← The Great Detectives Present Dragnet (Old Time Radio)
The Great Detectives Present Dragnet (Old Time Radio)
You Might Also Like: Mind The Business: Small Business Success Stories
Introducing The SB Starter Kit - Everything You Need or Need to Know to Get Your Business Off the Ground (Part 1) - Trademarks, Patents, LLCs and SCorps from Mind The Business: Small Business Success Stories. Follow the show: Mind The Business: Small Business Success StoriesStep one for starting a small business is often coming up with an exciting idea. But what is step two? Step three? Steps four through launch and beyond? On our second episode, and first iteration of our Small Business Starter Kit Series, Austin and Jannese visit The Candle Pour to chat with founders Misty and Dennis Akers. They’ll tell our hosts about how they got their business off the ground and about all the things that go with it: from incorporation to trademarks. Join us as they detail how they went from Grand Idea to Grand Opening. Learn more about how QuickBooks can help you grow your business: Quickbooks.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. DISCLAIMER: P...
Loading summary
Transcript129 lines
- [00:00]
Misty Akers
Foreign.
- [00:06]
Austin Hankwitz
The views, information or opinions expressed during this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved and do not represent Those of Intuit QuickBooks or any of its cornerstone brands or employees. This podcast does not constitute financial, legal, or other professional advice or services. No assurance is given that the information is comprehensive, accurate, or free of errors and the information presented is for general information purposes only. Intuit QuickBooks does not have any responsibility for updating or revising any information presented. Listeners should verify statements before relying on them.
- [00:38]
Janice Torres
Welcome back, everyone. This is Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories, a podcast brought to you by Intuit QuickBooks and Ruby Studio from iHeartMedia. I'm Janice Torres.
- [00:47]
Austin Hankwitz
And I'm Austin Hankwitz.
- [00:49]
Janice Torres
Austin, what do you think of when you think of small business ownership?
- [00:52]
Austin Hankwitz
Ooh, we're getting right to it. Okay, what do I think of when I think of small business ownership? I think of working alongside of my favorite partners and employees to build a growing business. I unfortunately think a tax is, but I also think about just how easy it can be to start a business depending on the tools and resources that you choose.
- [01:13]
Janice Torres
When I think of the earliest stages of someone starting a business, I instantly think of a little kid opening up a lemonade stand. I think for a lot of small business owners, this is the first step that we take into going business for ourselves.
- [01:24]
Austin Hankwitz
You are absolutely correct. The first business I had was in eighth grade. I lived in Denver, Colorado and I was snow blowing driveways, charging people $15 a drive. It was quite a labor intensive business and it didn't last that long. But I made some quick money.
- [01:42]
Janice Torres
That's quite the hustle. You know, one of those things they don't tell us when we're kids is whether we should have registered as an LLC or an S Corp. I know, I was not thinking about that. Do you think kids today are looking into patent and copyright law for their lemonade recipe?
- [01:56]
Austin Hankwitz
I mean, with the AI technology we got today, who knows what the powers that these kids, they're pretty sophisticated now, so I would not be surprised, but I had no idea about any of this stuff when I was starting and certainly not when I was a kid. Now, even as an adult, I put in a lot of research and studying to learn the steps I needed to take to make my business official and finally get things off the ground.
- [02:18]
Janice Torres
Absolutely. Same here. And all these options and understanding the best way to get started and launching your business can be so overwhelming for a lot of people. But luckily we are here to help because most of us aren't selling lemonade in the yard anymore. We're dealing with significant amounts of money, regulations, liability insurance, and so much more. So we've got to know all the paths we can take and understand what is the best thing for our business and our future plans.
- [02:42]
Austin Hankwitz
And that can be very daunting just to get started. Right. How overwhelming it is to think about, oh my gosh, I have to think about to your point, insurance, all these employees, these liabilities, money, regulation, compliance. It's pretty daunting. I remember when I first started out, Janius, I had countless questions and I was so fortunate to have some mentors and people in my corner that I could lean on to help me with that.
- [03:06]
Janice Torres
Yeah, you know, it's really important to just make sure that you're getting the information that you need in order to navigate this path because especially if you're the first person in your circle to start a business, you don't necessarily have that level of knowledge around you. I know for me it was a lot of kind of Google and YouTube university trial by fire, if you will.
