Has anyone ever had issues selling soap? Been sued?

[miggymoo]

I've been making soap for ~ 6 months now. I don’t want to sell it right away but I do want to make this contact so that after I am comfortable and have my ducks in a row I can go back to her and say HEY! I am ready!! She is super interested in supporting the locals which is GREAT!

Just some background about me- I am a principal scientist for a biotech company and have been working in the quality operations end of the business (11 years) so I am definitely insistent on the quality of my product. I am clueless as to the business end of things though so I've been thinking about taking a business class to learn how to write a business plan. I have been keeping a log but not as detailed as you mentioned TikiBarSoap. I think I will definitely start to keep more detailed records.
I appreciate everyone’s advice!

 

[Guest]

I've been making soap for ~ 6 months now. I don’t want to sell it right away but I do want to make this contact so that after I am comfortable and have my ducks in a row I can go back to her and say HEY! I am ready!! She is super interested in supporting the locals which is GREAT!

Just some background about me- I am a principal scientist for a biotech company and have been working in the quality operations end of the business (11 years) so I am definitely insistent on the quality of my product. I am clueless as to the business end of things though so I've been thinking about taking a business class to learn how to write a business plan. I have been keeping a log but not as detailed as you mentioned TikiBarSoap. I think I will definitely start to keep more detailed records.
I appreciate everyone’s advice!

Just pretend its lab notes You will be fine. I don't think you necessarily have to take a business class, but you do have to educate yourself. Getting some sort of accounting software would be good too. You can use Excel as well if you keep really meticulous records, but I think Quickbooks or Peachtree or something is probably easiest. Hiring a marketing professional for 5% of your sales would probably be a good idea too. I have been looking for one now so that once I am ready to sell I can have them help me with branding. But first I have to get my LLC. I have insurance already through so thats good.

 

[LauraHoosier]

I think THE easiest software to use is SoapMaker3. I had Peachtree and I've used it as a bookkeeper for a good while but I hated it now that I lost my accounting abilities due to my disability. For $89 for the SoapMaker3 Pro edition I went from crying because I had to accept another defeat to grinning at how easy it was to set up and enter everything.

I entered 6 months worth of info in about 2-3 days including entering my own recipes, all FO and EO WITH their INCI names where not automatically added. Granted I've only sold like 4 bars of soap recently so I didn't have all that to enter but I'd only guestimate that it would add 1 more day to your set up time to add yours.

Also available is the SoapMaker3 Lite for hobbyists.

http://www.soapmaker.ca/

 

[Guest]

For $89 for the SoapMaker3 Pro edition

That is cheaper than Peachtree! I will check it out, thanks

 

[Padamae]

I don't believe you are over thinking it. If you have an expertise, if you have stability data on your soap, if you know every batch will be safe, then think about it. But it takes more than just a few months of soaping to have all your ducks in a row.

Even the record keeping can be a nightmare. Do you record your raw material batchs so that you can match them up with your soap batches? If someone does have a problem then you will need to be able to prove you have good record keeping. Just for starters.

Yeah, this is so true. You should keep a log of each batch you make. I have a soaping notebook for this purpose, where I record literally everything - temp of soaping, amount of H2O, amount of NaOH, amounts of oils, amounts of FO, colorants, if I added Vit E, how long it took to trace, etc. I date it and I have one log entry per page.

Is it a good idea to document which co for an example noting when the said oil was received and from which supplier? Or am I making thus to hard.

 

[khermsen]

For $89 for the SoapMaker3 Pro edition

I purchased SoapMaker3 Pro a couple of months ago, so far I really like the program. Input the supplies and recipes to have a running inventory and product cost analysis Another feature I like is the simplicity of measurement conversion and resizing of recipes.

 

[donniej]

Shortly after getting involved in selling soap, I decided to go back to school for business (to better learn soap business). 2 years later I'm close to having an associates degree, have read many related books and have spoken to a couple lawyers in depth about my plans.

It is my opinion (and that of the lawyers) that there is little protection in having a corporation or LLC if you are operating a business out of your home and are the only employee. The mandatory filings and meetings are also citical to maintaining corporate protection.
To be on the safe side I would also suggest that the "owner" of the corporation not be the sole shareholder and sole member of the board of directors.

Failure to follow all the above steps could result in "peircing of the corporate veil" if someone took the business owner to court. It would go something like this...

Plaintiff's lawyer - "So Mrs. Smith, you calim that XYZ Inc. is a corporation and therefore should shield you personally from liability. Isn't it true that you're the president, only shareholder and the corporations only address is that of your home? Therefore is your company *really* a corporation or a sole proprietorship trying to use a corporation for protection...".

The judge may then dismiss corporate protections, enabling the plaintiff to go after the business owner (and his/her home, cars, retirement, savings, etc...). It is therefore my suggestion that if your business operates out of your home and has no employees other than yourself then you might as well make it easy and be a sole proprietorship... and carry more than enough insurance!

 

[Tabitha]

Welcome back Donnie!