you've lit a candle for years, that there's soot on your walls, there's soot on your ceilings and just think about what you're breathing in.

Like that. What's on your walls is in your lungs, and no wonder I was having asthma attacks every [00:04:00] single time. Um, it's, it's one of those things where you just don't realize what's the cause until you stop doing it. And then you're like, wow, like there is a better way that you can do this. So I did a ton of research on what is the cleanest, most combination of a burning candle that you can get.

So I found the soy wax. I found, you know, self trimming cotton wicks that don't create that mushroom, that the black that builds up inside the candles and goes everywhere. I mean, it was just disgusting to blow my nose after having a. A candle lit for three hours, like nobody should have to see soot coming out of your nose.

It, it terrified me, but it also woke me up to say, now there's something that I can do about it.

Leighann Lovely: Wow. , you've just blown my mind because I've never, you know, And again, yeah, I, when I go and sit out at a, you know, a fire pit outside, you go inside and you blow your nose and you're like, [00:05:00] Oh, that's disgusting.

But you would, you expect that when you're sitting by an open burning fire and you're throwing God knows what kind of wood on it. But you're right in your home. You want, everybody wants to be able to occasion, especially around the holidays. And, you know, you have your holiday sense, you have your Christmas, your Thanksgiving, whatever sense you want to be able to enjoy that.

But you, so, okay. So this came out of a personal journey.

Cathy Blachowski: Yep. So very long one. Let me tell you, I did a lot of testing with a lot of different things and I noticed, you know, that dyes can, you know, sometimes hinder the way that that burns too. So my candles have no dyes in it. There are no carcinogens in it.

I only use essential oils or certified clean, um, fragrance oils. So it's one of those things that you really have to do a lot of research with. [00:06:00] Otherwise, you know, you could go through it like me who did a lot of testing and, um, realize that there are so many ways to do it wrong. But when you finally find that money combination, it's like finally I found it.

I feel really good about this. I mean, I was giving hundreds of candles away to people and say like, Hey, burn this. Let me know what you think. And it was a lot of people who suffer from the same things I do, especially migraines and stress headaches and everything like that, because those scents can be so overpowering.

And I didn't, I didn't want to put that on somebody's plate either. So, lot of testing, lot of trial and error.

Leighann Lovely: And that's what that's what it's about to write getting the proper product in front of people that not only has come from a passion project of your own of being able to still enjoy burning a candle.

Cathy Blachowski: Yeah. Things that you don't realize you've missed it until you've missed it, you know, like [00:07:00] I, it was, there were so many years that have gone by that I'm like, man, I really wish I just had something crackling right now, you know, not all of us have fireplaces and not all of us have fire pits in our backyard.

So we don't get that opportunity to be able to have that experience somewhere else. So it was nice for me to find that and bring that back into the house, even with cats. And even with a young child, you know, years ago, now my daughter's 21, it's not really an issue. She's not knocking over stuff, but you know, two cats run around the house, you know, dogs wag their tails, things fly, like it happens.

So you got to make sure that you have something that's still safe, um, that if something were to happen and something got knocked over, it blows out immediately. It's not going to set your house on fire.

Leighann Lovely: Wow. Yeah. Amazing. So let's talk about the sense. Where, where do you come up with the, all of the different eco friendly or the essential oils and all of these different scents that are, I mean, do you create them on your [00:08:00] own?

Do you, do you find people who create the scents?

Cathy Blachowski: Yeah, it's kind of a combination of both. , I find what I'm, what I do is I do a lot of research into what other people are selling. So I know kind of what's out there and what other people are looking for. Um, so I would say probably maybe 40 to 45 percent of my assortment are those, you know, typical vanilla, lavender, eucalyptus, you know, I'm looking for those, Looking for those that people are going to want to buy no matter where you go.

But then I'm also looking for the one offs, the ones that you're like, really, did she just do that? Uh, yeah, I did. , I do love creating really weird combinations of things. One of them that was a happy mistake was a bourbon vanilla. I know it, it was a really happy mistake. I was doing a bourbon coffee and I was doing a vanilla at the same time.

And I Poured the bourbon in the wrong pot. And I was like, Oh, and then I was, well, wait, that's [00:09:00] actually not that bad. So I ended up keeping it. And it's actually one of my best sellers right now.

Leighann Lovely: Really a happy mistakes become, become one of the best sellers. Well, who doesn't love bourbon? Who doesn't love bourbon?

