Our Story: Navigating Life with Down Syndrome and Autism

Early Business Inspirations

While Erica’s early years were focused on therapies and development, we always noticed certain interests that would later become business strengths. Her love for sensory experiences—particularly fragrances and textures—created natural connections to candle-making. Her enthusiasm for music that would have her dancing spontaneously around the house showed us her capacity for joy in consistent activities.

One memory stands out from when Erica was about four years old at a music class. While some children hesitated to participate, Erica immediately gravitated toward the drums. She grabbed the mallets and began playing with such joy that the entire room couldn’t help but smile. That moment taught us something crucial that would later inform our business approach: when Erica found something that sparked her interest, her enthusiasm was boundless and contagious—an entrepreneurial quality we would later channel into our family enterprise.

The Transition to Entrepreneurial Thinking

Erica’s educational journey took place in the public school system in Arizona. Throughout her school years, we observed how structure and routine benefited her development. The predictable schedule, social interactions, and creative opportunities provided a framework that helped her thrive.

Our thoughts about post-high school entrepreneurship began to emerge in June 2022, when Erica was 17. At that time, we assumed we had at least four more years in the high school environment and began thinking about preparing for life after graduation. We started considering what it might take to start a candle business someday as a purpose-driven opportunity.

However, during Erica’s junior year, we noticed that her IEP meetings increasingly focused on traditional graduation rather than extended learning or entrepreneurial pathways. Despite our efforts to explore alternative options and asking our DDD Support Coordinator about possibilities beyond day programs, we found little support for creative entrepreneurial thinking.

As Erica’s senior year progressed, we found ourselves at a crossroads. The school system was pushing for traditional graduation, and Erica became excited about the milestone. We supported her desire to graduate with her class in 2024, but the celebration was short-lived.

The Entrepreneurial Awakening

The reality of life after high school hit hard and fast. Traditional day programs lacked the engagement level Erica needed, and employment opportunities were scarce and often not truly inclusive. The structure, purpose, and social connections that school provided vanished overnight.

The most difficult moment came when Erica would cry and ask to go back to school, not fully understanding why that chapter of her life was over. One particularly challenging evening, after Erica asked when she could return to school, we sat down and made our entrepreneurial decision: if the existing systems don’t work for our daughter, then we need to create a business that does.

This moment of clarity—born from necessity and love—became the foundation of our soul-led entrepreneurial journey. We realized that developing a family micro-business could provide the structure, purpose, and dignity that Erica needed while creating sustainable opportunities aligned with her unique abilities.

Our Family Enterprise Today

Almost a year post-graduation, our home has transformed to accommodate both our family life and our developing business. We’ve converted a bedroom into our candle studio, with baker’s racks, work tables, and all the equipment needed for production. Our garage houses vessels and packaging materials, and we’ve even transformed a hallway linen closet into storage for fragrance oils. Throughout our home, you’ll find evidence of this family enterprise taking shape.

We’ve developed a flexible business structure that honors Erica’s needs while creating sustainable production workflows:

• Our day begins with a visual business schedule review—essential for Erica’s sense of security and entrepreneurial engagement
• Mornings often include community activities that inspire creative business thinking
• Production activities are scheduled during Erica’s most focused hours
• Business tasks are broken down into manageable steps with visual guides
• Color-coded measuring tools help with accuracy and independence
• Our production routine provides structure while allowing flexibility for days when accommodations are needed

One particularly meaningful aspect of our business has been Erica’s enthusiasm for product photography. She’s always loved “picture day” at school, and now she brings that same excitement to photographing our candles. She’ll often arrange impromptu “picture days” for our products, combining her personal interests with business necessity in a way that brings her joy.

The improvement in our family’s overall wellbeing has been significant. The anxiety that dominated those first few months after graduation has given way to entrepreneurial purpose and forward momentum. Recently, we experienced a transformative business milestone when we launched our website. When Erica saw her candles displayed online, she processed the information, then looked at us with wide eyes and said, “My candles? On the computer?” Her excitement was palpable as she pointed to each product on the screen. When we showed her the finished website, she did her happy dance (which involves a lot of twirling) and declared it “the best day ever.”

Building a micro-business from scratch while balancing caregiving responsibilities is challenging—it’s neither as simple as some might suggest nor as impossible as others might fear. It requires dedication, flexibility, and a willingness to learn as you go. But these challenges now exist within a framework of meaning and purpose that makes them easier to navigate.

Soul-Led Business Principles

Our entrepreneurial journey has taught us several key business principles that guide our approach and the resources we create:

Soul-Aligned Enterprise Development: Traditional paths aren’t the only valid ones. Perhaps our most significant mindset shift was recognizing that entrepreneurial success for Erica didn’t have to look like what traditional systems defined as success. Creating our own business path, tailored specifically to Erica’s needs and abilities, wasn’t settling for less—it was aiming higher for purpose-driven opportunity.

