Your business future - what do you see?

[Sara]

Where do you see yourself in 2 years? I was thinking about this today as I poured candles. This is my 3rd year as a business-owner and I am at my kind of make-or-break point. I always have held myself to the -

1st year - lose money

2nd year - break even

3rd year - profit

I know that isn't concrete, but I got it in my dang head. So.. I was thinking, where do I hope to be in 2 years?

For me, I'd like to be able to make enough profit that I can *truly* keep a seperate account and NOT dig into any personal money for supplies. In the same way, I'd like to not have to be able to dig into my business money for personal stuff, LOL. So basically I'd like to be able to make enough money to keep some in the business account to pay for supplies and business needs, but to also be able to take some out to pay myself and be able to benefit from the profits of a successful business. I'd like to draw clearer lines between the two.

If not, then I think I will scale down majorly and just make soap probably, for personal use and maybe sell but remain a hobbiest. I'm not sure how long I can go on doing this w/o a nice profit.

Where do you want to be?

[Scent Cellar]

Sara, if you are breaking even in the second year you are already a success in my mind !!!

[mystical_angel1219]

Sara, I think alot of the money making aspect comes into play with how much time and effort you spend marketing your products. Via web, wholesale, fundraiser, shows or just maintaining a good customer base. I work in sales and I feel that you really are the master of your domain so to speak as far as controlling how far you want to take your whole business plan out there to gain potential long term customers. If you maintain wholesale accounts, they will pay for most of your supplies and R&D.

In the first year I spent a ton of money. Second year the business was almost (meaning I didn't keep good records) self supportive. In the third year I am self supportive and making a profit. I think alot of the issue is record keeping for me. Hopefully coming into the fourth year I will have not only a more clear and concise business plan, I will stop buying supplies on a whim (I think alot of us are guilty of that) and curtail my habit of buying things I really don't need. I need to keep my focus not spending foolishly. This is my biggest vice of all. With all the money I blow on instant gratification, I could hire a helper because that is what I really need, even if its seasonal. So in essence~ in two years I will not only have a firm hand on what goes in and what comes out, I will have a helper and be able to focus myself on the marketing aspect much more.

The only problem.. oh I see it coming~ will be that I am a perfectionist and that my helper will probably only be able to do certain things. I really don't want to train someone to make candles the exact same way I do. I think that might hurt me down the line.

[Sara]

I will stop buying supplies on a whim (I think alot of us are guilty of that) and curtail my habit of buying things I really don't need. I need to keep my focus not spending foolishly.

Terri, I agree with you. The foolish spending I got a better hold of after that first year. I still sometimes find myself getting excited about the next best thing, but... well, too often I end up with supplies I don't need.

My record keeping is not as good as it should be and that is one area I am lacking. I'm glad you mentioned that because it was a good reminder. And you are definitely right - marketing is key.

[prairieannie]

I've been saying for a long time that I was very fearful of turning my hobby into a business. My main concern was that if I did that, it would somewhere along the way lose the fun factor. I imagined that I would be standing there in my candle workshop pouring candles, stressing because I was trying at the last minute to fill an order for someone on a time crunch, and I would resent that it wasn't just for fun anymore.

On the other hand, when I finally warmed up my cold feet and put my stuff in a salon and a store locally, it was such a thrill to think that more than just my mom and my friends were liking the things that I made with my own hands. They liked it enough to actually PAY me hehe.

Most of the time now, I'm still torn! LOL. So, I figured I'd just take it as it comes, and see what happens. I do think about my future business..almost have a website ready to go online, and I'm willing to go slow. I can honestly say that I am not in the hole right now. In two years, I see myself making a few extra bucks making candles, lotion, soap and gift baskets...especially around the Holidays. I see myself with a nice round group of regular customers, and maybe a web order or two from local sales.

