Chocolate lollipops are similar in size and shape to lollipops made of boiled sugar, except they are made of white, milk or dark chocolate. Chocolate pops are used for gift giving, wedding favors and birthday parties and can even be used to decorate cakes. Because they are easy and fairly inexpensive to make, starting a chocolate lollipop business can be a fun way to earn extra money. To ensure your home-based chocolate lollipop business is successful, there are several things you can do.

Contact your state's department of health to be sure it is legal to produce food for sale in your home. Most states do not allow this, so you may end up having to rent a commercial kitchen. Even so, you can still run your business from home; you just can't make the chocolate lollipops there.

Purchase wholesale chocolate, sticks, molds, sprinkles, decorations and packaging from a supplier such as Candy Plus or Sugar Craft. Buying wholesale will enable you to make greater profits.

Offer customers innovative flavors of chocolate lollipops by mixing in concentrated flavoring, from a brand such as LorAnn, with your melted chocolate. Flavor combinations you can offer include dark chocolate and orange, milk chocolate and strawberry, white chocolate and coconut, dark chocolate and raspberry and milk chocolate with coffee flavoring.

Secure local venues to sell your chocolate lollipops, such as farmers' markets, a mall kiosk, city fairs and festivals, flea markets or craft fairs. If you're selling online, set up on an e-commerce site such as Foodzie or Etsy.

Ship Internet purchases with cold packs, via two-day or overnight delivery. Chocolate lollipops can easily melt any time of year, but especially in the warmer months.

Consider offering seasonal lollipops in shapes that coordinate with specific holidays, such as Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas.

Develop different types of products aside from the standard chocolate lollipop to bring in extra revenue year-round, such as chocolate lollipop bouquets, miniature wedding-favor lollipops and gluten-free chocolate pops.