When you step into the Ranger Station Fragrance house storefront on 12th Ave. South, Belmont alumnus Steve Soderholm may greet you and excitedly tell you about the latest scent he developed – one called “Jordan’s Perfume.”
It’s a special blend he designed for his wife Jordan Soderholm, a fellow Belmont alumna. Jordan now co-owns the company, which specializes in luxury candles and perfumes that help people create and remember memories in their lives.
The duo crossed paths at Belmont but didn’t end up dating and marrying until a couple years after graduation. Their time at Belmont was spent individually honing their unique skillsets and fostering connections that would later serve them on their entrepreneurship journey.
“We always say we are where we are now because of the relationships we made while we were at Belmont,” said Steve.
From Music Studio to Candle Studio
Steve’s trajectory into making candles was unplanned. A 2012 music business graduate, he came to Belmont to pursue his music career. As a full-time musician, Steve was “living the dream and loving it” after he graduated. However, on breaks from tour, the drummer sought creative outlets like woodworking, mixology or anything that would keep his hands busy while he was home for long stretches of time.
“I’d have friends over to the house and would make them cocktails, but I’d also always be burning candles,” Steve explained. “Essentially it got to the point where I needed something to do and making my own candles seemed like a creative outlet.”
He started experimenting on the stovetop and made his first candles using the extra whiskey glasses he had on hand from his new mixology hobby. He eventually graduated from the stovetop to the garage, then from the garage to a small studio.
As he and Jordan planned their wedding, Steve began looking for a new career path. Wanting to be home more than touring as a full-time musician would allow, he dove headfirst into learning all he could about fragrance through trial and error.
Then, eight years ago, Ranger Station was born.
Today, Ranger Station candles are poured into whiskey glasses, and each one comes with a coordinating cocktail recipe as a nod to its humble beginnings.
Partners in Business and in Marriage
Jordan, a 2012 marketing grad, knew from the minute she started college that she wanted to go into fashion. The city of Nashville was a draw for her, but the people and the charm of the Belmont campus sealed the deal.
Jordan told her business professors about her dream to pursue fashion and they worked diligently to connect her with the right people. They introduced her to the founder of the nonprofit company ABLE, where she worked as the first intern and full-time employee for 10 years, gaining invaluable experience in the world of small business growth.
When Steve first started Ranger Station, Jordan was there to share her expertise. She helped him build the company’s website and managed the project for the company’s logo and branding components. Though she worked with Steve from its inception, Jordan officially joined the Ranger Station team three years ago.
Belmont Foundation
Both Jordan and Steve agreed that the type of people Belmont attracted made it easy for them to find lasting community.
Steve explained, “Belmont is different than other schools in that, instead of going simply to check a box and get a degree, many students arrive with a passion, a drive and a specific dream they are chasing, even outside of traditional lanes. Jordan came for fashion, and I came for music, and we were around a lot of other like-minded people.”
Additionally, they said neither felt like just another person walking through the halls. They felt known – by their peers and their professors. “The level of care, thought and attention that we got from our professors definitely got us where we are now,” Jordan said.
Professor of Finance Dr. John Gonas, Professor of Economics Dr. Marieta Velikova, Theology Professor Dr. Steven Reed and Jocelyn Gutekunst, former recruiting coordinator for the College of Business are all faculty and staff who played integral roles in both of Steve and Jordan’s lives.
Dr. John Gonas got Jordan her first job and continuously put her in situations to advance her career – including winning the Enactus world championship from her presentation on her work at ABLE. Gutekunst connected her with female mentors in the city that aligned with her beliefs and career goals – leading to the opportunity to be a part of the group who founded Nashville Fashion Week.
Steve laughed and said he based all his business electives on whatever Gonas or Velikova happened to be teaching that semester because he loved them so much.
“At Belmont, we were given the tools to build a business but were also pushed beyond that to think about the impact we were making. Social entrepreneurship had just been introduced as a major, and it really started that conversation of thinking beyond yourself to how your business can impact others, even on a global scale,” Jordan said.
Working for a nonprofit turned for-profit, was a major pivot from the career path Jordan thought she would follow in fashion, but she “learned so much more and it impacted her life in such incredible ways.” She said because she was doing something bigger than herself, her view of purpose and how to approach business shifted.
That same teaching the couple learned at Belmont is woven into everything Ranger Station has done.
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Deepening Brand Relationships
With its cult-like following, Ranger Station recently launched a program called “Features” where the brand works with artists and musicians to do a custom fragrance that goes along with their album or song.
Steve explained, “We tell their story through that fragrance, and it’s a really fun way for fans to interact with their favorite artists. Fragrance and everything we do at Ranger Station is all about experience and creating experiences for people.”
Steve hopes they can work with some of their Belmont friends who are doing cool things in the music world, of which there are many. A band that came to the store recently told the couple that many of their songs were written with a Ranger Station candle burning, or that one of their candles helped them overcome writer’s block.
“Fragrance does have this true power over our life experiences, and I just get so much joy from watching the brand grow to impact more people in that way,” Steve said.
Full Circle
“Standing here today feels really full circle,” Jordan added. “Our new store on 12th Ave. South is special because it’s a part of what already felt like our neighborhood. We say we have spent the second half our lives ‘growing up’ here. It’s so cool to come back and bring a business here that we care so much about.”
That homey feel of Nashville they gained while at Belmont has stuck with them.
“Belmont made Nashville small. And it’s kept it small even through the growth. The new people we meet are often because of the connections we have from a decade ago. And those people are what has kept us here.”
A Minnesota native, Steve said he’d tell people back home he was a musician, and they’d respond, “yeah but what’s your real job?” In Nashville, it’s never questioned.
“With Ranger Station, it was more of the same but in a really cool way because in this city you are just surrounded by creative and gutsy people,” Steve explained. “I never questioned whether I should or shouldn’t go for it because I had so much support. I know Ranger Station would have never become a reality if I wasn’t here in Nashville and surrounded by this community.”