From Hobby to Hustle: Sarah of Sincerely Sarah Jane
Sincerely Sarah Jane started in 2020 to create cleaner-burning candles for her mom who was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. What began as a hobby in thrifted tea cups has since evolved into a full line of home fragrance products.
Keep reading to learn more about her business, the acquiring of wholesale accounts, finding work life balance and how Sarah has taken the leap to pursue her business full time!
how it started
"It was definitely a hobby (or maybe you could call it an obsession.) Being newly quarantined with some extra time on my hands, I told her [her mom] that I could research it and see if I could figure out how to make her a cleaner candle that would be healthier for her to breathe in. After some digging in, I was shocked to learn how many toxic additives were used in mainstream candles and how harmful they can be to burn.
From that point on, I knew I wanted to create a clean burning, but still beautiful smelling candles so I wouldn't have to worry about what people like my mom were breathing in."
on building a business
"After making a few candles with literally no idea about wick sizes or anything, I opened up an Etsy shop to see if I could sell them. I ended up having a really successful 2 years there before opening up my own website. I started selling more bespoke items in cute containers I found, and then got such great feedback and demand from my community that I started creating more replicable items (8oz and 16oz jars.) Our first year we only did candles, then expanded into reed diffusers, wax melts, car diffusers, hand soap, and now PERFUME!
I had dreams of expanding the business to be my full time job to allow me the flexibility to lean into motherhood and be present for all the important moments for my daughter.
I'm proud to say that in August I took the leap to do SSJ full time!
I truly believe so much of our success is because of the community we’ve built. We have some of the most loyal amazing customers out there. I think something that has really worked for us is just showing up authentically. That may mean asking for grace and help/feedback on new products that we’re launching, sharing behind the scenes, and even sharing when things are hard or we are struggling with something.
I lean on our customers often and they’ve really loved being a part of the journey. I love having the customer play such a big role with us, because at the end of the day they are the ones who are purchasing, and if they’re not happy and loving what we are putting out, then our business is not successful.
Our products are showing women and families that they CAN enjoy candles and fragrance in a way that is safe and non-toxic which I love. I can’t tell you how many messages I get of testimonies of people who told me they swore off candles forever until they tried ours. I want everyone to be able to burn candles and enjoy home fragrance and creating safe products is our mission because of that!"
on subscription box success
"The quarterly boxes are one of the favorite things that I offer.
Ours have been really successful, but I think the success of these boxes depends on the drivers for them for other makers. For example, I mostly do these for fun and it's like an exclusive club you’re part of. I am not counting on these to drive crazy revenue - it's more brand loyalty and product development. So, if one flops, I've learned a ton and Im really happy with that.
I ultimately started doing them for two reasons:
- I wanted a creative outlet and ability to try out new products to a test group before launching them to the masses.
- I wanted to build loyalty around my brand and offer something dependable throughout the year that people could get excited about and look forward to.
My line is designed to be simple and minimal, so these boxes scratch the itch for buyers who want something limited and fun. Also, I can test out new scents and have found some of our best selling scents EVER from doing these boxes.
I market these boxes as exclusive and getting to be a part of something fun and new and people love it. I get messages constantly from people raving about the boxes and how much they love being a part of them. From a logistical standpoint, at the beginning I knew I couldn’t support a monthly cadence, so I chose a cadence that worked for me, and it was quarterly. That way, I knew I just had to deliver 4 times a year and I could allow myself space and time to curate something really great for each season.
In full transparency, I started randomly in the middle of the year, and realized about a year in, that the month cadence we were one wasn’t working with my launch schedule, so I sent an email to our all subscribers and asked for some grace and then changed the dates. Now, the boxes ship in between our large launches during the year which makes life way easier for us, and our customers get something fun while during a “down time.”
The hardest thing about these boxes IMO is the subscription software. It’s really hard to know exact numbers, because customers are in charge of their subscription. So, we don’t know ahead of time who put their box on hold, skipped, cancelled, etc., before each box drops which makes inventory planning kind of tough (which for a perfectionist can be tough). We’ve also made a decision to cap our new subscribers each quarter (which has created a healthy waitlist to get into our quarterly box club). That way, I am not stressing about not having enough inventory because we only open up a set amount of boxes each quarter.
on collaborations & partnerships
"I will start off by saying, I don't think my situation is the norm here. I was blessed that in the second year of business I met my amazing now-partner, Courtney from @alifefromscratch. She is a huge part of our success story and we’ve been collaborating on our Happy Candle line now for almost 4 years.
