Start a Candle Business in 2021: 7 Steps to a Quick Start!

1. Write a Business Plan

Hey, you!

Congratulations!

You’re about to be a small business owner…

Which means that you get to enjoy all of the exciting perks of starting a new business-- 

Wait…

Just kidding.

There are some exciting things coming your way, but the first step isn’t actually super exciting.

Because you have to write a business plan now.

While it might not be the most glamorous, or excited step in starting a candle company…

I can 100% guarantee that writing a business plan will be worth your time.

Staring at a blank page and blinking cursor can be extremely intimidating and overwhelming…

Especially when your passion lies more in creating unique new candle scents than in tedious administrative projects.

But if you want to become a successful business owner, then you need to recognize that the back end of your business requires just as much attention as the “fun” parts of running your business.

A well written business plan will serve as an anchor.

Your business is guaranteed to hit some choppy waters and unexpected storms along the way, but your business plan will help to keep you grounded and focused on your goals.

Unless you are in desperate need of some serious startup funding, keep your business plan simple and straightforward.

Here are the basic elements of writing a candle business plan that you will actually use:

2. Craft Your USP and Choose Your Niche

One of the biggest candle business tips that I could give you would be to know what you are selling.

You might be rolling your eyes right now because you are obviously selling candles, right?

Wrong.

I mean, yes, technically your product is candles…

But you are going to be selling something much bigger than that.

People love candles for a variety of reasons.

But the primary selling power of a candle is that our sense of smell is a powerful thing.

Scents are nostalgic.

They can transport us back in time to a treasured memory in an instant.

Scents can be romantic or luxurious.

They can be grounding and calming.

Or even energizing.

When you are selling a candle, you are selling more than a product…

You’re selling an experience.

What you also need to realize is that so is everyone else in the candle making business.

So what unique experience are you bringing to your customers through your candles?

This is your USP, or unique selling point. 

Your USP will be your business marketing niche, and the driving power behind your sales tactics.

There are a massive amount of ways to stand out from the crowd with your candles.

For example, the “Homesick” candle company appeals to their customer’s sense of nostalgia by creating candle scents that bring to life the unique aspects of each city and state.

Or maybe you could try creating candles that are inspired by beloved national parks, or even different Starbucks drinks!

Some people even create a unique experience for their customers by pouring their candles into creative vessels, like beer cans or recycled wine bottles.

Whatever niche idea you land on, focus on creating an incredible experience for people and you can’t go wrong!

3. Find Wholesale Suppliers

When you’re first starting out, purchasing supplies from a local craft store isn’t a problem.

But if you are serious about turning your at home candle making hobby into an actual business…

Then you’re going to need to find wholesale suppliers.

Although the convenience factor of purchasing supplies at a local store is great, they are already charging retail prices for their products.

Which is going to majorly cut into your profit margins.

Wholesale suppliers will probably require a larger minimum order, and you will have to stay organized to account for shipping time…

It will save you a lot of money in the long run.

Plus, you will have access to much greater variety, and even better quality, when purchasing from a wholesale candle supply store. 

Basic candle making supplies to purchase wholesale:

Once you have settled on your wholesale suppliers, it will also help you to hone in on your pricing.

You will be able to calculate the exact production costs of your candles, and decide on your retail and wholesale markup price points. 

One last thing to keep in mind when you make the switch from purchasing from a local hobby store to wholesale suppliers…

Is that you are going to need a lot more storage.

Ordering in bulk means that you will need to set aside adequate space for your supplies stock.

So if you’re running your candle business at home, it might be time to make your husband clean out the garage… or maybe the spare bedroom.

Just food for thought.

4. Branding Your Candle Business and Building a Website

Although your USP and niche will greatly impact the branding phase of starting a candle company…

There is still quite a bit of work yet to be done on the branding front.

Your USP will grab your ideal customer’s attention, but your brand will pull them further in and keep them coming back for more.

Essentially your branding is how you will take your business from just selling a product, to creating an experience. 

Sometimes “branding” can seem extremely vague and intangible, and while it’s true that branding means something a little different for everyone…

The one thing that can be agreed upon is that it is what you want to be known for, and what you want your customer’s to think of when they see your logo or hear your business’s name.

A good place to start would be with a logo design.

Whether you choose to hire a graphic designer to help you craft your logo, or you branch out on your own and build one yourself…

Your logo will be the foundation and face of your brand.

From there, you can choose a branding color scheme and start building your website.

Your website will be one of the most important aspects to creating a thriving business. 

It has to be both beautiful, and functional.

Because at the end of the day, you can run yourself ragged from selling candles at craft fairs…

But your website will probably be raking in the majority of your sales.

So your online storefront is super important. 

Creating a clean, streamlined, and user friendly online storefront is one of the best things you can do for your candle business.

If you aren’t hiring a graphic designer to set up your website, don’t sweat it!

There are some amazing template based website builders out there that are great at E-commerce!

Some of my favorites are:

Many of them are as simple as dragging and dropping your design elements into place.

And if you want to simplify it even further, you can actually buy website templates and themes specifically designed for candle companies.

