We recently connected with Elizabeth James and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Elizabeth thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

For the first two years after taking over my candle business, my focus was survival. I worked to keep sales steady, avoided major changes, and believed that lower prices would drive growth. Instead, customers consistently chose the cheapest option and pushed for discounts. I said yes to everything, worked nonstop, and quickly realized that despite the effort, the business was moving in the wrong financial direction.

I reached a turning point. I had stepped into entrepreneurship to gain flexibility while raising a new baby, yet found myself working longer hours with little return. It became clear that competing on price was unsustainable. Large companies will always win that race. When customers began asking for cheaper and faster, I made a difficult but necessary decision: to stop listening to feedback that pulled the brand away from its potential. I learned that not every customer is your customer and building a strong business requires knowing the difference.

Two years in, I committed to one final reset: to intentionally design the business I wanted to build. I realized I had never truly made it mine. After 15 years in retail leadership, I trusted my instincts and experience and knew the brand needed to stand for something clear: memorable design, elevated quality, and a point of view that felt authentic.

I made a bold investment in that vision. After two years of being cautious and unprofitable, I chose to spend strategically to grow. I introduced a 100% marble vessel, something I had never seen in the market and built the product line around it. The cost was nearly three times higher than anything I had previously offered, but the value was unmistakable. I invested deeply, priced intentionally, and positioned the brand where it truly belonged.

The shift worked. Sales increased, the customer base evolved, and for the first time, I was building momentum instead of chasing volume. By listening to the right customers and staying aligned with the brand vision, the business achieved its first profitable year. Today, I’m reinvesting in growth with clarity and confidence.

Most importantly, the brand now reflects who I am and what I believe in. It stands for quality over compromise, intention over fear, and growth rooted in vision, not desperation. For the first time, I’m not just sustaining a business: I’m building one, and I’m excited about where it’s going.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I spent 15 years in retail leadership, drawn in initially by the creativity and human connection, and ultimately shaped by the lessons in leadership and business. Building relationships came naturally to me, and over time I learned to trust my instincts around style, whether that meant helping someone pull together an outfit or guiding them in styling their home. What began as a fun, fast-paced career became an education in leading people and driving performance.

Early on, I was given responsibilities I wasn’t sure I was ready for, like managing a $20 million flagship store in Rockefeller Center at just 25 years old. Those experiences forced me to grow quickly and taught me how to build teams, develop talent, and run a business with intention. As my husband’s career took us from Toronto to San Diego and eventually Scottsdale, I was fortunate to transfer with the same brand each time. Each move brought a new market, new challenges, and new opportunities to refine my leadership and strengthen my confidence as an operator.

When COVID hit and I was furloughed, everything paused. For the first time in my life, I had the space to reflect. I realized I wanted to slow down, build a family, and create a life with more flexibility, especially as my husband traveled extensively for work. I knew returning to retail in the same capacity was no longer aligned, but I had no clear roadmap for what was next.

When my daughter was six months old, a friend mentioned a small local candle business for sale. Instantly, it felt right. I had never poured a candle before, but after years in retail, I understood product, presentation, and customer experience. I trusted that instinct and took the leap. Almost immediately, people asked what I planned to do with the business, and the truth was, I didn’t know yet. I hadn’t planned for this path, and it took time to define the vision.

The first two years were challenging. I worked tirelessly with little financial return and without a clear sense of pride in the offerings. The business had begun shifting toward white-label and corporate gifting under the previous owner, which intrigued me while I was still developing my own point of view. I tried to grow wholesale by lowering prices and speeding up turnaround times, only to find myself competing in a race I couldn’t win. It was especially difficult knowing I was spending time away from my daughter without seeing meaningful progress.

That’s when the shift happened. I realized what I had that large-scale competitors didn’t: the ability to create a truly unique, elevated product. Today, the core of my business is helping others bring their candle visions to life: primarily small home décor shops, along with interior designers seeking distinctive, art-forward gifts for their clients. My 100% marble vessels have become a signature, offering something both luxurious and personal.

