LIFT Fund Helps Candles by Candy Turn Funding Into Business Growth
Access to capital can help a small business move forward. Pairing that capital with the right guidance can help an entrepreneur decide where to go next. For Candles by Candy, support through our LIFT Microloan Fund provided both.
Founder Candace Bell has grown Candles by Candy from a passion for candle making into a Howard County business with two locations. Today, customers can visit studios at Savage Mill and on Main Street in Ellicott City for handcrafted candles and hands-on experiences ranging from candle making to fragrance creation.
Along the way, Bell received a LIFT Fund loan and began working with one of our financial coaches and business mentors. Together, they looked beyond simply securing financing and worked on how Candles by Candy could put that funding to work strategically.
That combination of capital and continued business support helped Bell take another step forward.
More than access to capital
Small business owners often need funding to grow, but financing represents only one piece of the equation.
Entrepreneurs also make constant decisions about inventory, marketing, operations and how to invest limited resources. The LIFT Fund pairs financing with access to business resources designed to help borrowers strengthen their companies.
Our LIFT Microloan Fund provides loans ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 with terms of three to five years. The program primarily serves small businesses, including minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned and other socially disadvantaged businesses.
For Bell, the business coaching that followed the loan made a meaningful difference.
“Without the coaching that Billy provided and the funding from LIFT, I do not know where we would be as a business.”
Bell explained that having an advisor who understood her business gave her someone she could trust when navigating decisions about growth.
That is exactly what we want financing to accomplish. Our goal isn’t simply to provide a loan and disappear. We want business owners to have access to resources that help them make informed decisions about how they use that capital.
Growing Candles by Candy in Howard County
Candles by Candy now operates studios in Savage Mill and Ellicott City, where customers can create their own candles and participate in other fragrance-making experiences. The business hand-pours products using natural soy wax, cotton wicks and curated fragrances.
Bell’s growth also demonstrates what can happen when entrepreneurs have access to resources at the right stage of their business.
In the video, Bell describes how the combination of LIFT funding and business coaching supported significant growth:
“It has helped grow my business a lot. Within the first year, I even opened up our second location.”
The expansion gives Candles by Candy a presence in two distinct Howard County business communities. Its Savage Mill studio operates at 8600 Foundry Street, while its second location brings the candle-making experience to Main Street in Ellicott City.
The business has also grown beyond traditional retail. Candles by Candy offers beginner and advanced candle-making experiences, room spray and fragrance experiences, private events and other opportunities that turn the product into an activity customers can experience together.
Supporting Howard County small businesses through LIFT
Candles by Candy represents the kind of local business growth the LIFT Fund was created to support.
We launched LIFT, which stands for Leveraging Investment for Future Transformation, to expand access to financing for Howard County small businesses. In FY2025 alone, the program approved 9 loans totaling $290,000. Of those borrowers, 50% were both woman- and minority-owned, 30% were minority-owned and 10% were woman-owned.
But the numbers only tell part of the story.
For entrepreneurs like Bell, access to capital can mean having the resources to make the next investment in a business. Access to knowledgeable guidance can help determine how to make that investment count.
As Bell put it:
“Sometimes you need that. You need that backup, you need that push, you need that support.”
Candles by Candy’s continued growth shows what that support can look like in practice: a local entrepreneur accessing financing, receiving ongoing guidance and growing her business right here in Howard County.
Could the LIFT Fund help your business grow?
Howard County small businesses seeking capital may qualify for financing through the LIFT Microloan Fund. Loans range from $10,000 to $30,000 and can provide eligible businesses with financing alongside access to additional business resources.
You can also explore Candles by Candy and learn more about its Howard County locations and candle-making experiences.