dai Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 hello folks,i'm considering making candles myself but it must be for profit. can i ask if other members have found hand-made candles (and hence, the increased price) really appeal to buyers?also, do "for-profit" members make enough money to ensure candle-making is a worthwhile business venture?(i realise i haven't expressed my love for candles here but it's purely a business question.)thanks for your replies in advance, have fun peeps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Hi there and welcome to the boards Your question has been asked before (you may wanna do a search for previous input). The answer in my opinion is, it really matters on soooo many variables that there is no straight answer.Right now you are saying to yourself "gee thanks for the amazing insight" Well maybe the following will be of more help heheHow long are you willing to wait to make $$$$? How much money do you have to clear to be "happy"? How much effort are willing to put into it? And once again, How much money are you willing to put into it? Do you have the full support of family and friends? You have to learn the right product mix for your local area. Are candles big in your area? What kind candles are big (pillars, votives, container, tarts, tapers, etc etc etc)? What kind of waxes? What kind of scents? Believe it or not some scents may sell great 30 miles from you, but you cant give it away to the people that come to your store. Some that you absolutely love - your customers may hate. What kind of containers does your customer base like?Are you a good seller? If you aren't you better find one. Are you a good book keeper, if not you'll have to hire one to do your taxes? What are your local business, licensing and zoning requirements? Want to feel safe, do you have business and product liability insurance? Better get some. Do you have a graphic desginer or webmaster type friend or are you one? Cuz you will need that help too. Do you have any contacts where you can get started? Where are you gonna sell your stuff? How many local competitors do you have?Lest I forget, are you willing and able to spend endless hours & $$$ testing each and every wax/scent/product configuration that you are gonna sell? Well you need to do that before you even think about selling. Why? Well first you want to know that your product is safe and secondly you want to ensure you have a high quality product. If you dont have that you wont be in business long enough to make a dime and you could end up hurting someone, and noone wants that.Can you go 2-3 years minimum before seeing anything resembling a decent "profit"? That's most likely the LEAST amount of time it will take.Can you take criticism? You are going to get people that just love their Yankee or other candles when they come up to you. Gonna sell at a flea market venue? Be prepared for people that'll try to bargain with you and say can I get that for this amount? ANd you'll stand there saying "i cant even make it for that" and have to politely say, "sorry". Are you prepared to hear 10 "No's and I'll be back's" for every "wow those are great i'll buy it"?Are you prepared to sink several thousands of dollars into your business right off the bat? Can you afford to not see it come back to you for months/years? If everything goes wrong - are you able to accept that? Will it ruin your financial situation? Is your spouse understanding? Is $ an issue between you? G'luck if they aren't and it is Are you prepared to turn your kitchen and/or house into a candle factory? If you are so lucky to hit it off right off the bat, are you able to meet that challenge?Do you have plans for the best and worst scenarios?Any business is tough to start in my opinion. Each one has there own unique "pitfalls" if you will. Many of the questions above apply to just about any business. What I can tell you is candle making isn't some "get rich quick" deal. And if it is just you, it does require someone that has a great many skills and abilities, cuz if you don't do it no one else will, unless of course you hire them too I think that those are just "some" of the questions that you have to ask yourself before you can even take it to the next step. I am not trying to be mean here by the way, I am just giving you some idea as to what it takes to even get by as a small time candle maker and start a candle making business (or any business for that matter). If after doing some soul-searching and research you think it is for you, G'luck and Go For It! :highfive: One other note, you said "i realise i haven't expressed my love for candles here but it's purely a business question" . If you don't at least like making candles, let alone love it, you will be one miserable person even if you do make big $$$$, after your seemingly countless time staying up all night making and packaging that one order that just had to be made. Any business endeavor requires your full being, love and support to be successful. If you dont have that, you will not put into it what you want to get out of it most likely Anyways, welcome aboard and have a good one! And just to add one more thing - Being in business for yourself is a very tough thing in general. It is not for everyone and it is not for the weak. You have to have the utmost faith in yuorself and your product. It is sooo much easier to just work for someone else and get that guaranteed paycheck. I respect anyone that can make a business from the ground up in any industry. It is very hard work and takes great inner strength to do in most cases. It is a matter of will as much as it is a matter of skill and anyone that can build a million dollar company deserves every penny they get! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathleen Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Wow! That should be a sticky... good explanation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuskokaMom Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Its members like you that keep me coming back:) That took alot of time and thought. We couldn't have said it any better outselves! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Well put, Liz! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindym Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Liz you rocksanta wink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Good answer! Good answer! ~feeling like I'm on Family Feud here now.. LOLOh yeah, I agree, that would make a good sticky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudsnwicks Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Very well said, Liz! