How soon to safely start selling?

I have been making soap for about six months. I feel confident in some of my recipes. After the first of the year, I will be looking into inusrance and business forms/licenses and such. How long was it before most of you started selling. I see another relatively new soaper on this forum, already has an etsy site and according to her postings she has only been making soap about six weeks. Don't mean to stir any pots other than soap pots.

I've been making soaps for about 3 years. I just recently started selling, primarily to friends and family although I have done a few farmers' markets and craft fairs and I'm starting to get a following, and a local store has asked me to place some items in their gift section.

I want to see how recipes, FO's, and colorants work/perform/look 8-12 months or longer after the soap is made, hence the reason it took me awhile to get started. There were some recipes that I loved at 5 months, and they just didn't age well. I'm glad that happened in my cabinet instead of on a customer's shelf.

Time is not always the only factor. One could have been making soap for a couple years and still not be ready if you only make a couple small batches a week. When I first started soaping (11 yrs. ago) I made several batches nearly everyday for a year before I started to sell. I gave a way a ton of soap to friends and family and it was at their insistance that I started selling.

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Tread carefully, everyone. This thread WILL NOT turn into a train wreck.

Saltysteele, all you need to do is read back through a few thousand posts and you'll understand why we urge caution when you decide to start selling.

It's not rocket science, but it is science.

I don't think there is a mandatory set time to wait .You need to make sure your recipe is good , that it doesn't get DOS ( you would not know this in 6 weeks ) .You need to thoroughly test it . I know how people feel that sell very soon , it's soap , friends say it nice etc , BUT they do not realize how much your soap making skills improve over time . Truly they do !
Wait until they get insurance ( if they do ) they asked me questions that I couldn't believe , if I told them I had been making it 6 weeks , I am pretty sure I would not have gotten insurance ( in Canada ) . You don't know enough in 6 weeks to be able to answer 1/4 of the questions .
While I agree 6 weeks is not enough time by along shot , it is someone's personal choice . I truly believe someone that sells within 6 weeks is mostly hurting themselves . Selling handmade soap is different than sewing an apron for sale or crocheting a bib to sell , very different .

SaltySteele, I haven't been soaping very long (since July) and do not intend to sell. However I will say that the soap I thought was GREAT in July isn't that fantastic now that I've learned more. I've been active on this forum and read almost everything. I've also read just about every book I can get my hands on and am horrified at the misinformation in every book I've read. Considering my small amount of experience, it makes me think twice that people who are the "experts" and have been soaping for decades still don't really know or understand the process entirely. The second batch I made from a book still isn't solid and already has DOS after 2 months. The author supposedly sold from that recipe for years!

Anyway I've built businesses from my hobby before, and it is possible. It can be thrilling and fun as well. I sold my first business last year after surpassing 6 figures in sales. But I look back at what I was selling at the beginning and cringe. My skills improved immensely over the first year. I don't think anyone is being elitist. Soap making IS just basic chemistry. But there's no good textbook like there is for chemistry. A lot can still go wrong and I've seen lots of posts from seasoned soapers who's recipes suddenly go wacky for no reason they can determine.

I hope you don't take this the wrong way, because I don't mean it to be cruel or disheartening. Just another side of the story, take it for what it's worth. Or just ignore it completely, I don't mind.

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Some people are never ready to sell. Some people may lack any or all of the following factors--lack of confidence, creativity, knowledge, motivation, and business sense. When you lack those you can't expect to be very successful at any venture.

There isn't a soapmaking forum that exists where this question doesn't get asked over and over again. It seems that people want to call out someone who they believe has jumped the gun with selling their wares much too soon. Ultimately, what's the point in asking the question? The people who are selling their stuff without taking the time to learn the craft or develop a plan quickly find out their dream of selling wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

If you are new to this, you will become tired of the question after a while, and see that it's just not worth even caring what others choose to do. It's best to focus on your own ability and not someone else's.

I have been making soaps for almost a year, and have made numerous batches. Had I started selling immediately, my buyers would not have purchased my best products. I continuously improve through trial and error. Everyone who has tried my soaps say I should start selling (I have one salon and one store who will carry them), but I want to keep experimenting until I know that I have formulated recipes that are the very, very best...including scents. EO blends can be exceptional or not (I do not use fo). I want the entire soap to be exceptional from the day it is cured until the day my customer is done using it (within reason of course; if they wait years I imagine the scent may fade). There are alot of excellent soapmakers out there...and I want to be known as one of them. However, I am a perfectionist, so no matter what I do, I always feel it's not good enough until it's perfect, so I may not be the one to give advise here!

