How to Start a Home Candle Business

You might not be ready to rent a retail space yet, but there are plenty of ways of learning how to start a home candle business – and you don’t have to invest in a storefront. Below are a couple ideas.

Handmade Candle Parties
Simply send your friends, co-workers, family, etc. invitations and have a candle party at your house. Set out a few snacks and drinks that will make people want to stick around longer and chit-chat. Try to time your parties ahead of major holidays like Christmas or Mother’s Day. It is times like these when people are more likely to spend money on gifts for other people, and even things for themselves.

Have the prices of everything clearly marked, or have a chart or list that is very easy to read so that people won’t wind up feeling awkward having to ask you for the price.

Mark the price of everything clearly, or have an easy-to-read list, so that people do not have to feel awkward having to ask the price. Also, having a guest book available for people to sign up for a mailing list is a great idea. You can use the information from the guest book to send out thank you cards to those who attended your party – whether they purchased or not.

Boutiques
Look around your area and locate a boutique or gallery that sells items from the area. When possible, have the buyer buy the candles from you outright rather than taking them on consignment. Your pricing needs to be on an appropriate wholesale scale so that the store is able to make a profit. Make sure to check back occasionally for any reorders. At this time, you will be able to see which items are best sellers.

Fundraisers
Make your products available for sale as fund-raisers or charities. Although you will have to sell your products at a discounted price, the amount of “advertising” that you’ll be doing makes it well worth your while. Limit the items that you make available to the most simple and easiest items to make.
By doing this, if the fund-raiser does really well, you’ll be able to take advantage of bulk pricing on all of your materials. Not only that, but you’ll have a much easier time meeting the demand.

Craft Shows
Enter your candle business into craft shows in the area. Print up a small pamphlet with a story that explains how you got into the candle-making business and why your candles are better and more special than average candles that people can find anywhere. Make sure that you’ve got samples of the different scents that you offer for your customers to sample.

Auctions and Charities
Donate your candles to a charity raffle or silent auction. Create a basket full of your candles along with your pamphlet and business card. Make sure that you keep track of all donations for tax purposes.

Getting Started
As your candle business grows more and more, you should consider investing in some quality and professional looking packaging. Having professional looking packaging will cause your candles to look more high quality, and you will notice that your demand will increase as a result. You will also be able to charge more for them since they look so much more up-scale. Before you know it, you might decide that you need a storefront after all!

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