We recently connected with Mi’Asia Scretchen and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Mi’Asia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Ok so let’s paint the picture. March 20, 2022, I found out I was pregnant. I was super excited but nervous at the same time. This was my first child so I was nervous about being a first time mom, but I was excited about having my own bundle of joy. I told my boyfriend, but I waited before I told anyone else. Well I couldn’t hide it for long because I was sick everyday. I experienced soo much nausea and vomiting while pregnant. Once I told my close family and friends, I was more excited because they were excited. May 11, 2022, we found out we were having a baby boy. That’s when all the shopping and preparation begin.

During this time I was going through the home buying process so my focus was on having a healthy pregnancy and getting into my new home. We picked a meaningful name because we knew our son was going to be something special. Salim Wright King; Salim means peace in Swahili, Wright is my grandfather’s middle name (my absolute best friend), King is his father’s last name, which was perfect as we were birthing a King.

June 25, 2022 was move in day ! We were embarking on our journey as homeowners. Emotions were high, excitement and thankfulness drowned the air. It was perfect! Then my water broke. June 25, 2022 at 1:20pm, my angel Salim Wright King was born sleeping. I fell into the deepest and darkest depression of my life because I could not wrap my head around why my precious Salim was taken away from us. While out on maternity leave every around me begin to worry so my Obstetrician suggested I pick up a healthy hobby. I picked up candle making. Blaire (my boyfriend) was able to witness this hobby turn into a business because he kept telling me i have a story to tell.

Salim’s Shining Light, LLC is a handmade 100% Soy Wax Candle Company. My business was founded to celebrate the life of our angel Salim. He was a light in my life my entire pregnancy, so I want his light to shine around the world. I chose Soy Wax because I wanted my candles to be pure and toxic free, just like Salim. Our candles are unique because we design them to be appealing to the eye.

My business has helped me on my healing journey, and it allows me a platform to tell my story. 1 out 4 women will experience pregnancy or infant loss, and it is not talked about. This is a real thing that no one wants to go through, but it is unfortunately our reality. I have gained so many friends and built many meaningful relationships, from setting up as a vendor at events. That alone gave me the drive to make sure I give my all to Salim’s Shining Light.

Mi’Asia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Mi’Asia, I was born and raised in Florence, SC. I am a graduate of the University of South Carolina Upstate, where i obtained my Bachelors in Interdisciplinary Studies with a Psychology Minor. I am also a recent graduate of Walden University, where i obtained my Masters in Business. I am currently employed Full-Time and I am also a Full-Time business owner. I own and operate Salim’s Shining Light, LLC.

I am most proud of my ability to overcome such a tremendous loss and birth something beautiful from it. Salim’s Shining Light, LLC has shipped candles to many states across the United States, and we have shipped internationally to an Olympic Medalist in Canada. We pour love into every candle, and we hope everyone who shops with us feels the love. My goal is to shine Salim’s light in every state and country! Families across the world experience loss, and I hope by burning Salim’s candle, it allows them a moment of peace to reflect on the memories of their loved one.

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

The most effective strategy for gaining clientele is remaining genuine. Genuine people attract other genuine people, and you only want supporters with good intentions. Also, remaining humble! When I post on our social media accounts, I engage with other business owners, I shoutout our customers, and I’m never afraid to tell Salim’s story. I believe the combination of these two things and God’s favor, have helped me grow my clientele.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

A time I had to show resilience was, when my wax pot kept blowing the power before the biggest event I ever did. I work full-time so the only time I have to make candles is after work and on my free weekends. The week before we were due to set up at The Melanin Market in Jacksonville, Fl, my wax pot for some reason kept blowing the power out in the house. We spent hours going back and forth from the breaker box to the pot. It was madness. I needed to prepare over 100 candles and I could not get the pot to stay on. I cried for about 30 minutes because I felt so defeated. After, I finished crying i knew we had to figure out a way to make it work because the event wasn’t going to stop just because my power couldn’t handle the pot. I had to go back to my old method of melting small amounts of wax on the stove, one pouring pot at a time. It took days to get all of the candles ready, but we did it. The event was our most successful event, and I feel like it was Salim doing us a favor for putting in the extra hard work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.salimsshininglight.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/salimsshininglight?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085957699213