My "real" job is the Family Business. I have never seen my dad so happy in all of my 40+ years, as he is now to have my brother and I running the business he has built over the last 35 of those years. My parents finally feel like they can soon retire, and won't have to sell out, or close the doors, and there is just no price tag on seeing them with that kind of peace of mind, so I actually can't see myself walking away from that either. I think I'll always have too many irons in the fire as far as making a living goes..we have our little farm, our livestock, blah blah blah..so now that you know way more than you wanted to know about me, the short of it is, my future business doesn't look too much different than my present business, and I'm content with that for now.

[Georgia]

Well, my baby business is 1-1/2 years old. I think I'm growing at a rate I can deal with. I, too, have curbed my impulse shopping and I'm happy to say my record keeping has improved also. I enjoy making candles and my business is a means to allow me to continue making candles. I guess I'm not very ambitious. I don't want a store, I don't dream of quitting my "real" job. So, in two years, I would like to have 1 or 2 wholesale accounts, maybe a fundraiser or two and be geared up to do several craft shows a year. Even though craft shows make my feet hurt, I do enjoy showing off my candles and talking to the people. And it is quality time with my daughter and son-in-law!

Amanda wants a store and if that happens I will happily pour candles for her!

oh, yeah...I would love for yankme to know I exist!

[lissa]

I would love to have my own shop with a workroom in the back, and have tons of folks flocking to it because my candles have become so famous. Ah well... the reality of it for me is a little different. I too am scared of it getting too big. I've always said I don't ever want to feel like I HAVE to pour. So, my business has grown slowly, and I'm liking that. I'm doing alot of shows this fall/holiday season, and am really enjoying them. I'm running about even financially, and may even show a small profit by the end of the year. It's hard to think about 2 years from now!

[RobinInOR]

This was year 4 for me, and I'm making a profit, but just enough that I have to pay SS taxes, not much more I didn't follow plan this year, I let spending get away from me. Otherwise I think I would have been on target for a little better year.

For the next year, I'll continue to concentrate on fewer general items - I'm going to be more targeted. And that means dropping most of my candles. I'm just not going to be one of those 200 scent candle companies. I'll focus more on defining my core scents, basing everying around soap. Am sticking with my 2" pillars since they're unique to me, and probably keeping my new smaller 4 oz containers.

And, I'm investigating joining in the process of starting a new farmers market in the valley with our new chamber of commerce. We don't have one, and the big one in Grants Pass already has their complement of business soapers. But that's a huge undertaking that scares the heck outta me. however, next year I definately need to find a place where I can consistently sell retail on a Saturday.

My R&D I'll try to keep under control Next year will see a couple of scents in my new containers, and I'll probably reintroduce my bubble bath.

Two years out, I'll be back to tramping the streets for wholesale. I really want to get an account somewhere in Jacksonville. Nice tourist town, that also has a large enough local population to support local business.

[gottabt]

Two years huh - well, that is not very long if I look back to this time last year. Money wise I am still in the hole in year two. I think that it will be better once the kumquat growers open again. Since they are only open 6 months out of the year my greatest profit is realized then. So on to the future.

I would like to be in a couple more stores. I am in a gift shop and it is a joke. She is only opened when she feels like it. She has become a teleflorist so I am hoping that this improves. Her store just moved to a more visible location so I am hoping to see more come out of this arrangement. I do not make much because she pays wholesale for consignment. Do not ask - first store - strange circumstances.

The kumquat growers sell to many fruit/gift stands and hopefully more business will come from there. I will need to market to her business partners.

I will still do 2 shows a year for awhile. They are huge shows and the advertising alone is worth the hassle.

I have a website and will continue to market that. I will be streamlining my line. Well, a little. I need to add more gift type items but will be getting rid of the scents that do not sell. I need to get away from impulse buying. I too am guilty of following trends. I think that I will need to get into pillars more but I will only do one or two sizes. I think that the line is pretty well set and I will see how it goes by the end of the year.

