Burning Both Ends of the Candle: Bonita Fierce Candles

We got a faxed PO from Barnes &; Noble, a literal fax sent to my email at midnight. And it said 5,400 candles, my biggest order to date. I think I woke up and I couldn't fall back asleep. It was like, how in the world are we going to do this? I just stare at my ceiling. I'm like, there's no way. I don't even have the money to get this far.

Tanya Nebo: I think you're going to like this one. We've got a guest today who really mastered the art of PR and successfully managed to weave her culture into her brand and into her products. Ben Walter: Hey, Tanya. Ben Walter: Awesome. Let's get going. Tanya Nebo: On today's episode, Bonita Fierce Candles from Long Island, New York. Melissa Gallardo: If I put myself back in my childhood home, I remember my mom cleaning Saturday morning so vividly.

Tanya Nebo: That's Melissa Gallardo again, the owner and CEO of Bonita Fierce Candles. She grew up in Long Island, New York, and like me, she is the daughter of two immigrants. And she has fond memories of the rich smells and sounds of her childhood home. Melissa Gallardo: So the smells was first, lavender Fabulosa. You know, there were so many kinds of scents and smells, like from coffee in the mornings to the holidays where most of my family is drinking coquito

. Tanya Nebo: But living on Long Island, Melissa felt like her identity was always in question. Melissa Gallardo: I absolutely loved being at home with my family, but as soon as I started going to school, I really felt othered. I was probably one of a handful of Latinas and even people of color in my own elementary school. And that's a huge part of my story because I am a non-Spanish speaking Latina, who grew up in one of the top 10 most segregated suburbs and I had to deeply assimilate to feel accepted in my community, but meanwhile, I never did.

Tanya Nebo: Like all kids, Melissa just wanted to fit in. And for her, that meant straightening her naturally curly hair, dressing like the other kids, and not talking about her family's heritage. Melissa Gallardo: By the time I got to middle school, we're understanding more about the political landscape with presidential elections and politics. I couldn't talk about it. And that, you know, I had relatives who were still like getting their papers, who were considered undocumented.

Tanya Nebo: She loved her family and her home life, but didn't feel like she could really celebrate her culture. But during college, Melissa began to reconnect with her culture, and for her, that process started with her hair.

Melissa Gallardo: Come probably 2018, I decided that I kind of needed a change. So the first thing to go is my hair. I was like, you know, I'm going to go to a curly hair salon. And I got my first curly cut. And while it was bleached and it was damaged, I had never seen my hair come back to its glorious curly hair form.

Tanya Nebo: Melissa graduated from college with a degree in communications and a head full of long bouncy curls. She got a job in media, but just eight months into working, the pandemic hit. And just like that, she was working remotely while living at home with her parents.

Melissa Gallardo: I was commuting two hours each way to work in Times Square. I ended up reclaiming a lot of my time. I was learning about personal finance and I wanted a side hustle. Like so many other people I felt like in corporate, I was starting to max out on how much I could make. And for me, I didn't want that. I wanted to feel limitless. So then I picked up a hobby and it ended up being candle making. Melissa Gallardo: Just for fun. Tanya Nebo: Just for fun?

Tanya Nebo: Melissa started looking for candles that reflected the scents she grew up loving in her home. But she couldn't find anything.

Melissa Gallardo: Historically in fragrance and fine fragrance and home fragrance, it's really a Eurocentric industry. And I also didn't find any candles on the market that really represented my Latinidad, like anywhere. Even from Etsy shops to a big name brand candles. And so I really then and there I was like, I'm going to combine my identity with candle making and born with Bonita Fierce Candles.

Tanya Nebo: So Melissa got to work. She'd continue her corporate job from home during the day and pour all of her nights and free time into Bonita Fierce Candles. Meanwhile, she saved up $10,000 to help cover startup costs. And just six months after conceiving the idea for her company, she launched her website with a variety of scents.

Melissa Gallardo: We have candles like Cafecito Con Leche, Coquito, Lavender Fabulosa, Mucho Amor, which is inspired by Walter Mercado, Azucar, which is inspired by Celia Cruz. We are creating very inclusive fragrances. Tanya Nebo: But even after the successful launch, Melissa continued to work in the corporate world while she finished her graduate degree. In the meantime, the candle making business started to take over her parents' house.

Melissa Gallardo: It started in my kitchen. Then it went into my dining room. And then we took over the entire bottom half of my house. So we have racks of candles just stacked up. And it got really, really crazy. And by the way, my house smells amazing all the time. Tanya Nebo: I bet. I bet it does. Melissa Gallardo: All the time. It smells absolutely amazing, but it's very overwhelming the amount of space you need to.

