No matter how prosperous the economy is, or not, people have always been interested in running their own business. Some just want to create an extra stream of income to help with the ever-increasing bills. Some others dream of quitting their jobs and becoming financially independent. No matter which is your choice, most people want something that’s not too hard to run, most likely something that involves selling. Building a candle selling business can help you achieve either one.

A lot of people have become interested in making and/or selling candles as a business opportunity. It doesn’t hurt that anyone can learn the skills to make candles, and that selling them is just as easy, because there’s a lot of demand at pretty much all times of the year, with peaks at Christmas and in the lead-up to Valentines Day. So the real quest here is how to make sure you run a profitable business.

Homemade candles are very appreciated when offered as gifts. There are plenty of workshops where you can learn how to make all kinds of candles. Once you know how to make them, there’s even more literature (books, ebooks, software) to help you market them effectively. There’s a lot of ways to make money selling candles; here’s a list of suggestions to help you successfully build your business.

1. If you want to run a profitable business, you have to keep your costs at their lowest. The best way to do so, especially at the beginning, is to buy already made candles. This allows you to haggle and negotiate prices. If you perform this step correctly, you’ll be able to get your candles at rock-bottom prices, which will greatly increase your chances of actually turning a profit. You basically act as a salesperson, earning revenue on the merchandise you sell
2. Making your own candles is another option to keep your costs low, but you also have to understand that there’s a reason why you should get some candle selling experience under your belt first. Making your own candles means that you have way more expenses to keep track of. In addition to this, it’s much easier to sell your own candles once you’ve already actually achieved some sales out there.
3. Even though you might be starting this business on a small scale, you need to be clear what your strategy is. Put together a business plan in order to visualize the growth of your business. What is your selling strategy going to be? Who are you going to sell to primarily? How are you going to reach your target audience? What is that going to cost? Will you have an online component to your business? How are you going to handle that?
4. As with any business that you’re building, it would be wise to see it not as it is right now, but as it might become in the future. Which is why you should at least pay for consultations with an attorney and an accountant in order to set it up right and avoid any legal or tax problems in the future.
5. Take full advantage or word of mouth advertising. It’s said to be the most powerful form of advertising out there, and it’s free to boot. Your family and friends should be the first market you tap into to establish your business and generate sales. You can start by offering them samples (make sure that you drive yourself out of business though). If you work your business right and turn them into satisfied customers, they will help you by recommending your candles to their own family and friends, as well as other acquaintances.
6. Participate in local events such as bazaars, craft shows, flea markets, fairs, and expos. Go to your local chamber of commerce, they should have a calendar of such events, that you can use to plan your production (or wholesale buying) schedule and show up to rack up sales by putting up a display of your best and most affordable candle products. Show up with plenty of business cards to pass around. Those events are great opportunities to get new clients. They’re also valuable in terms of getting your name out there.
7. Host a candle party in your home. Organize a candle party and invite everyone you basically know. Send creative invites either by email or ask everyone by phone. Ask them to bring someone as games and freebies will be the main attraction. Once again, you have to make sure you keep your costs under control; the last thing you want is to give away merchandise and fail to capitalize on the opportunity to acquire a sizable prospect list for further contact.
8. You can also make money with candles by engaging in actual workshops. Organize a candle making seminar and encourage attendants to give it a try. You can also organize a candle fundraising event and give a portion of your sales to charitable institutions within your area. Ask non-profit organizations to try and sell your products. In the end, allocate a percentage of your earnings to these charities as rewards.
9. Build your own online candle shop. While this is very much similar with the first option, you can manage to be different by presenting your items in a more effective manner. Asking someone to create your personal website gives you lots of advantages, since you can manage and have your own business without necessarily keeping oneself awake during late evening hours and breaks.

© Ways To Make A Profit In The Candle Selling Business

Many people who make candles as a hobby fail to realize the potential of this market as a way to make serious money. As it turns out, they’re ideally placed to take advantage of a niche that’s both extremely popular and has a low barrier to entry. It’s popular because candles make great gifts for all types of occasions ranging from Halloween to Valentines Day, and including birthdays, anniversaries, gift baskets, romantic dinners, and so on. The barrier to entry is really low because you don’t need a lot of expertise to start making candles; plus, the initial investment that’s required is something that’s in most people’s range.

