World on Pause Candles : Reducing Anxiety with Candles

Zoé Tétrault from World on Pause Candles

The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has turned the daily lives of many people upside down. Among them, young people, who found themselves having to do remote learning and cancel their social activities. Many young folks decided to put this free time to good use and to work or even to start their own business.

That’s the case with Zoé Tétrault, a 17-year-old girl from St. Malo. “With COVID, I had a lot of free time, more than ever before. I didn’t go to school anymore since everything was done remotely, and I no longer had a job. It caused me a lot of anxiety.” To relax, the young girl turned to what she has always loved: “Candles. I find they have a calming effect. But with the pandemic, it had become difficult to go and buy some at the store. So I thought about it and realized that I could make them myself! ”

From that moment on, Zoé Tétrault spent her time doing research online in order to learn as much as possible about candle making. After much research, the young girl embarks on the candle making adventure. “At first, the idea was mostly to make those candles to relax. But soon I started to really like it and started making it for others and sell them.

“I sold them to my family first, to my friends, and then to local markets. It worked really well. My parents have a business, so they have been very supportive and encouraging me in my candle making project. ”

What makes her candles different? “I make them as natural as possible. I also ask my customers to return their candle jars for a discount on their next purchase. It’s a more environmentally responsible practise. ”

Like her brother and her father before her, Zoé Tétrault also went through CDEM to obtain support. “My dad told me about the Été en affaires program and how CDEM could certainly help me grow my business, World on Pause Candles.”

With CDEM’s support, Zoé was able to set up her World on Pause Candles website, which gives her better visibility. (1) “Thanks to the website, my sales have been going very well since September,” rejoices the young entrepreneur. September also meant it was back to school time for the student of the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine (DSFM). A new school year that gave her ideas.

“When I went back to school, I realized the amount of work needed from the school administration to ensure that learning can be done well and in a manner that is safe for everyone. It made me think of my candles. For me, they provide a moment of relaxation. So I thought it would be nice to offer some to school administrations. ”

With Jeunes en Action’s support, the young girl made baskets with candles, tea and other surprises that she plans to offer to all the DSFM schools. The baskets should arrive at each school during the month of December.

Zoé Tétrault sees a bright future for her business: “I would like to continue my business. I had a lot of orders in November. Almost 300. It gives me a lot to do that.

“And, if possible, I would even like to be able to offer a job to my friends during the summer to help me out! I also know that if needed, I can always turn to CDEM for help. They were great to me. ”

(1)  https://worldonpausecandles.com/