WAHM Forums

As many of you may have seen in my previous post, I am interested in making and selling my own soy candles.


However, I am having difficulties assessing start-up costs, how long I should practice making and testingcandles before selling them, and how long it should take me to turn a profit. Can anyone give me estimates and share your stories? And how long have you been in business? Do you use this as supplementary income, or is this is a full-fledged, full time business for you? And and all info/suggestions are helpful and welcome! Independent candle makers only, please. I know some may actually sell for other companies. I want the nitty-gritty stories from scratch!smileys/smiley36.gifOh, and please share any failures or funny stories, too!

As many of you may have seen in my previous post, I am interested in making and selling my own soy candles.


However, I am having difficulties assessing start-up costs, how long I should practice making and testingcandles before selling them, and how long it should take me to turn a profit. Can anyone give me estimates and share your stories? And how long have you been in business? Do you use this as supplementary income, or is this is a full-fledged, full time business for you? And and all info/suggestions are helpful and welcome! Independent candle makers only, please. I know some may actually sell for other companies. I want the nitty-gritty stories from scratch!smileys/smiley36.gifOh, and please share any failures or funny stories, too!








Let me see...I'll tell you my dirty laundry! LOL!


Startup Costs: Now this is a hard one! My actual startup costs are probably around $750 because I bought a few candle kits from many suppliers in an attempt to find the perfect wax. Once I found it, I bought the biggie kit! LOL! I have purchased containers from Fairway Glass and Cierra, so throw in another $300. I have purchased tons of FO from Cierra, around $150. I am also having my own website built for a few hundred, but almost anyone can make one.I suppose with EVERYTHING I'm at about $1000 out of pocket. The only reason I spent this much is because I switched to soy and that was new for me.


In business: I have been making candles for about 3-4 years, but I just started selling in the lastthree-four months. Right now, this is a great PT business for me. But, I am on the verge of going FT. I make more money from making candles PT than I do IN my PT job. LOL! I turned a profit about one month in to it. I tested for the first month EVERYday to make sure things were good. I continue to test new ideas almost everyday.


Funniest Candle Story: So, I had been reading about whipped candles and how to make them. I did the research and decided it was time to take action.


I took out my trusty 11 year old hand mixer and started mixing the wax. I mixed, and mixed, and mixed and mixed, until almost thirty minutes went by! smileys/smiley9.gif Apparently, my wax was too warm to whip! By the time I was done, I had burnt up my trusty little hand mixer! Needless to say, I don't use that hand mixer anymore! It was a great way to get a new hand mixer! smileys/smiley36.gif

smileys/smiley36.gifPoor little handmixer!!! I've never heard of a whipped candle! So how long were you supposed to actually whip it???smileys/smiley36.gifThat is too funny!

R.I.P. Poor little handmixer! I think I can, I think I can...then black smoke started rising up from it! smileys/smiley9.gif It had a nice long life. smileys/smiley36.gif


Apparently the whipped candles were really big in the seventies. They are similarto the cake candle. They have the frosted outside. I have had a hard time getting it just right. I think the soy wax might be to soft. So, I will keep trying!

I know you have a website. What other ways do you sell your candles? Craft fairs, businesses, word-of-mouth, newspaper ads, ebay, coupon books, etc.

I have not tried the auction sites. The fees will kill you! I have approached three boutiques in town to sell my candles. Some want to wholesale and others just want to do a booth rental. I'm open to anything!


I am currently looking at a few craft fairs and am weighing the pro's and con's. I have several antique barns in the area and I'm going to set up a booth. I am going to incorporate my candles in with some McCoy that I have here at the house.


This weekend I have a huge family get together with all the ladies in the family. I am bringing candles and tealight lollipops to pass out. That should stir up the conversation!


I have not implemented wholesale pricing and private labeling, but I intend to. I'm just getting off the ground so, I'm trying to move slow.

