Penelope Crawley is on a mission to enlighten, inspire and empower women daily and help them to build self-love and self-confidence. She created Enlighten Me Candles NZ to lift women’s spirits and to spread love and positivity. As a life coach, she is always on the lookout for ways to encourage women to live their best life and to love themselves first. Candles had always made her feel relaxed and at ease, so she decided to learn how to make them herself, incorporate positive affirmations and fill New Zealand homes with positivity. Handcrafted in her own kitchen, these beautiful, scented candles are a great way to awaken your senses and to relax and unwind.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
Being a single mum of 3, I’ve always looked for ways I can work from home to be with the kids growing up. I was a beauty therapist for 15 years so my passion to make women feel fabulous has always been deep inside. I was in an abusive relationship many moons ago and that is still my driving force to inspire and nurture women while showing them ways to love and respect themselves.
I recently had such a positive improvement in my personal life after diving deep into personal development and I really wanted to inspire and empower as many others as I could. I started sharing strategies of habitual programming with others and eventually starting coaching as a business. Candles are something that has always made me feel at ease, relaxed and gave me a feel-good vibe. Incorporating positive affirmations to each candle was the perfect gateway to fill New Zealand homes with positive vibes and inspire women around the country to be their best.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
Creating beautiful scented natural candles for women to enjoy is just a branch off from my lifestyle coaching and as I love expanding and coming up with new ideas, when this idea came about, I didn’t hesitate. I searched on YouTube for the top candle-making sites to get an idea of what was involved, then purchased some products and did all my testing and sampling. I gave to friends and family and when I was confident I had them at a good standard, I started selling them to the same friends and family, and eventually got the confidence to sell to the public.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
My biggest breakthrough so far was my very first sale! It’s always scary when launching any business; you doubt yourself, you question if people are going to like it or want to buy it. It is always the ice breaker when you get your first sale, then it’s all on!
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
It can get very busy. I have older children now so it is a lot easier to manage as they are quite independent. We help each other and they are incredibly supportive. They are my number 1 fans. They help me at the markets and we make it like a family day out. They get to eat and shop while also learning business and networking skills. It helps build their self-confidence by interacting with everyone, and closing those sales.
