1 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:08,855 Welcome to Working Towards Our Purpose, a podcast that 2 00:00:08,855 --> 00:00:12,615 offers a different perspective on what a job can be. For everyone 3 00:00:12,615 --> 00:00:16,090 out there that's heard that voice in the back of their head asking for 4 00:00:16,090 --> 00:00:19,610 something more, it's time to listen to it. I'm your host, 5 00:00:19,610 --> 00:00:23,265 Gino, and join me as I interview people who have decided to 6 00:00:23,265 --> 00:00:27,025 work in their own purpose. Together, we will learn, become 7 00:00:27,025 --> 00:00:30,705 inspired, and hopefully find our own path towards working in our 8 00:00:30,705 --> 00:00:34,210 purpose. Joining me today is 9 00:00:34,210 --> 00:00:37,890 Dimitry Kotman, who is founder and owner of Zenith Point Candle, where he 10 00:00:37,890 --> 00:00:41,489 handcrafts candles, body butters, and room sprays for self care 11 00:00:41,489 --> 00:00:44,914 and relaxation. Dimitry, thank you for being here. How are you doing 12 00:00:44,914 --> 00:00:48,434 today? Hey. Thank you for having me, Gino. I am 13 00:00:48,434 --> 00:00:52,059 doing great a little everywhere, but, I guess 14 00:00:52,059 --> 00:00:55,600 that's the life of a entrepreneur. Certainly. 15 00:00:55,739 --> 00:00:59,395 Certainly. Juggling all the hats. So, yeah, I'm 16 00:00:59,395 --> 00:01:03,075 glad to have you here. And, just wanna kinda start by getting to know you 17 00:01:03,075 --> 00:01:06,810 a little bit more and, like, ask you about your growing up and, like, you 18 00:01:06,810 --> 00:01:09,930 know, where you grew up, what kinda schooling you went to, and that sort of 19 00:01:09,930 --> 00:01:13,469 thing, and whatever you feel comfortable sharing. Alright. No problem. 20 00:01:13,530 --> 00:01:17,134 Well, hello, everyone. Like you said, I'm Dimitri. 21 00:01:17,674 --> 00:01:20,975 I am 31 years old turning 32 22 00:01:21,994 --> 00:01:25,580 in April. So too. Really? Yeah. In 23 00:01:25,580 --> 00:01:29,420 April? Mhmm. April what? 16th. Oh, 24 00:01:29,420 --> 00:01:32,880 nice. Alright. You're just a little bit older. I'm 21st. 25 00:01:33,835 --> 00:01:37,455 Gotcha. Nice. So, yeah, I went 26 00:01:38,075 --> 00:01:41,835 to elementary school in New Haven. Actually, that's where I was 27 00:01:41,835 --> 00:01:45,640 born and raised. Born at Yale, lived on Sylvan 28 00:01:45,700 --> 00:01:49,320 Avenue, so it's like the heart of basically New Haven 29 00:01:49,380 --> 00:01:53,195 at that time. I went to Vincenimarro, which is no 30 00:01:53,195 --> 00:01:56,795 longer there. It's, like, Sheridan Morrow now. Some 31 00:01:56,795 --> 00:02:00,630 are they combine with, like, 2 schools together. Like, that's what they do nowadays. 32 00:02:01,649 --> 00:02:04,469 I grew up, like, excellent grades. 33 00:02:05,490 --> 00:02:09,155 My parents really enforced that in me, like, education is gonna be the best 34 00:02:09,155 --> 00:02:12,694 thing for you growing up in this kind of world, and 35 00:02:13,155 --> 00:02:16,694 you just wanna go to school, get the best grades that you can, and 36 00:02:17,090 --> 00:02:20,930 that's about it. I grew up in a, like, sheltered home. It was home, 37 00:02:20,930 --> 00:02:24,635 school, homeschool, church, homeschool, church. And, 38 00:02:24,955 --> 00:02:28,255 that's another part of my life. It was a lot of Pentecostal 39 00:02:28,395 --> 00:02:32,075 church basically almost every day of the week. Yes, I did 40 00:02:32,075 --> 00:02:35,840 enjoy it. I felt forced at first, but I kinda like 41 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,520 grew into it in a way. And, then I 42 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:42,820 went to Worthington Hooker for middle school. 43 00:02:43,125 --> 00:02:46,724 It's a small school. I don't even know oh, it's still around. It's 44 00:02:46,724 --> 00:02:49,785 just like on Whitney Ave, and they have, like, this huge grandiose 45 00:02:50,325 --> 00:02:54,170 site, like, building. Nothing what I went through. I was 46 00:02:54,170 --> 00:02:58,010 just, like, it was an old church, and they just, like, rented it 47 00:02:58,010 --> 00:03:01,825 out next door. And there, that's where I kinda, like, 48 00:03:01,825 --> 00:03:05,665 struggled with, you know, like most kids, growing up in middle school, trying to figure 49 00:03:05,665 --> 00:03:09,125 out who you are without people telling you who you are, 50 00:03:09,650 --> 00:03:13,330 really. And then you're like, alright. Am I this? Am I that? 51 00:03:13,330 --> 00:03:17,010 And you're still trying to figure out everything, like, I 52 00:03:17,010 --> 00:03:20,565 said, life. Right after that, I got 53 00:03:20,565 --> 00:03:24,245 a full right of scholarship, academic scholarship to Notre 54 00:03:24,245 --> 00:03:27,980 Dame in West Haven. I'm still living in New Haven at that point, and it 55 00:03:27,980 --> 00:03:31,519 was a, like, a good family and community 56 00:03:31,739 --> 00:03:35,035 came together for me in a way. The schools, the principals, 57 00:03:35,255 --> 00:03:38,555 social workers, everybody wrote me, like, very kind recommendation 58 00:03:38,775 --> 00:03:42,560 letters knowing that I would not be able to afford to 59 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,080 go to Notre Dame at that time. You know, like, it was a tuition, private 60 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,815 school, Catholic, and then cost some cost a little 61 00:03:49,815 --> 00:03:53,495 money to go. Hey. And I was excited to at 62 00:03:53,495 --> 00:03:57,255 least receive the academic scholarship. I did not wanna go to an 63 00:03:57,255 --> 00:04:00,900 all boys school whatsoever. That was not the cool 64 00:04:00,900 --> 00:04:04,739 thing to do. That was not my plan. I wanted to, you know, 65 00:04:04,739 --> 00:04:08,235 follow my friends and do art school and, 66 00:04:09,095 --> 00:04:12,935 hey, that's just how my cards fell. And it was one of 67 00:04:12,935 --> 00:04:16,550 the best things that I could have done in my growing up time 68 00:04:16,550 --> 00:04:20,229 was going to Notre Dame. They introduced me to so many 69 00:04:20,229 --> 00:04:24,010 situations that I would have not been in in a regular public school. 70 00:04:24,275 --> 00:04:27,655 The education was great. Oh, man. It was brutal 71 00:04:29,074 --> 00:04:32,595 brutal and, like, it was a college preparatory school. 72 00:04:32,595 --> 00:04:36,330 So they really wanted to make sure that you're, you know, ready for 73 00:04:36,330 --> 00:04:39,690 college. So it was college work. Like I said, it was 74 00:04:39,690 --> 00:04:43,005 tough, but I made it through. In the end, 75 00:04:43,305 --> 00:04:47,065 it's literally everything that comes up in a lot of conversations. Oh, 76 00:04:47,065 --> 00:04:50,440 where'd you go to high school? Notre Dame? Oh, really? Did you do this? Did 77 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:53,960 you do that? Do you know so and so? The college that I went to, 78 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:57,560 Alberta's, most of my teachers ended up being from 79 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:00,415 Notre Dame and, a lot of the, 80 00:05:00,975 --> 00:05:04,575 advisors. And I was like, wow, like, we are everywhere. So, you 81 00:05:04,575 --> 00:05:08,250 know, keep my best foot forward, keep trying to do well because you never know 82 00:05:08,250 --> 00:05:12,090 who's watching those n d eyes. Yeah. I 83 00:05:12,090 --> 00:05:15,849 went to college. I went to Southern right away because, you know, college preparatory. You 84 00:05:15,849 --> 00:05:19,375 gotta go straight to college. Unfortunately, I was not matured 85 00:05:19,375 --> 00:05:23,215 enough to be in a school by myself, you know, 86 00:05:23,215 --> 00:05:26,275 coming from a sheltered life and having total freedom. 87 00:05:27,199 --> 00:05:30,180 It was, let's just say, I had a great time 88 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,955 and stopped going, needed to get to work. I 89 00:05:34,955 --> 00:05:38,715 actually just recently finished all my classes at 90 00:05:38,715 --> 00:05:42,474 Albertus. Magnus Congratulations. Haven. Thank you. Thank 91 00:05:42,474 --> 00:05:46,020 you for a bachelor's in computer 92 00:05:46,020 --> 00:05:49,860 information systems. It is something that, I don't know, it was 93 00:05:49,860 --> 00:05:53,705 kinda always dear to my heart just like anything software, computer, electronics. 