Soap Business

evergreensoap · Jan 6, 2014

Good morning! I'm relatively new to the soap making industry and have a couple questions. I'm an 18-year veteran in the military and getting ready to retire in just a couple years. Since I have been working for "The Man" for so long, I've decided that I'm not going to work for anyone else again. That being said, I have searched a bunch of different business ideas, and I keep coming back to soap making.

I'm not asking for your secrets of the trade, but I am curious to see how well others are doing in this industry. Here are some demographics of where I'll be doing business:

- Mainly in eastern Washington (Spokane-area)
- Town of residence is 180 people, so will obviously hit the larger cities/towns in my area
- Start off with about 10-15 scents, add more seasonally
- Still deciding on exclusively soap (CP and MP?) or if I'll add lip butter, chap stick, etc. to the line of products
- Still calculating consistent cost-to-make and retail prices
- I'm a freelance web designer, so I'm not overly concerned with internet presence--I'll get that off the ground myself

Any advice you can give this newbie would be appreciated. Again, not looking for your secrets, just advice and lessons learned. I retire in two years...time to get the ball rolling.

Thanks.

Obsidian · Jan 6, 2014

Hello neighbor, I'm right across the boarder in Idaho. Have you been out to visit greencastles soap supply in Spokane yet? If you are completly new to soapmaking, they do offer classes. They also have a pretty decent supply of scents, some oils and other goodies.

Costco out in the valley has good prices on kirkland olive oil and its the only store that carries avocado oil and its really affordable. Worth it to pick up a costco card if you are going to be selling.

Can't help you with the business side as I'm still getting prepared to start selling myself. The best advice I can give you for now is to start making soap, a lot of it until you find a recipe you and your testers like.

The Efficacious Gentleman · Jan 6, 2014

There is enough information available about the regs and so on, plus it's so variable from state to state from what I've heard, so I'm not going to even go there - there will be others way better suited than I am on that score.

I will ask - how well do you enjoy making soap? If you're going to be doing something as a business, you have to know that you actually enjoy it. And not just "It's okay", but if you're selling to people at markets, they will want to see someone who is passionate about what they do.

If you think about someone who has never ever taken a photo deciding to start a photography business - it would seem strange to decide that before trying it out to see if a) there is enjoyment and b) there is ability.

Soaping is part science, part art. From the science, you can learn techniques and ratios and properties of oils. You can learn all of this - but you will need to be creative. You'll need to market it well and sell it well.

Go back to the photography idea, and you can learn all there is about your camera and the technical aspects of photography, but if you can't 'see' a picture and frame it well, you won't do well at all. And even then, the best wedding photographers (as an example) aren't always the best photographers - you have to be good at the people side of it as well as the business side as well as the technical and artistic side.

Make soap. A TON of soap. You want 10-15 scents plus seasonal? Make them up, see how they feel to use, see what your target market think of them. How are they after 6 to 12 months? If you sell a soap that is 3 months old and then 3 months later you see that one from the same batch is going rancid, there is possibly a dodgy soap out there that can do someone serious harm.

But above all, enjoy

Soap making is awesome and I actually find it up there on the relaxing chart with cooking and smoking a pipe!

