Juliet Prosser, ‘24 is a small business owner who sells homemade candles, all while having a busy schedule like her peers at Redwood High School.
Beginning in August 2020, Prosser started her small business “Paradise Candles Visalia,” and ran it until February 2021. Prosser says, “[she] wanted to make some extra money to help buy gifts for family and friends,” and candles “[are] something people would like to buy for the holiday season.”
These candles are, “high quality, vegan and cruelty free.” Prosser says, “people don’t like candles and body products that have harmful products, or may have animal testing.”
There are struggles that have to be overcome when starting a homemade business. Prosser says, “at first it was hard to figure out the right temperatures to melt the wax at. Since there’s a lot of science behind it, [she] also had to do research for it.”
Prosser adds, “some challenges [she] faced was getting the candles out to more people, and being able to find more customers.”
Making products at home can also create many challenges. “Sometimes it’s difficult to make space because [she has] to use the kitchen and pull out a table to make it, and designate a Saturday to restock,” Prosser explains.
Starting a business in high school, along with all of the other expectations and assignments school requires of a student, takes time management, determination, and effort.
“[Prosser’s] business really connected [her] with a lot of people because they reached out to [her] to ask about it, and it has also helped [her] learn a lot about business,” says Prosser.
As of August 2021, Prosser began selling her candle products once again. She says, “ [she] just wanted to do something again because [she] felt like [she] was wasting a lot of time and [she] figured that…[she] might as well do something productive.”
Prosser sells all her candles for $25. The candles come in 16 oz, or as a sample in any scent for $5.
To purchase these candles, visit Prosser’s Instagram page: @paradisecandlesvisalia.
Olivia Gonzalez
Olivia Gonzalez '24 is a third year writer for the Redwood Gigantea. She is interested in looking deeper into the lives of students at Redwood. Outside of Gigantea, she is apart of the Law and Justice academy and CSF here at Redwood Highschool. You can reach her by email at olivi.go4371@vusd.us
Tags: candles, humans of redwood, Olivia Gonzalez, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, small business