Beyond the Wick: Crafting Wealth Your Way "Built from scratch. Crafted for greatness
This isn’t your average business podcast.
Not Just Candle Talk is the unapologetic, unfiltered audio home for ambitious entrepreneurs, creatives, and side-hustlers ready to do business on their own terms — no fluff, no fake motivation.
Founded on real experience and raw truth, this podcast dives into the real-life challenges behind the candle business and beyond. Whether you’re just starting out or scaling your empire, every episode is packed with lessons, strategies, and mindset shifts to help you build a business and a life you don’t need to escape from.
Hey, I’m Toni, and I know what it’s like to start from scratch.
When I launched my candle business, I had big dreams but limited resources — no investors, no fancy marketing team, just grit, Google, and a lot of trial and error. I built my brand from the ground up, burned out more times than I can count, and learned to pivot, scale, and get smart about what really makes money in this game.
Not Just Candle Talk was born out of my journey — the highs, the hustle, the hard lessons — and the deep desire to have conversations no one else is having in entrepreneurship. The stuff beyond the surface. The why behind the work.
This Podcast Is For You If…
- You’re tired of overnight success stories with no receipts.
- You want to make real money while staying true to yourself.
- You believe business can be both profitable and purposeful.
- You’re building your brand while managing your real life.
Beyond the Wick: Crafting Wealth Your Way "Built from scratch. Crafted for greatness
You're Not Broken, You're Burnt Out: Finding Peace in the Entrepreneurial Middle Ground
What happens when the business you started with passion becomes the very thing draining your energy and bank account? Beyond the glossy Instagram posts and six-figure launch screenshots lies a reality most entrepreneurs face but few discuss openly: the burnout, the financial strain, and the overwhelming pressure to maintain an appearance of constant success.
This raw, emotional episode cuts through the toxic hustle culture to address the unspoken middle phase of entrepreneurship—where you're no longer a beginner but nowhere near where you want to be. It's a lonely, quiet place where many business owners silently struggle, checking bank accounts with dread before business expenses and wondering if their dream is still worth pursuing.
The truth? You're not broken—you're burnt out. You've been carrying too much for too long, investing in tools, courses, and marketing because that's what you're told to do. But what happens when you spend all your money and there's still no return? Burnout isn't a badge of honor, and being broke isn't a business strategy. There must be a better way, and it starts with giving yourself permission to pause, not quit. Scaling back doesn't mean giving up; raising your prices isn't greedy—it's survival.
If you're feeling stretched thin but still holding onto your dreams, know that this difficult chapter is simply part of your journey toward greatness. I share my own experience taking 20 hours off my busy week to combat burnout, showing how sometimes stepping back is exactly what moves us forward. Download my "10 Signs You're Burnt Out" checklist to help navigate this challenging phase. Subscribe and share this episode with someone who needs to hear they're not alone in their entrepreneurial struggle.
Hello world, I have a couple of questions for you. What do you do when your dream is draining you, when the business you started with passion is burning you out and your pockets are empty? If that sounds like you, this episode might hit a little too close to home, and that's the point. Welcome back to Not Just Candle Talk, where we keep it real about entrepreneurship, side hustles and surviving the grind. I'm your host, toni, and today's episode is raw, emotional and 100% necessary. So we live in a time where everyone's flexing right.
Speaker 1:The six-figure launch screenshots, the luxury office aesthetics, the just quit my 95 job and make 20K, my first week stories. It's intoxicating and it's also a lie for most people. What you don't see are the maxed out credit cards, the panic attacks between client calls or the depression from comparing your pace to someone else's highlight reel. Success has been rebranded as performance and if you're not consistently posting your wins, people assume you're losing. Right, that pressure right there is suffocating right? Let me say this directly You're not broken, you're burnt out. I'll repeat You're not broken, you're just burnt out. You're tired because you've been carrying too much for too long promoting, managing, also delivering and somewhere along the line you forgot to rest. You've been smiling through late invoices, pretending you're okay, when in actuality you're drowning and silently wondering is this even worth it? Right, the world doesn't talk about this phase. The middle part, right, the. I'm not a beginner, but I'm nowhere near where I want to be. Stage it's lonely, it could be quiet, but it's also where most of us are at, or a lot of people are at. Right, entrepreneurship will test finances before it grows them it will.
