Making Money from Your Favorite Hobby-Candle Making

Experienced 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 doesn�t 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 don�t charge enough, you won�t be able to recoup your costs, and won�t earn a profit.

Candles are very popular as of late, particularly decorative and scented candles, so you shouldn�t 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 don�t 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.

Scouts will find unique programs at museum (Hanover Eagle)

The Museum of Early Trades and Crafts, 9 Main St. at Green Village Road, Madison can help both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts fulfill many of their badge, petal, arrow and achievement requirements, through the museum’s Boy Scout and Girl Scout programs.

Market Statistics - 05.01.2009 (Daily News)

Security Volume **V.W.A. Open High Low **V.W.A. Change Previous Todays (Rs.) Close Close Main Board A.Spen.Hot.Hold 1,500 97.50 97.50 97.50 97.50 97.50 - ACL 17,100 32.00 33.00 34.00 31.50 31.50 (0.50) ACL Plastics 500 28.00 28.00 28.00 28.00 28.00 - ACME 500 16.25 16.50 16.50 16.50 16.50 0.25 Agalawatte 33,600 14.25 15.25 15.25 13.50 14.75 0.50 Ahot Properties 51,000 25.50 26.75 27.00 25.00 ...

Try swapping some books (Lawrence Journal-World)

It’s like getting a present,” Christa Cothrel, of Arlington, Va., says a little gleefully. The self-described bibliophile has been getting books in the mail for four years — free.

Book swappers build their own libraries (The Myrtle Beach Sun News)

It's like getting a present," Christa Cothrel of Arlington, Va., says a little gleefully. The self-described bibliophile has been getting books in the mail for four years - free. Joan Wendland of Sterling, Va., hasn't bought a book in 18 months, yet her bookshelves are full. She has sci-fi and fantasy, mysteries, nonfiction, audio books and one incredible Jasper Fforde novel autographed by the ...

Hooray for Bollywood! (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)

What with the current box-office and critical success of "Slumdog Millionaire," theatergoers who want to see more of India can check out the Honolulu Academy of Arts' 2nd Annual Bollywood Film Festival.

2008: A Year In Review (The Monitor)

Cowboys' vacation starts early After going 13-3 during the regular season, the Dallas Cowboys became the first No. 1 seed in the NFC to lose in the divisional round since the current 12-team format was adopted in 1990. The New York Giants defeated the Cowboys 21-17, adding another year to the Cowboys' drought since their last postseason win in 1996. Afterward, a tearful Terrell Owens advised ...

CLASSROOM NOTES (The Herald News)

Four Romeoville High School students and a student from Bolingbrook High School are among 15 individuals named students of the month for November at the Wilco Area Career Center.

Cuban economy faces challenges (The Palm Beach Post)

Recent hurricanes took a toll on Cuba's weak economy, which relies heavily on farm production, foreign tourists and mining.

Evening Sun 2008 All-Area Football Team (The Evening Sun)

The Littlestown passer had an outstanding season, but his best game of the year came in a 56-42 win over York Suburban in which Reynolds finished 21-for-33 for 365 yards and four passing touchdowns. He had 1,729 total yards passing and 17 touchdowns to 12 interceptions.

Home Article (Eastday.com)

This excellent museum in the Zero-meter hall of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Pudong New Area tells the history of Shanghai with an emphasis on the colonial period between 1860 and 1949.