Ordinary Lass Blog

5 things I’ve learned about success – from speaking to wife, mum and award winning small business owner of Yorkshire based ‘Timmins Candles’

Image: Sarah Timmins at Yorkshire Prestige Awards

What is it that makes us go for our goals and dreams and how can we make them a success?

I’ve always admired women who have taken the leap and made their ideas a reality, so it was a pleasure to sit down with Sarah Timmins, the founder of Yorkshire based business Timmins Candles. We caught up over a cuppa where she shared her experiences of juggling family life with a growing business.

Without her gut instinct and natural curiosity, she might not have turned Timmins Candles into a successful business. Thankfully for her customers (and us), her willingness to take a chance, together with her unwillingness to fail, resulted in a business that survived the pandemic and continues to thrive today. So, if you’re looking for inspiration to kickstart that goal, let me share her story…

1.Starting before you’re ready

Like many of us, Sarah was lighting candles of an evening to create a cosy atmosphere at home. Is there anything better than that warm feeling and a candle flickering when you’re settling down at night? Every week, she was buying well-known brands but soon found that they didn’t burn for long or that the fragrance would wear off quickly. She remembers one night saying to her husband “I wonder how they make them”.

It occurred to her that she could do it better.

I was curious about her ability to just know that she could do a better job. I wonder if we call this gut, intuition or inner voice? Well, whatever it was, it kickstarted her to buy a DIY starter kit from Ebay and make her own candles. She simply thought to herself I’d rather try and see what happens.

At that time, she’d recently been made redundant after almost a decade as an accountant at a local music venue. Shockingly, she had only been back at work 6 weeks after maternity leave when she was told that there wasn’t a job for her. Looking back now, she realises that it was a time of redirection. Many of us have to adjust when we have children and we start to question our identity and purpose. 

Sarah’s first batch of DIY candles was fragranced with cinnamon spice (really nice!) and she gave some to her Mum and her sister-in-law who loved them. In her head, Sarah had already visualised the design and branding and it felt fitting to use her newly married name. She used Vistaprint back then to create and print her logo for the labels which she says cost a fortune but she learned a lesson to make sure that she researched and sourced cheaper alternatives as her business grew.

What strikes me about Sarah is that she didn’t wait for perfection; she started before she was ready and that first step grew into more action.

At the time, her sister-in-law had a T-shirt printing business and suggested that they went together to Christmas fayres and market stalls. “I made £280 at my first Christmas market. I was absolutely buzzing! I took my teenage daughter with me to help and we were over the moon. I booked every market going!”

Sarah bought a range of jars, created her design and listened to feedback from family and friends. She spent money on oils, fragrances and started to experiment. “It was all trial and error” she recalls. The key to improving the products was “testing, testing and more testing”. She listened to feedback from repeat customers and the products evolved from. She remembers that she persisted to ensure the chemistry and balance of fragrances was just right.  

She admits that she didn’t realise how much was involved; she had to scroll the internet to learn all about trading standards and regulations. “It had to be right because it’s a flammable product in somebody’s home. It needs to be safe”.  

2. The Power of Community

In the early days of making candles, Sarah joined a Facebook group of entrepreneurs (though she wouldn’t use that name to describe herself!). She was looking for support from people who had knowledge of the industry and she wanted to learn more about the regulations. She approached research with two questions in mind ‘What do I need and where can I get it from?

As she asked questions, people in the group shared their ideas and tips about ingredients which led to her refining her labels and adapting the legal language needed when you take a product to market. Instead of listing all the oils and ingredients herself (from a 15 page document), she was then able to outsourced safety information and labels which freed up more time for her to work on products or promotions.

Having known her for over 20 years, I know she is a highly driven but humble individual; she has that enviable balance of wearing her heart on her sleeve but she takes no nonsense. Her financial background of accountancy and experiences in the beauty industry meant that she already had an idea about liability and insurance to ensure that she was compliant with industry standards. This for me, highlights the power of learning and drawing on other life experiences when we look to create or solve problems in work, personal life or relationships.

3. Listening to your inner voice

When I asked Sarah, what she felt was guiding her to achieve her goals, she shared that her “mind goes 24/7”. She describes it as ‘an itch’ that she needs to ‘scratch’ and she somehow makes the fear of failure seem insignificant saying “If I fail, I fail. But what if I don’t fail?” which is refreshing.

Making her family proud is a motivating factor for her, ‘I couldn’t sit and have nothing to do’ she admits. As I listen to her, I know how that feels and I’m not sure that she realises just how driven and creative she is.

