New Soap Making Book Coming Soon!

I don't really consider myself a procrastinator....only a person who sometimes takes on too many things. I am my happiest when I am busy so taking on many things is a joy to me. The only problem is that sometimes completion can take a long time. And thus is the story on the well intentioned soap making ebook.
I spent a lot of time in December working on this project because I felt I really needed to get it completed before I embarked on another project. I have recenlty been asked to write a few chapters for another book as well, so I really can't dilly around any longer. But.....I have to say another part of my lollygagging was the fact that I didn't really think this book was needed. Boy am I wrong. I spent an hour on the phone yesterday with one of my soap dvd purchasers trying to help her navigate through the world of colorants.
So now I am more convinced than ever that soap makers are a creative lot, but they are also smart and would appreciate a short cut to getting a successful business up and running. This one particular soap maker called me when she encountered another failed batch of soap (out of many in a row). The recipe was awesome, but the color was hideous. So she felt as though she couldn't sell it and make money....thus more wasted money on trial and error. So far she has invested about $1000 and would like to start recouping that investment and make real money.
So with new determination, I am working on finishing up the ebook that gives you an outline on how to shortcut setting up a profitable business. This book is a guide and you can certainly use your own creativity, but when you know for sure you would like to have a profitable business, following my suggestions will at least get you going with sellable products. Then use your creativity for extra soaps or seasonal soaps. So watch for a nearing completion date and special introductory pricing.
Enjoy your day!

Why Do Customers Buy More at a Lower Price?

Have you ever noticed that customers will buy more when you give them a deal? Why do customers buy more at a lower price?

I have noticed that grocery stores offer "deals" all the time. For instance they don't say everything is a dollar. Rather they will say 10 for $10. Even though they usually give you each item for $1 whether you buy 10 or not, the suggestion of 10 for $10 usually gets people to buy 10 and not just one or two. Why do you think this is?

I will give you my reason for this. In today's economic condition, I will always buy more at a lower price if it is something consumable, so that I don't have to buy it again next week at a higher price. (For more information on our economic condition you can visit my husband's financial website at Economy Carberator). But if I get to thinking I need to buy ten to get that price, then I will buy ten to get that price.

So I ask you, how are you doing in your sales this week? Do you need to get things going? It's a perfect time to get rid of some extra soap that may be laying around and offer a deal. What kind of "deal" can you offer? Some suggestions would be
buy 5 bars of soap and get an extra bar for FREE
put a soap package together where YOU get to choose the soaps (include one or two that didn't sell super well) and sell the soap package for special price. This is especially a nice idea for Mother's Day ( we are already past Valentine's Day)
Offer ALL customers a punch card where if they buy X number bars of soap they get one or two free. This can help build new repeat customers. If you are at a craft show and someone buys a few bars of soap from you and you give them a punch card and punch the card for them, they will very likely call you again (be sure your co. info is on that card!) Give your customers EXTRA punches when they buy five bars or more or a soap package from you at one time.
Give your customers an incentive if they sell a soap package for you. You know how those direct selling companies have "outside orders only types of classes"? You can offer a "hostess" a free bar of soap for every soap package she sells for you. You give the hostess a form that each buyer fills out so you can follow up with them and add them to your customer base. Make sure your form asks for name, address, phone number, and email. Also, helpful, if they are purchasing for a gift or for themselves.

I am sure you can think of even more incentives to get customers to buy more from you than just one bar of soap. I would love it if you would post your ideas in a comment. We can all help each other grow our soap making businesses.

Check out my website at How to Make Soap.

Starting a Soap Making Business

Feb. 12, 2008 - Starting a Soap Making Business
So you are thinking about starting a soap making business. What do you need to know to be successful. First, you need to be prepared to work hard for several months before you begin to see the money come in. Here are a few reasons why this is so.

You will need to gather your equipment and supplies.
You will need to make your soap.
You will need to let it cure.
You will need to get it packaged or get it ready for the point of sale.
You wll need an outlet to sell the soap.
All of these items require time. So you need to know this up front.

Starting a soap making business can create a lot of excitement. If you print out business cards and brochures right away, your word of mouth may bring your first customers while your soap is still curing. If you also make lip balms, body butter, bath salts, and such, you will have products that are "sale"able much sooner than your soap, so take that into consideration. You can also offer a few melt and pour types of soap while your initial cold-processed soap are curing. I really do not care for melt and pour soap (please, no offense to those of you who love it) because all too often I see the soap not looking very good after it has been transported, handled, manipulated -- the packaging tends to look dingy from the soap rubbing on it -- this doesn't happen with cold processed soap. Also note, that if you begin with a many different soaps and other products, that your inititial investment will be higher and it will take longer for you to break even and begin making a profit. I advise you to start small!

