Wildcrafter

OO soap's lather IS slimy, but it makes a great leg shaving soap because of that. The razor just glides down the legs and other areas and helps reduce razor burn. Perhaps you can market it that way. Call it Bikini Shaving soap or something like that.

Yes, I have a facebook page and a website (www.goodnaturedearthling.com). I'm interested in hearing what others are doing to boost sales and compare notes. And offer suggestions. I read a thread this morning about a gal who made $33 in 3 days and it got me thinking....

My product sales were down $2500 this holiday season, partially because we got slammed with snow the last 2 weeks before Christmas. Stick it out, girls. It can't go on like this forever. For those of you who are working day jobs, stick with them. For those of us for whom this IS our day jobs.....think think think.... What can we do to boost sales? 1. Hold a neighborhood home party? Meaning, set up in your own living room and drop a little flier in mailboxes, put up fliers in libraries and your natural food co operative? I'm thinking of doing one of these next month after I do my biz taxes. You never know how much money you can make at one of these. I've only done one in the past and made over $700 in 3 hours. And made a new friend! 2. Have you collected emails of customers over the past year at your fairs and farmers markets? Send out a mass email and talk up your products. Why do they want to buy from you? Because you're all natural or all soy or handmade is best because (fill in the blank). Don't slam other companies or products, just hype up your own. Slamming someone else's products is unprofessional. I just sent one out this past week and got orders and workshop sign ups. 3. Do you teach? Schedule a candle or soap making workshop. My workshop and apprenticeship registrations were way up last year and are already filling for spring. 4. What are you doing??

I give to local charities for their auctions Cancer programs, alternative schools, that sort of thing. I suppose if I was to contribute a percentage of my profit to a nationally recognized organization, it may help my business, but I just don't have the money to put out that way.

Please check out my Comfrey Calendula Salve on my website. I have been making it for 18 years and it is perfect for what you need. www.goodnaturedearthling.com No preservatives, no petroleum ingredients, just pure herbs, oils and local beeswax. I do my own wildcrafting.

If you go on usps.com and do the shipping through the website, it is cheaper than if you go to an actual post office location. I have been doing my shipping this way for quite a few years now and it is a great benefit. You can request a pick up and the carrier comes right to your door and takes it all away. You can order all the boxes online no charge and they are shipped right to your door. No waiting in lines, no messing around with post office personalities, no gas to get there. You'll need an accurate scale, a credit/debit card, a computer of course and that's about it. Here's the thing to remember: if you are charging your customers the correct price for the shipping, then ultimately, you are not paying anything out yourselves. Money goes out from your bank account to usps, customer's money goes into your account and they cancel each other out. You can even add a small handling fee on your website's shipping if you want to make sure you're not paying out more than you're bringing in. Go on your admin part of the website, or get your web person to do it and make sure your shipping charges are accurate. I don't mind the increase at all. I ship almost exclusively usps and they have been very good to me.

Hi Jackie! Great looking soap!

Just a thought. They have a lot of employees and overhead ie: factory space, etc to pay and that is added into the cost of the candles. Bear in mind that they will be charging one price and the stores will be adding their markup as well. And if people will pay that price, then no reason why they shouldn't charge that price. They are in it for the profit and are not a cottage industry. I am in no way disrespecting you, your candles or the quality of them. I putting in my 2 cents.

I've had my herbal product business for 20 years now. I have also been teaching for as many years. I have taught over 3,000 people how to make soap. I also teach herbal medicine workshops, wild plant identification and apprenticeship programs. It's been my full time day job for years now and it pays the bills, keeps food on the table and a roof over my head. And keeps the business running. It's the combination of the two (products and teaching) that keeps me afloat each year. If I was to just sell products.......I don't know. I see people over the years who have taken a class or two from me and immediately go into "business." I see them go out of business just as fast. Taking a quick workshop or course or having glazed eyes from looking at internet forums for hours does not make a business. It takes a long time to become solvent. I have spent thousands of dollars in R & D over the years and each year spend more because what people want changes from year to year. AND because I sometimes change my formulas to improve them. Yes, I have my standard products that I have been selling for years, but to keep in business I have had to be able to be flexible and offer new products. In fact, people ask me all the time....what do you have new this year? Take the time to gain experience making the products you want to sell for at least a year before running out and getting a business license and jumping in the sellers' pool. Get comfortable with your formulas, packaging and labeling. If you make something without enough research and end up hurting someone....do you want to give up your home or possessions to pay for their medical bills when you get sued?

