At the age of 14 Main came up with ManCans, a candle company that produces candles with manly scents. He thought that most of the candles that were for sale were too “girly” and didn’t have scents that were appealing for men. Therefore he designed candles with scents like campfire, bacon, sawdust, fresh cut grass and grandpa’s pipe. ManCans are sold in over 60 stores across the nation and about 9000 units have sold. Main came up with the idea of utilizing soup cans to make the candles and thought that the soup cans would contribute to the “manliness” of the candles. In addition he donated the soup to food banks and continues to donate 75 cents of every candle sale to soup kitchens in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan. Throughout Main’s experiences selling candles he was encouraged by his father to try his best to indulge himself in further entrepreneurial ideas. Main learned so many business lessons throughout his time that he wrote a book with his father called “One Candle, One Meal.” In the book he advises kids to start thinking like an entrepreneur at a young age because if you start early then you will ultimately produce more ideas and the chances that one of them will make it is greater.
https://www.investopedia.com/slide-show/young-entrepreneurs/
I love how there’s a bacon scent for a candle. I also love how a 14-year-old boy decided to make candles for men. Most 14-year-old boys don’t care about things like that. I also love that he donates to soup kitchens, so there’s a social aspect to his business as well.
It is cool to see how Main tried to invoke the idea of “manliness” in every aspect of his candles – from the scents of the candles to the cans they are sold in. The attention to details is valuable, and sets apart the entrepreneurs who are really motivated in their business.
My dad and I were just talking about the need for manly candles the other day, so this is so cool! Also, incredibly that a teenager came up with this. I wonder what is main customer demographic is? This is so creative and such an interesting gap that I would never have thought of.