#019 and Part 9 of Build A Candle Business series. 

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Wholesale strategies can transform a small candle business into a thriving enterprise, creating opportunities for expanded reach and increased sales without relying solely on direct-to-consumer channels.

• Understanding the crucial difference between wholesale (selling at 50% of retail price with upfront payment) and consignment (splitting sales proceeds, typically 60-40)
• Pricing candles correctly for wholesale requires working backward from retail price, ensuring adequate profit margins when selling at half price
• Researching potential retail partners thoroughly before outreach, including their price points, aesthetic, and customer base
• Crafting effective wholesale outreach emails that focus on how your candles will benefit the retailer's business, not just product features
• Following up consistently, as over 70% of wholesale accounts come from follow-up communications
• Being strategic with samples, reserving them for high-priority potential accounts
• Creating a digital wholesale catalog that's easily accessible via link rather than attachment
• Maintaining regular communication with wholesale accounts to encourage reorders

Download our free wholesale guide at candlebusinesspro.com/wholesale101 for more detailed information on building successful wholesale relationships.

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#018 and Part 8 of Build A Candle Business series. 

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This week's episode recaps the 8-week journey of building a candle business from scratch, covering everything from setting foundations to overcoming roadblocks with the new brand "wthout."

• Setting your foundation with your "why" and identifying your first three products
• Choosing a memorable brand name and ensuring domain availability
• Finding your niche and target audience to create super fans
• Creating marketing foundations through email collection and social media
• Building a high-converting website with proper product descriptions
• Leveraging local marketing through collaborations and fundraisers
• Reaching new audiences through press releases and media outreach
• Facing production challenges with custom packaging and international suppliers

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#017 and Part 7 of Build A Candle Business series. 

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This week I shares eight effective marketing strategies for candle entrepreneurs to implement before officially launching their businesses, drawing from his experience growing Garsnett Beacon Candle Company and now launching a completely new brand.

• Start locally by telling everyone about your business and collecting in-person feedback at markets and vendor events
• Begin email collection immediately, even with just a password-protected "coming soon" page
• Choose 1-2 social media platforms where your target audience already spends time
• Use content pillars: educational, inspirational, connection, and promotional posts for balanced content
• Partner with local creatives and complementary businesses for collaborative marketing
• Join and contribute to local Facebook groups and community initiatives
• Create blog content that tells your brand story and appeals to your target audience
• Send strategic press releases to local media outlets who love featuring small businesses
• Strategic gifting to community leaders who can amplify your message
• Use fundraisers and collaborations to build local awareness
• Recycle social media content every 6-8 weeks since only about 10% of followers see each post

Grab our free content calendar at candlebusinesspro.com/socialmedia to plan your monthly marketing content using our proven four-pillar approach.

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#016 and Part 6 of Build A Candle Business series. 

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Wondering why visitors browse your candle website but don't buy? The difference between attracting traffic and converting sales often comes down to specific website elements that build trust and create seamless shopping experiences.

Sabastian Garsnett, who scaled his candle company to $1.4 million in just three years, breaks down the 10 essential components every candle website needs to convert browsers into buyers. These aren't just theoretical concepts—they're battle-tested strategies from someone who's mastered the art of online candle sales.

Your website needs to communicate what you sell within three seconds of someone landing on your homepage. This means clear, compelling imagery above the fold and product photography that helps customers imagine your candles in their space. Since shoppers can't smell through screens, your product pages must work overtime—painting vivid scent stories while providing all the technical details buyers need to make confident decisions.

The modern candle shopper expects convenience at every turn. With 85% of customers shopping on mobile devices, a mobile-first design approach is non-negotiable. Your navigation should be intuitive, your payment options diverse, and your shipping policies competitive with major retailers. Sebastian reveals exactly how he structures shipping to compete with Amazon while maintaining profitability.

Trust signals make all the difference when asking strangers to enter their credit card information. From properly implemented legal pages to custom domains, branded emails, and an authentic about page—each element reassures potential customers they're making a safe purchase from real people who stand behind their products.

The episode includes valuable bonus tips like setting up abandoned cart emails (which recover significant lost revenue), integrating Instagram feeds to showcase real customers, and implementing live chat to answer questions in real time. Sebastian even shares the benchmark conversion rate for candle websites so you can measure your performance.

Ready to transform your candle website into a sales-generating machine? Download the free checklist mentioned in this episo

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#015 and Part 5 of Build A Candle Business series. 

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Sabastian shares strategies for rapidly testing candles, selecting strategic sales channels for an elevated brand, and determining profitable pricing for the new gender-neutral "Without" candle line.

• Testing three wick sizes simultaneously to speed up product development
• Documenting every test burn with photos and detailed notes
• Starting with supplier-recommended wick lines rather than experimenting widely
• Being selective with sales channels for an elevated brand experience
• Controlling the narrative by focusing on direct-to-consumer through Shopify
• Targeting specific retailers for wholesale rather than using marketplace platforms
• Calculating true cost of goods including vessels, packaging, and labeling
• Aiming for 5X markup to allow room for marketing and growth
• Pricing based on target customer value perception, not competitor prices
• Considering wholesale requirements when establishing retail pricing
• Expanding into gender-neutral perfumes with scents matching the candle line

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#014 and Part 4 of Build A Candle Business series. 

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Today I'll share essential strategies for sourcing supplies when starting a new candle business, emphasizing the importance of building on reliable, long-term available products rather than trendy items that might be discontinued.

