Conversations with Cheryl LaVelle

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheryl LaVelle.

Cheryl, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The road to becoming a small business owner was not a straight line for me. I wanted to own my own business since I was in high school, but I didn’t have any role models to look up to and see that it was a possibility for my life.

Instead, I took a safer route and worked in sales for a bit and then became a teacher. I loved working with my students and teaching high school kids, but with current trends and limitations, my passion for teaching started to fade. After fifteen years in education, I took advantage of the opportunity to stay at home with my daughter when she was born so that I could work part-time on starting a small business.

For these first three years of making candles, I have worked as much as possible while also caring for my spirited daughter. As her time in school increases, so will my time to focus on my business. The ability to care for my daughter and spend quality time with her as she grows while also being able to have my own business is truly a blessing that I will always treasure!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I would love to say the road has been smooth, but it hasn’t been the easiest road to navigate. Both my daughter and I have had some medical challenges that while not severe, still presented many obstacles to being able to be effective as a business owner. It has been a blessing to have the time to attend medical appointments and care for my daughter during reoccurring ear infections.

The lack of time to work on business items has been quite a struggle. I have often felt the guilt of wanting more work time and then the stress of completing work at the last minute with sometimes subpar results. My new releases of scents have been much less than anticipated because I simply don’t have the time to complete all of the photography and website descriptions.

As my daughter’s ear tubes have minimized her ear infections and I have begun to get some clarity surrounding my health, the road seems to be a lot smoother with occasional speed bumps that remind me to slow down and first care for myself and my family and then to take care of my business.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Saturation in the candle business is something all of us chandlers face and to survive we need to stand out amongst each other. The one comment everyone makes after using my candles is how well they burn and how the scents are perfectly balanced to provide a wonderful smell without overpowering a home.

I am incredibly proud of each candle I bring to the market because it reflects four, or more, months of work perfecting the scent and the burn. There were a few candles that passed my testing until a final burn and then at that last burn became too hot and I had to start all over again at the beginning. With the recent recall of candles from Target and Walmart, I want people to know that when they burn one of my candles, not only are they going to have a wonderful scent for their home, but they can also be confident my candles won’t be a safety issue in the home.

Over the past month, I have seen an uptick in the number of people burning wax melts, which I think is a result of these larger companies undervaluing the need for repeated testing and safety controls of their candles. Small-batch, hand-poured candles from a reputable candlemaker are a perfect way to create a signature scent for your home.

What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
By far, the most important lesson has been to stop comparing myself to others. I knew when I started Blue Spruce Candles that I was in it for the long haul and wanted to build a brand slowly and sustainably, yet I became caught up in the frenzy of stressing about building my brand faster with higher profits and doing so at the detriment of family time or personal health. The constant comparisons left me feeling defeated due to exhaustion and quite honestly had me questioning my desire to stay in business.

I ended up taking most of the summer off from working at festivals and supplying local stores to focus on my health. During that break time, I stopped listening to podcasts that promoted unrealistic goals and started to focus on what growth meant to me for my business. In doing so, I found my voice and my confidence grew so that I could acknowledge others’ success and celebrate them without analyzing their actions against my actions. While cliché, the truth is we all operate our businesses under different circumstances so comparing myself to others is a losing battle.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bluesprucecandles.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluesprucecandlecompany/