Leveraging Partnerships to Scale Your Small Business with Kate De Palma

INTRO: [00:00:00] After generating over a million dollars in sales and selling one of her businesses with a single email, your host Katherine Thompson, takes an unconventional approach to marketing and sales. So if you are ready to tap into a more powerful way to be seen her and a sought after entrepreneur in your industry without having to spend endless hours marketing your business and chasing clients, you are in the right place.

Be The Sought After Entrepreneur podcast is here to help you ditch the cookie cutter one size fits all approach to marketing, and use your unique energy to effortlessly attract the most aligned clients when you do this. You can spend less time marketing your business and more time doing your soul work and enjoying the richness of your life.

Welcome to Be the Sought After Entrepreneur podcast, and here's your host, Katherine Thompson. 

Kathryn Thompson: Hey. Hey, super stoked that you're tuning into this week's episode. I cannot wait to dive in [00:01:00] today's topic because I have a very special guest on the show this week, and it's been a while since I've had a guest on the show.

I've been jam and solo in my house dropping weekly episodes for you all, which I absolutely love. But I equally love having other people on the show share their unique perspectives with you. And this week I have Kate Palm. She's a bestselling author. Former educator and founder of Scent Designs, a clean crafted candle company seen in Forbes, Inc.

And Huffington Post. And if you're listening to this, my guess is you're an entrepreneur and you're really gonna resonate with her story. I know I did. But what's really cool about her story and how she's grown her business is she's leveraged partnerships and collaborations. Something I don't think we talk enough about, we focus so much on that digital marketing.

Right. What social media content do we need to create to sell our offers or our products or services? What paid advertising do I need to do on Facebook or Google? It's all this sort of digital marketing staff, and Kate has built her business and really leveraged partnerships and collaborations, [00:02:00] which is super cool.

So without further ado, I'd love to welcome Kate to the show.

Hey. Hey, I am super stoked to have Kate here today. Without further ado, I'm just gonna turn it right over to you so that you can share with our listeners who you are and what you do. 

Kate De Palma: Hi Katherine. Thanks so much for having me on today. Um, my name is Kate De Palma and I'm the founder of Center Designs Candle Company in San Jose, California.

And we create clean, crafted candles for eco-conscious consumers and also for small businesses looking for something special to give as client or employee gifts. 

Kathryn Thompson: So Cool. And I know that this wasn't sort of like your first foray into entrepreneurship, was it like this is kind of a secondary company that you've started?

Kate De Palma: It's actually my first company, but it's definitely a, a second 

Kathryn Thompson: career path. Yes. For me. Yes. 

Kate De Palma: Um, my background, no business background whatsoever. I'm an educator by [00:03:00] training English and Italian literature major English teacher for eight years. And the candle business kind of started by accident almost out of a candle making hobby.

Um, and then it grew into a side hustle from the hobby. And then ultimately I took the leap into running it as. The full-time business that it is 

Kathryn Thompson: now. So cool. And I wanna dive into, like, it kind of came by accident because I know there's lots of entrepreneurs that are listening to this and maybe are maybe grinding their way through entrepreneurialship, trying to make it work.

Um, and I love businesses that kind of happen by accident or start as a hobby and then turn into something beautiful. So like, Tell me a little bit about your story of that kind of being a hobby on the side. Like what sparked you to wanna start making candles? 

Kate De Palma: Well, I've always loved just being really creative, being really hands-on with things like, I loved scrapbooking when I was a kid.

Very texture colors. And scent is just kind of one more thing you could play around with. Right. But [00:04:00] I was teaching and one of the reasons I was interested in going into teaching is, How interactive it is, how creative it is. And then when I started teaching, it ultimately was a lot more computer based than I thought.

Like of course you're in the classroom with the kids. Yeah. And that's great, but everything is so digital. So to have that creative outlet, that hobby that is still hands-on, you're making something, you're, it's sensory, it's, you know, you're up and about and doing stuff. And that's what I loved about candle making.

