Start with a Spark - Virtue Alchemy Candle Co.
Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in candle-making but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Anna Romo, founder of Virtue Alchemy Candle Co., located in Chicago, IL, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Virtue Alchemy Candle Co is for multi-passionate artists, intuitive, and believers in magic and the power of transformation. Each hand-crafted soy wax candle is named after a Virtue like Endurance, Joyfulness, and Hope. The labels have hand-painted designs with colors that connect to a specific chakra plus a unique affirmation.
Tell us about yourself
I have a crazy resume. I've lived in Chicago, Colorado, Australia, Spain, and Hawaii and worked all kinds of wild jobs (picking mangos on a farm, rappel and hiking guide, bartender at a club in a cave...), but the most recent was as a massage therapist. When the pandemic hit, I lost my job overnight-- it was one of the most stressful and powerless moments of my life. Normally I would just go pick up a serving gig or take private massage clients in their homes, but I couldn't do that. So, as I was trying to make a virtual self-care business take off and started online yoga teacher training to deepen my own practice, I would keep my spirits up by setting up a calming space with candles, my singing bowls, and meditating on Virtues like Endurance, Patience, Joyfulness, Gratitude...and more.
Eventually, I felt like I should try making my own candles instead of burning them all the time. I knew that if I were going to make this a business, I wanted to help my customers transform their lives through mindfulness practice that incorporates their senses and balances their chakras. For the first candles I made, I actually didn't like the fragrance I ordered, so I gave my first candles away to friends. They LOVED them, and suddenly I had a new way to help others fill their space with positivity and encourage self-care and transformation through easy-to-do mindfulness practices.
I am motivated every day by the desire to make the world a better place by starting with each person who enjoys my candles. Virtues are the seeds that we plant in the garden of our hearts, and when we practice mindfulness, we nurture them to blossom and grow--beautifying our lives and the lives of those around us. The alchemy, then, is transforming our inner world so that our actions transform the world around us.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment as a business owner has been sticking with this pandemic pivot and being interviewed online and in print, and opening my own store where I'll sell my candles, host candle-making classes, as well as yoga, meditation, sound baths, and other creative workshops!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things that come with being a business owner is managing stress. It gets super overwhelming, and I've recently been diagnosed with severe ADHD, which doesn't help with prioritizing tasks, time management, organization -- all the things that a successful business owner needs!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Do what makes you happy! The money will follow, I swear. Your customers are buying your products because of YOU-- your personality, love for what you're doing, and joy will be a magnet for your customers. Trust me!!
- Ask for help!!!!!!!!! You will probably want to wait till you have a certain amount of money before asking for help, but when you hit that amount, you're gonna be like, "well, I could save a little more." If you don't have money, then barter. Offer your products as a trade, cook for friends or family, and babysit for others to pay them back for their time. The more help you get on tasks that are repetitive and easy to do, the more your time is freed up to do the things that will grow your business.
- Hire a coach. I've hired coaches, I've bartered with coaches, I've been a coach. Someone who's been where you want to go and can give you the shortcuts is worth their weight in gold! Again-- it can be scary, but if you're serious about your business, then you can't be scared of money. My husband always says, "scared money don't make money,"-- and so, without going into debt or causing financial distress, make investments that might feel uncomfortable but will help you get ahead in both personal and business development.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
The learning never ends!! As soon as you feel like you've got a good flow and know what you're doing, a new level will unlock that will be full of new challenges, rewards, and opportunities to grow. And even if you're in a saturated market (like me! soy wax candles), remember that YOU are the secret ingredient!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://virtuealchemycandleco.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VirtueAlchemyCandle/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virtue.alchemycandleco/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.