How a Fargo entrepreneur turned scents into dollars.
Meet Debbi Osowski, founder and owner of do good adventures. Prior to making blissful and cozy scents, Debbi was a high school counselor; helping kids has always been something she has been passionate about. “I wanted to be a school counselor for as long as I can remember,” she said. “Middle school and high school are not easy years for most kids—they can be stressful, confusing, and lonely years. I know they were for me and I just remember wishing I had someone that I could talk to and trust.”
The journey of becoming a well-established candle business happened almost by chance. When her daughter Abby was getting married, Debbi decided to make candles as party favors. She never had the intention of starting a business; it was only a hobby. Yet things began to fall into place organically when people started requesting more candles, and the demand grew. “People in general love candles—they create a positive, uplifting atmosphere,” she said. It was an Aha! moment for Debbi. “That was the moment I realized this could be something more than a hobby, which led me to learn more about running and marketing a business.”
Curious about which scent is right for you?
do good adventures developed a “What candle scent are you?” quiz on their website. The quiz was developed to help customers identify which scent category they prefer: fresh & clean, sweet & spicy, woody & earthy, or floral.
The mother-daughter dynamic
When Debbi’s candle business began to grow, she needed more hands on deck to help meet the demand. Luckily, her daughter Abby showed interest in helping out in the business part-time. As an elementary music teacher, Abby had summers off, and it was the perfect opportunity to invest in what later became a shared passion between the two of them. As the business continued to move forward, Debbi knew she was going to need even more help. Abby expressed more and more interest in various parts of the business, and eventually, Abby joined the business full-time summer of 2022.
“Abby brings so much to the business from her creativeness, organization, and perspective of a younger consumer,” Debbi said. “She really helps keep me in check and on track. I had always considered myself to be organized, but running a business is so different from anything else I had done [before]. It is overwhelming at times, so having her around to process and help keep things on track is so valuable.”
Abby helps manage the quality-control piece of the business, which is one of the hardest aspects to maintain when businesses grow, and is often a factor why so many businesses struggle as they expand—yet the mother-daughter duo of do good adventures really pride themselves in quality, customer service, and being around for the long run. Business logistics aside, as an educator, Abby shares a lot of the same ideas and beliefs about mental health as Debbi and loves that do good adventures was a way to share something positive with the world.
Giving back to the community
“I knew from the beginning that I wanted do good adventures to be a give-back business,” Debbi said. As word spread, more and more organizations were approaching Debbi and Abby for donations. This led them to determine more about their values and mission as a company and identify where they wanted the donations to go. Having these opportunities to give back was sort of a “coming full circle ” moment for them since their passion from the very beginning has been to invest in the lives of teens and children through mental health awareness, suicide prevention, and building self-esteem.
More recently, do good adventures has updated its business model so that $2 from the sale of each full-price retail candle is donated, which allows them to still run the business effectively and be more transparent about their donations. Additionally, they also donate products, gift certificates, and private classes. do good adventures have given back to organizations such as BIOgirls, NAMI, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and more.
“We have said from the beginning that we want to be more than a candle company,” Debbi said. “We want to provide not only a product but content and messaging that is positive and uplifting as well.” do good adventures sends out a weekly “Sunday, Rest” email to its subscribers, which isn’t necessarily about selling candles. “It’s about some personal growth or self-care topic that has been on our minds or that we are focusing on and we want to share that journey with others. We also want people to feel good about buying a candle from us knowing that lighting the candle not only elevates their day but a portion was donated to elevate the day of someone else.”
Debbi’s Four Handpicked Scents for this Fall
Black Sea — “This candle is in our Signature Black Collection and our annual overall bestselling candle. It has a woody and earthy scent but has hints of sweetness from plum that makes it unique and intriguing.”
Check out their website or Fargo studio today!
“We have a small retail area in our studio at 5256 50th Avenue S, Suite A. We post our hours on our website and on our social media stories daily. We are also available by appointment by emailing [email protected]“
Website | dogood-adventures.com
Instagram | @dogood_adventures
Facebook | /dogoodadventures
