Meet Emma Liles | Small Business Owner & CMHC Student

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

Hi Emma, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I honestly never imagined that I would be a business owner—I believed that I was going to be a teacher my entire life. After four years in public education, I was worn-down, burned out, and questioning whether I would (or could) continue teaching. I got pregnant with my son right around the time I began my journey receiving counseling services; my counselor completely changed my life—so much so that I realized that counseling wasn’t just something I wanted to attend, it was something I wanted to learn how to do and facilitate to help others. During my pregnancy and those many months in therapy, I decided to retire from teaching and go back to school to become an LPC. My son was born the week before the COVID-19 lockdown, so during the first few months of his life, I had tons of time on my hands to learn a new skill. I began researching feverishly about how to make candles, and two years later—I now own a business making candles, wax melts, sprays, and perfumes.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Little Wing Candle Co. is named after the song by Jimi Hendrix—it was the song that was playing on my portable speaker when my son was born into the world. I named my business after a song because I wanted my brand to embody what I’m personally interested in—music, art, television, film, literature, etc. Many of my fragrance blends are inspired by book characters or named after songs. I have created a community of customers on Facebook, and we all enjoy brainstorming the next book, movie, or TV show that we want to release a limited edition candle line for. I try to take my customers’ opinions into consideration as much as possible.

Sometimes, when I am inspired by a setting or character in a work of fiction, I will blend together 2-4 different fragrance oils to make a completely unique blend whose scent is as accurate as possible to the actual source.

It was not easy to get where I am professionally—it took a lot of dedication, research, and unwillingness to give up. Many young women my age start businesses and pivot or go out of business a few months in—but quitting or closing has never been an option for me. My husband is a teacher and coach, so needless to say, we need the extra income and can’t survive without it. Sometimes it’s frustrating when I have a low-sales month, but I try to combat those lulls in sales by releasing new products or new fragrance blends.

There are hundreds of different types of wax and thousands of different wicks—there are literally millions of different combinations a creator can make when it comes to fragrances, labels, containers, branding—the biggest thing that helped me build this brand from the foundation to the roof was my faith in God. I feel like He was guiding me and highlighting certain choices along the way. Everything I offer is a product of my relationship with Him and all of my best ideas were His.

I want the world to know that good humans and kindness still exist in the world—ultimately, the part about this business that has meant the most to me is the connections and relationships I have made along the way. If we live paycheck to paycheck until I graduate from grad school, it will be well worth it for the community of friends that have gathered around to enjoy these products and contribute to the legacy of kindness and connection.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We love to come to the city for live music! Our favorite spot to eat definitely Las Palmas—the food, atmosphere, and drinks are fantastic!

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?
My mother, Kathleen, was the one who initially encouraged me to dive head-first into this business. Without her, I don’t know that I would have had the courage to get started. She was the one who bought me my very first candle-making starter kit and, to this day, she still insists on purchasing my products at full price to support me and my dream.

I also had tons of friends in the beginning who shared (and still continue to share) my products on social media and hype up my brand. They know who they are.

I also owe a huge chunk of my success to Sarah Brand of 213 Creative Group for building me a beautiful website and teaching me how to be technologically independent. She has dedicated countless hours to helping me build the website of my dreams, and without her—my business would be nowhere near where it is today. She has enriched my life both professionally and personally, and is another relationship I’m super thankful to have made through this business. 

Lastly, I have made a dear friend in this business, Marsha Flowers, who owns 5B&Co. candles out of Kansas City and also Little Bee Scents. Her fragrance oils have allowed me to be extraordinarily creative and have set my brand apart from other similar businesses. Without her unique fragrances, I wouldn’t have been able to build the unique brand I have now. She has also been a friend, confidant, and support to me. She has created an online community of makers on Facebook who encourage and support one another, and without her—I don’t know where I would be in this business.

Website: Shoplittlewingcandles.com

Instagram: @littlewingcandleco

Facebook: Little Wing Candle Co.

Image Credits
Kortnee Ledezma, Audrey Carr, Tori Stone