New candle business- general profit you have made?

[lemonzestsf]

Hello ladies,

I am planning on starting a candle making business on the side while I am a full time student to help make me some money. I am planning on graduating this semester and am hoping to support myself with the candle business once I graduate.

I do not know anyone that makes or sells candles and I was wondering for those of you who put in less than 10 hrs/week making candles and then however much time selling them- do you make much money?

I live in SF and will be selling candles that are soy an palm wax.

Also, I am unsure of how to first go about selling candles and have been considering wholesales to shops in town; do you think that is a good idea for just starting out or should I just sell at craft fairs or what?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

[marcuset]

I applaud your ambition, but I'd have a back-up plan for supporting yourself, realistically. Very few here actually support themselves with this craft - & it's usually only after a number of years of breaking even & having a main source of income other than this. Not saying you couldn't do it, but folks think this is a get rich quick hobby. I can assure you it isn't.

[lemonzestsf]

I am not expecting to make big money for a while especially because I work VERY part-time right now at the school and go to school full time. I have been planning on developing different candles between now and when I graduate at the end of May and I know that will be during the slow season (although, TBH the part of SF I live in is often chilly during the summer and overcast). I plan on expanding to body care products as well as I will be developing/modifying recipes for those as well.

My back up plan is to be a substitute teacher or tutor or stripper! Just kidding about the stripper part but I am pretty much open to anything but would like to work in the teaching field eventually and therefore I will be pursuing a part-time career in that while I develop my business over the next few years.

I am a bit nervous I might add!

[moonshine]

I am not at all trying to burst your bubble but want to say that developing a line of candles by May is just not realistic- possible...maybe, but not realistic- there is a ton of time and expense that goes into making a quality candle that is safe and appealing

The idea is a great one - I had the same in 2008 that I was going to sell candles and save the day in my household and unfortunately I put our household more in the red as a result of trying to produce safe quality candles- I have not been selling for very long either- 4 years for me to get to the point of sale- comfortably and confident in my product

There is a wealth of information on this board and friendly helpful people but you have to be willing to do the leg work and put in the investment- you cannot go in blind and think your going to be selling right away- more than likely the quality will not be there so people will buy again or you sell one that burns down their house and well...I think you know what that will mean

So before You worry about how to sell candles and where and how much money your going to make and how many hours to put in- start on learning the candle making process and read and test and read and test and ask questions- the rest will follow

Good luck to you

[TallTayl]

I suppose, like everyone else, your success will depend on your business plan, networking abilities and business acumen.

If you're excellent at marketing and sales, and have a nice financial backing, then there's a better chance of growing a startup than a plan of, "if you make it they will buy." You don't have to make the very best product on the market to be successful, but you sure do need to know how to market your product to your target market. Competition in the saturated candle market is pretty tough - though not impossible if you have a nice marketing and business plan.

[HorseScentS]

I totally disagree with the comment that "it's not impossibleif you have a nice marketing and business plan ." Unfortunately, the others are telling you the truth, it's not feasible as a way for you to make extra money this year as a student. For the first year or two, candle making would be an expensive hobby, not a way to make even a little bit of extra money. I wish it was different. I once had the same idea you have, but found out the hard way.

Edited January 24, 2013 by HorsescentS

[Chefmom]

If you were going to make paraffin based candles you may have a chance at getting a working line in a year. There is a lot of information on formulating paraffin, but since you are choosing soy and palm, well, I wish you good luck. You will be burning candles instead of studying, and you will need 4 hour burns at a time without leaving the candles as well, you can't light up and go to class.

Soy and palm are harder to scent and wick and so you will need more testing, paraffin takes just as much testing, but soy is very tricky.

Good Luck to you! I have been learning, pouring, testing for 2 years (without a job outside the house/garden/kids) and I have a small line of containers and pillars and will be adding hand dipped tapers.

[HorseScentS]

I think she could get a line of tarts ready to sell pretty quickly if she follows the exact instructions in this video http://www.candlescience.com/video/clamshell-wax-melts.php and buys her FO's from Candle Science's best sellers so she'll know they'll throw a scent in 6006 parasoy. Does anybody else think she could get a line of these exact tarts that are demonstrated in the video ready in time to sell? I know 6006 will make a strong, long-lasting tart because I scoop chunks of my 6006 dud candles into my melter.