- [03:26]
Austin Hankwitz
Professor Google is what I call him. We're going to be discussing all that and more today with our guests Misty and Dennis Akers from the Candle Pour in Tampa, Florida. Do you own a business that's ready to thrive? It's time to let Intuit QuickBooks take things like unpaid invoices and tracking expenses off your plate so you can take things to the next level. Intuit QuickBooks is a powerful AI driven all in one business platform that can help with day to day tasks like invoicing expenses and taxes. Intuit QuickBooks can help you unlock the growth in your business so you can get back to enjoying your business, manage and grow your business all in one place. Intuit QuickBooks your way to Money Money movement services are provided by Intuit Payments, Inc. Licensed as a money transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Misty and Dennis are University of South Florida alums who wanted to start a business that broke through the clutter of technology and our increasing reliance on all things online to bring people together in a physical space. They also wanted to have a product that people could use and enjoy every day. They found the perfect blend of the two in candle making. They opened the Candle Pour in Tampa in 2019 and have been providing unique and enjoyable experiences for customers of all ages ever since. They are Tampa's first pour your own Candle experience and they're also family owned and operated. From individuals to couples to groups large and small, they have a plethora of products and Scents to choose from and pride themselves in crafting a bond, building social experience that leaves you with something beautiful to take home. Misty and Dennis, thank you so much for joining us on this episode of Mind the Business. We're here in the candle pour in Tampa, Florida. It smells amazing. Really cool spot.
- [05:19]
Dennis Akers
Yeah, that's half the battle. So custom candle experience. I hope it smells good when you get in here. So.
- [05:25]
Austin Hankwitz
So I unfortunately am someone who is chronically online. I am always on social media, I'm always looking at headline news. I spend too much time on the Internet. So when it came to candle making, sort of the opposite of that, what stood out about candle making to you, which allows people to detach from their devices and sort of the online buzz that we're always pulled into.
- [05:49]
Misty Akers
Yeah, it's about the experience and that's what we wanted to create with our business. Candles are something that I think most people love and they use and then they reuse and come back. So that was a big part of it is just being able to have an in person experience. Verse like what you said is like surfing online and really, you know, being able to shop and get everything you need to do at your doorstep. This is something that really brings people together and we love that.
- [06:12]
Austin Hankwitz
Talk more about the bringing people together part because I mean, I can't count quickly here, but I'm at least a dozen actual seating arrangements here. So how large are these parties? Do people come by themselves sometime? I mean, what is the true like customer experience when they walk in the door?
- [06:26]
Dennis Akers
That's a great question. The candle pour is a custom candle experience. Our goal is to help you create your own scent. So we bring people together. They choose from over 100 different individual scents to make their own custom scent blend. The experience itself lasts right around 30 to 45 minutes. And we always recommend starting your day with us because once you are done creating your own special candle, they need two hours to set, prep and bag. So that's when you go spend some more time with friends and you come back and pick it up. I mean you can come by yourself. That's perfectly fine. 99.9% of what we do is actually not about candles. It's about making you feel welcome, enjoying yourself, having a fun experience.
- [07:03]
Austin Hankwitz
That's amazing. Now to my understanding, this in Hyde park is your first location. Talk to us about what it was like to open your doors on day one.
- [07:13]
Misty Akers
Terrifying.
- [07:14]
Dennis Akers
Yeah.
- [07:14]
Austin Hankwitz
Yep.
- [07:16]
Misty Akers
I mean the thing is, is you have no idea what to expect. Are people going to, you know, we are both from the area. So I think we had that initial friends and family welcome. Everybody's excited. They're proud. We do grand opening. But then once that day is over, it's, who's coming? Do people know where we are? Our first location was actually on the other side. We were on the second story. No traffic. So we were just kind of like, okay. There would be days that, like, no one walked through the door. But then what really happened, especially, like, crediting social media, is people started to come in, they were sharing. Other people saw it. They were like, oh, my friend just came. So that took off really fast for us, and we're very, very blessed that we had that. And then really just our friends and family, like, gathering together to support us and rallying and coming in and getting the word out was huge.
- [08:05]
Austin Hankwitz
Well, you all have obviously done a wonderful job. I think you're opening your fourth location now.
- [08:10]
Dennis Akers
Yeah, we'll be in Sarasota.
- [08:12]
Austin Hankwitz
Congratulations.
- [08:13]
Janice Torres
Yeah. So how did you guys find the money to do this?
- [08:17]
Misty Akers
We self funded our first location. That was just something, like, I knew for several years what I wanted to do, so I. You know, we were saving for that. But, yeah, to start, it was very difficult to present to people, and you're trying to, like, explain it, and they're like, what? What are you doing? Even our friends, they. I had a friend that came up to us, like, a year after we opened, and she was like, I just remember when you were talking about it. And she was like, I just left being like, oh, no, this is never gonna work. And I'm like, she felt sorry for us. And then she's like, I'm really happy for you. But I knew what it would look like. He knew what it would look like. But until we were open, we didn't really have a lot of backing.
- [08:55]
Janice Torres
Yeah, I mean, sometimes it takes time to make believers out of folks. Right?
