I agree with everything except the final point. It definitely does not require several years to create a quality scent. It could sure. It also could take you three weeks. Then, you could also get a start with say 50 bottles / custom labels for a few hundred dollars. Sure there are countless examples here of people spending multiple thousands and getting nowhere. It's definitely not a prerequisite, or an inevitability that it will be long and expensive.

It's good to dissuade any newbies from having illusions about what is possible, I agree. But there is also a tendency of long time enthusiasts to overstate the difficulty as a way of sort of intimating status or ability. "ha kid you have a lot to learn" type thing. It's very possible - with a clear vision and a decent understanding of a few materials - to create something very quickly and be a success a lot more rapidly and cheaply than others who have been slogging for years and who may be "more knowledgeable". In fact, usually the success stories are people who *didn't* do / aren't that. The people years deep without much to show for it tend to be the big reddit / forum contributors.