Adaptive Business Structures: Structure is essential, but it needs to be the right kind of structure. The void left by school wasn’t just about lost activities; it was about lost predictability and purpose. Creating flexible business workflows, consistent production routines, and meaningful engagement has been transformative for Erica’s sense of security and self-worth.

Interest-to-Income Transformation: What began as Erica’s interest in scents has developed into a way for her to contribute meaningfully to our family business. We’ve learned to look deeper at what captures her attention, asking ourselves not just “What does she enjoy?” but “How could this enjoyment become a business strength?”

Family-Centered Enterprise Model: Building Romalite Candles has taught us that creating a micro-business isn’t simple, but it’s not impossibly complex either. It requires a commitment to learning, adapting, and persevering through challenges. By involving our entire family and honoring each person’s unique contributions, we’ve created a sustainable business model that strengthens our family bonds.

Entrepreneurial Pathfinding: When traditional support systems didn’t work for us, we began connecting with other families in similar situations to share business insights and strategies. These connections have become invaluable sources of entrepreneurial support, business ideas, and community.

Dignity-Driven Business Development: This might seem obvious, but in the face of expert opinions and institutional pressures, it’s easy to doubt your entrepreneurial instincts. We’ve learned to trust our deep understanding of Erica, while still remaining open to guidance as we develop our business model. Celebrating diverse abilities as business strengths rather than limitations has transformed our approach to enterprise creation.

These entrepreneurial principles form the foundation of all the business frameworks we’re creating through Romalite Empowerment. They represent hard-won wisdom that we hope might make someone else’s journey into family enterprise a little smoother.

Why We’re Guiding Other Caregiver-Entrepreneurs

After navigating the challenging post-graduation landscape and beginning to find our way with Romalite Candles, we realized how much we wished we’d had a resource like this before Erica graduated. There’s plenty of informaAfter navigating the challenging post-graduation landscape and beginning to find our way with Romalite Candles, we realized how much we wished we’d had entrepreneurial guidance before Erica graduated. There’s plenty of information available about early intervention, school accommodations, and medical aspects of Down syndrome and autism, but relatively little about creating meaningful opportunities through family micro-businesses.

We noticed a particularly significant gap when it came to business resources for caregiving families. While traditional employment and day programs work well for some individuals with developmental disabilities, they’re not the right fit for everyone. Yet, resources for families wanting to create alternative entrepreneurial paths are scattered and often not specific to the unique challenges of balancing business development with caregiving responsibilities.

That’s why we’ve structured our content around four key business pillars:

1. Soul-Led Business Foundations – Entrepreneurial transition planning, family-centered business models, and purpose-driven enterprise development
2. Family Candle Business Case Study – Practical implementation guidance, adaptations for different abilities, and scaling family micro-businesses
3. Building Sustainable Family Enterprises – Business alternatives to traditional programs, creating entrepreneurial structure, and celebrating diverse abilities as business strengths
4. Business Resource Development – Practical frameworks, navigating entrepreneurship alongside support systems, and tech tools for special needs family businesses

Our vision goes beyond simply sharing our story. We hope to build a community of caregiver-entrepreneurs who are creating their own unique business paths. We believe that by connecting these families, we can collectively develop even better approaches to soul-led entrepreneurship while providing mutual support for the unique challenges of building businesses alongside caregiving responsibilities.

Start Your Soul-Led Business Journey

If our entrepreneurial story resonates with you, we’d love to have you join our community of caregiver-entrepreneurs. Whether you’re approaching your child’s graduation and feeling apprehensive about limited options, already in the post-school period and searching for business direction, or simply interested in creating more meaningful enterprise opportunities for your loved one with Down syndrome and/or autism, you’ll find business frameworks here to support your journey.

As a first step, we’ve created a comprehensive Entrepreneurial Transition Planning Checklist based on what we wish we’d known before Erica’s graduation. This free resource outlines:

• Key business considerations for the transition from high school
• Important conversations about entrepreneurial options to have with school staff
• Practical steps to begin micro-business planning before graduation
• Resources to explore for post-high school business opportunities

In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing more detailed business frameworks, including:

• How We Started Our Candle Business (With No Experience)
• Business Models That Honor Diverse Abilities
• Creating an Adaptive Production Schedule Around Caregiving
• 5 Business Questions We Wish We’d Asked Before Graduation
• First 90 Days Business Planner for Post-Graduation Launch

We’re also developing our “Purpose Pathway” membership community, where caregiver-entrepreneurs can connect, share business insights, and support each other through the unique challenges of building family enterprises that accommodate diverse abilities.

Most importantly, we want you to know that entrepreneurial alternatives exist beyond traditional day programs and limited employment options. The path to creating a soul-aligned family business may not be clearly marked, but we can navigate it together, one step at a time.