An Aroma-Filled Path to Success ft. Samantha Amazan, Founder of The Wicked Scent Company | Ep. 66

On this episode, Samantha Amazon shares her journey from discovering the toxic effects of conventional candles to founding The Wicked Scent Company, a brand focused on well-being through scent. Our conversation covers Samantha's creative process, the impact of aromas and scents on our mental mental health, the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, and the personal growth experienced along the way. 

This episode covers:

• The creative spark behind The Wicked Scent Company
• The importance of intentional scent creation
• Exploring the relationship between scents, memories, and emotions
• The challenges of transitioning from a hobby to a business
• Insights on overcoming struggles and finding one's audience
• The journey of resilience and personal growth through business ownership
• The significance of wellness and connection with nature
• Encouragement for aspiring entrepreneurs to 'just start' and grow as you go

Watch this episode on YouTube!

More from Samantha & Wicked Scent Company:

• Shop and explore on thewickedscent.com
• Follow @thewickedscent on IG and TikTok!

Related Episodes:

• Get In, Love. We're Kissing Imposter Syndrome Goodbye. | Ep. 61
• Wellness for Black Women ft. Aseanté Renee | Ep. 37

Chapters

• 0:00 Starting Wicked Scent Company Business
• 12:11 The Power of Scented Memories
• 28:27 Navigating Hobbies to Business Transition
• 34:42 Navigating Hustle Culture and Resilience
• 39:38 Navigating Small Business Challenges
• 46:09 Entrepreneurial Growth and Self-Care
• 49:49 Embracing Wellness and Entrepreneurial Advice

Transcript

Aliya Cheyanne: 1:21

Hey friend, welcome back to the show. Thank you so much for being here and tuning into today's episode. I'm so excited because we have Samantha Amazon on the show today. Samantha is the founder and owner of Wicked Scent Company, which is a fabulous brand for all of your aroma and scent needs. I had the opportunity to attend one of Samantha's maker workshops in December 2024 and make my own candle and make my own room spray, and I only found out about it because of my best friend, michaela, who many of you may remember as a former co-host of this show. She is interested in making candles and she found out about the workshop and asked me if I wanted to join and I said yes. So we went and we had the best time and once the workshop was over, I knew immediately that I wanted to have Samantha on the show. So I asked her and she said yes. So this episode is a result of that and I'm so excited to get into today's conversation. So, without further ado, let's jump in.

Aliya Cheyanne: 2:28

Hi everyone, welcome back to the Prolific Hub podcast. I'm your host, aaliyah Cheyenne, and I'm so excited today to be joined by Samantha Amazon. Hi, samantha, hello everybody, so glad to have you here. Samantha is the creator, the founder, the scent extraordinaire behind the Wicked Scent Co. And I'm so excited to talk to her. So, before we jump in, samantha, I would love to kick it over to you, to introduce yourself to folks and share a little bit more about who you are in the world today.

Samantha Amazan: 3:00

Who I am in the world today. That is a loaded question. I'm a Black woman in the world today. Let's start off with that. But yes, I'm Samantha Amzani. I am the creator and owner of the Wicked Scent Company and I am going on four years plus strong of creating a very safe space for people that want to be creative and learn more about scents, and that is just from a strong, strong background in loving scents and fragrances myself. That kind of parlayed me into creating a space where I can grow and feel confident in what I love to do and my passion and help other people as well.

Aliya Cheyanne: 3:42

Beautiful. I love that. Thank you for sharing that Of. Of course, how I met you was at one of your workshops in December 2024. Um, my best friend found out about it and asked me if I wanted to go and I said hell yeah. So we went and it was beautiful. I got to make my own room spray and candle. Um, I ended up gifting my candle to my dad. I used my room spray.

Samantha Amazan: 4:09

Nice Okay, long as it became something.

Aliya Cheyanne: 4:12

I bought some stuff too for myself, like another little candle, you know. So that was really nice and I've been enjoying those. So that was my introduction to you and, of course, after the workshop I was like oh okay, let's get on the pod to talk, talk about this incredible work. So thank you for being here and sharing your gift.

Samantha Amazan: 4:29

Oh no, listen, it was more of a privilege for me when you asked me that. I'm sure you were like, oh, I'd love to have the person I'm like me. No, thank you for the ask and yeah, our maker workshops are. I'm so glad that you got to experience it, especially with your best friend, and I mean it's. It's such a unique and inviting and comforting experience and I love when people bring people and just say you know, let's do this, you know, let's just hang out and create something, and that was the goal when I started these maker workshops.

Aliya Cheyanne: 5:06

Yes, I love that and shout out to Michaela, my best friend, for bringing me there. So, on that note, so we're talking about the workshops, we're talking about candle making. So I've read about you that at the time you were starting this work, you were really looking for a creative outlet and, just you know, blending your interest in creativity and supporting others with that. So I get that aspect of it. But I really love to know a little bit more about, like, what was your sort of spark for starting the Wicked Scent Co? Like what kind of pushed you into doing it and how did you turn it into a tangible business? Because so many of us have these ideas and it doesn't always turn into a business. But how did you blend creativity with a business?

Samantha Amazan: 5:51

It really started off. The spark was COVID and I'm sure that is a spark for a lot of people, a lot of you know now small business owners, entrepreneurs that was the spark. And, honestly, business owners, entrepreneurs, that was the spark. And, honestly, it's always take something big and drastic to kind of push you over to from your comfortability to something that is unknown.

