Hi, I'm Ashley and I've been known to overwhelm myself by running a few businesses at one time! My latest endeavor is Upside Goods Co. which is a candle + goods company based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Follow along for tutorials, how-to's and resources for how to make the most out of your small business in terms of marketing, social media tips and maximizing your reach to your audience. If you are wondering what you need to be doing for your product or service on a reasonable and easy to digest level, this channel is for you!
Today I am scrolling thru looking for new videos from you and do not see any in the last few months. I miss your videos. I know you are busy and probably do not have time to make videos now. I hope you are doing well. ❤
Hi, I just ran across your page. I am currently looking for an inventory & batch software for my new business. Can you give an update on software since last year? Does it still meet your needs? Has it changed for the better? Thanks!
Hello. I tried making an order on Simbi but they were not friendly. Has anyone else had challenges ordering from them. It has been very frustrating honestly
Thanks for sharing this video. I have an HP injet printer and I print all my candles and soap labels in it, matte, glossy , waterproof all sizes and it works great. It’s an HP 7200 series.
It took 1/8th of the video just for you to get through talking people out of printing their own labels and shilling Avery. What in the world are you doing here...
Happy belated birthday 🎂🎂🥂, So grateful for this video. Starting my own candle business and have used so much wax already just from the testing process, wondering how others are doing it. I am in South Africa, our market is flooded by Chinese made candles. Most people purchase from Alibaba and other chinese company's and just slap their own branding there without going through the pain that you are talking about. I really get you. Thank you again for this genuine talk. Hoping you had a good birthday.
Recently when I was on Makesy’s website I “intuitively” purchased Goddess Flowers and Velvet Embrace. There were only a handful of reviews, but one of them said it smelled like perfume. My ears perked up like a dogs and I bought the 16 oz, which I NEVER DO! OOB it smells divine! As I said, intuitively I had a positive feeling. All that’s left is the pouring and waiting! It better have a killer CT and HT! Sorry Makesy, but your fragrance strips are too narrow! I can’t write on them! Much love to you both!❤
11:11: I would have posted a note in the comments of her vlog. Something along the lines of “…I enjoyed this vlog because…thank you for sharing information about our candles and I am extending a discount code to this community for xyz% that expires in xyz number of days.”😊
6:28-6:38: I thought you meant the influencer placed a paid order-good lesson for me. We need an influencer agreement/contract to spell out what the relationship could be if accepted. I'm waiting to hear in this blog if the influencer was able to generate sales or engagement with your business.
9:15-9:28: Soap making Crafting (e.g., Cricut, reactive toner & hot foil, paper) Pseudo-marketer -graphic designer (no technical skills, just RU-vid😅) Your day-to-day business shares, resources (e.g., Makesy) Learning from an entrepreneur
Oh they definitely had bad service back in 2021 but if you’ve seen any of my videos since you can see I’ve definitely stuck with them. It’s the majority of my line and I’ve shared quite a bit about it.
I'm new too your channel but as I scroll threw your general video, I can see you you love Makesy. So glad too see you stuck by them. They have such amazing fragrance & just about everything. P.s- I love how transparent you are. I definitely will be subscribing to your Channel if I'm not already subscribed 🥰😁
I’ve always been very upfront and honest about my experience with Makesy and any program or company that I use. I also know that the products that I use are not something that can be just an overnight switch and Makesy has put forth effort to right wrongs. I still shared about the wrongs though. But also the rights. 🤣
23:25-23:37 What level of transparency should suppliers have with their vendors/makers? Suppliers know vendors make their business, literally, with the products they produce. If there is a change, any change, that can impact a maker’s product. Without a supply chain dashboard, maker’s are flying blind.
This would be lovely for sure but I think it all depends on what you are considering a supplier. A third party supplier let’s say (a middle man like Makesy or someone who is purchasing direct from a manufacturer, that we then purchase from) doesn’t owe us this at all. If you are working direct with a manufacturer, then yes a level of transparency before and when you place an order for ETA is definitely required. But the suppliers here in the states are just that, supplying materials that they don’t make directly more often than not.