It’s clear to me that she is a thinker but she also takes action and follows her intuition. By contrast, I can procrastinate about things for far too long which can lead to inaction and I’m left daydreaming about the ‘what ifs’. Has that ever happened to you? The ability to follow your gut, intuition or tap into that higher knowing, I think it’s a skill we can all learn from. She saw a redundancy after maternity leave as an opportunity to redirect her life when others might have let it keep them down. When the kids were in bed and house was quiet she would research and experiment, scroll for online advice and look for ways to refine her products.  

Timmins Candles now has over 100 fragrances. As she creates new ones, she doesn’t want to get rid of old ones especially as some repeat customers like the OG fragrances with some customers ordering their candles weekly!

She added to her product line and became more versatile by adding home fragrances, reed diffusers and car air fresheners. Not bad for an idea cooked up in her kitchen.

Sarah noticed that sales in the summer months were a bit slower. In response to a lull in sales and an attempt to expand her offering, she began to explore ideas for weddings. She created centre pieces to appeal to brides and offered personalised favours.

A successful wedding fayre led to new contacts and customer leads, “It went down a storm! I took 6 bookings that same day. I was surprised with follow ups as well. Customers contacted me months later saying they’d seen me at a fayre and wanted to order”. Weddings have now become a big part of her online business sales and she credits the wedding fayres growth in that area.

To her surprise, she received an email announcing she had been nominated for an award by a customer. She hadn’t heard of the awards before and her first thought was that it was probably a scam!  

She soon realised that it wasn’t and took her husband along to the event in Newcastle, “It was a chance to dress up and have a fancy dinner and soak up the good feeling of our hard work”.

They reached the Yorkshire regional finals and were nominated for 3 business awards in one year! Sarah feels it was a chance to “enjoy the moment” and meet other people. It meant a lot to her to get external validation from genuine reviews and customer votes because it reminded her that she had a good product that customers valued. You can’t say better than that, right?

4. Persevering through setbacks

When the pandemic hit, the instruction to ‘stay at home’ brought an increase in demand for candles as more people spent time indoors, looking for ways to improve their environments. Sarah’s online sales increased massively, “It was madness. I’ve never known anything like it”. She remembers the constant orders pouring in and using her kitchen as a production line with the help of her teenage daughter and husband. “It was a constant cycle of printing, picking, packing and delivery – a full production line at home”.

She recalls posting around 40-50 parcels a day for delivery and the whole family tried to keep up with the demand.

Alongside her candle business, she was also working part time for a company when the pandemic hit and she found herself trying to navigate ‘furlough’ and government grants whilst parenting and home schooling one child through GCSE Year 10 exams and her other child through early years learning at home.

Whilst she worked in the construction industry and her husband still worked throughout the pandemic. On reflection, it was incredibly difficulty time, “I don’t know how I didn’t have a mental breakdown. I don’t know how I did it. Nobody had ever done it before”

Inevitably, it took its toll when she was expected to have the answers or give advice to her employers about the company’s financial options during Covid-19. She would regularly call her close friend and fellow accountant and try to support each other through the ever changing rules.

As the candle business was building momentum, she admits was on the verge of burnout. She remembers thinking “Something’s got to give. There’s only so much one person can do”. She took a leap of faith and decided to give the business her full attention and focus. Put it simply. The candles lit her up! Literally. Don’t excuse the pun – it was deliberate!

She shares that the candle business was “her baby” and it strikes me that we all have something that we get excited about and yet we might not ever just go for it or take a leap of faith. Have you ever felt like that? Something was just meant for you?

5. Reflecting, Evolving & Adapting

Sarah knew she had outgrown the kitchen and small extension but she wasn’t sure if the expense of bigger premises was necessary but it wasn’t long before she noticed a shop advertised on Rightmove which was unique and seemed like a good fit. If you’re a believer of alignment or things happening for a reason then you might see this as a sign.

Online sales were strong and an actual shop at a country park might fill the summer gap. The rent was surprisingly affordable and I feel that it’s important to celebrate the fact that over 30 other applicants applied to lease that shop!

Not one to stay still, Sarah’s adapted her products to meet demand and to fit with visitors to the shop. She’s kept her original product line but bends to the customer facing needs too. There’s a café and other retail units at Rother Valley Country Park where you can visit Timmins Candles and see Sarah hand pouring her soy wax candles in the back. There’s something lovely about being able chat with the creator of the candles whilst you’re looking at the products and deciding how many to buy. The shop is warm and inviting and not to mention smells amazing. Obviously!

It’s clear to me that her journey was not always a fixed end goal but more a series of smaller decisions and an ability to not fear failure – which is something we can all learn from.

Sarah is proof that curiosity and the ability to adapt can be all you need to move towards your goals. Whatever your dream is, whatever is niggling at you, I urge you to take a step or start today. Go on, start before you’re really ready – you know you can.

You can buy candles at www.timminscandles.com

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