Samantha Amazan: 6:15

And I already knew I had that creative streak in me, already knew that I like to, you know, create things with my hands and create something out of nothing. I always had that in me but that, far from that, what pushed me to actually create the Wicked Said Company was COVID and it was the unlimited time to really sit with myself and create something. And because I had the unlimited time, I was sitting at home and I, you know the world is sick, Everyone is sick and then you're just starting to notice when you start to slow down, from when you were hustling, bustling, you start to slow down, you start to notice things. What I was noticing is that the candles that I loved, that I had all over my house, that I'm now sitting in my house 24 hours with, I was starting to get sick from them.

Samantha Amazan: 7:04

And I just couldn't understand what was happening. I'm thinking COVID, you know. Oh no, I got COVID, I got the big, but it wasn't that, it was literally everything else. You don't realize things are happening until you actually have to sit down and address it yeah and make the space for it.

Samantha Amazan: 7:20

And so, with being in my house, not being being able to, you know, have fresh air, be outside, I was noticing, I was in my face with all of these toxic things that were happening to my body, and I wasn't even realizing it until I had to face it. So I, you know, I was like that's weird, I'm getting headaches all the time. I. And I, you know, you, start to notice I'm only getting a headache when I have my chemical burning in my room and whatever may that may be. And so I started reading and researching it and I'm a big, you know, I'm a nerd. So I started digging and I was like why, why is this happening to me? And then, you know, people were like, yeah, well, it happens. You know, people can get some kinds of medical reaction to candles and it's because of what the candles are made with. And then I started digging into that and I found out that candles can harm you. Candles are harmful, you know. They have carcinogens, they have, you know, harmful chemicals that are made with it. Even the base of not even the fragrance, but just the actual base of the candle is very harmful to you, depending on what that base is and what it's made from. So I started to realize that there are all natural ways to create candles that won't harm you and you could still enjoy your love for a candle and burning a candle in your house. So when I figured that out, I was like, oh okay, let's see about that. And then there it goes. That was a spark.

Samantha Amazan: 8:49

When I created my one candle, I was like it can't be that hard. You know what is this thing? You know, if a man can do it, it can't be that hard. I was like it can't be that hard, let me, let me try. Well, you know, I got nothing but time.

Samantha Amazan: 9:03

So I created my first candle and I was hooked and I was like this is actually kind of cool that I can create this and, um, I create one for my friends and then I create one for somebody else, and then my sisters and then my mom and people are like no, you like this is actually really good, you really nailed the scent on this. And I was like thanks. And it was my sister who was like you know, you're really good, you have a really good nose, you really can pick up things. Why don't you try making some candles making some sense, and so I said, sure, I'll give it a stab, and I did.

Samantha Amazan: 9:39

And it was Christmas gifts it was that first Christmas of COVID, and that was everybody, what everybody got, and I tested them out, I sent them out to people and friends and people really loved them and then it was just like, okay, why not? Why not try it as a business? What is the harm? What's going to? What is going to fail? Okay, you know, and then I fail at it. That's fine. But I really felt like I had something and people really gravitated to it and so I just took a leap and I did it. And here we are, quarriors.

Aliya Cheyanne: 10:12

Yeah, oh, my gosh. I love so many elements of what you just shared. One thing that's coming up for me is how your community poured into you, your friends and your family to support you with this and encourage you. So many people have an idea and they might share it with a friend or family members, and that's not the reaction they get because, people can't always see the vision or understand, you know.

Aliya Cheyanne: 10:37

So I love that your community poured into you I also. It's so cliche, but what I hear from a lot of entrepreneurs is like there's no failure when you try, basically. So even if things didn't work out the way they have worked out, you could still be proud of yourself for trying and creating something and pursuing an idea. So I love that too, and something I wanted to ask you later, but we'll talk about it now. Love that too, and something I wanted to ask you later, but we'll talk about it now the relationship between the products you make and well-being.

Aliya Cheyanne: 11:14

So you talked a lot about how you were noticing how the candles you had in your home were impacting your health during that time when we were all locked inside and you were noticing that, you know, toxic chemicals were impacting how you felt. You weren't feeling your best. So you wanted to do research about making healthier products and candles. So I wanted to ask you, in addition to the impact of candles on your physical health, what do you think the connection is between you know the aromas, the scents you have in your home and your inner well-being?

Samantha Amazan: 11:44

And if you could speak a little bit to that the sense you have in your home and your inner well-being and if you could speak a little bit to that sure love that, um, I think there is such a sentimental and just like exclusive tie between your mental health and candles. I mean even dating back to like beginning of time fire. It's going more further, to like ceremonies, rituals and things like that that was all surrounded by candlelight. It's something about burning a candle and finding inner peace or inner connection with something is just laced throughout time and it is a special connection. It is something that I love tapping into because it helps me, you know, and when I create things, when I create my candles, I always say you know, I put intention into it and it's for that, because whenever you light a candle, you're supposed to light it with intention. What do you want this candle to do for you? It's not just a source of light, right, it also pours back into you too. It's almost like a beacon of some sort. Right, to represent something.

Samantha Amazan: 13:33

I light a candle when I need to feel comfort. I light a candle when I need to focus. I light a candle when I need to relax. I know, you know I tie it to things that I want or would like to happen, and I mean it's not. You know it's when people think about like manifesting and things like that. It's not uncommon to light a candle when you're doing that. So a candle is so much more than just what people think it is. It is a definite ire to feelings, emotion and special well-being.

Aliya Cheyanne: 14:10

Yeah, I love that so much and it's making me think about when I light candles, how that makes me feel too. I know when I want just a cozy, relaxing, self-care evening in, I light a candle for that.