Tanya Nebo: Melissa realized that the $10,000 was enough to get her started, but wouldn't last long. If she wanted to be able to fill large purchase orders, she was going to need a lot more cash.

Melissa Gallardo: I started getting savvy with my money by taking out zero APR credit cards. And I started charging those guys once I knew I had purchase orders. And I really ran with that. But then I realized the purchase orders were so large, that I needed more money to get them started. But also, I started winning grants. 4 Tanya Nebo: Oh, wow. Okay, Ben, I have to bring you in here to talk about the funding piece, which is a huge part of the story.

Ben Walter: Yeah, you're just doing that because I'm a banker. Tanya Nebo: Well, I mean, let's make use of you, right, while you're here.

Ben Walter: So there's a couple of things that jumped out at me when you were talking to her. First is, I think she learned a valuable lesson along the way that I hope our listeners hear today and think about, which is it's really fun to talk about purchase orders and sales. It's great. Cash is king. And cash flow always matters. So you can sell an infinite amount. And if you don't have the inventory or the financial resources to buy that inventory, it doesn't matter. And you always have to spend in advance. Always. I can't think of many businesses where that's not the case. And you need to be one step ahead on cash flow at all times. And that means a couple of things. It means having the financing in place in advance for the orders that could come in. And then it's about collecting your money after the fact. Because especially if you get an order from a big company like that, sometimes they don't pay for 30 days, but sometimes it's 60 days, and sometimes it might be 90 days, and you're calling and you need your money. And in the meantime, your employees aren't going to say, hey, no problem, pay me next week. So cash flow is what kills businesses. So staying on top of cash flow is really important.

Tanya Nebo: And fortunately, she had great credit and she had ways to get the money. She was great at pitching and getting grants. Not everybody's got that going for them. You know, not everyone can pitch and actually get money.

Ben Walter: There's ways to learn that. So I'd encourage everyone. You know, there are way more resources out there for small business owners than people realize, whether it's through the government, through what are called CDFIs, which are financial institutions for the underbanked, of course, at banks as well, with venture capitalists, with not-for-profits that are focused on helping to spur entrepreneurship and self-reliance. There are way more resources out there than people realize, and put in the research and spend the time.

Tanya Nebo: Okay, Ben, let's get back to the story. So Melissa worked hard to get more cash flow for her business and actually won $90,000 from grant money alone. So the online business was doing well, but Melissa knew she could grow it a lot more. Besides, she had done her research.

Melissa Gallardo: I realized very quickly that two-thirds of the candle market is sold in big box mass market retail. But also in the candle world it's really hard to sell fragrance online because it's so important for people to actually smell it and experience it for themselves. I could tell you, we have a Cafecito Con Leche candle. It smells exactly like a freshly brewed cup of coffee. But you're not always sold immediately. You think of 5 what other coffee candles smell like. But when I create a product, it's a little sweeter than what you would think, with caramel and fresh milk. And those are the things that are really hard to convey online. So the strategy ended up being to go into retail.

Tanya Nebo: But to get into retail, Melissa knew she needed to get her and her company story out there. Melissa Gallardo: It was a really hard sell online, but our story was really strong. It was about brand awareness. Again, I'm a media person. That's what I did all day, every day. I grew the business based on my ability to tell my story, to get the brand out there and say it well.

Tanya Nebo: Fortunately, Melissa had a strong media background and knew how to sell her story and just who to sell it to.

Melissa Gallardo: As part of my strategy in order to grow, was to create brands' trustworthiness. And one of the ways I could do that was getting articles written about me and my story and strategically thinking about how I would tell my story in order for it to get picked up, in order for me to fit the mold of the media cycle. And I was also strategically reaching out to people who have written similar stories. So pitching to the right journalists and understanding where they live in the landscape.

Tanya Nebo: Her first big order came in from an unlikely place. A DM on Instagram. Melissa Gallardo: I got a DM from the assistant buyer, which is very rare- Melissa Gallardo: ... for so many businesses. Most of the time you're going out and pitching. Tanya Nebo: A DM? Tanya Nebo: Wow.

Melissa Gallardo: My assistant buyer was luckily one in a million because she is Latina, she was my age, and she was my target market. And she saw Bonita Fierce Candles, DMed me on Instagram. She's like, hey, I'm an assistant buyer for Nordstrom, and I'd love to set up a meeting with you. And immediately I started freaking out, ran to see my mom, and we both started crying.

Tanya Nebo: 6The meeting went great, and Nordstrom's put in an order for 1,500 candles. At that point, Bonita Fierce Candles had only two employees, Melissa and her sister. After landing the Nordstrom order, Melissa started pitching to other specialty retailers, including Barnes &; Noble.