I

Cathy Blachowski: know the smell is so sweet. And with the coffee, you know, it, it enhances the coffee in the bitter and the, the, um, kind of like thicker way, but in the vanilla, it makes it a little sweeter. it changes it just a little bit. So it's funny how you can use bourbon in a couple of different ways. I'm probably not going to use it in any other way, because I think I found the two that work really, really well.

 But I do get a lot of suggestions from people too. So, um, I've worked with a couple of people who are like, Hey, I really like this, is this something you can do? Or I smelled this somewhere. I'm just wondering if you could do that. And I love getting those requests because it just helps me become a better candle maker, but it allows me to have the size assortment that I [00:10:00] have.

So it's kind of getting out of hand right now. Um, I do have quite a few out there, but I love being the person who you can go to and say, can you make this? And I can be like, I will find a way.

Leighann Lovely: So speaking of that, can you make this? So, you know, you take suggestions from people. You're if it sounds like you're an evolving entrepreneur who's open to new ideas.

So let's, let's talk a little bit. How did you start on the sales side as a brand new, I'm making candles. I want to put myself out there. Where did you start?

Cathy Blachowski: Probably in the wrong places, to be honest. never really thought that. This was going to go as far as it has so far, and I've so much further to go, but basically I was just kind of like talking to people and say, Hey, what are you guys doing?

Or have you gone to a craft show lately? Or do you know of anybody who is putting on a show that needs somebody that has candles? And I just kind of was doing a lot of [00:11:00] asking around. I didn't really know where to begin. So I was doing a lot of online searches for craft fairs and, um, Started actually with Coffeeville in Jackson last November was my first official fair that I did.

 And it was so nice to just be able to set up a booth and be like, okay, we're just going to wing it. I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm going to fake it till I make it. And it's going to be amazing. And I have evolved since. So like my first booths were very minimalist. And now again, I've You know, explored other options of different way of designing my booths.

So they, you know, as the product expands, you know, my booth expands with it. So it was a lot of just talking to a lot of different people. And fortunately I'm in a lot of networking groups that let, it really allows me to reach a lot of people to ask these questions. And I've been very glad and lucky to have a bunch of mentors be able to help me on this journey as well.

Leighann Lovely: That's amazing. And so, and it sounds like [00:12:00] you've, you've leaned in to the expertise of those who have, you know, so not to reinvent the entire wheel, but to, you know, go to those who kind of know, have been there to ask for that. That's, that's, that's amazing. One of the key things to, you know, to understanding how to grow, where to go, how to start, what to do, navigating that, that unknown world of entrepreneurship and sales and getting your product out there.

So do you do special orders, like say a Christmas order or a company wants to use your product to gift all of their employees, or do you do that type of thing?

Cathy Blachowski: I sure do. I've actually gotten a lot of requests from realtors, um, for their closing gifts for, you know, when they sell a house, I've worked with mortgage lenders for the same reason, once their loan is secure, you know, there's gifts with that [00:13:00] I've done some bridal parties.

 So if the, you know, whoever's showing like having a bridal shower or something, that they can give out those types of gifts too, um, and all customizable. So it's not like you just have to have one of every, you know, one specific scent for everybody. It's like, why don't you tell me what you're looking for?

Or if you don't know what you're looking for, let me suggest a few things that are best sellers that a lot of people seem to like, and then throw in one, you know, maybe that might be a little off the wall, but you know, it might hit the right person. I do a lot of, , like little donations at some of the fairs that I do too.

I was just recently, it was at an event at the Waukesha County Expo Center and I gave out 50 little tins to the first 50 people who came to the event and seeing these ladies walking around with these bags and I'm like, Oh, what did you get? And, you know, somebody pulled it out. They're like, I got fresh cut grass.

And she's like, it's one of my favorite scents. That's not everybody's favorite scent, but I'm glad I [00:14:00] hit the right person. So it's, it's just really nice to see, you know, even how much it's already grown in the year that it's already been out, but I have so much more to do still. And I love doing customizable orders.

I'm going to actually be putting together gift baskets for Christmas that will be available at the store. I met in Hartford. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to put them online, um, just because those are a little bit harder, but if people want to order them, I can definitely customize an order for that.

Leighann Lovely: Very interesting. So, I'm sorry. I heard fresh cut grass. Yes. So where, where does somebody put that in their house? Like, is that a bathroom scent? Is that a man cave or a woman cave scent? Like where, where do we have fresh cut grass? And mind you, I'm allergic to grass. Me too. It doesn't mean I don't like the smell of it, but usually when somebody is cutting their grass.[00:15:00]

I'm running into my house closing all my windows because I know I'm about to sneeze like 20 times in a row.

