Hi! Newbie from STL (well, sort of . . ), Missouri

[barefootbody]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post, though I have been a lurker for a while. I really love this forum, I find the information shared to be so helpful, and so many creative ideas & thoughts are wonderful & refreshing.

I live outside of St Louis Missouri, and I guess my #1 frustation is that I can't just run to the store & pick something up if I need it, all of my supplies are ordered off the net. Between shipping costs & wait time it can be frustrating.

Anyway, I look forward to getting to know everyone better!

 

[Tabitha]

I LOVE St Louis.

I was there on vacation in my 20s & couldn't find the bar/club I was looking for. I was a WILD dance bar I had heard of. I was driving up a one way street the wrong way & a cop pulled me over. I explained I was on vacation looking for the club & he gave us a police escort. How nice was that?

Even if you had a supplier nearby you would want what they had in another state. I have 4-5 suppliers w/i drive distance who I rarely use.

 

[Lindy]

Hi there!

It's good to meet you - I know what it's like having to order everything, but I wouldn't live in the city again for love nor money... :wink:

 

[barefootbody]

Thanks Lindy & Tabitha. I've seen a lot of your posts and both of you are awesome soapers, you always seem to have helpful thoughts & solutions.

Not many nightclubs left in STL anymore, it's really hard to find fun things to do around here in the winter.

I don't actually live in STL, I'm South of it in a very hick town with not much but the county courthouse, one tiny (expensive & no brands) grocery store, & even that is 5 miles from the house.

I ran out of oils the other day, I usually use sunflower/almond/ meadowfoam/apricot, etc, for my butters, had an order in with WSP, but we had a bad snow storm (8 inches!!!), OH had a bigger storm, so my order was delayed & I had a big party coming up, so I thought well WalMart will have some oils, Grapeseed at least, WalMart is a 25 minute drive, and no, they don't have anything but Olive & Vegtable, I couldn't believe it.

Anyway, had the party Friday night, I was very pleased with it! Sold a lot of soap & other products.

 

[Lindy]

Aren't those parties awesome for selling product at? I did one and it was a total success!!! I plan on doing at least 2 or 3 a month after the Grande Opening (yeah I know I spelled Grande funny :? it's french even though I'm not - it just looks fancier).

Thank you for such kind words - I will sometimes give bad advice so always make sure you check all lye calculations through your own lye calculator - I use SoapMaker and it's my bible...

At any rate - I am really looking forward to getting to know you!

Cheers
Lindy

 

[barefootbody]

Are you opening a storefront Lindy? I love doing the parties, I've done a few, but am having trouble finding people to hostess them.

I haven't done any craft fairs yet, I'm looking into that now.

Debby

 

[Lindy]

Kinda sorta - I will be selling via carts / kiosks /tables at various malls along the Sunshine Coast and into Nanaimo here in BC. I will also be pursuing business wholesale, private label and e-commerce. So since my home area is Powell River then I will have my Grande Opening at the mall here as well as the Grande Opening of the website....after that the push is on.

Right now I'm making soap like mad to have enough soap, varieties of soap, body products, bath products, etc., etc., etc. And loving every minute of it. On top of that I am currently writing my business plan and feasibility study for a government sponsored program. Keeping just a little bit busy - and again loving it. I have learned so much just in writing this business plan, which isn't finished by the way, and although some of it scares me, the rest shows me that I am thinking along the right paths. My Business Workshop co-participants all believe that this is a very viable busines with the way I plan on marketing it. Sorry - this is a bit of a passion for me right now, so it probably more info that you wanted.....

 

[barefootbody]

No, not too much info! Wow, that sounds really great! I never thought of malls before, have no idea of the costs of such a venture, but would be interested in hearing how you do at it in the future.

I also need to do a business plan, gosh, I hate paperwork so have avoided it.

LOL, I understand the mad rush, I'm the same way before a showing. Right now I have 8 products & 10 completed scents, which I need to weed out the ones that aren't selling well, + experimenting with 5 new scents . . .

Last night I tried swirling for the first time, oh, I CP, well it didn't work out . . the color morphed out (also my first time using color - Lab Color from BB) on me, as I was pouring it it just kind of disappeared. One experiment at a time apparently isn't enough for me, then I decided to try HPing the same batch, stuck it in the oven at 150 for 2 hrs, well end results weren't good. Very dark color (color throughout all the same), no swirls at all!, and very oily. It's in the crock pot right now, another new experiment for me, rebatching, lol. Interestingly, the soap left in the pot, which wasn't in the oven, truned out very nice, nice color, nice texture, no oil slick.

