Summer candle business...?

Summer is coming up, which means no school for 2 months and I really want to start a "little summer business". I'm too old for the lemonade stand thing (I'm 17) and I really don't like the car washing/mowing lawns idea,lol.





So, my idea was to start making candles. I've been reading a few things online and it seems pretty simple %26amp; fairly easy to acquire ingredients. It just seems like a good way to get my creative juices going and could possibly turn into "something".





What I'm eerie about is me using $$ I've saved up buying ingredients then attempt to make "high-quality" candles and they turn out horrible (over-achiever here!). I think I'll only try to spend around $20-30 (will that be enough to start out?) and see what happens.





Speaking of ingredients, could someone give me a basic list of everything I'll need?





%26amp; how much type do candles take to make? (including mixing/melting wax?)





I have tons of ideas running through my head but I'll finish with that. thanks for reading!

Summer candle business...?
well, another idea for you- bath salts. They are easy to make, sell well and are quite inexpensive.





As for making candles, it takes time and lots of practice. If that is ultimately what you want to do, I suggest ice candles. Basically you fill the wax layer by layer. Make sure your layers aren't too thick, otherwise the wax won't get deep enough to the previous layer. Start with a cylinder that can easily peel off the candle once it is set (such as cardboard) Start with a small pre-made candle stick and trim it to the size you want. First you surround it with crushed ice, then pour the wax over the ice. Then you put more crushed ice and then wax, etc. Once the candle is set and all of the ice has melted, peel away the cardboard and you will have a supercool looking candle, very unique.
Reply:My sister and I make and sell candles. Summer is usually our worst time for sales. Typically people are doing outside activities and are not sitting inside and burning candles. Fall is usually when sales start up again.


When we started this several years ago,we each put in $400 for a total of $800 to start. We needed every bit of that much. The first thing you need to do is make some candles and test burn them. You need to do this for every batch you make to make sure that you are getting a proper burn.


I don't want to discourage you,but in order to make high quality candles,you need high quality supplies. A 16 ounce bottle of scent can run from $20-$30 or more.


I would suggest that you try bath salts or lip balm. Try making some bracelets or other kinds of jewelry. At any rate,I wish you luck with whatever you decide to try.