Expanding Your Personal Brand as a Founder with Candace Nelson

0:0010 years ago, I made the decision to build my personal brand that was elevated, yet approachable, and reflected who I was, not just what I did. I created my website with ShowIt because it's true drag and drop freedom so you can easily build and update your site. Plus, their real human support team, game changer. Wanna try it for yourself? Head to jasminestar.com forward slash show it for a 14 day free trial and first month free when you subscribe. Welcome to the Jasmine Star Show where we talk about life, business mindset, and today, a lot of sweet success. I could not be more excited to reintroduce to my guest co-host, Amy Porterfield.

0:35Hello. Hey, we're back. Here's the thing. Amy has curated some of the most incredible people with inspiring stories. But you know, friend, family of this podcast, we'd like to take action. And I couldn't think of somebody more hell-bent on action than the one and only Candace Nelson. Amy, can you tell us how your orbits intersected? Why is she here? What are the things we're talking about? So what you all don't know is that behind the scenes, after each episode we film, Jasmine and I run into the bathroom and change our clothes. And so we ran into the bathroom and we were each in different stalls.

1:08And she said, so how do you know Candice? And I said, oh, I don't. She's like, what? So she was surprised. But we've never met in person. However, I'm a huge fan of everything that you've done in your success, your business. But also, I love following you online. What you do great is I feel like we're girlfriends. And then the minute we met each other, didn't it feel like we knew each other? But I think it's because I thought I knew you already. So you do a beautiful job of connecting with people online, especially women entrepreneurs. And I'm a fan of so much of what you share about what it takes to build a business.

1:39And you've built some incredible businesses. And we're going to talk about that today. So that's how this came about. I'm so happy you're here. And so I just kind of want to give everybody an overview. If you are at all familiar with what her brand does and who she is, we can get the big stuff out of the way. If you and I are on an elevator ride, four floors down, and you're just going to give me the highlights. Because here's the thing. You spend five minutes on YouTube or any podcast listening, you're going to find so many amazing, amazing chronological stories of her success. I would rather spend time talking about the business of business because Candice is an operator, capital O.

2:18So what is the pitch of this is what I've done, this is what brought me here? Well, I'm probably best known for founding Sprinkles Cupcakes. but I now run and I'm a scaling a pizza concept called Pizzana. So I like to say I'm a walk-in kid's birthday party. I've got all the good stuff, but I'm also, I consider myself an entrepreneurial thought leader. I have a newsletter that goes out every couple of weeks called Sweet Success. I've written a book for aspiring entrepreneurs, and I'm also a guest shark on this season's Shark Tank. Okay. That is baller right there. I can't even imagine if I were to say that.

2:53So that is cool. We're going to get into that. Okay, great. We absolutely will be getting into that, but somebody's listening and you know, the reason why we have the show is to first impart value. And then we can get into like the practicality and origin stories as it relates to who's listening. And so there's a person who's listening and they're seeing what you're doing. And from the outside, it looks and is really incredible. Congratulations on being, you know, the 1 % of the 1%. It empowers us to show up in bigger ways and believe that the same type of success is available for people like us, women, mothers, independent thought leaders.

3:26So when we get to that point, we were just talking right before we pressed record. And we were talking about this really beautiful, amazing opportunity that you find yourself now in. You started Sprinkles. It's so successful. You sell Sprinkles. And then what? Well, I mean, I say life is really one big series of pivots, but I didn't realize that at the time. I thought because I was so identified with my company, Sprinkles, and I was known as the cupcake lady, that that was my thing. That was my shtick. That was my identity. And so when I ultimately sold majority stake to private equity and walked away from the day-to-day operations, I wasn't prepared for how unmoored I was going to feel.

4:08I just felt so lost. And I actually wrote an article in Inc. Magazine last month about how my personal brand just encountered, we were at this crossroads because I had amassed this community, this audience of people who loved me for the baking and for the cupcakes and for watching me on Sugar Rush, but I had evolved as a person and as a business person. And I wanted to talk about entrepreneurship. I wanted to talk about going after your dreams. And people weren't quite ready for that yet. Can we pause here? Because there's an element in the story. She's like, people are familiar with seeing me as a judge on Sugar Rush.

