NEWS

Small businesses, big impact

Evan Peter Smith
Reporter

ZANESVILLE — For Sarah Dosch, the arrival of Small Business Saturday means that her home will be permeated with the smells of Christmas: nutmeg, cinnamon, holly and peppermint.

For the past three years, Dosch, a former registered nurse, has been running the Fisher Creek Candle Company out of her Zanesville home, juggling the responsibilities of being a mother of two preschool-aged children with the task of hand-making specialty candles in her kitchen.

"If you're looking for a small business in town, I'm about as small as you can get," Dosch said.

Candle-making has been a passion of Dosch's for more than a decade, after she began with curiosity and a humble candle-making kit. Some burned wax, a bad smell and a gnarly-looking candle was the result of her first effort, she'll admit, but 11 years of experience has resulted in what she describes as some of the highest quality candles available today.

"My candles don't have that black smoke you get from the big brands," Dosch said. "They're clean-burning, long-lasting and fragrant without being overpowering. I'll be honest and tell you: I have the best candles."

On a busy day, Dosch will produce more than 200 candles using not much more than basic kitchen equipment. It's this approach she said that makes her candles unique.

In addition to their positive economic impact on communities, small-scale production and pride in quality are contributing factors in a renewed interest in small businesses across the country, according to the United States Small Business Association.

Fisher Creek Candles are hand-made and hand-packaged, often with the sound of screaming kids in the background. Dosh said her small-scale production allows her to meticulously craft each product.

Approximately 28 million small businesses account for 54 percent of all sales in the U.S., according to the association. Small businesses also are crucial for employment opportunities, providing 55 percent of all jobs in the country, and having added 8 million new jobs since 1990 just as big businesses have eliminated 4 million jobs during the same time period.

Established in 2010 by American Express, Small Business Saturday aims to promote small businesses across the country. People are encouraged to shop small in their communities because it drives local economies, and the impact is not small.

This means Dosch is busy at work in her kitchen.

She starts with two pots, fills one with water and sets it to boil, and then fills the second pot with a large chunk of paraffin wax, setting the second pot over the boiling water until the paraffin slowly melts.

Professional tip: Don't try to melt paraffin in a pot over flame, or you'll soon have a visit from the fire department.

Scents and coloring are added to the melted wax in increments to produce the final mixture. And here is where experience makes all the difference, Dosch said, because each drip of color and fragrance must be added in precise increments depending on the heat of the mixture. If the melted wax is too hot or too cold, or if the wrong portions are mixed into the wax too early or too late, then the entire batch goes out the window.

Add into that procedure the unpredictable intrusions of children tugging at the hem of your sleeve, and the job can become even more difficult.

Once the wax is ready, a hand-selected wick is added to a glass container and the wax is poured into the molding, cooling into its final form and ready to be packaged and sold.

"But honestly I've been doing it so long that the process of actually making the candles is the easiest part of my business," Dosch said.

The real challenges come through marketing and growing her customer base. While the resources of the Internet and the rise of social media platforms have made creating a small business easier now than ever before, any small business owner must now become an expert in this regard if they wish to be successful, Dosch said.

Still, old-school efforts to bring attention to her business are still important. She attends bazaars to sell her product, she reaches out to established business-owners for advice and engages with the artisinal community.

"I think you're seeing a growing trend where people are realizing that mass-produced products tend to be of a lower quality than something made personally," Dosch said. "Sometimes I have to purposefully advertise that my candles are hand-made at bazaars because people think I'm just some representative from a big candle company masquerading as a small producer."

Dosch has no dreams of one day owning a massive candle company, but she does hope to move her business out of her house and hire some workers to meet an increasing demand.

"I'm making a profit but I'll never get rich off this company," she said. "It's honestly not about that. It's about getting my name out there and taking pride in my product. You know, at the end of the day, the enthusiasm from my customers is what gives my pride, and knowing that I'm doing this on my own."

Jennifer L. Manfrin contributed reporting to this story.

epsmith@gannett.com

740-450-6772

Twitter: @evansmithreport

More information

To find out more information on Fisher Creek Candles, visit FisherCreekCandles.com. Select candles are also sold at Girl Upcycled, 126C Muskingum Ave., and Longaberger Homestead, 5563 Raiders Road.