Apparently, I Needed the Fourth Try

Maybe the Detour Was Doing Its Job

On fourth attempts, delayed launches, and why the middle is usually where the good stuff happens.

Dear Friend,

If you’ve been hanging around here for a little while, you know The Exhale Co. and I have been in a bit of a long-distance relationship lately.

Wait. What? Did I read that right? Uhm... yeah. Yeah, you did.

How can I be in a long-distance relationship with my own business, you ask?Because it has honestly felt like every time I get close, another roadblock pops up and pushes me a little farther away. I wanted to launch right after the Fourth of July. And here we are... somehow staring down August. So yeah.

This week, though... I finally found THE WICK. Cue the confetti.

Originally I planned to use three cotton wicks. I tested them, lit the candle, and... They tunneled. (For my non-candle friends, that basically means only the wax around the wick melted while the rest of the candle just sat there judging me.)

Okay. Cool. On to the next idea. I ordered cedar wood wicks. Except...

Apparently I didn’t read the product description very well because tiny little baby wicks showed up at my door that were clearly meant for much smaller candles than my 10 oz and 17 oz jars.

Alrighty then. Round three. I ordered larger wood wicks. The company recommended doubling them up, so naturally I listened.

Guyyssss... That flame was FLAMING. Like... “Let’s get the marshmallows out” kind of flaming. 😂

So... One more test. One single large wood wick. And we... FINALLY... HAVE... A WINNER. Thank goodness. I’m not sure my sanity had another wick test left in her.

Hand cutting labels to try to figure out the shape and size...

Now... Were the wicks the only thing I fought with this week? Oh, absolutely not. Let’s talk labels. And before I tell you this next story, I’d just like to remind you that I’m a busy lady. I work full time. I’m building a business. I’m raising a tiny human. Sometimes the brain cells simply clock out before I do.

Okay? Okay.

So I wanted really beautiful labels. Not just plain white labels with black ink slapped on them. I wanted something that felt like The Exhale Co. Since I’m just getting started, professionally printed labels weren’t in the budget yet, so I figured I’d make them myself.

Except... My printer and I apparently had different visions. The colors were off. Nothing looked crisp. Everything felt... Fine. But not right.

So naturally, I convinced myself the solution was buying a thermal printer. Because obviously. Now I could print beautiful colored labels. Matching box stickers. Cute packaging. The whole thing. So I spent the money. Set it all up. Printed the labels. Stuck one on the candle. And thought... “Dang... this actually looks pretty good.”

Then I lit the candle.

...

Friends. Thermal printer. Hot candle. Can you guess what happened? The gorgeous purple label slowly turned gray. Then darker. I literally sat there watching it happen while working my full-time job thinking...

“Girl...”

“Thermal printer...”

“Hot candle...”

“...obviously.”

😂

So... Back the printer went. Then we waited for the refund. Bought an inkjet printer instead. Tried again. And somehow landed on these beautiful hemp labels that have the most incredible earthy texture.

They’re simple. They’re warm. They feel exactly like The Exhale Co. Better than the original idea, honestly.

Now here I am. Writing my Wednesday letter... On a Friday. Because it’s been that kind of week. The new label is on the candle. The wick is crackling exactly how I’d hoped. The burn is beautiful. And for the first time... I looked at it and thought,

“We’re ready.”

Not because it’s perfect. But because it finally looks like the candle I’d been imagining all along. I could suddenly picture someone opening that little shipping box. Pulling the candle out. Smiling. Taking that first deep breath. Lighting the wood wick. Hearing the soft crackle. Feeling their shoulders drop just a little.

And I thought... Every single frustrating detour was worth it.

That reminded me of one of my favorite quotes from Bluey. (Yes... I’m letting a cartoon dog coach me through this part of my journey.)

Bandit says:

“Obstacles don’t block the path. They are the path.”

And honestly? I hate how right he is. 😂

Because if everything had worked the first time... I wouldn’t have this candle. I would’ve settled for Version One. The labels would’ve been okay. The wick would’ve been okay. The experience would’ve been... Okay. But this? This feels right.

It also made me wonder... How often do we do this in the rest of our lives? How often do we think...

• “If life would just hurry up...”

• “If these roadblocks would just stop...”

• “If I could finally get to the finished version...”

Would I actually want the first version of this candle now? No. Would I trade the fourth wick for the first one just because it would’ve been faster? Absolutely not.

So maybe speed wasn’t actually what I wanted. Maybe what I really wanted was to build something I was proud to put my name on.

A Small Reminder

Maybe the obstacle isn’t keeping you from where you’re

supposed to be.

Maybe it’s teaching you how to build something you’ll actually love.

Or maybe...

 

The version of your life you’re hoping for isn’t waiting on the other side of the hard part.

Maybe it’s quietly being created inside it.

Until next Wednesday,

Hanah 🤍

P.S. If Bandit from Bluey ever decides to start a business coaching program... apparently I’m signing up. Or maybe I’ll just keep paying him in cheezits and emotional breakthroughs.