Candle Connection

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.”

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An unexpected introduction to the potency of essential oils.

I never gave aromatherapy much thought before we opened our first candle store. In an effort to offer the broadest selection of candles possible, we began stocking a sampling of aromatherapy candles. When the first shipment arrived, we set up a display of five aromatherapy candles with a blend titled Invigorating immediately adjacent to my computer desk. Soon afterward I started experiencing sensations of restlessness and agitation whenever I spent time working on my computer. This went on for about a week until my husband, in response to my bewildered grousing, deduced that I was overdosing on essential oil vapors from the nearby aromatherapy candles.

He removed all but two of the offending candles from the display and placed specially cut pieces of clear plastic over the portion of exposed wax on the ones remaining. The improvement was practically instantaneous. I was back to normal. No more jitters. Whew!

Although this experience made us both believers in the power of essential oils and aromatherapy, neither my husband nor I were predisposed to immerse ourselves in the world of aromatherapy. We didn’t feel compelled to study the beneficial aspects of particular essential oils or complementary blends. However, we did begin dabbling a bit with aromatherapy candles.

Like a great many consumers, our interest in aromatherapy is limited to influencing moods or alertness, so we rely on the descriptiveness of candles’ names. Our favorite is a palm wax aromatherapy candle called Relaxing (its intended effect couldn’t be any plainer), pleasingly scented with a blend of lavandin, tangerine and orange essential oils. We find burning one of these candles helps us ease into the Zen of computing, or to unwind after a long day. On really stressful occasions, of course, we pull out the big guns and augment our trusty aromatherapy candle with a glass of pinot noir.

Sometimes decompressing is not what is required (when working on tedious projects, for instance) and that is when Relaxing’s cousin Energizing comes in handy. It never fails to amaze me that simply smelling a blend of peppermint, spearmint and tea tree oils can clear your mind and keep you focused. I highly recommend this gentle method of cognitive stimulation.

I have virtually no metaphysical leanings, but chakra energy pillars are a type of aromatherapy candle that I find intriguing. They are designed for use during highly focused meditation and contain unusual essential oils such as frankincense, spruce and Morrocan rose as well as common ones like lavender, bergamot and cassia, all of which purportedly facilitate pinpointing energy in specific areas of the body and psyche. Many of our customers swear by them, often purchasing a full set of seven, one for each chakra. Based upon the number of reorders, I can only assume that most chakra energy candle purchasers find them beneficial in some way.

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Infantry unit gets unexpected holiday gift.

Last year a customer purchased a 6-month subscription to Candle of the Month Club. He was treating himself to an economical indulgence and one that would give him 2 candles of different scents each month. The order had a delivery address which looked a bit unusual. As always, the online USPS database was consulted in an attempt to verify the accuracy of the address. When the query returned a message indicating that the address may be undeliverable, contacting the customer was the next step. A call to his cell phone was answered on the second ring and the reception was amazingly clear. He assured me that the delivery address was correct and that he received mail there on a regular basis. The email address provided on the order seemed to indicate that he was a member of the military currently stationed in Iraq. When asked about this, he said that his tour of duty was for an entire year. This prompted me to inquire how many other individuals were in his company. I thanked him for his order and, more importantly, for his service to our country.

A few weeks later, on October 1st, a box containing 16 Hollyberry & Balsam votive candles and 4 Pumpkin Spice votives, each nestled in its own votive holder, was carefully packed and shipped. A brief note was included to our customer and instructed him to give one votive to each person in his company. Naturally, one of the votives was for him. It was our hope that lighting the votive would bring back fond memories of holidays past and bring a bit of comfort to an otherwise stressful tour of duty.

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