We were lucky to catch up with Carrie Wilkerson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Carrie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Sessionz was birthed during a transitional period in my life where I learned to appreciate being “in the moment’. Sessionz is the most simple form of therapy. It’s the peace you need after a long day. Each candle is created to fit a different mood or situation, whenever you need it. When I say it’s lit over here, I really mean it!!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Carrie, I’m a creative and I like to find simple ways to introduce luxurious experiences into my life without breaking the bank. I started Sessionz Candles in the midst of a rough period in my life when I needed to find and hold on to some good moments. Each scent I create fits a very specific mood or situation that many others can relate to as well. My candles not only smell good, they make you feel good and they’re made with non-toxic ingredients. Once I decided to share my candles with the world it was important for me to not only provide high quality products, but to make sure they would stand apart from the others in my market. Our candles are made with a soy-coconut blend wax, chemical free fragrance oils/essential oils and wooden wicks. Having responsibly sourced materials as the base of my products is what I am most proud to share with current and potential customers. They are also made by hand, in very small batches to minimize the risk of errors and to ensure that each candle has the same amount of love and attention. “Hand-poured with love” is more than a catchy slogan, it’s what I live by. I have to set the mood before every session and for the past 4 years, that has been the determining factor in getting the perfect candle each time. Once you try my candles, I promise you’ll fall in love!

Have you ever had to pivot?

At the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, like many other business owners, I was practically forced into full time entrepreneurship and I was nowhere near ready. I made it work for a few months, but I had to go back to finding a 9-5 to be able to maintain household bills and keep my business running. Although I am passionate about candles and running my business full time is a dream, I know that I’m not at all prepared for that stage of entrepreneurship right now and I probably won’t be for another few years, which is fine with me. I’m enjoying the process and learning as much as I can along the way. A piece of advice that I give to anyone running a business or chasing a dream while working a 9-5 is to let that job fund your dream and take your time easing away from it. Most people say to save 6 months of emergency funds before quitting, I say save 12-24 months because entrepreneurship is tricky and we have slow months. Learn your industry and business intimately before making a move like that.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

I do manufacture my own products. I learned along the way. If you’ve followed my journey, you’ve seen the different phases of jars, labels, wicks, etc. I had to literally teach myself every part of the process. I knew when I started that I did not want to just buy candles from another business and put my own label on them, I wanted to handpick the scents, wax, jars and everything in between. I have some of the most unique scent combinations that you will ever find because I find the vendors and do the work behind the scenes to find what works and what doesn’t. The number one lesson I’ve learned is to do your research and test your products!! I take 2-3 weeks to test a scent before I even post about it on social media because I won’t sell a product that I’m not sure about. If you’re looking to start any business, research the industry and test as much as possible. The first impression to your customers is the only one that matters!

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.shopSessionz.com
• Instagram: Www.instagram.com/sessionzcandles
• Twitter: Www.twitter.com/sessionzcandles