benchmarks needed

[jamisoaper]

Hi,

I've been making soap for over 10 years, and I want to make it a "real" business this year. I've done my research, talked to an accountant, know about all the business stuff, insurance, accounting, etc. We also keep bees so we'd like to sometimes sell honey, candles, etc. too.

But I find that I just have no idea how much I could expect to make with this. I'd like to leave my FT job and be home with kids, my husband will be the main breadwinner. But dang, I need to bring in a little money!

I live in a rural area and my husband works at a small college, and there's not a local soaper at the moment--I have lots of connections at the college and lots of opportunities for selling there (even out of his office! sweet!). But I'm just looking for some benchmarks. If you could help me out with these questions, I'd so appreciate it. I know they vary widely and it depends on what I put into it. Just trying to do a little market research! I'll sell a 4-5 oz. bar for $4-5.

-how much would you make at a good craft fair? What's average, what's great, what's lousy?
-for those of you that have websites, how much of your income does it bring in? (my husband is a web designer, so no charge for those services!) good month, lousy month?
-how much does wholesale bring in for you? Is your wholesale rate about 50% off your retail, generally? Worth pursuing aggressively?
-any advice on the best markets to go for? Unfortunately our local (booming) farmer's market doesn't allow "crafts."

Thanks so much for any info you can give! It's hard to do market research on something like soapmaking. I hope these questions aren't too nosy.

 

[carebear]

I know the answer "it all depends" isn't going to be much help, but it's really the best I can do.

How much you can make at a fair depends on where you are, the type of fair, the going rate for soaps there, and what you are selling. Oh, and whether or not soaps are known and loved there, and who the competition is. It's a very local thing. For me, it's not cost effective to do fairs or markets once you count in booth fees (plus babysitting in my case). I cannot see investing $80 in soaps + $50-100 for the booth fee + $50 in babysitting to sell $300 in soap on a good day - kwim? It might be ok if I just wanted to support my crafting expenses but for income??? Oh and did I mention you need to have insurance at most venues, and pay taxes on any income? Plus you will need to invest in tables, displays, a tent, chairs, money box, etc? If you do lots of lucrative ones then it can pay off. But to do a few... not so good.

Web sites depend on traffic. If you know how to drive traffic to your site you can do well. But very few folks are making much of etsy or ebay.

The income really comes from wholesale. This has a higher likelihood of steady business. Takes some legwork but it can pay off.

 

[Tabitha]

I think you can expect to make 4x your booth price at a descent craft show if they organise it well. pay $40.00 for a tabel, make $160.00. pay $150.00 for a tabel, make $500-600 IF th eorganisrs do what they should to drive traffic to the show. Make sure it is a craft show & not a family fun event, carnival, music festival, etc. At a craft fair people are there for the soul purpose of shopping handmade. At carnivals or 'other' events they are not there to shop. They are there to ride rides, play games, etc & all the extra money goes to the kids.

Selling soap for profit is (IMHO) 1 part good soap & 9 parts good marketing, sales & business skill. I would highly suggest taking a business class and a marketing class at your nearest jr colleg.