We recently connected with Charlene Clifford and have shared our conversation below.

Charlene, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with 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?

Before owning my business, I had a corporate full time job at a fortune 500 company. I actually loved my job. I didn’t start a business with hopes to leave it or to pursue the business full time. However, when things took off for me before my second son was born and I realized I had the opportunity to stay home and run my business, I knew it was the right thing to do. I will admit though, I have had moments where I think about what types of stress would be eliminated if I worked for a company again. The sole responsibility for decision-making, financial risk, and occasional loneliness of being an entrepreneur have sometimes had me questioning if I made the right decision.

For me, it all comes down to this (as it pertains to those subjects). Nothing is guaranteed, whether you’re running a business or working for a company. Your job there is not secure or promised to stay around. In fact, I recently found out the department I formerly worked for had eliminated 50% of the positions there. Meanwhile, my business is currently growing 30% each year. Lastly, the most important thing to me as a business owner is the flexibility when it comes to my family and kids. I NEVER miss a school program or a chance (if my workload allows to that time) to volunteer or get involved at my kids school. If they become ill at school, I can be there immediately to get them without fear of a meeting later with my boss about attendance.

All in all, I definitely made the right decision to be where I am. But… those thoughts do of course creep in at times.

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

As a new mom, I began researching the products we were using in our home and making big changes. In that research, I began making products to use & gifting them to others. The gifts were received so well, people wanted more. It had me thinking that maybe I could start a little “side hustle” to pay for my new found essential oil essential.

Well, 8 years later, that side hustle is my full time & life long career! A year ago we moved my entire business from our home into our first commercial space, with a retail shop attached as well. I think what I’m most proud of is going from “I never want a store” to fully running a successful shop and finding out that it’s my true passion. It’s important to remind yourself that sometimes your own thoughts and ideas are the only thing holding you back.

Something I want people to know about my brand and my work is it’s a deep part of who I am and what I believe in. My obsession with product testing and perfecting (sometimes to a fault) ensures that any product of mine will probably become your new favorite thing. I am hard on myself, also sometimes to a fault… but I truly believe it is part of the reason for my success.

I have to also say that I am so very fortunate and thankful to have such supportive families, friends, customers and most especially – my husband. He has quite literally put up the walls of my store. He is always along for the ride for every crazy idea I have. He works a labor intensive job, gets off work and comes to the shop to put in a new ceiling, fix a leaky roof, hang shelving, repair walls…  the list goes on and on. I’m not sure what I’d do without him!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

During COVID, I thought for sure my business was going to tank. I thought to myself “no one will be buying candles when the world is in so much crisis”. Well, looking back on those thoughts it’s a bit funny! That was the year my business doubled in size… but not necessarily ALL because people were sitting at home watching Tiger King during quarantine. The first thing I did was sit down and think about what my own family was doing while we were spending a lot more time at home. As a mom, the first thing I thought of was activities for the kids. I came up with an idea to create a kit to make rolled beeswax candles.

The story of why I had the beeswax is funny all on it’s own. a few years prior, I was visiting a huge candle factory in Minnesota to purchase some supplies they wanted to offload. One of the things the manager of the building was trying to sell me were these huge cases of rolled beeswax sheets. He had pallets and pallets of them. I scrunched up my face and said no thanks, thinking “why the hell would I want all that?”. I left with a truck load of other wax and jars I had come for. Then on the drive home, I couldn’t stop thinking about that wax. I thought about how I could host make & take classes with it or make something limited edition… and the next day I went back for 4 pallets of it LOL. Its’s finally gone now a few years later. But during COVID. having that wax to put together craft kits was amazing. It brought in so much income to keep my business going during uncertain times.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

My story may be a little different than some, since I started very small. I actually just started with a $`1,000 credit card which I paid off my first few months in business. From there I built & built without the need for many loans etc, besides a couple small Shopify capital offers when we were remodeling & moving into our building.

Contact Info:

• Website: cleanhavennaturals.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/cleanhavennaturals
• Facebook: facebook.com/cleanhavennaturals
• Other: Tiktok: @cleanhavennaturals or Crazy Candle Lady

Image Credits
Kristine Marie Photography