Does everyone eventually start selling?

[cmzaha]

I agree with DeeAnna, even when attending up to 5 markets a week I will say it did not even come close to a living wage, but it does give us extra money for going out, buying groceries etc, and saves my sanity which is the biggest asset of all.

 

[DeeAnna]

...Soap making can become a profitable business within the first 6 months, I have found, twice, when done right....

Do tell! What in your opinion does it take to do it right and achieve profitability in 6 months? What did it take for you to accomplish that goal, given that so many do not?

 

[Primrose]

I'm interested to hear that as well!

I actually started out the opposite, with my end goal to start selling as I'm looking to market my goat milk in some way.

A little over a year after I started soaping I'm almost ready to sell. Waiting till august/September for our NICNAS registration

 

[Desederata]

I do find it odd that this craft, and actually other crafts, tends to have this progression.

If making soap as often as one wants is too expensive.......don't make soap as often as one wants to! Don't pour more money than you should in to the hobby and then sell purely because you need to do so to support the hobby.

good advice........I hope I can adhere to it.

 

[scard]

I hope at some time to sell a bit of soap, just to supplement my retirement, but I'm not there yet and I'm in no hurry. I really have a lot more learning and experimenting left to do. I also do other artwork and I'm in the process of opening an Etsy shop for that. The selling part doesn't thrill me but if I don't sell I can't create. (and it gets a bit crowded here)

 

[SunRiseArts]

I did a bazaar last Christmas. I did good. But the cost of selling like that, compare to what you spend, I personally think is not worth it. I am sure if you keep at it, you can make a little income out of it. But to have a full salary out of it, seems to me very, very difficult. Seems to me you would have to really commit. I prefer the creative process... I also like to always try new things, patterns, recipes.. probably not the best approach for those who sale.

One would have to sell a lot of soaps daily. I like Dean on the tube. Once he made a good breakdown of it. Soaping 101 also has good videos on the subject.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Profitable is easy. I'm profitable on the stuff I make on commission. A living wage is another story.

 

[DeeAnna]

Good point, BG.

I'll never get rich from my small biz, but it pays me an acceptable income, pays all its bills, doesn't require me to carry long-term debt, lets me employ another person who is a marketing wizard (that's not my strength), and pays her a fair wage too. I seriously doubt I could do all this with a soap making business.

 

[cmzaha]

Good point, BG.

I'll never get rich from my small biz, but it pays me an acceptable income, pays all its bills, doesn't require me to carry long-term debt, lets me employ another person who is a marketing wizard (that's not my strength), and pays her a fair wage too. I seriously doubt I could do all this with a soap making business.

I seriously doubt it too.

Do tell! What in your opinion does it take to do it right and achieve profitability in 6 months? What did it take for you to accomplish that goal, given that so many do not?

Not sure where the post went but Soapmaker seems to like us to all know they have the capital to purchase big tanks, molds etc and have a shop, but that does not mean it is self supporting or making money, but it looks good.... bite my tongue...

We do have a successful Soap Company here, but they started before the huge surge https://soaptopia.com/pages/soapstory

 

[I_like_melts]

I seriously doubt it too.


Not sure where the post went but Soapmaker seems to like us to all know they have the capital to purchase big tanks, molds etc and have a shop, but that does not mean it is self supporting or making money, but it looks good.... bite my tongue...

Many businesses are profitable within 6 months, BUT the people behind them usually have connections, start up capital, and some business acumen (or someone in their life that does). Accounting is a must.

Not to sound negative about the video (I liked it! Good examples) but I do want to point out that for years I "got by" on less than 10k per year, and working part time minimum wage would be far less then that. (I dont make that now lol) so, video wise, I if I sold 4-5 bars per day, or 1,825 per year, I'd be producing decent income opposed to say, working McDonalds Not trying to poke holes, but pointing out why it seems feasable to some people.

 

[amd]

I'm "one of those" who started my business to support my hobby. I dove in without any research into the business side of things - absolutely crazy for me. I researched soapmaking for a year before I made my first soap, and then spent a year making soap. The only thing I knew was that I had a good base recipe that wouldn't go bad in 6 months to a year. I've learned a lot and still have lots to learn about the cost of doing business. At tax time my husband was upset to learn that my business was -$300. I was beyond ecstatic - in 2015 I was -$1500 and in 2016 I was -$800, so to me -$300 was a sign of growth. Whether it was better bookkeeping, better planning, or just flat-out more selling (hopefully all three!), it meant I was learning something. I was accomplishing something. It might take me another 3-5 years to make up for those negative years, but I'm ok with that. If I could go back in time, I would have spent more time making a business plan, but I would still have my business. I don't think that would change that my first 3 years had losses, but it would have minimized those losses. I don't do this to get rich, or replace my day job, I do this because I truly enjoy making soap and when someone picks up a bar of my soap and tells me it's a work of art, it makes me happy. When customers call because they are stressed out, out of soap, and in desperate need of shower therapy, that makes me happy.

