Making Candles Instagram Worthy Made Her $250K

These days, to run a business that provides experiences, you have to make it Instagram-worthy - something people want to share.

For Sara Jennetten and Blank Mason, they didn't just make candle making a great experience, they built a business that was Instagram-worthy from Day One.

Here's the catch though: Blank Mason only has 4,500 Instagram followers and 400 on TikTok. So how are they driving business from these platforms? Well, let's dive into Sara's story and how she bootstrapped Blank Mason to over $250,000 in annual revenue in just 6 months.

The Story of Blank Mason

Before Blank Mason

Before Blank Mason, Sara had already tested the waters of entrepreneurship. From 2015 to 2019, she ran Uncork, a staffing company for events, while simultaneously pursuing a degree in Accounting & Business Management.

Even after closing Uncork in 2019 and moving into the corporate world, Sara continued to do sales in events and experiences. But she knew she wanted to build something bigger and more unique of her own. She kept her full-time job but consistently saved money, waiting for the right business idea to emerge.

That moment came in 2019, when Sara attended a candle-making workshop during a business trip. The experience was similar to a paint-and-sip, but with one key difference - while most people store their paint-and-sip creations in closets, everyone walked away with a candle they'd actually use.

The Start of Blank Mason

Sara dove into research - studying paint-and-sip businesses, understanding the experiences market, and crunching numbers on what it would take to start a candle-making business. By 2020, she knew this was it. The research looked good, and with her experience selling experiences, this was the perfect founder-business fit.

And if you're wondering, yes, Sara decided March of 2020 was the perfect month to start. You can guess what comes next.

At the beginning of March 2020, Sara was getting ready to sign a lease for Blank Mason's first location. Then COVID hit. Thankfully, she was able to delay signing that lease.

That pause turned into valuable design time. She spent 2020 planning every detail of what would make Blank Mason Instagram-worthy - from the lighting and backdrop walls perfect for photos, to the custom-designed candle-making stations that would look great in videos. Even the process of making candles was choreographed to be visually appealing and shareable.

By 2021, as people started returning to in-person shopping, Sara found the perfect spot at Old Orchard Mall in Skokie, Illinois (about 40 minutes north of Downtown Chicago). In November 2021, Blank Mason held its grand opening with the Chamber of Commerce, Skokie's Mayor, and friends & family.

That launch kickstarted Blank Mason and within 6 months, they hit $250k in annual revenue. It didn't hurt that they were in a prime spot either - right next to brands like West Elm, Vuori, and Kendra Scott.

Revenue Streams & Growth

Getting to $250k in annual revenue in 6 months is great. But that doesn't mean it hasn't come without any challenges.

At its core, Blank Mason is about the in-person experience. That's where 70% of their revenue comes from. For about $50, someone can go into the store and make their own candle.

But here's where it gets interesting - it's not just about the in-store experience. Sara mentioned that there are 3 different revenue streams for Blank Mason: in-store experiences, private labeling candles for businesses, and selling candles directly online through their e-commerce store.

20% of their current revenue comes from the private label candles and the last 10% comes from e-commerce. The private label business feels like it could be the perfect way to combat some of the seasonality of their revenue, but time will tell if that's true or not.

The Candle Making Experience at Blank Mason

I originally asked Sara for an hour to record everything so I could share this deep dive.

I ended up spending about 2 hours there because she let me go through the entire process of making my own candle. As someone who has done some paint & sips in the past, yep, I'm a bigger fan of the candle making.

The process was incredible. You pick your own vessel, test the scents you're interested in with guidance from the staff, and then pour everything together. It was so easy to do and my candle smells so good. I was originally nervous I would mess up the scent, but no, this candle is legit.

If you're in the Chicago area, highly recommend.

The Growth Strategies of Blank Mason

Communities

I've mentioned a little bit in this deep dive already about Blank Mason being in a great location with quality foot traffic from the mall. That helped Blank Mason become noticed, but it's taken more than just mall traffic to get to $250k in annual revenue.

Sara's used a few different communities to grow Blank Mason. She joined the local Chamber of Commerce who held a grand opening for them and she's used other platforms like Eventbrite and Bucket Listers to help spread awareness.

Bucket Listers was a new platform for me but has been taking off the last few years. Thankfully for Blank Mason, BucketListers has been focused on Chicago as a key city for them and Blank Mason has been able to attach themselves to that growth a bit.

A key lesson here: if there's another platform that is growing rapidly and you can attach yourself to it a bit, it can be a gamechanger (BlueSky might fit this right now??)

Product Led

These next two growth strategies are connected and this growth strategy isn't your traditional product led. It's not a sticker on the gift bag or some button you click on free accounts.

When I entered the Blank Mason store, it was obvious it was designed with Instagram & TikTok in mind. There were multiple areas where you could take photos and videos with your candle and the stations where you made the candles were Instagram worthy.

Yes, there's a clear process to making a candle but by making this simple process a little more dolled up, Sara and Blank Mason made the entire process much more shareable by those making a candle. In a lot of ways, they've turned customers of Blank Mason into the best marketers for them.

Media

With the entire candle making process being easily shareable, TikTok and Instagram have played a big part in Blank Mason's growth. However, you'll notice I didn't label this growth strategy "social media."

That's because it's not Sara and Blank Mason creating their own content to publish on their own accounts. If you look through TikTok and Instagram for Blank Mason, you'll notice that Blank Mason has gone viral a few different times - but not on their own account. It's other creators and fans of Blank Mason that told their own story of their experiences.

Through the algorithms of each platform, Blank Mason has been recommended to potential customers on both TikTok and Instagram because those algorithms are going to market naturally to people in that same geolocation.

And if you're on TikTok enough, you'll also notice that you start searching for reviews and recommendations on there instead of using Google. If you're not on TikTok, ask someone who is on it and ask if they've searched for a review or recommendation. The search bar and geolocating of TikTok is more powerful than you think.

The Future of Blank Mason

From the start, Sara wanted to build something bigger and more unique. With Blank Mason, she's definitely not thinking small.

In 5 years, Sara expects to grow to 99 locations across the United States. Yes, 99. Not 100. That's what the math said worked.

Sara decided that the franchise model will be the way Blank Mason will grow to 99 locations. That way, each location can be run by owners who are invested in their local communities and can help expand the Blank Mason experience across the country.

If you want to learn more about franchising a Blank Mason store, you can learn more here.