cmzaha · Jan 6, 2014

First I want to thankyou for working for all of us in your 18 years of Service

If you are planning a making a living at this you will most likely be very disappointed. I am sure you have a great retirement from the service and if you only need this to supplement income it can be a great hobby. The competition is brutal in this industry, so many think it is a make money quick business. My daughter works daily at promoting her web sales and after 4yrs online she is just starting to see any profit. Although 2013 found sales down 40% online and at the farmer markets. My daughter handles the website and makes her end of products, I do the farmer markets and make my end of the products. Since retirement and the economic crash, which our last business got caught in, I find we have to supplement our income. I do 3-4 markets a week and also sell crochet hats I make. Some weeks I only sell more hats and very few B&B products. Problem with farmer markest, is the fact you usually have the same people attending each week and they do not need to buy products every week, and if you do not do the market weekly, if it is a weekly market, you risk another soapmaking coming in and losing your spot. So you need to get well established in your markets.
As far as consistent products nope I do not find there is any. For example, solid sugar scrubs and salt scrubs used to sell like crazy. Not anymore, with all the recipes floating online people are going to Michaels buying mp and making their own solid scrubs. As I stated, brutal business.
My daughter, after 2 years of working on a new product has finally nailed it and we are going to try to hit the market hard before anyone figures out how to make it. It is a product with a recipe online but we perfected it. (nope, not telling)
I am not trying to discourage you, but just being realistic. I do wish you much success in your endeavors

evergreensoap · Jan 6, 2014

The Efficacious Gentleman said:
There is enough information available about the regs and so on, plus it's so variable from state to state from what I've heard, so I'm not going to even go there - there will be others way better suited than I am on that score.

I will ask - how well do you enjoy making soap? If you're going to be doing something as a business, you have to know that you actually enjoy it. And not just "It's okay", but if you're selling to people at markets, they will want to see someone who is passionate about what they do.

If you think about someone who has never ever taken a photo deciding to start a photography business - it would seem strange to decide that before trying it out to see if a) there is enjoyment and b) there is ability.

Soaping is part science, part art. From the science, you can learn techniques and ratios and properties of oils. You can learn all of this - but you will need to be creative. You'll need to market it well and sell it well.

Go back to the photography idea, and you can learn all there is about your camera and the technical aspects of photography, but if you can't 'see' a picture and frame it well, you won't do well at all. And even then, the best wedding photographers (as an example) aren't always the best photographers - you have to be good at the people side of it as well as the business side as well as the technical and artistic side.

Make soap. A TON of soap. You want 10-15 scents plus seasonal? Make them up, see how they feel to use, see what your target market think of them. How are they after 6 to 12 months? If you sell a soap that is 3 months old and then 3 months later you see that one from the same batch is going rancid, there is possibly a dodgy soap out there that can do someone serious harm.

But above all, enjoy Soap making is awesome and I actually find it up there on the relaxing chart with cooking and smoking a pipe!

Thanks for the perspective. I really do enjoy making soap. I haven't sold (or attempted to sell) any product. Right now I make it for my family and friends with mostly positive reviews. As a web designer, I have a bit of an artistic side and enjoy coming up with new ideas and trying different things. Starting a business is something I've always wanted to do, but have had a difficult time coming up with an idea or business that I was passionate about, until I started making soap. This business would be a supplement to my retirement income, which is something, but not enough to live on for a family of four, that's for sure.

You made an excellent point on the soap and how well it's aged over time. That's something definitely to look at.

The Efficacious Gentleman · Jan 6, 2014

It's great that you love it. I use the photography as an example as I have done that, but now I really struggle to get the camera out having been so over exposed (ba-dum.....tish!) to it. It was never really enough of a passion for me to be honest, so it died.

Feedback from friends and family is very good, especially when they tell other people - if you ever want to know how honest a family member is, look at whether or not they tell their friends, friends who don't know you, how they need to use your products!

As you say, you have two years before retirement to get everything sorted, too. Looking forward to seeing how it all carries on

pamielynn · Jan 6, 2014

Just remember, too, that once you are "successful" you will be grinding out loaf after loaf of the same bars. This can awesome - or it can be a drag.

evergreensoap · Jan 6, 2014

Thank you for all the feedback. You've definitely helped me see a different side of this business. I'll let you know how everything turns out. By nature (or perhaps from having instilled in me through the military), I'm not one that gives up easily. I understand and appreciate that this isn't one of those so-called "get rich quick" (or at all) schemes, and that's not why I have decided to pursue it. I'm excited to hit the ground running and hope that my mistakes are few. Thanks again.