It’s Never Too Early to Take Advantage of Our Programs

Candle making is a soothing activity that can help you relax quickly and naturally. Once you’re finished, lighting a scented candle with relaxing fragrances can also be an excellent way to unwind.  

Each year we host Vision. Goals. Action. (VGA) Launch!, a Shark Tank style business pitch competition where our homeowners pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges, who are typically community volunteers, and are able to compete for cash to fund their small business.

Our grand prize winner used candles to relax and started a business to build wealth.

During the initial Covid-19 lockdown, My Money, My Future participant Zhonvieve recalls experiencing high levels of anxiety. A friend suggested candle making because of the relaxing benefits, along with the low cost to obtain the supplies.  

As the duo did more research and eventually made their first batch, Zhonvieve began to fall in love with the craft.

“I’m like, ‘I’m never purchasing candles again!’” Zhonvieve expressed. “It just grew. I started doing vendor events and just the response that I was getting back pushed me more and more.”

The candle maker quickly discovered that she enjoyed the experimentation element of the craft and often used family and friends as her “testers.” Without realizing, this was the birth of Eleven45 Candle Co.

Zhonvieve would bring her candles into her job and her coworkers were excited to purchase them, often selling out before she coule make it from the front door to her desk. The encouraging feedback was enough to inspire Zhonvieve to try out a vendor event all the while improving and diversifying her inventory.  

“I consider myself a candle maker,” Zhonvieve stated. “I love making any type of candle. I make paper candles, standalone candles, candles for movie sets, candles for weddings, and candles inside of candles.”

After each vendor event, the candle maker would do inventory on what sold the quickest and what stayed in stock. Whether she was testing her wicks for burn rate, trying new fragrances, or testing out different waxes, Zhonvieve, was always thinking about how to improve her craft.  

She began to carve out her more popular scents and scrap the ones that were not.

Before entering the  Vision. Goals. Action. Launch! Competition, Zhonvieve had ironed out all of the hiccups in the candle making process, but she was not a businesswoman yet.  

“I can make a mean candle, but as far as the business side, I was like, ‘What is the ratio? What is this? How much does it cost to make a candle?’” Zhonvieve said. “After being in the program, it taught me to really sit down and do inventory, sit down to see how much it costs to make one candle.”

Since the program, Zhonvieve said she not only gained tips and tools to maintain her finances but also a network of entrepreneurs and mentors who she can lean on for support as her business grows.  

After seeing how candle making has uplifted her life, Zhonvieve has been committed to giving back. She hopes to hold handle making classes in the community for anyone in need of a new hobby.  

“I want to give back,” she said. “It’s a good hobby to have and is nurturing and very therapeutic.”