94 00:05:54,005 --> 00:05:57,845 I was the one that would take apart my computer and try 95 00:05:57,845 --> 00:06:01,625 to put it back together. Replacing motherboards 96 00:06:01,925 --> 00:06:05,669 and just digging in there and learning as I went. So I was like, hey, 97 00:06:05,669 --> 00:06:09,030 let me get a little education background in that. 98 00:06:09,430 --> 00:06:13,215 You know, I had went to school for psychology, 99 00:06:14,155 --> 00:06:17,675 sociology, and early 100 00:06:17,675 --> 00:06:21,430 childhood education. So I'm, like, I was in a 101 00:06:21,430 --> 00:06:25,270 mix of everywhere, and I was, like, let me just get in a 102 00:06:25,270 --> 00:06:28,875 place where I know that I will be happy, and 103 00:06:28,875 --> 00:06:32,014 something that's still gonna be able a great flourishing career. 104 00:06:32,795 --> 00:06:36,540 IT, communications, all of that is becoming the 105 00:06:36,540 --> 00:06:39,680 world that we're in. AI, like, that is 106 00:06:40,140 --> 00:06:43,535 something that wasn't around, you know, a couple of years ago, and here we are 107 00:06:43,615 --> 00:06:47,235 full blast into it. Yeah. There's still, like, a lot of policies that has 108 00:06:47,615 --> 00:06:51,375 to be dealt with, but it's the wave of the future. And, 109 00:06:51,375 --> 00:06:54,819 like, I wanna be able to fix anything. 110 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,280 I had, like, a little web design class, which I 111 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:02,659 really enjoyed. I was able to incorporate that into my business. 112 00:07:04,155 --> 00:07:07,835 But, yeah, no. Hey. That's my greatest achievement so far. I am 113 00:07:07,835 --> 00:07:11,354 done with this degree. Gonna keep 114 00:07:11,354 --> 00:07:15,100 going for something else. Now I'm really into nursing, 115 00:07:15,100 --> 00:07:18,800 so my idea was to go into health care technology 116 00:07:19,340 --> 00:07:23,035 where I can build these instruments and have 117 00:07:23,035 --> 00:07:26,875 recommendations for even their softwares and teach these 118 00:07:26,875 --> 00:07:30,430 softwares and be able to evolve and progress in this health 119 00:07:30,430 --> 00:07:34,190 care technology world as well. Interesting. Yeah. 120 00:07:34,190 --> 00:07:38,030 Thanks for sharing all that. That's my background, dude. Like, it's it's 121 00:07:38,030 --> 00:07:41,675 everywhere, but I'm here. Still young guy. Right? Yeah. No. 122 00:07:41,675 --> 00:07:44,635 Definitely. I think it's super important to, like, try a bunch of different things and 123 00:07:44,635 --> 00:07:48,050 figure out, you know, what it is that you like. So it's it's awesome that 124 00:07:48,050 --> 00:07:51,890 you have tried different things and kinda trying to meld maybe 125 00:07:51,890 --> 00:07:55,190 2 different worlds into, like, a future path. I think that's 126 00:07:55,250 --> 00:07:58,915 that's, you know, nice that you can use different areas of, 127 00:07:58,915 --> 00:08:02,275 of things that you like. So, what do you like 128 00:08:02,275 --> 00:08:06,020 currently, you said you do do some nursing now. Is that, something that you, 129 00:08:06,020 --> 00:08:09,320 like, did while you were going to school? I did 130 00:08:09,780 --> 00:08:13,140 private pay nursing. So I was able to get hired through a 131 00:08:13,140 --> 00:08:16,965 company with no, like, nursing background or 132 00:08:17,185 --> 00:08:21,025 even really experienced on degree training, and they gave me training, and 133 00:08:21,025 --> 00:08:24,610 I was able to do it for this one person. And growing up, 134 00:08:24,610 --> 00:08:28,070 I grew up like with my grandparents and my great grandparents. 135 00:08:28,450 --> 00:08:31,430 So it kind of came natural for me to be able to 136 00:08:32,105 --> 00:08:35,804 wanting to take care of somebody and be able to try to heal them 137 00:08:36,184 --> 00:08:39,919 and my mom's a great little self prescribed doctor. In a 138 00:08:39,919 --> 00:08:43,039 way, she was like, honey, it's this, and most of the time it is that. 139 00:08:43,039 --> 00:08:46,640 And from, like, with her experience telling me, I I kinda 140 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,225 grew on me in a way. So after that, I was like, 141 00:08:50,225 --> 00:08:54,065 alright. Maybe I do wanna go into health care. It was just the nursing part 142 00:08:54,065 --> 00:08:57,870 of it and timing just never really worked out, but I'm in a great 143 00:08:57,870 --> 00:09:01,709 place where I could have a degree now. I don't have to 144 00:09:01,709 --> 00:09:05,335 do these little steps before. Like, there's bridges just for 145 00:09:05,335 --> 00:09:09,175 that. And that's something that I can still, you know, 146 00:09:09,175 --> 00:09:12,790 jump into. My partner right now, he's a I don't wanna 147 00:09:12,790 --> 00:09:16,470 say a retired nurse. He nursing from over 20 148 00:09:16,470 --> 00:09:20,250 years and went into, like, another field of nursing, which is the case management 149 00:09:20,470 --> 00:09:24,065 field, getting people out of the hospital, making sure that they're safe 150 00:09:24,065 --> 00:09:27,605 discharges. And with our, like, our relationship 151 00:09:27,745 --> 00:09:31,205 now, I still wanna go into something like that. 152 00:09:31,660 --> 00:09:35,260 And it's, you know, exciting and scary at the 153 00:09:35,260 --> 00:09:39,020 same time. But I just wanna be able to, in the end, 154 00:09:39,020 --> 00:09:42,764 heal the world. Yeah. That's awesome. 155 00:09:43,464 --> 00:09:46,985 Appreciate that. So so when did the business start? 156 00:09:47,385 --> 00:09:50,680 When did you start your business, and when did the idea come from? And, you 157 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:54,520 know, tell us about that. Alright. No problem. So Zenith 158 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:57,915 Point started in literally 159 00:09:57,975 --> 00:10:01,815 2020. Right? And the beginning of the 160 00:10:01,815 --> 00:10:05,610 COVID era, Like most businesses, 161 00:10:06,230 --> 00:10:09,910 people got laid off and wanting to put their 162 00:10:09,910 --> 00:10:13,545 energy into something creative. And me has already created a 163 00:10:13,545 --> 00:10:17,305 background as long with, like, I got into art. So I 164 00:10:17,305 --> 00:10:20,300 was drawing, painting, sewing, 165 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:24,460 crocheting, even playing around with, like, making candles. 166 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:28,605 So this all started by my partner, 167 00:10:28,665 --> 00:10:32,505 Scott. Really, he gave me the idea that I'm was just 168 00:10:32,505 --> 00:10:36,079 making candles. He was like, this is a 169 00:10:36,079 --> 00:10:39,920 great candle and I think other people will like it too. 170 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:43,735 You should just see just put stuff out there and see what people 171 00:10:43,735 --> 00:10:47,575 think about it. This could be a way for you to have an 172 00:10:47,575 --> 00:10:51,080 income and to be able to be your own boss. And I was, you know 173 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,920 what? That's great, because I got laid off. I was working at 174 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:57,740 a nursing home as a, admissions coordinator, 175 00:10:58,565 --> 00:11:02,245 And most right in the beginning, got laid off and still 176 00:11:02,245 --> 00:11:05,845 needed to make an income. And I was like, now is the perfect time to 177 00:11:05,845 --> 00:11:09,090 do anything that I wanna do, which was 178 00:11:09,470 --> 00:11:13,170 school and now try to make a business. 