Local Business Interview With Rick Cameron

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Welcome to your top rated business entrepreneurship, self development and smart investment podcast. This podcast is hosted by creator and founder Dr. Dustin Steffey and also hosted by coach, music producer and influencer yours truly Jaden rush Norville, we are blessed for many accolades such as being nominated for the People's Choice Award for Best Business Podcast, as well as raising over $5,000 last year for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, as well. As for the Boys and Girls Club. Spending a global reach our podcast is in the top four downloads in four countries. Without further ado, welcome to chopping wood fire, ladies and gentlemen, let's chop it up.

I'm excited because we are continuing our small business interviews, and today I have a special guest on I've known him for quite a long time. Definitely when I look at an entrepreneur, the definition of an entrepreneur, he's tried many, many things. I can't say he's successful in everything, but he has created his own success over trial and error. I mean, as we know, as entrepreneurs, a lot of it is fail sometimes. And then you succeed other times until you find that right equation. So without further ado, I want to introduce Rick to chopping with fire, and allow him to tell his story a little bit. And then we'll dive into his businesses and kind of how he got into entrepreneurship and what he's learned. So that way we all learn from it. Again, I have these interviews on purpose for everyone. Not only is it tactical, for just seeing how to create success in small businesses, but you learn something from different people. So keep in mind, it's not a one size fits all, we take what we need to be better and educate ourselves. So without further ado, I'm going to hand it over to Rick, thank you for your time today. Rick, let's dive into it.

Thank you, Justin. Yeah, as you know, I started out originally doing delivery diner. And that was that was a business I started with basically the last $100 I had in my pocket. And that got me my business license. It was successful. It was slow in the beginning, but then it grew to become pretty successful. I grew to a business that was bringing in 10,000 a month and clearing after expenses and everything, four grand a month. That was my share, you know, but you know, as everybody knows, in entrepreneurship, you're successful only for a certain period of time, and you want to be more successful, which means you have to kind of diversifying move on into something else. And you know, that's what I ended up doing. I've I've moved on from delivery diner, I am still you know, I still kind of miss doing that. Because the customers are great. I have really good customers. But I like doing the other things I do. Which one of which, as you know is my weddings by Rick. I've done that now for about 10 years. And then I have recently jumped back into what most people would consider a hobby, which Yeah, it is a hobby, but it's also a relaxation for me when I get off of work sometimes I'll spend you know four hours after work making candles. I mean, it's kind of odd sure, you know, you don't hear too many men making candles you know usually find women doing it, but it's something that is absolutely relaxing for me. And I love doing it it it's something I don't mind even spending you know, my days off spending a full day making, you know, a couple of runs of candles. It's something that brings me joy and when somebody buys them from me and they take them home and I get a phone call back saying hey look, you know that smell from that candle lasted forever. And that candle you know i For me, I've I've tested my own candles. I burned them. I burned one of them. It lasted for 12 hours. are straight before it burned out. But for me, the candles, the smells and everything of the candles are are wonderful, you know, as you know, you've got one there, the sugar cookie, and they come in a jelly jar, as you see that for four bucks. Yeah, it's, you know, a little less than the size of the $5 ones, you can buy a Walmart, but for four bucks, you get one of those candles, and it lasts, like I said, forever, and the scent lasts forever in it, it doesn't burn out after, you know, burning out a couple of times. And it's just for me, you know, like I said, making them it's very relaxing, I love doing it. And, you know, I love it. When the customers come back and say I love the smell, I love the way it worked. I don't have you know, I want to buy more. So,

so the candle I'm holding in my hand is sugar cookie, it definitely smells like sugar cookie. Some things that I noticed just based off of other competitors candles, because I mean, I have a competitive candle here. So we can kind of compare here is when I feel the wax has a glossy tint to it actually feels pretty like quality made versus when I look at the wax of like a competitor. It's really doll, it looks like it burns a little quicker, in my opinion. Like he was saying, this is a 12 hour candle. And the one I have in my hand is from a competitor. I won't the competitor out there, but this one burns about the same 12 hours and it's double the size. So I mean bang for the buck. I mean, I spent 10 bucks on this one versus four bucks on this one. So I mean, obviously, when you start buying local like in these local businesses, no, especially entrepreneurs and stuff, quality over quantity, I mean, you look at like Walmart, you look at like Bath and Bodyworks, you look at other places, it's definitely made for the masses. It's mass quantity. And so sometimes quality takes a toll. Sure this smell smells good. But how long does it last? And were you putting more bang for the buck? In my opinion, right? So there's some good quality stuff, I was actually looking for a lighter, I was gonna burn this one to kind of smell the burn to kind of give some things. So a wall, Rick explains kind of his journey of entrepreneurship because he has a pretty good one, I'm gonna look for a lighter. So yeah,

