Candle Lady

I have been running a candle store for some time now.   As with any business, this one has its plusses and minuses.  I have to say that it has been a mostly rewarding business for me though.

In the candle business your profit margins are pretty high. At least they are high compared to a lot of other industries. As any business owner will tell you, this is a major factor in how easy it is to make it in a particular business. Margins are everything. There are so many products out there that simply aren’t worth your time selling. Why do it if you can’t make a decent buck from doing it?

One thing I learned early on though is that I was going to have a very tough time making enough sales just from my local market. As a result, I decided to modify my business model to be able to have sales on a global scale instead of just my local town of 17,000 people. How did I accomplish this? I accomplished it by harnessing the global infrastructure of the internet giant Ebay.

By using Ebay, I realized I could stay in the candle business. Not only could I stay in the business but I could also lower my margins on products and still make more money just on shear volume. That was the best decision I made. Now I can get paid whenever I make a sale or even when someone else on Ebay makes a sale that I assisted with. It is really a great setup.

What other business model allows you the opportunity to make a profit by helping your competitors make sales? Ebay does that for me and I couldn’t be happier about it. I don’t know how any of the little stores I see as I travel across the US can make it in this business without generating some sales from outside of their little demographic areas. I guess you can survive if you don’t mind working for less than minimum wage. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like working for less than minimum wage.

Through the ups and downs it has been worth it. If I had to do it again I would. The one thing I would do different is make the decision to sell online much sooner than I did. I would start working with Ebay right off the bat. That has definitely mad it worth the while.

Start your Christmas shopping a little early this year. You can take advantage of the slow economy by picking up some really great deals on all those supplies that you normally purchase in November and early December right now. As the economy starts to pick back up you’ll probably see prices pick back up right along with it.

Experts say that the cost of raw materials used to produce goods is on the rise. These costs will eventually get passed on to us consumers in the form of higher prices. That should start kicking in once the Christmas shopping season begins to gain momentum.

Stick to the online stores. As everyone knows, you can find the best deals from the merchants who sell their wares online. They tend to compete on price more than anything. You can find some really exceptional sales on products that would cost you twice as much for example.

I am in the retail business. We sell candles to customers all over the globe. I can tell you first hand that the prices you are going to find online are going to blow away those that you’ll find at one of those mall stores. The mall stores count on the fact that you’ll be an impulse buyer. They want you to make a bad decision to pay $15 for a scented jar candle that you could pick up for a couple of dollars at a store like mine.

I don’t know about you, but it pays to be smart and frugal these days. Nobody knows when the corporate job cuts are going to come to their neighborhood. So why not save ten dollars here or ten dollars there by starting your Christmas shopping earlier than normal. Lock in those really low prices on the things you know you are going to need when the holiday approaches.

You can pick up things like holiday decorations. If you get them right now, you can get them at the same prices as the huge sales the week after Christmas. It’s a no brainer. If you wait a few more months, you’re going to be paying those inflated holiday prices because of the demand for everything holiday related.

Be like my mother. My mom used to keep an eye open all year for exceptional deals on things that she knew she was going to need around holiday time. She was a smart cookie. She must have saved a fortune by picking up things many months in advance as opposed to waiting till the week before hand. Use your head and shop smart this year. You know you need the money.

As I may have mentioned before, I personally like to use a coffee scented candle in my kitchen.  I like to use it when people are coming over for dinner.  I recommend using a jar candle so that you can cover it and store it neatly when you don’t necessarily need or want the fragrance.

If I was to pick a number two or three I would either go with a pumpkin scented one or any of the various fruit scented candles that you can get.  The fruit scented ones give off a citrus aroma.  The smell of citrus is very clean and crisp.  It is ideal for any room that you want to smell extra clean.  Obviously a kitchen would fit that profile.

I personally prefer the traditional scents in candles.  I always put out the pine and cinnamon scented ones around Christmas.  I aslo put out the apple and pumkin ones around Thanksgiving.  In my opinion, the candles really add to the atmosphere of the holiday.  I would encourage everyone to give it a try for themselves.

Durinthe other months of the year I mostly use vanilla.  I also use a coffee scented jar candle on the kitchen countertop.  I light it whenever we are planning on having company over for supper.  It helps set the mood for food when everyone arrives.

That’s pretty much it.  I don’t go too overboard with the scents.  I prefer to use flowers to accomplish that when the weather is nice.  In a pinch though, a candle does the job too.  The rest of the time I have unscented candles in use throughout the house more for dim lighting rather than aroma.