Thinking about selling

[Mouse]

Okay, I'm wavering on whether to sell or not; it's come up in various ways in the last few days, including one friend who just opened a business at a co-op retail store where she thinks my soap could sell very well, another friend, who out of blue told me he and his wife love my soap and would love to invest (!) if I start a business, comments on my soaps I post on Facebook, etc.
I'm confortable with my formula and recipes at this point enough to do it-I have a list of soaps I want in regular rotation if I do it, plus seasonal Christmas soaps and the like.
But, how in the world do people make money? After supplies, insurance, table fees at farmer's markets, and other things I probably haven't realized need consideration, what do end up really pulling in profit?
In my area, there's plenty of competition-handmade soaps in local boutiques, and at least two or three soapers at every farmer's market.
I'm not sure of the scale of production to start with. I don't want to make 200 pounds
of soap just to have sit on my shelves at home, but I don't want to underproduce because of the cure times.
Can anyone give me advice? At this point, (Three years in) I make soap generally in 4 pound batches and give it away. I really think I want to do this, if for no other reason, to make back the money I spend on it, though I dream about quitting my job and jumping into this with my energy.
Quite honestly, I'm not sure if I have the multitude of talent required to do the whole package-there's so much more involved than making and cutting soap. Packaging, branding, marketing, face-to-face sales with the public, creating and maintaining an online presence, bookkeeping, taxes....I get overwhelmed just thinking about it all.

 

[Hazel]

This sounds scary and exciting at the same time. I can't answer your questions but hopefully someone will be able to and give some advice. Did you see the "Are you ready to sell" thread? It talks about checking local & state regs, zoning laws, registering as a business, etc. If you haven't seen it, you might want to look at it and use it as a guideline on what to check out. Here's the link http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17621

As to having a friend invest in your business, I know I'm cynical but I wouldn't want to accept money as an investment without some type of written agreement. Borrowing money can ruin a friendship. I think you'd seriously have to consider what else this person can bring to your business. Maybe this friend or his wife could help with packaging, etc. Maybe they have would have knowledge and skills in areas which would help you. But this is just my opinion.

I don't know if you've already looked at the SCORE website. They give free business advice and you might be able to get a mentor.

http://www.score.org/

Don't forget that you can post online links in your sig line. You might want to add your facebook link for now to get more traffic to your page. This is just a suggestion.

I wish I could help you more. Good luck and I hope it works out fantastic if you decide to go for it.

 

[Mouse]

Thanks for the reply. I have read the sticky several times, and done much research into various aspects of this.
As far as the investor friend, I probably wouldn't accept the money, but the fact that he offered said a lot to me and is one of the reasons I am giving the whole idea serious consideration.

 

[Bigmoose]

I would not take money from someone else. Selling soap is a tuff business. The one question I would ask you is "What sets your soap apart from the rest?" If you are just another vendor selling soap and blending in it will be very tuff to make it go. Check and see what other soap vendors are selling thier product for, not just in your town but other areas that you think you might be selling. I am not trying to talk you out of selling, I love most every minute of it but it took awhile for me to get things going. I am always working on things late at night, working on recipes, changing labels, working on online stores. There is always something that needs to be done. I think you mentioned selling at a consignment store as well. I am sure there are some who do well with them but I have not. I did 3 different ones and will never do another. Slow sales and theft were the problem. On the positive side it is very rewarding when things go well and I would not trade it for anything.

I do wish you many sales and good luck with your business.

Bruce

 

[whistlernatural]

One of the best things about this business is that everyone does (or should use soap, so it is a market that can handle competition. I am a firm believer that if the stars are aligning, then you should probably follow them. However, the most important step with any business is developing a detailed business plan with reasonable expectations, and also worst & best case scenarios, and then you can make your decision as to if this is reasonable to do alone, with an investor and/or partners, or something that should stay as a hobby. There are great budget software programs available online, but I prefer using excel myself. If you decide to move forward with the business model, don`t forget about your budget... it should be a tool used from the start right until the end. Especially if you choose to sell your business down the road, your budget history and future projections will be very important to the purchaser.

Good luck!!! It is a roller coaster at times, and no matter how prepared you are, there will always be something to throw you off balance. But this is the absolute BEST job in the world

Lisa
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