Aliya Cheyanne: 14:25

I know, when I'm sitting down sometimes and I'm journaling or maybe reading, sometimes, I light a candle for that, because there's something about the flame and the aroma that helps to set the tone for the type of space I'm creating. So I love that and I agree with you. Thank you. Yeah, so even in you sharing that response and just talking about how we as a people have been so attached to flame from the beginning of time or to, you know, fire and candle and scent and all of those things, it makes me think about the aspects of candles that make us recall, like feelings or memories or emotions, and I think you leaned into a little bit of that too, like even in reflecting back on your workshop. That was a feeling and a memory for me with my best friends. So I would love to speak a little bit more about how, you know, candles can help us tap back into our memories and our feelings and any thoughts you have on that.

Samantha Amazan: 15:27

Oh my god, it's like my favorite topic to talk about, like as a candle. Maker. Uh, it's my favorite favorite thing to talk about because scent is the um, utmost, first, best tie to memories. Yes, yes, it literally you can smell something and it will immediately send you back to a moment where you first smelled it, or the moment that is, most you know, forefront to you, right, and it's the greatest tire to emotions, feelings, and it's the greatest tire to emotions, feelings, you know, being present in a moment, and I love that. I love that. That that's how it works and I love witnessing people take that journey, and literally in front of my eyes, and when they smell a candle or they smell my candle.

Aliya Cheyanne: 16:18

Yeah.

Samantha Amazan: 16:18

Or their own candle that they create in a workshop yeah, candle, yeah. Or their own candle that they create in a workshop, yeah, it's. And just watching them transport themselves to that moment in time that meant something to them or that impacted them or changed them, it's. It's just a magical thing to see. Yeah, and I don't think a lot of people see it, they experience it. But to see it is something that I always hold dear to my heart, because it's just like you went someplace, didn't you? And they're like, yeah, I. It just reminds me of this. I mean, the amount of times I get to interact with people when they smell a product of mine and I see them transport themselves to that moment in time and it and I was like where did you go? Or how do you feel? Like what did you? And I ask these questions and they, they get emotional. And I was like where did you go? Or how do you feel? Like what did you? And I asked these questions and they, they get emotional and they're like this is this smells like my grandmother's house, or this smells like my mom's house, or this smells like that.

Samantha Amazan: 17:11

One trip to Mexico that I went to. That was the best trip I ever been on. You know, or this smells like my boyfriend's, or this smells like you know, this smells comforting, like this, smells like something that I want to burn all the time in my house, because I feel warm and comforting when I smell this. So it it's just so magical that scent can do that for people and in different vehicles, modes of vehicles, not just a candle, it could be a room spray, it could be a perfume, it could be anything involving fragrance and scent. That's what it does to people and that's why I love working with fragrances, and so it's just amazing yeah, that's really powerful.

Aliya Cheyanne: 17:51

I love that a lot too, and it also makes me think about when scents have reminded me of something comforting like. I randomly will get whiffs of scents, sometimes not and it'll automatically transport me back to like a childhood family, friend or you know, a space I've been in before and it always makes me think of those memories of that time. So it's really powerful, you know, it's really. It's a really powerful tool and vehicle for so many things, for our inner well-being, for our health when they're healthy.

Aliya Cheyanne: 18:25

And for you know our memories and our emotions, so I love that, yeah, it's, it's great.

Samantha Amazan: 18:30

I literally could talk for hours about how that, that connection, and talking to other people about how they connect sense to different things and memories and things like that. And it's just connect scent to different things and memories and things like that, and it's just, it's like a blooming flower because people just open up and it's also a you know, it's an icebreaker. Yeah, it can be an icebreaker and people don't realize that. I was like, yes, it can like if someone smells your perfume when you sit down next to them or about to have a conversation with them and next thing, you know, it opens them up to have a conversation and then it leads into something else and it's like you know what other thing does that? Naturally, right, and it's just, it's amazing and there's so many levels and layers to it and I know it's. It's enjoyable. Every time I experience something new when it comes to scent fragrances yeah, I would love to ask you um if you're comfortable sharing.

Aliya Cheyanne: 19:27

Is there a particular scent that reminds you of something comforting?

Samantha Amazan: 19:33

yeah, I there's two.

Samantha Amazan: 19:35

I always there's two different stories, but my one thing, and why I love having this particular scent in my collection, is my rose and orchid, yeah, and my rose and orchid candle I love it is because of the rose and I'm a very I'm a huge floral girl. But rose has a special place for me because rose is something that I relate to my mother and um, my mother. Growing up, when I was a kid she got me into fragrances and scents, things like that. She had an extensive perfume collection, growing up extensive, and I used to just love playing with it all the bottles, the different shapes, different smells and things like that. And she would have so many of them.

Samantha Amazan: 20:20

Just looking at her, like there's no way you can wear all of these. Like how do you wear all of these perfumes? Yeah, and she was like you know, I wear all of them. It was different times calls for different perfumes. She was like and she's always telling me, never leave the house not smelling good. Like you should always leave the house with some perfume on, no matter if you're going to the store, no matter be running errands, whatever it is, never leave your house without some perfume.

Samantha Amazan: 20:48

So she was like there should be a time for you to wear all of this, you know, and she would let me play around with it. She would let me, you know, try different ones on, but I would always remember that she would have always have a rose scented soap in the house, like that was her soap, and she would always have it, and she would buy, like these decorative soaps and um, and she's like having a soap dish on her bathroom counter and they were always rose scented, always rose scented, and it was just such a beautiful scent yeah that reminds me of my mother and her room right and that memory of me playing with her perfumes and having that connection with her of loving fragrances and scents.

Samantha Amazan: 21:28

So every time I smell anything rose it reminds me of that moment in time and just how that felt. And when I created that rose and orchid candle it was definitely with that in mind and every time I light it it reminds me it will be right back to that space.

