dai

forget candle scents - can i just have some marijuana please ..

i'd recommend http://www.lunarpages.com

to be at peace with myself and to ensure my children have the skills to develop into whatever the want to be.

.. being a hero to my children.

yes, i heard a quote once from someone i've long forgotten but it was in reply to a business stating it couldn't afford to advertise - the quote was "we couldn't afford not to advertise." exhibiting at a craft show or having a web-site is a very good way of advertising. you need to keep your company in the public domain and, even if you earn zero from a web-site, it is an important method of staying 'in the picture.'

that's really really cool! i think it's great that you were able to say goodbye to working for someone else and be able to support yourself in what you're doing now. you also bring up another topic which is equally dangerous - growing too fast as a company. i'm successful like yourself in many ways - i get to spend 24/7 with my adorable children - but you and i differ because you make money and i just watch the Food Network...

circumstances such as FOS are far more common than we probably imagine.

kitty, it just so happens that myself and seven dogs suddenly found ourselves homeless and are in need of a good warm home. we won't be any bother .. (beef please, in the event you run out of lamb..)

well not if his profession actually is dry cleaning...

you know too much about the muppets, you should be ashamed..

actually i guessed wrong - i assume your hubby got you far more tasteful PJ's from Victoria's Secret then i would have purchased..

it's easy to lower your price and convince a buyer. just try convincing them to pay more - your reason for charging more may be legitimate but the customer will still feel 'robbed' to a degree. quote high, sell lower (if needed of course..)

LRC06301983 (such a catchy name btw, it just melts like butter and rolls off the tongue..) i can well imagine businesses paying $200 for such a product - and they should too. companies who'd require my consultancy services were charged $1500 per day and it wasn't unusual for, say, three days to be booked. i never became comfortable with this but one must always remember that the actual or perceived value of a product or service may/can/should have little connection with the actual cost. for instance, the 'cane in the previous pic could work wonders in a restaurant yet the table it sat on would bring in far more money than the cost of the product in just a few hours.

janet, that really is an incredible 'cane - i lurve it. out of interest, can you (or anyone) estimate how much such a product would retail for, the material cost and how long it took to complete? excellent 'cane, most effective

for my wife i'm adding a new FO called Poisonous Gas..

with homestead you have to use their own software. sparkie, have you checked out their help guides, searched the knowledgebase and posted on the forums? or you could contact their technical support department and you should receive a reply by the end of the year...

whilst the appearance of a web site can differ between browsers, AOL use's some non-standard code and i believe undesirable effects are quite common when using their browser.

when advertising a product or service you must take into account the target market and, of course, available funds. for instance, advertising on TV or in local print media may well reach a very large amount of people but only a small percentage of these will be potential customers - and this also comes at a great cost. therefore, the goal must be to target people most likely to purchase candles. an obvious choice is current clients so be sure to keep in contact with them via flyers and emails. furthermore, always develop a database of these and potential clients - existing customers are the cheapest way of gaining further business. a good source of contacts could be gained by obtaining the pre-booked visitors list from an upcoming craft show. also including the ability for a client to contact you after making a purchase (either an address or a web-site for example.) for several years now the market has demanded that a business be focused on the particular needs of customers - which has made the need of a database necessary. keeping such information would not only aid your candle-making business but could also prove lucrative itself to other companies.

a name change is a pain in the happy sacks for a business of any size (yet a nice fat marketing budget would surely help!) but you could view this as an opportunity instead. as well as informing your customers via cards or email of the impending change you could also introduce a new product line or just a simple special offer to existing clients at the same time. this method would ensure the change isn't just a reactionary move but more of a positive step.

hah! (oh, apparently my message is too short to be printed here - it has to be ten characters long .. hahahahaha anyone?!)

does anyone actually use a Presto Pot for cooking?! i've yet to start making candles as i'm forever researching.. but am interested in a specific wax melter like the ones available at http://www.wenesco.com/wax2.htm#waxtop and would be interested to here any advice or experience from users of these (ie. is the thermometer accurate and does this mean i can keep the wax at this temp for hours - meaning can i do other stuff in between drawing the wax off?)

call me Mr Inexperienced Candle Bloke but you supply your own shelf for her shop? i don't know if this situation is normal but i'd tell her to get stuffed - if a store wants your products then sell it to them, if not, then concentrate on other area's. or, better still, give her a shelf with a bloody great big logo of yours engraved across it!

originally i used www.homestead.com for my web site needs. they had a wysiwyg interface and i was quite content with what i could design. yet, as my needs grew, i found that they couldn't provide the services i required (eg. a 'php BB forum' like the one you're currently viewing here.) therefore i researched the market and picked www.lunarpages.com as it offered everything i required, and more, at an even cheaper price. i don't even recognise some of the services and technologies offered but the main benefit by far is the extremely helpful forum and the incredible support. personal web users and large corporates have signed up to this provider and the forum treats everyone the same (ie - with respect, help and friendliness.) this doesn't include the actual technical support available as part of the service - in which you can get a response within minutes sometimes. i have been with lunar for 18 months and can't ever imagine leaving them. it does cost about $95 a year but if you sign through my link then i get a discount which i'll happily split with you (about $25 each.)

thanks for the info Jeana, very helpful i'll check out the effects you mentioned regarding the veggie wax's. for some reason i want to waste money on a wax melter rather than buy a presto pot .. and i'm not really sure why.. also i'll try to stop blubbing like a wuss thanks again.

nobody answered *cries*, i'm going to tell my mum about you *cries*