Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in candle-making but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Mandy Prall, owner of Ambrosia Flame Candles, located in Madison, WI, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Ambrosia Flame Candles is a small, female-owned Wisconsin company that hand-pours each soy candle in small batches. We are passionate about creating clean candles that look beautiful and smell amazing, which is why we only use ingredients that we trust. Our candles are clean-burning and non-toxic, made with 100% USA-grown soy wax, clean fragrance oils, essential oils, and natural materials. We handcraft safe, high-quality soy candles in many captivating and unique scents that we are proud to have in our homes, as well as yours.

Tell us about yourself

I have always loved candles and the way that they change the atmosphere of a home and fill the air with beautiful scents. While trying to live more naturally and eliminate unnecessary chemicals from my life and home, I discovered that many of my favorite candles contain harmful chemicals that emit toxic fumes while burning. While searching for a natural, healthy candle, I struggled to find one that both smelled amazing and was clean-burning, so I decided to begin making my own.

Once I had perfected candles that were non-toxic, looked beautiful, and smelled amazing, I started giving them as gifts to friends and family. After many compliments and suggestions to sell them, I started Ambrosia Flame Candles so that others can enjoy my non-toxic natural soy candles too.

Scents can affect mood and stress levels, which is appealing to me. I love that I am creating a product that can positively impact my customers and help them to relax in a healthy way. Endlessly hearing that Ambrosia Flame Candles are the best candles my customers have ever smelled keeps me motivated to work hard every day and continue to create more candles they will love.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I'd say that my biggest accomplishment as a business owner so far was when a very popular company here in Wisconsin contacted me to say they would like to sell my candles in their store. When Nueske’s Schoolhouse Market contacted me about doing business with me, I was shocked and extremely excited!

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

For me, the hardest part of being a business owner of a newer company is trying to juggle every aspect of running a business alone. As a one-woman company, I wear many hats. I make the candles, run my website, do the finances, advertise, etc., all on my own. It can be very overwhelming at times. My success so far assures me that someday I will be able to hire employees, but for now, I just hold on to the love for what I do.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Make sure that you are passionate about your business. If you are starting a company just so that you can become rich, you may not be successful when times get tough. I started my company during a pandemic, and it was very discouraging at times, but I am very passionate about Ambrosia Flame Candles, and that has helped push me forward through the hard times.
  2. Social media is your best friend for advertising. Having a social media presence is very important. I’m not talking about paid ads; I mean, just having a business page for all social media platforms and posting on them consistently makes your business more reputable. When I first started my business, this was how I obtained all of my initial customers. By creating business pages and sharing them with friends and family, who spread the word, I was able to advertise for free.
  3. Have a quality website. What do we do when we want to learn more about a product or service? We Google it. Having a website that is unattractive, difficult to navigate, or not having a website at all can lose you potential customers or clients. Look at your top competitors' websites and study what they are doing well, what they can improve on, and learn from them. There is nothing more unappealing than going to a one-page website with little information.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Being a small-business owner is difficult, but doing something that you love and being able to share it with the world makes it very rewarding.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.ambrosiaflamecandles.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmbrosiaFlameCandles/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Ambrosiaflamecandles/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/flameambrosia
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ambrosiaflamecandles/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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