Aliya Cheyanne: 21:45

I love that. Thank you so much for sharing that. That's such a sweet memory and sweet story and a connection to that scent. So thank you for sharing, no problem, yeah, okay. So creating candles, creating perfumes, creating scents is an art form. Candles, creating perfumes, creating scents is an art form. So I would love to know a little bit more about your process in creating scents and what goes into that for you, when you're creating a new fragrance, a new scent, a new candle and essentially giving life to a new idea. So I would love to know a little bit more about that practice for you.

Samantha Amazan: 22:19

It's just that, creating life to an idea. So I usually start off with the question of what would that smell like? And that usually leads me into a thought process of what would that one experience? Smell like place, smell like food, smell like things like that? And then I, I try to, and then I go a step further and think where, if it's a place like when I, when they smell this, I want them to immediately go to this place. When they smell this, I want to immediately say, like I can taste this, you know, or so that is the thought process in the first place. Usually it happens randomly, like I can.

Samantha Amazan: 23:06

For example, my cocktail collection was literally me sitting down at a bar drinking. I was sitting at a bar drinking my regular tequila that I love, and then I saw someone have a. It was summertime and I saw someone have a margarita, a frozen margarita, and I was like, and one of my friends he loves margaritas, loves frozen margaritas, so if you're drinking it and I was like I wonder what that smells like as a candle, and he kind of looked at me like like who asked that question? I said I don't know, I'm just I wonder what I would smell like as a candle, what would a mango? What would a margarita smell like?

Aliya Cheyanne: 23:48

as a candle.

Samantha Amazan: 23:49

And then I was like what's my favorite drink? And I was like my favorite drink frozen drink is a pina colada. I was like, what would a pina colada? I'm gonna, I'm gonna do that, I'm gonna, I'm gonna create that. And so with that collection, that's how it started and then that's usually the process, like my um spa collection. It was.

Samantha Amazan: 24:12

The process was I wanted something to decompress me. I wanted to feel like every time I lit one of those candles, I immediately got transported to a spa, a spa spa scenario, like what, what do you feel like, what do you see, what do you smell? All of the senses. I wanted you to feel that when you lit the candle. So that's the process.

Samantha Amazan: 24:31

The thought process I have every time I create a sense is I want to be able for the person at the end to feel all of this, to see all of this, feel all of this, to see all of this. And then, once I get through that, that's when I sit with myself and I say what is the intention of this candle, what is the intention of this sense? Right, if my intention is that I want someone to feel comforted, I want someone to feel whole, I wanted someone to feel grounded, yeah, then that's what I'm going, that's the intention I'm going to put into creating this sense yeah um, and the ingredients and all of that comes with finding something that associates with that, finding a scent that associates with whatever I'm trying to create, and I want it not to be close.

Samantha Amazan: 25:57

I want to be nail on the head, because that's me. I am a recovering perfectionist, so it has to be nail on the head for me to be able like this is it Cause I don't want someone to smell something and be like that doesn't smell like pina colada? You know what I mean.

Aliya Cheyanne: 26:12

Yeah, I don't want that.

Samantha Amazan: 26:13

I want them to be like yes, that is a pina colada. Like I can taste it, I can smell it, I can. I'm there, I have the cup in my hands. So that is my process and I will always, always, always, ask the question what does that smell like? Where do I want them to go, how do I want them to feel and what is my intention with this?

Aliya Cheyanne: 26:37

Yeah, that's, that is quite a process. I I love this story of going to sit at the bar and, you know, seeing what others are having and being curious about what that would be like as a candle and like asking that question and your friend being like who, who would ask that?

Aliya Cheyanne: 26:54

and like, yes, the person who is in, this person with vision, you know like yeah and you know there's such an an art, but also a science, to doing this and and perfecting it the way you said. And that phrase recovering perfectionist my mentor works in that space a lot. She's writing a whole book around recovering from perfectionism and everything. So so many of us, especially as Black women, know that so well. Yes, in so many spaces like there literally is no room for error because people are already looking for us to screw up.

Aliya Cheyanne: 27:31

So I get it and I understand it, and just the art and the creativity and the science that goes into giving a new scent, a life, yeah, that's really incredible it's a process, but you know it's a rewarding process because it's like when you nail it.

Samantha Amazan: 27:50

It's like the best feeling when you nail it, when you're like, yes, I put my foot in that, that that smells like what I wanted it to smell like you know, but with that so a lot of trial and error a lot, and that's why I say recovering perfectionist, because at some point yeah, you're gonna have to be like this. This is okay this is about as close as am I gonna get to it. I mean, do I like it.

Samantha Amazan: 28:13

No, but this is about as close then. Then I'd be going on forever until I find it. And you know I have to learn this is about as perfect as it's going to get.

Aliya Cheyanne: 28:25

Yeah, yeah, I love that. So I want to ask you too, because before the Wicked Send Co, when you were still interested in scents and all of these things like, you were doing it as a creative outlet and as a hobby and then later turned it into an actual business. And I know for some entrepreneurs, like, there's a struggle between you know, keeping a thing your hobby and turning the thing that is your hobby into a business, and for some people that, like balancing that dance can be a little tough. So I would love to know how you personally have navigated that in this space and in your work and how you maintain your passion and also your commitment to your business.

Samantha Amazan: 29:10

It's hard. It is hard because, yes, not every hobby can be a business you know, know, and a lot of the times. Some things are just hobbies yeah and you just got to leave it at that. What I will say is that one advice that actually the bank, the bank actually told me this what? When I went to go create the llc and, you know, get the banking on all that stuff, the bank told me they listen, we consider all small businesses, entrepreneurs, everything hobbies until they reach about three years of business.

