Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Carmen King . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Carmen , thanks for joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
I am extremely happy has a business owner, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I wonder about the corporate life. I often have this thought when I need to communicate with vendors or team members that are on different time zones.
To paint the picture, I typically have to stay up and communicate between the hours of 11:00 PM – 4:00AM my time. At this time I’m typically exhausted but still need to make important decisions with a clear head.
I find myself wondering what it use to feel like to clock in and clock out. I use to completely forget about work when I clocked out. I basically quit my corporate job mentally every time I clocked out.
Now as a business owner you don’t really have hours. You create your own hours and that is a positive & negative.
You have to become dedicated to your mental health and schedule days off and become strict with yourself on when you ” clock out”
I personally utilize the focus mode on my iPhone. Most business owners work from their phone. Set a daily focus mode ” DND’ where your business notifications can not get through until the next day,
I promise you, it can wait! Your self care & mental heath is more important. I find I am more productive when I take time for myself.
Carmen , 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?
Carmen created Black Light Candles in July 2020 in the midst of the global pandemic. I created Black Light Candles to reintroduce self care. During this difficult time, self care was the lat thing on anyone’s mind. Including myself.
Black Light Candles believes self care starts with an amazing candle. We offer 100% soy wooden wick candles & all things needed to elevate the scent of your space.
Black Light Candles also offers candle making supplies at an affordable price for other candle makers.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I had to unlearn is I can do everything myself. Don’t get me wrong I can do anything I put my mind to, however in business it is crucial to build a team.
As a business owner you wear many hats. You can not give every category your undivided attention. You should focus on being the brains of the business & scaling the business.
I grew up taking care of myself and always making things happen for myself. It taught me to be resilient and mastering every trade. This mind set help me start my business and unlearning it has helped me scale my business.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
When I first started my business I saved up $500 and used the things that I already have available to me. I started with 3-5 candle scents & a printer I had from college.
I started my business on a trail period with Shopify and just went for it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://blacklightcandle.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blacklight_candles/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064000958797