We were lucky to catch up with Chantal Winston recently and have shared our conversation below.
Chantal, so great to have you with us today. There are so many topics we want to ask you about, but perhaps the one we can start with is burnout. How have you overcome or avoided burnout?
My relationship with burnout has been a rollercoaster, to say the least. When I started my non-toxic candle business, BLKessence, in 2020, I had just transferred to UC Berkeley. I originally started BLKessence because of my love for candlemaking, along with recognizing the need for toxin-free candles in the market. We ended up growing pretty rapidly within a short period of time which was totally unexpected.
Balancing being an entrepreneur and a full-time college student was a challenge. I don’t think I necessarily overcame the burnout, but I utilized self-care tools to sustain my business and my academic performance the best I could. It took me a long time to recognize what burnout looked like and how to handle it before it got too intense. I would go through this cycle where I would put my all into everything, eventually become exhausted, lose motivation which was reflected in my business and grade performance, realize I need a break, and then do it all over again. This cycle was not sustainable long-term, so I had to figure out how I would prevent feeling burned out rather than waiting until I had no energy left to pour into any aspect of my life.
After graduating college, navigating post-grad uncertainty, cutting ties from unfulfilling relationships, growing closer to God, and taking multiple hiatuses from my candle business, I am now well equipped with how I’ll prevent burnout moving forward. Firstly, it is essential to recognize when you’re starting to feel burned out because it looks different for everyone. For me, it looks like struggling to wake up in the morning, feeling sluggish, becoming disinterested in things I love doing, and pulling away from key relationships in my life. When I can identify these signs, I prioritize more time at the beginning and the end of my days to read, pray, journal, or do any other activity that will allow me to reset and re-ground. I believe that in our society where we are expected to always be working to get to the next level, burnout is nearly inevitable. When you overcome burnout once, it is likely that the feeling will come back, which is why it is so important to know your signs so you can use the tools that work for you to prevent it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Chantal and I am the founder of BLKessence, a vegan, non-toxic candle company. I started BLKessence because as a candle-lover myself, I didn’t realize how many toxins were emitted from big-named candles that I was burning in my household. After lots of research, I found that candles that contain paraffin wax and other toxins can cause allergy-like symptoms, headaches, and more. On top of that, Black women who are the largest consumers of personal care products, are disproportionately exposed to products with toxins that then contribute to significant health concerns. After conducting this research, I felt a strong need to create a candle that not only is safe to burn, but also reflects my love for fragrance.
Since then, BLKessence has grown and our candles have been burned in households around the world. After taking multiple hiatuses from being a bit too burned out, I have decided to finally get over my imposter syndrome and re-launch BLKessence (as of recently). Over the past few years of becoming an entrepreneur, I have learned so much about myself and encourage others to dive into your passion, even if you’re scared.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Getting over imposter syndrome: I had to learn that imposter syndrome is literally a voice in your head that feeds you lies. It tells you that you can’t do it, you’re not skilled enough, it’s not the right timing yet, or you aren’t the right person for the job. Imposter syndrome has honestly been my biggest hater. It took a lot of inner work to recognize that voice and how to dispute the false words to replace them with empowering ones.
2. Asking for help: I’m the type of person where I’m okay with doing everything myself (because I’m a perfectionist). In my head, when I take care of everything, I don’t have to worry about how it will turn out because I did it. This mindset has been detrimental to my success because, in the times that I needed help, I refused to ask. After learning the hard way, I am still learning how to delegate tasks that will allow me to pour into other aspects of my business.
3. Taking care of myself: Owning a business is not an easy task, and I think that the conversation of self-care as an entrepreneur is not as mainstream as it should be. I’m a firm believer in the fact that in order to take care of anything/anyone, you have to take care of yourself first. This looks different for everyone but for me, self-care looks like spending time with family, praying, journaling, listening to music, cooking, and watching my favorite shows. We love to say that we don’t have time for self-care but even just 5 minutes out of your day will make a difference.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I’m always looking for folks to collaborate with! If you’re a fellow entrepreneur or event planner, BLKessence offers custom candles for events like birthdays, baby showers, weddings, and more. We also love to connect with the community so please feel free to reach out!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://blkessence.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blkessenceco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064250733374
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@blkessenceco
Image Credits
Dreams Over Everything Studios
