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

Alright, Jeanne 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?

Opening a totally new business concept in Omaha during covid was a very big risk. I have worked in small business for all of my adult life. I found myself in a place in life where working for other people just wasn’t satisfying me any longer. My years of business experience weren’t being acknowledge and I felt stuck and under appreciated. This was when I knew it was time to do my own thing. I have a very supportive husband (Mark) who said “find what will make you happy and I will support you,” I jumped at the chance to find something that I would love doing every day. Creating and building Dundee Candle Co has been a dream come true. Open during Covid was a scary time. Opening any new business is hard work and a risk but doing it during Covid made it an even bigger risk. We had no idea if our concept would work and if people would come. We opened during a time where masks were required and we expected people to come in an smell our large selection of premium fragrance oils and create their own unique scent. It was a pretty big ask at the time. Our employess and customers have been amazing. Masks were a little bit of a challenge but our customers and employees rolled with it and had fun while doing it. Four and a half years later and we are still going strong. We are located in a very community oriented neighborhood and we have made great connections and friends during this time. We hope to continue making connections and friends as we take you on an Aromatic Experience.

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

What sets Dundee Candle Co. apart from others is our employees and our customer service. We couldn’t ask for a better staff. Dundee Candle Co. is a custom scent store where we take you on an Aromatic experience. We have over 100 premium fragances in our store. Customers can create their own custom scent with the help of our scent consultants. We aren’t just about candles. Customers can also create a custom scent for: lotion, handsoap, room sprays, sugar scrubs, car diffusers, reed diffusers and wax melts. The atmosphere at Dundee Candle Co., is relaxed, fun and energetic all at the same time. Whether it’s a date day, team building event, birthday party or bachelorette party there is some for everyone. Everyone and every age is welcome. Dundee Candle Co. also offers private parties. We have also made candles for weddings, restuarants, realtors and wholesale customers. We also offer custom labeling for larger orders.

We offer a variety of different containers for the candles. We are always looking to add a fun new container. We change our scents and containers with the seasons. We also have a large selection of premade products if you don’t have the time to create your own custom scent.

Dundee Candle Co. is very committed to making sure our customers have a five star experience. Our customer service truly sets us apart from other businesses.

We work hard to recycle as much as we possibly can.

We are very involved in the community through the Dundee Merchants Association and donating to local schools and organzations for their fundraising events. We also particiate with Keep Omaha Beautiful and help with neighorhood clean up.

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

We took our savings and refinanced our home to pull the equity out of the house for the start up costs of the business. This was another big risk. Owning a small business is very different than working a 9-5 job for someone else. Small business owners live and breath their business. You are never not thinking about what you can do better, how to save more or make more money. It’s a 24/7 job and I love every minute of it.

Any advice for managing a team?

I try treat my team like I want to be treated. I treat them fairly and with kindness. I try to get to know my employees. It is important to recognize that all employees are different. Each person brings a different personality, strengths and weaknesses to the job. I feel that the morale is high at Dundee Candle, we have a staff that is caring and works very well together. They are all accepting of others and their differences. My piece of advice is to not ask your employees to do something that you wouldn’t do yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dundeecandle.com
• Instagram: Dundeecandleco
• Facebook: Dundee Candle Co