Five Minutes With: Mexborough millionaire shining a light on other business owners

Nicky Story, from Mexborough, is the CEO of Supplies For Candles and The Soap Kitchen - business to business and multi-million pound companies that sit behind the success of thousands of others as an online supplier of candle and soap making ingredients to a growing craft industry.

Recently he awarded South Yorkshire based Kirsty Glover, the proud owner of The Pouring House, £10K worth of business start up support - the value of what it had cost him to set up his business, whilst juggling his previous job.

Nicky said: “2020 was a really hard year for a lot of people and I wanted to do my bit to help.

"So, I decided to do a £10K giveaway to help others build their business. We received hundreds of applications and it was so difficult to choose one winner, but Kirsty’s story in particular stood out from the crowd."

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Supplies for Candles gave free soap to local residents to help combat shortages and also gave away £100,000-worth of candle making kits and business start-up support to people who have been financially affected by the pandemic.

So far more than 2,000 people have gone on to set up new businesses who Nicky’s team continue to support on a regular basis.

As well as gifting Kirsty the start up kit and now the £10K investment, Nicky and the team also handed out another prize, as they were touched by so many of the stories they received and couldn’t just choose one.

Nicky added: “I know how hard it is to get a business off the ground and have failed before I succeeded - but I also know how empowering it is to be the master of your own ship.

"These individuals who are not letting the current situation affect their goals and who have gone on to become their own bosses taking charge of their own destiny, are the ones who are driving the economy forward and I have huge respect for them all.

"Anything I can do to support them, as someone who if a few steps further in my journey feels good to me.”

“I worked another job saving up all of my money ready to launch my business, but now that’s successful I wanted to give back and give someone the opportunity to start their own business without the need for having to work long hours all whilst trying to get off the ground.”

A relatively new family-run, small business based in Aston, creating luxury soy wax melts since earlier this year, Kirsty’s business was born in lockdown whilst she was furloughed.

Initially started as a hobby selling to family and friends, the business has now broken into the wider market, something she didn’t anticipate having originally established it simply as a distraction from Covid and a release from dealing with her health challenges, as she is currently in remission from cancer.

Run from her kitchen at home, Kirsty said that she would love to work with Nicky on this amazing venture as she has seen how he has built his own business and would love to follow in his footsteps.

As the CEO of Supplies For Candles and The Soap Kitchen - online suppliers of candle and soap making ingredients to a growing craft industry, Nicky is at the helm of the largest online company in Europe within the industry, and as such has helped thousands of others become successful entrepreneurs too including Ava May Aromas, which is loved by many celebrities including cleaning sensation Mrs Hinch.

Kirsty’s £10K prize includes a website update and bespoke branding package, £5,000 worth of start-up stock, a brand new laptop, label printer and camera, dedicated one to one business mentoring session with Nicky and business start-up plan.

Kirsty said: “I’m still in shock – stuff like this doesn’t happen to people like me and it’s just going to be life changing. This started as a way to keep busy and it got a bit bigger than we expected.

"I can’t explain to you what it means.”

Hannah Chapman from Ava May Aromas will be supporting Kirsty with her brand and marketing strategies.

She said; “When I found out that Supplies for Candles were doing this amazing giveaway, I wanted to get involved and to give back to the winner, share my advice, tips and hopefully help them grow their brand as well.”

Supplies for Candles has doubled in size over the last two months and invested over £150,000 into its premises, and further acquisition plans are aiming for continued growth in 2021.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.