[SG] Sponsoring children’s education through selling handmade candles and fragrances

The health of her loved ones is important to Lynne (@botanicalsandbees), who started making her own body care products and candles that are free from toxins and unsafe chemicals. She would do her own research on safe ingredients and gift the products to her friends and family. “I started selling them as more people can benefit from better awareness of the products they used. When Carousell started, my friends encouraged me to sell my products on the platform and also use it as an opportunity for me to make additional income that I can then use to sponsor education for the beneficiaries I was supporting,” said Lynne, who grew this side hustle on Carousell into a full-time business. 

She supports several beneficiaries by sponsoring their education through 20 percent of the profits from selling handmade soy candles and home fragrances. “I met the founder of Empowering Lives Asia and learnt about his work helping young children who cannot afford to go to school in the Philippines and Cambodia. Children as young as nine or 10 are often doing back-breaking work in charcoal or brick factories, facing very dangerous conditions,” shared Lynne. “I feel that education is both the key to progress and to alleviate poverty in our community as a whole. With access to education, they will eventually be able to be self-sufficient for themselves and their family as well as give back to the community.”

Lynne expresses gratitude to her customers who had supported her on her journey which first started on Carousell. May of whom have become friends and ardent supporters. “They can be very understanding and supportive to my small little business, as they have seen me grow and grow on Carousell and later on other platforms,” said Lynne. She recalls a young couple who approached her to make wedding favours on a tight budget. “I was able to only make 50 sets of wedding favors with the budget. They had a guest list of 150! I managed to provide all 150 gifts in the end. I appreciated the fact that they were very candid and upfront about their situation, and got to know them better over our discussions. I also got invited to the wedding, and are now friends with both of them and their first-born child!”