6 Steps Toward Building a Profitable Candle Making Business

On this website, we talk about a lot of different ways that people can make money from home, in their spare time, and doing things they love to do most.

This guide will also help you do just that.

Candle making is an art that’s been around for generations, but people are starting to put the skill to use by turning their love for candle making into a business.

Thanks to the internet, there’s a spot for just about anything to become an e-commerce business.

And there’s never been a more perfect time to find your little spot on the web and start selling.

Whether you already know how to make candles or it’s something you want to get into, this business can be a legit one for you to start with little startup costs and a good amount of profit to be made.

How to Make Good Money Making and Selling Homemade Candles

Let’s walk through the steps you’ll need to start selling homemade candles from home:

Pick a Candle Niche

You may not know it yet, but you’ll soon find out that there are a lot of different types of candles.

If you want to get an idea or some inspiration of the candles you really love, you can head to a home supply store and browse the aisles.

It’s important to pick a niche so that you can gather a target audience for your business.

For example, you might lean toward candles made only with natural ingredients, like essential oils.

Or you might focus on a particular type of candle, like three-wick candles.

Maybe you want to make decorative candles.

Or, perhaps you’ll focus only on tea candles.

Whatever you choose, just make sure it’s narrowed down enough so that your business won’t seem cluttered and haphazard.

It’s a good idea to start with just a few products. You can always expand later.

But niching down lets you focus on homing in on your craft and creating the very best products you can as a solo business owner, at least until things pick up and you can add a few more products into rotation.

Learn How to Make Them

Next, you’ll need to learn how to make candles that will last and your customers will rave about.

Even if you know how to make candles, it won’t hurt to learn more about it.

Remember that you’ll now be selling your products to an audience rather than just using them for yourself or gifting them to people you know.

You want them to be the best they can be, which means learning a few new tricks of the trade can’t hurt.

Fortunately, there are plenty of tutorials online for candle making that you can find with a quick Google search.

Try to search specifically for the types of candles you’ll be making to find laser-focused tutorials.

Don’t forget to put your own spin on what you learn for the candles you’ll sell, as copying someone else’s recipe is a big no-no that could land you in legal trouble later.

You can also follow courses and videos on places like Udemy and YouTube if you’re more of a visual learner.

You might also want to check in your town or city to see if any local art or craft shops are hosting candle making classes!

This can be a great way to get personal training from experts and see it all get done in person.

Start Your Business

After you have the hang of candle making down and you’ve started creating a few products you think will sell well, you should spend some time getting your business set up.

This could look different for everyone.

It depends on what type of business you want (like a sole proprietorship with just yourself or an LLC, which will help you expand later) and the state and town you live in.

Cities and towns tend to have their own business rules, whether you rent office space or work only out of your home, so you’ll need to check with your local business administration office for details about what you’ll need.

At the state level, you can check with your Secretary of State office to determine how you should file your business and what the costs will be.

It’s a good idea to check with an accountant, too, on how to set up a business account and keep track of your finances so that you’re not confused at tax time.

Source Your Supplies

Now, it’s time to source your supplies.

You may have visited your local hobby shop to get supplies when you were learning how to create candles, but the prices of supplies at these stores will cause you to have to hike up your prices to make a profit.

It’s better to get supplies at wholesale prices instead so that you can charge reasonable amounts on your candles.

This can take some time and it’s possible that you’ll need to go through a few different wholesale suppliers to get everything you need.

Remember that you’ll also need to consider your packaging at this time, meaning that you may need tissue paper, boxes, and whatever else you need to keep your candles safe and secure when you ship them.

Take time to compare prices, too, especially if you’re going to use natural ingredients or other supplies that tend to be more than generic supplies.

Essential oils, for example, can hike up your prices significantly.

Finding quality oils for lower prices at one wholesaler, though, can help you decrease the amount you spend to make each candle, which means more profit for you.

Try places like Fillmore Container and Bulk Apothecary to get started.

Start Selling

Once you have several candles ready to go, it’s now time to start selling them!

You can always start by making your friends and family aware of your business.

You might even hand out a few samples for free, just to get some good buzz and reviews going to get you started.

After a few people you know learn about your business and start loving your items, you may get some word of mouth referrals to grow your business!

Here are some excellent places to consider using to sell your candles:

Etsy

Etsy is a go-to place for many candle sellers.

That’s because it’s focused on homemade items that you can’t find anywhere else.

People looking for homemade candles are likely to browse Etsy to find unique ones to gift or use in their homes.

Etsy does require you to pay a fee to keep your shop going, but as long as you’re selling items, it won’t be enough to make a difference.

Etsy is good to use in conjunction with good marketing through a website or social media – especially Instagram – so don’t forget to set up social media profiles for your business, too.

Craft Fairs

If selling locally is more your style, then craft fairs can be helpful.

The problem with them, though, is that most areas won’t have constant craft fairs running.

They’re few and far between, meaning that you’ll only get a few shots each year to sell your candles and you’ll need a lot of inventory made before you go to prevent running low.

You may also find some flea markets in your area, though, that you can use on weeks you’re not attending craft fairs.

Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace

Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are also great to use if you want to sell locally instead of shipping your candles.

These sites are both free to use and let you list your candles for others to find.

You can also reach people outside of your town, too.

On Craigslist, you can list your candles in the sections for surrounding cities.

People can also find your listing by clicking the surrounding cities filter while searching.

And on Facebook Marketplace, people from surrounding areas can find your listings depending on their search criteria.

You can also share your candle listings to your Facebook profile, page, or local groups if its within their rules to do so.

Your Own Website

Finally, a website you own can be the best place for your candle sales.

Not only can you list your candles however you want to because you have control over your site, but you can also create blog posts and landing pages that can grab you business from people searching on Google.

Your blog can contain helpful posts about making candles, how to make candles last longer, and even where to find the best candles (including your business, of course!).

You can create a website using Shopify, which will give you everything you need to get your products displayed for sale, collect payments, chat with customers, and more.

Learn Some Marketing

Your business probably won’t go far if you’re not doing any marketing for it.

The ways you choose to market depend mostly on whether you’re selling locally online, but you can use avenues like:

• Newspapers
• TV advertising
• Facebook groups
• Social media
• Reddit
• Your website
• Google ads
• Facebook ads
• Instagram ads
• Print/mail advertisements

There are a lot of different ways to go!

It’s best to choose two or three to start with and see which one brings you in the most business.

You can always experiment by changing up your advertising methods after a few months to find your winning formula.

You might also consider creating a referral system that encourages people to tell others about your candles.

For example, when a customer makes a purchase, you can give them a 25% discount on their next purchase if they bring a guest who buys something, too.

As you grow, you can consider an affiliate program for your business, too.

This can help you get the word out about your site by utilizing the strength of your customers’ networks as they share with their followers about your candles.

Is Candle Making Profitable?

Candle making for profit is a legitimate business, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is going to find success with it.

It’s just like any business that can be hit or miss, depending on how much work the owner puts into it.

The truth is that candles are an extremely popular product, and there’s no one specific demographic that tends to purchase them more than others.

People young and old of all different backgrounds love candles to help their homes smell fresh.

So, you have the power to sell to a really large market of people with a really popular product.

The profit you make will mostly depend on how much you want to make your business a success.

Operating as a one-person show for a while could help you safe costs, but it may not sustain your business in the future.

Think about your growth opportunities now and create a plan that can help you get toward your future goals for your business.

And don’t forget to come back here in a few months and let us know how you’re doing!