Melissa Gallardo: We sent them candles, they really liked them. We were expecting a smaller order, probably similar to Nordstrom. Oh, there's going to be 1,500 candles. And they said we were going to be in the Spanish language section just for Hispanic Heritage Month. It would be in select stores. Then I sent them our new packaging mock-up. We got a faxed PO from Barnes &; Noble. A literal fax sent to my email at midnight, and it said 5,400 candles. My biggest order to date, I think I woke up and I couldn't fall back asleep. I was like, how in the world are we going to do this? I just stare at my ceiling. I'm like, there's no way. I don't even have the money to get this far. First thing I did was whip out my notebook and start math-ing immediately, freaking out with my family. My family's like, you're going to say yes, you're going to do it. We're going to make sure it happens. And I'm like, oh my god. I knew we were going to get another retailer. Didn't think it would be four times as large as it was originally planned for. But meanwhile, I had to go find money. I gave myself, I think, three weeks.

Tanya Nebo: So Melissa went back to something she knew well, how to get grant money.

Melissa Gallardo: I knew I was good at pitching. One of my superpowers is being able to give a really good pitch about my business. And I was able to win more money for it. Tanya Nebo: With grant money in tow, she got started on her two biggest orders to date. It was all sorts of dramatic, because we originally had planned for it to go out in mid-August, a little like, I think the second week of August. And it didn't go out on time. I hired additional people even got like my sister-in-law to jump in and help. My mom was coming home from work, helping like, you know, four hours after she worked an eight-hour day. All the men in my life, they took the pallets, and I mean literal pallets of candles, like 2,000 pounds, and pulled the pallets out of my backyard. So we could literally just pull everything out onto the lift gate of the truck that showed up to my house.

Tanya Nebo: Family business real quick, right? Melissa Gallardo: It really was. Tanya Nebo: It was a true family affair, all hands on deck.

Melissa Gallardo: So we still hand poured every candle like we always had. It was 600 a week we had to maintain, and you know, everybody is going bonkers, making sure reorders are coming in. We started production in May to send out everything by August, and New York heat and the humidity is a huge concern. And we ended up boxing everything in my house. So we palletized everything at 7 o'clock at night in the middle of 7 August, and it took about two or three hours of us like putting all the boxes in the right position, making sure everything was right. So when the truck came, all we had to do was take the pallet jack and roll it down my front yard.

Tanya Nebo: But they had pulled it off. The order that had caused so much excitement and panic at the same time was finally out the door.

Melissa Gallardo: You know that I announced the big launch into Barnes &; Noble. They're like, congratulations, how are you going to celebrate? I'm like, I already did. Because watching the truck leave my street, it was that was the time to celebrate for me. It was like the amount of relief, the weight lifted off of my shoulders because we finally made it happen. And then we celebrated again when we actually saw it on shelf.

Tanya Nebo: And after that, it was full speed ahead for Bonita Fierce Candles and they haven't stopped since. Melissa Gallardo: Now to see customers picking up these candles, it brings tears to my eyes. It brings a smile to my face every time somebody says that they've discovered us for the first time. I can't tell you how much joy it brings to me to see our community thriving and feeling like they're seen for the first time.

Tanya Nebo: Today, Bonita Fierce Candles are sold in about 700 stores across the country. They're in Barnes &; Noble, in Nordstrom, and there are plans to launch in another major retailer very soon. So Ben, what did you think about that story? Ben Walter: She's got a great story. I thought a few things when I heard her speaking. The first thing I thought was, this is someone who's really found a passion. And that's why I think she has “so much energy for what she's doing.

Tanya Nebo: Yeah, her story is compelling and she's very tied to it and clearly very led by it. And that's something that people see, right? People can see it, they can experience it. I think that was such a critical part of what drives her and what has contributed to her success.

Ben Walter: Yeah, and I think her business for her is not just what she does, it's who she is. It comes from who she is. Her identity and her connection with her identity is a part of what drives her. And that's a lot more powerful than just the need for profit. And so I think the fact that she's driven by such a personal connection to her own background and making that come to life for a community, I think is part of why she's going to be successful.

Tanya Nebo: Yeah. And again, I think it's something that people can see, potential customers, potential partners, potential vendors, all of those.

Ben Walter: And employees. And granted, her employees at the beginning were her family. But I don't think they just did it because they're the stepdad or the mom or the sister. I think they “did it because they shared that passion. I think finding ways to get free help in the beginning is really underrated. And that clearly helped her get off the ground.

Tanya Nebo: It does. And it shows leadership, right? It shows that she was able to get people behind her because just because someone's in your family doesn't mean they want to work for you for free. Ben Walter: Yeah, tell me about that.

