Navigating Business as a Female Founder: Building Sip & Scents with Intention

Navigating Business as a Female Founder: Building Sip & Scents with Intention

Hi there! Denise here, founder of Sip & Scents.

Some of you might know me personally, or have met me at pop-ups. Some of you might be complete strangers online who happened to chance upon Sip & Scents — maybe through our Shopee store, website, Instagram, TikTok, or even as a gift from a friend (hehe). Whichever way you found us, it’s really nice to e-meet you.

 

For those who are new here — a little background on Sip & Scents: We launched on 23 April 2025, so we’re just shy of turning 9 months old. Since then, we’ve launched 14 soy wax candles, done 4 pop-ups, brought our store online across Shopee, TikTok, and Lazada (on top of our website), and sold almost a thousand candles.

 

Oh, fun fact — we’ve always been registered as a legit company, so yes… officially SIP & SCENTS PTE LTD. Private limited haha. Sounds like a lot, right? But nah… to be honest, half the time I’m a little lost and just winging it.

Navigating the business world as a female founder

 

Anyone can start a business and have a place here, including you and I. But I won’t deny that the business world still feels largely male-dominated. I might be wrong, but it can be cut-throat at times, much like the corporate world. At the end of the day, this is our bread and butter, & we do what we have to do to keep the business running and survive.
 
As a female founder, while I fully acknowledge the strengths we naturally carry — empathy, nurturing energy, emotional awareness, I’ve also realised that it was necessary for me to adopt certain masculine traits to hold my ground here: logic, decisiveness, and emotional control. Not to suppress femininity, but to balance it. Because Business, at its core, involves a lot of problem-solving. Learning how to use both traits has been a big part of my journey.

 

Learning the hard way

Case in point: when I first started, I almost lost a supplier because my emotions were running high that day. A conflict came up, and instead of focusing on solutions, it slowly became personal. We wasted time going back and forth, and it made me realise how unproductive that was. It wouldn’t have been wise to keep arguing — especially when the alternative meant pushing back my launch or restarting the entire manufacturing process. Lesson learned. 

 

Another time, about six months in, I had the opportunity to work with a large global brand that’s been around for years (over 1M followers on IG). On paper, it looked incredible. I remember thinking, “lucky me! what great timing for a small brand like mine to get this kind of exposure”. But it required compromises that I knew wouldn’t be right for Sip & Scents in the long run. No matter how exciting it felt, I had to say no and walk away.
 
That experience taught me that not every opportunity is meant to be taken — at least not immediately. Sometimes timing matters more than scaling and it’s ok if we have to reject the opportunities. As long as you continue doing the work, something more aligned will come along. Running a business really is as much about growing as a person as it is about growing a brand. Not just about the numbers, but personal maturity and clarity.

 

The invisible work of entrepreneurship

 

Beyond the actual work, I know many entrepreneurs experience imposter syndrome at some point. that pressure to know everything and be 100% ready, when in reality, no one does. But it also doesn’t mean we get to be complacent. Honestly it scares me because there’s just so much to learn & no one teaches you this in school?! Even doing this full-time, time never feels like enough.


Optimising e-commerce apps and algorithms, creative strategies, email marketing, ads, B2C, B2B… unless you’re in a position to hire and delegate, you’re pretty much on your own. And honestly, I thank the universe for YouTube — it’s been my best friend (and yours too, if you ever want to start an e-commerce business).
 
Don’t get me wrong though! I’m not looking for sympathy. I believe this is what every entrepreneur has to go through (AND GROW THROUGH ooooo). I wake up every day super grateful and very, very excited to be doing this. But as a solopreneur, there are definitely hard days. Sip & Scents is my first business, and in many ways, it really does feel like raising a baby. Two quotes that keep me grounded:

 

 

“Feel the fear and do it anyway.”
“I can’t complain about what’s on my plate when my goal was to eat.”

 

Small brand, big plans.

Sip & Scents was never meant to be just a candle brand — it’s a fragrance brand. Candles, room sprays, perfumes, diffusers… I want to do it all!! I’m not backed by big investors or anything but that only makes me more determined to grow this brand with intention. Anyone who joins this team in the future has to be aligned with what we stand for too.

 

I know all brands need sales to grow, but even as Sip & Scents scales, I hope I never forget who helped get us here. A brand can’t grow without support, and I’m deeply grateful to everyone who’s believed in us since day one especially when we’re, idk… not anywhere near Diptyque level yet haha.

 

Whether we’re around for 9 months, 5 years, or 10, my goal is for Sip & Scents to stay authentic and uncompromising in quality. To be the go-to brand for unwinding with great scents or gifting something meaningful for any occasion — always just one click away.

 

If you made it to the end, thank you for being here and for supporting this journey. Wherever you are in your own path — building something, dreaming quietly, or figuring things out, I hope this reminds you that growth is rarely linear, but always meaningful. 


Until next time, Stay Warm & Well.

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