#DiscoverDepot Spotlight: How to Brand on a Budget

June 18, 2021


By Jason Eisenberg
Community Program Manager

#DiscoverDepot Spotlight is a content series highlighting some of our brand ambassadors who are also business owners, sharing their tips and insights on how they start, run and grow their businesses. If you would like to become an ambassador and potentially get spotlighted, sign up here!

When it comes to starting and growing her small business Unlax Candles, K’Loni (Kay) Lettrel thinks outside the box in terms of cutting costs – particularly with her unique take on branding. Citing her concerns as a young business owner who doesn’t have a lot of money to spend, Kay shared with us how she cuts costs and time when delivering her products to her customers.

“As a small business owner, it’s important to save costs wherever you can. It’s really important to pay attention to your expenses so you can create sustainability and longevity for your business.” – Kay


1) Handwritten notes are an easy way to personalize

Let’s start with the evolution of Unlax Candles’ personal branding, which started by including a thoughtful, personalized handwritten note in each order. In her notes, Kay tries to pay attention to the little details – remembering something specific about the customer or sharing something about herself that her customer can relate to.

“It helps my brand stand out among the competition. Customers really do notice these details and it encourages them to become a repeat part of the community.”


There’s very little expense to writing notes to your customers. All you need is a pen and paper. However, Kay took an extra step by creating a stamp with her logo and branding each note with it.


2) Brand packaging can be creative and inexpensive

Many other businesses like Unlax Candles are eCommerce businesses that ship their products to their customers who order online. If you don’t package your orders with your business brand in mind, you could be missing out on a few opportunities:

  • Potential marketing in social media posts.
  • A specific experience given to your customer when opening your products because you can’t give a physical or retail experience.
  • Enhance your brand image.

Instead of spending money on custom boxes and packaging, Kay decided to use her stamps mentioned above – this time instead of just using it in handwritten notes, she uses it on tissue paper, which is used to wrap her products when packed.


To add to her creativity, Kay says she has multiple stamp designs so she can choose based on the product, the customer or just based on what she feels that day.

 

Kay mails out her orders most of the time but another great way to save time as a business owner is to utilize the packing and shipping services so you don’t have to.  


3) Physical signage can be repurposed (retail, pop-ups, video)

Kay likes to do local pop-up markets as a way to get to know her community but also for the community to get to know her and Unlax Candles.

“You really want to make your area stand out and that’s again, where branding comes in. Make sure to have your logo, your colors really on display. Maybe even give customers a branded coupon code so they can visit you online or in-store.”

A great way to save money is to use one thing for multiple purposes. You can create large marketing assets for your pop-up or retail space and then take those signs home when you want to do a branded livestream or video. Remember that it’s important to keep branding cohesive on all fronts – social media, retail and product packaging.

For more about Unlax Candles and Kay’s entrepreneurial journey, visit her website. And if you’re looking to start or grow your business, check out business services that can help you get more done.


All content provided herein is for educational purposes only. It is provided “as is” and Office Depot does not warrant the accuracy of the information provided, nor does it assume any responsibility for errors, omissions or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein.