Meet Rachel Lee

 

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachel Lee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rachel, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I get my resilience from my family. It all started with my grandfather who was an inventor. He invented cheeses and other natural body products. I believe he loved making his products because it helped him build connections to people. That is one reason I love making products. I love seeing other people enjoy something I worked hard on. New product release dates are my favorite days. I love hearing the feedback.

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?

In 2023 I decided that I wanted to start making candles that were cleaner and safer to use. I was only going to make them for myself and a few friends. The first few products that I made were bees wax candles, soy wax candles/wax melts, and room sprays. After a few friends got them my friend Allyson told me to release them to the public. Even though I was scared I decided to do it. If it wouldn’t have done well at least I tried. You don’t know if you are going to succeed if you don’t even take a chance.
Since releasing those few products I have added lip balm, lip scrub, citronella candles, bug spray, car diffuser, lotion bars, and foaming hand soap. I wanted to have more people try my products so I went to farmers markets, vendor shows, and asked other small local businesses if I could showcase my products in their stores. I actually meet my future business partner in the first store front I was in. Her and I had wanted to have our own storefront to showcase our products in. A couple months later The Engraved Hive was born. We have 31 small local businesses in our shop and are currently relocating to a bigger space. Our new location will be at 937 Maine St in Quincy IL. We can’t wait to add more small businesses in this new location. We are all about supporting small local businesses.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

My top 3 important skills is a growth mind set, always striving to learn something new, and if there is something you want to do, do it. It doesn’t matter is someone has a product like yours, make yours a little different.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

When I feel overwhelmed I make plans with my family and friends. I go to the park with my kids, go fishing, get my nails done, go swimming, go on a date with my boyfriend, etc. Making time for yourself is very important.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Emily + Elijah Buswell took the first two pictures, the other ones I took.

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