 

[Relle]

Do tell! What in your opinion does it take to do it right and achieve profitability in 6 months? What did it take for you to accomplish that goal, given that so many do not?

DeeAnna, - Soapmaker 123 is no longer part of the forum.

 

[DeeAnna]

Thanks, Relle. That's too bad -- I was sure hoping Soapmaker would share more info.

 

[artemis]

DeeAnna, - Soapmaker 123 is no longer part of the forum.

How strange: I thought I read a reply from them in another thread just yesterday or the day before.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I started soaping in 2003 at age 60 when I happened across a book on soapmaking in the bargain bin at B & N -- just about the same time my favorite $5 DHC Mild Face Soap went up in price! Again! It's now going at $17 for a 3.1 ounce bar! YIKES! It was a transparent soap and so one of my first soaps was a transparent soap -- before I knew how challenging they are to pull off! LOL

I read the book and I said to myself, "Self, you can do this!" And boy am I glad I did. Whenever I think about all the money I saved over the years, I can justify all the money I spend on soap & lotion making. Almost! LOL I make CP, HP, liquid soap, transparent soap; lotions & potions; green cleaning & laundry supplies. Altho I’m no expert, I’m drawn to the therapeutic use of herbs and essential oils.

I’m a hobbyist. I never wanted to make it a business -- been there; done that! LOL But I did want my hobby to be self-sustaining so, out of necessity, I sold my inventory at an annual garage sale during the early years and made enough to buy supplies for the following year. Thus creating a satisfying vicious cycle.

I don’t do markets -- can’t take the heat! And I don’t have a website -- ‘puter challenged. I do have a wholesale customer that keeps me busy making GM soap, lotion, lip balms, etc. My best products are formulated for pain relief: Achy Breaky Balm (minor joint & muscle pain); MSM Emu Oil Cream (arthritis); GM Lotion with 6 essential oils (arthritis & fibro).

Many businesses are profitable within 6 months, BUT the people behind them usually have connections, start up capital, and some business acumen (or someone in their life that does). Accounting is a must.

Spot on! In college, I was an English major with a Business minor and enough accounting credits to become a CPA. (Ugh.) Start up capital came from our joint account and I paid that back within the first year, with enough $ to fund supplies for the following year. Our CPA advised me that I could make up to $3,000 and it would fall into the category of "Casual Sales", i.e., no need to claim it on our joint tax return. Perfect!

After about four years, I muddled along until I joined Southern Soapers Yahoo Group. There, just by happenstance, I picked up a wholesale customer here and there along the way that I made stuff for. That's when I reached that annual $3,000 goal and did just enough "business" to be fun and rewarding.

I'm lucky and grateful to have found a happy medium between a Hobby vs a Business. Other Colorado soapers I know started out doing markets and events, but the ones who are actually earning a living at it are certified Master Soapers, no longer doing markets and into wholesaling to small businesses all across the USA. Teaching is also a huge revenue maker. Imagine charging $135 per class, 10 students, holding classes at a local soap & lotion making supplier's warehouse.

SHORT STORY about the importance of having Contacts
"Accounting Chick", was a Canadian on the Handcrafted Soapmaking Forum. The firm she worked for catered to high end clients like Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russel. Their boys played hockey in BC and they had a home there. One of the partners in the firm absconded with all the money and fled to Australia. On hold while awaiting to testify at the trial, Accounting Chick learned to make soap.

At that time, I was perfecting my "Rebatch with Alcohol" method for making transparent soap. She asked if it was possible to rebatch 100% olive oil castile. As it happened, I had just done that and shared the technique with her. Two months later, she was in business and doing quite well! Also too busy to play on the forum, I might add. LOL Never heard from her again but I often wonder...

 

[Relle]

How strange: I thought I read a reply from them in another thread just yesterday or the day before.

Yes, they had a couple of posts a couple of days ago. They are no longer part of the forum.