We created our own line of clean candles, hand soaps, and soon to be perfumes that are approachable and a, “you can sit with us” type of feel that has blown up through our social media following.
I would say not all partnerships and collabs are created equal though and to enter them with caution. It’s tough, but this is the number one thing that I turn down. It is incredibly hard to find the right partners and collabs to be a part of, and I’ve seen a lot of people get burned in the past. My experience has been wonderful, but they’re not all like that."
on taking the leap
"So, I had a revenue goal that I wanted to hit by the end of 2024 to make it clear, 'I am going to quit my job.'
But then, as the year was progressing, our launches kept growing and growing, and I had so many things I wasn’t able to do (new scents, products etc.) and I was honestly burning out on doing two jobs and being a mom. There were only so many hours in a day and I felt like life was becoming chaotic because I couldn’t keep everything organized and to the level that I wanted. I spent months praying on it, and before our summer launch, I made a new (lofty) revenue goal and was like, 'okay, if I hit this number for summer, the slowest candle season of the year, then it’s a sign, and I'm going all in on SSJ.'
Spoiler alert, we hit it :)
It was obviously a family decision, and my partner and I sat down with the lens of, 'how do we make this work,' and then took that information to our accountant to make sure things lined up, and then we pulled the trigger on it.
Leaving the corporate job that I’ve worked my entire life for was really difficult, but in my heart, I knew it was the right move for the business and my family. It has been incredible! If you have the means for it, I would highly highly recommend it.
It’s not without its hardships, but it’s the best decision I’ve ever made."
on memorable milestones
- April 2020: First candle sale
- January 2021: First wholesale customer
- I got my first wholesale order through a friend who knew the owners of a shop. I had no idea how to price, charge, or any of the etiquette, so it was definitely a learning experience. Now we sell to over 50 shops across the united states, and while our wholesale side of the business is still growing, this first customer helped paved the way.
- December 2023: Launch of 4-wick club, our loyalty program
- I wanted a way to give back to our best customers and say thank you for their loyalty, so I created our loyalty program, the 4-wick club. There are 3 levels to this and you earn your way into each level by your annual spend. Tier 3 gets you access to special sales and discounts, tier 2 gets you a free set of tea lights before each launch, and tier 1 gets you the benefits of both of the other tiers, plus a free 4-wick candle during your birthday month.I love that you earn your way through annual spend because it truly is a thank you to those customers and not something you can just buy into.
- February 2024: Became an SCorp
- April 2024: First full time W-2 employee hired
- We got to the point in our growth where we needed consistent help and were ready to hire a W-2 employee. This isn’t only a big deal because we warranted the help, but there are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes in order to support a W-2 employee as well. I had to work with my accounting firm to make sure we were doing everything correctly and the state to make sure we were paying all the appropriate taxes, etc. Definitely a, 'this is real' moment.
- June 2024: I took my first paycheck from SSJ (I had never taken money from the business before this)
- June 2024: First seven figures of revenue
- August 2024: Went full time SSJ 🎉
- March 2024: Largest single PO placed to date (2400 custom makesy auras)
- That was a total pinch me moment! For our summer launch, we worked with Kristen to get custom auras made for two candle scents. We went with a yellow for a lemon candle and a blue for our “sky is blue” candle. This was a totally new process for us, and we really enjoyed the sample process and working with makesy to make our vision come to life. We ordered 2400 vessels which came on 4 pallets, which was our biggest single PO to date!
on work life balance
"This is a tough one because this is something I am constantly working on, especially because my studio is an extension of my house. I would say that nothing interrupts my family time at night. From 4-7 I am making dinner, hanging out, and putting my daughter to bed. If I don't get everything done during the day, then I have to work at night :) I’ve also learned to say no more (which historically I haven’t been very good at). So, this means not going to all the markets that are on weekends, and having to draw boundaries on the amounts of requests that I have coming in on a daily basis.
At the end of the day, I want my daughter to look at me and say, “Wow, mom runs a really cool business, but is also always here for me and present when we’re together."
on finding inspiration
"I’d say two things. I want to create a legacy for my daughter, and I want to deliver the best possible product to our customers. I know how great this business can be and I am relentless in the pursuit of achieving our goals and dreams for SSJ.
advice for makers
"Just START. Perfection is the enemy here. If you wait until everything is perfect, you’ll never launch, and those expectations are hard to put on yourself.
Be humble, ask for LOTS of feedback and then learn how to filter it.
You can keep up with Sarah and Sincerely Sarah Jane on Instagram or via her website!
