We recently connected with Zulema Thomas and have shared our conversation below.

Zulema, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

My first sale was The Mosquito Café in Galveston, Texas. My family and I leaved right across the street from the café. When I made my fist candle in 2005 a Lemon cake soy candle in a small 8 oz mason jar. I taught to myself; this scent will go great with the bakery across the street. Back then I had a couple problems to overcome when staring my business. One the soy wax was very new to the market and people did not know anything about it. And two I had no childcare.

My peach went as fallow. Have you ever heard of a soy wax candle? (Most people did not so that is where I will start the sale.) I listing the benefits of the product and had a sample candle in hand. all while being pregnant and holding a 2-year-old. To my surprise The Mosquito Café say yes to me and order 24 candles! I walked on air across the street to my little house. And that is how I stared Z and Company / Z&Co.

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

I stared Making soy candles with natural ingredients because our first baby had terrible allergies. It was a doctor the told me that if I wanted to burn candle in the house, I should buy soy wax candles they are expensive and hard to find but word the money if I wanted to have scent around my baby. Not long after that we started selling them all over Galveston, Texas to make some extra cash for formula and diapers. By that time, I was with child again, with my husband in school and I need to either go back to work or find a way to make money from home.

My gold was to sell 50 candles a month. That was going to help buy pampers. This was 2005 the whole website thing was so new and untenable for someone like me. It was all face-to-face sales. Walking well more like wedeling in and out of stores with my big pregnant belly, my 2-year-old child and my candles. That is how the name of my business change from East Jackon to Z and Company/ Z&Co.
I would walk in to my client’s stores to see if the candle were selling and if they need to reorder? The minute I walk in the girls that worked behind the counter will yell here come Zee and company!! My Nickname is Zee and the company was my belly and my 2 year old Hannah.

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

pregnant for the second time and my husband was a full time PhD student. Our income was student loans and stipends. We really did not have much left at the end of the month after paying bill. But April comes along and that is my birthday month and my friend Maritsa gave me a gift card of 25.00 to Walmart.
I took that 25.00 gift card and bought flour and eggs to make my mother’s Mexican choco flan. ( a flan and cake baked together ) I made a cake cut very thin slices wrap it in plastic wrap with my name and phone number stood outside the preschool and gave slices away to the moms and dads that went to go pick up there kids after school.
I went home and prey to our lord to let me sale at least two cakes to make some money back.
By the end of that week God had sold 10 cakes for me! By the end of the month, it was a total of 70 cakes. God is good!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Quality and customer service are key in my business. I do not sell anything that I or my family personally use and love. We treat everyone of our customers like family. We don’t get upset when they complain and we try to make them happy

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.zandcompany.com
• Instagram: @zandcompany
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Zandcompany