While I offer two small in-house candle lines, the white-label side of the business has resonated most; and that’s by design. I’ve built a company rooted in thoughtful vessels, refined scents, and creative collaboration. Customers want products that feel special and customizable, and that intersection of design, quality, and individuality is where the brand thrives.

Looking ahead, I’m excited to bring the line to trade shows and continue expanding with the same intentional strategy that’s proven successful. And maybe one day, that growth leads to a warehouse, with a small retail space attached, bringing me full circle back to my roots. The vision continues to evolve, and that’s exactly where it should be.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I think many small businesses default to social media as their primary growth strategy. The pressure to constantly create content, post daily, build a following, and chase virality can feel unavoidable. The original founder of this company leaned into that early, and did it well. She built a strong, engaged community that connected deeply with her personal style and the candles she created.

When I acquired the business, I quickly realized that audience wasn’t aligned with me or where I wanted to take the brand. We had different aesthetics, different goals, and different strengths. While she genuinely enjoyed posting, I learned just as quickly that I did not. I’m highly detail-oriented and driven by refinement rather than spontaneity, which made creating even a single post time-consuming and draining. More importantly, I realized that the audience I was trying to reach on social media wasn’t necessarily my buyer.

At that point, the Instagram following became less of a growth engine and more of a credibility signal, something that validated the brand for those researching Standard Wax, rather than a driver of sales. I never wanted to build a company dependent on likes or algorithms, and when I evaluated the time investment against the return, it was clear the model wasn’t sustainable for me.

That realization forced a strategic shift. I asked myself where my product truly belonged and how customers preferred to discover it. That’s when I turned to wholesale platforms, starting with Faire: a marketplace designed to connect independent brands with retailers actively looking to buy. The impact was immediate and meaningful. Today, roughly 70% of my business comes from Faire, creating an entirely new and consistent revenue stream on top of existing channels. Even more importantly, it introduced me to the right customers; brands that value the product, align with the vision, and return to reorder.

This year, I’m building on those insights by expanding into additional online platforms and exhibiting at my first trade show. The focus is simple: invest time where it delivers results and where the work feels aligned. Social media is powerful for many brands, and it may play a larger role in the future, but for now, I’m embracing a more intentional, old-school approach to growth. One rooted in product, relationships, and channels that actually convert.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Small business ownership is often described in terms of long hours, constant pressure, and isolation; and all of that is true. But the hardest part for me wasn’t the workload or the loneliness. It was not knowing when, or how, to feel successful.

In my career before entrepreneurship, success was clearly defined. It was measured in sales, KPIs, and team development. There were benchmarks, feedback loops, and moments of validation built into every day. When numbers are down and you’re working alone, it’s difficult to feel accomplished. You spend long days testing ideas, absorbing setbacks, and pushing forward without seeing immediate results, an experience that felt especially heavy as a new mother.

I tried to share small wins with friends and family, hoping that talking through progress would help. They were supportive, but they weren’t in it with me every day, and it never fully landed. Looking back, that sense of defeat wasn’t just about the challenges, it was a signal. I was on the wrong path with the business, even though I didn’t realize it at the time.

What I thought I was searching for was validation, either through numbers or recognition from others. What I was actually missing was pride and clarity. I wasn’t excited about the offerings, and I didn’t yet have a clear vision for the business I had taken over. I felt intense pressure to have all the answers immediately. My family and I had invested in this, and I wanted quick success, not just for the business, but to prove to myself and others that I had made the right decision.

Eventually, through a lot of uncertainty and reflection, I made a simple but pivotal choice: to do something that felt truly aligned with me. If it didn’t work, at least I would know I had fully committed to my own vision. When I introduced a vessel I was genuinely passionate about, everything shifted. Success followed, not only in the traditional metrics of sales and performance, but in something far more meaningful.

For the first time, I felt successful because I had built something with intention and conviction. I no longer needed constant validation or reassurance. I didn’t need to explain the vision; was living it. That clarity, confidence, and sense of ownership is what success looks like to me now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://standardwax.com/
• Instagram: @standardwax
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-james-06740185/
• Other: Faire: https://www.faire.com/brand/b_h2nuzyq4qg