- [08:58]
Misty Akers
Exactly.
- [08:59]
Dennis Akers
And honestly, what she said, that still happens if we go to, like, a networking event. And everyone's like, I'm a doctor, I'm a lawyer, I'm an accountant. And I'm like, we are a custom candle experience. And they always, like, you know, like, when the dog looking at you, that doesn't really understand you, and they tilt their head to the left a little bit, they're always like, do that. And you try to explain it. And you really got to get them in here and touch and feel and be part of the environment to really understand what we're doing.
- [09:23]
Janice Torres
You know what's funny? I find a common theme in all the Folks that we've talked to on this season and just in general is you don't ask questions to folks who don't have the experience or the exposure to what you're trying to do. Right. You had a lot of naysayers, you know, a lot of people saying, are you nuts? But these are also probably people who don't own a business, who've never dabbled in entrepreneurship or at least have not taken the level of risk that you guys have taken. And so I think this is a good reminder. Talk to people who are actually in the arena because they're the ones that are going to set you up for success versus folks who are kind of just maybe projecting their own fears onto you and are not really going to give you the advice that you need to move forward.
- [10:00]
Misty Akers
It's a really good point. Yeah.
- [10:02]
Austin Hankwitz
I have a funny feeling that's going to be a theme of this season. Right. Leaning in on your trusted advocates and sort of your team members. Right. We're just talking to Sharee earlier with episode one, and she was talking about how she had a mentor. Right. And so she leans on the mentor for recommendations and other things like that. So I'm right there with you. I think it's very important. You know, a big reason why I like Intuit QuickBooks so much is because they simplify the day to day of me tracking my revenue, my bookkeeping, my payroll, all that fun stuff. And so I'm curious, when is it a good time to DIY the patents, the trademarks, the in corporations, the accounting versus sort of offloading that to a trusted partner? How do you balance that?
- [10:43]
Dennis Akers
It's just knowing your strengths, your weaknesses, a lot of the law stuff. That was an easy one to say, let's off offload that one, you know. Yeah. That's literally what it is. You got to understand yourself and you really want to focus on what the business is doing. I know you mentioned Intuit QuickBooks and it's going to take care of a lot of things for you. That's the one thing you want to do is get as much off of your plate so you can focus on how's this going to run, how are my customers going to feel when they're in there, as opposed to did I remember to put that receipt in and get that all that in the background and focus on your main business.
- [11:13]
Janice Torres
Yeah.
- [11:13]
Misty Akers
And that's part of it too, is like I said, stay in your lane. If you're not great at something, just understand you're not. You know, he does all the marketing. And that was something like when we decided to do it together. His photography is beautiful. So when we first started the business, we're posting these professional photos. Hiring is probably the number one thing that's important with any business. It's just making sure that you have the right team in place. So if you're not good at like judging somebody as far as like you can't read them, then get somebody that can use a recruiter. That's important. But we've always done that in house because it's something that I feel is probably one of my biggest strengths.
- [11:51]
Austin Hankwitz
I think before the interview you two were sort of going back and forth where Dennis is more of like the pie in the sky guy and Misty is more the operationals. Right. So maybe, maybe there's like this really cool dichotomy that balances out, you know, the success of this business because you two work so well together.
- [12:06]
Dennis Akers
Yeah, for sure. I mean majority is things behind the scenes. So it's making sure the machine is working and then how do we, I guess what I would say that I do is how do I put a little sugar on the machine? I mean everything we do here is a process. Everything is laid out, there's check marks to be made, everything extremely, extremely well oiled machine kind of stuff. And how do we take the well oiled machine and give it a little more personality? And that's. It can be probably annoying sometimes, but it's my trait for sure. And then yeah, as far as entrepreneurship, it's just waking up every day and looking in the mirror and saying, here we go, let's get through it and making your list. And like you said, you're learning every day and sometimes you don't realize you're learning it maybe more trial by fire sometimes. But you want to do your best to wake up and understand that you're blessed to a be busy. That's why we're tired and we're busy. So you're blessed to be busy and you're blessed to have a counterpart in the business that really puts their heart and soul in it and is up till the wee hours of the night. I always tell the staff when you get an email at midnight or 1am it's not because she delayed it on some weird clock system, is she's sitting next to me just firing away on her computer because that's the best time she can work because no one can email her back.
- [13:17]
Misty Akers
Holidays, weekends.
- [13:19]
Dennis Akers
So you just got to get used to that lifestyle and you got to get used to Some of your days are just not going to look the same. Majority of them all.
- [13:27]
Janice Torres
I think that's why we do this though.