Samantha Amazan: 29:48

It's considered a hobby that you're getting some funds for, so not considered an actual business, until three years of profits before you can actually say this is something you want to keep going and do as a, as actual business. If that bank person didn't tell me that, I would have been like, oh, I'm doing this, I'm doing, you know. Yeah, which I did, but I kept that in the forefront of my lines. I have to make consistent profits for three years, yeah, otherwise this is considered a hobby. I need to go ahead and say this is a hobby that I can every now and then sell some things, do some things and then keep pushing Right. But because that bank person said that to me in the beginning year, one beginning of year one said that to me and I had that in the front of four of my minds. That pushed me to make sure that this was not just going to be a hobby for me. Yeah, it almost turned like a switch in my mind. Do I want this to be a hobby or do I want this to be an actual business, right? That's something that you have to ask yourself. If he never said that to me, then I would have just been like I probably wouldn't have the drive to to push past that three-year mark and say this is what I want to do, this is the business that I want to have. And yeah, like I said, this is year four going on, year five this year, congratulations, thank you. Yeah, it did.

Samantha Amazan: 31:13

It did take the three years of me pushing, pushing, pushing to say, no, this is what I want, this is what I want to do, this is the business that I want. I tell people that want to take a hobby and turn it into a business, I say keep it as a hobby For those first three years. If you see actual profits, if you see consistent profits, then keep pushing and turn it into a full-fledged business and don't look back. Keep pushing, keep going. That is the only way that I can balance that, knowing that.

Samantha Amazan: 31:45

But once you start, it really is something that kind of just takes over and you know pretty fast that this is now going to be a business rather than a hobby. You have to want it. You have to really really want it and and do it. You're working 24 hours a day, sometimes technically, but like 18, 20 hours. Yes, you're working. You. You push more for your own business than you would do some, some business that's paying you, right? Um, so you find yourself just really, really going for it, going for the gusto, and I mean I think it was the best decision I could have made for myself turning into a hobby into a business. But I also say that if you don't have the entrepreneurial spirit, it's okay to just have a hobby that people pay you for every now and then.

Samantha Amazan: 32:39

It's completely fine yeah truly and honestly like, if you do not have that entrepreneur, if you don't have that drive, that push, you know, if you don't want to work 18, 20 hours plus, you know, because most of the time you are probably working to keep yourself, you know, know, and this is, this is a hobby, right? This is not your job, this is a hobby. So you're doing two things at the same time. You don't have that entrepreneurial spirit to push, to keep going, then just make it a hobby and it's completely fine because that's extra money in your pocket, but it's not an actual business and that takes a lot more not an actual business and that takes a lot more.

Aliya Cheyanne: 33:24

Yes, yeah, there's so much rich and sound advice in that. I've I've heard certain things like people will say sometimes you know a business might be in the red for a long time before they're, you know, above ground, like floating above water, and some, for some people that takes three years. It might take five years.

Aliya Cheyanne: 33:40

It might take longer and you know it might take longer and you have to be really committed to that process. But that's very interesting that that bank representative shared that piece of advice with you about how banks view small businesses initially, like you know, before they're turning like three years worth of profit or before reaching that three year mark, like that's very interesting. I hadn't heard that before. So that puts a lot into perspective too. And you talk a lot about the creative spirit on this show and the entrepreneurial spirit on this show too, and I do share often that sometimes there's a difference between just doing something creative and doing it as a hobby and pursuing something as a business, and it's very important for each individual to make that distinction for themselves. So I love the way you broke that down and shared your experience, but also you give advice to anyone who might be considering like what to do. So thank you for that. Thank you for sharing that insight and your experience as well.

Samantha Amazan: 34:43

I always say try it once. What is the harm? Try it.

Aliya Cheyanne: 34:48

You know.

Samantha Amazan: 34:48

But you have to be truthful with yourself of what you're walking into. Yeah, what you're really doing, yes, and if that's not for you, it's OK. That's not a failure, because you did try, you know, and it just you said to yourself this is not something I want to do. I don't want to work all day, every day. You know what I mean. I don't want to do that and that's completely fine. Everyone is not supposed to be an entrepreneur. Everyone's not supposed to do that, and it's okay. And I find the hustle culture toxic. You know what I mean. Yeah, as I get older and I'm actually in it, yeah, it is toxic. And don't let you know what you see, you know, move you to make decisions in your life that doesn't fit your life.

Samantha Amazan: 35:36

You know, it's okay to not hustle. It's okay, to just be you know it's okay to just be, just survive, yeah, just pay your bill, it's okay. You know what I mean. You do not have to hustle, you don't have that three, four, five job. You don't have to be an entrepreneur, you don't have to be, you know, a small business owner. If that's not what you want, you want, yeah, you have to want it for it to actually work for you.

Aliya Cheyanne: 36:03

yeah, yeah, I think that's so true. I'm like my undergrad was for sociology, so I pay attention a lot to things that happen in the world, and with this whole like hustle culture thing, I think to myself sometimes. There's one aspect of it that's like just super trendy, everybody's doing it, so other people feel like they have to do it too. And then there's the other, like real reality of it that a lot of people are doing that stuff because they are struggling like they feel like they have to do a million yeah, you keep a roof over their head, um, and then there's the other side of it where it's just like you you know well, what are you doing in your five to nine, after your nine, you know like there's two sides of it and I'm Child it gets overwhelming. So I just In time In time.

Samantha Amazan: 36:47

I'm like you can relax While my number five is curling in a ball watching TV. I would have been watching TV Like I was fine with that you know, so TV? I would have been watching TV and I was fine with that. So the whole of the it's just, it's toxic. You're definitely right, it's the two different views. The other side of the coin, the grass, is greener. There's all the metaphors. Yes, it applies to this, and you just got to find where you fit.

