Her Candle Business Earns $1 Million Per Year

Annabelle DeGrazio is the founder of TAJA Collection 🕯️

She started it back in 2017 with the goal of selling “customizable home accessories” which includes candles, soap, diffusers, vases and more.

In a recent interview, Annabelle reveals the business now does $1 in annual revenue 🤑

The origin story…

While working as a lawyer… I created TAJA Collection while searching for the perfect gift for my secretary. I wanted something thoughtful and beautiful—in particular, a high-end candle with a photo of my secretary’s cat. With no viable options (besides a sticker on a generic candle) and a few months of R&D, I launched TAJA Collection…

Once I got the idea in my head, it was impossible to get rid of it. My obsession turned into a product and, eventually, a business!

Their customers…

We sell mostly DTC (60%) and wholesale, primarily corporate gifting (40%).

(DTC = Direct to Consumer)

🚀 Initial traction…

Word of mouth and Instagram! Since most of our clients are buying gifts, the recipients loved their gifts so much that nine times out of ten, they pay it forward and order TAJA when they need a gift, and so on.

This is what Seth Godin refers to as a “purple cow” product: something so remarkable that people can’t help but spread the word 💬

Btw, you can check out TAJA on Instagram here (50K followers).

How Annabelle kickstarted the wholesale side of the business…

I messaged many people on LinkedIn offering free candles. This led to locking up some sports teams and law firms.

But nothing came easy…

The first year was a whirlwind, and I worked out of a garage for most of the year.

Whenever I was awake, I was working.

Now Annabelle runs a fully-bootstrapped million dollar business with a team of 5 women in Miami 💪

Last words from her…

No one does what we do. There are no candles on the market that offer full customization quite like we do—from fragrance to color and top-to-bottom design. You can put lyrics, photos, mantras, and basically any design on the candle. We also infuse so much thought into each and every order.

Makes me think there could be room for a competitor, or perhaps there’s an opportunity to do something like this in other parts of the world 🤔

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