Amira Gonzalez

I attribute my success to doing self-work and not allowing outside noise to diminish my burning passion inside. Whatever your heart is longing for, you can find a way to make it happen and work. I don't take no as a no - I take it as a next opportunity, and I don't feel defeated after being rejected. It took me a while to get there, but I learned that those who will value my business will find it. At first, I wanted to make my products affordable but also luxury, and those two don't always work because you're trying to please everyone. I learned that people will buy what they see the value in, and you shouldn't diminish the value just to make everyone happy. Not everyone will buy, but the right people who want it will.

The best career advice I've received is that you can do anything you dream of. To me, a career is about building something that you can leave behind - I want to build this business so that if my kids want to join in, they can. My husband and I are both entrepreneurs, and especially with how the world is going and not knowing if AI is going to take over your job the next day, we are trying to set our children up where they don't have to be dependent on society. You have to start somewhere, and I've had a great professional career that has allowed me to invest in my businesses. Really, it's about doing what you love. If someone tells you that you better have a backup plan, I've always loved this quote: Plan B is only how to make Plan A work. That's my advice - do what you love, and you can do anything you dream of.

Do what you love, and you can do anything you dream of. Plan B is only how to make Plan A work. Don't let anyone tell you that you need a backup plan - focus on making your main plan succeed. You can really do anything you dream of if you stay committed to it.

The biggest challenges are standing out from a marketing perspective, because with candles, you can't smell them over the phone or website. In person is much easier, but that also takes time to grow a wholesale or retail side of things. I'm trying to market my product in a way that shows what makes my candle different from everyone else's. I think my brand alone and its identity will help with that - we interpret scent as time travel by scent. We want our products to be more than just candles or perfume. I want people to feel uplifted or experience something nostalgic when they smell our scents. When I describe our brand to people, they say wow, that's a really cool concept and identity, but the challenge is how do I get that out to more people.

Family, God, support and love are most important to me. I value passing along knowledge to the next generation and encouraging them to not feel defeated with how society or the world can be. My values are about keeping moving forward, and I have my family support. Even if the circle is small, that support is important.