179 00:11:13,630 --> 00:11:16,850 I started by making candles, bath soaks, 180 00:11:17,585 --> 00:11:21,185 and whipped body butter. This product, I was able 181 00:11:21,185 --> 00:11:24,945 to make little sets and give them to my partner because he worked in 182 00:11:24,945 --> 00:11:28,170 a hospital still at this time, and it was geared towards 183 00:11:28,790 --> 00:11:32,550 nursing. You were beat up and you needed to 184 00:11:32,550 --> 00:11:36,125 be able to relax at home, I wanted to give you that spa 185 00:11:36,125 --> 00:11:39,745 quality, self care essential line, and 186 00:11:40,045 --> 00:11:43,805 try to make it as easy as for, you know, people in health care after 187 00:11:43,805 --> 00:11:47,470 their long shifts. And let's say they 188 00:11:47,470 --> 00:11:50,910 loved it. They loved it just like my partner 189 00:11:50,910 --> 00:11:54,645 did. And they're like, oh my gosh, we want more. We're willing to 190 00:11:54,645 --> 00:11:58,245 pay for these now. Like, I was just giving them away. Like, oh, this is 191 00:11:58,245 --> 00:12:01,589 a fun hobby. Like and it was like, alright. How much do you want for 192 00:12:01,589 --> 00:12:05,270 this? I'm like, selling something that I made 193 00:12:05,270 --> 00:12:09,029 as you know, even though Scott was saying oh, that's my partner 194 00:12:09,029 --> 00:12:12,525 in Scott. He was saying that this should be a business. And I'm like, 195 00:12:12,845 --> 00:12:16,685 it's still a hobby. Like, I wanna have fun with it. It's in 196 00:12:16,685 --> 00:12:20,420 a saturated market. Everyone started wanting to make candles at home, 197 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:24,260 because it was, you know, easy and beautiful. 198 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:27,140 You were able to enjoy it after. 199 00:12:27,825 --> 00:12:31,425 And, literally, from there, they're like like I 200 00:12:31,425 --> 00:12:35,025 said, they wanted to buy them. I gave them a price. They started sending me 201 00:12:35,025 --> 00:12:38,870 money. I started making more and more sets and they were buying them 202 00:12:38,870 --> 00:12:42,490 as gifts, buying them for their bosses, daughters, 203 00:12:43,535 --> 00:12:47,375 tons everyone just started zooming in. Yes. We want some of your stuff. Dimitri, 204 00:12:47,375 --> 00:12:50,815 we love you. So obviously, your stuff is gonna be great even though we heard 205 00:12:50,815 --> 00:12:54,530 great news about it. We're still gonna try it out. And here we 206 00:12:54,530 --> 00:12:58,310 are today. I was like, zenith point. Zenith point means the 207 00:12:58,450 --> 00:13:01,590 highest celestial's point in, like, space, 208 00:13:02,325 --> 00:13:06,085 or it means the most successful point of time. And 209 00:13:06,085 --> 00:13:09,465 from that, I was like, this is gonna be my 210 00:13:09,860 --> 00:13:13,640 success. I've always felt like I had, like, a background of 211 00:13:14,900 --> 00:13:18,635 not bad karma. Just nothing was working how I needed to 212 00:13:18,635 --> 00:13:22,395 be. Each little step was taking me 2 steps back, and I 213 00:13:22,395 --> 00:13:25,890 could never get to that next step forward. And with this 214 00:13:25,890 --> 00:13:29,650 business, I was able to mentally put myself 215 00:13:29,650 --> 00:13:33,090 in a new place, physically put myself in a new 216 00:13:33,090 --> 00:13:36,865 place, and financially put myself into something that 217 00:13:36,865 --> 00:13:40,644 I wanted to continue doing. From there, 218 00:13:40,945 --> 00:13:44,690 I was like, hey. Let's do this. I got 219 00:13:44,690 --> 00:13:48,390 my LLC. I got my EIN. 220 00:13:49,170 --> 00:13:52,644 I was like, what's next? What how what else can I do to make this 221 00:13:52,644 --> 00:13:56,265 a legit business? I was always worried about taxes, 222 00:13:56,404 --> 00:14:00,090 but, hey, I was, like, worried about that down the line, Dimitri. You just 223 00:14:00,090 --> 00:14:03,390 wanna get something on the books and try to make this, 224 00:14:04,010 --> 00:14:07,545 you know, flourish, actually become one of those household 225 00:14:07,545 --> 00:14:11,385 names products. You know, I wanna be up there with Yankee Candle and 226 00:14:11,385 --> 00:14:15,149 Gooseneck. Like, these are great places. And with 227 00:14:15,149 --> 00:14:18,910 that, hey, here I am. I added more products to 228 00:14:18,910 --> 00:14:22,595 the line. I added a room spray, bath 229 00:14:22,595 --> 00:14:26,435 soaks. I'm working on a face toner. I 230 00:14:26,435 --> 00:14:30,275 did incense. And, basically, everything that I needed 231 00:14:30,275 --> 00:14:33,720 to make it a self care line. Self care 232 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:37,500 became, you know, very popular. No one was, 233 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:41,454 oh, self care? That's a thing thing now? Yes. It's 234 00:14:41,454 --> 00:14:45,214 always been a thing, and that's what I was doing during when I got 235 00:14:45,214 --> 00:14:49,029 laid off before starting the business. Everyone got into the 236 00:14:49,029 --> 00:14:52,870 depression. I had a little slip passion, and the best way to get out of 237 00:14:52,870 --> 00:14:56,225 it for me was self care. Yes. Taking baths, 238 00:14:56,445 --> 00:15:00,285 showers, moisturizing my body, healing my body from the 239 00:15:00,285 --> 00:15:04,125 inside out. I don't wanna see dry patches. I'm trying 240 00:15:04,125 --> 00:15:07,790 to heal myself first. And if it's healing me, it's 241 00:15:07,790 --> 00:15:11,390 obviously gonna heal everyone else. And, you know, like I 242 00:15:11,390 --> 00:15:15,095 said, here I am still at it 3 243 00:15:15,095 --> 00:15:18,634 years 4 4 years now. 4 years later, 244 00:15:19,735 --> 00:15:23,200 and 3 stores so far. I'm in Avant 245 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,960 Garde in Brantford, Stoney Creek Depot in 246 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,020 Brantford, Gracious Gifts in Brantford, 247 00:15:30,585 --> 00:15:34,345 and actually, Anna Visa Salon in Wallingford. So that makes 4. Working 248 00:15:34,345 --> 00:15:37,965 on more locations as we speak. I have a website 249 00:15:38,105 --> 00:15:41,700 now that was not there for, like, the first two 250 00:15:41,700 --> 00:15:45,000 years of the business. It was all word-of-mouth. And 251 00:15:45,459 --> 00:15:49,295 that's how I was still going, word-of-mouth and people reaching out 252 00:15:49,295 --> 00:15:53,075 to me. Hey. We wanna try your product. I have VNA 253 00:15:53,295 --> 00:15:57,050 Community Central. Well, if they're, like, do hospice 254 00:15:57,110 --> 00:16:00,410 care, and they come out to your homes and do the nursing at the home, 255 00:16:00,870 --> 00:16:04,685 or even in the skilled nursing facility. I've done Mother's 256 00:16:04,685 --> 00:16:08,225 Day presents for them. I've done nursing week 257 00:16:08,365 --> 00:16:11,890 gifts for them. And that's the most exciting part is being able to create 258 00:16:11,890 --> 00:16:15,570 something that's gonna make someone else happy just as it makes 259 00:16:15,570 --> 00:16:17,990 me and my partners and everyone else happy. 260 00:16:19,285 --> 00:16:22,725 Yeah. That's awesome. I I love when people have, you know, products or 261 00:16:22,725 --> 00:16:26,185 even all the whole business designed around something that they just did, 262 00:16:26,450 --> 00:16:29,810 like, you know, for themselves or as a hobby, and then everybody comes to you, 263 00:16:29,810 --> 00:16:32,770 and you're like, oh, I can I can charge from this? I thought that was 264 00:16:32,770 --> 00:16:35,795 funny that you you didn't even expect to, like, to get paid for it. So 265 00:16:35,795 --> 00:16:39,154 what was that like to, like, have to then put a price on something that, 266 00:16:39,154 --> 00:16:42,695 like, you didn't even really expect to get? Was that difficult? Very 267 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:46,800 difficult. It's like, how do you put a price on something that you're 268 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:50,480 just had fun making? It was like, my gosh. How do I 269 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:54,235 do this? My partner Scott stepped in. It's like, you gotta 270 00:16:54,235 --> 00:16:57,775 break it down. You gotta do this, do this, do this, and then, 271 00:16:57,915 --> 00:17:01,390 hey, that's gonna be your price point. And he was like, don't forget the time 272 00:17:01,390 --> 00:17:04,609 that you put into this, your sourcing. And 273 00:17:05,550 --> 00:17:09,070 I came up with or it came out to be $12 for my first 274 00:17:09,070 --> 00:17:12,625 candle. It was a 10 ounce soy candle, like, still 275 00:17:12,625 --> 00:17:16,304 making the soy candles. $12 just for the candle. For a 276 00:17:16,304 --> 00:17:20,069 set, it was $25. I wanted to be able to make it 277 00:17:20,069 --> 00:17:23,510 affordable, something that I could be able to afford 278 00:17:23,510 --> 00:17:27,325 without having a grandiose income. Something, 279 00:17:27,325 --> 00:17:31,005 like, super pricey, like, these certain candles, paying $30 a 280 00:17:31,005 --> 00:17:34,845 candle, or even being a $10 candle but not having 281 00:17:34,845 --> 00:17:38,440 that quality to it. It still had, you know, a lot of love and 282 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:42,120 quality in my product. So I was like, can't make it too expensive, can't 283 00:17:42,120 --> 00:17:45,420 make it too cheap because then people are like, why is it so cheap? 