Just thought I'd jump in since y'all are probably referring to me...the newbie who already set up an Etsy shop. I actually haven't sold any of my soaps yet, just given to family and friends for testing. I set up my shop the other day when I had some free time. I have another etsy shop where I sell my bags, so I thought I'd get it started while I had the time to do it.
The shipping costs are so high that I doubt I'll be doing much selling on Etsy till I figure out how to overcome that issue. Who wants to buy a bar of soap and then pay $8.50 for shipping? Not gonna happen. So all of you who are jumping all over getting excited...don't panic.

I'll probably sell a few soaps at some small craft fairs I'm doing this fall, nothing big-just community and schools. I'm doing the legal stuff and getting the forms done for the gov't as necessary. I will have my labelling in place and follow the rules for that.
I don't profess to know all I would need to know to run a major soapmaking company. That's not my plan. I'm quite happy in my work and make a great salary as an RN. I don't want a big soap business, but it would be fun to be able to share some of my soaps and let some other people enjoy them and maybe subsidize my hobby a bit.

juicybath said:

Who wants to buy a bar of soap and then pay $8.50 for shipping? Not gonna happen.

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Check into the post office's "flat rate shipping." They have 4 box sizes, as
much as you can put in for a flat rate. First one goes for $4.80 (holds about 2 bars of soap). If you set up an online account at the PO, you get a cheaper
rate.

thanks CF. I have a VentureOne account already, but haven't done much selling for a while so I'm not up on the current rates. Will have to check it out again.

juicybath said:

Just thought I'd jump in since y'all are probably referring to me...the newbie who already set up an Etsy shop. I actually haven't sold any of my soaps yet, just given to family and friends for testing. I set up my shop the other day when I had some free time. I have another etsy shop where I sell my bags, so I thought I'd get it started while I had the time to do it.
The shipping costs are so high that I doubt I'll be doing much selling on Etsy till I figure out how to overcome that issue. Who wants to buy a bar of soap and then pay $8.50 for shipping? Not gonna happen. So all of you who are jumping all over getting excited...don't panic.

I'll probably sell a few soaps at some small craft fairs I'm doing this fall, nothing big-just community and schools. I'm doing the legal stuff and getting the forms done for the gov't as necessary. I will have my labelling in place and follow the rules for that.
I don't profess to know all I would need to know to run a major soapmaking company. That's not my plan. I'm quite happy in my work and make a great salary as an RN. I don't want a big soap business, but it would be fun to be able to share some of my soaps and let some other people enjoy them and maybe subsidize my hobby a bit.

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Juicy, I dont think they were talking about you. It could have been me or any number of others who are selling within a year of making their first soaps. I sell what I believe to be VERY good products. I have been selling my m/p and bath bombs in my store for quite some time now. I now sell cphp because I have faith in the soaps and have had my family and friends testing them out and giving me honest feedback. I can tell you that without this forum I probably would not be selling cphp at this time. I have learned everything about soaping here. Just make sure your insurance is in line and your labels are legal and that your products are quality and safe.

Deda said:

Tread carefully, everyone. This thread WILL NOT turn into a train wreck.

Saltysteele, all you need to do is read back through a few thousand posts and you'll understand why we urge caution when you decide to start selling.

It's not rocket science, but it is science.

Click to expand...

What does this post mean? WILL NOT turn into a train wreck??? I dont get it.

bc, it was in reference to my post, with which i'll let sleeping dogs lie.

:wink: Deda was trying to avoid this topic turning into drama So 'This thread will not turn into a train wreck' was a warning to make sure history would not repeat...
Juicybath, this really hadn't got anything to do with you. Although I do not encourage selling before you're ready.

Juicybath & BC, I hope I didn't offend either of you or anyone else. I certainly did not in anyway mean to dicourage others from selling their products (I wish everyone much success...including me). I am just commenting based on my experiences, to assist others who may be unsure. I know my first number of batches were beautiful soaps in appearance and the recipes were from books I have read. Nonetheless, as I have experimented over the months, I have formulated much better recipes. The creaminess, bubbles, and the way the first batches left my skin is no comparison to my current batches. However, everyone does say they love all of them...so at least I haven't had any bad reviews from any of my batches and others may be starting with better recipes then I did. Juicybath, you are right about the shipping costs. One of the reasons I started making soap was because the last time I ordered three bars it cost $28 with shipping; that was when I decided to begin making soap. I think Castor is right, USPS website may be able to save you $ on that.