We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christal Horne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Christal, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

Yes, I do manage all of my social media accounts.

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

After graduating college, I moved to Birmingham, AL. I had no family or friends there at the time. It forced me to spend a lot of time alone. I started to create my own self-care spa days and noticed candles became the focal point. Every scent had its own theme. After a lot of research, I learned that my favorite candle brands were toxic. I was determined to create a healthier candle that not only smelled great but was better for the environment. Continuing my self-care journey I felt like I was introduced to a whole new world of self- awareness. Learning that self-care doesn’t just stop at hygiene, it is expanded to mental health. I went out on faith and started a self-care podcast, C9 Self Care Podcast, to share my experience and to help others increase their self- awareness. I decided to learn more about self-care and became a certified self-care coach. I feel like I am finally aligned within my purpose of helping others. As a self- care coach and candle maker I get to teach people about self-awareness while offering a candle that will create a vibe for their self- care time.

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

At the top of 2020, I was working at an Aircraft Maintenance company. I decided that I wanted to get a second job with FedEx because I wanted to increase my savings. I had no idea I was going to start a business that year. I had a dream to start a business but was very nervous to do so. After only three months of saving with FedEx, I decided to quit. A month later I learned the Aircraft Maintenance company furloughed. I was devastated. I had never lost a job in my life. Thankfully during that time the government was very generous with the unemployment lol. I was able to use the money I saved from FedEx and with the help of the unemployment, I was able to start C9 Organic Candles.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There are so many videos I watched on YouTube about making candles. Jeff Stanley has been super amazing and insightful. He is a candle maker and it doing so well. I read a lot of self- help entrepreneurial books as well. I am currently reading Business Boutique by Christy Wright. Lastly, I listen to a lot of business podcast two off the top of y head is- Ronne Brown, Girl CEO and Earn Your Leisure.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.c9organiccandles.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/c9organiccandles
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/c9organiccandles
• Youtube: c9selfcare