Kathryn Thompson: Yeah. So cool. And I can still relate to that too. I was in corporate for 15 years and then picked up the camera, started doing photography, took that from hobby to business. Mm-hmm. And switching outta that. And obviously here I am, but um, I've done a few things, so, yeah. So when did you like realize that this hobby was something that you wanted to turn into a side hustle?

Was there like a moment in time? Were people asking you for it? 

Kate De Palma: I remember my very first craft show that I did, and [00:05:00] basically it was just at a local parish. My mother-in-law, you know, went there and she kind of asked, why don't you bring your candles? I'll pay the 20 bucks for the table and just bring your candles and see what happens.

And it was a two day event and you know, people love the candles. And $800 later, which felt like a lot, I'm like, oh, people are gonna buy these and. I then, I think that was in September, October, so I signed up for all the, the holiday shows I could find that year, and really just, I, I went for it and I was working at the time, but again, that creative outlet and holidays, it was so fun.

And only later was it? Oh, I kind of have a business now. Okay. Now what? 

Kathryn Thompson: Yeah. So you took this business now from hobby to side hustle to now going full-time, and I know that's a huge transition for people to make and to find the leap of faith to actually like the faith to actually do it. So share your story about how you made that transition.

What were some of the [00:06:00] roadblocks maybe that you hit and some of the challenges that you had? 

Kate De Palma: Well, the number one roadblock is, like you said, the leap of faith. And I'll add to that and say it's not even taking the leap of faith, it's also keeping going after taking that leap, because I did actually take the leap once, ran the business full-time for a year or two.

And then I freaked out and went back to work and got another teaching job because I was just not confident that this was going to happen or that it was possible. And so I kind of, I took the leap of faith, but then I lost faith in myself and, and in what I was doing. And it took me another four years to take it again.

And I saw over the kinda that second set, that four year set, I saw the business keep growing and growing and growing. And. I remember when I had first started out, people telling me it takes five years. It takes five years, right? For a business to [00:07:00] be successful and grow. And I didn't have the patience. I didn't have the belief I wanted to pay the bills, like all the things.

And so I lost that faith and I went back to work, and then I kind of actually saw it happening and that's when I realized, okay, I can do this. 

Kathryn Thompson: Yeah, and it's so beautiful that you share that because I think there is this, especially in the online world where there's this like overnight success, this instant success that happens with a lot of the messaging that's out there, right?

Of like, you can start this business in 90 days, you'll be making a hundred K months or years or whatever, and it just sets so many people up for failure in a lot of ways. But I also think that we need to take that journey. On our own to do it, to freak out a bit, to go, oh my gosh, is this gonna work? Is this not gonna work?

All of the things. And I went full-time outta corporate into our brick and mortar wine business. My photographer business was always sort of like a side hustle. I went full-time into the wine business and I think it was nine months [00:08:00] before I actually felt like somewhat calm and also knew that it was like I had ditch corporate and we've got this now physical location, like I can't just go back and get a job.

Because we had commitments there. So, so I think we all go through it, right? We panic and, and push that panic button. And I just think it's beautiful that you shared that because it just gives people perspective and the time that it does actually take mm-hmm. For businesses to catch on, to grow, um, and holding your nerve through that is the biggest challenge is like, Is this gonna work?

And if it doesn't, what the heck? And yeah, so I'm happy that you've come back around now and you've got this thank you business. Yeah. And so talk about the product. So you talk about like these clean scented candles, like there's, there's a uniqueness to the candle. You're not just making any sort of candle that's burning, like there's a uniqueness to your product.

Kate De Palma: Well, it's really important to me to be creating a candle [00:09:00] that. Anyone can burn in their house and not worry about what they're putting in, whether they're, you know, a new mom or just anyone really. But I would get really bad migraines when I was a kid all the way through college. And, you know, there's different triggers for them and, and I loved candles and I didn't know that, you know, the candle I would get from the mall was putting all this, you know, stuff in the air and.