Speaker 1:I've talked about it before on numerous episodes, that it's peaks and valleys. This is what I mean. You're invested in tools, coaches, you've done courses, you've done marketing, you read all the books because that's what you're told to do. Right? I've said it before again in some of my past episodes you have to spend money to make money. That's not an illusion, that's a fact. All right, but what happens when you spend all your money and there's still no return? I know what it's like to check your bank account Before a business expense and feel sick. Been there, done that. I know what it's like to make money and still feel broke because it all goes right back into the business. You're not failing, you're learning. So everything is a learning phase and you probably stay in that phase.
Speaker 1:But the truth is we need to stop glamorizing the struggle era like it's noble. Burnout is not a badge of honor. Being broke is not a business strategy. There has to be a better way, correct business strategy. There has to be a better way, correct. What if I gave you permission to do things differently? What if you paused, not quit. Just pause long enough to breathe and realign.
Speaker 1:Scaling back does not mean giving up. I'll repeat that one as well. Scaling back does not mean giving up. Raising your prices. It's not greedy, that's not being greedy, it's called survival.
Speaker 1:Okay, choosing peace over pressure. That's not lazy, it's wisdom. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs had to hit pause before they even ever found their real rhythm. So your story isn't over. Okay, this chapter is just tough, but it's still part of the greatness. It's part of your greatness, right?
Speaker 1:If you're burnt out, if you're burnt out, broke, but still dreaming, you're not weak, you're not behind, you're in a fight and you're not alone. Trust and believe. Today's episode is just a reminder that your dreams are still valid, even when they feel heavy. You're allowed to rest and, most importantly, you're allowed to keep going in a way that actually sustains you. If this episode hits home. Share it with someone who needs to hear it. Okay, it's important, um, to know that you know you're not, you're not by yourself in this fight, but the objective is to keep fighting right To see, um, where it takes you. This is your journey, your journey alone. It's never pretty, but we need to talk about it more.
Speaker 1:I have seen people talk about taking a pause, but I've never seen anybody just get right into it with why they actually took a pause pause. It was just, oh, we needed a break. Well, you know, say it. Say it. Let people know that it's not Roses all the time, okay, but I've seen People say that, but no deep conversations. And you know I'm one that you know I like those deep conversations. I want to get into it because it's a community of people who feel this way. Okay, so I recently. I'll share a story. I recently did a pause myself. About a couple of months ago, I had to take 20 hours off of my busy week and realign myself because I was starting to feel the burnout. I was starting to feel it and I cut 20 hours of my week off and chose me instead, and with that time off, I have realigned, readjusted and I feel so much better.
Speaker 1:And I have people ask me about the candle business as well what happened to your candle business? What's going on? Because they don't see things happening but trust and believe things are moving along. We're going on our sixth year. This will be our sixth year in our candle business. I'm over 200 cents. We're not going anywhere, but it's good to take a pause and adjust to the times. Okay, so you know.
Speaker 1:I just wanted to share that because I do have people ask me questions about certain things and sometimes I will reply, but you know everything is timing and you reply to the right person about the right things. Right, because you know you want to be helpful, you want to be inspirational to people. You know you want to be helpful, you want to be inspirational to people and you never know when that person needs it or needs to hear it or really don't need to hear it, you know. So always pick and choose what you say to people and how you say it. But anyway, I just wanted to come on and talk about it because it needs to be talked about and I will continue to do these types of deep conversation, podcasts about entrepreneurship and things that we go through. Ok, so what I'm going to do is I'm going to provide a 10 signs you're burnt out checklist and what to do about it. I'm going to put that in PDF form to use as a reference guide for anybody who needs it.
Speaker 1:All right, so, with that being said, I'm going to end this episode. So, with that being said, I'm going to end this episode. Always appreciate the listeners and don't forget to, if you like this episode, subscribe and share this with someone who you think might need to hear this. Um and uh. I'm going to keep having these real conversations that go deeper than just making money. Okay, so thank you again, as always, and I will see you, you guys, on the next um episode. Thank you so much.