- [13:28]
Dennis Akers
Yeah, yeah. It's definitely a different breed for sure. When people go to a school for entrepreneurship, I'm like, maybe just go out and get your teeth kicked in. Because that's what it is. It is just like, how do we get through today? Like, the pandemic happened, obviously. We opened April 25, 2019. The world changed a little bit after that. But just to navigate the PPP loans and navigate all that so we can just somehow hope to stay open was a day to day taxing on both emotions and mental status and all kinds of things. But we got through it.
- [13:58]
Misty Akers
Yeah, like you say, year to year, it's different. And we just really got like that fire with our first year. You're trying to figure out what you're doing, who you hire, who your customers are, how to run your business. And then global pandemic, that's never happened in any of our times. So then it's like, okay, now we have to close for five months. So year two was like, really weird because we had to like move everything online. So we were doing like virtual kando poor experiences.
- [14:26]
Austin Hankwitz
That's pretty cool.
- [14:27]
Misty Akers
It was cool. Yeah. And it was neat to see, like, people really, you know, they were just like sending us messages like, you know, we hope you survive, you know, and we're just like, oh, gosh, like, little.
- [14:37]
Austin Hankwitz
Do they know you're thriving now.
- [14:38]
Misty Akers
Yeah. And then, you know, so year two was like, all right, how do you operate? Being closed for five months with our staff, we kept 100% of our staff, which we were extremely proud of, to like figure out ways to keep them working. Then at the end of that year, it was like, okay, we're doing an experience where it's touching and nose, but everyone's having to wear a mask. And then the third year, we were like, all right, we're kind of back to normal. So it's been a real challenge, but we've learned a ton. We feel like we can kind of get through anything.
- [15:07]
Janice Torres
So, yeah, I mean, it's so a test of endurance, I think. Entrepreneurship for sure.
- [15:13]
Dennis Akers
I always say the candle pour is synonymous for change. So we're always trying to get better. And if you're not getting better, you may not be getting worse, but you're just being stagnant.
- [15:20]
Janice Torres
I'm curious, was this always the dream? Did you always have entrepreneurial dreams or what was your previous lives in, you.
- [15:27]
Misty Akers
Know, corporate entrepreneurial yes. This, no. So I was with a company for about 10 years that did medical aesthetics. Learned a ton. It was a growing company. And it was something like, what I love about it is what I want to do here. I got that experience there and I really learned franchising the good, the bad, the ugly, what mistakes that we could potentially make here, and then just trying not to do those things so we don't have to go backwards. The dream I don't think was candles, but it was definitely to create something for our employees to hopefully have careers for a long time and then maybe go into business for themselves. That's a big part of it, too. My ultimate dream would be to have an employee that's been with us a couple years, and then they end up opening in a different market and, you know, opening their own business and putting them into business, which would be neat.
- [16:18]
Janice Torres
How about you, Dennis? What was your past life?
- [16:20]
Dennis Akers
I got too many past lives. One of my past lives was photography, video work, that kind of stuff. I've done real estate, I've sold flowers. I've done a lot of different things. And when she approached us to say candles, I went, what? And then, yeah, once we worked on the business plan and put our minds to it, I just buckled up, honestly. Okay, that's. I literally was just like, hey, you think this is a good idea? Okay, let's do it. And I like to say I'm like her chess piece. Like, where do you need me today and where can I help? And let's move forward.
- [16:51]
Janice Torres
So I think that speaks to the underrated but really valuable asset that it is to have a partner. Maybe they don't see the whole vision, but at least they trust you enough to be like, you know, I think you can make this work. So I appreciate that about y'all.
- [17:07]
Austin Hankwitz
Coming up on Mind the Business. Small business success stories.
- [17:10]
Misty Akers
Hire slow fire fast is probably the best advice that I've been given that I've used.
- [17:15]
Austin Hankwitz
We'll be right back. Are you a business owner looking to grow your business? You did what most dream of doing, starting your own business. But now you're faced with the reality of how to make your small business run smoothly. Intuit QuickBooks can help. Intuit QuickBooks is a powerful AI driven all in one business platform. That means those day to day tasks like invoicing expenses and taxes can be done effortlessly. But here's where it gets really good. You don't need to hire a team of analysts to find growth opportunities hiding in your business data. Intuit QuickBooks can help with cash flow optimization, profit and loss analysis. It helps you see how your business business is doing and uncover new ways to be more profitable. Intuit QuickBooks can help you unlock the growth in your business so you can get back to enjoying your business. Manage and grow your business all in one place. Intuit QuickBooks, your way to money. Money movement services are provided by Intuit Payments, Inc. Licensed as a money transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Welcome back to Mind the Business.