I am sure that that's one of the reasons I would get these, these headaches. And I know other people are triggered too. So in making my candles, I wanna embrace both the, like, I want high quality, but I also wanna keep that artisan flair to it. Cause I loved, I love all, I love handmade, I love going to, you know, markets and sporting, handmade makers.

So just leaning into kind of the best of all the worlds as I see it. Something people can enjoy that smells amazing. Made of good, clean ingredients, made in the s usa, hand poured, small business, [00:10:00] local, all the all the things. 

Kathryn Thompson: I love it. I love it. So you hand pour all of the candles, or you have a team of people that hand pour the candles and so it's all shipped and distributed from where you are locally?

Kate De Palma: Yes. So we have a studio. We have a team that's continuing to grow over time, but every single candle is hand poured. 

Kathryn Thompson: So cool. And so with the handmade, I love handmade businesses. I love the whole creative arts and stuff like that. So, um, what do you feel like is the biggest contributing factor to you being able to grow and scale the company?

Like in terms of marketing and sales and like Yeah, 

Kate De Palma: it's really just the people I've met along the way and continue to meet and. Whether it's at craft shows or the pop-up markets, the vendors you meet, the customers you meet, any other networking done along the way, other business centers I meet through podcasts, through [00:11:00] whatever, it's, it all comes down to the people and building the network.

Kathryn Thompson: I love that because I think, again, there's a lot of, especially with the digital age and the digital world, right, where it's like you can, yeah, spend all this money on ads or you know, fancy funnels and all of the things, and it's like just that human to human connection and relationship building is just so vital, which is really promising for a lot of business owners who might not have the budget yet to.

Invest in big paid ads or PR or all the things. So it's nice to be able to go back to, I say the grassroots in a lot of ways of building business grassroots wise. Mm-hmm. Um, yeah. So you mentioned that having these candles is really great for business. I want you to talk about that, like business owners investing in it as like promotional material or products.

Kate De Palma: So the idea of candles as client gifts, especially, um, being able to personalize them to a business and to their clients is something. [00:12:00] Our company has really been leaning into recently, and it's something that I find a lot of joy in and I am really, really passionate about because I'm creating a product and I know the product's good.

I've been doing it for years. People have told me it's a great product, and now I can share it with other business owners and help their business grow through relationship building by giving a gift through brand awareness. There's so many benefits to putting your brand on. A product, like a candle that's gonna be living in someone's home.

And it's like you've been invited into their space in a way you might not be otherwise, especially if you're a service-based business and really wanna have kind of a tangible thing. Yeah, it's, it's pretty cool. 

Kathryn Thompson: Yeah. So cool. So when, when a business comes to you and they want candles, safe for client gifts and whatnot, is your branding still on it or is it fully customizable for them to just have their branding on it?

Kate De Palma: It's fully customizable, so the [00:13:00] company could have just their business on it in some instances, especially if they're local or it's another woman owned business, for example. I might have it say or, or we will talk about it and it'll say hand poured by some designs, just because we can then cross promote and talk about it as a collaboration.

But it's totally, you know, what the business owner would prefer. 

Kathryn Thompson: Yeah. So, cool. And then in terms of sense and stuff, like what's the array of sense? Because when you talk about customer gifts and you talk about building that connection, I always say like it, you know, there's an emotional feel when you create that connection with people.

And scent is one of our senses. Mm-hmm. And so it's, it's like when you can have that smell of vanilla or cinnamon and it's like, then you connect it back to the business that gave it to you. It's like, It's a really cool thing. So what are the scents? Is it like customizable there? Like could someone come to you and say, I want like chamomile and lavender, or like, how does it work?

Kate De Palma: Well, it is [00:14:00] customizable, um, although people tend to kind of pick from our scent list or our best sellers just because it's a little less, it's just easier, I guess. Yeah. Um, one, one less step in the process, but really I talk with them about what feel. Are you going for? What are, what are the vibes? Like maybe you don't know what, what scent exactly you want, or what your customer client would like, but you know, you want to make them feel happy or relaxed or excited or cozy during the holidays.