Okay. So I'm a little bit s-l-o-wsmileys/smiley36.gif. Wholesale is when someone places a bulk order with you? Yes, no? I think starting off, I would rather take orders first...I don't know, maybe you more experienced candle makers could steer me in the right direction on that one. I don't want to grow too fast and not be prepared.


By private label, do you mean design your own label? I've been thinking about that...I guess what you're saying is you sell unlabled candles? (I know you have the caution labels, but I mean, your brand on the front.)

Yep, thats what they mean. Their are quite a few companies that do private label candles or sell labeless candles. I am working on my website right now, and will be offering my candles wholesale and without labels, so people can sell them as their own. I decided to kick things up a notch, and am investing my tax refund into a 50 lb melter. smileys/smiley4.gif Yippie! LOL. Ya know, if you are wanting to just get started in making some candles and selling local to friends and family and local shops in your area, you can get started pretty cheap. Then as you learn your trade a little more, and can start "upgrading your supplies" you could take it further. You dont have to start out with a website and 50 different scents. Ive been making candles for about 2 years, and thats how I started. If you have any questions about wax, wicks, etc...or anything else, feel free to PM me.

Wholesale is when someone places a bulk order with you? Yes, no?


Wholesale relates to selling your products to a retailer, who then intends to resell the product, as opposed to selling your product directly to the public.In general (although this isn't a hard and fast rule) it is assumed that the "wholesale" price of any given item will be 50% of the "retail" price. There are also tax differences between the two. When you sell an item at retail, you have to collect sales tax from the buyer and then file a quarterly (I think) sales tax return with your state. But if you sell at wholesale, you don't collect the sales tax. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I believe that for Uncle Sam's purposes, when selling at wholesaleyou have to record the buyer's Resale Tax ID number in order to be able to prove that you did indeed sell your product at wholesale.


At any rate, I think that wholesaling your product can be a great way to increase the volume of your sales... once you're ready to increase the volume of your production! smileys/smiley1.gif


Blessings,


Christy

That sounds pretty good to me, of course tax law varies from state to state so its always good to check. I do know of several places that sell wholesale though, that do not require a tax ID. I guess if you are just going to sell wholesale, but not report as wholesale for tax purposes, you dont have to require the tax ID? Hmmmm..........Anyone know the correct answer for this? LOL! smileys/smiley36.gif Now I am starting to wonder myself.

Thanks to you all for the great information!


I bought a starter kit from Michael's yesterday for $25. It came with the pouring pot, thermometer, 1 lb. of parraffin wax (I want to make soy candles, but figured I'd get my feet wet and besides, it came with the kit), a pack each of Yaley's scent squares and color squares, 3 metal votive molds, 9 pre-tabbed wicks, instructions...I think that's it. I separately purchased an 8 qt stock pot for cheap at Family Dollar just for candle making (to use as a makeshift double-boiler), and a wooden spoon. So everything seems to have gone well, now I'm just waiting for the votives to "cure" (teeheesmileys/smiley36.gif...I'm learning how to use the terms correctly!).


I think I will start selling to family, friends, coworkers, etc. first. I haven't decided on how many scents I'm going to start out with. I'm so excited!!!

Congrats! I love making candles, and I especially love the way my house smells and how it allows me to stay home with my kids. Im sure you are gonna have a blast. Also wanted to mention, when you get to the point where you start making candles in bulk, you might consider getting a presto pot that has been converted to a melting pot. They are great, because they have a little pour spout which make pouring a breeze and you dont have to worry about a double broiler because you can set it at the temp you want. Lots of people sell them on ebay.smileys/smiley2.gif

Thanks for that bit of info, funnygirl!


I'm pricing my supplies with Bitter Creek now. However, I'm unsure which wicks to purchase for their ez soy container wax. I was thinking Eco 14 Coreless Tabbed Wicks. If anyone has any advice on this matter, I'd greatly appreciate it!smileys/smiley1.gif