Planning ahead for any major life decision or project is always advisable, and that doesn’t change when you’re considering starting your own business. By creating a business plan that addresses all the decisions you have to make for your candle making business, you can follow it step-by-step towards success—and you just have to answer some questions before you do so.
How to Write a Candle Making Business Plan:
- Describe your business structure.
- Make legal decisions, including how you’re going to insure your business.
- Create your staffing and management structure.
- Create a budget—short term to get started, and long term to thrive.
- Outline where and how you will do your business, regardless of whether you are at home or in your own store.
- Create a marketing strategy.
- Write out your mission statement and goals.
Following an outline for your business plan is easy—all you have to do is answer the questions and write it out in the best, most detailed way you know how. The more information that you include in your business plan and the more questions you answer now means less questions to answer down the road—when timing can be of the essence. Read more to find out how to create your business plan.
Describe your business structure
How you’re going to run your business is one of your very first steps. While this may be vague upon first glance, there are many decisions you need to make to the back end of your business before you consider moving to the next step. This is the base of your business, and all decisions should come back to this section of your business plan.
What needs to be included in this section?:
- Your business name. While you may want to wait until you’re finished with the rest of your business plan before you make this decision, it’s important to include it at the start of your business plan. You have several options in registering your business name, including registering under a “doing business as” or alias. Note that if you register under your own name, you may have to register differently. You also need to pick a name that is unique that you can register with the government for tax purposes.
- Type of business. Because there are so many options regarding taxes and liability, you need to decide on whether you’re going to “do business as”, go into a partnership, or create a limited liability company. In most cases, limited liability is your best and safest option, but discuss this with your attorney before deciding.
- A general business description. What do you want to do or sell? Outline it here.
Make legal decisions, including how you’re going to insure your business
Always consult with a legal professional before making any decisions in your business. That being said, you need to determine to what extent you need legal advice. Starting out your business on Etsy does not require any insurance, but it will always be helpful and reduce your liability if you are covered.
What needs to be included in this section?
- Your insurance information. Outline how you are going to make sure your business is insured, and, if applicable, your policy information.
- Your business license information. In most cases, you will need certain licenses and permits to create your business. Outline what your local government requires here.
Create your staffing and management structure
Whether you’re opening your shop by yourself or with someone else, always create the information needed in this section of the plan. It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel like you will ever hire someone else to help you—the moment you make that determination is the moment you need the information. While it could be simple speculation, set aside some time to determine what would happen if you were to hire on another individual for your business.
What needs to be included in this section?
- All the major decision makers. If it’s not just you, who else can make decisions about the business? What can they decide? What are their responsibilities? Make this very clear in your business plan.
- Management hierarchy. If you have multiple owners or employees, who do they answer to?
- Employee benefits. What benefits will you offer to your employees?
Create a budget—short term to get started, and long term to thrive
Arguably the most important part of your business plan, you need to outline and itemize each of your expenses, whether in the short term or the long term.
What needs to be included in this section?
- Month by month operational costs. Outline exactly how much money you can spend each month on inventory, your online or physical shop, marketing, insurance, and your personal salary.
- Determine how much you need to break even.
- Determine how much profit you would need to make expansions. Also, you can outline any expansion ideas for the future.
- Determine your cost per candle. This will help you set your prices.
- Determine how you will raise your funds. If you need capital to create your business, outline how you’re going to do it here, whether it’s through your own funding, grant money, business loans, or friends and family.
- Create a sales projection. Using the financial knowledge you have, estimate how much you would need to grow within the first five years of being open.
Main Raw Materials For Making Candles
Outline where and how you will do your business, regardless of whether you are at home or in your own store
It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling out of your home or a storefront—decide where you intend to sell, and describe it here.
What needs to be included in this section?
- Where you intend to sell. If it’s online, explain what website or platform you’re using. If it’s a physical place, explain what you want in a storefront.
- The products you intend to sell. What kind of candles are you going to make? How are you going to make them? What supplies do you intend to use? What makes your candles different? Your business plan is a living document, so feel free to edit this section as you plan.
Create a marketing strategy
When putting together your budget, you touched on marketing. So, what do you need to consider and place in your business plan?
What needs to be included in this section?
- Find your target demographic. You can tailor your marketing to your demographic by doing a bit of research. Knowing where your customers are online can help you to decide which social media pages to focus on.
- Analyze the market. Know the product your selling and the trends in the current market.
- Social media pages. What social media platforms are you going to use for marketing your inventory? How are you going to link them to your website, or drive people to your physical store?
- A post schedule. You should always consider how often you’re posting and how often your target demographic is looking at those posts. Create a schedule and be consistent with the content you create.
- Create a cohesive brand. What does your logo look like? What about the colors you use, or the fonts you use? Make sure to stay cohesive within your brand and use the same elements throughout all your marketing for a professional look and to create brand recognition.
Write out your mission statement and goals
Knowing the reasons why you’re starting your business and including it in your business plan is key to your success. There will be ups and downs as you create your business, and knowing why you’re doing it in the first place can help you keep your determination and focus in the right direction.
What needs to be included in this section?
- An executive summary. This should be included at the beginning of your plan, but writing it at the end is easiest. Summarize your entire business plan in this section.
- A mission or vision statement. Describe your goals and why you want to start the business.
Stay true to the reason you wanted to start your business in the first place, and refer back to it often. Only you can determine your success in your business, and planning ahead will be the best way to get you there.
10 Candle Business Tips and Tricks
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money do I need to start an at home candle making business?
Creating your candles at home will require you to invest in a point-of-sale system, a way to showcase your candles online (whether on social media, a website like Etsy, or your own personal website), marketing, and inventory. This should cost around $1,500 to start.
Is it safe for me to make candles out of my home?
Yes, you can make candles in your home safely. Make sure you prepare your space and keep surfaces clean by placing down newspaper or wax paper, always monitor the heat of your wax, and use the proper equipment. If you want to purchase extra insurance for your business, you can also do that and it is greatly encouraged.
Looking to start your own candle making business, check out my startup documents here
Please note that the contents of this blog are for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Any action taken based on the information provided in this blog is solely at your own risk. Additionally, all images used in this blog are generated under the CC0 license of Creative Commons, which means they are free to use for any purpose without attribution.
Meet Shawn Chun: Entrepreneur and Candle Business Fan.
I’m a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online candle business resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a candle business owner at a craft fair, farmers market, retail location or anywhere else I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to obtain and retain clients, finding good employees all while trying to stay competitive. That’s why I created Candle Business Boss: I want to help candle business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.