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By: Ikedi Ani-okoye

As the nights grow longer, many homes begin to glow with the subtle light of candles-tall, short, simple, complex, made of paraffin wax, soy wax, or gel, and in every possible combination of color and scent. Imagine making and selling some of those candles yourself, and collecting a tidy little profit. If the thought sounds intriguing, consider candlemaking as a start-up business.

It isn't very difficult, expensive, or particularly time-consuming to make candles-you must only take care to follow proper safety procedures when handling hot, flammable liquid wax. The raw materials for candlemaking are reasonably priced and readily available at craft stores, online suppliers and local supermarkets.

It's also a great small business if you're looking for a creative outlet. Paraffin wax can be molded into all sorts of intricate shapes, and if you work at creating unique and appealing candles, you can expect them to fetch a much higher price than simple white wax pillars. A large and complex candle can sell for as much as $20, though the average price is somewhere between $2 and $5. In this case, it's worth your time to take a little extra care and create a high-quality product.

Your smartest time investment is to try making several types of candles at first and get a feel for the candle type that's easy and enjoyable for you to create. Once you have a pretty clear idea where your talents lie, choose a specific candle type and focus on producing only that type for sale. There are plenty of specialties to choose from - you can roll or stack candles from sheets of tinted beeswax, hand-dip long tapers, create novelty candles from molds, or specialize in transparent mineral oil-based gel candles. Another current favorite is the fragrance candle, designed to fill a room with delicious scent when it is burned; this type of candle is most often made from soy-based wax and presented in a lidded glass jar. By deciding on a specialty first, you can hone your skills quickly and mass-produce a decent quantity of candles for sale in a short amount of time.

You probably won't make a fortune in the candle-selling business, for it's best thought of as a good source of supplemental income; yet the investment costs are low enough that you can easily double your profit when you sell your first batch. Candle sales are usually most brisk around the end-of-year holidays, but if you work with local craft shows, grocery stores and farmer's markets, you can sell candles year-round. It's a fun, creative part-time business that will likely bring in some much-needed extra money when you need it.