• Keep your supply chain simple by using vessels and waxes that will always be available from multiple suppliers
• Avoid building your brand around trendy vessels that suppliers might discontinue without warning
• Source fragrance oils that are either widely available or can be custom duplicated when needed
• Use Alibaba with Trade Assurance protection for custom vessels and packaging to get better pricing
• Create an elevated unboxing experience with cost-effective options like stamps, stickers and candle care cards
• Test thoroughly when changing any component, as oils, wicks, and vessels all interact differently
• Consider starting with simple product extensions like room sprays before expanding to more complex merchandise

Download our free supply checklist in the show notes, and join our Facebook group "Candle Business Pro" to connect with other makers and get supplier recommendations.

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#013 and Part 3 of Build A Candle Business series. 

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Ready to transform your candle business from DIY to polished professional? This week we're diving deep into the art and science of visual branding—the key to creating instant trust with your ideal customers.

After securing your business name and online presence, creating a cohesive visual identity is what makes your candle brand feel legitimate and trustworthy. We break down five essential elements of professional branding: selecting brand colors and fonts that evoke the right emotions, designing a memorable logo that works across all platforms, creating versatile secondary brand marks, developing a comprehensive style guide, and applying your visual elements to labels and stationery.

The right visual identity isn't just pretty packaging—it's strategic communication. Are you aiming for minimal and modern, cozy and nostalgic, or bold and unapologetic? Your choices in colors, fonts, and design elements should reflect your brand's personality and resonate with your target customer. We share practical tips like limiting yourself to two fonts on labels, ensuring your logo works in black and white, and documenting everything in a simple style guide that will serve you as your business grows.

Many candle makers get stuck in permanent DIY mode when it comes to branding, but professional visuals are what separate hobbyists from serious contenders in the marketplace. Whether you're creating labels, packaging, thank you cards, or social media graphics, consistency is key to building recognition and trust. Ready to level up your candle business with branding that makes customers take notice? Listen now and transform how your brand connects with customers.

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#012 and Part 2 of Build A Candle Business series. 

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We dive into the critical process of selecting and protecting your candle brand name, focusing on trademark registration, domain acquisition, and establishing a professional online presence. This week continues our 12-part journey of creating a brand new candle business from scratch, building on our experience growing Garcinet Beacon Candle Company to $1.3 million in retail sales.

• Avoid using "Candle Co" in your brand name as it's oversaturated and limits future growth potential
• Choose a name that invokes thought and curiosity rather than personal names or initials
• Search the USPTO website (uspto.gov) to ensure your desired name isn't already trademarked
• Always secure a .com domain - 98% of users will try this extension first when searching
• Set up professional email addresses using Google Workspace for credibility ($6/month)
• Register consistent social media handles across all platforms, even ones you don't plan to use immediately
• Trademark registration costs approximately $250-350 and takes about a year for approval

Like and subscribe to help us reach more candle entrepreneurs! Check out our partner Tuato wax melters using the exclusive discount link in the notes below. Visit candlebusinesspro.com for free resources including supply lists and join our Facebook group to see behind-the-scenes content for our new "Without Permission" brand.

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#011 and Part 1 of our Build A Candle Business series. 

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Ready to build a candle business that stands out from the crowd? You've found your starting point.

This episode kicks off an exciting 12-week journey where I'll be creating a completely new candle brand from scratch—separate from my existing Garsnett Beacon Candle Company that has surpassed $1.2 million in sales over the past three years. Whether you're part of our Candle Business Pro Inner Circle or just tuning in for the first time, you'll gain invaluable insights to help launch your own successful candle business.

The foundation of any thriving candle brand isn't beautiful vessels or perfect scents, it's clarity about who you're creating for. Most new candle makers experience an initial burst of sales from friends and family, followed by crickets. Why? Because they haven't defined their niche or target market. I share how to discover your unique position in the market by connecting with themes or causes you're passionate about, whether that's mental health, luxury experiences, or eco-sustainability. For my new brand "Without Permission," I'm focusing on creating unapologetic, values-driven candles for empaths, creatives, and justice-minded individuals.

Understanding your target customer goes beyond demographics and it requires knowing their values, shopping habits, and willingness to spend.

From crafting a compelling mission statement to selecting your brand values and creating a mood board, each step this week builds the foundation that will guide all future decisions. Join me on this journey and discover how to create not just candles, but a brand that resonates deeply with the right customers.

Want to follow along with your own candle business launch? Grab a notebook and start mapping out your foundation—because clarity comes first, even before you pour your first candle.

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#010 Building a successful candle business requires strategic planning and avoiding common pitfalls that can derail your progress before you reach success. We share five critical lessons learned from growing our business to over a million dollars in sales.

• Start with six well-chosen scents instead of ten or more to test market response without overwhelming yourself
• Focus on customer favorites: two citrus scents, one masculine/woodsy, one spa-like, one approachable floral, and one staple scent
• Wholesale success comes primarily from persistent personal outreach rather than marketplace listings
• Create organized systems for tracking potential stockists and following up consistently
• Focus wholesale pitches on how your products benefit their customers, not just your product features
• 80% of our wholesale accounts came from follow-up emails
• Understand your numbers early—pricing that works for markets won't sustain growth when scaling
• Be cautious about building your brand around vessels, waxes, or fragrances that might be discontinued
• Choose widely available vessels from multiple suppliers for your core collection
• Create seasonal scents by blending staple oils rather than relying on limited-edition fragrances
• Be selective about whose advice you follow in candle communities
• Seek guidance from people actively succeeding in the specific areas you want to improve

Join us next week for part two, where we'll share five more essential tips plus a bonus lesson for candle entrepreneurs.

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