Cathy Blachowski: Yep. Yep. Um, it's funny that, you know, the real thing will give you that reaction. So you do have to be very careful when you're making these that that doesn't happen to when people are. Burning them in the house.

But yeah, I love, I actually use it sometimes in my living room because when you come through our front door, you enter right into the living room. So it's almost like an extension of being outside, but it's fresh enough that you could pretty much put it anywhere. , I've never known anybody to put it in a bathroom, but yeah, Jeff or no.

Leighann Lovely: I just, I, you know, I just kind of threw that out there. Like, where does that, like, you don't set it outside because you've already got the smell outside, but where in the house does that fit? And again, to each their own. I don't know that I would burn that scent, um, again, because it would probably be on edge all the time going, wait.

Why am I not sneezing? What is [00:16:00] another off the wall? So you said bourbon, you know, the bourbon vanilla. Is there another one?

Cathy Blachowski: Another surprising one that I've done that a lot of people are like, Ooh, I would have never thought of that was an apricot chamomile. Chamomile can get really overpowering.

And I tried to cut it with something that was a little more citrus so it wouldn't be like in your face chamomile. Um, so that was another surprising concoction that I did, but I know how many people love lavender. So I actually combined lemon and lavender together too, and found out that there is a person that I know that does not like lavender at all.

She ended up leaving my booth with a lemon and lavender candle. She was just like, I don't know what you did with the lemon, but it changed the way that the lavender was. And now the lavender doesn't bother me as much. She's like, it's absolutely amazing. So I.

Leighann Lovely: Interesting.

Cathy Blachowski: Yeah, I just, I do a lot of really different, [00:17:00] really different kind of combinations.

But, you know, I've, I've had some winners and I've had some doozies, the doozies I burn in my own house, so nobody has to deal with those . But, um, a lot of happy accidents, in this house. So that's kind of awesome.

Leighann Lovely: The, I, you know, lemon, the, I guess. I don't know that I've ever found a lemon candle and I love the smell of lemon.

Anytime I, I'm sure everybody else does this, but anytime you're using a lemon for anything, you throw it down your garbage disposal and then it like kind of percolates through your kitchen for a long period of time. But I can imagine burning a lemon and lavender or just a lemon. I don't know this Would lemon be overwhelming just alone?

Cathy Blachowski: It can be. I actually made a lemon cello candle way back in the day and it was so underwhelming that I was like, I can't put out there. I just don't, I don't feel like I did it right. So when I was experimenting with the [00:18:00] lemon again, I was like, okay, let's just see how this one ends up. And it ended up working out just fine.

So I think if you get the right combination, um, Kind of let go of the bad things that have happened in the past with it. It, it ended up turning out pretty amazing. So very happy with that one.

Leighann Lovely: You know, I would be wildly, you know, I think that a lot of men and women have different and not for everybody, but I know that my husband and I have very different ideas of what.

A room should smell like, you know, I'm, I'm going to guess that he'd be like bourbon. Ooh, yeah. Bourbon. And, and I'm like, Ooh, lavender bourbon and lavender. I bet you we would agree on that one quite well. Cause it has that sweetness. It has that. I'm going to guess that you probably make some concoctions that my husband and I would actually agree on.

Cause I'll come home with like a blueberry scent and he's like, or a blueberry apple pie or something, or a blueberry pie. And he's like, [00:19:00] Is way too sweet. And every time I walk in the room, I want to eat.

He wants to smell pine needles year round. And I'm like, not year round Christmas only. And he, yeah, no, he year round, he's like, no, I just love the sun. This is the only, and I'm like, ah, but I'm going to guess that, you know, you probably are able to come up with some, some pretty awesome smells that would appease us both.

Cathy Blachowski: Yeah, actually, there's a couple of different sense that I've noticed that a lot of, um, I made it with a man's intention, but my daughter seems to absolutely love them. So it's, it's one of those things where, I think it could go either way, depending on exactly what you're looking for. So like I, mahogany teakwood is one of another, one of my best sellers,

It is a little bit as sweet, but it's very woody [00:20:00] too, but it's not like pine needle woody.

It's more like, it just smells like wood and spice. And that is something that. I've noticed whether you're a man or a woman, it doesn't really matter. They, everybody seems to love it. And it's one of the ones that you can find pretty much almost anywhere. So yeah, it's, I've also.

done a couple other ones that are a little bit more earthy, a little bit more grounded. So that men can be like, Oh yeah, this is totally, I can put this in my man cave. Right.