- [18:31]
Janice Torres
So let's talk about what comes next after you start the business. You're tracking inventory, sales, payroll, all of the things. How does that work for y'all? How did you set that up? Because, you know, obviously we talk about the robustness of Intuit QuickBooks and being able to manage so many different aspects of your business, whether that is tracking your money, your expenses, taking care of payroll. The benefit of using a system like Intuit QuickBooks is that it takes all of these things that we have to individually track and puts them all in one place. So can you talk to us about how you set up your process to be able to make sure everything's flowing so that you don't get lost in the minutiae of running the business?
- [19:10]
Misty Akers
Yeah, Intuit QuickBooks was one of the first things we did. I came from an industry that had, like, we had our own reports. So if I needed to see KPI, anything like that, I had to like, request through it. They developed it. So it was just a lot different with QuickBooks, it makes it so much easier, especially for a novice business owner, because I'm not an accountant, I didn't really know, but you can really get a lot of great information and helpful information, even just getting started. But then once you're operating, you know, are you making money? Like, you don't, you know, and it makes it so much easier. Yes, yes, it is. It is very important. But it's shocking how many people don't have, you know, either access to that or it's something that they don't even check.
- [19:53]
Janice Torres
So it says a lot about the robustness of the system that when I was looking for an accountant, the first thing and they were like, what are you going to use if it's not into a QuickBooks? We're just literally not going to work with you. So it's like the proof is in the pudding, I think, for sure. Yeah.
- [20:07]
Austin Hankwitz
I think what's really cool when people start businesses is kind of just how step by step it can be. Right? It goes to, you know, you get your llc. You open up the business bank account, you get your ein. Things like that. Right. So it's like, it's a very step by step process. And for a lot of small business owners, part of that process is getting a trademark. Do you all have a trademark?
- [20:29]
Dennis Akers
Yeah. I was about to say that. That was one of the first things we did to protect the brand. But the fun fact about us is we are the candle pour, but we are wick Candle bar doing business as the candle pour because wick is too commonly used of a word. So we couldn't trademark it. And that's why we wanted to do that, so we can actually trademark it and protect it. Just like our icon. I don't know if you can show that on this, but we have that little square that looks like things are pouring into and trademarking that. And luckily we've only had to use it once. Someone was kind of copying it. So we've only had to use it once where we actually had to like put our trademark into effect.
- [21:03]
Austin Hankwitz
Well, that's great though. Because you took these steps beforehand. You were able to protect yourself.
- [21:07]
Misty Akers
Yeah, we were just told, like, you might come up with a great idea. If you don't protect yourself, someone else can see it and they can literally do every single thing you're doing and run away with your business. So that was important. We had someone that literally almost used our logo exact and was reaching out to, like, all of our followers and asking them to follow hers. But it was very confusing because people thought it was us. Like, the logo looked like ours. She was even trying to get us to follow and we were like, what the heck? What do you do in a situation like that? We utilize the attorneys. That was the one time we got to do that. Yeah.
- [21:41]
Dennis Akers
I felt it was just like you're working every single day and it pops up and our staff started saying, hey, someone's like following us and like they want us like, you know that follow unfollow thing you do and get someone's attention. So she was doing that. And it's just frustrating. It's like you're putting in a ton of money and Tony and time, and someone just wants to throw something up and kind of work underneath your brand.
- [22:00]
Janice Torres
Yeah, I've had the situation too. I've had to send a couple cease and desist letters through my attorney for folks just legit copying your entire content or you're trying to start a brand that is so similar to what you're doing that there's clearly going to be some confusion. So it's important to have an attorney. All that's part of your. Your team as an entrepreneur.
- [22:20]
Misty Akers
They're not cheap, but there's a reason they're. They're good at what they do and use an attorney, I would say, not just like when you need them, but to avoid having to use them and need them. So that's a big part of it, too.
- [22:31]
Austin Hankwitz
Something really cool that you mentioned was doing business as. Can you explain to our listeners what a DBA is?
- [22:37]
Dennis Akers
I mean, I know why we did it because of the trademark issue. It makes filling out paperwork a lot longer sometimes because you got to write all that in. But a lot of times you'll see that when you're looking up businesses.
- [22:46]
Austin Hankwitz
Absolutely.
- [22:46]
Dennis Akers
You can't find them. You're like, why can't I find them? And because they have.
- [22:49]
Misty Akers
That part of it also is like, we are going to potentially franchise. You know, our second location is wick Candle Bar 2, our third location, and so on. So everything is also separate. That's something to think about when you're going into business. Is it all going to be under one umbrella or do you plan to have different locations?
- [23:06]
Austin Hankwitz
Oh, explain that a little bit. So you're saying that you're. You have different LLCs for your different locations?