Samantha Amazan: 37:14

If it doesn't fit into your life. It does not fit, and you're spot on on the people that that have the five jobs, maybe because they need the five jobs. You know what I mean. Not because they want to, they're, not because they want to hustle and do all this. No, it's because that's how they're able to survive yeah in the world that they're in.

Samantha Amazan: 37:32

Yeah, I'm pretty sure if they had a choice they wouldn't want to have five jobs and hustle. They want to have the soft life and just sit in bed, got on the couch, like you're doing, you know. So it's okay. My life is different than your life and their life and all that other stuff. You see me hustling.

Aliya Cheyanne: 37:50

Yeah.

Samantha Amazan: 37:51

It's because I choose to do it. I choose to have a nine to five and run a small business. I chose that and it fits my life where I am now. Yeah, 10 years ago, absolutely not Now. I can handle it. I chose it and I'm moving through it. But if you sit yourself and tell me I don't know if I could work until 10 pm on my small business after working nine to five at another business, I don't have it in me. I can't do it.

Aliya Cheyanne: 38:25

Yeah, that's fine too, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it goes back to what you said about just like really evaluating and taking stock of your situation and assessing what you can and can't do and what works for you. Um, yes, we. I feel like we could talk about that all day, but let's get we, can we?

Aliya Cheyanne: 38:38

definitely can yeah, let's, let's get back to you, the wicked psycho, um, so yeah, so I so many things I want to ask you, but I also would like to ask you there's a lot of work that goes into getting business up and off the ground, getting your passion up and off the ground and a your passion up and off the ground, and a lot of times, especially online, we see the highlights, we see the wins, but I am interested in the resilience, your resilience, the resilience of your business, and how you've overcome some challenges. So I would love to talk a little bit more about maybe a significant challenge you faced in your business and how you overcame that and made it to the other side.

Samantha Amazan: 39:21

Yeah, Well, they are a lot of challenges.

Aliya Cheyanne: 39:27

Yeah.

Samantha Amazan: 39:27

And you're going to hit a lot of fail, a lot, and it's just the nature of the game and you're just going to have to learn from them and bounce back, because there's going to be a lot and you're absolutely right. Online shows, highlight reels you can follow 10 million small businesses and all you see is their wins.

Aliya Cheyanne: 39:46

Yeah.

Samantha Amazan: 39:46

All you see is they're doing well. All you see is they got the new warehouse. All you see is that they sold out of collections. You see all of that.

Aliya Cheyanne: 39:53

But what?

Samantha Amazan: 39:54

you don't see is all of the failed collections that they launched. You know that didn't sell. All of you know the manufacturer vendor issues that they have. You don't see none of that, right, because that's not what people want to see online, right, that's not what they want to see Me, on the other hand, I show my wins and I show my fails. Yeah, because that's what people need to see. They need to see that this is not easy. This is not a walk in the park.

Samantha Amazan: 40:21

You're not going to start today and scale tomorrow. You know what I mean. You're not going to be a millionaire by the year and one. You know year one. You're not going to be a millionaire, you know year two. You're not going to be two, three, four. You're not. It's not going to happen that way. Okay, you're not going to go viral immediately. You're not. No, none of that is going to happen, right.

Samantha Amazan: 40:46

What's going to happen is you're going to, you know, lose packages and people are mad that their packages aren't. You're going to have cashbacks where people cancel their orders and want their money back. You're going to have, you know, manufacturer delays and therefore you can't launch a collection. You're going to have, you know, for me. You know failed market right, where you pay hundreds of dollars and don't make no profit. You're going to have lots of those right, and so when you're starting a small business and you're trying to maintain it and trying to grow, you're going to have more fails than you're going to have wins. You're just going to have to learn from them.

Samantha Amazan: 41:29

And one of the biggest challenges for me was finding my audience right, finding the people that actually want to experience my products or experience my workshop right. So markets and pop-ups were the best thing that ever happened to my small business, because I got to be in front of people in real life, talk to them, let them interact with my products and things. But it's also hard because you don't know what market you're going to do well in and what markets you're not right. You're pretty much at the mercy of the producer of these markets or these pop-ups of you know traffic and you know all these things. You're at the mercy of that to see what will work. A lot of the times you're joining markets just to see.

Samantha Amazan: 42:17

So it's an investment that you're hoping you're going to get a return on. Most likely you won't, you know and being okay with that. You won't you know and being okay with that and a lot of people. I've witnessed market where I see people not sell a thing and I'm just like I know how much they paid to be here yeah and they didn't sell anything.

Samantha Amazan: 42:37

You know, I'm sitting across from them watching nothing and it's like it can get very discouraging. It can get super discouraging because you're thinking now you're having Popster syndrome, like I thought my products were great, I thought I was doing something, but then I'm in front of people and people do not want this, and it's not necessarily they don't want it, it's just necessarily that this is not your audience. And so that was the biggest challenge for me was trying to find who is my audience. The biggest challenge for me was trying to find who is my audience, because having multiple failed markets and pop-ups was not with a gut punch to me. Okay, it was a definitely gut punch, but I quickly force corrected because I was like I can't keep shelling, running into something like this and not getting anything back right. So that is one of the biggest challenges, because it's really the unknown it really is, and you can think that a market is going to go really well and then it doesn't, or you can have a market there to sell out every year and one year no.

Aliya Cheyanne: 43:39

Yeah.

Samantha Amazan: 43:40

It's. So. It's super challenging to have to figure all of those things out when you're building your small business, when you're creating it from the ground up yeah it's just you're a challenge after challenge after challenge.

Samantha Amazan: 43:57

Nobody comes out of the gate with a great idea for a business and hit the ground running and succeed immediately. Yeah, no one. Like even the big apple, amazon, all of them, google, all of them failed for years before they actually made it successfully. And I think a lot of people forget that and and it's unfortunate, because they see on social media how people are just like one day I am a struggling small business.

