Initial inventory....

[Ford]

Hi everybody.
I know sales drives inventory. But what about initially?? You can't put 3 bar's on the shelf. And expect much. Would 2 dozen each. Of say 12 fragrances. Be too aggressive? Thanks.

 

[TheGecko]

Soap doesn’t go “bad”…it actually improves with age. The one thing you want to watch with older soaps is shrinkage.

With that said, it’s a tough question to answer because how are you going to be selling? Are you opening a brick and mortar store? Is this a weekly or monthly market? A set of seasonal craft fairs? Facebook Marketplace? Etsy shop?

 

[Ford]

Hi. Thank you for the reply. Maybe better said...
Been sharing my soap. Everyone loves it. Tell me I should be selling. Shop nextdoor, wants to sell my soap. Starting to bend to the pressure?
Have a basket, with 2 dozen bars. In my shop.(single chair tattoo shop, 29 yrs. Same location). And I'm happy with that. Fortunate to have a lot of things in place already. Store front, insurance, online presents. Still no interest in online sales. But seeing a need for a shopping cart. People from afar are asking. Maybe the local farmers market. Get out of the house. One day a week? When I retire?
Before I take the steps to say Yes, to the shop nextdoor. Just want to be sure I have enough soap. In place for maybe an initial curing cycle? Probably should have just said. "How much you ever sell. Your first day out?"
Thanks for looking.

 

[TheGecko]

How much are you selling right now? What are you selling the most of? How often do your customers return? What does your curing rack look like? How many folks from afar are willing to buy your soap online? What kind of soap are they asking for?

Inventory management is one of the toughest parts of having a business...space is money. Soap isn't perishable so it's not going to hurt to sit around for six months, but it's also less space that you have for stuff that does sell. You have to remember, it takes time (six weeks) to cure soap.

To be honest, it's going to be a bit of a guessing game for the first year and you'll undoubtedly have too much of one thing and not enough of the other. Starting out with a dozen bars of a dozen selling scents with backup of each in various stages of curing for the next 6 to 12 weeks weeks is probably not a bad start and then you can start adjusting from there.

A note about your insurance. It might cover you as a tattoo artist, but it's not going to cover your soap. It like having a homeowner/renter's policy...it will cover your vehicle while it's parked at home, but it's not going to cover it while it's on the road. You will need product liability insurance.