284 00:17:46,065 --> 00:17:49,365 But, hey, no. I got there $12 for the first candle. 285 00:17:49,665 --> 00:17:53,425 Currently, I am at 1695, which is a 286 00:17:53,425 --> 00:17:57,220 big jump. But with that jump, I have 287 00:17:57,220 --> 00:18:00,840 a whole new candle vessel. It's very sleek, 288 00:18:01,060 --> 00:18:04,435 masculine and feminine at the same time and can fit in 289 00:18:04,435 --> 00:18:08,115 everyone's space. And it's a great, just like, decor in a 290 00:18:08,115 --> 00:18:11,820 way. And I was like, I have to have something that still looks 291 00:18:11,820 --> 00:18:15,180 nice on the shelf. Yes. It's great quality, but it 292 00:18:15,180 --> 00:18:19,020 has to blend in or stand out, however you need 293 00:18:19,020 --> 00:18:22,845 it to be. I worked with 420 Custom Supply. 294 00:18:22,905 --> 00:18:26,505 They made my original logo, which is still the 295 00:18:26,505 --> 00:18:30,090 original logo, and all my labels for all the 296 00:18:30,090 --> 00:18:33,850 16¢ that I had at that time. And like I 297 00:18:33,850 --> 00:18:37,565 said, 1695, you're gonna get one of the 298 00:18:37,565 --> 00:18:41,405 best candles that you receive, soy candles at that. Mhmm. 299 00:18:41,405 --> 00:18:45,149 Yeah. I can attest to that. You have this scent, Moroccan Cashmere 300 00:18:45,149 --> 00:18:48,429 that's just, like, amazing. The first time I met you, that was the candle that 301 00:18:48,429 --> 00:18:51,845 I bought. Yes. And then the second time I saw you, I bought the body 302 00:18:51,845 --> 00:18:55,044 butter, and the scent is just, like, so amazing. I need to get some more 303 00:18:55,044 --> 00:18:58,404 from you because it smells so good. Oh, yes. You know? How do you come 304 00:18:58,404 --> 00:19:02,200 up with the scents and, like, you know, is that like a a I 305 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,919 imagine, like, a long process to try to, like, get them right and tweak them 306 00:19:04,919 --> 00:19:08,615 and stuff? So with me, I ended up working with 307 00:19:08,615 --> 00:19:12,455 another company that actually makes the sense. What 308 00:19:12,455 --> 00:19:16,134 I was able to do was just kinda choose what I wanted to be in 309 00:19:16,134 --> 00:19:19,690 my line, and I was thinking, alright, it's just 310 00:19:19,690 --> 00:19:23,370 self care. I need something relaxing. White Sage and Lavender 311 00:19:23,370 --> 00:19:27,065 was my first scent that I've chosen and worked with that one for like 312 00:19:27,065 --> 00:19:30,905 a good month. So everyone really got to know that scent and I was everyone 313 00:19:30,905 --> 00:19:34,630 loves a lavender. Lavender is calming, relaxing, smells 314 00:19:34,630 --> 00:19:38,250 great. The white sage along with it just gave it an extra boost. 315 00:19:38,790 --> 00:19:42,615 And, like, with that, hey, I was able to come up with so many more 316 00:19:42,615 --> 00:19:46,235 different ideas that I wanted to have with my line. It became, 317 00:19:46,295 --> 00:19:50,130 alright, not just the self care, like, this is still I'm making 318 00:19:50,130 --> 00:19:53,890 just candles as well. I have a spring line. I have a 319 00:19:53,890 --> 00:19:57,554 summer line, which is fun fruity scents. I have 320 00:19:57,554 --> 00:20:00,934 the fall line. That's when you came into the 321 00:20:01,554 --> 00:20:05,315 Moroccan Cashmere because I try to keep it seasonal, so the Moroccan Cashmere. And 322 00:20:05,315 --> 00:20:09,000 then now I have a winter line. And it's just slowly going, 323 00:20:09,139 --> 00:20:12,980 adding more and more and more. I'm actually starting also a 324 00:20:12,980 --> 00:20:16,745 men's line, so it's dedicated to men. It's, you 325 00:20:16,745 --> 00:20:19,725 know, stronger scents, more muskier, 326 00:20:20,745 --> 00:20:24,264 vanilla, let's say, you know, all of the things that you're 327 00:20:24,264 --> 00:20:28,060 wanting. Your room or your office that smell like as a man, you wanted to 328 00:20:28,060 --> 00:20:31,660 be like, alright. This is really nice. It smells good in here. Clean 329 00:20:31,660 --> 00:20:35,345 and strong actually. So I 330 00:20:35,345 --> 00:20:39,185 just created a Cuban tobacco scandal which is gonna 331 00:20:39,185 --> 00:20:42,679 be named Havana and I believe you're gonna love that one. 332 00:20:44,100 --> 00:20:47,380 I'm sure I will. All your stuff smells really good, and, 333 00:20:48,005 --> 00:20:50,985 yeah, definitely. If if people haven't checked them out, they should. 334 00:20:51,445 --> 00:20:55,125 So talk to me about the Collab program that you were a part of. I 335 00:20:55,125 --> 00:20:58,510 know that Collab is like a local New Haven organization that helps 336 00:20:58,510 --> 00:21:02,270 businesses grow. So what was that process like for you, and and how 337 00:21:02,270 --> 00:21:05,985 has it helped your business? Well, Collab was a great foundation 338 00:21:06,445 --> 00:21:10,225 for my business and be trying to accelerate my entrepreneurship. 339 00:21:11,245 --> 00:21:14,880 I was on Instagram And so, like, one of their graduating 340 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,260 classes from the spring, and it was the empanada 341 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:22,080 girl, Madeline. Now, she has a shop. Yeah. Do you know 342 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:25,745 it? I know her. Yeah. Her name's not Madeline. I'm trying to remember her name. 343 00:21:25,745 --> 00:21:29,265 But It's yeah. Yeah. She has the empanada shop, and she's got, like, other businesses 344 00:21:29,265 --> 00:21:32,890 too. She's she's awesome. Yeah. So I saw her, and that really 345 00:21:33,190 --> 00:21:36,570 that was my inspiration and my encouragement to apply 346 00:21:36,630 --> 00:21:40,310 for the program. I was like, hey, I already done one, which 347 00:21:40,310 --> 00:21:44,105 was the I've Squared at the live Yale New Haven 348 00:21:44,105 --> 00:21:47,705 Library. It was that was my first one. Gave me, like, you know, my 349 00:21:47,705 --> 00:21:51,500 foundation for my LLC, how to run a 350 00:21:51,500 --> 00:21:55,260 business. And with Collab, I was thinking, how can I take this to 351 00:21:55,260 --> 00:21:59,105 the next level with that background experience already? How can I make 352 00:21:59,265 --> 00:22:02,804 this an even better business? And with that, they were able to 353 00:22:03,184 --> 00:22:06,705 help me with my pitch. That pitch, it 354 00:22:06,705 --> 00:22:10,280 was the Bethany. But, yes, it was so exciting making it, 355 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:13,100 but so nerve racking. It's just like, how can I 356 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:17,240 convince somebody to buy my product when so far it's been 357 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,695 word-of-mouth and it kinda just sells on its own in 358 00:22:20,695 --> 00:22:24,535 a way, which is great and easy? But when you have to put 359 00:22:24,535 --> 00:22:28,080 it out there and you really gotta sell it, this is my wanting. 