How to Start a Candle Making Business

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

How to Start a Candle Making Business

Candles remain a high selling item that almost everyone buys and uses. If you enjoy working with your hands and have space for production, running your own specialty candle company can be a great way to make extra money or even a full-time income. There's a wide array of choices in what kinds of candles to make, including free standing and container candles in different scents and colors. Learn how to start a candle-making business to figure out the creative and practical aspects of getting started.

Steps:

Decide what types of candles to make and sell. Some of the choices for making candles include container candles, novelty candles, beeswax and pillar candles. Do some research to find out what types of candles sell well, and decide who your target market will be to narrow down your options. For example, you could make unity candles to market to brides-to-be and wedding supply stores. Beeswax and grunge candles are good choices to market to people who like primitive home decor.
Set up your work area. If you are working from home only, you'll need to set up areas for making candles and shipping, as well as a computer for managing orders. Keep in mind that making candles can be messy; it's a good idea to have a space separate from your kitchen to melt and pour wax.

Perfect your candle making techniques. Experiment with scents, colors and styles. Give your candles away to friends and family and encourage the recipients to give you feedback. Use the candles yourself to test the quality.
Find out what licenses you need. Apply for local and state licenses, and register your business with the Internal Revenue Service.

Speak to an attorney, small business adviser or accountant about how to start a candle-making business, including tax structure and insurance coverage. Set up your company as a corporation or sole proprietorship to protect personal assets.
Devise a simple marketing plan that includes how to sell and advertise your candles. There are a lot of possibilities for selling, including local boutiques, craft shops, home stores and stores that sell crafts and craft supplies. Essy, eBay and other online storefronts, as well as your own website, are another option. If you produce a specialty item, show your items at stores that sell related items.

Build an online presence. Blog, promote your business on social networking sites, and participate in online forums that relate to your product. Create a website, even if it is a simple one that shows your products and contact information. Register with Google Places and online local business directories.

Create a logo and printed materials for your candle company. This includes letterhead, business cards and a catalog or brochure of your products. You can do some of this on your own if you have graphic design skills, but make sure you use quality printing and paper.

Learn as much as you can about the practical aspects of running a business, including accounting, finance and marketing. Read books, take online courses or classes at a local college.
Find reliable vendors of candle and craft supplies. Make sure you have enough inventory to reach production goals. Develop a system for ordering supplies and equipment quickly as needed.

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Candle Making BusinessDecember 10, 2013 at 11:06 AM
Candle Making, Candle Making Business, How to Start a Candle Making Business
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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Tuesday, March 12, 2013