candlenewbie1

A guy and a gal shown from behind. They're sitting on a couch beside each other. He has his arm around her up on the back cushion of the couch and their heads are tilted toward each other. In front of them is a roaring fire in the fireplace, so all you see is a black silhouette of their heads, but you can see the fire.......Home, companionship, love, safe, content, happy........

I would sell to the wholesale accounts in town to gain product recognition with local consumers. You never know what will happen to your wholesale accounts down the road, they may fold up and go away for one reason or another and you will have gained their retail customer base with a little advertising.

I'd be thinkin' about some liability insurance and addin' it to the cost of doing business. In the event of a problem with your candles (after they're out of your control), the plaintiff's lawyer will sue anyone and everyone who ever had anything to do with the candles.

I'm just starting, but so far I have nothing but good things to say about Peaks and Scented Bean.

My mom used to have a saying.... "they don't have all of 'em locked up"

I like #2 better, but the script is very hard to read at first glance. You have to remember, YOU know what you do, but others who don't know you don't have a clue what you do and I doubt if they're going to take the time to try to figure out what your logo says. I would try using a slightly different script and clean it up so it stands out and is easily read. Sorry, that's just my $.02

I'd shorten this down a little. Your objective in the phone call is not to sell your products over the phone, it's to sell the appointment so you can sell your products in person. Here's an edited version of your pitch.... I was in the store buying some gifts for a friend a few days ago, and as usual, I was struck by how unique and beautiful your selections are that you carry. I’m calling because I have a line of all natural home, body and baby care products as well as a home fragrance line that I spent over a year researching and developing that would complement your other lines. I’d love to make an appointment with you to bring some samples and discuss my products. Is there a day and a certain time of day that you've set aside to discuss business with your suppliers? DO NOT READ THIS TO HER OVER THE PHONE. Memorize it and deliver it naturally. Nothing is more of a turnoff than a canned pitch that you can tell someone is reading. Another tip: Each time you call someone, SMILE while you're talking to them. Believe it or not, they can tell you're smiling and it will help to break the ice. If she says "no, I have no specific times to see suppliers", then you say "GREAT, would tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon be better for you?" If she says "mornings are better", then you say "GREAT, I'll see you tomorrow morning at 10 A.M."

If there is any one thing that will sell product over anything else, it's enthusiasm. I see it every day in the car business (I've been selling Toyotas for about 3 years). I've watched new salespeople come into the sales force, not knowing anything about the product, but having overwhelming enthusiasm and self-confidence because they're excited to be out there talking to people with the anticipation of making money. Without exception, they set the world on fire their first month. Some of them continue to exhibit the same enthusiasm month after month. Those are the superstars of the car business as they meld product knowledge with their enthusiasm. Others gain product knowledge, but slack off on the enthusiasm and slowly but surely, die on the vine and go away. You already have tremendous product knowledge, now all you need is the right mental attitude. Concentrate on how you will address what the buyer wants to hear, how you will increase the bottom line on her books. She isn't concerned about the process which you go through in making your products unless, in some way, it helps her sell your products. There's an old line in sales, "sell the sizzle, not the steak", meaning tell your story so that the buyer visualizes new customers breaking down the door to get to your products again and again. Tell her how you intend to stock her store with scents and colors that have been proven by market research to be best sellers that will result in customer satisfaction and repeat business for her. Tell her that her success will mean your success and that you'll do everything in your power to make it happen for her. I'll give you an example from the car business: FEATURE, ADVANTAGE, BENEFIT Feature: Mrs. Buyer, this Camry uses a chemical cold gas system to inflate the air bags. Advantage: Some manufacturers still use the old..."explosive charge"... to inflate their bags. Benefit: I'm sure you've spoken with folks who've been in an accident with the old system who've been severely burned on their face, neck and arms from the fire that's generated with the "explosive charge" system. That can't happen to you in this Camry. Can you see what's going through the buyer's mind at this moment??? If I had stopped with the feature, there would have been no sizzle. Adapt this way of presentation to your products and you'll be successful.