So just tell me kind of what's that feeling you're going for, and then from there I can recommend. Here are the, the two or 3 cents you should think about for that feeling, because you're right, scent is so connected Yes to brain and memory and emotions that like, let's play around with that. Let's, let's harness that, the power of scent and really see what we can do.

For you. 

Kathryn Thompson: Yeah. And, and candles, like you said, they create this, um, beautiful [00:15:00] feel within your home. And then to know that the candle is good for you as well, that you're not burning something that could impact you, your kids, your pets, whatever. That the, that it's, yeah, it's, it's clean for your home is just also an added, added bonus to it.

So do you ship all over the world? Do you ship in North America? Do you ship in us? 

Kate De Palma: Primarily in the US we do ship, um, to many other parts of the world as well. Europe, Canada, Mexico, and we're constantly expanding as the company grows. Um, we do like the element of made in the made in the USA and, and shopping, you know, within the usa.

So, That means a lot to us, but we also love reaching as many people as we can. So 

Kathryn Thompson: Amazing, amazing. I just, I, you know, I have such a soft spot, like I love handmade business. I love like, you know, local businesses, that sort of thing. It's just, and then ones that have like that purpose. Driven [00:16:00] behind it. Right?

Like there's a reason why you're creating these clean scented candles and that Yeah. You're doing, doing good for, yeah. The environment for people, all of those sorts of things. What is like your, you know, uh, vision for the company going forward? Like what are some plans? Do you have like new products coming out?

Like what's your vision for for scaling 

Kate De Palma: it? Always new products always make sense for trying while kind of keeping our core best sellers too. Um, yeah. But one of the things we've been leaning into and we'll continue to use as we scale is. Back to the custom branded candles for businesses, for events, conferences, holiday gifts for schools.

Like going back to my background as a teacher, I'd love to connect with, with schools and, you know, speaker gifts. There's so, there's just so much potential and yeah, for, for my business to grow and also for me to continue to connect with people and kind of give them this gift idea that they haven't [00:17:00] thought about before.

Like, let's fill swag bags with. A handmade product in the usa. Yeah. It's eco-friendly. People are gonna actually use it and it's not just, you know, something that's gonna add to the clutter. So kind of following that mission of creating a good product that's eco-friendly and helping people connect with their clients, that's, that's what we're leaning into.

So more of that client gifting, corporate gifting angle. 

Kathryn Thompson: Yeah. I love that. When we had the wine business, now we've sold it. But that was one of the things like we would obviously service one-to-one clients, but one of the things we le like weddings or client gifts or different, like home new homeowners getting it from real estate.

Mm-hmm. S things like that. Right. Which I think is really beautiful. Like, you know, Bottle of wine or a beautiful candle, like for your new home with a new scent. Like it's just, yeah. So beautiful. Did it get any better than that? It doesn't. I love candles too. So, um, what are the top scents? I'm curious to know [00:18:00] what are the top best selling scents for candles?

Kate De Palma: Day at the spa is one of our top sellers. It's a lemongrass blend, very soothing, self-care, relaxation. Love it. Patricia Gove, I would say is our other, those two are vying for the, the top position at the moment. It's very right and fun and people wide appeal. So everyone loves that one. Um, and then there's seasonal ones too, but there's just, those are, those are two main space I would say.

Kathryn Thompson: Interesting. I would've thought like vanilla or like cinnamon or something like that. You 

Kate De Palma: know, apple cinnamon in the fall and uh, lavender, I mean, yeah, some of the kind of basic ones for sure. But part of it might just be too, like what we've put out there over the years and how we've marketed it. And Dave, the spa happens to be in people self care.