- [23:11]
Misty Akers
Yes. And you can protect yourself, too, if something happened at our St. Pete location. It's complet separate than what we have here or Oxford Exchange or the warehouse, or if you were, you know, just the Candle Pour. If a franchisee is coming over, then they're going to have a different name, but they would be doing business as the Candle Pour. So that way it's recognized when they use it that way.
- [23:32]
Austin Hankwitz
That's very cool.
- [23:33]
Janice Torres
Yeah, I think that's one of those areas of entrepreneurship that a lot of people really don't understand, like, what the point is of taking that step of separating the businesses. But it really is, from a legal protection standpoint, just to make sure that if there is some sort of issue with one site, you're not putting your entire empire at risk because everything's lumped together. I recently did the DBA thing too, because now I have technically, like, two different brands. And so it was weird explaining to folks when I was invoicing them, like, why is this Delish Delights? But your Yo Quiero Dinero podcast, because I have a food media company and then the personal finance thing. So it just helps clarify too, like, what entity are we working with? And as far as the trademarking, it's something that is pricey Right. But it is something that is really essential if you really have a long term vision for your brand. I can't tell you the amount of friends that I've had that have started businesses are two, three, four years in and then they find out that the name they've been operating under has been trademarked by someone else and you literally have to start from scratch. That is devastating.
- [24:36]
Misty Akers
Yeah.
- [24:36]
Janice Torres
You know, so just taking the time to understand like what you're actually investing in, how you can protect your brand, that's an essential part of this and it's something that you should plan for financially.
- [24:46]
Misty Akers
Yeah, it's a good point. There's people that literally go out and look for that or they'll like get ahead of you and get your website before you can. We want the Candle Pour. So that was something we had to think about too. What's available that we might have to pay a little bit, but we're not like having to pay $30,000 because of the name. It's so common and someone just has it to sell it. So that's a really good point.
- [25:08]
Dennis Akers
That's actually a good point. So when you're. You mentioned the beginning, early stages. Go on Instagram, social media, go on every single thing and take as many as you can.
- [25:16]
Janice Torres
Yep.
- [25:16]
Dennis Akers
Even. Even the different iterations of it. So I believe I blocked off like Candle Pour. We're the Candle Pour, but we have that one associated, just not using it. So that's a way to protect it. And then you mentioned time about the trademark. It takes time.
- [25:30]
Janice Torres
Yeah.
- [25:30]
Dennis Akers
So if it's something you want to do, that's game plan day one. How do we do this and then start the process, get help, because there's hoops to go through and all kinds of stuff.
- [25:39]
Janice Torres
I love that tip on snagging up the social media and you know, your URLs, URLs, the dot org, the dot net. You want to get all of them because anything that you leave open is potential liability for someone else to claim it.
- [25:50]
Misty Akers
Or you come up with a great name. You start doing logos and everything and then you realize like, that's not available and then you have to start over. So it's, it's good to like figure that stuff out first and then build. So we didn't even know our name until I.
- [26:03]
Dennis Akers
It was, it was late.
- [26:04]
Misty Akers
We opened in April and I think it was like January when we finally were like, okay. And then we were like getting running with like logos and things. But everything else was taken care of. Yeah. It's just important to get all of that taken care of first so you're not going backwards. You don't want to be scrambling and then realize that the website's not available or your logo is copying somebody else. So, like really doing that research and I think getting the legal help before and they guide you rather than like, you come up with everything, you waste time because then you realize you're going to be violating somebody else's, you know, trademark. So it is important.
- [26:37]
Austin Hankwitz
I'm thinking now back at this trademark, I'm thinking about getting the business bank account going, applying for the right things. What was the physical process? Right. So like before you physically were mailed the awesome stamped trademark there, did you have to go to a website? Did you go inside of an office? Like, what did you physically have to do?
- [26:55]
Misty Akers
Two years.
- [26:56]
Austin Hankwitz
Two years. Okay, so walk me through that process a little bit more step by step.
- [27:00]
Misty Akers
Honestly, we utilized again the patent attorney to do it. So they just asked, you know, us, whatever they needed to get it going. They gave us kind of like, okay, these are going to be. And they helped with the name too. Like, these are going to be things that would potentially cause you to get declined or somebody else to protest because you can do that too. So somebody else can protest. Which we've done before with people trying to apply for something that it's too close to what we're doing or it's so generic. You know, wic, that was a big thing because every candle has a wick in it. So that was like a word that's kind of a buzzword to not get approval. So that's part of it as well.
- [27:37]
Janice Torres
One of the resources that I love is the Intuit QuickBooks blog. There's a bunch of information on there on how to start a business. I've actually contributed to the blog and there's a lot of educational tips and information for people who want to start out. So I'm curious, what is the best piece of advice that you've gotten from your business mentors?