 

[Lindy]

When you do an Oven HP it is going to look icky at the end - jelly, oily like - just plop it into your mold, tap it on the counter and let it sit. As it cools the colours will become more apparant. I use the F,D, & C Liquid colours as well as Micas and am quite pleased with the results. I haven't tried Lab colours so can't even begin to comment.

I'm going to start pursuing the spa parties some more shortly - just have enough on my plate right now. As for the malls around here the cost is around $60.00 a day - I've sold product off the cart/kiosks before in Calgary, it just wasn't this product... :wink: It worked well for me, but just like any show you have to be "on" the whole time you are there, inviting people to your spot and talking with them. I'm really hoping that this will work as well for me here, with this product, but I truly believe in may heart that it will.

If you PM me your email address I'll send you the Business Plan format, guide thingie that was given to me. Although it is a lot of work, it is also really helpful in getting you to think of all the products you can sell, how you can sell/market them, who your target market is, etc. By doing this I have already found additional ways of making sales....

 

[topcat]

I've just found this thread......hello and welcome from Australia!

Isn't it amazing the number of ways we can market and sell our handmade products? I have also thought of selling via party plan and Lindy has given me some great tips by reading her various posts (including this one!)

Barefootbody - finding hosts is key to marketing this way; moving your wares into the next home. One way to do this is if a guest buys several items and decides she cannot afford the next thing she really wants, suggest that if she has a get-together for you with some friends, family and neighbours, you will offer her that item as her hostess gift (you may need to attach a party sales goal to it depending on its retail price). Another way is to ask for help. Many people are glad to help out, so at a party when you are talking about your passion for your products, simply ask for guests to host a party for you - "Can you help me please?" can be very powerful.

BTW - Lindy doesn't ever give bad advice.....she is learning, like the rest of us are to one degree or another.....and always tells it as she sees it :wink: so you can learn a lot from her, and others here on the forum.

Tanya

 

[Lindy]

Oh Tanya! Thank you - that was really nice!

One of the things that I do to keep people interested while at a spa party is have them all make bath salt or milk bath or a basic sugar scrub. This way they fel like their time is well spent plus they learn that you actually know something about what you're doing and that you want to share that knowledge with them - not just take their money. Taking their money is important too btw.... 8)

It is so much fun and incredibly satisfying when they do the commercial - my soap comparison - their reactions are just priceless if they haven't done it before. I do two things for my hostesses - 1. I give them a gift which will include soap, a bath bomb, whatever I feel like plus 2. I give them 10% of the spa party sales towards their purchase.

 

[barefootbody]

Thanks Tanya & Lindy, I’m finding your input to be invaluable! My very best customer is leaving for 3 wks in Australia next week, don’t you try to sell her anything!!!

I haven’t done a “spa making” party yet, but have put the suggestion out there to several women & they really liked the idea. Can’t wait for spring! Milk bath is a great idea, easy & the ingredients are more readily available to the average person.

Lindy, I don’t understand, what is your commercial – soap comparison? All I’ve done to date is show them the ingredient list, Dove, etc v. mine.

For my last show, besides being very generous with products for my hostess, I also created a spa basket for her teenage daughter, with products & scents geared more towards a teenager & not part of my regular line. The daughter was absolutely thrilled, & it sure created good will from Momma, who, since the party, has been promoting me in the shops in her town, so that her friends can buy more product conveniently. Works for me, but the shops charge 40%, a bit steep, oh well, we’ll see how it does . . .

Debby

 

[Lindy]

The commercial - handcrafted comparison is where I have a bar of Dove/Camay/whatever and a bar of mine. Then I have them wash one hand & arm with the commercial soap then wash the other with mine. By doing that they get to see right then & there what the difference is between the two. I believe doing is always better than saying......

If a shop is taking your soap on commission or spec then the most you should pay them is 30% - if they wish to purchase it then they are going to want 50% so they can do their full mark-up. Remember, your product is special and is only available through you so unless you feel you have to have your soaps in there let them decide which amount they want to make on the soap. When they are carrying it on a commission basis, they are not taking any risks and therefore shouldn't be awarded for any.
JMO..... 8)

 

[IanT]

welcome to the forum!!!

 

[beachgurl]

Welcome