That's, yeah, I don't wanna say trendy, but you know, like people are, are embracing it. So maybe that's why, um, and citrus is [00:19:00] just bright and fresh for the kitchen. So I think some of it might just be our messaging. Um, yeah, I love vanilla. I will never not love a vanilla candle. 

Kathryn Thompson: Yeah. And I think too, you know, vanilla's like vanilla, it is vanilla, right?

So it's like these different, you know, lemon grass and stuff like that is just, it's a little bit more unique and maybe not as, Familiar as like a vanilla or apple cinnamon or something like that. But yeah, I was, I, I'm always curious like, what are the top selling scents? So cool. Um, if there was anybody listening to this that wanted to take anything away from your journey as an entrepreneur, like what are maybe some quick like tips you could give somebody to starting a handmade business, to holding the nerve through it, to some things to even consider.

Kate De Palma: I would say number one is be brave. You need to take that leap. You need to believe in yourself. You need [00:20:00] to do what you're gonna do regardless of, you know, the naysayers or the people who think your business is small or are putting you down in some way. So be brave. Yeah. And. The other one, I would say is to be generous.

Uh, be generous with yourself. Give yourself grace. Give yourself space and, and time and room to grow and be generous in your relationships with others because that's where you're going to learn, that's where you're going to grow and get referrals and make connections and, um, just expand in ways that.

You know, in the digital world online, you're not necessarily going to be able to. So, uh, be brave, be generous, and be happy. I mean, yeah, that's my third one, just because be happy, but kind of just besides those, you know, nuggets I guess is really just know that it takes time and that overnight sensation idea that you [00:21:00] mentioned earlier.

That's not necessarily the way it's going to happen, so stick with it. If it's something that you love, stick with it. And there's nothing wrong with the side hustle either, and running it that way. If you're happy with it, there's no reason it needs to be gigantic. Yeah, if you wanted to, but there's nothing wrong with that.

Kathryn Thompson: I love that because I do think that, again, it's the expectation we set around what we think it needs to be, which is what kills mm-hmm. A lot of really great ideas or even kills the whole essence of maybe what you created because we think we need to, you know, scale it to multimillions straight away, or it can be a side hustle.

Like my, like I said, my photography business was a side hustle and it never really got to full-time. Mainly because I didn't want it to. Yeah. And that's great. I shot on weekends. Yeah. Like I shot on weekends and I worked full-time in corporate and it wasn't something I ever wanted to do full-time. And so it's just a beautiful message to leave [00:22:00] people with, is that Yeah.

You, you get to build it your way. Mm-hmm. You get to do it your way. But um, the generosity piece is so huge too. I think like just having that reciprocity and generosity infused in what you do just goes such a long way. For business growth. Yeah. Such a long way. Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So in terms of business growth and relationship building, oftentimes we think about like who might be the most aligned person for us?

And I know that you have some outside of the box ways to collaborate or even how to spot maybe people that aren't a hundred percent in alignment with what you think. Like how do you spot 

Kate De Palma: those? It kind of goes back to. Who you're meeting by, where you're putting yourself out there. Yeah. Whether if you're at a craft fair with someone or at a marketplace, handmade marketplace, you're going to maybe be meeting people who have similar interests, even if your product itself don't seem to [00:23:00] align or you know they're doing something entirely different.

But I would encourage people listening to look for unique ways to collaborate, and it's not always going to be. What you might expect, and that's where I think you can find a lot of value. Um, and just one example I can give is one of my very first collaborations was with a boudoir photographer, a local boudoir photographer who found me on Google, reached out, he wanted client gifts to give after a photo session.

Amazing. And yeah, I just, I never would've thought, oh yeah, I'm gonna make candles for a boudoir photographer. Never thought about it. But then I realized, oh my god, that totally makes sense because it's something, you know, to help them remember this awesome experience they had. Yeah, it's a gift he can give to, you know, keep himself top of mind, get referrals, but mostly just, Hey, here's something to remind you of this awesome experience.

So it's just not something I would've thought about, [00:24:00] but um, kind of leaned into it and it was really cool. 