- [27:54]
Misty Akers
Hire Slow fire, fast is probably the best advice that I've been given that I've used from the time that I started what I would say, like my professional career. And it sounds harsh, but it is the most truthful thing. When you meet someone and you're on the fence, don't hire out of desperation. It's not good for anyone. It's not good for your business. A lot of times the wrong person can really taint like your environment or a team. And if you do make that Mistake, and you realize somebody's not a good fit, you got to get rid of them, because it. The more time they are, it's. It's really affecting your business negatively. So that's probably the best advice that I've ever been given.
- [28:33]
Dennis Akers
Yeah. And if you stay consistent on that, the team actually starts to respect it, because not only you're holding them to standards. Now, if the standards aren't met and someone can't stay on the team, they under. Okay. They're serious. Like, this is not a joke. And like she said, don't hire out of desperation. Because if you hire out of desperation, you end up getting that person in there. And six months down the road, you're like, oh, no. So it sounds like she said terrible, but you have to. You got it. And then that might mean you. You have to be in the shop or the business nine to nine again, but you get through it, and you hire again, and. And you cross your fingers and you do a good job.
- [29:07]
Austin Hankwitz
So as someone who's starting a business from scratch, there's a lot of surprises that come with entrepreneurship. I've dealt with a handful of them over the last five years myself, and I'm assuming you all have as well. So talk to me now about sort of the surprises that came out of left field that just threw you for a loop.
- [29:24]
Misty Akers
I think my biggest one was I learned that sales taxes don't go to where they need to go. Like, you have to physically go to the state and do these sales taxes. So I think we were operating for, like, three or four months, and someone had asked about it, and I was like, what? And, you know, then you have to file with Florida, and I had no idea. So when you're getting sales tax, it's actually going into your account sitting there, and then you pay it either monthly or quarterly. So that was a big surprise. Insurance is a cost that, like, it's expensive, and it's really not something that we've had to use, but you have to pay it. And then as you grow, you're paying it. Employee taxes. There's just stuff that you're just like, oh, my gosh.
- [30:07]
Austin Hankwitz
I mean, you are less than Tampa, Florida. We did just have a hurricane last year.
- [30:11]
Dennis Akers
Right. And there's. There's obviously natural disasters that you never want to happen that can happen, and that's all over the country. So, yeah, you want to prepare for that, but you also hope it doesn't happen. But, yeah, little things like that will sneak up on you.
- [30:25]
Janice Torres
So I'm curious, because this is one of the questions I get a lot from my own business coaching. Clients are like, well, should I start an LLC right away? Do I start operating as a sole proprietor? So like how did you guys decide on what entity made sense for the business?
- [30:39]
Misty Akers
We relied on the accountant to kind of guide we gave him, what do we want to be? What are we now? And his recommendation was S Corp. So that's where we are now.
- [30:49]
Janice Torres
So when you're starting an entity, you have compliance requirements with the state paperwork. You have a physical location that has its own compliance requirements. You have digital content that requires compliance. So how have you been maybe surprised by some of these requirements in your own journey?
- [31:05]
Dennis Akers
You really got to be careful from a business building perspective. Brick and mortar, everything has to be ada. So when you're designing it, you have to know about how wheelchairs can turn around in certain areas. The distance between doors need to be certain things. So you definitely do that. Definitely take the time to work with a nice architect or someone to help you with that or at least understand it. Because that's one of the things that if you don't think about, you'll be two years in and someone will walk in and that's a big fine. And you mentioned digital. There are digital compliance things as well. I highly, highly, highly recommend Google just ADA requirements for your website because there is a lot more things you can think about that you ever dreamed that can go wrong with a website. Because a lot of times people use websites as placeholders. Please reach out to a consultant something about the ADA portion of it because it has to be accessible for people who are blind, colorblind. That has to be accessible by navigating your entire website with just like I think it's the space bar and the arrow keys. There's a bunch of little things you need to make sure that you're compliant with or you could have issues down the road for sure.
- [32:10]
Janice Torres
So much to keep track of.
- [32:11]
Misty Akers
Yeah, even capacity, like capacity issues where we based on the number of seats that we have and people who can be in the space that required us to add additional restrooms. So there's so many things that like if they say this is a space that holds 20 people, then you have to accommodate for those 20 people. There's just a lot that we learned, but definitely again utilizing experts that you're not having to go in after you do a build out and then you're having to spend $40,000 to redo your restrooms or anything like that.
- [32:42]
Janice Torres
The thing is these things change too so it's not a one and done situation. Right. So it's important to just really keep your ear to what's going on because you might have to make some additional changes as your business continues to operate.