5. Marketing Your Flaming Creations

Once your website is up and running, it will be time to turn your attention to your marketing strategies.

After all, your business won’t be a business without sales…

And a good marketing strategy is a good sales strategy.

There are a variety of different avenues for how to market a candle business.

To get started, I highly recommend that you start an email list.

Email lists are an incredible way to stay connected and engaged with your growing customer base, and to keep previous customers coming back for more.

One of the best ways to grow your email list is simply through your website.

You can create a pop-up window on your home page that will offer a new customer something, (like a discount on their first purchase or free shipping), in exchange for their email.

From there you can also begin to explore marketing strategies like Facebook and Instagram ads.

Paid ads can take some work to get the hang of things, but they can become extremely successful as you learn how to hone and tweak your tactics.

Plus, one of the best features of paid advertising is taking advantage of their retargeting capabilities.

Which allows you to retarget potential customers that showed interest in your ad during a previous ad campaign.

It’s proven that closing a sale requires consistent exposure, which is what makes retargeting so powerful.

In addition to email marketing and paid advertisements, establishing a social media presence is becoming more important than ever for small businesses.

People are using platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and even Facebook to shop for products more and more, so take advantage of this!

Take some high quality product photos and start posting consistently on your social media platforms of choice.

You might be surprised at how much traffic this will drive to your website!

But a strong marketing strategy requires more than just a website, email lists, and paid ad campaigns, though...

Ultimately, you will have to be prepared with a lead generation strategy that will attract new customers to your business on a consistent basis.

Fortunately we can teach how to do exactly that through our local lead generation coaching program and online course.

6. Creating an Organized and Efficient Workspace

As you continue to grow and scale your candle business, your workspace will need to grow and scale alongside you. 

Starting a candle business from home is completely doable, but you will need to become more strategic about your workspace as you start to grow.

You might not need to rent out a warehouse space for quite some time, but staying organized will become a must.

Your candle making studio space will need four essential designated work zones:

Your office area can be small and simple: a small desk for a laptop or computer will be sufficient.

The production area will need to be a little bit larger.

You’ll need a work table that is big enough to make large orders at once, and you’ll want designed storage for all of your supplies.

Take advantage of vertical space by investing in floor to ceiling shelves for your candle workspace storage.

Your shipping area will need to be separate from your production area.

You won’t be able to package up online orders if your work table is covered in candles that are still curing.

This section will need to have all of your labels, wrapping supplies, and shipping materials.

And finally, your receiving area will be for incoming supplies that have yet to be unboxed and organized.

Think of this as a temporary drop zone for incoming wholesale supplies.

As you go along, you will start to find a rhythm within your workspace…

And you will be able to rearrange and organize it to optimize your productivity and the efficiency of your workflow.

You will probably be spending a great deal of time in your workspace, so there is nothing wrong with taking extra time to beautify your space.

Adding a couple plants and decor items to make your candle studio an enjoyable as well as productive space is a great idea.

7. Select Your Sales Channels

When you are first getting started, you might be tempted to pursue every possible sales channel for your candle business.

But as you discover what works best for your business, you will be able to narrow things down, and only focus on the sales channels that are most effective for your business. 

Your number one sales channel starting out will be your website.

Having an E-commerce store for your candles is one of the easiest ways to start making sales, all from the comfort of your home.

In addition to your personal website, you can also start selling candles on Etsy.

Etsy is a great option because they already have a large amount of established traffic coming to their website in search of hand crafted products.

You are basically guaranteed to encounter your target audience.

But the downside is that they do charge a fee, and the Etsy marketplace is extremely saturated.

Your candle niche will need to be very strong to stand out against all the other small business candle brands it will be surrounded by.

Although it can be extremely time consuming, going to craft fairs, festivals and farmer’s markets is another great way to gain awareness for your candle business.

Take advantage of these in person opportunities to build your email list as well:

You can host a drawing where the entry ticket is their email!

Another great way to start selling your candles is to offer wholesale partnerships to local shops and boutiques.

And lastly, don’t forget about up and coming E-commerce platforms like Instagram and Pinterest.

These two social media platforms are consistently adding new E-commerce features that make it easier and easier to purchase a product directly through the app. 

The Candle Biz is Lucrative, if You Know This...

The potential for scaling your candle making endeavors into a profitable business are endless…

But if you truly want to succeed, there’s one thing you really need to know.

I have spent years in the online business world, and my experience ranges from things like drop-shipping and E-commerce, to affiliate marketing.

But I didn’t truly find success until I learned about online lead generation.

The local lead generation business model literally took me from making 2K a month at my old job, to making over 50K a month in five years!

And that isn’t an exaggeration.

So what does this have to do with starting a candle business?

Well, the beauty of lead generation is that when you’ve learned the skill set…

It puts you in the driver’s seat of your business.

Because you will know how to harness the power of SEO strategies Google’s localization capabilities to passively generate new leads for your business.

Which means that you can then relax and start focusing on the reason you started your business in the first place:

Making amazing hand crafted candles!

And if you're ready for local lead generation to work it's magic on your candle making business...

Click here to learn more about how we can help you get started today!