By by Kimberly Wallace

Copyright trinidadexpress

When Roma Bridgelal-Nagassar started Lume by Roma, her 100% vegan aromatherapy candle business, it was as a side hustle. Not even a year later, Bridgelal-Nagassar’s business is burning up (no pun intended).

Some people plan long in advance before they actually step into entrepreneurship. In Bridgelal-Nagassar’s case, it started with a gift.

It all began last December when she and her two children decided to make candles as Christmas gifts for family and friends. What began as a simple family project won rave reviews, and soon people were suggesting that Bridgelal-Nagassar make and sell candles at pop-up markets for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.

But even before she could think that far ahead, her daughter’s school, St Augustine Girls’ High School, was having a business expo to introduce their students to entrepreneurship. Bridgelal-Nagassar threw her hat in the ring, ordered the raw material and produced 48 candles—all of which went like hot bread by the end of the day.

Realising that she was on to something, she turned to a local supplier, got decorative containers and spent hours making candles with various mood-lifting scents, including French vanilla, harvest spice, pumpkin pie, rose and champagne. The candles were sitting in a cupboard until her husband took them to a pharmacy which was happy to stock their shelves with them.

What started as a hobby eventually became a business. Bridgelal-Nagassar came up with the title Lume by Roma—Lume, a shortened version of lumen, which means “light” in Latin.

“It’s an amazing feeling to start your own company. On the day I registered Lume by Roma, I saw a lot of people registering their businesses. I want to encourage others to do the same. Don’t leave your ideas sitting in a cupboard,” she said, referring to that time when she left her candles in her kitchen cupboard.

One factor that hold many back from starting their own business is time—or the lack of it. Like most people, Bridgelal-Nagassar was faced with the obvious question: where on earth would she find the time? In addition to being a wife and mum, she is a career woman—a public health practitioner with a schedule that’s already crowded.

“But when you have a passion for something, you find the time,” she says.

Besides, opening fragrance oils and mixing them into the melted wax is a relaxing experience, she said, a sort of self-care and a way of expressing her creative side, which was always there but waiting for the right time to come out. But that’s not all.

“Because of my supportive partner, I can find the time to pursue Lume by Roma,” said Bridgelal-Nagassar.

“When I’m working on the business, which is also a hobby of mine, other things around the house might get sidelined. He helps me with that because he sees how much candle-making makes me happy and he wants me to enjoy what I do. He comes with me to pop-up markets and gives me his input. Lume by Roma would not have been possible without my husband.”

Becoming an entrepreneur at 44 is also an opportunity for Bridgelal-Nagassar to show her children that it is possible to become independent business owners, and that inspiration is never too far away.

“Whatever idea you have—go for it. Don’t hold back or give in to doubts,” she advises, urging: “You never know what you can achieve.”

For more information, e-mail: lumebyromaltd@gmail.com