If you plan well, you’ll begin to make money selling candles in a relatively short time. Selling candles is a proven money-making opportunity and the business opportunity is becoming more popular by the day because of the relatively inexpensive supplies and the opportunity to use your creativity when using the styles, colors, scents, and sizes, so you don’t need a lot of expertise and can pretty much learn as you go. Mistakes have no consequence since you can melt the candles you don’t like and use them to make other ones.

As you begin to establish your candle making business, keep in mind that your success is going to depend on you being able to make candles that your prospective buyers will like. Sure, the creativity will have to come from you (if you’re making the candles) but at the end of the day, it’s all about your customers. If you’re not making the candles but instead ordering them wholesale, the same principle holds. If you’re reluctant to dive in without knowing what will work, you can either mass produce or bulk order generic, ordinary candles and sell them by the dozen. The main drawback of this method is that since they’re generic, there’s nothing to set you apart from your competition, except maybe your relationship with the buyers and/or your prices.

In any case, before you launch any business, it’s better to determine what your market is and who’s going to be buying from you. You candle making and/or candle selling business is no different and you have to go through the same steps before you invest your hard-earned money. You can sell you candles to retail stores in your area, either on a wholesale basis or through consignments (having consignment setups with small shop owners which could help promote and sell your products is quite a brilliant idea). Another viable option is to sell your candles to people who make gift baskets, or who operates various types of businesses where candles are used: restaurants, party planners, wedding planners, and so on. Candles are likewise very popular and widely purchased during special occasions like Christmas and Valentines Day so do not fail to take advantage of these opportunities. And of course, local events where people come sell their wares are your best friends. That’s why it’s important to develop excellent relationships with your local community, as it’s more likely that they will be your most reliable and most profitable client base.

What do you need to start a candle making business?

This business opportunity is quite affordable and cost-efficient compared to most other businesses that you can start from home. There are the basic materials needed for making candles such as beeswax or paraffin, spermaceti, wicks, scents and dyes or colors which are optional components, wicks, molds and a pan for the wax melting procedure. Be ready to dedicate a good chink of your budget to the molds, as they can cost about $20 each. Aside from the materials for the manual work, you may also need an allocation for the office equipment; computer and some would consider buying candle making software to further enhance their products and stand to make more money.

If you’re looking for sophistication in the candle-making business (which means more profits), you can look into Gel Candles. These ones are made of paraffin that are transparent and consist of suspended decorative items and come within a container, which, most of the times, is a transparent one (glass or heat-resistant high-quality plastic).

Be sure to have a considerable amount of wax or paraffin, containers to melt them and a place to conduct all the work. Molds and containers give the desired shape to the molten mass, which again depends upon the kind of raw material used. For example, pillar wax has a high melting point while paraffin has a lower one.

How much does it cost to get started?

Fragrances and dyes will round up your initial investment to around $200; that’s not bad at all, especially considering this venture’s money making potential. It’s also recommended that you hone your craft by purchasing candle-making books and videos and attending candle-making courses. This may increase your initial investment by another $300, bringing your total cash outlay to about $500. Considering the high income opportunity of a candle-making business, selling to online markets, to friends, family members and neighbors, in flea markets and public markets will allow you to quickly cover your investment and start planning the growth of your business

If you’re only interested in the selling part, then all you need is to round up wholesale suppliers, get their catalogs, and start ordering and selling on a small scale so you can develop a knowledge of the market, and know what sells and what doesn’t. This way, you know what to order and how much of it to order so that you can not only give your customers what they want, but also remain competitive price-wise. In this case, instead of investing in raw materials, books, and candle-making seminars, you might instead attend a sales seminar and buy a couple of sales books for roughly $200 and use $300 on orders so you can have a decent inventory and start selling candles.

How To Start A Candle Making Business