We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful LaRosha Paul. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with LaRosha below.

Hi LaRosha, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

My name is LaRosha and I am the owner of B U Candles Co. B U Candles. Co was birth during the pandemic as I was trying to find a way to navigate on my healing journey. It was really supposed to be a hobby as a way to implement self-care into my life. Over the past year my passion for candle making has grown as it has helped my gain my confidence, work through past traumas and find my peace while becoming the best version of myself. The Mission is to help people as they are navigating on their healing journey by creating candles that will nurture the mind, body and soul. We are dedicated to fostering emotional well being and promoting self-care. Through our uniquely blended scents along with the names of our candles , we aim to kindle a sense of comfort, inner peace and self-discovery so that you can become the best version of you!

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?

As mentioned, I started my company during the pandemic. I love candles and just anything that smells good, so I was looking for a class that would be fun and also just a way to implement self-care into my life. Self-Care was not always at the top of my list and i feel like that was what I was missing. After taking the class, I became more interest in the science behind candles and just learning more about other ways that I could expand if I decided to make a business out of it. I started doing my research and learned about the different waxes, wicks, fragrance oils and just other products that you can make such as room sprays along with wax melts.

What set’s me apart from others in my industry is that 10% of the sales goes back to a scholarship in memory of my mom who passed away from cancer in 2001 to help assist a high school senior who will be attending a HBCU in the fall. Another thing that makes me stand out is that I have incorporated music into my brand. I have launched my luxe line which is called 5:48 and with this line I have curated a playlist specific for each candle. Music is something that helped me on my healing journey, so I wanted to find another way to help others as they are on theirs.

The thing that I am most proud of is having my candles listed on Walmart.com. This has been a big accomplishment for me as I have not been in business long so to be able to search and find my candles on a major platform as such is amazing.

When you think of B U Candles Co. I want people to know that I am helping people heal one light at a time.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I first started, I was so excited, so I was looking to partner with different shared spaces that was carrying other small businesses products. I didn’t think about what that would really look like for my business, the amount of inventory I needed and also how my brand would really fit. After a few months of being in these shared spaces, I started to notice that I was spending more to be on their shelves that generating revenue. I had a decision to make and although I was a little sad about it, i went ahead and pulled my products from those stores. This taught me that I really needed to do more research on the stores, the areas and also learn my target audience. I now participate in local pops which as allowed me to get in front of my target audience and create a more personable connection with customers.

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

This is a great question. So, by the age of 18 I had lost both of my parents, and I also was left to raise a younger brother. I did not know what all came with raise a child however I found out quickly. While in college my brother stayed with family members however when he was on breaks, he would come to stay with me, my professors allowed him to sit in class with me, my cheerleading coach would allow him to come on the field when I had games and when I had to work, he would be right there with me. We have faced many challenges together however that has not stopped me me from being successful. I am so grateful for having such a supportive family because anytime I may have wanted to give up, they would remind me of the strength of my mom as she was battling cancer so I would say if she didn’t give up why should I.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bucandlesco.com
• Instagram: bucandlesco
• Facebook: B U Candles Co.
• Linkedin: LaRosha Paul