360 00:22:28,220 --> 00:22:31,820 This is what I need. This is the capital that I'm looking for. And with 361 00:22:31,820 --> 00:22:35,340 that, that gave me all the knowledge that I needed to be able 362 00:22:35,340 --> 00:22:39,154 to, if I wanted to partner with somebody, let's say, reach 363 00:22:39,154 --> 00:22:42,934 out into the community, they gave me goals on to 364 00:22:43,420 --> 00:22:47,260 basically clear out my stock, my inventory. That was one of my issues. I 365 00:22:47,260 --> 00:22:51,020 was like, I'm keeping making candles, but like I said, I was doing them 366 00:22:51,020 --> 00:22:54,774 seasonally. So I'm left with some back stock and it was like, hey. 367 00:22:54,774 --> 00:22:58,375 Get rid of what you have and let's kinda not start fresh, but start off 368 00:22:58,375 --> 00:23:02,200 with a clean sheet. Let's see exactly how much you're bringing in. Let's see 369 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:05,720 how much is going out actually. And it was a 370 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,240 great group of entrepreneurs. We are still in 371 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:13,065 communication today in our little Instagram chat. Shout outs 372 00:23:13,065 --> 00:23:16,904 to you guys. I was not able to technically graduate from 373 00:23:16,904 --> 00:23:20,220 the program or, like, do my pitch because I had a deaf and a family 374 00:23:20,220 --> 00:23:23,980 at that time, but they were still very along with 375 00:23:23,980 --> 00:23:27,375 me and gave me all the, you know, encouragement and 376 00:23:27,615 --> 00:23:31,455 confidence that I needed to still continue my business because it was, you know, 377 00:23:31,455 --> 00:23:35,135 with life happening all kinds of ways. It's like, 378 00:23:35,135 --> 00:23:38,310 alright. My business still has to be a business and it can't be pushed on 379 00:23:38,310 --> 00:23:41,850 the back burner. So they allowed me to even create a schedule 380 00:23:41,910 --> 00:23:45,750 certain days. You go in and you do everything that you can with your 381 00:23:45,750 --> 00:23:49,434 business. Let's try not to, oh, a little something here, a little 382 00:23:49,434 --> 00:23:53,035 something here. Complete a project, complete an idea. They 383 00:23:53,035 --> 00:23:56,529 help me with my social networking, how to 384 00:23:56,909 --> 00:24:00,270 post certain things, when to post, what's gonna capture the 385 00:24:00,270 --> 00:24:03,890 audience, and how to receive great feedback from your 386 00:24:03,950 --> 00:24:07,695 target audience, which is another thing that we had to figure out who's our 387 00:24:07,695 --> 00:24:11,294 target, who are we aiming to sell this to. And like, you know, most 388 00:24:11,294 --> 00:24:14,929 business like, hey, you know, it's for everyone. Anyone can do this. Anyone can 389 00:24:14,929 --> 00:24:18,630 buy it. It works, but not in most cases. 390 00:24:18,690 --> 00:24:22,289 You have to target a place and then it will 391 00:24:22,289 --> 00:24:25,885 slowly make its way to wherever you need it to be. 392 00:24:26,105 --> 00:24:29,705 Like I was saying, Collab was great foundation for this 393 00:24:29,705 --> 00:24:33,530 business. It kept me on my feet and it's still keeping 394 00:24:33,530 --> 00:24:37,230 me on my feet. I'm still doing everything that I was doing during the program. 395 00:24:37,850 --> 00:24:41,470 I was in school during the program at the same time, so I was working 396 00:24:42,165 --> 00:24:45,705 full time, school full time, and doing the program 397 00:24:46,165 --> 00:24:50,010 during the week. So it was busy, but, hey, it wasn't 398 00:24:50,090 --> 00:24:52,590 able to help me manage everything in my life. 399 00:24:53,850 --> 00:24:57,450 Yeah. That sounds like a lot going on at once and a lot to balance 400 00:24:57,450 --> 00:25:01,275 and and manage. But I did wanna touch on, like, the the community piece 401 00:25:01,275 --> 00:25:04,955 of Collab because I think that's like a a huge piece of not only, 402 00:25:04,955 --> 00:25:08,390 like, the education that they teach you, but then also the cohort that you're with 403 00:25:08,390 --> 00:25:12,070 and and the other people that are kinda doing the same thing as you. How 404 00:25:12,070 --> 00:25:15,370 important has community been to you in your business? And I 405 00:25:15,544 --> 00:25:18,664 imagine all areas of your life, you know, we talked about church earlier, and that's 406 00:25:18,664 --> 00:25:22,044 a big community. How has community helped you? Community 407 00:25:22,345 --> 00:25:26,040 has been my foundation in 408 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:29,720 life. It's like we stated, going from church, I'm 409 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,860 surrounded by a community of like minded people 410 00:25:33,475 --> 00:25:37,075 that wants the best for you and trying to get you to that 411 00:25:37,075 --> 00:25:40,695 place as well. With that, I've my grandpa, 412 00:25:41,179 --> 00:25:44,240 he is a or he was. He was like a supervisor 413 00:25:44,940 --> 00:25:48,620 maintenance of a homeless shelter in New Haven. That's 414 00:25:48,620 --> 00:25:52,295 where I got a lot of my wanting to serve the 415 00:25:52,295 --> 00:25:56,054 community from was just being right by his side and 416 00:25:56,054 --> 00:25:59,720 meeting all these families. Like, we were able to literally have 417 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:03,559 these kind of meetings with these people and emotionally connect with 418 00:26:03,559 --> 00:26:07,240 them and to let them know, like, this isn't the end. It's kind 419 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:10,595 of the beginning. Yes. We all fall, but there's always gonna be 420 00:26:10,595 --> 00:26:14,355 somebody, the community, that should be there to be able to 421 00:26:14,355 --> 00:26:18,100 help lift you back up. I done so 422 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:21,760 much community service growing up, just 423 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:24,820 naturally. I was in the food banks, 424 00:26:25,554 --> 00:26:29,235 soup kitchens. This was all before it was mandatory for 425 00:26:29,235 --> 00:26:32,995 me in high school because each year, you had to complete a certain amount of 426 00:26:32,995 --> 00:26:36,810 volunteer hours in different kind of places. So I was 427 00:26:36,810 --> 00:26:40,410 like, hey. I'm already used to this. This is fun for me. Like, yes. 428 00:26:40,410 --> 00:26:44,184 Alright. I'm gonna go I'm gonna volunteer here. So that opened me 429 00:26:44,184 --> 00:26:47,865 up to a lot more, you know, situations and people 430 00:26:47,865 --> 00:26:51,005 personalities and how can I find a way to 431 00:26:51,690 --> 00:26:55,450 uplift your day in a way? Like, I'm a kid. I can't give you 432 00:26:55,450 --> 00:26:59,050 the things that you need, like the money or even the 433 00:26:59,050 --> 00:27:02,665 home, but I'm going to try to put a smile on 434 00:27:02,665 --> 00:27:06,505 your face. I'm gonna help you stop the crying and 435 00:27:06,505 --> 00:27:09,850 feeling worried about everything because me as a kid, I 436 00:27:10,330 --> 00:27:14,090 I saw it all. And, you know, and these being inside the homeless 437 00:27:14,090 --> 00:27:17,850 shelter with my grandpa, they gave him a place to stay in there so that, 438 00:27:17,850 --> 00:27:21,525 you know, he can always be on point. And like I said, I basically 439 00:27:21,525 --> 00:27:24,245 grew up with them. So I lived there with them. So I could say I 440 00:27:24,245 --> 00:27:27,845 grew up in a homeless shelter, but I had a little home in there and 441 00:27:27,845 --> 00:27:31,250 a community family surrounding me. With Collab, 442 00:27:31,789 --> 00:27:35,390 I love the ending pitch, the big kind of 443 00:27:35,390 --> 00:27:38,875 party thing that we had together. They invited everyone from the 444 00:27:38,875 --> 00:27:42,555 community to come out to even just ask questions, people that 445 00:27:42,555 --> 00:27:46,255 wanted to support us. They wanted to know more about these local businesses 446 00:27:46,659 --> 00:27:50,500 because that's what it's all about. We gotta keep this word-of-mouth and that's what the 447 00:27:50,500 --> 00:27:54,260 community is all about. We're going to continually talking about 448 00:27:54,260 --> 00:27:57,995 what's great, what's gonna be the next best thing, how can we make 449 00:27:57,995 --> 00:28:01,835 something better. And, you know, if somebody's talking about Zenith 450 00:28:01,835 --> 00:28:05,630 Pointe. Hey, this person right here, he has great self care products. 