This week on Shop Essence Live in Partnership with New Voices Family we feature Myia Spivey, co-founder of Be Light Candle RE. Myia is a passionate entrepreneur dedicated to creating unique candles that give back to underserved communities.
She was inspired to create Be Light Candle RE after witnessing the impact of her family's nonprofit and wanting to develop a business that could combine her love for candles with giving back to communities in need.
What sets Be Light Candle RE apart is its commitment to social impact—each candle is handcrafted with care and helps create jobs, fund scholarships, and support global food security.
Watch the episode for more info!
She was inspired to create Be Light Candle RE after witnessing the impact of her family's nonprofit and wanting to develop a business that could combine her love for candles with giving back to communities in need.
What sets Be Light Candle RE apart is its commitment to social impact—each candle is handcrafted with care and helps create jobs, fund scholarships, and support global food security.
Watch the episode for more info!
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of Shop Essence Live.
00:05I am your host, Stephanie Donovan, and I'm so excited to bring you this next founder.
00:10She has, not only are her products amazing, she has an incredible cause that's behind
00:15it that you can help every time you make a purchase.
00:19We love purchasing with a purpose here at Shop Essence Live, and right now I'm going
00:24to introduce you guys to Maya Spivey.
00:26What's up, girl?
00:27Hey, Stephanie.
00:28Thank you so much for having me.
00:31Oh, my gosh.
00:32Well, welcome, welcome.
00:33I cannot wait to get into your products, but I just have to know about how you came up
00:39with this incredible brand with this incredible mission.
00:42Yes.
00:43So, actually, we are a family-owned business, and so we're partnered with a nonprofit organization
00:49called Ripple Effects, which is what the R and E stand for in our name.
00:53And so growing up, my parents are actually the founders of that nonprofit, so seeing
00:57the incredible work they were doing and how they were really helping people, but funding
01:01was always an issue.
01:03And so during the pandemic, they had just launched another center overseas, and so funding,
01:08again, was an issue.
01:09And so my senior year of college, we talked and we came up with the idea of starting a
01:15candle business to help fund all of the amazing work that we're doing.
01:19And so from then, we've just been running with it and creating these amazing candles.
01:24But the best part is that with every purchase, somebody is being helped, so it's a gift that
01:29gives back.
01:30And so our mission is scholarships for disadvantaged youth, job creation for women, and supporting
01:35global food security initiatives with every candle purchase.
01:41My goodness.
01:42And I love a good family business.
01:44Essence is a family business as well, so it's really, really important.
01:49And you kind of took it and you saw the parents' mission, and you're like, okay, we're going
01:54to make this work, and we're going to make some money with it, too.
01:56I love that.
01:57So now it's time for Show and Tell.
02:00You want to talk about the different candles that you have and how they are made?
02:04What's the first one you want to show off today?
02:05Yeah, so of course, I think we should just go ahead and start with one of our best sellers,
02:09the one that you love the most, Stephanie, our Lemon Meringue Candle.
02:12Let me tell you.
02:14Yes, all of our candles are created using all natural soy wax and a cotton-lead-free
02:19wig, which just ensures a long and clean-burning candle with a long-lasting scent, which is
02:23what's really important to all of my candle lovers out there.
02:27And so what's really fun about that candle is that it kind of looks like a dessert.
02:31So our candle creations take on kind of the unique appearance of different foods.
02:36But it may look good enough to eat, but we assure you that it is all candle wax and 100%
02:42safe to burn.
02:43We actually have over-
02:44Don't be eating this candle.
02:45It smells so expensive, but please.
02:46It's a nice lemon scent with a little bit of vanilla, nice citrus blend in there.
02:53It kind of reminds you of a sweet lemon dessert.
02:55That's our Lemon Meringue Candle.
02:57And so we actually-
02:58It's so fragrant.
02:59I feel like I don't even have to light it to enjoy it.
03:02Like I just open it and get-
03:04Just take the lid off and just sit in there.
03:06The scent will still fill the room.
03:08Yes.
03:09But it smells even better when you burn it, though.
03:12Okay.
03:13I don't know if I'm going to get to burn in this, but yeah, this is absolutely beautiful.
03:16And then you have the little lemon in there and it has the whip.
03:20Why did you make the decision to have soy candles and why was that important?
03:25Can you talk about that?
03:26Absolutely.
03:27So I am a big tree hugger.
03:30I love the earth.
03:31I want to save it and I want to do everything we can to just keep everything as natural
03:36as possible.
03:37And so soy wax is great.
03:39It's an all natural wax.
03:41And so it just ensures a cleaner burn when you do light your candle.
03:45And so all of our candles are made with soy wax.
03:48Even the tops that kind of look like food, it's all soy wax.
03:52And so that's really exciting that it's a very unique candle that you can enjoy burning.
03:58You can enjoy just looking at it on your desk, you can enjoy burning it.
04:01So many different ways to enjoy these candles.
04:04So good.
04:05So good.
04:06All right.
04:07So that was a lemon meringue.
04:09What's the next one that you want to highlight?
04:12The Peace and Prosperity.
04:13Another one of our best sellers.
04:15That one has a nice calming lavender scent.
04:19I love lavender.
04:21Very pretty color with that nice purple, a nice marble look.
04:25That's another one of our best sellers.
04:26It's a nice calm, kind of like aromatherapy candle.
04:30And so we actually have over 50 different candles on our website.
04:34So this is just a little bit of a variety that we're showing today.