4:44And I'm like, yes. Can we also back up and talk about how you were featured on the Oprah show? Oh, yes. And your face was a part of that. So when we talk about, and the only reason I'm saying it, well, number one, it's a cool story. Super swag. Super swag. Super swag. No big deal. So I'm going to bring the audience up to speed. You open a store in Beverly Hills. There's a line around the block. And so this is during the, but we don't do carbs. And yet you are, we do carbs and butter and sugar. We do them well. So you have this line and then crazy busy holiday season. January comes along and you're just like, oh, finally, a moment of a reprieve.

5:18And then you get a call from Harpo Studios in Chicago. And they're like, can you get us however many hundreds of cupcakes for the studio audience? Because Oprah wants to talk about sprinkles. Oh, yeah. So you get on the plane. Well, first she came. First I had to. And listen, this had been eight months. everyone had said a cupcakes only bakery would never work. And so we opened our doors and it was just like mayhem. It was pandemonium from day one. And we'd just gotten through our first holiday season and we were on everybody's gifting list. So we'd gone through the holidays, we were exhausted, hoping to go home early that day.

5:51It was January, hoping people would go on some cleanses. And Harpo Studios calls and the producer on the other line says, Oprah loves your cupcakes. And of course I had to die I die I literally die and she says and she wants 350 of them in Chicago tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. and I was like morning uh yes yes I have my my mind is screaming no but I'm saying yes because you don't say no to Oprah no you don't so we fire up the ovens bake off these cupcakes pile them this high and we're going through security we're like the nightmare family of 10 going through the x-ray line and the security TSA and just putting every box of cupcakes through that x-ray machine.

6:33But all we had to say was we're going to Oprah and we got high fives. I bet. So the next morning we're there, Oprah delivers this veritable love letter about our cupcakes to her studio audience. And from there, it was just like we were a worldwide brand with only one little location in Beverly Hills. So the reason I bring up that story outside of the fact that it's just so cool. And we talk about these opportunities, like where, what do they say? Like luck is when preparation meets opportunity and that was where you were. But I brought up that story specifically to talk about the stakes, the stakes that we look at, well, that was who I was.

7:05That was like the depth of my personal brand. And then you say, I want to pivot. And so you're talking about the article. What are the first steps that somebody starts taking when they feel the inkling that I think it's time for me to pivot? What were the first three things that you did when it came time to pivot? Well, first I just kind of stewed about it because I thought I have spent so much time. I've invested so much time that is now going to be wasted, right? Because these people just want baking recipes for me. They just want to watch me judging cupcakes on Food Network. I didn't give my audience enough credit for the fact that they were following me for me.

7:40And so ultimately I ended up sending an email to everybody who, all my community and said, listen, I want to show all the sides of me. I want to show that I'm a multifaceted person. And if you're along for the ride, great. But if not, I'm sorry. We all evolve and I'm in this position where I just want to show all sides of myself. And it's amazing how many people just stuck along for the ride because I think to a certain extent, so many women identify with that. We are multifaceted people. We encounter pivots in life where we decide to make a change. And it was amazing to see that I could also be an entrepreneurial thought leader as well as a baker, as well as a mom, as well as a business owner.

8:24And I don't think a personal brand is meaningful unless it's authentic. Okay. So first thing, somebody has a stirring of the desire to pivot is to communicate the pivot. Communicate. Be authentic. Be vulnerable with your audience. I sent an email out and I said, this is me. This is all of me. Take it or leave it. What happened then? What's the next step? What can we forecast in the future? Like, hey, this will likely happen. Well, I think you need to start showing up on social as the person you truly are. So I started talking about my businesses. I started giving advice to female entrepreneurs and women in business.

9:01And at first it felt like crickets. At first it felt like crickets. It felt really awkward. I was like, hello. But you have to stay consistent. You have to stay consistent because it takes a little while. It's like you've changed the channel on people who are watching their favorite show. It takes them a little while to get used to this new you, but it's not really a new you. It's still you. It's just you are evolving and you have to be authentic to that. Great. So first thing, communicate. Secondly is create with authenticity of who you are and the person you're stepping into be. And then the third thing, as somebody's deciding that pivot.

9:33Be consistent because now, once you've sort of changed the channel, you need to keep showing up in that way. And even though it takes a little while to warm up, eventually people will catch on and you're going to be offering so much value in this new form of who you are that they're going to be along for the ride. I love it. So true. I want to take a little bit of a sharp term and talk about a pivot. Do you want to talk about shark tank? Oh, I'm so excited. Y 'all. I didn't want to jump in because I'm so excited. I'm obsessed. This is huge. You are. You're a huge shark tanker. I'm the kind of person that was like, I've seen this, but hold on.

