Emma Musto the founder of 2 small businesses; Musto Media & Marketing, a full-service digital marketing agency specializing in woman owned small businesses, and From Spark To Flame, a luxury scented candle company. She is also a yoga teacher and a full-time van lifer, living and traveling around the country in her self converted van!
What is From Spark To Flame all about?
From Spark To Flame is a luxury, handmade scented candle company. All candles are handmade in small batches with clean burning soy wax and the highest quality essential oils. From Spark to Flame was ignited in the hopes of providing people with luxurious scents in an even more luxurious vessel. We value sustainability and encourage everyone to reuse and repurpose their containers once they’ve finished burning their candles. Our goal is for people to love both our scents and our vessels and to confidently display their candles around their homes.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your business?
It’s almost surreal for me to be able to say that I am the owner of two small businesses today when just two years ago I was working a 9-5 and dreading every minute of it. I worked a couple different jobs in the past and always felt unsatisfied. I knew early on that I needed to work on my own time and on my own passions. That’s when I decided to start my first business and take back control of my time and my life. I loved being an entrepreneur so much that a year after starting my digital marketing agency I founded my second business, From Spark To Flame Luxury Candle Co. Many people probably thought starting a business in the middle of a global pandemic was crazy, but I had a strong intuition that it was exactly what I needed to do. I had a clear vision for my product and what I wanted my brand to accomplish so I decided not to waste another minute and to dive-in head first.
The idea behind From Spark To Flame came to me when I was talking to a friend about an inconvenience I was experiencing when candle shopping. I am an avid candle buyer and every time I went to the store I could never find good smelling candles in beautiful containers that I would want to keep and reuse. I hated finishing a candle and then just tossing out the container. It felt so wasteful and I wanted a candle that I could display proudly around my home and even reuse once I was done burning it. That’s how From Spark To Flame was born. Our containers don’t look like typical candle containers and are meant to be kept and reused after you’ve finished your candle.
How have the pandemic affected you or your new business?
Starting my business during the pandemic definitely had its challenges. Delays in shipping caused many of my supplies to arrive late, my friends and family were skeptical of how successful my launch would be due to the economic impact of the pandemic. The lockdown also took a toll on my mental health, as I’m sure it had on many others. Starting a business is always a scary endeavor and after months of being locked indoors with all the heartbreaking events happening all around the world, it became harder and harder to remain optimistic about my new business. The added obstacles to the already challenging task of starting a business taught me the importance of patience, perseverance, and most to all optimism. Staying in a positive and optimistic mindset was really key to getting From Spark To Flame off the ground.
What was the biggest problem you encountered starting up and how did you overcome it?
I used to think the biggest problem I experienced when starting up my business was other people’s negativity and pessimism. A lot of people discouraged me from it and I had to not only block out my own worries and fears but now theirs as well. But eventually, I realized that the biggest obstacle in starting my business was myself. It was my own fears, doubts, and insecurities that dragged me down. Once I realized this and was able to shift my mindset to a more positive, optimistic outlook and start manifesting my success, everything got so much easier. In the past few years that I’ve started to manifest all aspects of my life, I’ve developed a deep trust in the universe that everything I put my mind to will work out in my best favor and towards my greatest good. It hasn’t failed me!
What were the top mistakes you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?
The top mistake I made when starting my business was not running all the numbers. Many people will tell you business is all about numbers and while that has it’s validity I looked at my business as more of a passion project than a money making endeavor. But the truth is you need income to run a business no matter how passionate you are about it. One of the things I didn’t do enough research on before starting From Spark To Flame was shipping costs. It was only after I had my first big influx of orders that I decided to even look into the logistics of shipping my products all around the country and I was unpleasantly surprised by how expensive it was going to be. Not having taken that into account beforehand proved to be a big mistake that resulted in losing money on my sales and added so much stress and anxiety that could have been avoided.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
Social media as a whole has been my best marketing tool. The more I posted and talked about my business across my personal pages, the more people bought my product. Then they started posting and promoting it across their pages which lead to even more people finding out about my brand. This together with targeted social media ads have proven to be the most effective strategies for my particular online business.
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
My best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs is to run all the numbers. And when you’re done, run them again! Many people who have an idea and are passionate about turning that idea into a reality might not always take the time to run the logistics behind it. Having a concrete idea of your initial investment versus your projected profit and any other obstacles that might come up will make launching and managing your new business much easier.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
Taking time to rest when you feel drained. It might sound like an oxymoron but I’ve found that when my energy runs out, pushing or forcing myself to continue to be productive never works! It causes me to stress and feel even worse and I don’t get as much done anyway or do less than ideal work. When I acknowledge that I need some downtime to rest I find that I recover my energy and motivation so much quicker and am much more productive!
What is your favorite quote?
“To try to be safe everywhere is to be strong nowhere.”
– Winston Churchill
What is your definition of success?
Although I am an entrepreneur and I’m passionate about running my own businesses and working for myself, I don’t define success by how much money I make or my career status. I define success by how happy I am in my life. My businesses are ultimately a means towards my happiness. They allow me to have the freedom I desire to work on my own time and do whatever it is that I want to do in-between. One of my biggest desires in life was to have control of my own time and being an entrepreneur has allowed me to do that. Time well spent with family and friends will bring me the most happiness in life and that to me is the ultimate success.
How do you personally overcome fear?
I overcome fear by remaining focused in the present moment. Staying in the “Now” and focusing on things one step at a time helps me remain focused and fearless. Putting things in a different perspective by only looking at tasks one by one makes everything seem much less impossible! Sometimes the feelings of anxiety and fear can be overwhelming and in those moments I decide to take a step back and trust the universe. Manifesting has truly changed my life and helped me become a more confident and brave person. I make a conscious decision every day to walk away from the shadow of fear, and out into the bright light of possibility.
How can readers get in touch with you?
I can always be reached on my personal Instagram @emma_ _musto or my business Instagram @fromsparktoflame and you can shop my candles on our website www.fromsparktoflame.com
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