We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful TiChari Dillon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with TiChari below.

TiChari, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Back in 2022, I was working at a warehouse and was selling food. I been having a desire to become an entrepreneur because I rather be my own boss than to listen to someone else’s commands for 8-10 hours. Selling food was cool but it wasn’t consistent, so I did some research on what other hobbies I should look into that I can turn it into a business. After that I came across “candle making business”, which is rare to see candle making companies. Especially black owned candle businesses in Indianapolis. So I decided to take a leap and try making candles. It definitely took about a good 2-3 weeks to understand the behaviors of candles and what wax to use. After I understood the concept, I officially started my business on 10/25/22 and I decided to attend my first vendor event at the Indiana state fairgrounds in January 2023. Had a few feedbacks of what I would’ve did and what not and took them into consideration. Revised my logo, changed the design, added new scents that’s strong and environmentally friendly had helped bring Sweet T’s Candles to life. 2024 was a great year as my spring, summer, and fall scents had been an all time hit! Every event I attend to now I be close to selling out on all my candles and wax melts.
I knew this will work once I had received feedback from customers at my first event I attended and revised my brand. Sometimes all you really need is a rebrand. Being a candle maker that makes soy wax candles in Indianapolis helps bring people that wants better air quality in their homes with the same scents that can fulfill the room. One thing I do tend to struggle with is being an introvert as I am an entrepreneur. Many people will tell me, “you’re an introvert? You don’t look like it based on how you approach at events.” Trust me, I am an introvert. It’s like I’m Hannah Montana from my chill, introvert life to my business owner life outside. I love being a candle maker and creating scents for my customers! It heals a part of me that I’m educating people to be more aware of the difference of paraffin wax and soy wax and explaining the importance of such. I love what I do outside of my regular job, and one day I’ll have my own store dedicated to making it big like Bath and Body Works.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is TiChari a.k.a Sweet T. Everyone calls me “The Candle Plug” in Indianapolis so that’s another known nickname I live by. I make soy wax candles and soy wax melts. Been in the game for 2 years and counting. Making soy wax candles is beneficial for our health, especially for people that have asthma/sinusitis issues. Unlike paraffin wax candles, soy wax candles have a slow burn, improves air quality in the area, and hypoallergenic.
What made me become an entrepreneur is the fact I didn’t want to be at a 9-5 job and it’s barely helping me expand my horizons and get to know who I am. I also don’t want to be a person to follow commands and do the work while the CEO can just relax at home barely lifting a finger to work anymore. I want to do the work and also be a CEO of my own creations.
I’m mainly proud of how much I flourished within this brand and how I merged my name with my business. Especially taking a big step towards hosting events last year. At the beginning, I was barely selling any candles. Nowadays, I will only have 6-10 candles left after having 100 candles made for an event. To add on, I also networked with a lot of people that would love to collaborate with me as well. It makes me feel welcomed and appreciated.
Recently, I had gotten a promotion to be an Event Coordinator for World’s Famous Hotboys in Fountain Square. Also a member of StackOverShine (thanks Keanu) so be expecting to see my face a bit more with events happening outside! Many had attended at my block party at World’s Famous Hotboys so I’ll be running that back again in Late May 2025! This summer is going to be a great one.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I primarily use Shopify as my source for selling my products online. It helps me stay organize and have my website all in one so I won’t feel cluttered. Rarely have any issues and shipping out my products has been a breeze. Had shipped out over 10 states so far!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I rarely share this story to anyone so y’all will be the first to hear this. I had my car accident in December 2023, right before New Year’s Eve. It was pretty bad, car got totaled, went to the hospital. Walked with no stitches but a lot of sprains on my spinal cord and shoulder blade. Then my doctor had noticed I had gotten a concussion and damaged in my right eye. I had to go through physical therapy for about 2 months. I was so afraid to drive for a good year because of how reckless people drive sometimes and being around rush hour increases my anxiety. Don’t get me wrong I still went out to events and all but I was so scared to even get in my car. After my accident and healed, my job I was currently working at laid off a lot of people. After that, I was struggling to get a job. Rejection after rejection, I wanted to give up so bad. Finally got a job as a pharmacy technician as I was finishing up my certification in school. It wasn’t enough to pay all of my bills but it was enough for me to get back on my feet slowly. Then I moved onto another job since working at a hospital was too stressful for me. Then that job wasn’t helping since it was too far and it was like gas was another bill. So I had gotten another pharmacy job but they had wrongfully terminated me because the team lead did not like how quiet I was. So as I went back to being a laboratory technician, it helps me realize how resilient I can be. There was so many times I wanted to give up on my candle business because of what I had went through from my car accident to losing jobs left to right. But all it takes and is one step at a time. Sometimes I just take a deep breather and reset. Step out for a bit to live a little. It brings out your creativity. Don’t forget to live your life. Once I think on some things to switch up and add on, that’s when I get back into that mode.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Sweettcandles.com
• Instagram: @sweetttcandles
• Facebook: Sweet T’s Candles
• Youtube: Life of Sweet T (@lifeofsweett)

Image Credits

Photo credit: @saycheezyvisuals on Instagram