10:08They're about to cry. Let's wait. I know I watch Shark Tank. I do. Okay. So tell us a little bit about that experience, but also what I really want to know is how did you tell me about a bad pitch and a good pitch and like, what's the difference? And also, was there any good pitches that didn't get a yes and why? Like, I'm so curious about Okay, so first of all, Shark Tank is the ultimate adrenaline rush. I bet. It is so competitive. It is high stakes, and it's all real. Like, this is real money we're playing with. These are really people's businesses and their lives. So stakes are super high.

10:46Yes. You walk in, and, well, as a guest shark or as a shark, you have no idea who's coming out. Okay, so you haven't met anyone or anything? Okay. Hold on, hold on. I'm such a... She needs to go behind the scenes. I need to go behind the scenes. I can't. I can't. It's like literally a blaring sound. Just hold me with me here. Hold me. Hold me tightly and rock me. How did you get asked? And then you coming in with the regular crew, you're like the new girl. Is this Mean Girls or is this like Summer Camp? Is this like Beverly Hills Summer Camp? And I've done a lot of TV, right? I did Sugar Rush.

11:23I did Cupcake Wars. We would have guest judges on all the time. And so I was like, hmm, this could go well, or it might not go that well. I'm living for this. So let me tell you, when you're at the top of your game like that, there's no ego. There's literally none. And it's such a well-oiled machine that I was just like, I am in the hands of professionals. I've never had so much fun. It's never been easier. It was an incredible experience from beginning to end. how I was chosen. I don't know, but I was like, someone reached out to me, a casting director, and asked me if I would want to be on Shark Tank.

12:01And I honestly thought it was like a spam email at first. Because I have an agent. Like normally those opportunities come through my agent, but they just reached out to my website. Nobody has any idea of a website.

12:15You should start looking at that. I didn't look at all of those. I was like, you could be a shark. You could be a shark. I wrote an email about that because I was like, you have to read every email. I almost deleted it. I would have deleted it. I would have thought it was spam for sure. Well, I'm at a different little level still. No, no, no. But here's the thing. And this is where that pivot, that personal brand pivot comes in. I would not have gotten that Shark Tank opportunity if I had not pivoted to positioning myself, not just as the founder of Sprinkles, but as a true investor, angel investor, business person, entrepreneur.

12:47And so someone out there was taking notice. So I just want people to take heart. Sometimes you feel like it's crickets, but eventually people are watching and it will pay back in the end. So they were interested in me, but it didn't mean I had the job. Then there was a series of Zoom interviews with all sorts of agents and producers and network executives. And it's hard on Zoom to like really like bring the energy. I don't know. Anyway, I did the best job that I could. and then I waited for a really long time and I just kind of figured they'd forgotten about me I mean it was a few months oh yeah I didn't hear anything and then all of a sudden I got this email that was like what what dates can you do and I was like what that's kind of any of them let's do any and all of them yeah okay so now they're there so you're sitting in film what was that where did they film Culver City oh yeah right where I live I'm like you can call me anytime I'll be there in five minutes.

13:47I'll be there in a jiffy. So I'm sitting in this chair. I've got Mark Cuban to my right, and I've got Kevin O 'Leary to my left, and I'm just like, this is surreal. Okay, who is the other? Who is the Sharks? Laurie Grenier and Dame and John. Okay. Oh, you were the guest guest. You were like with the O.G. Yes. We're Italian now. Wait, what's happening here? We're speaking. We're really going to Pizza Hut. You're going to Pizza Hut. Exactly. We're making content for you, girl. So you're with the O.G. Sharks. it was incredible between cuban and mr wonderful i mean david is usually sandwich routine then so the fact that you that they put you there is pretty yes we can know the fact that she knows where david sits oh yeah marquette's his chair oh and laurie has her chair nobody messes with it wow i'm telling you guys i'm telling you guys i've watched she's a fan i do so you have no idea you're just sitting there with your notebook and of course i was like kind of notebook should i have and can i bring a calculator and like what's that you know like i was i mean i think i was driving the producers nuts they're like no it's fine just bring whatever sort of notebook you want i'm like should it be leather like should it match my outfit what's it so these are the things you have to think about when you're on shark tape right so i'm sitting there and doors fly open and it's game on wait do the judges do the judges talk to each other before like you're the new kid mark was so nice he was like if you have any questions about the show just let me know and i was like because i'd already asked the producers a hundred million questions i was like i actually think I've got it but I would love to ask you about AI and then he like gave me his email and I was like what this is so cool see I'm done I'm done yeah I have to make an investment and you won and then and then Kevin O 'Leary he's such a student like he really goes deep into certain topics cameras watches and all he's got his thing wine you know don't you give me those eyes like I'm creepy.

