You may love to make candles for yourself. It can be one of the most rewarding experiences, especially when you involve other family members in the process. Giving them away as gifts or using them yourself, are just a few of the ways that these candles can be in use.
Would you believe that there is a market, a large and ever expanding market, for homemade candles? In other words, you could take the candles that you love to make and turn them into profit for yourself. For those looking for a work at home business, candle production could be the ideal choice.
Why would anyone want to purchase candles made at home rather than store bought products?
- Candles made at home have features that are more pleasing. They are one of a kind candles, not the mass marketed and produced candles you would find at the dollar store down the street.
- People want to know what is in the candles. Many complaints about mass-produced candles are that the user really cannot tell what is contained within them. That may seem silly with the ingredient list on the back, but do you know what those nonsensical words mean?
- People are looking for quality, something that people put their heart into and they are willing to pay for it. Homemade products are often priced far higher than the prices of mass-produced products for a reason. In other words, you can probably sell your candles at a higher price point than those selling in deeply discounted mass merchandise stores.
Are you interested?
Making candles at home for cash is a process. The first step is learning how to make candles and the various types of them. You will need to invest some money in the process to purchase supplies to create the candles. In addition, you will need to become your own salesperson in that you need to find customers and sell to them.
There are several other things to keep in mind as you begin to work to make candles for cash.
- This is a business, not a job. You are unlikely to be working for someone else who will pay you a paycheck. That means, you will only make money when you sell the candles yourself.
- Running a business means taking on special responsibilities. For example, if you produce a product that is less than high in quality and the result is that the product fails to work as you have said it would, you are responsible for refunding the customer.
- You may need business insurance to protect your business from any instances of fault. Even though you have just a small business right now, it is important to protect yourself and your business from claims made against you. In most cases, business insurance will just be liability insurance especially as your business just starts up.
- Your business is likely to start slowly and build up in income over time, the more you work the business and the more people learn about what you are offering to them. With that in mind, remember that you may not be able to make a full time income selling candles right off the bat. It can take time to work up to that level, but it can happen.
- There are no guarantees when starting your own business.
Is This For You?
Many people find themselves in a position to start their own business after being laid off from a job or even just because they have more time on their hands. You want to do something personal that will allow you to make a profit right from your own home. The question you should focus on, though, is this. Is candle making the right business for you?
Turning to a business idea that is something you already love to do is a good first step. When you have a passion about the job you are doing, you are going to do a better job with the finished product. The more passion you have for the candle making process and business, then, the more you can excel and push yourself ahead of the competition.
Candle making is a strong business model for you to consider, if you love to make candles. Candle making and selling can be done completely over the Internet if you would like to do so. Many other people will take their candle creations out to fairs, markets and even sell them to neighbors, family members and at trade shows.
The potential to make money in candle making is readily available. You can see the profit potential by checking out some of your competition. Note their price points and the types of candles they are making. You do not want to copy them, but you do want to stand out by creating something that is truly unique.
With candle making, you are likely to see several spikes in your business. Christmas time is usually a strong time for candle making, as is Valentine's Day. Yet, sales are likely to be steady all year long, especially when you market your business well.
Three Sales Methods
There are three main methods to use to get into the business of selling candles. You can select to do more than one of these.
#1: Make your own candles
The most popular method is to make your own candles and to sell them under your own, new company name. This option is best suited for those who have the passion for candle making and the ability to make quality candles from home. Keep in mind that when you do take this route, you will need to have a place to sell the candles you make. You do not want people who are just going to shop, but people who are going to buy. Some options to consider include open-air markets, malls, selling at a college campus and local community centers. If you are the creative type, this method is likely the best option for you.
#2: Buy wholesale candles and resell them
For those who are not so creative but still see the profit potential of selling candles on the Internet, this option could work well for you. Here, you will purchase the candles at wholesale prices and then sell them at retail value so that you can turn a profit. You can work with many wholesale candle companies. You can sell these candles online, through websites such as eBay or even start your own online sales website and sell them in this manner. You can, of course, use other methods for sales, such as selling at malls, selling to retailers, selling at fairs and much more.
#3: Work an MLM
If you would like to just be part of a business that sells candles, such as being a consultant, you can follow various business models out there. Keep in mind a few things here. First, you will need to follow the required methods of sales that these companies provide. Second, in order to turn a profit you may have to recruit others to work under you. Finally, the profit potential of selling in this manner is mixed. If the company does have quality products and the market is not yet saturated, it could be a good investment. On the other hand, if the business is only offering a small cut of the profits, it may not be worthwhile to you.
For the purpose of these blog posts, we will focus specifically on selling the candles that you make. If you do plan to use one of the two other methods listed above, there are still valuable tips and resources located here. In fact, the marketing pages will definitely help you to pursue this dream.
Now that you have a good idea what it will be like to work in this business, it is time to get started. Where else is there to start besides learning to make candles!