Edited January 24, 2013 by HorsescentS

[Beth]

I think she should forget the business plan for the moment & just start learning candles. Then decide if she enjoys it enough to even pursue it as a business

[HorseScentS]

I think she should forget the business plan for the moment & just start learning candles. Then decide if she enjoys it enough to even pursue it as a business

I agree. I was just trying to think of a way for her to earn extra money, but you're right, she'd do much better just finding part-time jobs.

[moonshine]

I think tarts/melts are possible most definitely- I know nothing about 6006 but have heard good things about it

If the market is there and like Talltayl stated a good marketing and sales plan I think that is a great option to get started and could possibly bring in a little income but there will still be expense in testing and material- but the upside is there will not be as much hair loss involved as making candles

[HayCreekCandles]

Yeesh! I wish you the best of luck with that! Just remember if you plan on selling candles you haven't thoroughly tested you may also want to invest in insurance just incase one of your candles burns someones house down....just sayin! That's an extremely short amount of time to test and then sell. I started out doing this as a hobby back in 2004 and didn't really start doing any serious selling until 2006/2007. I can honestly tell you candlemaking may look easy to some, but once you start really getting into it, it's not as simple as it looks. Best advice I can give you is do as much research as you possibly can and test like crazy! Good luck and keep everyone posted with your progress!!

[SliverOfWax]

Making candles is going to cost you much more than you can expect to make for a long, long time. There is tremendous waste in testing, which YOU MUST DO.

If I had known how expensive it was going to be, I would probably never have started.

[Guest OldGlory]

Someone just asked this on another candlemakers message board - "how much money can I make selling candles?" It's a bit like asking "how much money can I make in the stock market?" Too many variables to even begin to answer that question.

Here are some quotes from a book (older book, mind you, because I did a lot of research before embarking on the testing phase of a new hobby 12+ years ago).

These questions were asked anonymously of 12 people thru message boards, chat rooms, etc (this was when the economy was strong):

1. How many years have you been selling your products?

1-2 years 6 people (people get disillusioned by the hope of making more money than they actually do and quit after considerable investment of time and resources)

3-4 years 3 people

5-6 years 1 person

10 or more years 2 people

2. Is this a full time, part-time job or a way to earn a few bucks?

way to earn a few bucks 5 people

part-time job 4 people

full time job 3 people

3. What is your annual income from this?

> $3000 2 people

$4000-5000 3 people

$5000-10000 2 people

more than $10000 5 people

You should be aware that you will probably spend a few thousand $ buying the equipment and supplies you need to get yourself thru the testing phase. Plan to test for 6 - 12 months before you have a marketable product (and one that won't get you sued). And if you have questions about how and why people get sued for their candles, please contact your local fire department. Remember the lawsuit against McDonald's when the customer spilled the hot coffee they just ordered? If my memory serves me, that person won the lawsuit.

The biggest problem I had when I started was guessing which fragrances my customers would buy, and having lots of candles that didn't sell - and that is wasted money, lost profits, and discouraging at best. After 12 years, if I do a show or market, I always have leftovers. I've gotten much smarter about it, but it was a steep learning curve.

Then there's the question of choosing the right venue. I spent way more than I made on several occassions. If your candle is selling for $10 and your profit is $6, your booth cost you $120 for the weekend, that means you have to sell 20 candles before you've made a dollar profit. If you sell 40 candles in the same scenario, your profit is only $120 - $3 per candle. If it took you 15 hours to make the candles and 25 hours at the show to sell them, you have invested 40 hours of your time for a profit of $120. At $8 an hour, 20 hours in a part time job is a way better deal. That's not always part of the thought process, but it needs to be considered if you are choosing to do this to earn money.

My suggestion - read lots of books on crafting and making profits before you buy your first 5 lbs of wax.

[TallTayl]

@OldGlory - your analysis is why she may wish to start with a business plan. It will force her to look at the facts and figures on paper in black and white before spending countless resources on a business venture that is potentially doomed before the start.

Learning to manufacture candles, widgets or cupcakes is one thing. If there's not enough profit to sustain a business, then she may rethink her venture.

