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

Rick, appreciate you joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

There are lots of problems we faced. Insurance is a big one. We have commercial insurance on the vehicle as it is required to go to events. Your personal vehicle policy clearly states your vehicle cannot be used for commercial purposes. By definition, once you have an item in your vehicle for delivery, it is a commercial run/ use. It can be voided and will be in the event of a collision. Making candles in your house goes against your home policy as well. Commercial. A business also has higher risks for torts (slips and falls). Your house was not set up commercially, and you can be sued personally. It is not worth the risk. We have commercial space for that purpose.
The other thing is that people who do crafting did not create a business but a job for themselves. A business requires marketing/ advertising, bookkeeping, wholesaling, taxes and other operational needs.
We do our own marketing and found many marketing people overpromise and under-deliver. Nobody should know your business more than you. You should have your own ideal customer/ avatar in mind. You should have your business plan and follow it.

Rick, 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 Rick Wilkinson, and I am 47 years old. I got into candle-making in 2011. We spent a lot of money on candles and got sick and tired of the ones that don’t smell. I learned how to do it right from a lady that had her shop and had been doing it for many years. I was buying my stuff from her and got great results. Over time, I branched out to other places I will not mention due to the number of at-home copycats in this business. Get your own ideas. We provide well-made, long-lasting scents. We are commercially insured for liability. We ensure all new customers get care instructions for our products and always maintain honesty and integrity in our practices. No exceptions. A sale is a sale; it is about building relations with your customers, so they come back. Business 101.

I also wrote 2 books, Life Ain’t Easy and Kitchen Chaos. The main problem is the self-publishing industry. Find a local shop, do it yourself, and then promote it online. Self-publishing companies are predatory. Lesson learned.

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

This is an ongoing story for the candle shop. The fly-by-night operations that think anyone can do better. They are at home, uninsured, and their egos write cheques they can’t cash. They copy, copy, copy and then have childish antics in competing. Fake reviews from their friends, look-a-like to your work, Be true to yourself and use your own knowledge and training as they usually get tired and give up within 2 years. Perseverance.

For publishing, I regularly get calls and emails to “partner up” to republish with them and offer bogus marketing that nets zero sales, as I said before. Lesson learned. Do it Yourself. “Partner up” means you pay for substandard publishing and marketing. You will be lucky to see a dime.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Simply support your artists, and if you like it, pay the price they are asking. Stop trying to barter and resort to petty insults about the dollar store, Walmart or other discount stores. You cannot buy handmade items there, and the quality is no comparison to most things, especially at the dollar store. The second thing is to stop shopping for your “own ideas” at our website and booth because you didn’t get your way. This really happened. No business experience and was short-lived.
I had an acquaintance who didn’t want to pay for my book because he could get it used in a few months at a bargain basement price. Quite insulting. Get some class.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.walkervillecandles.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/walkervillecandle
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/walkervillecandles