The Tedious Side of Small Business

www.westroadcandles.com

I have always loved the creative arena of small business.  Here's a spot where your personal drive and ambition are the key components to success.  The harder you work, the more successful you are and vice versa.  In my small business I'm the boss, the bookkeeper, the creative product developer, the customer service representative, and the grunt.  That's right, it's a company comprised of me, myself and I.  So when a big order comes in I don't have the luxury of delegating authority, I have to just roll up my sleeves and get to it.

Right now I am in the midst of wrapping up an order for a popular wedding website.  I'm taking a break from it for a moment to eat a little lunch and write a blog about it.  They offer my small soy candles to their customers to use as wedding favors.  What most of their customers probably do not realize, is that each candle is hand-poured by me instead of mass produced in China by a machine.  At some point I should go back and do some calculations to see just how many of these candles I've made for them over our 6 year relationship.  This particular order is for 2448 candles.  To make 2448 candles by hand, I have to lay out the containers, place wicks, pour the wax, let the wax cool, clip the wicks, add the lid & warning label, and put them in bubble wrap and boxes.  It takes an average of 10 minutes for each set of 24 candles, which means this order should take me approximately 17 hours from start to finish.  The creation of these candles is without a doubt the most tedious task I complete for my business.  Just before I took the break to eat something and write this post, I seriously started thinking I might cry if I see another one of those little candles.  And one year around Thanksgiving, when this company ordered 9600, I thought I was just going to fall over from either exhaustion or boredom.

So why why why do I keep going?  Why not find something else to concoct that I love to make which actively using my brain and isn't such a huge stress creator?  Because this one particular company has supported my entire business ever since I formed a relationship with them.  These tiny, seemingly insignificant, wedding favors have funded my website hosting, shelves of supplies, and allowed me to branch out into other creative endeavors like last year when I began researching and formulating pedicure products.  These tiny little candles, that make me groan for three days straight, have allowed me the ability to stay home with my boys and move cross country with my husband when the military required it.  So can I really complain too much?

I have always felt a very strong connection to anyone else who shared the entrepreneurial spirit and anyone out there who wants to start their own business I think should go for it!!  But just remember, no matter what business you are in, if you're going to be successful then you will most likely have some sort of "tiny candle" that drives you crazy yet keeps you going.