The Creation of Braveheart Beard Oil
Conception
As our new website is being constructed, I thought it might be a good idea to have a blog explaining who we are and what we are all about. We wanted a place for beard enthusiasts such as yourself to openly discuss our informational blogs with us, which will cover a range of topics about the health and care of our beards. We’ll also be listening to your requests for topics, so feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments. The water’s warm and welcoming, so let’s dive in!
Sometimes, to understand a business it is best to just begin at its beginning. Braveheart Beard Oil began when the gentleman who was producing my beard oil I was using decided not to make it any longer. Before Braveheart Beard Oil was even an idea, I was (and still am!) a real-bearded Santa. The care and maintenance of my beard is paramount to achieving the persona of the best Santa that I can be. My beard during the holiday season can take quite a bit of punishment. This means it must be as healthy and strong as is possible, hence the need for beard oil. When I was faced with no more supply of oil, I asked my friend Matt “What should I do?”. He replied that he would show me how to make my own. He introduced me to the concepts behind the creation and guided me on what carrier oils, essential oils, bottle sizes and colors, plus dozens of other solutions and where to get them.
Thank goodness for the internet and Google search. I fumbled my way along, purchased some supplies on Amazon, and began experimenting. Over the next several months, after many tries and failures, I had several scents that I was happy with and that I could wear daily. I analyzed ingredients to determine the best combinations for the job I wanted to do. I made small batch after small batch until I found what I was looking for. During this quest, my son-in-law, Ron, had been observing what I was doing with interest. When I thought I had finally figured out what I wanted in beard oil, we discussed the possibility that other people might enjoy our scents and would purchase them. Thus began the talks that led to forming a company.
Birth
We had no idea what to call this fledgling business, so I went back to the internet and Googled “famous quotes about beards”. On that first page was a quote attributed to William Wallace, also known as Braveheart, that said “We will meet our enemies on the field of battle, beard to beard”. When I read this I immediately knew our name must be Braveheart Beard Oil. This name would honor William Wallace, the hero of Scotland, and a person I had always heard was in my family lineage. This seemed to be a natural and to my great delight the domain name was available. We had a name! We decided to keep the theme consistent throughout any products we developed, so all of our scents are named something Knights in reference to the Knighting of William Wallace. After several months of trial and error, web design, and all the mechanics of starting a business, we were finally ready to sell our products.
The Present
We decided it was time to take our product to the people so we decided to become a vendor at the local Elks lodge car show. After an inauspicious beginning we realized something very important: other vendors knew what was going on and were only too glad to help. Through talking to others, we found out about venues for selling and made contacts to continue our business. This led to an endless procession of car shows, chili cookoffs, and bar-b-que competitions, where our products were well received. Customers also offered suggestions for improvement and were very helpful and receptive to our story.
We quickly realized that in order to grow, we must be responsive to the needs of our customers. This has led to the creation of numerous products, additional scents, and completely different product lines that we had ever imagined. It has also led to repeat customers and the need for constant research. The more we learn about the care, maintenance, and health of our beards, the more we understand how much more there still is to learn.
We are growing and evolving into the kind of company we envisioned at the beginning. Practicing being helpful, responsive, and concerned about the wellbeing of our customers has led us in directions we never would have thought of just two years ago. Join us on that journey as we see where it takes us, and a very warm thank you to those who are already with us.