The scent of success: Miller expands candle-making business to full-time career

When Janis Miller lost her job around Christmas of last year, she decided it was time to take a risk with a business she’d been dabbling in for two decades.
It was a big step, but one that has paid off.
“It is going phenomenally,” she said of expanding J&J Candles from a hobby business to a full-time job.
Miller, who lives south of Manson, first made candles 20 years ago, when she was taking a cost accounting class at Iowa Central Community College.
“You had to come up with a product,” she said. “We had to figure out how much each candle cost to make. … They sold like crazy. When the class was over, I decided to keep going.”
These days, Miller spends several days a week in her basement, often working with her husband, Jeremiah, and daughter, Rachael Castle, making the candles, wax melts and car fresheners she sells from home, at craft and vendor shows and at Tin Shed in Fort Dodge, Highway 7 Market in Manson and Blush Boutique in Carroll. She also sells the candles online, through her Facebook page and website. 
Read more in the Aug. 16 edition.