I quit my job as a hairdresser to start a side gig, now earning £13 million

A SAVVY mother-of-two who turned her back on modest wages in the beauty industry has now turned her simple side hustle into a £13million business.

Cheryl Maclean, 49, was tired of restarting her beauty business every time her husband Duncan, 50, was posted to a new army base and was eager to start a project she could do anywhere.

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Already a big fan of home perfumes, the mother of two decided to start making her own candles and the Candle Shack was soon born.

The couple honed their craft by simply watching YouTube tutorials and then began making the products on their kitchen table.

At first they kept their new business as a sideline, but their big break came when a Dutch company placed an order for 3,000 candles – and the business really took off.

Now, 14 years later, the company has turned over a whopping £13 million and employs 80 staff.

Cheryl, who used to earn around £20,000 from her beauty business, tells Fabulous: “Candle Shack has broken down a lot of financial barriers that would have been unthinkable to me ten years ago.

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“It was beyond our wildest dreams. We never thought we would end up with the company we have today.”

The idea for Candle Shack came about when Duncan was tasked with coming up with a business idea for a university project on how to start a business after a recession.

The couple, who have two daughters Lauren, 22, and Ellie, 18, invited friends over for a barbecue and “pour them down with alcohol and food” before the group decided candle making would be the perfect business venture.

Duncan who traveled with the armyexplains, “It started as a university project and a side job that Cheryl and I could take anywhere so we didn’t have to start a business from scratch.”

For two years, Cheryl and Duncan worked at Candle Shack as a side income, selling the products at local markets.

In the first few years, all of the couple’s money was reinvested into the business and they each paid themselves £1,000 a month.

“There were maybe four tough years where finances were very tight,” says Cheryl.

“The hard work really paid off about eight years after starting the company.”

The turning point came when they were approached by a businesswoman from the Netherlands, who ran a marketing agency, and who had received one of their candles as a gift.

She loved the product because it was made from plant-based wax, and asked the couple if they could make her 3,000 candles, with her company’s label on the front.

They also started selling some leftover perfume and discovered another gap in the market, selling supplies to aspiring candle makers.

It meant that another profitable branch of their business was born.

Cheryl, the CCO of Candle Shack, and Duncan, the company’s CEO and head of innovation, then decided to quit their jobs and focus on their business full-time.

“Duncan was fed up with the military and our girls were young,” says Cheryl.

“The company was getting bigger and we had to make a decision.”

The couple moved to Kinross, Scotland, to be closer to both their families.

There were a lot of frustrated creative people sitting in their homes wanting to have some side income as a creative outlet, or maybe a second income, and I think we helped feed that market

Duncan

Duncan used a severance package he received from the military to pay a year’s rent on a condo, giving the couple twelve months to see if their business would really take off.

“We knew that if we had had to pay rent and we had one or two bad months, we would have put the rent in a bottle,” Duncan says.

However, once they started the e-commerce side of the business – selling online – their cash flow increased dramatically.

Candle Shack now primarily sells candle making supplies to business owners, and also offers support and advice to people hoping to start their own candle making business.

Business is booming

Cheryl says that when they started the business, there was no help for aspiring candle makers, so they found a real gap in the market.

“We want to help people, teach people how to make safe products, make products that smell great and also provide the best quality that people can afford,” she explains.

Duncan believes the boom in their business is due to the fact that customers want handmade products instead of mass-produced, which explains why the market for homemade candles has boomed.

He also adds, “There were a lot of frustrated creative people sitting in their homes wanting to have some side income as a creative outlet, or maybe a second income, and I think we helped feed that market as well.

“Whether it’s a mother who has had children and hasn’t started working yet, or people who have had a high-pressure job in the city and just want to move for a slower pace of life and a better work balance and have a private life. “

Cheryl adds: “We absolutely love what we do and have done so since day one.”

The couple plans to help more aspiring candle makers start their own businesses so that “in Europe, every city, every village has a little candle shop, and we help them on that journey.”

Cheryl shares advice for those thinking of starting their own side business. Make sure your brand is as personal as possible and ‘tells your story’.

“Don’t be afraid to inject your own personality and use yourself or your city as a good enough story,” she explains.

“Just be proud of who you are and what the company stands for.”

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