We recently connected with Monica Peynado and have shared our conversation below.
Monica, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Short answer: my upbringing. I was always taught that if I put in the work I could achieve anything I wanted, but it wasn’t going to be given to me. At an early age, I committed to doing my very best in anything I wanted to do because who knew where that road would lead me. From consistent honor rolls to first chair clarinetist to top 2% of high school graduating class to Summa Cum Laude for college to promotion after promotion after promotion, I’ve worked very hard to get where I am. I am so happy to be able to reap the benefits of this diligent work ethic.
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?
I am a homegrown soy wax-based candle maker. My candle line includes spiritual knowledge and inspiration with every candle. I offer a variety of candles throughout the year, including: -2 year-round collections based on the Fruit of the Spirit and the Holy Trinity
-A fall collection based on women in the Bible
-A Christmas collection based on the Christmas story
-A winter collection based on the parables of Jesus
-A spring collection based on Biblical landmarks
-A summer collection based on men in the Bible
as well as a handful of other specialty collections sprinkled throughout the year.
I’m so proud of just simply being able to come up with this variety of candles, mainly because it requires a lot of studying (and designing labels!) I pride myself in being a left-brained individual, but this business has surely required me to tap into my right brain and bridge the gap between the two. I enjoy not only increasing my own Biblical knowledge but also the ability to share it with my customers. I think this is the biggest thing that sets me apart. Yes, there are other Christian candle makers, but my dream was always to do more than share a verse with my customers. I want to share a story. I want to inspire their devotions and their relationship with God.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Passion – I personally have to be passionate about what I’m doing in order for me to be motivated to keep doing it and do it to the best of my ability. I’ve always been passionate about God, I’ve found my passion in candle making, and I’m definitely passionate about being my own boss.
Patience – Overnight success stories do exist, but they are so few and far between to rely on them as your own personal business plan. It’s important to exercise patience as the business grows. In that patience, do as much as you can to contribute to whatever your “big break” will be, rather than sitting around idle, waiting for it to come to you.
Persistence – Be diligent. Don’t give up. Your time will come so long as you stay focused and committed to your goal.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
MARKETING! This has been the biggest challenge for my business over the last year or so. My husband was a fantastic help for me in the beginning, but his workload became increasingly heavier and could not commit the same amount of time as before. I’ve picked it up where I could, but he was just so much more consistent than me!
And being so young, it’s still very much a DIY operation. We’re not at a point where we can outsource, but the minute we are, we will certainly do that. For now, we rely on in-person events to help us grow in that way. We still would like to have much stronger online and social media presence. But we’re persistent! And patient! We’ll keep doing the right things to help us get there.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.welllitcandles.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/welllitcandles/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welllitcandles4
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/welllitcandles
Image Credits
First 4 images: Khop Shoots – https://khopshoots.com/home