04:38We have candles for any occasion from holidays to just small special gifts that you might
04:44want to give somebody to our candle creations.
04:47We have such a large variety, but one of the things that is personally my favorite about
04:53our candles is that our story is on each candle.
04:58And so it's a great way for customers to just understand the value that they're providing
05:03when they do choose Be Like Candle RE.
05:06And so it just has our story and what we're working to do as well as on our lid.
05:11So every time you pick up that candle, you may see a really cute and unique candle.
05:17But on the other side of that, you're helping us create jobs.
05:20You're putting food on the tables for families in need.
05:23You're providing scholarships for students that desire to further their education, but
05:27they just don't have the means.
05:29And so it's so much deeper than just a candle.
05:32And so we have the unique look to really get you to pick it up.
05:36But once you pick it up, you'll see the value that this product has and how you can be a
05:42part of this journey and this mission of changing the world through something as simple as a
05:46candle.
05:47That is so great.
05:49And you know, we all have somebody in our lives where we're trying to buy them a gift
05:54and it's like, they got everything.
05:55Like, I don't know what to give them, but giving them something like this, that not
06:00only is just, it's beautiful, it smells amazing, but then you have this whole other story about
06:07how this purchase went to all these incredible causes.
06:11It makes for an incredible gift as well.
06:13Absolutely.
06:14It's a gift that keeps on giving.
06:17And so we always invite people to check out our social media because on our social media,
06:21we do a lot of behind the scenes of the, of course the candle making, but even our missions
06:26work and you're able to see the people that are actually being helped because these are
06:31real faces.
06:32These are real people that are being helped through these candles.
06:35And so we really want people to join in on this journey.
06:38We want you to feel a part of the amazing work that we're all doing because we're doing
06:43this together and through something as simple as buying a candle, it really is a gift that
06:49just keeps on giving.
06:51It's, I mean, you literally coined that phrase now because that's the truth.
06:57I have one more on my side.
06:59Yes, that's perfect.
07:01Our endless love candle, which is perfect with Valentine's day coming up.
07:06It's very cute.
07:07It's a nice feminine scent.
07:08So for the ladies out there, if you want to get it for yourself, if you want to send the
07:12link to your man to get it for you, you know, it's very, very pretty.
07:18It's got the hearts on top.
07:20So get it this week for Valentine's day, which is coming up.
07:22And the best part is when you're seeing this video, we have a discount code for 15% off
07:28on our website with the code essence.
07:31So if you go to our website, you can find our endless love candle, peace and prosperity,
07:35lemon rain, as well as so many others, and you can get a discount as well.
07:43I love it.
07:44And can you repeat that deadline one more time?
07:46Yes.
07:47Through Valentine's day.
07:48So ladies apply a little pressure, go ahead and send that link to him if you need to,
07:52or just go ahead and get it yourself.
07:54But Valentine's day, that link, that discount code will expire.
07:58So you want to go ahead and get it.
08:00So so good.
08:01And just repeat for everyone.
08:03You said you had how many, how many?
08:07We have over 50 different candles.
08:09So any occasion that you could think of, we have a candle for it.
08:14So if you're ever in need of a gift, you don't know what to give, go to be like candle RE
08:20and just browse.
08:21And I promise you will find a candle for that occasion.
08:24Love, love, love it.
08:26Okay.
08:27So Maya, this is in partnership with a new voices family.
08:30I'd love to hear from you how it's been being a part of that amazing community.
08:35It's been great.
08:36I just love being in spaces with other like minded entrepreneurs that are all striving
08:41for growth and all want to see their business grow.
08:44And we're just able to feed off of each other's energy and the one on ones with the mentors
08:49have been phenomenal.
08:50But even in our sessions, when someone may have an issue, there's other business owners
08:55that have gone through something similar.
08:57So they're able to chime in and offer some recommendations or advice, which is just great
09:03having that community of women and also men as well that can just feed off of each other.
09:08And it's never a competition.
09:10We all want to see each other win.
09:11And I absolutely love that.
09:14That is so, that's such a great point.
09:17And something that I hear often as I've interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs, sometimes when
09:22you're on this journey, it could feel really lonely.
09:25Like you're on a lonely island trying to do all these things, but to be able to be a part
09:30of a community where you're like looking to the left and you have Melissa Butler, Lip
09:35Bar and Pinky Cool Slutty Vegan to all of these different brands that have achieved
09:41such amazing great heights.
09:43And they are not shy about sharing words of wisdom and helping the next one, sending the
09:47elevator back down for those that are starting out.
09:51So I would tell you if you are watching this and you have a business, no matter what stage
09:56there is something for you, go to newvoicesfamily.com.
10:00There are tons of resources that are available.
10:03It is free to join.
10:04You just fill out a business profile and I could be talking to you.
10:08You never know.
10:09Shoot.
10:10It's been so, so amazing to have you on the show, Maya.
10:14You guys definitely go and check it out once again.
10:17This discount code just for us, y'all, shop with us.
10:21Yes.
10:2215% off only through Valentine's day.
10:25So you might be looking at February 10th.
10:27You better get on it.
10:28You better get on it.
10:29Maya, it's been so great to have you on.
10:33You guys make sure you tune in week over week.
10:35We have two new black owned businesses here for you to shop directly at shopessence.com.
10:42I mean, I'm at shopessencelive in partnership with New Voices Family.
10:46Thank you so much, Maya, for coming.
10:48Thank you so much for having me, Stephanie.