15:36I don't know what that's going to be. Are you surprised you're here now? This is all orchestrated behind the scenes by guys. It's all checking out. Okay, okay. Let's start. I literally, like, I'm a brown girl. I didn't think I'm, like, turning pink. What is going on with me? So the door is open. So you're kind of good about yourself. You've asked your questions. You have your calculator. You have your book. You feel good. You're welcome. Right. But then it's like, who's coming through the door? And so the second the founder comes through the door and starts pitching, There's a clock that is counting down.

16:07The lights are on. Everybody's paying attention. They're scribbling notes in their notebook. And you know, because you can see the clock, but the founder can't, how much time you have to decide whether you want to make an offer or not. And here I am for the first couple of pitches. I'm just going to be super honest with you guys. I have been socialized to be polite. Same. Not talk over people's words. So I'm sitting there very polite, very demurely waiting for my opportunity to ask my questions. And that opportunity never came. Okay, this is a lesson. That opportunity came and went. This is the lesson.

16:41This is, I mean, the socialization, literally a lifetime of socialization had to go out the window in about two minutes. Okay. And all of a sudden I was like getting in there, cutting people off, getting aggressive. It was game on. I mean, Kevin O 'Leary, Mr. Wonderful, he called me greedy. I mean, that is a badge of honor. That is a badge of honor. So I felt good about that. So if anything, and we'll get into, now go back. That was a major detour. But I really think those principles. But it was really worth it because outside of everybody revealing my true obsession with the show, is that the lesson is there's going to be times that being demure and polite might not be in the best service of you.

17:25And you can't always wait for your turn. You can't. You have to ask for the time. You have to take it. You have to take up space. There are no points for etiquette in Shark Tank. And by the way, there's not much chivalry either. So just elbow your way on in there. And match the energy in the room. I think this is an important piece of information and it served me well with any interview or any sort of opportunity. It's like match that energy. And the energy in the room was real sharky, my friends. It was real sharky. Okay, that's a good lesson to match the energy because sometimes there's a lot of people listening and they are new to business, a lot of introverts.

18:04So they're more quiet. They walk in a room, they're probably their heads down, they're quiet. And we had Fawn Weaver on and her advice was you walk in that room like you have a crown on and you own that room no matter what. And I feel like you had to have some of that energy, but you knew that's what was needed in that room. Yes. I love that. I love that. It was so fun. And now we're at the point, which brings us to Amy's point. Now we'll get away from the reality TV component is let's focus on good pitches. The fact that you were in the opportunity, now you've been pitched before, but maybe perhaps not in this capacity under this timeline.

18:38And so what made a good pitch? What made a not good pitch? And then what were good pitches that just like, man, I wish, and it didn't work for a myriad of reasons? I think one of the most underappreciated qualities in a founder is the ability to tell a good story. You really have to paint a picture of the world you want to see, a vision that you have for that world, and then articulate it in a way that gets everybody on board. And an example of someone who did that really well, Kristen Dunning. She founded a company called Gently Soap, which I, spoiler alert, invested in. It's botanical bar soap.

19:10And she came on, and not only did she look the part, she was wearing this beautiful dress. that had flowers, applique all over it. But she had, you could just sense her passion. It was like infectious. And she told the story of having grown up and battled debilitating eczema. Like she was bullied mercilessly. She started crying during the pitch. And then not only that, but she had this deep expertise. She's a plant scientist. So during her college years, she spent a lot of time in greenhouses, cultivating these plants and basically turning the healing properties of these plants into soap in her dorm room.

19:47So she had turned this challenge of hers into an opportunity because she didn't want other people to have this clinical bar soap if they were suffering from sensitive skin. She wanted them to have a beautiful, aromatic, joyful bathing experience. And so I found her so captivating. The way she told this story, I just had to jump on board. So I think storytelling is a really important component and also confidence. Like, I know we all feel imposter syndrome from time to time, but you need to set that aside when you're walking on stage or you're pitching for, you know, the opportunity of your life.

