This is a subscriber-only article.

Save 20% on Entrepreneur+ during our Spring Growth Flash Sale

Use code SPRING20 at checkout.

Subscribe Now

Already have an account?

Sign in
Entrepreneur Plus - Short White
For Subscribers

How to Recapitalize Your Business Need cash, but don't want to give up control of operations? You can get the best of both worlds by recapitalizing.

By Crystal Detamore-Rodman

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

When Kim Wigington began making candles in her spare time, it was a relaxing hobby that allowed her to spend quality time with her mother, Beckey Neal. Soon, however, what started out as a pleasant pastime blossomed into a full-fledged business for the mother-daughter duo, who opened retail store Wicks n' More in 1999 and soon began selling to other retailers.

Immediate success led Neal and Wigington to eventually quit their day jobs to concentrate on the business full time. By 2005, sales of their hand-poured candles had reached $5 million, thanks to distribution in more than 3,000 boutiques and department stores.

Despite their success, mother and daughter found themselves at a crossroads with different long-term visions for the business. Neal, who had previously worked as a registered nurse, was thinking about retirement. And although 36-year-old Wigington was far from retirement, she had concerns of her own. "Over the years, we had grown [our business] to a $5 million company, but we needed additional help," she says. "We needed additional management input. We needed fresh minds to give us good ideas, make changes and take the business to the next level."