so you know, like I said, the beginning, you know, was the delivery diner business. And it's, you know, it's evolved a long time. And it works. You know, the thing with being an entrepreneur is not only are you working for yourself, but you're you're creating success for yourself that you can share, especially with your family, and you can, you know, get that success to grow with them, you know, get them interested in becoming an entrepreneur for themselves, or maybe taking over your own business, you know, as you decide, but entrepreneurship to me is being able to share with somebody, what you create from within, so that they get to experience a little of you. And they actually kind of get a piece of you now when you do that. And Dustin has got this candle going. He's walked in the smell here. Yeah, it smells good. Trust me. And I hope he agrees that it smells good. But you know, if not be honest, this but, you know, and I'm sure he agrees with you know what I'm saying about entrepreneurship, too. You know, it's something it's, it's difficult it takes time from you. And the rewards that you benefit from it may not always be financially, but the experience insight is what makes an entrepreneur, an entrepreneur truthfully,

and as I've explained in the almost 70 episodes that we've had of entrepreneurship and going down this journey and stuff, it can stem from a hobby like it has with Rick, it can stem from something you teach yourself like B because this whole podcasting thing a year ago was boring, and now it's second nature. Or, I mean it could be a combination of both but in actuality entrepreneurship and from what I've learned from the many of guests that I've had on, it takes many forms. It takes a special person to jump in and do it. It takes a lot of grit in my opinion, a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication you can't just go into entrepreneurship and and think that all A sudden you have all this free time because you don't. And I've had many, many guests on that have said like, once the business is established, then you start kind of enjoying life a little bit. But establishment takes quite some time. And it depends from business to business, Rick wanted a honest opinion of his candles. So I'm burning this one called Sugar cookie right now. And the scent. So right when I burned it, the scent started to take take hold in the room. So right now I'm starting to smell that and it's pretty, pretty nice, pretty strong, pretty, pretty good candle, in my opinion, it's something that I'd probably say you burn for an hour in the Senate will last for a good few hours because of the nature of how he makes the candle. So really good stuff here. I really enjoy interviewing local small businesses, because it's given back to entrepreneurship really, and this is, this is important. So like I'm local to I'm, we're local in Nevada, and we're local to northern Nevada. So I'm going to have in the episode description, some I'll probably I'll have Rick's contact information, I haven't asked him yet about ordering social media, he'll probably explain that or websites or anything along those lines. But this is one of the many talents that he has when I first met him. I mean, he was making awesome, awesome clocks that were custom made. And he's had the weddings for a while now that he does, which is amazing. And then obviously he had externally that he did food delivery and was successful in that. Now we have DoorDash and Uber and stuff. So now he kind of evolved. And that's what he was leading into when he was talking about entrepreneurship, you can't stay stuck in one thing, because our environment changes so much. And as you guys have learned and listened to the many episodes that I've had, you guys have seen that like evolution is mandatory change is mandatory. If you're not changing, I don't think you're going to see the success that you want to see. Whereas if you're evolving, and you have a plan, and you put everything together and pour your heart and soul into it, I think as long as you can course correct entrepreneurship is amazing. It's an amazing thing. So hand it over to Rick, the one thing that I want him to kind of explain is like, but what led him to the entrepreneurial journey. So like you guys know, my story, what led me to it is the fact that I just hate working for the man, right. And I think that I'm very much capable of doing my own thing and making good money, and not having to worry about chasing someone else's dreams. I've never been wanting to chase other people's dreams, I'd rather chase my own. So everybody has a different story. We're gonna dive into his, and then we'll circle back with if you guys are interested in maybe getting married, which do not ask me about that, because that's not my favorite thing. Or maybe ordering some of the candles to actually try them out. Or even if he's willing and time permits, like these cool clocks that I told you guys about which we don't have one here we will eventually Him and I are going to work on one. That's cool. And I'd like to put it in my background back there. So let's dive into like How How did how did your like journey like, start essentially, like what led you to entrepreneurship, nobody's born understanding this, you have to kind of like Teach Yourself these things, obviously. And you You my friend, obviously you're a little, you're a little more wiser than I am because you're a little little older have a little more experience than I do. So obviously, there's something that we can take from this and kind of apply it. So tell me a little bit about that.