20:22You need to come in strong. As you said before, with that crown on your head, like feeling good, no imposter syndrome allowed. Oh. So talk about, did anybody else? So the other thing I want to say about red flags in terms of a pitch is sometimes you'll ask a founder a question or you'll give them a little piece of criticism and they'll be defensive. So what they don't understand is when you're investing in a company, you're essentially becoming a partner. It's a partnership. It's like a marriage. You need to know that you can work with this person. So even though there's a lot of delusion that comes with being an entrepreneur, and that's a healthy delusion because why else would you leave a secure job and go start a company that is probably going to fail, right?

21:09That's the Lulu. But there has to be a certain amount of self-awareness so that if you are on a path and it's not working, then you can be honest with yourself and start to iterate or pivot on that plan. And as a partner in a company, I want to be able to say, this doesn't look like it's working and know that they're going to listen to me and have that self-awareness to understand that it's not working. So being coachable and not offensive. These are things that are really important. How important was it to you that someone knew their numbers? That's important to me, but it's not as important to me as some of the other sharks.

21:46How come? Well, because I think some people just know their numbers and other people don't. It doesn't necessarily mean you're not keeping an eye on your numbers. It doesn't necessarily mean you don't have someone really good focused on those numbers. You need to have, obviously, an understanding. But sometimes we get really detailed in the tank, and it's just a high pressure scenario. I would never ding someone for not knowing every single number. I love that. And so were there other people who wanted to invest in the same company that you did? Oh, yes. Mr. Wonderful did. Of course, he wanted to do one of his famous royalty deals.

22:20But she understood, based on the language I was speaking to her, that I understood her market. And I already knew a retailer I was going to get her into, 13 Loon, which is an incredible retailer for black and brown beauty founders. And she's an African-American founder. And we just, it was a little love match. That's incredible. That's incredible. Talk to us about a pitch. You don't need to necessarily name names, but that didn't work for anybody. Why didn't it work? Yeah. There was a woman who was really at the end of her rope with her food business. And every time we offered a suggestion, she would put up a wall.

22:55She would say no. And Mark said to her, I see a woman who's afraid to say yes. She had an excuse for everything. And as much as we loved her product, as much as we loved her and we just felt for her, she was at the end of her rope. She owed so much money. She was crying. I mean, our hearts are exploding, but it wasn't an investable opportunity for a lot of reasons, most of which, you know, she wasn't going to be a coachable founder. Do you think if she said, yes, I'm open to that. I'll do whatever it takes. Let's do it. people would have been more open to. Yes. Much more receptive. Wow. Okay. So the reason I, like for somebody who's listening and be like, I'm not really into shark tank.

23:33No problem. We're actually talking about the big takeaways here. Like the big high takeaways, you know, like I felt super interesting is like walk into the room and own your story. And then the second biggest takeaway was to not just take up space, but to, my mind just went blank. The second point. Own your story. Don't be defensive. Be coachable. Be coachable. Yeah. Be coachable. I have self-awareness. Self-awareness. I had them all here. I had them all here. I'm like, you're going to be didactic. We're going to get this podcast today. Okay. So I want people who are listening to say, if, and when I have the opportunity to pitch, I'm going to be taking these things and applying it to my business.

24:10And then I'm also going to be open for the feedback. Now, when we talk about there, there's a story about how you and your current co-founder, it was the complete opposite of a pitch. Like you pitched him, right? right danielle uditi our head chef okay because i also have a co-founder who is my husband because my husband and i work together so i wanted to be clear i'm so sorry yes so after sprinkles i was not actually looking to go jump right back into the food business but i was at a party this pizza was going around i took one bite of this pizza and i was like who made this pizza where is he how can i find him so i march on over to the pizza oven and this man the chef this magician danielle DT, who had immigrated from Naples, Italy, was making his pizza.

24:53We talked all night. We had the same ethos when it comes to food. He had this incredible story. He had come over from Naples,$200 in his pocket in his grandmother's sourdough starter. And he literally was just eking out a living making pizza on the west side of LA. But at one point was so down on his luck that he was living in a van on Venice Beach and showering with the surfers. Oh, my gosh. So I'm like all in. I love the pizza. I love the story. And he says, I've always wanted to have a restaurant and I couldn't help myself. I was like, we should do that together because I just could see it.