The Candle Lady sounds like a good business name. It stands out and you get known as not only the person but the business. I'm known as the Soap Lady at all my farmers markets even though there are others selling soap. It's good to have person/product recognition!

I'd say get a new one, too. The laser printers are getting smaller and cheaper. I got my first laser printer like 7/8 years ago and it was HUGE and heavy and it was sooo expensive! I think you can get a decent laser printer for around 300 bucks these days if you watch sales.

I'm glad for this thread! My warranty is up as well. I had a problem (what it was I can't remember) and I called HP. They told me that my warranty was up like 2 weeks before that and no way would they help me without me paying for their help. I thought that was such bad customer service. I think I've had this machine only a year or so. I'm not fully satisfied with it. I make my labels on publisher and this is the only printer I've had where the color green on the computer is very different than what prints out on the printer. I waste ink and paper trying to get the printer to print out as close as I can to the green color I'm looking for. I usually get a primary green, almost a blue green if I'm trying for a yellow or moss green. I end up doing an almost yellow on the computer before it looks passable. Does anyone else have this problem? Also, I use onlinelabels.com and buy their weatherproof labels. I find that EOs make the ink smear. I have not been able to find a paper where this doesn't happen. I can pour all the fixed oils and water on these labels as I want with no damage, it's the EOs I have the problem with.

I buy my beeswax from a local beekeeper and he only charge's me 3.75 pp.

Can someone please help? I want to be able to make these candles in the next 2 weeks.

double post....see? newbie! gah!

I ended up trying 75% soy/25%beeswax. I had some HTP 73 N wicks from last year and tried one candle. The flame is tiny. What does the N mean on that wick, does anyone know? Remembering that I am a candle newbie.....if I went to HTP 83, does that mean the wick is thicker and would flame bigger? What would the 104 do? Thank you very much!

When I added coconut oil to my soy last year, the coconut oil gave it a bit of shine. That was a nice bonus. I'm wondering if that would help the frosting problem? I don't know, just throwing it out there. Also, have you hit it with a little heat to see if that would eliminate it?

I forgot to say that the 14 for shipping was for 4 cases.

Thanks! After reading around this forum last evening, I found out a couple of things. One is 50% beeswax will probably be too much for a glass container. I am going to rethink the formula. I emailed Bill at candlewic and he told me I should use: HTP-73 or HTP-83. I see you recommended an htp wick too. Man alive, I can make a brilliant log of soap, I can take you out in the woods and identify dozens of medicinal herbs, but candles? Candles have stumped me more than once. And I have thrown up my hands more than one time, too. I'm determined to "get it" this year.

I appreciate all the responses to this thread. I was looking for square mason jars myself a couple weeks ago and finally found them at candlesoylutions. I also bought their pewter "air freshener" lids with them. I bought the lids separately about a week or so before just to see if they'd work for what I want to do. The jars cost me 6.95 a dozen with 14.94 shipping, although I am in Washington. I'm sure the shipping to Florida would be much more expensive. It's good to find out where suppliers are all over the country since we're all over the country here on this forum. I didn't know about candlesandsupplies, so now I have it bookmarked. I'm not using my jars for candles, though. I have been wildcrafting and drying pounds of wild rosehips and will add dried sliced crabapples, dried cayenne, cinnamon sticks and some other goodies including tiny wax tarts scented with EOs for a cool looking potpourri for my holiday fairs this year.

I'm going to use 1/2 soy 1/2 beeswax with EOs. In a glass flip top jar: http://www.essentialsupplies.com/~smartcart/index.cgi Not exactly this jar but that kind - you know, a bail jar with the wire thing. The lid comes totally off. The ones I have are cute little buggers, 2 1/4 inches across and 2 inches tall where the wax would be, but a little over 3 1/2 inches high with the lid on. What do you think about these wicks for them? Any suggestions? I really had problems with the wicks I chose last year for my all soy candles and I don't want to make the same mistakes this year. Thank you very much in advance. PS....I'm not new, but I haven't been active in over a year. I forgot about this forum. I blame menopause. _________