The business plan begins with a SWOT analysis (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats) which shakes out many of the variables you need to know before investing a dime. In the SWOT and BPlan you figure out little things like if you are even allowed to manufacture your items in your dwelling, or if you need to find commercial space. It makes you list overhead and expenses (such as insurance, taxes, etc.) All of that changes the bottom line.

It also, as you wrote, makes it clear from the start how many physical units you need to move to reach the profit you require to remain in business. Usually this is enough to remove stars from the eyes of many entrepreneurs.

If it turns out her analysis shows enough profit potential to be worthwhile, she can hire mentors to learn the craft faster than someone plugging along on their own, or contract with experienced people to launch the business, or buy out someone's business who is retiring, etc. There's more than one way to skin the cat, but you have to know your numbers first.

[coconut]

The only thing I can add is that most candles sell around Christmas. Spring and Summer sales are very slow.

[annie123]

This "candle making thing" is a lot of hard work and it takes a lot of time. You just don't whip up a great candle, it takes a lot of testing and getting set up is expensive.

And when you get there it's even more work, customers want their orders fast and the more money you make the more time you spend working.

Part-time is more a hobby than a really successful business.

Edited January 25, 2013 by annie123

[FaithfulScenter]

I have been working at this for 2 years, working about 10-12 hours most days. I just did my taxes, I came out $25 ahead last year, and I am tickled pink. Building a profitable business takes time and money. And a lot of it. I'm thankful I have a wonderful husband that believes in me, and is willing to foot the bill! I hope that one day I will turn a decent profit, but I'm not going to depend on it.

[Candybee]

lemonzestsf: I hope we didn't scare you off. That was not the intention. There is absolutely nothing wrong with your dreams and many of us started out the same. Hoping to make money soon and not realizing the reality of making a safe candle and all that goes into it until much later after lots of money invested, testing, reading, more research, etc.

But you have come to the right place. No question asked here is wrong. There is a ton of good information about making candles and lots of people to help out when you have questions.

If your goal is to one day sell your candles I'm sure you will some day. But for now you are on the right path wanting to test and research making candles. Keep at it and you will get there.

[Guest OldGlory]

It would be nice to know if our posts are being read, eh? LOL!

[nursenancy]

If I were in this for the money, I would have quit a long time ago...

I agree with the tart idea, though. Much easier to get a line together.

Edited February 1, 2013 by nursenancy

[David Fields]

Where do I start? My wife and I have been doing this a long time. We retired from our regular jobs 12 years ago and went full-time in the business. We started as a hobby then as a part-time business (no time for anything else, we worked), then retirement and full-time. We didn't put together a business plan. We borrowed a little money and plowed all profits into the business for years; I don't think we put a dime in our pockets for years. We sold our products where ever we could. Craft shows and home parties were it for a long time. We opened a store when we retired and almost sunk; nothing was the way we thought it would be. (smile). We closed that store and opened the one we are in now and after a couple of years we took off. We grossed 400K last year. 300 at the store and 100 in wholesale and mail order. 175K to us. The bad part is that the more we grow the harder we work. I put in 50-60 hours/week, and my wife puts in 40-50. We have four employees and need to hire more. So, bottom line to you is...if this is a passion for you, keep plugging away. Don't give up. But, if it ain't working, change things up. You are going head to head with experienced chandlers. Find your niche and exploit it. Again, if it isn't working, why? What do you need to do to lower your costs or increase sales? Speaking of costs, only buy things that make you money. POS systems, fancy business cards, etc. are nice to haves, not necessary. Wait until you are making nice profits to buy things that don't directly make you money. It can be done. We did it, but with God's help. He guided out steps all of the way. No business plan, just hard work, dedication and prayers.

[Beth]

David, do you have a website?

[David Fields]

www.thecandleboxshop.com

It's six months old. I made it myself. We decided to go without a cart because of all the problems we have with the different carts we order from. So, we have a contact page and either call or email people. From our experience few customers know exactly what they want and almost always have questions. We had a website a while back that was a bear to maintain. No time to work on it for updates.

[David Fields]

Oh, forgot. The website is new because we want to expand our wholesale/mailorder business and faze out the retail. Can't do it right now because the lion's share of the revenue is from retail. Wholesale/mailorder has doubled since the website. So, we are hoping to close the store or pay someone to run it in a year or so.