If I were hell-bent on selling at this particular market, I'd approach the Queen with a business proposition. I'd agree to sell only items which she doesn't carry and cut her in for a percentage of what I sold. Greed is a powerful force and you just have to find a way to make it work for you. Once I was in, I'd use the opportunity to corral those who did buy from me by giving them a postage-paid response letter so they could tell me what they liked about my products, what they didn't like, what they would like to see in my line, whether they would consider buying my products directly by mail, etc., etc. At the point of purchase, I'd collect their name, postal address and email address. I'd tell them that there is quite a lot of information that you have to share with them and that you have constant updates about new products and new procedures that you'd like to share with them. I'd construct a periodical newsletter sent to these folks via email and maybe offer some free product to them if they refer direct sale customers to me so I could bypass the farmer's market routine. If you decide to offer your products at another venue, what better way could there be than to inform these folks where and when you'll be set up for business. Where there's a will, there's a way!!

Beautiful job on your site. Simple and easy to navigate. I like the fact that the slide (don't know what to call it) on the left side stays where you put it so you don't have to keep sliding it down each time for a new search. Well done!!!! Could you possibly tell me what you had to read in order to accomplish designing and implementing the site??

I think I'd rather use a lamp that would accomodate all container sizes, maybe something like this... http://www.bettymills.com/shop/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?exact_match=yes&keywords=DLTW1300BLK&search_stores=2 even though the shipping cost is insane. I'll bet you could find one locally if you shopped around.

It might be a really stupid idea, that's why I threw it out here for feedback before I actually try it. Someone may have tried it before and it didn't work well, or it might have worked really well. I perceive candle making as an art, not a science.

"4 - Aren't you a long way from having to worry about the consumer's money?" I guess I was looking at this from a more personal point of view, I'm a consumer too. But yes, you're correct of course. I am a long ways away from worrying about someone else's money.

I'm the first to realize that I don't know ANYTHING yet, but it seems I read on here somewhere about heating the FO to get it to mix more readily. In shopping at Walmart, I found a 4 cup coffeemaker (Mr. Coffee # DR4) that I bought for 13 dollars and change. I was experimenting with it today and found that if I were going to melt 5 lbs of wax in my Presto pot and use 9% FO, I'd want 7.2 ounces of FO. So I put 7.2 ounces of water (by weight) in the glass bowl (the cup marker on the side of the bowl showed about 1 1/3 cups) and turned the burner on. It took about 20 minutes to heat from ambient to 170 degrees F. where it stabilized. I realize that FO will have a different specific gravity than water, but like I said, I was experimenting and wanted to pass on the information for what it's worth I guess if your FO has a flash point of less than 170, you'd want to check it with a meat thermometer as it heats up to prevent going over the top and creating a problem. It should be pretty handy, just pouring the FO out like a cup of coffee from the coffee maker bowl into your wax.

wow, no input at all on this, huh???

Nothing I've read or searched for on this forum suggests that you can use acrylic or other types of plastics for candle containers. I've come across some really beautiful heavy acrylic jars and will test them for myself, but has anyone done this? I've read where some have experienced shattering glass and I don't think this would be a possibility with acrylic, but I don't know how it will hold up to the heat. Alternately, one could make a wickless candle and simply heat it on a mug warmer, yes, no, maybe ???? I'm all about beautiful containers as much as I'm about a candle that performs properly and is good value for the consumer's money.

thanks Holly

I've never poured a candle in my life, but I have surfed this forum a little and have decided to try it. My question has to do with aging the candle before burning. If I pour container candles and let them age 1-2 weeks, do I leave the lids off so the candle can breathe or cap them? Calsoy CB3 Candlewic RRD-29, Peak HTP-31, Peak HTP-32 for testing Peak Amish Harvest FO @ 3%, 6% and 9% by weight for testing 2 ounce jar with 1 1/2" diameter opening 4 ounce jar with 1 3/4" diameter opening Wish me luck, I'm goin' in........