How to Start a Home Candle Business

Have you or are you considering starting up your own home based candle business?

If you have seriously considered it then you will want this guide. Here are the general steps it takes to get your candle business up and running.

Instructions

1. Consider whether you are going to design and make your own candles for your home business or if you intend to start as a rep for a current company.

2. Research the costs that come with your potential products and any fees that accompany them.

   For D.I.Y candle making: You need to look at what products and equipment you will need to start designing your own candles at home.

   For a candle retailer: Find out what company or companies candles you want to sell via your home business and look into their minimum purchase requirements, product costs and if there are any fees associated with doing business with them.

3. Compare competitors rates and see what the going rate is so you can then compare costs vs.. potential profits. This is crucial because you need to offer a competitive price but also still rake in a profit.

4. Consider how you will sell your candles. Will you create a website? Do you want to set up a booth at a swap meet or down on the corner as a vendor? Perhaps you intend to do face to face marketing and sales?

5. Consider the cost of marketing your products. If you intend to sell via a website then you need to know how much a website will cost, shipping for your products, tracking software (for orders, customers, inventory and sales) and cost for design if you can't design it yourself.

   For swap meets there is usually a sellers fee and for vendors a license is usually required. Direct sales and marketing (face to face or door to door) is often a cheaper method but is definitely more hit and miss, as far as making sales.

6. Look into how you will advertise your home based candle business and which avenues work best for your market. Make a list of any costs associated with advertising your home candle business.

7. Purchase your candle products and or supplies. Try to not overdo your initial order to allow yourself time to become familiar with both your business, candle products and the market.

   Once you see what sells and what doesn't then you can make a larger purchase based on your findings.

8. Create a website for your candle company and any flyers and business cards you intend to have associated with your candle business. Get your products listed on your site, full with pictures and descriptions, then move on to the next step.

9. Advertise and promote your business, products and website. You can do this through online advertising, word of mouth, print and mail, email promotion or many other marketing avenues.