Tanya Nebo: Right, and definitely not for an extended period of time, but she was able to get people to rally behind what she wanted to do. So I think that's a huge testimony to how that passion translated into a way that made people connect with her and what she was trying to do in her business.

Ben Walter: Yeah, it did. But to her credit, one of the things she realized, Tanya, is that brands matter. There are very few products today that can't be copied. You know, someone could buy one of her candles and try to re-engineer the scent. That's doable. But a brand's harder to copy. And I think she realized very early that if she was going to be successful in this venture, she was going to have “to build a brand. And there's lots of ways to build a brand. Sometimes you can just throw a lot of money at it, but she didn't have a lot of money. So she built the brand through herself. So I think the lesson for me is that there are lots of ways to build a brand, but brands always matter.

Tanya Nebo: When she was very intentional about it, I think that's what people forget is that you have a brand. It's just whether you are intentional about creating the brand you want or not. So there's certain thoughts and feelings and emotions that someone feels when they hear a particular business name or have an experience with the business. And she was intentional about creating the experience or designing the experience she wanted people to have. But intentionality, I think, is the key here. She was really, really thoughtful from the beginning.

Ben Walter: That's right. And she didn't make the sort of classic mistake of creating a brand and then trying to build a product to fit that brand. Tanya Nebo: Yes.

Ben Walter: You can't do that. A brand is a megaphone. You build a great product that people love and then the brand “A brand is a megaphone. You build a great product that people love and then the brand is the megaphone with which you amplify that. And she got it in the right order. A brand is a megaphone for what you already do great, not an excuse to say that you're great at things you aren't. And so she realized what she was great at and she picked up the megaphone and yelled about that.

Ben Walter: I also give her a lot of credit. You know, people need to think really deeply about how they want to use different types of financing. And by that, I specifically mean equity versus debt. Tanya Nebo: I love that. Tanya Nebo: Yeah, that's a huge decision.

Ben Walter: You know, she chose to use debt because she knew how to use it well. Look, I think debt has a place in a business. I work for a bank. It'd be really weird if I said something different. But I absolutely believe in responsible use of debt. So she took a risk because she borrowed money. Now, it was in some sense a somewhat de-risk because she already had the purchase order. But if she had failed to deliver on “Now, it was in some sense a somewhat de-risk because she already had the purchase order. But if she had failed to deliver on that order, they wouldn't have paid her or if they'd paid her late and she had had to miss a payment, that would have come back on her. So she was willing to bet on herself and take the personal risk to keep more ownership in the business. Other people might say, I think I'm going to need more capital than I can access through debt. So I'm going to use equity and I'm going to go find an investor in the business. And that's another way to do it. But you're going to have to give up some ownership and that's painful. And you should guard that really carefully because once you give it up, you don't get it back. So there's always that trade-off to make. She has grown at a pace that's allowed her to use that and maintain ownership and control. Some businesses lend themselves to that, some don't. But she was ready going in.

Tanya Nebo: It's really important to make an intentional decision and take it very seriously when deciding “whether to go with the debt or the equity route to grow your business. And Melissa's retained all equity in her company up to this point. And for what she's doing, I like that approach.

Ben Walter: Okay, Tanya, I want to go now to what's fast becoming my favorite part of the show, sharing the great advice from our small business owners. Now, Melissa's kind of a PR expert at this point. And here's what she had to say about getting press for your small business. Tanya Nebo: Well, let's hear it.

Melissa Gallardo: I really think entrepreneurs need to understand what value journalists have in putting themselves in their shoes, making their lives easier, seeing how their brands could fit into their stories and what's going on in the world today. So I'm going to be reaching out like, hey, you should talk about our Como La Flor candle because it is inspired by Latina icon during Women's History Month. How cool is that? Or even a better example would be we have an Azucar candle and it's based off Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa. And she is going to be on the US. Quarter. And that is so freaking cool. It would be “great to have that for Women's History Month. Or during that announcement time where I can go to a journalist and say, 10 hey, we have a candle that's inspired by the Queen of Salsa and she's going to be on the US. Quarter. That is a story to be said.

Tanya Nebo: Thanks so much for listening to The Unshakeables. If you liked this episode, please rate and review it. It'll help our show find more listeners. On the next episode, we'll be back with the story of a couple that risked it all to start their own electrical company right as they were about to have their first child. Could they keep their family afloat while starting this new company? I'm Tanya Nebo and this is The Unshakeables from Chase for Business and Ruby Studio from iHeart Media.

The Unshakeables is a production of Ruby Studio from iHeart Media and Wheelhouse DNA