Considering the idea of ​​becoming a candlemaker and making candle parts yourself is not as scary as you might imagine. Since natural wax candles made from soy or palm wax are hitting the market with a bang, these specialty candles will make your products stand out. By being the candle maker yourself, you control the quality, price, delivery time, and profit. Representing one of the big candle companies that sell their soy candles or palm wax candles puts you completely at their mercy.

Party planning for them leaves you collecting the remaining leftovers for your own benefit. No matter what it looks like on paper, the big natural wax candle companies are turning a profit. You are just their pawn promoting their products. When you do the candlelight parties, the cost to the company is less than hiring an advertising agency and running promotional campaigns. Most only offer small cash percentages of the party’s total sales, if any, but they will usually sell you their products at discounted MSRP. Why don’t they ever offer you a discount on the actual selling price of the candle?

find your niche

Candles can be made with all kinds of candle wax: paraffin, soy wax, palm wax, or beeswax. With people’s education on health issues, soy, palm and beeswax are booming in the candle business. You may want to consider making candles from natural wax because they come from natural sources, rather than paraffin wax that is derived from petroleum. Natural wax candles are also healthier to burn, produce less soot, burn longer and don’t irritate allergies. For the purposes of this article, we will assume that you have chosen to make soy wax candles your specialty.

Soy candle making is more profitable than beeswax, which is more expensive. Soy wax can be purchased for $1.50 per pound where beeswax sells for $5.00 and up per pound. The cost of producing beeswax is higher, so naturally the retail cost of beeswax is higher than that of soy. Buying in bulk, of course, lowers your cost per pound, but beeswax will always cost more.

Do your research and possibly find a training resource

The internet is the best place to research “How to make soy candles”. Most candle vendors have step-by-step instructions for the do-it-yourselfer. Some of these same vendors offer themselves as coaches or tutors willing to help you get started in the soy wax candle business. It is profitable for them that you become a success and that you continue to buy their supplies. That’s a fair trade for your knowledge and experience.

Soy candle kits are a good place to start. Take baby steps at first before you take the plunge and become a candlemaker. I suggest purchasing one of their soy wax candle making kits that range in price from $49 to $150 and come with basic instructions. Make sure this is a business you are interested in and enjoy. The best and most successful businesses are those that the owners truly enjoy doing. If you find the candle making business to be a real chore and you dread the process of making soy candles, you will fail and sleep with other home business owners who have failed.

Estimate the cost of purchasing a minimum amount of soy wax and supplies to make your first batch of candles. Don’t forget to pay yourself for your time to make those candles. Divide the cost of your supplies and your time by the number of soy candles that could be produced. This will give you the exact cost of each candle produced. Now, research some of the candle websites to find out what a good MSRP would be for the same type, style, and size of candle. Put the actual selling price of your candle somewhere between the MSRP and its cost of production. Lean towards making as much profit as possible. When checking out other candle websites, don’t be the cheapest or the most expensive. Give your product real value. After all, their products are handmade soy candles. Find customers who buy your handmade soy candles

It’s proven that if you give a little away, your customers will come back and buy a lot more. Select two or three of your closest and most honest friends and members of your extended family to be your critics. As you learn how to make quality soy candles, give them to these select few. Ask them for their opinion on the color, fragrance and presentation. Don’t give away your main candle product. Let them try cheaper products like tealights or votive candles. Doing it this way won’t use up too much of your initial candle-making supplies.

These select few will enjoy your free offerings and tell their friends how wonderful your soy candles are. If you play your cards right, they might even suggest candlelight parties and offer to become your first hostess. This is a subtle way to build a workforce without trying. Your future party network is just beginning to come to fruition.

Hosting parties with soy candles

Candlelight parties are easy to plan, and you’ll find plenty of customers interested in free products to host a small social event. Talk to your product testers you recruited from friends and family. Soy candle parties are also a great way to network, have fun, and make new friends while earning extra income. Host candlelight parties at nursing homes, RV parks, rec rooms, etc. It will arouse the curiosity of new potential customers. Holding parties at homes provides a relaxed and informal atmosphere that favors personalized attention to its customers. This will help soften the defensive walls they came in with because they know you want them to buy something.

Focus on making the soy candle party a party rather than a sales event, and you’ll have an easier time thinking about which guests to invite. Send cute, handmade, personalized invitations to the guest list at least three weeks in advance. Don’t be shy about asking them to RSVP or inviting some of their friends to attend. You need to know how many to plan as with any party. Three days before the event, personally call each person on your guest list to remind them of the upcoming event.

Pick up some snacks and drinks at your local discount food store, like Costco, Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart, etc. Remember, you’re hosting a social event, not just a soy candle sale party. You want guests to have fun and feel relaxed. If your guests are focused on being thirsty and hungry, they won’t hear a word about your Soy candle products.

Create a cozy atmosphere with a few lighted soy wax candles in several different fragrances in strategic areas of the party room. Include small information cards next to the candles that indicate the fragrance of the candles. Let your customers experience your product while telling them a little about your fragrance offerings. Create an attractive central display of your products. Arrange them at different levels using boxes at different heights and covered with a solid colored piece of material. Perhaps consider surrounding your display with real or silk flowers and ivy or consider tastefully arranged fruit.

Party favors are always a bonus. A few different Tealight soy candles in an organza bag that your customers can enjoy at home. These favors will entice customers to make a later purchase or even increase their order after using a new fragrance candle. If you are not the host of the party, remember your hostess or party planner. Let them choose any soy candle of their choice for FREE to host the party. The cost to you will be minimal and it’s a good investment when you’re leaving the party with a few hundred dollars in orders.