451 00:28:06,570 --> 00:28:10,090 It's gonna circle the community. And just like how it happened in the 452 00:28:10,090 --> 00:28:13,915 hospital setting with the products in the beginning, word-of-mouth. It was just 453 00:28:13,915 --> 00:28:17,675 that community wanting to to support me. And here I am 454 00:28:17,675 --> 00:28:21,330 now, you know, further in my entrepreneurship, 455 00:28:21,790 --> 00:28:25,630 and I'm still depending on the community to 456 00:28:25,630 --> 00:28:29,010 keep me up because that's, you know, that's it's you guys 457 00:28:29,384 --> 00:28:32,904 that's keeping us going. We wanna continue to bring out more stuff for 458 00:28:32,904 --> 00:28:36,664 you. We want the feedback, good or bad. Like, 459 00:28:36,664 --> 00:28:40,220 there's no such thing as bad feedback. I'll say that it's just great 460 00:28:40,220 --> 00:28:43,980 criticism to help some make something better for, you 461 00:28:43,980 --> 00:28:47,675 know, yourself and for the next person. I hope that 462 00:28:47,675 --> 00:28:51,515 answered the question. Yeah. It did. For sure. No. It did. 463 00:28:51,515 --> 00:28:54,960 And that's something that I, like, picked up too was when you were talking about, 464 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:57,840 like, being a kid and only being able to, like, you know, try to bring 465 00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:00,800 joy to people because that was all that you could offer. That's definitely something that 466 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:04,304 I noticed as you vent. Like, the first time I talked to you, you're like, 467 00:29:04,304 --> 00:29:07,424 you were making me laugh, and you're making me, you know, me comfortable and talking 468 00:29:07,424 --> 00:29:11,184 to you. And that's, like, you know, I guess you could say a transferable skill 469 00:29:11,184 --> 00:29:15,030 or something that you take with you. Was it difficult for 470 00:29:15,030 --> 00:29:18,710 you to, like, first start vending your product? Because it's it's kinda 2 different 471 00:29:18,710 --> 00:29:22,445 things. Like, making it's one thing, but then, like, selling it to people could 472 00:29:22,445 --> 00:29:25,885 be, you know, super intimidating, at least it would be for me. Oh, 473 00:29:25,885 --> 00:29:29,565 man. It was. It I was so nervous for my 474 00:29:29,565 --> 00:29:33,230 first show. My first show was, in New 475 00:29:33,230 --> 00:29:37,070 Haven. It was like a Sip and Shop type of thing. And I my 476 00:29:37,070 --> 00:29:40,815 partner was working with somebody who also had a business, business, 477 00:29:40,815 --> 00:29:44,174 who was running these kind of events. So I was like, have him come down. 478 00:29:44,174 --> 00:29:47,375 Well, let's see what he could do. Let's see, you know, try to get him 479 00:29:47,375 --> 00:29:51,040 some sales and get his name out there a little bit more. So 480 00:29:51,100 --> 00:29:54,720 purpose. You know, I was so nervous, like, making the product. I 481 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:58,320 stayed up all night making everything and literally could 482 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:01,935 not sleep because of the nerves. I was like, what am I gonna say? How 483 00:30:01,935 --> 00:30:05,455 is this gonna go? I don't sell products. I'm not like a 484 00:30:05,455 --> 00:30:08,900 salesman, but my partner just reinforced it in me. 485 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:12,799 Dimitri, you're a people's person. You use your your 486 00:30:12,799 --> 00:30:16,625 talent, your personality, and just literally let that shine. Try not 487 00:30:16,625 --> 00:30:20,225 to think about it too much. Make sure you state your name and your 488 00:30:20,225 --> 00:30:24,065 business and why you're doing this. That was the best advice 489 00:30:24,065 --> 00:30:27,870 that he could give me. I literally just went out there, pure smiles. 490 00:30:27,870 --> 00:30:31,390 Hey, like, you met me. It's just all smiles straight from the 491 00:30:31,390 --> 00:30:35,205 beginning. They say this is a little infectious that a person is not, 492 00:30:35,205 --> 00:30:38,965 you know, looking blah blah blah. Like, this is my business. Blah blah 493 00:30:38,965 --> 00:30:42,470 blah. They're gonna be like, alright. Next. Like, you didn't attract 494 00:30:42,470 --> 00:30:45,909 me. I had no feeling, no connection with that. So I'm 495 00:30:45,909 --> 00:30:49,635 wanting to make a connection. And like I said, I was 496 00:30:49,635 --> 00:30:52,995 kind of a people's person already. I was just able 497 00:30:52,995 --> 00:30:56,580 to communicate in the short 498 00:30:56,580 --> 00:31:00,179 conversations. It's not about just the weather. Try to have 499 00:31:00,179 --> 00:31:04,020 an in-depth really conscious conversation about what's going 500 00:31:04,020 --> 00:31:07,815 on. And it's not just about me and my business. I'm gonna ask you what 501 00:31:07,815 --> 00:31:11,495 you like. What are you into and get to know you as well? It's just 502 00:31:11,495 --> 00:31:15,200 literally I try to have a conversation with a person and if they like 503 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:18,960 the product, they like it. Most of the time, they're buying it just because 504 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:22,785 of me. I that's what my partner says. Like, you 505 00:31:22,785 --> 00:31:26,305 know, you're the you're the face of your product. You are your 506 00:31:26,305 --> 00:31:30,039 product. I try to keep that separate because I want my 507 00:31:30,039 --> 00:31:33,480 product to seek for itself. I don't I don't wanna be able to, like, you 508 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:36,940 know, have to, you know, gas it up. Oh, you 509 00:31:37,275 --> 00:31:41,115 definitely really need this. This is it. But, you know, just take it, dial it 510 00:31:41,115 --> 00:31:44,730 back a little bit, encourage self care, and, you 511 00:31:44,730 --> 00:31:48,010 know, let the product speak for itself. But I'm definitely gonna give you a good 512 00:31:48,010 --> 00:31:51,370 time if you're at my event or, you know, checking me 513 00:31:51,370 --> 00:31:54,985 out. Mhmm. I can attest to that. But, yeah, I 514 00:31:54,985 --> 00:31:58,585 mean, that that's totally part of it is, like, getting, you know, somebody to like 515 00:31:58,585 --> 00:32:01,700 you and then then trying your product and being, like, oh, this is really good. 516 00:32:01,700 --> 00:32:05,380 Like, he wasn't just, you know, saying that because that was totally my experience. You 517 00:32:05,380 --> 00:32:08,900 know? Like, so I think that that's a that's a good strategy for 518 00:32:08,900 --> 00:32:12,644 sure to have to have both of those pieces. So I also 519 00:32:12,644 --> 00:32:15,565 wanted to ask you about, like so you do the vending and you've done, like, 520 00:32:15,565 --> 00:32:18,885 you know, different shows and stuff like that, but then you've also gotten into locations. 521 00:32:18,885 --> 00:32:22,510 How's how's that been? And what's the process like to get into, like, a 522 00:32:22,510 --> 00:32:26,190 physical location? So it takes me way back to, you know, my 523 00:32:26,190 --> 00:32:29,795 first event. It's nerve racking. You 524 00:32:30,255 --> 00:32:34,015 literally once again trying to convince somebody, hey, like, you should buy 525 00:32:34,015 --> 00:32:37,450 this. It's really good stuff but you have to do it in such 526 00:32:37,750 --> 00:32:41,510 a business way. Like, you can yes. Personality is great, 527 00:32:41,510 --> 00:32:45,304 but you also have that the paperwork for it. You need your price 528 00:32:45,304 --> 00:32:48,905 list, your wholesale pricing, and that was another thing my 529 00:32:48,905 --> 00:32:51,804 partner to help me with, how to create wholesale pricing. 