Leighann Lovely: Well, and when you say that, I think, Oh my God, cedar. Like I, I have a cedar chest, um, a very large cedar chest. And every time I open it, I'm like, I can just stick my head in here and just breathe in the smell of cedar.

Like, I love it.

Cathy Blachowski: One of my favorite woods to smell. Yep.

Leighann Lovely: Yeah, it's just, oh, that, that smell, mm, I don't know where I would put it.

Cathy Blachowski: In your bedroom.

Leighann Lovely: In my bedroom. Yeah. I mean, I, I really, honestly, I would put that, I could put that smell anywhere. I don't know how much [00:21:00] my, my daughter would love it. She's six.

She'd probably be like, mom, what is that? You know,

Cathy Blachowski: learn to love it too. You never know. Right.

Leighann Lovely: Right. Right now she's obsessed with spraying her hair with a smell of cupcake. I'm like,

Cathy Blachowski: uh. Oh. And she would probably love most of the things that I have that are sweet. Like I do a birthday cake and a carrot cake and a blueberry muffin and a apple pie, a cider doughnut, like all of those food ones she would probably really thoroughly enjoy.

I also have a buttermilk pancakes one that seems to be a real kick with the kids. So.

Leighann Lovely: That that's see, that's the perfect one for like a Sunday morning, lazy day where you just want to curl on, like in winter where you want to curl up and just have that sweet like morning under a heap of blankets and snowing outside.

And you're like, yeah, I just love the smell of morning breakfast and coffee and pancakes. Yeah.

Cathy Blachowski: Yup. [00:22:00] Yup. No calories with these. So it's even more.

Even better. Yeah. Smell it, but have no calories. No, there's no, there's no regret after burning this candle. There's no.

Leighann Lovely: So I'm going to, I'm going to hit you with a couple of harder questions here. If you could give advice to, you a year ago when you were first starting out, what do you think that would be, uh, or what advice would you give yourself when it comes to, you know, starting this all out?

Cathy Blachowski: I think the biggest thing was I was really

Cathy Blachowski: I was really afraid that I was the only one out there that was dealing with the issues that I have and that people wouldn't accept what I was doing. There are a ton of candle makers out there and to be able to differentiate yourself, like I was getting into a [00:23:00] business that.

There's a lot out there. Etsy, I think has at least over 50 vendors and I'm like, I'm not going to compete with them. Like, that's just, that's not, those aren't my people. Like, my people are the ones who, you know, come see me and know me and know that I am truly putting out something that is spectacular and something that they can stand behind.

 I just, I'm not afraid to fail, which is one of the things that mostly everybody says I've failed so many times in my life that that's one of the things that doesn't that I have no fear of that. I just jump right in and if it doesn't work it doesn't work it's not a big deal but I was really, I was really more worried that I wasn't going to be able to find the right people who are looking for this type of item that doesn't want, you know, you know, I mean, you're not going to pay much more for what I've got.

Cathy Blachowski: Actually, you're going to pay less and it's going to last a lot longer. But then how do you like grab those people to try and keep them and not go to those big box stores, even [00:24:00] though they're on sale for 80 percent off and you're still spending a lot of money on it and getting not the best quality. So I was just more worried about not finding, finding the right crowd.

Leighann Lovely: And so what advice would you, would you say to that person?

Cathy Blachowski: I think I would just tell myself, don't worry about that. You know, the people are going to come to you and the more you get out there and the more you get to talk to people, the more they're going to see the value in what you have. And once they take one home with them, they're going to absolutely love it.

And I don't really have to worry about not being able to find that person anymore.

Leighann Lovely: That's, that's amazing advice and, and advice that others need to listen to, because I think that when we sweat the small stuff, when we're starting out, it can become debilitating if we don't find a mentor or somebody to say, Hey, there's others who understand exactly [00:25:00] what you're feeling may not be, you know, in the same way, because I'm not making a candle, but You know, I'm still, I'm still.

Putting myself out there with something, but that's, that is really, you know, Kathy, really good advice. And I, and I love that. And we, I fail every day a little bit here, a little bit there, but it's not about the failures. It's about the way that we overcome them.

Cathy Blachowski: Absolutely. Absolutely. And the more you fail, the more opportunity you get to make yourself a better, not a better person necessarily, but just know.

You just have a little bit different perspective on things. It's not like you're, it's, you're not sweating the small stuff anymore. It's more like, okay, what's the next big thing that I'm going to have to deal with? Let's go. Let's take it on. I'm ready.

