I am JUmping for joy

[NANNALIN]

I just got the call I have been approved for my first fundraiser. The neighbors are convinced I have lost my little mind BIG WOMAN doing BIGGER HAPPY DANCE right on the front porch.Thank God my bladder is good LOL. This is the childcare where my granddaughter goes. 50 children + teachers with excellent products to sell. Pastor is waiting on results may want to do church fundraiser. YIPPEE!!!

Linda

[dabbledoya]

Congratulations!

[BLSoaps]

That's awesome! I keep intending to look into that sometime! I hate the fundraisers the schools do around here. My son brings them home, and I usually toss them into the garbage with a sigh of disgust. But I simply don't have time to even consider it right now. So that's awesome! Let us know how it goes!!!

[eugenia]

Can you cancel???????? From this post I know that there is no way you are ready for this. http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47604

Not trying to rain on your parade, but this is way too soon; you are a novice and not ready for such a commitment. It would be a true disservice to your customers.

e

[lindsaycb]

Please do make sure you have insurance lined up too!

[Candle Makin Momma]

I didn't want to be the one to bring it up, but eugenia is right. It says you've been doing this for a month, so the chance of you actually having your candles all tested and perfected are slim.

You don't just want money. You want return customers and if you sell them a candle that is poor quality, they won't come back.

[tangerine]

I didn't want to be the one to bring it up, but eugenia is right.

Yes, Eugenia is right. I would sloooow down.

[Chele]

Please do make sure you have insurance lined up too!

Ditto - You really need to have at least 1 million dollars in liability insurance if you are going to do fundraisers... be sure you have it BEFORE you do the fundraiser. I'm sure they are assuming you have all that covered... hope they are correct

Chele

[NANNALIN]

Thanks for the concerns. Yes I could cancel, but I won't. I have but alot of thought & prayer into this reply. Here are my reasons 1. I have worked very, very hard and not just for the time I have been posting. I have learned things here that I could not on my own.2. I have used The KISS method (Keep It Simple Stupid) my FO selection is not large around 10, I have documented each pour, each size, each test burn each fragrance. each cure rate. each wix size. You name and it has propably been written down. Which I will continue as I add FO's. 3 My business plan is in order, right down to the insurance. Lastly This is something I enjoy and am good at, and I will only get better.:smiley2:

Linda

[so-soy]

April 17th--so in the eye of newt formula the new wax amount is 8.9 oz am I getting the idea not the 10 oz we started with. Boy do I feel like a idiot.

April 22 (4 days ago)--

Ok when I am wrong I admit it. I have been using rrd47 wicks with regular mouth and wide mouth masons, I can't get the stupid things to throw. Wonderful cold throw, nice melt pool, no fragrance. I have cured 2 weeks. I am frantic. I was having a way too good time pouring. Like the doofus I tend to be I put the wicks in with stickums. Now I have way too many candles that are of no use. No not just a few we are talking a bunch!! what The heck do I do NOW HELP!!!! If I remelt will it affect the FO's, I use C3 can I make tarts clams shells or something useful with this MESS.

P.S. I am ordering different wicks

April 23 (3 days ago)--The rrd47's seem to work good in the 8 oz jelly (after I calmed myself down and took some deeps breaths) I was testing in the kitchen where i pour and no wonder I couldn't smell them:shocked2: . Moved my testers to basement and bathroom big difference. Still not what I want in the 16 oz wide mouths. So my bigger wicks are coming and I melt and repoured to the 8 oz jellywith the rrd 47's. Thanks for all the encouragement and tips.

It sure seems like you don't have a candle perfected yet and you are still going through with a fundraiser? Sounds to me like you are still testing wicks....Hmmm...please don't put these unsuspecting people into harms way...bow out of this thing NOW! You have NO business selling candles to anyone yet! The fact that you have already been out to businesses trying to get your candles in is quite scary....you are no where near ready for this. Just so you are aware, if you do sell these candles that are not properly tested, you ARE WILLFULLY putting peoples lives at risk! Since you seem to want to 'pray' for things, you had better be praying pretty loudly to the 'fire gods' to protect these poor unsuspecting people and their homes!

