Looking for ways to market my new business?

[Hallowedrift]

Well, I am venturing into the world of candle making, wax melts and soap. To help bring in revenue and get my business out there. It seems like i all ways find out about art shows and stuff after they happen... LOL. Well just starting conversation. 

[maxpete]

@Hallowedrift Would love to see your products if you want to share here!

Tagging @Candlestore as they're a fellow candlemaker as well!

[Candlestore]

@maxpeteand @Hallowedrift  ;

We make about 20 different sized candles of 1 scent and have over 165 Scents in our candles.  Which our customers say is crazy.  We do not sell only ' in season' scents, meaning we stock Pumpkin scented candles in March.  We found out our customers come to us 1 or 2 times a year and STOCK up.  We have customers that buy 39 candles at a time when they are in the area.  So if we only had in season scents to sell, they may miss getting the scent for other seasons.  Yes we do sell online but some of our customers prefer smelling the candle before purchase especially with new scents.  So my Candle sizes are Tea Lights, Votives, Pillars 2x3, 2x6, 3x3, 3x6, 3x9, 4x4, 4x6, 4x9, 6x6, and 6x9, then Jar candles 8oz, 16oz, 28oz, 1 liter; plus our Special order sizes of Half Gallon, 1 Gallon and 2 Gallon Cookie jars plus a Specialty 70oz Pumpkin jar.  With having all these scents and sizes I am glad having Square to be able to keep track of them all.  The easiest way I found to do this was by using Barcodes and a scanner for my items.  

Right now I have an order for 68 dozen votives; here is a picture of them in the middle of our process:

[Candlestore]

@Hallowedrift ;

One other thing to think of when making your Candles, how hard is to make 1 candle compared to making Multiples of the same thing.  Weighing the wax, Scent, Dye etc for 1 gram compared to weighing 10 grams for 10 canldes for instance.   Think of it when you make diner, Does it take the sametime to cook for 1 person as it does for say 10?  All you do when you cook for 10 compared to cooking for one is increase the ingredients by 10.  The catch is not to make too much that you have waste that can not be used in your smallest container at least.  Sometimes weighing a larger amount may make things easier too.   Might be harder to get exactly 5 grams of an ingredient but 50 grams is easier and less time consuming depending on your scales.   1 drop of a dye in a small batch, effects it alot more than 1 drop in a larger batch.

[Hallowedrift]

Thank you, I generally make 24 of 1 scent. 1 batch usually makes 24 (8oz containers) 15 (2.5oz wax melts) and enough left over for me. I like to test every batch, compare scents, throws etc.

 

[WoodCandleCo]

@Hallowedrift For finding markets...if you're on Facebook, my recommendation is local vendor groups. I just search "location vendor market." That'll give you insight into 'good' markets, cost, application deadlines, etc. Unfortunately, I find that I've had to throw many a market at the wall and see what sticks. 😞 The ball rolls slowly, but keep with it and it'll speed up!

If you do find markets you're interested in, you can ask if they have a contact list to find out when apps and such come out. Usually they'll have some sort of contact list.

Best of luck!

[Hallowedrift]

Thank you for your advice, I greatly appreciate it!