Candle Connection

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Taking the path of least resistance pays off.

For anyone interested in our home based candle business opportunity who is unfamiliar with the term natural markets, let me briefly explain what it means and give you some insight into its importance to your success. Basically your natural market is every person, every group, every business, and every organization that you have a personal relationship with. The significance of this from a business perspective is that whenever you have a personal relationship with someone you have a potential warm introduction into that person’s sphere of influence.

Perhaps without even realizing it, everyone utilizes natural markets as situations arise. For instance, if you need help with something in your job or personal life, the first thing you do is mentally review the people in your life for likely prospects before exploring other options. And when you have some really important news that you’re dying to share, your brain automatically starts thinking about whom to call, visit, or e-mail.

With this in mind, it shouldn’t be difficult to see how tapping into your natural market is an obvious first step when you need help starting your new business or simply want to share your excitement about your new venture. I’m not suggesting that you put the hard sell on everybody you know, but I do think at the very least, in order to prime the word-of-mouth pump, you should systematically make absolutely every person you know aware of your new business.

When I first started my own home based candle business I was working at a company with about 150 employees. Since a majority of them were women, the primary consumers of candles, I decided to try a low impact marketing campaign with that pool of potential customers available to me. I brought scented candles into my office and set them on my desk with their tops removed, allowing the fragrance to permeate the room. As women came through my office, which was a fairly high traffic zone, many of them inquired about the candles and ultimately purchased some. And enough of them raved to coworkers about the candles they bought that I soon developed a steady clientele.

Clearly that was a unique situation, but there are countless other unique situations in which you can exploit a natural market without overstepping social proprieties. A perfect example of this involves my husband-wife team members Roy and Heather. They decided to take a case of scented candles with them when they went camping, and during the normal socializing that occurs among fellow campers they sold the entire case and took orders for several more. Many new distributors with a history of being active in their community find that the organizations they are involved with already often are very receptive to the idea of a candle fund-raiser because of their prior relationship with them.

The possibilities are limited only by your imagination and the scope of your social network. Utilizing your natural market comes under the category of working smarter not harder. When you have an advantage at your disposal to make your business successful, does it make sense not to use it? Not on your life! Take the path of least resistance. You’ll be glad that you did.

Visit WicksWorks Candle Emporium or Easy Fun Home Based Candle Business

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Profiling isn’t limited to the FBI.

Since one of my business ventures involves helping people start a home based candle business, it’s hardly surprising that I spend time thinking about the attributes needed to succeed in that endeavor. During my latest brain storming bout it finally dawned on me that being female is practically de rigueur for an aspiring candle entrepreneur. Like any generality, there are exceptions of course, but my experience has been that considerably more women than men have a natural affinity for building successful home based candle businesses.

This phenomenon likely derives, in part, from the demographics of candle consumers. Many industry-sponsored surveys have shown that as high as 95% of all candle purchases are made by women. Whereas I am a little skeptical about the complete accuracy of those stats, I don’t need to analyze my candle sales data to know that the overwhelming majority of my customers are female.

I have noticed that men almost always shop for candles by themselves, and they are usually looking for a gift for a woman in their lives when they do. In contrast, shopping for candles is often a shared experience for women. And a fun one at that! Friends, sisters, and mothers and daughters can easily while away half an hour sniffing different candle fragrances or inspecting and handling a variety of candles and accessories.

It would be naive to think that simply being a woman is enough to succeed as a home based candle business owner. Obviously a combination of characteristics is required. But having two X chromosomes in your DNA sure helps.

As a general rule it is best to choose vocations that interest you. Selling candles is no exception. If you enjoy what you’re doing your enthusiasm will be infectious and, ultimately, your business will grow.

It’s not a news flash that selling is primarily the domain of outgoing people. Being an introvert is a very big handicap when trying to build and maintain a following of loyal candle customers. Gregarious people whose lifestyle provides a natural market of friends, acquaintances and organizations inevitably fare best in both the startup and growth phases of a home based candle business.

But even the most vivacious, well-connected woman can falter in any enterprise if she doesn’t possess certain skills and traits. Perhaps the most important, as well as the most elusive, of which is business acumen: an innate ability to recognize and exploit opportunities and have a clear view of the big picture.

If you’re reading this post and thinking, “Hey, that’s me she is describing,” please, please, please contact me ASAP. I’ll make you a star, kid. Well, I’ll help you make yourself one anyway. Think about it, you could be the next “Candle Lady.”

Visit WicksWorks Candle Emporium or Easy Fun Home Based Candle Business

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