Making Money from Your Favorite Hobby-Candle MakingExperienced candle makers will tell you that there is a lot of fun to be had in making candles. Once you have perfected your basic technique, you can make truly beautiful, high-quality candles, that you can keep, give away as gifts, or sell for a profit. Just because you know how to make candles doesnt necessarily mean you will be able to turn your hobby into a profitable business, there is more to it than that. Before you give up your day job, you should take the time to learn about marketing, purchasing supplies at the lowest possible cost, customer service tactics (as your customers are your business), and learning how much you should charge for your candles. If you set your price too high, no one will buy them, if you dont charge enough, you wont be able to recoup your costs, and wont earn a profit. Candles are very popular as of late, particularly decorative and scented candles, so you shouldnt have any problems finding a target market for your candles. The thing you have to do is let people know that you make candles and have them for sale. If you dont advertise, no one will ever know that your business exists. You will need to determine how you want to sell your candles, out of your home, from a brick and mortar store, mail order, online through a website, E-bay, etc. Once you have decided where you want to sell your candles, you have to get the word out about them. If you prefer to sell out of your home only in your local area, you can advertise in your local newspapers, or send out fliers with special offers. You could also get online and find out about craft and trade shows, and send in applications to them, so that you can take your candles there and sell them to the people visiting the shows. There really is a lot of money to be made on the Internet, so you should really consider this avenue as well. If you do decide to sell your candles online, you will need to learn about online advertising. There are many ways that you can advertise your business online yourself, or you can pay someone to do it for you, but be forewarned, it can be expensive. You could develop your own website, and then join traffic exchanges to get customers to your site. Or, you could join a web hosting company, where you pay a monthly fee, and they help you develop your site, setup payment options, and provide hosting, usually for a nominal fee. You may also choose to sell your candles on the many auction sites online, the most popular of course being E-bay. You will need to take good pictures of your candles, and write some good descriptions of them. Once you build up your reputation, you will really start seeing the orders roll in. If you want to be successful, you have to learn how to set your prices. You have to make enough money to cover the cost of your supplies, internet fees, etc., plus turn some sort of profit for yourself. There is a delicate balance that you must find, and it make be a trial and error process. Once you iron out all the kinks, with pricing, advertising, etc., you just need to make certain that you provide high-quality products and that you are focused on serving your customers. This will be the key to your business, and once you master this, you stand to have a long-term business that will make you a nice yearly income, all from doing something that you love. |
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