Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Haley Hiser. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Haley, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

October 2020, it hit me when my husband asked me the harsh reality, “do you have any hobbies?” As a burnt-out Operating Room Nurse, I had lost sense of my self by choosing to live to work instead of work to live. One month later, Haley Self Care was born. In the midst of a pandemic where everyone was realizing self care was important now more than ever, I felt in my bones that I needed self care, too. My life consisted of being called in at 2am for emergency surgery and being mandated to stay overtime. I craved peace and self love. They say your best ideas happen in the shower and man is that true. I remember standing in the shower thinking how great the warm water felt on my aching body and how much I miss having peaceful candle lit baths with yummy scented products. I then remembered how toxic my candles and self care products are, but knew I would keep using them because I’m obsessed with scent. Sparks went off in my brain when I realized a problem I could fix: making high quality candles and self care products that inspire others and myself to practice self care. Products that I could feel excited about using. Everything started happening FAST. I ordered candle supplies, and launched a pine scented candle that I called “O’ Christmas Tree” all within a few weeks. My friends started purchasing, and speed ramped up. A couple months later, I had to go part-time at my nursing job to keep up with orders. I was pouring candles until 3am, and my nursing job alarm would go off at 5am. One year later, it was impossible to do both, and I chose Haley Self Care. A one-woman business, and some help from my husband. One tired night, we were in the trenches together trying to get through 70 orders. I looked at him and said “Remember when you asked if I have a hobby?”

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.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn that self care is selfish. I spent the very vast majority of my life caring for my patients, which affected my home life. I was burnt out and didn’t have much to offer to my husband or home. I knew I wanted to become a mom some day and wondered what version of myself I would he able to offer them. It saddened me. I wanted to offer my self, my husband, and my future kids the “self care version” of me. I have learned by pouring in to my mental and emotional health that the more I serve myself, the better I serve others. I like this version of me more, and I finally feel like I’m actually taking care of people in a way that I didn’t feel from my nursing practice. I’m now taking those baths that I dreamt of, with a quality candle that I handmade. My products and motive are helping me to remember to allot time for self care, and I feel like a more authentic and present version of myself. I simply feel better.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I talk to them! I create actual friendships with my customers. We literally get coffee and go for walks together. They mean everything to me and are my backbone. I have a VIP discord chat group with different threads where we all talk about many different things like upcoming seasonal candle scent launches, self of the day, books we are reading, motherhood advice, etc. I truly deeply care for them and see them as friends, not clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.haleyselfcare.com
• Instagram: haleyselfcare
• Facebook: Haley Self Care
• Youtube: Haley Self Care
• Other: Tiktok: Haley Self Care

Image Credits
Emily Chene of Emily Rose Imagery (1st image) EVNBKR Creative (4th image)