When Hart Main was 13, he joked that candle scents were too girly, and that there should be candles with more manly scents. While he was only kidding, he soon decided to start ManCans, a line of manly scented candles. Originally, Hart’s motivation was to make enough money to buy a new bike, and he planned on dropping the business once he got it. But, ManCans expanded far quicker than he imagined, with products being distributed in about 150 stores across the country. With annual sales now at $200,000, Hart knew that he couldn’t stop now. Despite his age, Hart was still very dedicated to running the business. He is very hands-on with the company and very dedicated to solving problems. One his goals was to establish a charitable aim for ManCans. You see, Hart makes the candles inside of soup cans, which he later donates to soup kitchens and homeless shelters. He has even donated money to said soup kitchens. In total, he has donated around 90,000 cans of soup and $30,000 to them. Over time, Hart has expanded his business with new scents and store partnerships. Overall, ManCans has been a big success.
One reason that Hart Main was such a successful entrepreneur is that he acted on his idea. Manly scented candles could have just stayed a joke, but he followed up on this crazy concept and created ManCans. His hands-on approach also helped give the company it’s good reputation. It was also very impressive how successfully Hart shifted the business from a temporary project to a long-term endeavor. Hart Main has taught me that, no matter what, you can succeed as long as you leave your comfort zone.
Honestly, when you first think about the idea of manly scented candles it sounds like a joke, but sometimes jokes go far and this was truly far. This went so far it was made into a successful business created by a 13 year old. This idea is really inspiring to see that there are so many ideas that can turn into some very cool businesses.
I found it really cool that Hart had such a heart (pun intended) for soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Because he made this one of his goals from the beginning, he could directly see the societal benefit from his hard work! It also shows how committed he was to this business since he continued to innovate and expand his business.
This is such an interesting idea, and as you said, the important thing was that he acted on it. It almost doesn’t seem like we need more candles, but if someone asked me to come up with “manly” scents, I don’t even know what I would say, but Hart knew, and that’s why the business is successful! It is also really great that he has kept the business sustainable and is dedicated to giving back to local communities through the use of soup cans. That is an aspect of the business that I think would draw more customers too.