[carol k]

well it can be done with as little as 10 fo's, but from your post on this board you are no where near ready to be selling to anybody. what the hell are you going to do when your untested/unsafe candles burns someones house down & burns someone up. glad it will be on your consious (sp) & not mine. i don't mean this to be nasty but you had better slow down & do alot more testing.

jmo.

[Maggie]

I have to echo the same thing as the majority of the other posters. You posted at the end of March that you've been at it for a month. If that is true then...well you have only been pouring candles for about 2 months. I started pouring candles in January of 2001. I would have NEVER thought about doing a fundraiser 2 months later. And I was pouring paraffin...IMO...much easier to work with than soy. It sounds like come hell or high water you are going to go ahead with it. If it was me...I would call and explain to them that after thinking it over you really are not ready for something of this magnitude.

Maggie

[Late Night]

I just got the call I have been approved for my first fundraiser. The neighbors are convinced I have lost my little mind BIG WOMAN doing BIGGER HAPPY DANCE right on the front porch.Thank God my bladder is good LOL. This is the childcare where my granddaughter goes. 50 children + teachers with excellent products to sell. Pastor is waiting on results may want to do church fundraiser. YIPPEE!!!

Linda

Perhaps they are on to something...I'm just sayin'

[BubbleBath]

If you don't mind my asking, when is this fundraiser to happen? Is it in the next few weeks, or maybe in the fall (when you will have had more time to perfect your product).

Please seriously weigh everyone's advice and double test your product before selling. Make a batch of one type. Order another supply of wax (so that it is manufactured from a different batch) and retest. I understand that you are proud of what you create, as we all are. But your long term goal is repeat customers. Remember, it is so much easier for a customer to forgive one bad candle after buying and burning many good ones than it is for a customer to offer repeat business if their initial purchase was an inferior product.

I wish you luck with your fundraiser and hope that everyone comes out a winner.

[EmpressC]

Ditto everyone's sentiment. I thought the same thing when I first started making candles last September. I thought I'd be rolling in the dough by Christmas.

I still haven't sold one candle yet. :embarasse

The more I test, the more I realize that I want to put out a QUALITY product. And if my product caused harm to another because I didn't do all I should have to produce a safe, quality product, well I would not want to live with that on my conscience. No amount of money in the world would be worth me harming another over my greed. (Not calling you "greedy", I'm just saying.)

Think about it...and pray again.

[NANNALIN]

I apologize for starting an uproar. I am concerned for others and would not do anything that would or could cause another harm. Again I apologize. My excitment got the best of me. I'll try the fundraiser and business part after I get my act together.

Linda

[carol k]

thank you for being a responsible person & rethinking selling to anyone yet.

i understand your excitement, i have been there myself. i'm sorry for being so harsh with you. i/we all try to make a safe product out of a dangerous one. can't help the idiots though. good luck in the future, the fundraisers will still be there & i believe you would rather put out a excellent product & get more repeat business then have them saying that your candles are bad & that's the end of your business. one bad experience with one of your candles can spread faster then a wildfire.

[Luci]

I was approached last summer by my ladies group to do a small fundraiser, and I had only been doing container candles for a few months. I told them I needed at least 3 more mos to do the testing after showing them the product. My testing took me almost 6 mos, and I was only offering 2 fo's.

I took that long because I was seriously worried that if my candle wasn't "perfect" that I would not only never get another fundraiser but also any sales whatsoever. Word gets around fast if you're selling crap.

No one complained about only 2 scents (pink sugar and casaba mist), and I ended up getting 2 more fundraisers. It's really worth it to take your time and have several testers.

[Scented]

I apologize for starting an uproar. I am concerned for others and would not do anything that would or could cause another harm. Again I apologize. My excitment got the best of me. I'll try the fundraiser and business part after I get my act together.

Linda

If you light up my state, I will expect a mansion on the hill

Seriously, I hope you mean those words, because right when you think you're ready, you should get a second opinion as well as coverage.