There are plenty of benefits to owning a business: you decide the hours; you control the company; you design the product. If you’re interested in turning your hobby into a profitable venture, these are the top tips for creating an online candle business.

Decide Your Target Audience

Every business has to decide its target audience before launching. Who do you want to buy your candles? Ask yourself what you want in a candle. Take some time to think about what ambience you want to set for customers. Do you want to take them to the beach? Are they looking to cure homesickness when lighting your candles?

Create and Perfect Your Product

After choosing your target audience, you’ll need to create and perfect your product. What wax is best for your candles? Find the best wick for your candle size. What size or sizes are you looking to sell?

Dig deep into your creativity to discover fragrances that you believe your target audience will love. Utilize a variety of jars to find the right size and shape for your candles. Play around with different essential oils till you discover the ones you like the best. You can’t spend too much time in this phase, so take your time perfecting your craft.

Develop Your Brand

Your target audience and brand go hand in hand. If you’re committed to sustainability, opt for eco-friendly and recyclable packaging. Do you want your candles to bring a smile to customers’ faces when they light them? Use bright and colorful packaging with child-like fonts.

Hiring a graphic designer isn’t a bad idea if you have the money, or you can use free tools online, such as Canva. Other items to design that align with your brand include:

• Logo: the logo creates uniformity across all products and perpetuates brand recognition.
• Fonts and color palettes: consistency is vital across websites, social media, product designs, etc. Choose what feels suitable for your brand.

Select a Platform To Sell Your Candles

Now it’s time to sell the candles, but first, you have to decide where you want to sell them. You can opt to sell solely at trade shows and craft fairs or utilize platforms such as Squarespace, Etsy, and Shopify. You could also partner with local boutiques and retailers who’d be happy to carry your candle in their stores. Then, it’s time to get out and promote your candle business!

Creating an online candle business isn’t easy, but it gives you the freedom of creativity and being your own boss. Follow your dreams and begin making candles and money!