Can candle making be profitible?

[sprthg2001]

My wife and I are thinking about starting a candle making business and was wondering if its worth it?We both love candles and figured why not make a profit from somthing we love.Can anyone give us some tips?Thanks!

[candlebean]

Eventually, yes, you can make a profit. But don't expect to for the first few years - there is a LOT of time and money that needs to go into testing and research....good luck to you both!

[my3lilrugrats]

I have to agree with candlebean....making and selling candles can be profitable but it takes some time to perfect them and test them all before you can even think about selling them. You should test everything you plan on selling, which takes time. I would say try making a few candles and see if you like it..it can be VERY frustrating...I have tested my candles for well over a year now and I am almost ready to start selling.

Buy some wax, a couple scents and dyes and give it a go. I'm not sure what you're interested in making but when I first started I found tarts and votives a good starting point. I wish the both of you the best on your candle making adventure!!!!

[heirloomoriginals]

I have just started selling, so I haven't made a profit. With any business, unless you have little to no start up costs, it takes a few years to actually make a profit. It takes lots of time and testing for candles and bath and body products. If you have the time and money, give it a shot. Try and start out small with maybe votives or 8 oz containers and add from there. I have started with tarts and cold process soap. Business is slowly picking up, but I need to get more product made and advertise!

Steph

[Bev]

I've been selling for almost two years now but have yet to see a profit. I consider mine more of a "hobby" business since I work full time at a law firm. My dream is that one day this business will be self-sustaining and turn a nice little profit, but I can't quit my day job yet! Remember, "Dreams can't come true if you don't have any." Good luck to you.

[Tee]

First of all, welcome, and I hope that you will enjoy your new addiction as much as I do. Second, I can't answer your "will it be profitable" question, because I have yet to start selling my candles. Hopefully soon. However, I would like to share these thoughts with you, as a possible new candle maker, and also share them with the members here, since I've been thinking it for sometime, but have never said it.

I have been making candles now for almost a year and a half. I started out with votives, and to a lot of people, votives are more difficult than containers or pillars. I started with those because I figured they were smaller, and I always tackle the little things first, then gradually head to the bigger ones. After I became comfortable pouring votives, not necessarily testing them at first because I just wanted to perfect the "look"...perfect edges, centered wicks, etc., I began testing scents and colors and wicks, and burn times, and mushrooming and soot, or lack of etc. When I became comfortable that I could do those, and make a nicely scented and good burning candle, I started dabbling into 8 oz jelly jars. Again, I did it the same way..perfecting the pour and look, then testing the rest. I am now able to say that I would be comfortable letting about 5 scents of 8 oz containers, and 10 scents of votives leave my hands, knowing that I CAN make a quality product that will be safe for consumers. I still have about 5 more scents to do in jars before I even think about selling, although I do have a name picked out already, and am working on a label and logo for my future business.

Before I even started, I found this board, and I read and read and read and read (get the picture?) for months before I ever joined as a member. I don't post a lot on here compared to others, but I definately spend my time reading what they HAVE posted, and I have gained an awful lot of knowledge from everyone here. I don't ask questions, I do a search, and sure enough, someone else has had that problem or question, and sure enough, there is an answer as to why or how. I started reading the newer posts when I first found CandleTech, then realized that I was doing it ALL wrong! When I realized this, I would browse the new stuff, pictures etc, and then when I had an hour or two to kill, I would start on a particular section, say General Candles making, or soy, and I would go all the way back to the first post, and read forward from there. I would read every single post made in that section, under ever topic. This is when the old board was still up. I am glad that there is still access to it in the Archives now, and there is a lot of information in there as well as here on the "new" board. It took me quite some time to do all of that reading, but my friends, it was worth it. This place is better than a set of Encyclopedia Britannicas!! Any and all information that you need to know about candle making can be found right here. There are some very knowledgeable members, and I have found that they are all here to help you if you have a problem or a question. But, let me warn any new people reading this....

If you have a question, the people here usually know what they are talking about. Some will tell you gently if you are doing something wrong, and some will use a tone that is about as equivalent as being flogged! However it's said, it's all meant to be good advice to you, for your safety, the safety of your product, and for the safety of those that you might sell to in the future. They are true craftspeople, and I admire each and every one of them. I hope to be one as well when I grow up!!!:rolleyes2 Right now, I consider myself a baby, crawling along the sides of experienced adult marathon runners. One of these days I'll be able to be right up there beside them, but until then, I'll just watch, and read, and learn.

Their favorite phrase is test test test and then test some more. You are never finished testing your products! Once you get one scent, wax, wick, and container (if you use one) down to a tee, it's time to start testing the next scent, wax, wick, and/or container. It's a viscious cycle, and the members here will remind you of that quite frequently. Thank goodness that they do.

I really think that what I want to say is that any questions that you might have about candle making, doing a show or fair, what color to make a particular scent, where to buy a particular needed item, you can feel free to post that question here. Anything that you will need to know about starting your business, from inventory, to websites, wholesale/retail orders/customers, fundraising/homeparties, can be found right here, and the information that you receive about any question that you asked is pretty much the way it is. There will be the occasional dispute between two parties of course, but all in all the information is invaluable. I am so glad that I found this site.