This is great. The Microsoft Copilot referenced your video. Thankfully has prevented me from going down a CB rabbit hole which I have done so many times. Typically these one-man-band software titles have one developer and that developer is in another country quite possibly working on multiple projects which translates to why you are having these issues.
Introvert here: For our first pop-up in August, we are hiring a young person who is outgoing and chatty😅 If that person cannot work, we are bringing a gimmick to help draw people in and divert some of the awkward energy from the sales process. A gimmick depends on your business, region, and event guidelines. For example, one of our local hardware stores had a popcorn machine at the front of the store. Folks would walk in, self-serve a bag of popcorn, and shop.
All, don’t do yoga. It opens you up to demonic entities. It a religion to other people who are worshipping false deities. I’m telling you this out of love and don’t want you to be deceived like I was.
Not sure how I should response about this cause I am still thinking about that my very 1st market like 3 mnths ago where I sold 1 frickin candle! LOL. Thanks Ashley for keeping it real AND lite.
Thanks for sharing this. I've found that the money isn't just flowing right now the way it was right during/after COVID. Prices are up on everything else in life and the non-essentials (like what we make) has to go by the wayside for many. That's wise for them but hard for us!
Yeah that’s just the nature of the economy and is on track per usual. It’s an election year which always proves volatile, inflation is naturally here and will regulate later on. It’s just what it is. It’s rough and i hope you find a way through!
Thank you for sharing for candid experience! I do think a PR can be great for a moment in your business and yes 100% is for credibility. I have not taken the dive but am exploring options only because my time is better spent on other parts of the business right now but getting some of that PR too right now would be really good for my business at this moment.
It's been about 9 months since this video, and I'm curious if your feelings about Inventora have changed at all. I'm a candle maker who started using them about since their beginning, and I also loved the idea of growing WITH them. Sure they had problems, but they'd be worked out over time. As a user, I felt really close to the team and felt like my input and suggestions were appreciated to help shape the software. But for some reason it feels like that open line of communication isn't there anymore, especially after they shut down their Slack channel. There are annoyances with the app that I thought would surely be fixed over time, but they still remain while it seems like no steps are being taken to resolve them. Recently they've had some pricing changes, which I didn't look into initially because I'm "locked in" annually at my current price. But after checking their pricing tiers, I'm... kind of taken aback. They're putting limits on the number of products and materials you can have at each tier. I'm on the "Starter" tier, which has a 250 material limit. I currently have 472 materials (because I have a fragrance oil problem lol), and that would bump me up almost to the maximum of the next tier up (which is 500). Placing these limits feels, to me, very arbitrary and like a greedy business decision. I wanted so badly to stick with them, but I might be at about my breaking point and try the Craftybase trial :(
I had someone at a event I recently did ask me if i did wholesale and they would like to work with me. Im trying to figure Out where to start before I send them an email. Did you start off with a catalog or how did you handle your first order?
I have since purchased a social media package to help me use Canva and save me time. It’s awesome and so affordable! I totally would have gone in a different direction if it weren’t for this advice, and I’m really excited to connect with my audience and do it all myself.
I love your honesty. I’m just starting out in the candle business and it’s a bit scary because it’s so extremely saturated so thanks for the information.❤
Hi!! Your video reminded me of a recent Instagram post. A company called Natural Life did a post packing a box full of their product that they were sending to Drew Barrymore because they'd heard that she liked their product. The comments on the post were a lot of people saying how they were disappointed that the company was doing this for a celebrity who can afford to purchase the box full of product that they were sending her! One said she had just purchased an order of several of their products because her daughter liked them so much and as a result of that post wished she never had! Whaaat?? Do people really not understand how businesses work? Where you have to take on every opportunity, run through every door that opens. In this case, they were taking advantage of a great deal of potential free PR/marketing/advertising for the cost of a box full of product!
You didn't lise me AT ALL! So much of this is also my life so i did set it down for a long time. The guilt wasn't even worth it. Im coming back now and really learning how to make different choices around product development. My biggest takeaways are: dont get fancy until you can absolutely afford to; never underestimate good copy and visuals in marketing; stay in your own candle lane. Find free creativity until you can sneeze at providing a luxury vessel; let the candle vessel be simple and get creative with labels, logos, marketing, or even other products.