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soygirl Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Wow, Liz:shocked2: It's like you have been able to see into my life for the past two years! Your sentiments echo every single thing I have experienced since I started my business. I agree it should be a sticky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spellkast Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Liz, you crack me up...I really hope you're a fast typer, or else that would have kept you (or at least someone like me) up all night!! Good response- but unfortunately, you probably wasted it. People like that who have their first post ask how much money they can make off candles never return to the board. But everyone's right, you should make it a sticky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dai Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 hmm, 'people like that'.. thanks Liz, some interesting points for consideration there. 'can I take criticism?' yes, i'm married.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvnmt Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 DaiI have been testing now for over a year and a half. Have tried 8 different waxes, and just got three more "testers" in the mail yesterday. I can't even believe how much money I have put into testing, in the few thousands I know, and have not even sold a single candle, nor do I plan to soon. I am hoping by next summer, I might be ready, and even that is questionable. I have a very loving husband who supports my "hobby", but even he doesn't know the extent of it. The other day he asked "how come we have all of these candles around with little labels with funny numbers on them? Can't you just sell them to people yet?" Ha ha. I too, thought this would be a fun way to make some extra cash at first. Boy was I wrong. If you have some expendable cash, then be ready to test for a long time. I have thought about quitting a few times, and then I see my 4 closests full of candle stuff that I have invested in and just can't do it. Plus it is very fun and VERY addicting-beware and good luck!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindym Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 hmm, 'people like that'.. thanks Liz, some interesting points for consideration there. 'can I take criticism?' yes, i'm married.. ROFLMBO and a sense of humor is very important in this business as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerrie Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Ditto on what Liz and lvnmt said. It takes a lot of time and money to get into this. I was another one that was just going to make this a hobby, then I saw the thousands of dollars I had put into all the supplies and knew I had to keep going just to try and recoup some of that money. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorrie Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 What do you mean profit? I haven't seen one yet! I started selling candles over a year ago and I still am loosing my tush every month! And now to make matter worse I added soaps to my line and have a I want to make list that is about ten miles long.I know that I spent lots of $$$ w/out making any. It takes years before you will see any sort of profit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudsnwicks Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 hmm, 'people like that'.. The reason why we say this is because we frequently have people ask this question, and more often than not, we do not hear back from them again after we have given out all our advice and suggestions. Welcome to the board and we hope to continue seeing you here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dai Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 i was actually a member here on the old forum (as the faerie king) and asked a ton of Q's but, just before diving in, i stopped to do another project (writing a book - i don't exactly pick the easy options do i?!!)and, no, the book isn't finished either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dai Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 as a side note, i think it would be a benefit to all if this Business Forum had a sticky FAQ thread. it could cover the basic and general questions regarding profit, selling, web hosting and links to the relevant sites concerning country/state legal practises etc.sounds like another project (oh no .. don't get me started!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalltownscents Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 as a side note, i think it would be a benefit to all if this Business Forum had a sticky FAQ thread. it could cover the basic and general questions regarding profit, selling, web hosting and links to the relevant sites concerning country/state legal practises etc.sounds like another project (oh no .. don't get me started!)Sounds like a good idea & welcome back to the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindym Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 as a side note, i think it would be a benefit to all if this Business Forum had a sticky FAQ thread. it could cover the basic and general questions regarding profit, selling, web hosting and links to the relevant sites concerning country/state legal practises etc.sounds like another project (oh no .. don't get me started!)It does, go to the archives. you will see plenty of faq's there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmspath Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Well said Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainmadness Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Well put Liz- also wanted to mention that the tole that it puts on your family and children. I may be the one selling it and putting hard work into it but my husband is the one home with the kids, cooking dinner, cleaning up the house, and taking our oldest to hockey practice because I am doing a craft show on a Saturday.I can pick and choose my events now because it is not my sole source of income but when it is in 12-18 months...... I will need to be selling my products.Good luck in whatever you choose to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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