Kathryn Thompson: Yeah. I love that too because I think, like I said, again, we get so like that one track mind in business. It's like, okay, how is, how is this person gonna be able to help me do this when it's like we just keep our options open and just allow the opportunities maybe even to come in and not necessarily shut them down or just have conversations like, just keep that conversation.

Open for things to come up, cuz Yeah, you're right. Like what? What would you have? You would never would've thought, oh, a boudoir photographer would be interested in purchasing candles. Mm-hmm. For gifts. But they make a really beautiful gift. So really, if you think about it, I mean, it could be used for anything.

Weddings, real estate teachers like, I mean really if you think about it as a company or a business or a corporation or an organization, eat gift bags for events. Like it is such a good. Thing to put in there, but also is gonna be used, you know? Cause again, you get a lot of [00:25:00] those gift bags at conferences or events that it's like, it's just filled with stuff that ends up collecting dust in your house.

Right. That's not really used. So anyways. Right. I love the candle idea. Awesome. 

Kate De Palma: Yeah. And that photographers, the guy, he opened my eyes to that idea that I could work with. Pretty much anyone at all. Yeah. Regardless of what their business was. And I know that might not seem to be the case for other products or other businesses, but, you know, look, look for what, what could be that, that connection, uh, what could be the, you know, that similarity you have or even if even other products like gift bundles or something.

There's just opportunities if you're open to it. But I like what you said too about the. Relationship, keeping the conversation going. It doesn't have to happen right away. Yeah. Like get to know the person first and then, you know, down the road, who knows what might happen. 

Kathryn Thompson: Yeah. And that's the other thing.

I think, again, when you, when we get attached to that outcome, which I get as business owners, you know, we're wanting [00:26:00] to make sales and our business to be successful, we can get attached to that outcome of like, it ha, this conversation has to turn into something and then, We shut ourselves off from maybe having all of these different conversations, which I truly believe, like the best marketing is done in conversation.

Mm-hmm. Not necessarily like a billboard or an ad. Like yes, that helps, but. It's like it's human to human connection and conversation. Yeah. That goes, will always stand the test of time no matter what. Digital tool comes out. Yes. People invest in the people, and so this is just a beautiful way for them to invest in a handmade business owner or female owned business owner.

But it's also a really great way to share that with your network of people as a business owner. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Beautiful. Where can people find you if they want to buy your candles, they want to get some candles for their business, uh, client gifts, that sort of thing. 

Kate De Palma: I can be found online, scented designed candle company, and the website is scented designs.com.[00:27:00] 

And I would of course love to work with anyone looking for a collaboration or client gifts or anything like that, or just a really nice candle for your house. Yes. And on, um, social media as well sent a designed candle 

Kathryn Thompson: co. Brilliant. And we will link all of those links up around these show notes so that they can, uh, quickly access them.

But it's been such a pleasure connecting with you and, and chatting with you, and you sharing your story with our, our listeners. I know they're gonna love it. 

Thank 

Kate De Palma: you Catherine, so much for having me. It was a lot of fun. 

Kathryn Thompson: Awesome. Thank you. If you resonated with Kate's story or you simply wanna check out her candles, because seriously the sense that she describes sound freaking amazing, then we've linked up all of her links in the show notes, so you can reach out to her that way.

Now, on next week's episode, I'm absolutely over the moon for this guest. She's a Hollywood actor. She's star, the host of Gucci. She started alongside Lady Gaga, Pacino, JTO, just to name a few Hollywood celebrities, and she's gonna be on to talk about. All things visibility. Her name [00:28:00] is Florence Andrews. I cannot wait for this episode.

She drops so much Goodness. So you're gonna wanna subscribe to the show to make sure that you don't miss when this episode drops next week. Cheers. 

OUTRO: Thanks for listening. We'll see you right back here next time. You can also find us on social media at creatively owned and online@creativelyowned.com. Until next time, keep showing up as your authentic self.