deb426

1. Don't try to please everyone. No matter what you make and how many scents you have, there will always be scents and products which your customers ask you about that you do not have in your line. Just because someone asks about it doesn't mean you have to add it. Its an expensive lesson to learn.

2. Try to have an organized work area. It will save you time and enable you to be more creative and productive.

3. Give lots of samples to friends and co-workers. They will help you build your business.

Really. I would like to see the video, please.

I'm thinking that maybe I'll try the sugar cookie mix and call it Cherry Almond Cookie. I don't think most of my conservative clientele know what amaretto is.

I tried calling it Amaretto and Cream but I don't think anyone even opened the jar to smell it. I was thinking of mixing it with Hazelnut Coffee and calling it Hazelnut Amaretto Cappuccino.

I use the same one as Judy. I've used it for years and, quite honestly, I don't remember ever changing the batteries. I probably did at one point but I don't remember doing so. I think I've had it at least 6 years. It has been used and very abused and still is a great scale. I tried another kind last year but went back to the Escali. I got mine from CandleScience. I keep a small silicone pad on mine to protect it from the heat of the wax.

I have some Amaretto Nog from CS that went over like a lead balloon for my particular customer base. I still have about 12 ounces left. Any ideas on what to mix it with to make it more attractive to my customers? They like foodie scents. TIA

I agree with Jeanie. Drama thrives on more drama. The longer you keep it going the more you give them what they want. Nothing shuts a drama queen down faster than to not react to her antics. In any event, I'd hate to see this relatively calm forum get sucked into this mess.

Tea tree oil is very toxic to cats. I won't keep it anywhere in my house. I would always worry that by using it on my dog, the cats would come in contact with the dog and they would get poisoned that way. My cats are always rubbing up against my dog. Sometimes they even try to groom her.

What makes a bad customer? what puts you on the list? A bad check? Maybe someone fell on hard times. Lack of communication? Maybe there was a death in the family. Because they didn't like your product? They're entitled to their opinion. Because they want you to bend over backwards for them? I have customers who are huge PITAs but I would never want them on any kind of list. That's just how they are and its up to me to deal with them or not deal with them.

Also, it takes two to make a transaction. A customer may be a huge jerk to one vendor and sweet as pie to another, depending on how she is treated by the vendor.

If a customer does one vendor wrong in one transaction, it doesn't necessarily mean that she or he will do the same with every transaction. There are always a whole set of circumstances that make up the transaction and like someone else said, two sides to every story. And whats to stop a vendor from just out and out lying about someone to get them on the list just to make their life miserable because they are personal enemies.

Go buy a big Yankee Candle and burn it. By the end of the candle, you'll be thinking how good yours really were. Seriously, don't give up. Maybe change container shapes and sizes. Some containers are really hard to wick without sooting.

If you don't want to use a cello bag, you can use a nice apothecary jar with a lid.

Well, I'm a soy girl now but I dabble in paraffin and started out in paraffin many years ago. I have nothing against paraffin but I like working with soy, my customers ask for soy and I am proud of the candles that I sell. My business is my business. I feel no need to justify the decisions I make with respect to my business to anyone unless they want to come and pay my mortgage, my taxes, my insurance, my supply costs, and put the food on my table. As long as I am the one providing all of those things to myself, I'm the only one that needs to participate in decision making. Anyone can have an opinion about anything, but it is up to each individual to decide how much that person's opinion really matters.

I always have people asking me how I get the scent in them. Like somehow I'm going to squeeze a sugar cookie into the candle to make it smell like a sugar cookie.

Wouldn't a small battery operated cash register be easier? If you found an app that would print a receipt, wouldn't you have to lug a printer with you and be dependent on having WiFi to print?

I make them in mini muffin tins scented with cinnamon. I use sawdust for filler, scrap wax, and scrap wicks. I put 6 in a bag with a pack of matches for $1. People in my area will not pay more than that to just burn it. I'm fine with it because other than the scent I have no cost into it. Its not my main money maker, obviously, just something to add to my line. If I sold a gazillion and had to work to keep up, I'd feel differently but I usually just make a couple of huge batches at the beginning of the year.

What size are your containers and what size ECO wicks have your tried? I use ECO for most of my soy container candles.

Maybe its just my area but I've never had a rough time with any Scentsy rep at a show. They've all been fine to deal with. In fact, I was just invited by a Scentsy rep to set up a table at a home show she is planning. We haven't had Scentsy in this area for that long and its only been recently that the numbers have really increased.

Scentsy is the best thing that ever happened around here! I couldn't give wax melts away before Scentsy started pushing those warmers on everybody. Now I can't keep them in stock. They do have the cutest warmers, though. I use Scentsy to my advantage by making sure customers know that my melts work in their warmers. Before Scentsy, most people around here didn't know what to do with melts. Thanks, Scentsy!

Why did you choose soy to begin with? Whatever the reason was, just come up with a little speech that reflects why you chose soy.

I tend to stay away from vendor events because I think people are sick to death of them. With respect to your set up, you might want to consider a table cloth that covers all four sides of your table to the floor. You can hide a lot that way. And although I understand the sentiment behind your laminated sign, I must admit that I have reservations about using it front and center as your main sign. Perhaps you could shrink it down and use it in a smaller format elsewhere to keep the charm but have a professional sign done in a whimsical manner for front and center. That way, you can have it both ways. Remember that people who are shopping do not know the story behind the sign and are simply judging your stand on what they see in the blink of an eye.

Try Very Vanilla from CandleScience. Its my personal fave and stays very strong.

I have a bunch of those under-desk plastic things that I use around my work stations. Also, invest in a bottle of Goo Gone for wax spills and splashes.

I have a friend who wants to use FO in her Rainbow vacuum. Do any of you on the board do this? If so, do you dilute it first or just put a few drops in straight? I know some people use essential oils but I wasn't sure about fragrance oil. Thanks!

Very pretty! Did you wick them the whole way through or just a tiny wick at the top for lighting and blowing out?

Oh my gosh, too cute!