I'll tell you a little bit about my journey. How long, you know, life's road, so to speak. I worked for somebody, you know, for many years, I work in the locksmith industry for 22 years during that period of time. 10 years of that I worked or police department in California and you know, you get get to a point where in your head you're thinking why am I working for somebody else? Why am I providing food for their table? And yeah, I'm getting an income and that it's providing food for mine too. But why am I paying for everybody else? Why am I not paying myself? I'm worth paying myself. And so that's when I started looking at you know, trying to get out there and do something for myself. And at one point in time I did have my own locksmith business and then I moved up here to the state of Nevada and things are a little different here you know and you learn to adapt to that I've been here now 20 years. But you, you want to kind of I want to put that you want, you want to be able to provide for your family, for yourself and for your future and for your kids future. And you don't necessarily want to do that by providing for your boss's kids future, if you understanding what I mean. But this track on the candles literally started over 20 years ago, as a hobby, I used to come home from work, and I commuted 85 miles one way for work. And so when I would get home, at the end of my day, I'm working on I'm tired, I'm frustrated, sometimes with the commute, and I need to have something to take and pull that away. And give me some relaxation. Truthfully, honestly, it may not seem like it is relaxing. But making candles is relaxing, because you're sitting there melting that wax, waiting for it to get to that point where you can pour it into something that you can see your creation. And at the end, you get to see that and you get to see what you have created and what somebody thinks about your creation, you know, because if they like it, they're gonna buy it. But like I said, that was a hobby in the beginning. And now it's something that, you know, I turned back to 20 years later, 25 years later, something like that, where I'm looking at why am I spending money or candle that only lasts for maybe a day, you know, I can burn one of these for three or four days without a problem. Or if I wanted to burn it straight for one day, one full day, I can fire that thing up in my house and let it burn all day long. And I can come and go from my house. And when I come back home and that candles out, you can still smell it, I don't I don't believe in short, changing the scent of the candle I believe in using as much of the scent that you can buy, you know, as it comes in little jars. And I'll use a whole jar on a run a candle, and we're only talking six candles. So and that's you know, pound and a half of wax, and you figure a pound and a half on wax and you know, a full jar of scent in one candle. That's four ounces, that's pretty potent, it will make your house smell good. You know, I mean, my house isn't all that big. It's only you know, a 900 square foot home. But it lasts, you know, and I've had people come over and now they'll walk in they go wow, what what's that, that you got going? You know, I'll tell them and they go, Oh, you're making candles? Oh, we didn't know that. Let's look you know, and so they start looking through what I've got, you know, oh, I want that. Man these things smells so good. You know, it's nice when you see that it's it's pleasant, and it's comforting, comforting, you know that somebody actually takes pleasure in what you're doing. So that's kind of where, you know, this is all come

from. So one thing you brought up that made me think a little bit about my hobbies essentially is what what do I what am I passionate about? And what's fulfilling to me. So as as you do and so do I, we still work kind of for the man, right? And so when I come home, I do this and this is rewarding to me because to me, this is given back to a greater cause. So like the interview we're having right now, this is a small business and I support small businesses as should most people and furthermore, I am fulfilled by just kind of the end product, which the end result is when the edits are done. When the screens close, and you produce this and you send it out to the world. What's it Sound Like? What's it look like? Is it perfect? And that's fulfilling to me so that's something that I'm into as well to you you were talking about pouring wax and stuff and that seems fulfilling to me. I like watching those tubes where people dip stuff into asset and then it changes like that there's something fulfilling about just watching asset and watching it just turn something into something different but that's just neither here nor there as far as the candles as far as you're running a business obviously, however and what are some ways people can get a hold of you obviously in the episode description. We're gonna we're gonna have that in there. Do you have a website take Facebook orders do you just are you old school and you just do a phone call and then you send it like send a carrier pigeon? How to how can people get a hold of you to try out your wonderful products?

Well, not quite that old school as far as carrier picking. Facebook is pretty much where I put my candles, you know and people couldn't get me through there. I don't really have a website on it. I eventually one day I probably will in the near future. I just haven't done it yet. But you can get a hold of me through Facebook. Again. My name is Rick Cameron and you can catch me there through there or you can Get a hold of me, you know, over the phone, I can, I can leave my phone number, it's 775-399-8318. And you can get me there, you know, if you're interested in ordering candles, and that's the same phone number for my weddings by Rick as well. So if you're, if you're looking at trying to get married and you don't have you know, is there's always that route, okay?

So I will have in the episode description for you guys his telephone number and a link to his Facebook profile, he will be evolving here soon because he knows me. And so we're going to evolve. So more to come on that everything, everything that we do here we are people, right and for success of people. So I hope you guys enjoy these little small business get togethers, they're pretty intimate, different from the normal show itself. And it just outlines what people are doing out there. So I really, really enjoy this. We're not in the field. Today, we're in my home studio, but like, like we saw with speakeasy tattoo, we were in the field like that. That's what it's about. That's what this podcast is about. It's not only getting any information in formal for podcasts, but also going out and actually like experience and different things. So I'm excited. Rick, thank you for being on any last words. Any last advice you want to give to our listeners to entrepreneurs out there on, you know, advice that maybe you were given once upon a time that's worked for you?

Sure. One of the things that was said to me one time, if you have a hobby, and you know that that hobby is something that you love, and you can do, don't hesitate, take a hold of that hobby and make it something that is successful for you make it a business for you. Entrepreneurship is basically that it's a hobby, it's a hobby of getting yourself into your own business, it leads to that and you just have to take that chance.

That's the million dollar word, right? There are no multiple words, but take a chance. You never know unless you actually did. So. Again, thank you for coming on. I appreciate you. I appreciate you being my friend and being a fellow entrepreneur this fun. So thank you very much and we'll definitely see you around all find people that want to get married, not me. But you know,

I really appreciate it and I really appreciate you taking your time to invite me to do this. And thank you again.

It's fun times this is what it's about. So thank you and to all my listeners, please go ahead and hit that like and subscribe button and furthermore reach out to Rick and get some wonderful candles like this sugar cookie one that is making me want sugar cookies. So anyway, thank you all for listening to another episode of chopping wood fire