Todd Sumamno
Starting a candle making business is not that hard. From making a budget, setting up the workplace to making a huge brand can be done swiftly.
Business can be done with any object, ranging from sports gear to toiletries, and even simple candles. Although it may sound simple, the candle industry makes around a billion dollars every year.
So if you start a business in this sector, there will be much scope for your business to grow.
Here is a short guide that will show you the steps for starting a candle making business.
1. Consider What Makes Your Business Special
When you start a business, expect a lot of challenges and competitors as there are many candle manufacturing companies. To make your candle business stand out, you need to make yours different from the others.
Focus on what the specialty of your business will be. Will your candle have a special scent? Is the design of your candle be unique? Will your candles come in special containers?
Bring uniqueness and variety to your business. Come up with a unique brand image & logo for your business and attach high-quality candle labels to packaging and containers.
2. Plan Your Budget
As with all businesses, there are some initial costs that you need, which is the investment of the business. With the candle business, the costs for starting is relatively low. The things you need to spend money on are-
- Melters
- Wax
- Containers
- Dyes
- Aromatic ingredients
- Molds
- Packaging supply
- Marketing Assets-Offline, online platforms, websites, social media costs.
3. Make Sure All Paperwork Is Complete
Even if your business is small and you have just started it, you still need to be focused and treat it with sincerity. There should be no loose ends, and you must make everything legal.
Register your business for taxes for it to be recognized by the authorities. This will help legalize your business. If you have any queries about taxes, then feel free to contact services such as Utah tax resolution.
Although LLC’s are pretty common, you can also choose sole proprietorship. This depends on the size of your business. You will also need to get some licenses and permits depending on where you will conduct your business.
The structure of your business can make a big difference as far as tax implications go. Sole proprietorships and single-member LLCs are considered “disregarded entities,” which basically means that the owner’s business income and the owner’s personal income are intertwined.
Therefore, the free personal income tax return that gets filed each year is the very same form used to report the income and overall financial insights of the LLC or sole proprietorship. If a business is structured differently, then a more complex tax-reporting method is probably necessary.
4. Organize Your Business Finances
After you have decided upon the costs of starting your business, you need to get that money in order.
Open up a bank account and keep all your personal and business account separate so that it does not get mixed up. These accounts need to be made well before starting your business so that all the expenses can be organized accordingly.
When your business grows and you hire employees, consider getting business insurance.
5. Select A Safe Workplace
Candle making business has a slightly higher risk than other businesses, as you will be working in a high-temperature environment for making candles. Therefore you need to create a safe workplace to avoid catching fire, especially if you are working from your house.
You will need a place that has very few flammable objects, has ample space for you to move around and comfortably organize your tools, and a well lighted working area.
You will gradually need to move to larger places as your company grows and you upgrade your tools to industrial wax equipment.
6. Choose The Right Vendors
At the beginning of your business, you can make waxes with the equipment that is available at the local stores as you will make a few candles. But as your business grows, you will need to make a large number of candles and will need a huge amount of raw materials. Getting them from your local store will not be profitable, so contact the wholesale vendor, who can provide you with quality raw materials at the right price. Don’t forget to secure a south carolina tax id to ensure that your business complies with state regulations and operates smoothly.
Apart from the cost of raw material, you also need to emphasize the quality of the product, as candles made from bad materials could jeopardize your business.
7. Starting the Main Process: Candle Making
At the start of your business your investment will be small so will be your supply of raw materials, making a small number of candles maybe 15-20 candles every week. Range your candles in different shapes and sizes. From very basic, to unique design, from simple to fragrant ones, bring variety in your candles so you can attract more buyers.
As your business grows, then you plan to expand into different branches. Upgrade your candle making tools, get better raw materials, and start hiring employees to run your business more efficiently.
8. Sell Your Precious Candles
You need to conduct background research and select places that will have potential customers and stores where you can sell your products.
First, find gift shops or arts and craft shows where people can see and l buy these special candles from you. If they like what they see, you know you are on the right track and if not, make some changes in the candle making process.
9. Make A Brand Out of Your Business
All that remains is for you to name your business so that people can easily identify your candle making business from others. Also, get a professional logo that will give your business an authentic vibe.
With the name and logo ready, you can now create a separate website where you can run your business online and work on branding.
10. Gain More Profit
With everything set up and in a steady motion, now you can upgrade your business to get the profit going.
Get specialized candle making equipment, along with special candle designers and fragrance to further boost the growth of your business.
Another great way to get more profit is to make custom ordered candles. Charging extra for custom orders will also provide a large profit.
Final Thoughts
Candle making business is one of the easiest to grow out there that require a tiny initial investment. Hopefully, this guide was helpful to give you an idea of what you need to do to run a successful candle making business.