If you decide to jump into this venture, do so with gusto. Put your heart and soul into it as much as the members of this forum have, and your business, if you start one, is sure to succeed. I myself, would like to thank the members of this forum for being such nice people. It's really hard to find sincere, honest, and knowledgeable people, that don't mind sharing that information with you.

Good luck in your endeavor!!!

Tee

[DonnaP]

Well the answer to this question ...was on the news last night...

The boy who at 16 years old ..melted some crayons to make his mother a candle for Christmas. That was the start of the Yankee Candle Co.....I wonder if in 1969 when he did that if he asked ...can candle making be profitable.

Yesterday Yankee Candle Company was sold....selling price... 1.7 Billion Dollars

Yep I would say it can be profitable

Bill

Jacksonville Fla

[Scented]

Yeah it can be profitable, but the success of your business is up to you and the reputation of the product you put forward. Easier to build a good reputation than to try to cure a bad one, IMO. It also depends on what you're willing to invest ... time, money, patience, more time, money, patience, and having storage. Then there's protecting yourself and soliciting yourself. It just isn't a slap-in-a-wick and go business if you want it to last.

[asheebeans]

Hello there! If you are looking to get into the candle biz....be prepared to spend some serious cash! Testing can get expensive! I've been making candles for nearly six years now. I've spent hundreds and hundreds on testing and R&D. It's definitely not a get-rich-quick business, but I will say that I do have fun testing new waxes, fragrances and jars! I am not in this to become the next Yankme or R**t either. This doesn't even pay my bills. I am just now at the point where I am breaking even and I enjoy it! I don't advertise half as much as I could, but that is by choice. I have two little ones right now and have my steady customer base. (and very limited time) When the kids are bigger, the advertising budget will increase but for now I am happy! That is the main thing. I wish you guys all the success in the world. Just take your time, test until you make some super products, then go get 'em!! :highfive:

[RobinInOR]

If you treat it like a business, and learn about how to run a small business, you can make quite a good living at it. Just because you're doing something you love doesn't mean you can shortcut the business knowledge you need.

You have to decide how large you want to be - how far you want to take it.

A hobby that sells occasionally just to get rid of stock building up

A small biz that supplements a day job.

A small biz that supplements other income you receive.

A larger biz that supports you fully but without employees.

A full biz with employees that will be the next Yankee.

I always send people to the SBA web site - you can learn a great deal there.

[camoflauge]

I'm glad to see this thread taking a positive spin... a newbie had posted a similar question when i was just starting, and i posted similar "questions" as to the possibilities of making this a full time biz... boy, did i ever get shot down and rudely so... i never claimed i wanted to "get rich fast" and i know about hard work and running my own biz-i run my own daycare.... i do, however want to quit doing daycare and run my other one instead... it is not just candles (am doing wickless ones-which still involve testing), tarts, wax dipped bears, plus eventually i want to turn it into selling "natural" type decorations, etc. I love wildlife stuff like moose, deer, bears, etc. plus, i'm married to a man who loves hunting, fishing, etc. and happens to be a game warden too.

i almost quit coming to this board, my feelings were so hurt. one poster acted like i wanted to get rich, and pretty much told me i'd never make $1000 profit per month.... ok, i realize there is a lot of cost in testing, etc. but wax dipped animals require very little testing-maybe just getting your scent strong enough and playing around with how to dip them, but i do think a thousand dollar profit is possible. especially if you budget your $$. a lot of people on this board do it more for fun-they spend all the $$ they make buying more fragrance oils, joining in on coops, etc. which is fine, that's what they want to do with their $$..

but, to really run a biz you need to make a biz plan of what you want to do, how you want to do it, 5 year plan, etc.

i started my daycare with little more than a few toys i had for my youngest son, and 6 years later i have a nice house with an attached garage turned into my daycare, an awesome backyard, and a daycare filled with as many toys as a kid could want.

you just need to put your $$ towards the best investments. do a little research first-i've really searched the boards for ideas, feedback, recipes, etc. and learned from what others are doing.

i'm hoping to quit daycare in 2 years.... so, it's not an overnight thing.... but, i have a plan...

Good luck, i hope you succeed in what is right for you.

Heather

[Sndfrddy]

I do make a profit. I did in the first year I decided to sell. But I've kept it really simple. Only sell one kind of candle. I only order supplies when I can buy them in bulk. I have been approached to do wholesale and have turned them down. I make a pretty good profit with every candle I sell so I decided I'd rather sell less but at a large profit than work more hours pouring more, sell more but be selling them at 50%. My sales aren't steady, it goes in waves, but in the last two years by word of mouth I keep picking up more and customers and by me giving out a free candle with a brochure now and them in certain situations. Most people come to me by appointment to get their candles. We live in the woods just outside of town. I don't sell enough to call it a full time job yet but it's slowly and steadily increasing. I've been making candles for about 5-6 years. Have really sold for only 2. So I guess, yeah, I make a profit. At first I was only making them for myself and didn't get into it to sell so I wasn't really keeping track but once people convinced me to sell, as I said, I made sure to keep it really simple and only order in bulk and that has worked for me. HTH