Find Your Tribe!

Find your tribe!

I’ve heard this saying for years… Even thought I understood it and had embraced it!

However, I had no idea the true meaning…

Nor how powerful it could be!

Starting?Riley's Candles?has been the most rewarding thing I have done!

However, it’s also been the hardest!

About a year ago, I finally grasped what a “tribe” is!

It all started 3 years ago…

I took a lunch break from insurance and attended a design thinking workshop at?20Fathoms?hosted by then strangers (now a huge part of my tribe)?nick beadleston?and?Brittany VanderBeek.

I was at a table with three other strangers…?Willard Kitchen,?Steven Rice, and?Francis L "Tex" Criqui!

The four of us had some of the most interesting dialogue I’ve ever had at a workshop of this sort.

We all became fast friends and little did I know, this was the start of finding my tribe.

Fast forward to a year ago?Willard Kitchen?was asking about Riley’s Candles and mentioned that he was working hard to get the Office of Possibilities off the ground with?Northwestern Michigan College?with the intent to focus on the disruption and innovation of higher education and I should join for a meeting.

One meeting the following week,?Nick Nissley, Ed.D.?was kind enough to take the time to share his vision for the Office of Possibilities (OOPs) and I was hooked.

Now serving on the board I am involved daily and it is my start-up support system, ecosystem, a daily dose of laughs, advice, and “filling my cup up”!

Amazingly every person from that first workshop is a key founder of this group!

I’ve seen companies started, movements created, change taking place in higher education, met some amazing people, and built my tribe here in Traverse City with this group.

This picture is a full circle moment for me and encapsulates this whole OOPs movement:

4 months ago, I met?Susie Grace, founder of Valor Skincare, at an OOPs meeting at Commonplace in Traverse City.

3 months ago, we had a crazy idea to do a skincare line for dogs (at an OOPs meeting)!

One week after that we were in brainstorm mode!

One week later, Susie was doing full-blown R&D.

Fast forward just ten weeks and we launched our first product at this week's OOPs meeting!

The power of this tribe got us from idea to launch in under 3 months!

And

We SOLD OUT of the first batch in one week! We are working hard on batch 2, with a purchase order double the size of the first run!

This is a picture of a small group of the tribe helping us launch our first product in the skincare line Dog Deo!

“Josh (Riley's Candles) and Susie (Valor Skincare) just teamed up to create Dog Deo. This awesome collab repels ticks, fleas, and mosquitoes, hydrates skin, shines coat, and keeps pups smelling fresh. Grab a bottle while they last! (Link in comments and on pic)” ~Shout out to?nick beadleston?for the photo and caption!

All Paws On Deck! Dog-Friendly Cruise in Traverse City!

Riley's Candles is partnering with Discovery Cruises for a "Doggone Fun Cruise" on West Bay in beautiful Traverse City, MI this Sunday, June 25th!

A portion of each ticket sold benefits Riley's Candles and helps save the life of a dog in need of emergency surgery!

This is the first dog-friendly cruise of its kind in Traverse City and tickets for the first cruise are only $25 for the 2-hour trip with DOGS FREE!

Click here to secure your tickets!

We'll have samples of our best-selling candles and Dog Deo on the cruise for you to try!

Shout out to the owners of Discovery Cruises Jennifer (Colbeck) Szunko and Tawny Hammond, MAIS for working so hard to make this cruise a reality!

Audacia Elixirs is legal to be "Out in the Wild"

Congrats to a huge member of the Riley's Candles tribe, fellow Office of Possibilities entrepreneur, and founder of Audacia Elixirs Loghan Call and his team on passing the last step in their regulatory compliance journey!

They are now legal to sell, check out their Instagram for the full story on this journey and help them "Reimagine Drinking". Quote from Loghan on clearing this hurdle:

An announcement three years in the making! We are beyond excited to announce that we have cleared our last regulatory hurdle and Audacia is officially ready to launch into the wild!

Our passion lies in the audacity to believe in alchemy and the opportunity to reimagine drinking.

Celebrate your fellow entrepreneurs and build your start-up tribe, it's a win for them, you, and the tribe as a whole. Let's all continue to support each other!

Who is your tribe? We would love to hear more in the comments!

Please leave a comment below tagging some members of your tribe who would enjoy this read and we'd love to hear your "tribe story"!

Thank you for being part of the Riley's Candles family! Riley's orders, get out and enjoy this beautiful day!