 The pandemic had just started. It was also around the time of the Black Lives Matter movement. And many people were starting to support small black-owned businesses. And someone created a thread of black-owned candles. So many likes and retweets. And at one point I was getting like 200 orders a day. Yes, just little old me. I can't lie, it was a very stressful time. We're living in a hotel, we're moving from Virginia to come to California. So when the order started coming in, it was just this little tiny room. I had the smallest little wax melter and I was just trying to push out the orders. Pretty much the whole room was covered in candles, and wax everywhere. Unwaxed Candles is a natural soy wax candle company. I use all natural fragrances and soy wax to allow the customer to have a healthy, clean, burning experience when they use the candle. It kind of started out of a hobby. I joined the military when I was 18. Having a pretty stressful job like being in the military, it fueled my passion for unwaxed candles because I started having panic attacks and breakdowns. I was like, this is not me. So I started to go to therapy. I found out that my anxiety was being triggered by my inability to relax. And it sounds so simple, but it was something that I didn't know at the time that I wasn't doing. When I started making the candles, it was just kind of my way to escape and relax. Whether it's packaging the orders or making them, just kind of those lengthy processes real meditative for me. I try to be intentional with the scents that I put out. Some of the scents, I'll add essential oils. I like it to have meaning so that way people feel connected to it and connected to me and my story. And not that they're just like going and buying a random candle. Once it gets to the right temperature, I pour them all and then I let them cool. I had created a website through GoDaddy where I was able to take photos, put up my pricing, put descriptions of the candles. Once I started to use the websites and marketing tool, they had templates and it really took no time for me to create my website and incorporate marketplaces where you're able to connect your website to Facebook markets or Etsy, Amazon. And that's been really helpful for me because I've been able to have one location where I can hit a button and now I'm selling on four different platforms. Being open about mental health, especially during these times, health people feel like they're not alone. We all come from many different walks of life and many people go through different things. We're in such a fast paced society that makes us feel like we should be on the go 24 seven. That is the complete opposite of what you need for your mental health. I knew from the beginning that mental health would be a big part of my brand. Oftentimes I'll check in with some of the customers who might write me emails or if they send me a DM, I can reach back to them, see how they're doing. And some of my favorite messages are where the customers are telling me that they appreciate me being a good example of self-care to them because sometimes I don't feel like I'm doing that great of a job with self-care. I think we could all do a little better in that area. I started to realize that if I don't take care of myself, then I can't take care of others. And also I saw how it started to affect my work and I knew that I couldn't perform my best if I wasn't taking my self-care seriously. I'm at a point where I want to look at bringing more people onto the team. I just kind of imagine myself in a little warehouse, just having a good time with good energy and good people, just doing what I love to do full time.