Meet Kate De Palma

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kate De Palma. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kate, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
My work ethic is something that I’ve been developing since I was young, and I credit my parents for all the support they gave me over the years. My parents were a constant source of encouragement, always believing in my potential and supporting my aspirations. Their unwavering faith in my abilities motivated me to strive for greatness in everything I pursued.

As an academically driven student who enjoyed learning and school, I didn’t mind working hard to give my education my all, and it paid off when I was name Valedictorian of my high school and when I was accepted to Stanford University. These moments are some of the proudest of my life because I had worked so hard for them, for what felt like my entire life.

I started out my career in education because it felt important for me to give back to an institution that had done so much for me. Since then, I’ve transitioned from education to entrepreneurship, a pivot that has only deepened my appreciation for a strong work ethic. In the world of small business, dedication, and persistence are essential. Every day I try to carry forward the same values of diligence and determination that guided me through my academic journey into the realm of business ownership.

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?
Having left my career as an English teacher, I now run Scented Designs Candle Company full-time, a small business which has grown out of a side hustle of several years.

As a small business owner, I wear many hats and it feels like I’m constantly learning something new to move the needle forward in the business. As a lifelong learner, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continuously challenge myself – no two days are the same, and there is always more to practice and learn.

Scented Designs is my passion because I have grown it from the ground up. I am proud of the artisan nature of our soy candles, all of which are hand-poured in our San Jose, California studio by a growing team of women. I also am proud of the glowing feedback we get around the different scents that we pour: everyone loves how long & clean our candles burn!

Thanks to the support of our amazing customers, we were recently able to move into a large warehouse, which has been a gamechanger for the business. We continue to grow, bringing on new team members to help, especially as we head into the busy fall & holiday seasons.

We recently launched our Fall Candle Collection, a curated collection of warm & cozy scents perfect for fall, whether you’re hosting an event, need a gift for a loved one, or just want some fall vibes around the house. We also just launched Pre-Orders of our Candle Advent Calendar, which is the perfect holiday gift: 24 different scented candles all boxed up and ready to bring delight and good scents all December long.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Patience – in my early years of business, I recall another business owner telling me, “It takes 5 years” to really get it off the ground. And that’s okay – success generally doesn’t happen overnight!

Faith – in yourself and in the process; don’t give up when things get tough!

CEO Mindset – it’s a shift from being an employee to being the boss of everything…having to make all the decisions and pay all the bills. Stepping into this CEO mindset and learning how to delegate is essential to long-term success.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
We love collaborating with other small businesses who feel in alignment with us! One of our top ways of collaborating is through custom branded candles that we can create for other businesses for client and employee gifting. Whether you’re a realtor, coach, photographer, lawyer, wedding planner, makeup artist – any profession, really, looking to use high quality, branded gifts to strengthen relationships – we’d love to connect with you! Learn more here >> https://www.scenteddesigns.com/pages/custom-label-candles

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Emily Kim Photography

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