Eight-Year-Old Runs Candle Business in San Antonio

Madison Ayers, 8, runs Candle Pop Co. from home with help from her parents, filling more than 1,000 orders in five months.

Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Pre-Teens

Eight-Year-Old Runs Candle Business in San Antonio

Live Poll

Would you support kids starting their own small businesses at a young age?

Eight-year-old Madison Ayers runs Candle Pop Co., a home-based candle business in San Antonio, Texas, that filled more than 1,000 orders in five months. The business is run with help from her parents.

Why it matters

Madison's business shows how a young entrepreneur can build a real operation, from choosing scents and buying materials to marketing at local farmers' markets. Her story offers a concrete example for San Antonio families weighing how children can learn business skills early.

Candle Pop Co. filled more than 1,000 orders in five months, starting from a 10-pound amount of wax. Madison works six to seven hours a day on the business, but the source does not report revenue or profit figures.

The players

Madison Ayers

An eight-year-old entrepreneur who founded and runs Candle Pop Co. from her home in San Antonio, Texas.

Jessica Miele

Madison's mother, who helps run Candle Pop Co. alongside her daughter.

The details

Madison chooses the scents, colours and jars, buys materials and melts the wax herself, and helps market the candles at local farmers' markets. She was inspired after watching her older brother earn money helping neighbours with their rubbish, and she has said talking to people she does not know has been the hardest part of the work.

Five months before publication: Candle Pop Co. filled more than 1,000 orders.
Age 16: Madison plans to buy a car with business earnings.

Roadmap

Madison's business sits within a wider pattern of children turning hobbies into small ventures, a trend encouraged by youth entrepreneurship programs. Her sustained operation over five months goes further than typical one-off childhood sales efforts.

Parents in San Antonio considering a home business for their children can see how one family structured it, with the child handling creative choices and the parents providing support. The story shows that children can take on specific, hands-on roles such as melting wax and marketing at local markets.

The takeaway

Giving children real responsibility, such as owning a product from sourcing to sale, can teach planning and customer interaction skills. Madison's experience talking with strangers suggests these skills are learned through doing.