Daily Inspiration: Meet Nakilah Edmonds

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nakilah Edmonds.

Hi Nakilah, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
When I graduated college in 2017 after I walked the stage and completed my last credited course which was an internship, I was told by the school that they would not give me my degree until I paid them a $5,000 fee. As a recent college grad and a newlywed in a new city not knowing many people, this was an unimaginable cost that I wouldn’t be able to pay in the timeframe they were asking. This put me in a rat race, I couldn’t get a decent paying job because they wouldn’t give me my degree. Even though I had completed my four years of work. This led to me working minimum wage-paying jobs that only ever paid a small amount of bills. Financially I would rely mainly on my husband’s job. I remember when I felt defeated and had the overwhelming feeling of failure, my husband came alongside me and said, “I have found what I want to do for the rest of my life, you go find what you want to do.” and then proceeded to pick up another job to support us. Never once making me feel like I am less than or the weaker link.

Since 2018, I have been working to find what I wanted to do. Which meant working part-time jobs and even volunteering to find my “why”. In the process of that, we had a son and moved more times than we ever planned and I almost lost sight of our goal. In 2020 when we were all at home, I was reminded of my “why” I wanted a career that would allow me to help support my family as well as enjoy my family. I enjoyed staying home with my son because it allowed me to watch him have his first steps, say momma and dadda, and watched him learn his colors before he reached one. I chose candles because I thought it would be easy. I thought it would be a good stepping stone. All of which was far from the truth. The science behind candle making is far from easy. I have wasted more wax than I care to admit. So many trials and errors that almost got the best of me. I know this is only the beginning and I have more to overcome. however, I’m sure am glad I didn’t let a $5,000+ fee get in the way of pursuing what Christ laid out for me in the very beginning. If things had gone my way, I would have graduated with my degree in hand working in nonprofit somewhere and never would have pursued owning my own business and taking risks. Pursuit is the action of following or pursuing something. And that is exactly the goal of The Pursuit Company. We strive to pursue and live more like Christ everyday. Some days are harder than others and never in my life would I have thought I would be a candle maker. But the pursuit is always worth it.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Struggling to pay bills, the feeling of being a failure.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I think candle-making is on the rise. Everyday I see more and more people getting into candle-making. I believe what sets me apart is the meaning behind The Pursuit Company. Our main goal is not to sell candles. While I would love to sell out of candles, my goal is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and shining a light in the community. I do this through my blog and using my candles to donate to nonprofits that I believe are an important part of the gospel. Right now, we have two nonprofit candles that we make specifically to support two different nonprofits. One in a youth mentorship program specifically for foster care kids before they age out of the system. The other nonprofit organization strives to educate diversity, equity and inclusion to others in the community. More information about both and how to donate can be found on our website. www.thepursuitco.org

How do you define success?
I believe Success is setting a goal and sticking to it. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. Five months or five years. Just stick to it. It took me three years of searching for what I wanted to do. And four years to finally pay off that bill. But if we let time determine when success happens, we won’t ever be successful.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.thepursuitco.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_thepursuitco
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepursuitco

Image Credits
Jerry Edmonds (EdmondsIV Photography)-Photographer Adeline Agtarap-Muff (MadeWorthy) – t-shirt designer