530 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:56,240 It's a fun thing to look out 531 00:32:56,240 --> 00:33:00,015 into the community and be able to say, I believe my product 532 00:33:00,015 --> 00:33:03,395 can fit in that store. I believe we share the same vibes, 533 00:33:03,775 --> 00:33:07,295 and I believe we can make a great connection with this. My first 534 00:33:07,295 --> 00:33:10,970 store was avant garde, which is actually down the street from me. 535 00:33:11,269 --> 00:33:14,950 It's a holistic wellness center. I came across, 536 00:33:14,950 --> 00:33:18,304 like, their I wanna say they were holding an event, 537 00:33:18,605 --> 00:33:22,385 and they wanted me to come down and do an event with them. 538 00:33:22,445 --> 00:33:25,850 And literally from that meeting, it was like, we have to have this product in 539 00:33:25,850 --> 00:33:29,470 a store. How can we do this? I was like, oh my gosh. 540 00:33:30,409 --> 00:33:33,950 I do small batches. How am I gonna 541 00:33:34,465 --> 00:33:38,065 upgrade again to put this in stores? Because, 542 00:33:38,065 --> 00:33:41,730 yes, I you know, out there doing the shows, but they're not a 543 00:33:41,730 --> 00:33:45,490 constant turnaround of people coming in, buying, and having to 544 00:33:45,490 --> 00:33:49,010 restock it. It's like I bring what I bring, and if you buy it, you 545 00:33:49,010 --> 00:33:52,054 buy it. If you don't, hey, it comes back with me and I try it 546 00:33:52,054 --> 00:33:55,815 again at the next show. And then I try to, you know, think about 547 00:33:55,815 --> 00:33:59,550 what's selling more. But reaching out to these places is 548 00:34:00,090 --> 00:34:03,630 it's easy. It's easy. You're literally I send out an email 549 00:34:03,905 --> 00:34:07,425 with, my price point, a couple of pictures, and 550 00:34:07,425 --> 00:34:10,945 access to set up a meeting with them. And with that, I was able to 551 00:34:10,945 --> 00:34:14,590 come up with an idea to do signature scents 552 00:34:15,210 --> 00:34:18,830 for these shops. So I was like, alright. I have so many scents. 553 00:34:19,130 --> 00:34:22,025 Which one would you like? Would you like to do a mix? And it was 554 00:34:22,025 --> 00:34:25,465 like, hey. We wanna make it special so that they have to come here to 555 00:34:25,465 --> 00:34:29,304 buy your product. Here we go. Whatever scent you 556 00:34:29,304 --> 00:34:33,090 wanna do, let's try to combine that together. We sit down. I 557 00:34:33,090 --> 00:34:36,929 bring in, like, 5¢ or, you know, something that they're interested in, and 558 00:34:36,929 --> 00:34:40,614 we do the mix right then and there. And it was that's it. That's 559 00:34:40,614 --> 00:34:44,455 perfect. Here you go. That's your signature scent for your store. Now, 560 00:34:44,455 --> 00:34:48,295 let's see how it sells and then, you know, take it from there. Right 561 00:34:48,295 --> 00:34:51,909 now, my, with gracious gifts, my products 562 00:34:51,909 --> 00:34:55,429 got in there. It was word but word-of-mouth. The 563 00:34:55,429 --> 00:34:59,265 community had my back again. Dimitri, you need to reach out to 564 00:34:59,265 --> 00:35:02,545 this lady. She has a shop. And I think your products will be great in 565 00:35:02,545 --> 00:35:05,985 there. Let her know you I sent her over your way. And let's see, you 566 00:35:05,985 --> 00:35:09,619 know, good luck. I reach out to them, put on 567 00:35:09,619 --> 00:35:13,160 my personality. Hey, guys. How's it going? 568 00:35:13,859 --> 00:35:17,615 And, you know, promote my products. And it's like, yes, we love that. Come 569 00:35:17,615 --> 00:35:21,295 on down, set up the meeting and, you know, like I said, 570 00:35:21,295 --> 00:35:25,130 let's see how it's going. The restock is the best part about a bit all. 571 00:35:25,369 --> 00:35:29,130 You're seeing, oh, what's selling? What's not selling? How can I make 572 00:35:29,130 --> 00:35:32,750 something even better? With avant garde, I try to do it seasonally. 573 00:35:32,970 --> 00:35:36,464 So I'm gonna leave a whole bunch of sense there for that 574 00:35:36,464 --> 00:35:39,825 season, see what sells the best. And so I know for the next 575 00:35:39,825 --> 00:35:43,265 season, hey, let's try to do more of these so we could have a little 576 00:35:43,265 --> 00:35:47,070 bit more of people wanting, you know, that stare. I need 577 00:35:47,070 --> 00:35:50,510 to do that there with, I did, like, a 578 00:35:50,510 --> 00:35:54,275 crystal candle, which is like a full solstice of the body if you're 579 00:35:54,275 --> 00:35:57,955 into the chakras from head to toe. And, 580 00:35:58,275 --> 00:36:02,070 with a little bit of extra lavender in there, and they ate it up. 581 00:36:02,630 --> 00:36:05,430 Eat it up. I just have to, you know, find a way to make it 582 00:36:05,430 --> 00:36:09,270 special to these places. Literally, it should sell for 583 00:36:09,270 --> 00:36:13,045 itself. Now, we came up with this together. Like we say, you know, some 584 00:36:13,045 --> 00:36:16,805 sense does better than the others. And that's when we work together and, you 585 00:36:16,805 --> 00:36:19,925 know, hey, let's take this out. Let's do a trade out. I do trades out, 586 00:36:19,925 --> 00:36:23,670 so let's try this then. You already paid for the product. Wholesaling was 587 00:36:23,670 --> 00:36:27,430 great. And now I am on to, like I 588 00:36:27,430 --> 00:36:30,815 stated, trying to get into more shops. I am 589 00:36:30,815 --> 00:36:34,654 working on with, Gather at Bloom in New Haven on 590 00:36:34,654 --> 00:36:38,275 Edgewood Avenue and trying to get some self care products in there. 591 00:36:38,290 --> 00:36:41,730 And like we said it, you know, let's see where it takes me. The goal 592 00:36:41,730 --> 00:36:45,030 is to have my own shop. Definitely for sure. 593 00:36:45,250 --> 00:36:48,984 It's disclosed disclosed, you know, coming from 594 00:36:49,765 --> 00:36:53,605 not even having the idea of a business to wanting to open up my own 595 00:36:53,605 --> 00:36:57,430 shop and do this full time all now. And I'm gonna try to do it 596 00:36:57,430 --> 00:37:01,030 in Brantford or, you know, whoever is gonna be best, 597 00:37:01,030 --> 00:37:03,770 whoever is best for me. I'm gonna make my way there. 598 00:37:04,924 --> 00:37:08,444 Yeah. That's awesome. That's, has what what a good idea to have, like, 599 00:37:08,444 --> 00:37:12,125 signature scents for specific shops. Like, that's genius 600 00:37:12,125 --> 00:37:15,820 to be able to get people into, like, the specific shops. And then, yeah, 601 00:37:15,820 --> 00:37:19,180 having a shop your own would be really cool too. Yeah. And, yeah, you make 602 00:37:19,180 --> 00:37:22,765 it sound so easy, like, from starting to, like, having your own shop. I 603 00:37:23,005 --> 00:37:26,605 I'm curious as to, like, what was the most difficult part, do you think, of 604 00:37:26,605 --> 00:37:29,645 of your business? Because I think a lot of times people, like, have really good 605 00:37:29,645 --> 00:37:32,910 ideas of something, but they think it's, like, too much of a big task 606 00:37:33,450 --> 00:37:36,890 and they never end up getting started. Like, what was the biggest challenge that you 607 00:37:36,890 --> 00:37:39,950 had with your business? The biggest challenge was definitely 608 00:37:40,975 --> 00:37:44,815 the income for your the supplies in the beginning. 609 00:37:44,815 --> 00:37:48,655 You're doing this by word-of-mouth. No one is giving you money 610 00:37:48,655 --> 00:37:52,420 for it just yet. You're kinda just trying to get it out there. So 611 00:37:53,039 --> 00:37:56,720 that upfront money was definitely one of the hardest things that I had to, you 612 00:37:56,720 --> 00:38:00,385 know, come out of my pocket with. I got my 613 00:38:00,385 --> 00:38:03,765 taxes. I was like, alright, invest in yourself. 614 00:38:03,985 --> 00:38:07,770 Invest in this business and see where it takes you. You know, most people 615 00:38:07,770 --> 00:38:11,369 take their taxes and, you know, whatever they do with 616 00:38:11,369 --> 00:38:14,974 it. And I was thinking, let's do this. 617 00:38:15,194 --> 00:38:18,815 And with the foundation of not having a business, 618 00:38:19,275 --> 00:38:22,714 a no business background, that's where I kinda messed 619 00:38:22,714 --> 00:38:26,300 up. Plan out your buying and 620 00:38:26,300 --> 00:38:29,680 sourcing. I had no idea where 621 00:38:30,060 --> 00:38:33,465 where how to obtain any of this stuff, 622 00:38:33,685 --> 00:38:37,385 and I was on Amazon. Everyone was doing Amazon. 