We were lucky to catch up with Ashley Blackmore recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job?

The most important lesson that I have learned in past jobs that has helped me as a business owner has been organization and time management. As a social worker, we wear many different hats for our clients, but also the organization we work for. Sometimes we have to be a coordinator, strategist, resource provider, or therapist and that takes time management and organization. In my business, Candle Talk, I am a solopreneur. That means I wear all the hats and I am by myself. I have been able to use and even sharpen my skillset of organization and time management to make the candles, the content, and logistic planning- just to name a few. I am learning about myself that I need a plan and time to complete tasks to keep a peaceful mind. Having many performance plans put in place by past supervisors has developed me where I can take on tasks for my business while juggling a full time job and other areas in my life that I value. It is actually motivation to invest more into my business because balancing and time management is hard work so I’d like to know that I’m using my time to progress my business and vision further.

Ashley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi, I’m Ashley and I am Licensed Master Social Worker. I am a Housing Programs Coordinator, Therapist, and Candle Maker. I started a candle business in 2020 named Candle Talk. I hand-pour aromatherapy candles to promote self care and wellness. Each candle has at least one essential oil to promote mental health and my messaging throughout my business speaks to the importance of living in and sharing your truth. I believe we all have the right to heal and take care of ourselves in a way that is healthy and specific to you. I am survivor of childhood sexual violence and now that I am a mental health professional, I understand both sides of the conversation of mental health, specifically that our mental health is part of our health and it matters enough to be addressed. As a Black woman, I have witnessed and experienced the gap in accessible care and resources for someone who looks like me or does not know much about how to address and manage concerns from trauma to everyday life stress. Making candles started out as a healthy hobby to help me cope from a bad breakup and a fresh move to a new city, but I quickly saw how I could fuse my creative interests with my passion in mental health. While my main product is a candle, I am beginning to expand the conversation and my business to wellness in general. I believe in holistic care and want to assist people in finding a plan for their wellness that works for them, focusing on self care routines. The social worker in me enjoys teaching and advocacy so sharing wellness tips or mental health educational graphics is another way I contribute to bringing awareness and safety to those who may not have thought a lot about how they feel mentally or emotionally, or don’t know where to start. I am most proud of the community I am building and that others receive what I am offering, whether it’s a candle or a meaningful conversation. What sets me apart is that I am walking in the statement “We are all different people.” There are so many other great candle or wellness companies, but I find confidence in knowing I set myself apart by being myself. Each candle name and scent blend were intentional choices based off my personal experiences and cultural background. Feedback I receive is that people can tell that I am genuinely passionate about the work I do-whether I am with a therapy client or am selling candles at events.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson I had to unlearn was that I can’t move. Literally and figuratively. Due to trauma and generational miscommunication, I developed a rigidity that can stunt my growth sometimes. I can become very fixed in my plans or ideas, and when the time comes that I may need to be flexible, it’s hard for me to pivot. I already began learning that I can change my mind or that flexibility is essential when I started intentionally healing, but it became a quicker need for me to unlearn as business comes with a lot of twists and turns. As a solopreneur who didn’t come from a line of family businesses, I have to be comfortable in the discomfort that comes with managing a business. I try to approach everything: new candles, new therapy clients, seasonal ideas, etc, with the idea that at the very least, it was practice for what’s to come and I celebrate the small win of me getting outside my comfort zone.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

I use Shopify as my main platform. I really like it and mostly enjoy the easy templates and additional apps you can install for features like text marketing or apparel vending. I like that the app can be on my phone and I have access to my store 24/7. I am relatively tech savvy but would not have been able to code a site from scratch nor afford to hire anyone so I like Shopify’s user friendly features. I would say it can be hard to have consistent engagement with the platform as I still have to use other platforms for email marketing or funneling customers. That could be a “me” thing since I have a full time job unrelated to my ecommerce site which limits some of my time, but it’d be nice to have more integration features that are maybe included in the templates.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.candletalk.shop
• Instagram: candletalk.shop
• Facebook: Candle Talk
• Linkedin: Ashley Blackmore

Image Credits

Serendipity Social