Business Plan for Candle Factories

Index

1. Why Consider a Business in Candle Making?
2. Formulating a Business Plan for Your Candle Manufacturing Venture
   1. Carrying Out Market Research and Analysis
   2. Establishing Your Home Workspace
   3. Obtaining Quality Supplies
   4. Developing the Production Process
   5. Establishing Your Brand
   6. Being Present Online
   7. Selling Candles and Distributing Them
   8. Creation of Financial Plans and Managing the Budget
3. Balancing Work and Family
4. Triumphs Over Adversity

Why Consider a Business in Candle Making?

The candle industry is growing. Candles are not a fad. They are something people have used for a really, really long time and show no signs of waning in popularity. The industry is steady in its demand for the product, which is good for someone looking for a strong potential customer base. And it is not just any potential customer base: the potential group of customers encompasses people who use candles for a wide variety of reasons, from creating a certain ambiance to a room to using them for straight-up therapy.

Formulating a Business Plan for Your Candle Manufacturing Venture

1. Carrying Out Market Research and Analysis

Part of the candle-making business plan that you need to write has to do with stating clearly the specific type or types of candles that will be produced by your company. It is well-known that you won’t get far unless you have clearly identified what you are aiming for. Many different types of candles can be made. It is important to let the individuals accessing your business plan of this fact so that they can clearly see you’ve done your homework in selecting a type of candle likely to produce repeat sales.

2. Establishing Your Home Workspace

One great thing about making candles is that you can do it at home. Still, for safety and efficiency, it’s important that you set up a dedicated workspace. It needs to be a place that is crazy clean and equipped with the right tools for the job, like a thermometer and a double boiler. You should also have a shared understanding with the people you live with that when you’re in the workspace, you’re making candles, not a sandwich.

3. Obtaining Quality Supplies

The overall quality of your candle is only as good as the supplies you use to make it. If you want a great candle every time, you’ll need to invest in top-notch supplies—superior wax, reliable pre-cut wicks, lush fragrance oils, and vibrant dyes. Yes, you’ll spend a bit more with these luxury supplies, but isn’t the divine candle at the end worth it? These are the items you’ll need to make your colored, scented candles.

4. Developing the Production Process

The development of the production process really happens in the experimental stages, where we work to create unique combinations of colors, fragrances, and waxes. This is where we conjure in the laboratory, if you will. We try not to erase or color too far outside the lines of a successful pioneer like Thompson when it comes to the basics. But still, we press forward, making detailed notes in our recipe books and wasting as little as possible as we go. We use those sharp notes to replicate the successful experiments when we’re producing saleable amounts of 4- and 8-ounce candles.

5. Establishing Your Brand

What makes you different from your competition? This is the first question you must ask yourself as you dive into the world of branding and marketing. But the crucial next step is what you do with the answer. Telling a great brand story is the key. Putting an attractive face on that story is imperative. The face this story gets is what we know as the identity. It’s the logo and the packaging.

6. Being Present Online

In the digital age, a presence is necessary; life as we know it would cease without it. It’s imperative that one has a primo online presence. This means a top-notch website and useful social media platforms, not a cheap website that’s hard to navigate and charming accounts on Facebook and Instagram.

7. Selling Candles and Distributing Them

Using online platforms is an easy way to make direct sales right now. Etsy and Amazon Handmade take care of most of the hosting, movement, and payment details for you, so your focus can be on the candles and customers. If you want control over all details of your online sales, you can set up your own e-commerce site. Once again, just make sure you’re getting the level of fulfillment you can live with and not making promises you can’t keep. In a brick-and-mortar world, when one kind of store doesn’t carry your candles, there exists another kind of store that will. Doing business locally has the added benefit of being able to build a loyal local following.

8. Creation of Financial Plans and Managing the Budget

When you form an LLC, the first thing you need to do is to create a business plan. The business plan is needed for you to gain a better understanding of your possible overall ‘elephant.’ The plan includes the details of not just what you’ll sell and the estimated costs of the goods and services you’ll offer, but also the projected revenue from the sales of those goods and services. In some instances, the amount you’ll need to make to cover your costs isn’t worth the labor, time, expense, or overall investment you’ll have to put into your venture.

Balancing Work and Family

Working from home, entrepreneurial moms can find the amount of flexibility they need when starting a home-based candle manufacturing business. You can schedule your work around the many needs of your children and still have time for those important extras.

This business has a low front-end cost because most of the tools and materials needed are affordable and pegged at hobbyist prices. Plus, there’s nothing esoteric about candlemaking. All the supplies are readily available. And it’s easy to scale up. At first, the business can even start as a part-time gig. What’s more essential about this business, though, is that it’s a creative outlet! A mom is able