Dreams Don't Work Unless You Do

Growing up, I have always been the type of person who would think of a way to make a business out of anything. I was your typical lemonade stand child, the little girl making bracelets and selling them to friends, a treasurer of multiple clubs in high school, helping think of ideas and programs to raise money.

I never really had a specific idea as to what type of business I wanted to have; the only important part to me was getting to own it.

After failing to realize I was attending a university that specialized mainly in Medicine and Law, I made the decision to leave college early. When I told my advisor I wanted to major in Entrepreneurship, I was told that wasn’t an option and to try Public Relations instead. While in the same general scope of business, that wasn’t really what I was going for. I didn’t like the idea of a general business degree either.

So instead, I submerged myself into the business world. I figured I’d start from the bottom and work my way up, gaining experience along the way. This didn’t make me happy though. It was highly unlikely that I’d end up the owner of an already established business, however owning my own business was all I ever truly wanted to do. So instead, I’d find myself just sitting in my cubicle dreaming of ways I could better the current jobs at which I’d be working, implementing better systems and making it a greater success.

I never actually thought I could start a business from scratch. It was certainly a dream of mine.

Although for the longest time, I had always associated dreams as being just that: something you get to scheme up in your head, plan possible outcomes, and get carried away with an imagined possibility that would likely never happen. I figured they were similar to winning the lottery, as if dreams only came true by something great randomly falling into your lap.

But what I didn’t understand was that dreams don’t work unless you do. That was the key realization that would change my life forever.

Now celebrating years in business, I am in awe of what Candelles has become. It was never easy, and there are still so many days where we start working before the sun comes up and stop after the sun has gone down, but I have never been so proud to work so hard in my life. To see so many customers swoon over our candles is crazy to me. I’m not sure if the surreal feeling that Candelles provides will ever go away.