This of course all depends on how much time my dh's new company requires of my time. I am hoping that six months will do it but with the growth potential I am just not sure.

[Fire and Ice]

Well I'm just starting into my fourth year of candle making and am doing much better than many in my area because I am carried in two tobacco stores locally and I do over a dozen local shows year round from spring through Christmas season. But Jan, Feb and March are still major downfalls because I do little if any sales due to everyone being tapped out from paying for the holidays. So these become my R&D months.

I am making a profit but it is very small but I am also curbing my desire to have many new scents.

I am blessed by being able to get my wax locally as well as some of my other supplies but I still order and ship in many of my scents from other suppliers.

I need to get more wholsale accounts in my area so that I don't have to deal with shipping and those hassles. But my county is so saturated with candle makers that it's difficult to stand out unless you are one of the best, which I am because I've worked hard at it and I test the heck out of everything I market!. The coffee house didn't work out and I canceled their account. The stores would love to have my candles but only if I'll do concinement and I will not! I have too much invested to wait twice of the money. I also wish I could get my jars locally year round but that too doesn't happen. !/2 the winter is great and the other half is the worst!

I would love to be able to purchase a melter but that still is not in the cards. I have many financial responsiblities and I see to them all alone being single. I do what I can to maintain a job but the econemy is as such that I can only do temp work. That's why I started my business to begin with.

I keep pretty good records of my spending but there is always room for impovement.

I don't want a shop but I would love to be able to have more wholesale accounts!

And I can always inprove by reining in my R& D spending!

[sharyl55]

I'm just starting year 2 with candles. Just doing 5 shows this yr plus the farmers market. I only have what I consider novelty products right now - votives, wine glass candles, gels, some seasonal containers, tins, hurricanes, tarts and air freshener type products. I am facing the big decision right now about whether I want to do the R&D to develop a line of regular containers. I hope to eventually make enough to cover costs and have some left over for playing with new ideas like pillars. But since I'm retired that really cuts down on the number of potential customers. I don 't want candle making to turn into a full time job but I do want to have a quality product that can be sold in selected specialty shops. Right now I have product in a couple of gift shops - one consignment and one wholesale. Neither has enough sales to pay the bills. I would like to do some candle parties but don't feel I have a large enough selection for that yet. Don't feel like I'll break even this year. Just too much R&D to do. And I have to curb impulse buying! Guess I'm still trying to find my nitch.

[CraftyChris]

I'll tell you a bit about myself,

This is year 9 for me Whoo-to see that in print is scary!

I have had a store for 4 years now, but I mainly do wholesale. My 2st love is my factory outlet store though, but it won't pay the bills alone.

We have 5 people on staff not, myself and 2 others are full time pourer's, and on order packing and poduct labeling, and one on the sales floor.

I also do a lot of fundraisers.

This is the 1st year I am not in any craft shows. But that is where I started out, and got up to 28 a year, the year before I opened the store.

In 2 years....umm...this is such a great question, makes you sit and think for a minute.

Well, I'm looking at purchasing a new building in the 1st quarter of 2006. The space I'm in now is 1400sq feet, and the new building I'm looking at is 3700 sq feet. I hope I get it, and I would expand the store front, and carry more gerneral gift to compliment the candles. For the wholesale end of it, I really want to expand out into the chain stores more. We are linked into 2 chain stores now, and have a 3rd we are waiting to hear back from. (They said they would let me know if I'm in the 1st week of Oct) I have 6 sales reps that handle the wholesale division of the company, in the province of Ontario, (I'm in Canada) and I would like to add more, to go into other provinces. I have a guy coming tomorrow to help me get into product barcoding, and to set up the programs and a laser printer so i can run the codes myself. That is the 1st step. Without barcodes, big chains won't touch me.

I'm rambling.....

I want to see a 60% incrase in sales by 2007, after I get the new building , and barcodes in place. I want to also be able to take a vacation and not worry about what's happening at the shop