Meet Collette Bice | Founder of Wickry Candle Co.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Collette Bice and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Collette, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
My work-life balance has changed substantially over the past few years. Before I started my business 2 years ago, I spent hours of my day commuting back and forth to work and felt like I didn’t have enough energy by the time I got home to spend quality time with others or even focus on myself.

Since starting my own business, my work-life balance has certainly shifted. While working out of my home certainly has its perks, it can also make it difficult to maintain that balance. It’s tempting to answer every email immediately, take on too many wholesale clients at one time, and spend my weekends pouring candles and packaging orders, but lately I’ve been aiming to take more time off to spend with family and friends. Giving myself that time off lets me be more energized when it comes to working on my business and coming up with new creative ideas instead of feeling burned out all of the time. Self-care is so important and luckily I’m in the position of taking time off when I need it.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
When I first started my business, a priority of mine was to use the most natural ingredients possible so that my customers feel comfortable and safe burning them in their homes. I use 100% soy wax and premium fragrance oils that are phthalate-free and non-toxic. I only use certified clean-scents that are free of carcinogens, reproductive toxins, and other hazardous chemicals often found in fragrance.

Reducing my impact on the environment is another important aspect to running my business. My packaging is eco-friendly, including my biodegradable packing peanuts which are made from organic corn starch and dissolve in water. I also use paper bubble wrap instead of plastic bubble wrap to keep everything as sustainable as possible since the majority of my sales are online.

One thing about my business that sets it apart from the rest is how I treat my customers. I believe it has been a key to my success and it is of utmost importance to me. When an issue arises, I try to resolve it in a way that makes us both happy and treat them the way that I would want to be treated as a customer. I also value their feedback greatly and incorporate their suggestions into my business when possible.

Being in charge of every facet of operating a business has been challenging. Since I run my company on my own, I have to handle everything from product photography to creating my products, sourcing my supplies, shipping out the orders, etc. Although this can be daunting at times, I’ve learned how to manage my time effectively and prioritizing what needs to be done to keep things running. Blocking out times of the day to focus on one task has been a useful way to not feel overwhelmed and make sure I get the important things completed.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
When friends and family visit, I love taking them to all sorts of places around Dallas depending on their interests. Some I’ve taken to Perot Museum, the Dallas World Aquarium or Klyde Warren Park. When my best friend visits, I always make sure to take her out to delicious restaurants and bakeries such as Village Bakery (their kouign amanns are the best!). If she was able to stay an entire week, I would love to take her to the farmer’s market in Coppell to check out their farm-fresh produce and do some shopping at the local businesses in the area. I would also convince her to come with me to some of my favorite plant nurseries such as Nicholson-Hardie and Redenta’s to look at houseplants and outdoor plants. Downtown Carrollton is also another area we would definitely go to for Cane Rosso if we were in the mood for pizza or Beth Marie’s for some old-fashioned ice cream. Basically we would eat the entire time, which is one of the best things about Texas right?

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to shoutout Kenna Hoff from Midwest Fragrance Company. Her words of encouragement and genuine positivity has impacted me throughout my candle-making career. She provides such valuable insight and inspiration as not only a business owner selling fragrance oils, but as an owner of a retail candle-making company herself. Huge shout out to my other favorite candle supply company, Candlescience, that has also provided valuable troubleshooting and support!

The amount of support I’ve gotten from my family and friends has been indescribable. My husband Dmitry is my biggest supporter and I wouldn’t be where I am today without him. Anytime I felt like I wanted to give up or became discouraged, he was there to build me back up. My sister-in-law, Jess, is also someone I’ve spent hours talking to about my business and getting her input and suggestions. When I’m on the fence about a new scent or idea, she gives her honest opinion and I owe so much of my success today to her!

Website: Wickry.com

Instagram: instagram.com/wickrycandleco

Facebook: Facebook.com/wickrycandleco

Image Credits
Society Image Media