We’re looking forward to introducing you to ALICIA FREEMAN. Check out our conversation below.
ALICIA, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I chose a question at random from the list. I am not sure my answer to this one will be exactly what I WISH it looked like! haha
I have some friends that get up 30 minutes- 1 hour before their kids, get a workout in, get some alone time and reset. I have tried this so many times.
Right now, my mornings look like getting up when I hear my 7 month old stir.
Get him up and fed
Make my day to-do list.
Start breakfast for when my toddler gets up.
8am- Toddler is up and get him ready and eating.
If we have time we’ll go for a walk, I love to try to get them out in the morning sunlight.
9am I head into work!
Not exactly in the most glorious morning routine part of life but my kids normally wake up in good moods and I love the mornings with them.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Alicia, and I’m the owner of Linden Candle Company, an organic home fragrance brand. I started this business in a one-bedroom apartment, pouring small batches on my kitchen counter. Today I’m lucky to have a small but mighty team working alongside me in our Texas warehouse.
What makes Linden special is our focus on clean ingredients, cozy storytelling, and scents designed to actually feel like home. We hand-pour everything, we obsess over details, and we create fragrances that turn small moments—unwinding after a long day, lighting a candle before guests arrive, settling into a quiet morning—into something meaningful.
Right now we’re working on expanding our seasonal collections and sharing more behind-the-scenes of how our candles come to life. It’s been an incredible journey, and I’m grateful for everyone who invites Linden into their home.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
My marriage. My husband is hands down the most supportive person I’ve ever known. From the very beginning and long before I fully believed in myself, he believed in me. He jumped into every part of this journey without hesitation: troubleshooting product issues with me late at night, building my first website from scratch, and packing every single order for the first three years while still working his full-time job and growing his own career. Even to this day, when I encounter an issue at work (lead-times extended, shipping delays, product issues etc) he is the first person I go to.
Inside the business, he encourages me to think strategically, trust my instincts, and make decisions from a place of confidence rather than fear. Outside of the business, he’s the one reminding me to protect my energy, set boundaries, and celebrate the wins instead of rushing to the next task. His support has shaped how I see myself as a business founder and as a person.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Despite what social media wants us to believe, grit is not glamorous. It’s not aesthetic, it’s not a vibe, and it definitely doesn’t photograph well. Suffering is quiet and brutally honest. In business, especially at the beginning, it showed up more than the feeling of success did.
Success is telling myself the order arrived perfectly and the customer loves their candle. Suffering is the voice that reminds me I could’ve added a handwritten note, elevated the unboxing, or done 10 other things to make it better.
And when things actually go wrong, when a product fails, when a birthday gift arrives broken, when the cost of my next bulk order suddenly triples (yes, all real events for me) it forces you into an involuntary masterclass in resilience.
Suffering builds the kind of clarity, grit, and adaptability that success simply can’t. The person who built a business from the ground up will always care more about it than someone who was handed a thriving business. It taught me how to problem-solve under pressure, how to course-correct quickly, and how to trust myself even when everything feels like it’s falling apart. Success is motivating, but suffering is what made me a stronger, steadier founder and person.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
One of the biggest lies my industry tells itself is that customers won’t notice when quality slips. With rising costs (for example, soy wax costs have doubled the last 5 years), there’s been a huge shift toward cutting corners. Brands quietly moving from pure soy to cheaper blends, lowering ingredient standards, and then dressing it up with clever marketing as if no one will catch on, like “Pure Soy Blend” is a big one I’ve seen lately.
But customers are smarter than that. We’re changing some of our content to further provide education on this. They can see a difference in how a candle burns and how it holds scent.
The truth is, integrity shows. And the companies who still value clean ingredients, transparency, and craftsmanship aren’t just making better products, they’re building trust. We have had more and more customers and companies find us every year. In fact, we have spent less than $1,000 total on any marketing ad spend this entire year.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
Gosh. Personal life, a lot, I have two young kids and a lot of my life is planting seeds right now.
In business, it’s our growth strategy.
I choose to keep Linden Candle Company debt-free and to grow intentionally rather than chasing rapid expansion.
I also choose to hire locally instead of investing in expensive machinery that would let us scale faster. I know other businesses in our space that started after me and grew much quicker by taking on debt, running massive ad campaigns, and cranking out huge volumes of product.
Our approach is slower, but it allows us to invest in our community, build meaningful relationships with our employees, and stay intimately connected with our customers. It’s a long game. What we’re doing today may not yield my dream results for 7–10 years, but when it does, it will be sustainable, intentional, and values-driven growth.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lindencandleco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindencandlecompany
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lindencandleco
