Starting a soap business- LLC?

[kaseencook]

Hehe, well hopefully it does scare off those people who are just out there to sue people to get a buck - like that lady who put a finger in her fast food. I hope no one finds a finger in my soap

Has anyone actually seen/heard of a homemade soap maker being sued?

I googled it, but didn't find anything related. It is a huge paranoia, and we have to payout tons of money to get insurance companies to ease our paranoia.... well I guess that's how insurance works, he he :wink:

 

[christellita]

that's a good question- i've never heard about anyone getting sued but in all my books it always warns about it. I'm definitely paranoid!
Thanks to all for all the great advice. I definitely think I will talk to a consultant before I make this decision!

 

[Lindy]

I think the insurance is just good business. As my Business Advisor put it - we are increasingly living in an age where people would rather sue than take responsibility for their own actions or talk about it with the person they feel/believes is responsible for their problem. Has it happened that a soaper got sued? Don't know - could it? You bet. The other thing is that depending on where you're selling you may be required to have the insurance. For instance, the malls that I have booked space in require I carry my own insurance - this is required by their insurance companies.

Just my 2 cents..... 8)

 

[kaseencook]

I agree that insurance it a good idea, I suppose it's just a sad reality of today's society, I just wish it wasn't so dang expensive! :shock:

 

[Etelka]

Hey there,
I've been thinking of starting a small soap business! I'm so excited. Does anyone have experience with this that could give me advice about sole proprietor vs. LLC? I don't want to get sued personally if there's a lye pocket in my soap or something. Any advice would be great!
Thanks!

How long have you been soaping christellita? If you're even slightly worried or entertaining the idea of lye pockets or something in your soap, you should not be selling them
Etelka

 

[christellita]

I've been soaping for over a year now. I just used lye pockets as an example - i'm more worried about people getting an allergic reaction to an ingredient and trying to sue me for it (even if i have it labeled). I'm not too computer savvy so I've been making soap alone for a year and now that i've found this forum, I'm asking all these questions that i wish i had the answers to a long time ago!!!! :wink:

 

[Lindy]

Christellita - good on you for wanting to ask these additional questions. I don't think we ever quit learning no matter how long we've been doing something.

 

[LomondSoap]

OMG your insurance is so expensive!
In the UK, I can buy £1 million liability for £70 or $125 CAD.
What a huge difference. Do you all have to have products certified by cosmetic chemists? That's quite a big cost here.
Interesting thread...

 

[Lindy]

Hey Corrie - no we don't have to do any certification - we have to register our recipes with the government but there is no cost or investigation or approval process. That's probably why it is so expensive...

 

[Etelka]

I've been soaping for over a year now. I just used lye pockets as an example - i'm more worried about people getting an allergic reaction to an ingredient and trying to sue me for it (even if i have it labeled). I'm not too computer savvy so I've been making soap alone for a year and now that i've found this forum, I'm asking all these questions that i wish i had the answers to a long time ago!!!! :wink:

Sorry, I didn't mean to step on your toes or anything like that, but some ppl think they can have a few batches under the belt and start selling. I didnt mean to offend you
Our insurance is high but yours is way too high, so if you list all your ingredients and have your warning on there like nut allergies or to avoid certain eos during pregnancy, how can they go after you, isn't up to the consumer to decide if they are allergic to something?

 

[kaseencook]

Indeed I think the only thing a person could really sue for would be claiming that the soap was still lye heavy or (as said) contained a pocket of lye. That's the only negligence I can think of besides wrong labeling.

If all ingredients are labeled on the package, I agree, you won't think that the consumer would have much of a case because a consumer could be allergic to ANY product and people have to be responsible for them selves. I suppose if they claimed that their reaction was due to lye in the soap then how could anyone know if they are not just allergic to something else in the soap that is not lye? You would need the original soap and soap testing details for every soap to prove it was or was not lye heavy, and even that is not much good because the soap will have changed by the time it would go to court...

I imagine it would be very hard to prove someone was negligent by selling lye heavy soap. It would have to be an extreme case. I agree, if a soap is labeled properly, and someone has an allergic reaction, it is not the result of negligence. But democratic judicial systems can be rediculus sometimes, so we have to have our shields ready :wink:

 

[christellita]

No worries Etelka! You didn't offend me at all 8)