- [32:53]
Austin Hankwitz
So the last thing I need to know here. What is your favorite scent? I'm looking behind you. I see probably a hundred different scents. You have to have a favorite, I'm sure. What is it?
- [33:02]
Misty Akers
Oh, that's so hard. It changes. I think for me, it's more of a nostalgia thing. Tomato leaf. I grew up on a tomato farm, so that just brings me back to being little on the tomato farm with my dad. The smell, everything. So that's. That's mine for sure.
- [33:20]
Austin Hankwitz
It's amazing.
- [33:20]
Dennis Akers
Oh, man. Mine probably evolves with the idea of a vacation, because I think we need one. It's called Seaside Villa. It's just very smooth, kind of close your eyes, you're out of here kind of place. So I like that. And I like one called Black Oud. And so if you like a little masking, a little smooth. That's one of my favorite ones as well.
- [33:39]
Austin Hankwitz
Very cool. And I know you all ship all around the country. Thecandlepour.com Go check it out.
- [33:45]
Janice Torres
Well, thank you so much for having us here at the candle pour. You know, I think what you guys are doing is a very novel, incredible concept. There's something very powerful about the sensory experience that when you connect a memory, a person with a smell, it's not just about a candle. It really is about remembering someone or a specific time. So I love that you guys are really creating this experiential thing that people can dive into and do something a little different when you're looking for some fun stuff to do here in Tampa.
- [34:14]
Misty Akers
Thank you.
- [34:15]
Dennis Akers
Yeah. We appreciate you coming and visiting us. It's been fun.
- [34:24]
Austin Hankwitz
Janice. I learned a ton during this interview. And good. God, it smells good in here.
- [34:28]
Janice Torres
I just.
- [34:29]
Austin Hankwitz
I don't want to leave.
- [34:30]
Janice Torres
I know.
- [34:30]
Austin Hankwitz
What were some of your biggest takeaways?
- [34:32]
Janice Torres
I think it's the idea that when you're starting a business, there are so many things that you can plan for, but then again, there's like, so many things that you can't. You know, things like, let me think about what entity I want. Setting up an accounting system with something like Intuit, QuickBooks. But then you're also just going to be confronted with things that you literally cannot even anticipate are going to be a thing. And so I think it's just a good reminder that when you're Thinking about going down this road as a small business owner, be prepared to, you know, play with fire. Pun intended.
- [35:05]
Austin Hankwitz
Actually, that was a really good one. I like that. I'm right there with you. I think a big takeaway for me was coming back to this idea of the step by step process of starting a business, right? They sort of just followed a playbook, right? Google, how do I start a business? And then it goes into the LLC formation versus the sole proprietorship and understanding the differences there. And maybe there's a partnership or maybe it's a S corporation or things like that. And then, you know, taking that to the next level with finding the trademark and kind of leaning into, okay, who in my network is a trusted ally that can help me file for this trademark and how do I get that process started and how long is it going to take for me, right? So I think just leaning into this idea that starting a business in the beginning can be a very step by step process, which is really, you know, encouraging for a lot of small business owners listening right now that are still in the beginning stages. But once you have that business up and running, rocking and rolling, there's a lot to look forward to. Like expanding to a fourth location.
- [35:59]
Janice Torres
Absolutely. I think this is an amazing episode to kick off our Small Business Starter Kit series. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to make a candle. So that is a wrap for this episode. You can find me on social media at Jochiero Dinero Podcast and you can.
- [36:13]
Austin Hankwitz
Find me at Austin Hankwitz. You can follow Intuit QuickBooks on all social media at QuickBooks to get the tools you need to start, run and grow your business. Head to QuickBooks.com today. And while you're there, check out the latest QuickBooks blog posts for helpful resources and insights. And you might even see something written by Janiece.
- [36:33]
Janice Torres
Don't forget to follow this show wherever you listen to podcasts so you can stay up to date on future episodes.
- [36:38]
Austin Hankwitz
We also want to hear from you, so be sure to leave a rating and a review.
- [36:41]
Janice Torres
See you next time. Nothing in this episode constitutes business advice. This podcast is a production of iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks. Our executive producer is Molly Socha, our supervising producer is Nakia Swinton, and our writer is Eric Lija.
- [37:04]
Austin Hankwitz
Our head of post production is James Foster, and our mixing engineer is Paul Vitriolens of audiography. Do you own a business that's ready to thrive? It's time to let Intuit QuickBooks take things like unpaid invoices and tracking expenses off your plate so you can take things to the next level. Intuit QuickBooks is an all in one business platform that can help with those day to day tasks like invoicing and expenses. Manage and grow your business all in one place. Intuit QuickBooks your way to Money Money movement services are provided by Intuit Payments, Inc. Licensed as a money transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services.