Leighann Lovely: And I don't really consider things failures if you're learning from [00:26:00] it so that you're not repeating.

Cathy Blachowski: Right.

Leighann Lovely: I mean,

Cathy Blachowski: sanity comes with repetitions. If you stop repeating the same thing, eventually you're going to get a different result. And that's just what it is. It's a whole different mindset. You just have to teach yourself that there is a different way of doing things, that there is a different way to look at things.

And there are so many things out there that you could be stressing about. Don't, don't stress those, you know, like just get through it, move on, move forward, move forward. And everything is going to be gravy after that.

Leighann Lovely: And so if you had advice to give to a younger Not even a younger. Let's, let's say somebody who's like, Hey, I've got this cool idea.

 I want to go out because we are in, in the right now, the world of startups and the world of people wanting to go out on their own and try new things. What advice would you give to that, that young, that old, that [00:27:00] any entrepreneur, I keep saying young because I think, Oh yeah, the young, but there are, there are people older than me who are like, yeah, I'm going to start my own thing.

I'm going to do my own thing. And, and I will put the caveat that it is not for the faint of heart. I mean, if I if I had to give advice, there's a book we could we could all sit down and write a book together of the things that you do not know that you are going to eventually know. What advice would you give to that that person who's Got that huge light bulb following them around, thinking about going out on their own.

Cathy Blachowski: Yeah. The first thing I would say is don't, don't tiptoe around it. If there's something that you really want to do, go do it because now is the time. If you're thinking about it now, do it now. And there are so many other ways that, you know, you can reach out to people in order to help. So the second thing I would be, it would be like, first, do it now.

Go out and do it. And secondly, how can I help you? I am that type of person who wants to be involved in [00:28:00] as much as I can. I've done a ton of volunteer work. I was a former Girl Scout leader, former volleyball coach. I just absolutely love being able to help people. And if somebody wants to start something and they have that drive and they have that, that will to succeed.

All I want to do is be a part of it somehow if it's mentorship, if it's just being there to ask questions if it's literally to help set up something. It's, it's something that I want to be a part of and I think that goes a really long way when you can have somebody who's behind you, no matter what you're doing, even if I don't know anything about it, because I do that all the time too.

Um, it's, it's one of those things that you just have to just, you just got to take it and you got to go with it. There's, there's no turning back.

Leighann Lovely: Awesome. Now, if somebody wants to check out your product, I'm going to give you your 30 second shameless pitch. So if somebody wants to find your products, I want to know where, you know, are you running any specials that are coming up?

Are [00:29:00] you, you know, what is, what is your 30 second shameless pitch? Give me that. And, um, we'll kind of wrap up here.

Cathy Blachowski: Yeah, so, you can find me at yellowleafcandlecompany. com. I'm actually going through a website redesign right now too, so it may look a little different if you've been there already.

 I have an events tab on that page as well that shows you everywhere that I am going to be found in the state of Wisconsin. Um, so this upcoming weekend I'll be in Okachi, the following weekend I'm in Franklin, Then in November, I'm going to be heading out to Rio and Juno, and then I'm going to be in Jackson again.

So I'm kind of all over the place. Uh, Beaver Dam, I'm going to be hitting up once, probably another one in Sheboygan. So if you can't find me, you're not looking real hard, but yeah, you can find everything is already, like I said, on my website, you can pretty much reach out to me at any time. I'm on social media as well.

I have, you know, a Facebook page. I use LinkedIn. So. Just if you're, looking for [00:30:00] something, just, just let me know and I'll get it to you.

Leighann Lovely: Yeah. And in the show notes, you will be able to find, Kathy's website. You'll be able to find her LinkedIn. So, go check it out. she has amazing products and Kathy, this has been such an amazing conversation.

I really appreciate you opening up to us and telling us a little bit about your background and your entrepreneurial journey.

Cathy Blachowski: Yeah, it's thank you for having me. It's something that again, I would have been fearful of, three weeks ago. But when, when you sit down and think about it, it's not so bad when you're talking about something that you believe in, it makes it a very easy conversation to have.

And I just want to know, I want to let everybody know out there that there is something out there that you can do, you know, that would be better for you. There are healthier options out there for you and they are not necessarily more expensive than what you're doing. So just keep that in mind, wherever you go, there are always other options.

 

Leighann Lovely: That. And yeah, make sure that you check out the website.

Cathy Blachowski: Thank you, [00:31:00] Leighann