Her sister experienced more fits in her sleep and as a child Jenni remembers her kicking out her legs a lot in her sleep, she could be overly tired at times and moody and as she got older, quite forgetful.
After diagnosis and a long period of receiving disability benefits and realising that she would never have a normal working life, she decided to start her own business.
Earlier in her career, she had been a baker with creative tendencies. She decided to experiment with candles and came out with a fantastic idea by amalgamating waxes to create the look of froth or candle ice cubes etc. and discovered different methods of making candles. She then created unusual cocktail candles, pints of lager, and commissioned a unique scent to replicate the oil of a 1998 scooter.
She then taught herself the legalities and regulations and did testing. She taught herself computer skills, like web design, spreadsheets.
The business has proved to be very popular and profitable, although a lot of work is involved. She is candle-mad 24/7.
She sells online and at local markets.
Then she opened-up to the rest of the UK and then selling in other countries. Some unconventional issues she has experienced are: –
- Other stall holders using flashing lights to gain attention of customers,
- Not being able to work alone which causes higher expenses
- Not being able to drive means that her costs are higher to run the business and attend markets and events.
She has had to think out-of-the-box to resolve some of these issues.
She has not accepted this as her destiny and has pushed herself to start her own business and continue to grow it.
Don’t let your disabilities, no matter what they are, dictate your future!
For more information on epilepsy please visit www.epilepsy.org.uk.
Epilepsy is a common condition that affects the brain and causes frequent seizures. Seizures are bursts of electrical activity in the brain that temporarily affect how it works. They can cause a wide range of symptoms. Epilepsy can start at any age, but usually starts either in childhood or in people over 60.