623 00:38:37,445 --> 00:38:41,270 It's like, you know, I became a prime member, and whatever was on there, 624 00:38:41,650 --> 00:38:45,270 that's what I got. Down the line, I'm realizing I should've 625 00:38:45,330 --> 00:38:48,905 did my research and shopped around to different 626 00:38:48,905 --> 00:38:52,265 locations to find out which one is gonna be the most cost 627 00:38:52,265 --> 00:38:55,625 efficient for the business and to be able to allow me to have a 628 00:38:55,625 --> 00:38:59,210 return once it starts selling. Good night. I don't 629 00:38:59,210 --> 00:39:02,650 wanna I came out of my pocket about $3 for the 630 00:39:02,650 --> 00:39:06,275 business. That was for everything. I bought probably 631 00:39:06,275 --> 00:39:09,495 about 1400 jars, 632 00:39:10,435 --> 00:39:14,115 my labels, new equipment, like, my candle 633 00:39:14,115 --> 00:39:17,859 melter. I had literally just a one single thing. I was making 3 634 00:39:17,859 --> 00:39:21,619 candles at a time. That's like really small batch type 635 00:39:21,619 --> 00:39:25,234 business. So I'm like, how am I gonna be able to upgrade 636 00:39:25,234 --> 00:39:28,775 this? Got a bigger wax melter, more pourers, 637 00:39:29,474 --> 00:39:33,315 even my body butter because I'm, like, adding more items at this time too. I'm, 638 00:39:33,315 --> 00:39:36,200 like, what else can I do? What else can I do? It's self care. Like, 639 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:39,960 I got the business going. Let me add this. Add this. I shouldn't 640 00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:43,805 have added so many things so quick because it 641 00:39:43,805 --> 00:39:47,485 costs more to keep trying to replace those items. And, yes, I'm doing it 642 00:39:47,485 --> 00:39:50,570 on Amazon, which is giving me free shipping, but there was 643 00:39:51,130 --> 00:39:54,730 better options out there that was, you know, like I said, more 644 00:39:54,730 --> 00:39:58,545 cost efficient. And I got along with, you know, my work my 645 00:39:58,545 --> 00:40:02,065 way around Alibaba. If you guys are looking for, you 646 00:40:02,065 --> 00:40:04,724 know, big quantity, low amount, 647 00:40:05,510 --> 00:40:09,270 Alibaba was the way to go. Do your research as 648 00:40:09,270 --> 00:40:12,710 first for that as well because I got, 649 00:40:14,225 --> 00:40:17,985 some supplies actually stuck in customs because I had no idea 650 00:40:17,985 --> 00:40:21,825 how to work my way in and around customs. So till this 651 00:40:21,825 --> 00:40:24,810 day, it's still there. I that's lost. 652 00:40:26,310 --> 00:40:30,069 Now I try to, you know, do my research first and, try to stick 653 00:40:30,069 --> 00:40:33,565 with the same businesses. Like I stated, it was that having 654 00:40:33,565 --> 00:40:37,325 a foundation of how to source your items 655 00:40:37,325 --> 00:40:41,040 correctly. Mhmm. Yeah. And I'm sure, you 656 00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:44,080 know, there's many things that you have to learn as a business owner, especially as, 657 00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:47,895 you know, doing everything yourself with no background in business. I was the same way. 658 00:40:47,895 --> 00:40:51,095 It's like there's so many things you have to learn. Sometimes you gotta learn the 659 00:40:51,095 --> 00:40:54,535 hard way to, you know, learn the lesson, but Yep. Yeah. You gotta keep going. 660 00:40:54,535 --> 00:40:58,240 Yeah. And that's the that's the key is, like, not giving up. So, yeah, 661 00:40:58,240 --> 00:41:00,560 as we're we're kinda coming to the end of our time here, I like to 662 00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:04,315 ask everybody, what the word purpose means to them and, like, to 663 00:41:04,315 --> 00:41:07,914 kinda get their own definition of purpose because that's kind of a important word to 664 00:41:07,914 --> 00:41:11,515 me, and I know that everybody has their own definition. So how would you define 665 00:41:11,515 --> 00:41:15,340 purpose for you? I love this question because it's something that 666 00:41:15,340 --> 00:41:19,040 I'm currently not currently, but within this business, 667 00:41:19,180 --> 00:41:22,775 it was to what is my purpose? What am I 668 00:41:22,775 --> 00:41:25,755 doing here? And how can 669 00:41:26,615 --> 00:41:29,435 I bring this type of energy out of me? 670 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:33,760 My purpose, I've always felt this. Purpose is 671 00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:37,520 literally something that's true to your heart that you cannot 672 00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:40,975 get away from. And anything that you do, you will know 673 00:41:41,055 --> 00:41:44,575 you won't even notice it. Like, this is what you're doing. Like, my 674 00:41:44,575 --> 00:41:48,250 personality comes off naturally, but I feel like 675 00:41:48,250 --> 00:41:52,090 my personality is here for a purpose. I have a purpose in 676 00:41:52,090 --> 00:41:55,310 this community to continue to share love 677 00:41:55,785 --> 00:41:59,225 and strength and joy and be able to lift up 678 00:41:59,225 --> 00:42:02,905 anybody just as they lifted up me. And, oh, 679 00:42:02,905 --> 00:42:06,710 man. No. That's a good one, dude. Like, what is purpose to me? 680 00:42:06,850 --> 00:42:10,390 It's yeah. No. Wanting to achieve 681 00:42:10,770 --> 00:42:14,115 something that's really dear to you close into your heart. Yeah. 682 00:42:14,495 --> 00:42:18,015 I think Yeah. No. I think that was a great definition. Like, yeah, something that, 683 00:42:18,015 --> 00:42:21,320 like, feels true to your heart, and it almost seems like you're not even doing 684 00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:24,840 it. Like like, how we you explained with, like, the selling and being a 685 00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:28,600 salesman. It's like you it's already in your personality, and you don't even, like, 686 00:42:28,600 --> 00:42:32,315 realize that you're making those connections with people. So yeah. No. I love that definition. 687 00:42:32,315 --> 00:42:36,155 That's awesome. So and then, you know, one last question too, like, where can 688 00:42:36,155 --> 00:42:39,640 people find you? Where can people look at your products, buy your products? I know 689 00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:43,079 you mentioned the locations, and I'll put those in the show notes so people can 690 00:42:43,079 --> 00:42:46,855 find them. But where can they find you online? Alright. So 691 00:42:46,915 --> 00:42:50,135 you can find me on Facebook at Zenith 692 00:42:50,275 --> 00:42:54,115 Point CC, Instagram z dot 693 00:42:54,115 --> 00:42:57,890 nith point. Check out the Instagram. It's working on it. 694 00:42:57,890 --> 00:43:00,630 It's getting up there. My website is www.zenithpoint.com. 695 00:43:02,770 --> 00:43:06,525 No period in the between the z and the p and 696 00:43:06,525 --> 00:43:10,204 you can also find me on Etsy. I'm on there. Even if you just 697 00:43:10,204 --> 00:43:13,960 try googling Xenith Point, you should be able to find me there as well. 698 00:43:15,300 --> 00:43:18,840 Perfect. And I'll put a bunch of links for people to find the products. 699 00:43:19,275 --> 00:43:23,035 And, like I said, Moroccan cashmere is my favorite scent. So if you 700 00:43:23,035 --> 00:43:26,635 don't if you don't know where to start. Yeah. No. That one's a great 701 00:43:26,635 --> 00:43:30,180 one all year round. Thank you so much for, 702 00:43:30,800 --> 00:43:34,400 sharing all your wisdom, Dimitry, and your personality with us and your 703 00:43:34,400 --> 00:43:38,045 experiences. I wish you the best in the future, and hopefully, we'll see you 704 00:43:38,045 --> 00:43:41,745 soon at, another show. Hey, Janelle. Thank you for having me. 705 00:43:41,965 --> 00:43:44,980 You are doing your purpose. You're slowly 706 00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:49,460 coming into your purpose. I was like, it's come happening at the same time. You're 707 00:43:49,520 --> 00:43:52,799 great. I love this little podcast thing that you got going on. Well, not little, 708 00:43:52,799 --> 00:43:56,575 but like, I love your podcast thing that you have going on. And, yes, you're 709 00:43:56,575 --> 00:44:00,415 coming into, you know, different peoples and trying to find their purpose, but 710 00:44:00,415 --> 00:44:04,010 I believe you found your purpose. Well, thank you so much. I really 711 00:44:04,010 --> 00:44:07,470 appreciate that. No problem. Means a lot to me. No problem. 712 00:44:08,570 --> 00:44:12,385 Thank you for listening to Working Towards Our Purpose. If you liked today's 713 00:44:12,385 --> 00:44:15,825 episode and are interested in more, you can sign up for my Substack 714 00:44:15,825 --> 00:44:19,320 newsletter with the link in the show notes, where I share thoughts, 715 00:44:19,320 --> 00:44:23,160 tips, and ideas that I'm learning along my journey to help inspire 716 00:44:23,160 --> 00:44:26,380 you. The show was produced by Pleasant Podcast at pleasantpodcast.com.