Samantha Amazan: 44:28

The next day I went viral and now my business is scaling, I'm making millions of dollars. And so now you're thinking that can happen to me too, and it's like no, no, no, not how it works for most, not how it works for most. Yeah, and small business will chew you and spit you out every time. Yeah, and you just gotta create a tough, tough skin and resilience to just keep pushing, because you will break the wall.

Samantha Amazan: 44:58

You will have that breakthrough and it will happen, yeah, and if it's important to you and we go back to the last thing If it's what you want and this is what you are pushing for, you will find the breakthrough. Three years, five years, it will happen.

Aliya Cheyanne: 45:23

It's into a little bit more is you mentioned in that answer that it's forced you to grow in many ways and to come out stronger in many ways. So can you talk a little bit more in depth about how you've grown because of the Wicked Scent Co and how it's changed you personally?

Samantha Amazan: 45:47

changed you personally? Oh, yeah, I've. Oh man Wicca Saint Co has has made, has groomed me into an individual now that is less worried about perfectionism and more worried about being just present and being okay with what is put out there. Yeah, it's made me less shy and more direct. It's made me realize that hard work takes time. It's made me a more focused individual, because now I have I'm strewn to many different hats and many I'm doing so many different things like my skill set has like shot through the roof because I didn't know I could be a content creator. I didn't know I could be an accountant. I didn't know I can be a social media marketer. I didn't know I can be a PR person. I didn't know I can be a CEO.

Aliya Cheyanne: 46:38

Yeah.

Samantha Amazan: 46:39

Right, yeah, I don't have none of those skills. None of it. Okay, I didn't go to school for any of it.

Samantha Amazan: 46:46

I didn't before. I'm forced to have those skills. Yeah, I'm forced to create those skills, find those skills and really push. And that's all due to having this company and having to look at some company. It's forced me to look at life differently and to approach life differently, at life differently and to approach life differently. It's made me just hungry for making this happen right, not sitting back, being proactive on things, like going for things. I never used to be like that before I had this business, I was just okay with getting to the top, where I'm supposed to be, and just staying there and being okay with that. With this company, I realized I got to push through that and ask for more or ask for this. Don't just wait for it to come to me.

Samantha Amazan: 47:37

Ask for it and see what happens, and I got to keep doing that. No one's just going to come to me and say here's your feature in a magazine, here's your. You know, we want you in our store. Please come have my products in your store. Here's an opportunity to do workshops at my location. No, all those things that happen to the legacy company is because I pushed for it, not asked for it. So that's definitely one huge thing that has changed for me.

Aliya Cheyanne: 48:06

Yeah, yeah, that's really powerful. You hear so many stories about solopreneurs and entrepreneurs who talk about how they've literally had to build the plane while flying it and learn all the roles and be all the hats and be all the roles, and I imagine that it's forced you to believe in yourself in a way you might not have, you know, throughout your entire life. You know, so I think that's really powerful. I would love to ask you you are in the wellness space. Candles are wellness. That's the genre, and you know you love them personally. You also love them as part of your business. But I'm very curious for you what does wellness look like for you outside of work? What does self-care or community care look like for you outside of work?

Samantha Amazan: 48:52

Traveling. That is self-care for me. Being in a space outside of my home and work, of my day-to-day, just being outside of that, and always one with nature. Doesn't matter where it is, doesn't matter if it's the forest, it doesn't matter if it's the ocean, doesn't matter if it's a creek, a lake, mountains, does not matter.

Samantha Amazan: 49:16

It just has to be one with nature and literally heavy on the connection with nature, the disconnect from life and just being one with nature is the number one thing for wellness and self-care that I've adopted since starting the Wicked Side Company. It's the only way that I can remove myself because I'm on 24 seven work Wicked Side Company. I'm on 24 seven. I never Wicked Sand Company. I'm on 24-7. I never take a break off. So wellness for me looks like a complete disconnection and recentering myself, regrounding myself with me and my thoughts and my feelings and my emotions, like recharging, resetting, so that I can approach it again with new eyes, a new freshness. And the only thing that does that for me is being one with nature, being away and in a space, Also experiencing other cultures, other different experiences life, you know.

Samantha Amazan: 50:23

So it just gives you a different perspective. When you go back to yours right so, experiencing someone else's life through their eyes, through their experiences, through their culture, then you go back to yours you're like this is not that bad, this is not that bad, you know, or I'm grateful for this. I'm grateful that I have this, and so having that opportunity is wellness for me.

Aliya Cheyanne: 50:48

Yes, I love that. That's so beautiful and I feel aligned with you in a lot of ways. Nature is very important for me too, to feel reconnected, and I love to travel. Didn't get to do it as much last year as I wanted to in the way that I like, so I'm definitely looking forward to that this year, so I align with you a lot in that way. Okay, so I God, there's so many things I want to ask you but, I, will start wrapping it up here.

Aliya Cheyanne: 51:16

Oh no, you are years in the game. Now You're going to be going for years longer and as you reflect on your own journey getting started, how it's been for you for the last few years, and as you're looking ahead, is there a piece of advice you might like to share to anyone who is just getting started on their journey? And in addition to what you've already shared, you shared a lot of things, but if there's one piece of advice you wish you would have had when you first started, Say and it's still true to today just start, just start.

Samantha Amazan: 51:51

Even if it's just an inkling of an idea, just start, start building it.

Aliya Cheyanne: 51:57

Yeah.

Samantha Amazan: 51:58

I think a small business is the only opportunity where you can build as you go. You don't have to have everything figured out done before you do anything. You know it's. It's something that grows with you and I've never experienced something like that when it comes to being professional and being all that stuff, cause I am a corporate baddie, of course I still am.

