Greetings from Melbourne, Australia

shop deals on amazon
Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
H

Hootabelle

New Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2014
Messages
2
Reaction score
1
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Hi everyone!

Brand newbie here. I've been looking at making my own soap for a few weeks now, and have only just started gathering my bits and pieces. Will hopefully be ready to go early next week (fingers crossed).

I made the mistake of telling my boss about my plans today, and she's now on my back to get cracking so I can sell my wares in her boutique cafe (I'm extremely poor right now and she is one of those people who jumps on any opportunity to make some cash). HOWEVER, after doing much research on here tonight, I'm thinking the costs of being (legally) able to sell my soap will most certainly overshadow the potential profit.

Anyway, getting waaaaaaaaay ahead of myself here... I haven't even made my first batch yet! Lol. I'm very much looking forward to getting started on my new hobby and am really keen to pick up some tips and tricks here :)
 
Welcome to the forum. It is an addictive hobby, that is for sure.

While it can be a money-sink, it need not be. But a lot of reading and planning (sounds like something you're already doing) as well as asking a lot of questions BEFORE making a batch can save a lot of waste and therefore money.

As for selling, I am a fan of the 12-month school of thought. After a year of making soaps you'll have the process and ideas pretty much sound, your recipes settled on and would have had examples of these recipes lying around so that you know how they will be after at least 6 months from production to use - so you basically know what the customer will end up with rather than what they purchase. I think this is information needed for selling, so the 12-month idea fits well.

There are a fair few soapers here who are also on that former colony, so ideas on where to buy supplies and so on will never be too far away.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. I agree with Susie, ask your boss to help with expenses to get you going. I also agree with Effy, I too am of the school of 1 year before thinking about selling. I look back at some of my old soaps even from after my first year (still wasn't selling) and what a difference in appearance and even recipes before I found just the right ones. Have fun making soap though, I still enjoy it at almost 5 years. And you don't have to spend a fortune as a beginner. Just choose wisely. Wish I had found this forum before I started buying oils etc that I really didn't need to make a usable soap.
 
Susie said:
Hey and welcome!

And if your boss is in such a hurry to sell your soap, maybe she can help fund the R & D it will take to get there. Just a thought!
Click to expand...

Haha, we're thinking alike. That was my first thought.

Welcome to the group Hootabelle
 
Hello and welcome from Arizona! Soap making is so much fun but addictive, so be prepared, lol. My favorite part of the process is having total control of every ingredient that goes into my soap. After lots of study plus trial and error, I know I'm providing my family with soap that's so much healthier than anything I can buy over the counter. It's truly a labor of love for me. Cheers!
 
Also, pay attention to shipping costs before ordering anything. It might be cheaper while you are still making small batches just to buy local oils whenever possible. It is much cheaper for me.

Your biggest cost, after equipment, will be for essential oils(EOs) and fragrance oils(FOs). So, you may want to delay using scents until you have a good recipe of reasonably priced oils. Then you can work on swirls and then scents.

You need to check all the federal and local regulations on selling and making soap as early as possible. That way you know what you have to do to prove you have a safe product, so you can put any procedures they require into your process as soon as possible.
 
Got my 80 y/o mom hooked. Gives her great joy to make things for others and keeps her occupied. She is on a fairly limited retirement income and has to watch her supply costs carefully. For Christmas, we are all giving her soaping supplies or gift certificates to buy soaping supplies. Maybe you could put that on your list for Santa. I know I would LOVE something like that as a gift.
 
Wow, thanks for the warm welcome and awesome tips!

Still waiting for my "beginners kit" to arrive. My mum bought it for me for my birthday (which was in October). She hadn't gotten me anything because I couldn't think of anything that I wanted. Once I read up on soap making, I knew exactly what I wanted lol.

I'm not going to ask my boss to pitch in with the selling costs. She is the most frugal person I know, and goes on and on and on about how every cent she has is going into her failing business (no, really. The business is going under in a huge way. Like, taking in less than $100 a day.... Yep.)

Anyway, thanks again. Can't wait to get started! I've also been looking at candle making... But that's another thread for another time :)


(PS. Apologies for posting in the wrong section. It was super late when I wrote my first post. Rookie mistake. Thanks to whoever moved it)
 

Similar threads

Grantxw8
New member in Brisbane Australia
Replies
11
Views
599
Tammyfarms
Tammyfarms
MelissaG
If I lose my business license, can I still sell?
Replies
11
Views
643
MelissaG
MelissaG
C
Another newbie from the UK!
Replies
4
Views
752
KiwiMoose
KiwiMoose
MichaelP
Hello From Southern California
Replies
13
Views
671
Janewoc17
Janewoc17
TheCronesCauldron
Soapmaker from the UK :)
Replies
6
Views
747
Benjifrazer
Benjifrazer

Latest posts

Back
Top