After posting about the article in American Bee Journal, I realized it might be impossible for some members of this forum to get their hands on a copy. Kim Ericksen's website, which she designed herself, is
www.bandehoneybeeproducts.com.
A brief synopsis:
Kim decided less than one year ago to go into the candle making business.
She had existing computer skills and then received some help to set up her own web site.
She designed her own business cards, labels, and brochure on her own computer and prints them out herself.
She has set high standards for herself and the candles she makes.
Her most difficult mold to work with, a pine cone, is also her best seller. 1 out of 4 goes back into the melting pot.
In her planning, Kim has kept in mind expansion into other honey related items. Currently, there are only candles for sale.
Second hand shops, etc were used to find inexpensive equipment to work with.
Starting small and simple, with two molds that were given to her, she reinvested the money back into more equipment.
Through trial and error, Kim has learned which venues work best for sales. Fall and early winter seem to have the best sales.
To answer questions about beeswax blocks, she printed a brochure, which has her website address included, using a list of
101 uses for beeswax originally compiled by "Crafting Montana".
SETTING PRICES1. She comparison shopped online to come up with an average price.
2. She then took into consideration her small Minnesota community. It would be easy to over price.
3. Further research with Mann Lake resulted in average burn times for the candles she makes. "I have also put some average burning times on the price cards for each candle style. It helps people understand the higher price of beeswax when they see how long it burns."
4. Kim restocks her inventory as needed. Instead of trying to figure out what is going to sell. She builds to par levels.
5. After trial and error, only cotton wicks are used. On the back of her business card, she has included information on proper burning and care of beeswax candles. (Clever girl
)
The rest of the article goes into depth about the straining of wax, getting wicks straight, not over heating wax and so on. As this thread was about pricing, I will stop here. There are also many wonderful pictures of pouring wax, straining wax, her displays and so on.
Perry: a one year subscription to ABJ is also $43 for Canadians, $28 in the lower 48. It is a monthly publication. I know there is an electronic version of this as well, but I don't know the pricing.