Samantha Amazan: 52:21

Right, yeah, I had to come in prepared for that. I there was no role as you learn the position. You had to know the position and then they hired you and then you did the position right. With a small business, you don't know anything until you start. So just start, start and grow as you go, build as you go.

Samantha Amazan: 52:45

The most important thing is to just start. If you have that idea, if you know you have a passion for something and you know you have the idea and you have just kind of a little bit of the framework, just start, just do it, just show up. Nine times out of ten people will gravitate to you because they see that passion, they see that knowledge, they see that drive and they want to know more. People are naturally gravitate to people who are comfortable and confident in what they're telling you. So if you are all those things and whatever that idea is that you think will be a great business, just start, just start. You don't need an LLC to do anything. You don't need all of that. You don't need a bank account. You don't need none of that. When you just start, look for if it's a product-based thing, look for opportunities in your neighborhood, look for opportunities for you just to show up and just do it. Create a prototype, create a small batch of products and just go and just start. Start with friends and family, send it out to them, just do it. And I'm grateful enough to do that. I did that. I just started. I just did it Because I knew I had that passion for it and I knew I had that passion for it and I knew I had the knowledge for it. Did I know how to start? No, did I know how to create a business? No, did I know I needed an LLC? Absolutely not. But I figured it out as I went along. But I started and because I started, I was able to just jump right into it once I had all those things put into place.

Samantha Amazan: 54:25

And a lot of people are always stuck at the beginning and never starting because they think they need a website, they need an LLC, they need a bank account, they need this, they need that, they need that, they need photos. That stuff will come along the way it will. It will, it will naturally come, naturally, it will just come, and then you can just create it. You literally are creating it as you go along. One step, the brick is there the next step. The brick is there, the next step and then next. You know you have a path, right. Yeah, it will just, it will just happen. And you've got to get out of your mind and just start and don't be scared to start, just start it. You know, and I will yell that from the mountains every single time someone talks to me about small business ownership or being an entrepreneur and I'm just like I think your idea is great, just do it yeah just do it, yeah, and they be like, but I don't just do it, and so that's what I would tell every single.

Samantha Amazan: 55:26

I tell every single person that has that I just do it.

Aliya Cheyanne: 55:45

Nike's phrase just do it. And she was asking the host like what do you think is the most important word in that phrase? And one of the hosts was like do, of course. She was like no, it's not. The other host was like just. And she was like, yes, like Nike actually did research behind that phrase and the just is the most important word in that phrase because it's beyond motivation, it's more to like action and and it's it's the just, it's the, it's the just taking the step, it's the just doing it. So I love your advice of you know, just start. Um, even in my experience, my first consulting job was in 2020. I didn't form an llc till 2022. I didn't make my website public until 2024. There you go. Like, there you go. You don't, it doesn't happen right away, like. So, yeah, I love that advice just start, that's so good, just start, yeah, just start.

Samantha Amazan: 56:38

And and we are our own worst enemies. We get our, we get. We are our own, we just stop ourselves. We, we block ourselves, we block our blessings, we block everything because we're so unsure of it and we don't know, we're scared to fail yes we're scared to make a mistake, we're scared to do all these things, and it's like once you get over that, it's life is so freeing.

Samantha Amazan: 57:05

Opportunities are abundant because you have took away that fear of failing and, um, thankfully, I'm not scared to fail. Was I scared to fail before starting my small business? No, I am a perfectionist, so I I always come correct Right.

Samantha Amazan: 57:26

But, I was never skilled to fail. I was never scared to hear the word no, I was never scared to, you know, not ask for something that I feel like I deserved or wanted. So but I understand for some people that is hard. It's hard, rejection is hard for a lot of people. But I promise once you find a way to push past that, you will realize that there's more opportunities on that side than it is on the other side.

Aliya Cheyanne: 57:52

Yes, that's so beautiful. What a great way to end. I just want to thank you so much, Samantha, for showing up to talk with me today and share more about yourself and Wicked Scent Company. This has been really incredible. Can you let folks know where to find you, where to buy products, where to support your work? All the things?

Samantha Amazan: 58:13

Yes, so you can find me on all socials the Wicked Scent all one word, and of course, our website, thewickedscentcom. And products are all online on my shop, but I'm crossing fingers, hopefully we'll get a storefront soon. But yeah, online and on socials. And if you're interested in making anything or just being creative with me, we host, you know, monthly maker workshops in Long Island City at Sanger Hall. So I'm trying to get into Brooklyn, so I'm trying to get into other boroughs, but right now we're in Queens and we do a maker workshop every month.

Aliya Cheyanne: 58:49

I got to attend one in December 2024. It was lovely. I did it with my best friend, michaela, and yeah, it was so good. I thank you so much. I'll be sure to link all of those details in the episode description so folks can find you easily. And this was amazing, thank you.

Samantha Amazan: 59:07

No, thank you, Leah. You know this is my first podcast, so I really appreciate the ask and I wish you all the best. I think this is an amazing podcast.

Aliya Cheyanne: 59:18

Thank you so much, and this might be a first, but it won't be your last. And we are paying for that storefront, so thank you. Thank you, hey friend. What an incredible conversation with Samantha. Samantha, thank you so much for coming on the show to share more about yourself, to share more about Wicked Scent Company and to share more about your experience as a creative entrepreneur. It's been so wonderful to have you on and I loved our conversation. Now, if you loved our conversation, please be sure to leave a five-star rating for the show and a positive written review. Reviews and ratings help tremendously in the podcasting world, so I definitely appreciate you taking the time to leave one. Be sure to share this episode with a friend who you think might really enjoy it, as always. Thank you so much for your support and I will catch you here on the next episode. Bye.