Soap Business - Manufacturing vs Artisan / Craft

[kryse13]

WOW! I Would go with build a shed but then it would have to be up to code and inspected and that would get crazy expencive. hmmm lease a closet, or better yet bring your soap making stuff to THEIR building and claim it is now your manufacturing shop. LOL "That isn't cupcakes, thats soap!" *bubbles coming out of their mouths as they chew* he he

I'm really sorry they are being so silly

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Thinking out loud, but if the issue is that you need to do this because you are looking to sell AND manufacture within the city limits, what happens if you are not only making it in the city but selling it exclusively outside of the city?

Then what happens if you are not making it in the city, but just selling it in the city?

So you could in theory make it inside the city, sell it to a shell company outside the city, then from this shell company sell it inside the city. So the selling inside the city is not done by the manufacturer.

Complicated, but might be an option.

 

[Derpina Bubbles]

Thinking out loud, but if the issue is that you need to do this because you are looking to sell AND manufacture within the city limits, what happens if you are not only making it in the city but selling it exclusively outside of the city?

Then what happens if you are not making it in the city, but just selling it in the city?

So you could in theory make it inside the city, sell it to a shell company outside the city, then from this shell company sell it inside the city. So the selling inside the city is not done by the manufacturer.

Complicated, but might be an option.

I read this and my head exploded. Literally, exploded. I love it. No chance you're secretly plotting to take over the world and soap making is just a front?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I did an aptitude test years ago and one suggested career path was law

I can understand why they have the regulations, but when it is so over the top like this case, then I enjoy trying to find totally legal ways to follow the rules to the letter but still has a good result.

For example, what part of soap making is manufacturing? I think logic would lead us to the actual combining oils and lye together - melting oil and mixing lye is not manufacturing. Putting batter in to a mold and cooling it is not manufacturing. Packaging soap is not manufacturing. You could argue that it is all part of the process as a whole, but would they let you do all of it except packaging? No, it's still manufacturing. Could you take liquid oils and a lye solution and mix it? No, because it's the mixing that is the manufacturing part. You can melt oils and mix chemicals in to a solution - people do it every single day. But combining them together is making soap.

So therefore, if you took your melted oils, lye solution and pot outside of the house and combined it to make soap, you are not manufacturing in the house.

 

[neeners]

^^ I agree with you. and, you can also argue that baking a batch of cookies is also considered manufacturing. so if you're going to do a bake sale at work or school, would you then have to go outside of city limits to make the items then bring them in the sell it? where's the line? some regulations are just insane (this one being one).

 

[CaraCara]

Registering the business with the province isn't a problem... it's dealing with the city in order to get a vendor's permit and business license that's the issue. Without a business license and vendor's permit, I can't "legally" sell my soaps within city limits. They also stated I need to complete a police clearance, and that my home has to pass a fire inspection by the local authorities. It just gets dumber and dumber...

Holy cripes! I guess I should look into local by-laws here to see what the bright sparks may or may not have stacked against me. That's just ridiculous what you have to contend with.

 

[neeners]

can you make soap in your house and sell it outside city limits? like at St. Jacob's market or another market outside of the Waterloo area?

 

[user 12568]

can you make soap in your house and sell it outside city limits? like at St. Jacob's market or another market outside of the Waterloo area?

I don't think so... but I never really asked. I was just told that if I planned to sell from my home (or any other address) for most of the year, I would need a permanent vendor's permit which costs $351 for 2013. If selling anywhere else, I would need an additional temporary vendor's permit which costs $325 for 3 days, and is site specific. I'm not sure if I would need additional permits from Waterloo as well, if I plan on selling there... but as this continues to spiral downwards, nothing would surprise me.

It just boggles my mind how doing small business (of any kind) has become so dang difficult. Why do I need a police clearance to work in my own home with no employees and no customers coming to my door??? Why do I need to pass a fire inspection as well??? Both items would be simple enough to complete, but I feel they are unnecessary and only serve to block small businesses from starting up. :evil:

At any rate, the point is probably moot as I am not even able to make the soap to begin with. It's no wonder the other soapers where I live are working below the radar and not responding to my emails (likely for fear of being outed). It seems I may be forced to do the same...

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Don't give in yet, chap - stiff upper lip and all that.

Do you have small business advice centres in your area? Maybe even invest a few coins in a legal advice specialising in this topic in your area. I bet you're not the first person to have this issue and I bet other people are managing to do it legally and without too much pain

 

[user 12568]

You must have been reading my mind... I just looked up the contact information for the Small Business Centre in this region... I'm going to see if I can meet with one of their advisors (1hr free consultation) to see if they can shed some light on this situation.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Brilliant! Let us know how it goes

 

[Khanjari]

You must have been reading my mind... I just looked up the contact information for the Small Business Centre in this region... I'm going to see if I can meet with one of their advisors (1hr free consultation) to see if they can shed some light on this situation.

Good luck! Hope to get some good news! Keep us posted!