‘I learned I can do anything if I put my mind to it’
Since Paula Williams lost her job as a result of the pandemic, she has stepped out of her comfort zone and become an entrepreneur.
Looking around my living room, filled with boxes containing the luxurious candles that my sister Carla and I have created together, I smile to myself. For three years, I had worked for Carla in her secretarial services business, supporting medical consultants. Yet, ironically, we both lived unhealthy lifestyles. Carla would work 60 hours a week, never taking a holiday, while I juggled long hours with looking after my two children, Charlie, 16, and Mollie, 13. My son is autistic, and, while he attended a special-needs school during the day, at home he needed lots of support.
But in March 2020, Carla lost all of her clients due to the pandemic and had to close the company, so I was made redundant. It was tough for both of us. Despite initially enjoying having some ‘me-time’, I wasn’t earning any money.
A few weeks later, however, I received a phone call from Carla suggesting we start our own business, and that she’d seen a course run by Amazon that could help. I was nervous as I’m not business minded, but I knew Carla was good with this sort of thing, so I agreed.
We learned everything about running a business, from picking a product to liaising with suppliers. The tutorials could be done at your own pace, so I was still able to make lunch for the kids or take a break as and when I needed to. We watched a lot of TED Talks on having a positive mindset, so whenever one of us was struggling, we’d remind each other, ‘Positivity, positivity, positivity!’ Just saying it really helped. After four months, we’d completed the course, which cost £3,000 between us.
We wanted our business to centre around a product that we loved and would buy ourselves, so we agreed on candles. My family and I brainstormed names over dinner one evening, settling on Freija, the Nordic version of Freya, the goddess of love and beauty, and the symbol to go with it.
I found it fascinating researching different types of candle wax and the pros and cons behind each one. Eventually, we decided to go with a soy-based wax, as it is sustainable and doesn’t give off any paraffins as it burns.
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS
I found a local candle-maker, who seemed very experienced and, as soon as we could, Carla and I paid him a visit. Inside his barn were two long tables covered in glass jars filled with candles. We had great fun smelling and sifting through the different jars, eventually settling on three scents: floral, spice and citrus. Afterwards, we picked our packaging, a beautiful amber jar, which would be encased in a kraft cylinder. Our business was coming to life – it was so exciting!
In September, I finally received a call to say our candles were ready. As I opened the box, I felt emotional to see what we’d created together in such a short space of time. All our hard work had paid off and I immediately called Carla and sent her lots of pictures on Whatsapp. In the first few weeks alone we sold 100 candles, and sales are now building steadily. We’ve also launched an eco-friendly sponge made out of coconut fibres, which is part of our second business venture, Ecoloco, which we sell through Amazon.
I still can’t quite believe what Carla and I have achieved together. I’ve learned so many new skills, such as how to set up a website and use social media for marketing – before all this, I’d only used Instagram a few times in my life. Looking back, I’m grateful for losing my job because it forced me to step up and showed me that I’m capable of doing new things, if I put my mind to it.
Find out more at freija.co.uk
Our business was coming to life, which was so exciting!