How I'm Reducing Costs & Margins in 2024 for my Small Business 

Hey Ashley! I am right there with you on the cost of supplies going up. Fingers crossed that everything goes well with your overseas purchases. I would love to hear how that experience ends up going for you in a video. Thanks for all the work you do on this channel!

love and appreciate these videos! thanks Ashley!

Omg. Corporate greed. These companies do not need to have their prices so high. Economy is great. But, look at how much profit companies are making as a whole. Oil, etc.. I’m not saying these little companies, but maybe from where they are getting the supplies themselves. I don’t know. It’s frustrating. You’re right about asking companies to see if there’s a better way. Smart to ask.

That was a great video the timing for me was perfect

My original comment was deleted! Anyway, I'll try again lol - I source from overseas all the time (both in my FT job and for my own business). I absolutely LOVE Alibaba but sourcing from China is definitely is a bit of learning curve 😝. I launched my own wellness business in 2021 and have ordered all my packaging, labels, hang tags etc. from Alibaba vendors. I am adding candles to my line in the next month or so, and I just received my first order of vessels. I ordered 1,000 vessels for $825, with customized lids and door to door shipping included. My supplier was great - he included 20 extra glass vessels, and like 50 extra lids just in case anything broke in transit (none of the vessels broke but some lids were scratched so I'm glad he sent replacements!)

Hi Ashley, thank you so much for this video. The 2 points of having a chat with supplier and sourcing shipping locally are on my to do list. I have not launch my candle business yet but after months trying to get reasonably priced packaging is impossible, a big factor is I am in Scotland, UK. Over the last 2 months I have been in contact with suppliers for packaging etc, using Alibaba. I have found very straight forward, and dealing with the companies through email has quicker results, samples of jars and packaging etc than my experiences with UK companies. The big factor is definitely, prices, a lot cheaper even with the shipping costs. 🏴💜

I made candles in Ireland 🇮🇪. I had to give up because most of the resources I needed were coming from the U.K., and BREXIT finished off any margins I had due to the non-eu duty (tax) charges. I left the business in debt and am repaying that now. It was a nice experience but I couldn’t cope with the price increases. 😅 thanks for your great videos!!

I have missed your videos. You must make them 🙏🙏🙏

I 100% agree about the insane markups. I purchased vessels from a supplier. They were the same or extremely similar to the ones I got locally from 16/17 when they were around. Considering they were like $6 and even in bulk around $5, I paid less than half that...including shipping. AND they came with lids, which every supplier charges extra for. Knowing now that most overseas manufacturers vessels come with lids, it irritates me even more knowing suppliers here charge extra for it when they got it included. Even buying a MOQ of 500 i paid less than half. Imagine if the order was larger!

I started with Alibaba day one as well, because unfortunately all domestic suppliers buy all their products from China as well. So we are all trying hard to make a profit. I just want to stay in business not get rich. Also do bulk fo oils. There are three companies that all middle man buy from. They do make them their own, but so can we.

EVERYTHING HAS GONE UP IN COST. But…..this will change in about 9 months. I guarantee it. I’m buying less expensive, beautiful wax from a state very close to me. When I run out of Evermore cylinders, my candle mentor, God Bless Her Heart, found a vessel I could transition to. Not the same, but still lovely. I’ll be saving more money on vessels. I Love ya Ashley, don’t worry, we are gonna ride this out, bide our time…..then the clouds will part.🙏🏻❤️🕊️💫✨

...and I was just thinking that Ashley hasn't posted anything on YT in ages.🥲 Nice to see you again.👋 Greetings from Germany.

i love your videos and did miss you!! can u provide examples of websites where u can buy direct from manufacturer?

I want more info from someone buying overseas too! I DO NOT want to, but may NEEDt to also!

We are all feeling the squeeze! Oh my goodness! I have actually reached out to a supplier on Alibaba in the past and got absolutely no response lol. Apparently, I didn’t say the right things? It would be great to hear from you and others on how to go about it.

I am feeling the pinch. I am trying to pivot and change my vessels to be less expensive but everything else is so high. Especially shipping. I also make pottery, so I am thinking of pivoting my business to that space and designing my own vessel. I feel like giving up.

Girl. I started buying from Alibaba from DAY ONE. I mean .04 for clamshells and $3 for custom jars. I don't care where anything comes from or who makes it... ALL I CARE ABOUT IS COST. But I'm a soon to be CPA and I live for numbers :)

Ashley, I’m going to message you through the group. It’s too much to go into detail here. I can tell you are experiencing the overwhelming feelings of dealing with communication etc with oversea suppliers. Hang in there! Going bulk blows your hair back because of shear costs, but you having marketing in place to help you churn product out will bringing balance.

It’s like swimming with sharks most days 😂

i've been asking myself where are ashley's videos, does that count? 🤪

So…… I’m “new” here but I do remember you from years ago when i started making candles. Bless you and the journey…. It’s not easy to do for sure. My “daytime” job FT… i am a small business owner as well. Ive had my own Digital Marketing E-Commerce Agency for 13 years now. Im a A to Z “white glove” agency. The only thing I don’t do is building websites. Thats boring……Im a creative, tinkerer, hippie…. Freestyle….. data & analytics gal!!!! The price increases in the candle making area are mostly do to shipping …. All my clients have felt it as well. Wholesale is the way to go and you have to plan that. It can be so overwhelming. Asking suppliers is a great idea. So….. knowing who buys from you demographically is key. Are you running any ads on SM?? Those help as well as ensuring you’re using the right search content and hashtags!!! USA 🇺🇸 products…… Im seeing customers are wanting more thoughtful packaging as better made candles. So, if you have to stay local with your sale so you can get an idea of where your sale strength is. Love this video and DONT fall for it. Breaking it all down and starting over again from the ground up. You need need need to be out there socially - its the generation. I hope you have a great rest of your day as well. Its a lot I know, but I totally get it. If you ever want to chat or if there is anything I can offer you - I do a free 39 minute enlightenment call. I am a intuitive….. as well as many other things. Ive worked with over 50 small business clients over the years. Im not a crazy person …. Welllll spiritual crazy LOL. Seriously…. Brainstorming may be good. I shine my light always to help others find theirs. I also used to do live videos on my paranormal/mediumship FB page (NoSideParanormal) and it can absolutely drain you. Energies are so crazy right now- it has been a time of rest, relaxation and revisiting. You’ve been doing what is necessary and you are on track. I stopped apologizing for being absent. I am finding my way back now after a period of sitting within. Its go time now….. and look 👀 you’re right in divine timing. ✨✨✨😇🙏❤️

GIRL! 👏🏼 ok where do I start. I was kinda forced to try Alibaba bc I was ordering the west coast jars from 16/17 annnnnnd we all know what happened with that. Anyways, I still haven’t been able to find identical ones, but I found the same style just in different colors for less than half the cost. I figured, ok I’m just going to give it a shot bc like you said, the suppliers we order from here just order from there anyways. I cut out the middle man and I’m so happy I did bc I’m saving SO much. I just received my first order of 500 jars with only 2 broken ones. Everything is exactly how I requested. Definitely chat with the company representative about what you are looking for to have things go smoothly. I’ve also noticed referring to things in centimeters and sending pictures really helps. Another thing, ALWAYS order samples. Even though the shipping is like $50, it’s better to be safe than sorry especially when it comes to a couple hundred dollar order. long story short…. It’s definitely worth a try if you want to save some coin. Hope that all makes sense, I’m one eye open right now 😂🥱