Please consider looking into liability insurance. I have always carried this and I think it is a good idea "just in case." "Just in case" someone's skin falls off after using your soap. I NEVER had a problem, but you never know. I did find a place with very reasonable rates (like around $10/month)

You should also get your business registered with your state so you can file your local and state sales tax. They get pretty angry if they find out you have selling something and haven't been paying in the required sales tax (did I mention they charge a hefty penalty?). In Wisconsin this required that I record how much soap I sold retail inside the state at my retail price. I did not pay sales tax on anything I sold out of state or anything I sold wholesale for resale. I had to submit my information on a form quarterly basis and then that was that -- very easy.

You will want to decide if you want to sell retail only or also sell wholesale. If you want to sell wholesale, you will need to find shops that are wanting to sell your soap. I had to do very little searching. I sold to many places and most of them came from word of mouth from people who had tried my soap. You may not be so lucky, so be prepared to take your soap everywhere you go and ask, ask, ask. Once you begin this endeavor, it is not a time to get fearful of rejection -- people will say no (as well as yes). Just do not take it personally -- it is business.

For your retail business, where are you going to concentrate on selling your soap? If you are going to go to a consignment type shop, you need to establish a booth. If you are selling a craft shows, you will need to locate them, get registered (well in advance for most) and prepare your booth display. If you are going to sell out of your home, you will need a corner or room where you can be organized enough to find everything you need at a moment's notice. You'll be surprised how many customers will pop over to get another bar of soap.

These are some ideas that you will need to think about before you begin starting a soap making business. It is by no means the complete exhaustive list, but many of the main ideas you should consider.

If you are unsure about starting a soap making business (maybe you've never made soap or made a successful batch of soap) you can check out my website at How to Make Soap. There I offer an on-line or DVD video tutorial about soap making and I include everything you need to know to make soap successfully from the very first batch. Dozens have learned how to make soap using this video and many are now "making real money" selling soap. I include everything you need to know to begin a home based soap making business.

Can You Make Money Selling Hand Made Soap Online

If you make soap, you may ask yourself, "Can you make money selling hand made soap online?" I will attempted to give you a few thoughts in regards to this endeavor.
First, do you know how to create a website and manage the website yourself? Website design is costly. If you do not have knowledge in this area, you could spend all of your profits creating, maintaining, and running the website (unless you have a huge volume of sales). I have heard many many individuals say they love their websites, but they do not make any money on it.
Do you know how to draw customers to your website. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of competing websites out there. How will people find you? Believe it or not.....you have to work daily on finding ways to draw people to your website. And you have to know how to capture these people to bring them back to your website. This takes consistant work. Some ways to draw people to your website include:
Linking to other websites and having backward links with your keywords embedded in the link on their websites.
Listing your website in directories (again with backward links to your website with your key words embedded inthe link)
Writing articles for free newletter article directories that contain your website backward link
paying for advertising (like pay-for-click)
paying for directory listings
This is the tip of the iceberg. If you have the desire, time, and knowledge to promote your website, then selling online is probably a good idea.
Can you afford to sell your soap at a price that will bring in customers and create repeat customers? Soap is very heavy, so it not easy to price your soap at a price people are wanting to pay and then add shipping on top of that. Are you willing to work for less profit if your soap doesn't sell at the price you normally sell it at?
One last thought. Many people have something they want to sell, so they decide they want to sell it on line. But the real question is......"What do people want to buy? Selling something you want to sell is like putting the cart in front of the horse. Why not sell what people want? So the long and short of it is.......Can you make money selling hand made soap online? .....The answer is.......Is there a demand for it? If you can find a niche that is currently not being satisfied, you can do great. But...... you have to offer something people are looking for. Maybe it is a specialty organic baby soap, or a bug repellent soap, or an ordor reducing soap, or something else. It just needs to be something that people want, that no one else (or very few people) are selling.
I hope that helps answer your question "Can you make money selling hand made soap online?"
Check out my website at How to Make Soap

Can you make money selling hand made soap online

If you make soap, you may ask yourself, "Can you make money selling hand made soap online?" I will attempted to give you a few thoughts in regards to this endeavor.

First, do you know how to create a website and manage the website yourself? Website design is costly. If you do not have knowledge in this area, you could spend all of your profits creating, maintaining, and running the website (unless you have a huge volume of sales). I have heard many many individuals say they love their websites, but they do not make any money on it.

Do you know how to draw customers to your website. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of competing websites out there. How will people find you? Believe it or not.....you have to work daily on finding ways to draw people to your website. And you have to know how to capture these people to bring them back to your website. This takes consistant work.

Some ways to draw people to your website include:

Linking to other websites and having backward links with your keywords embedded in the link on their websites.

Listing your website in directories (again with backward links to your website with your key words embedded inthe link)

Writing articles for free newletter article directories that contain your website backward link

Paying for advertising (like pay-for-click)

Paying for directory listings

This is the tip of the iceberg. If you have the desire, time, and knowledge to promote your website, then selling online may be a good idea.

Can you afford to sell your soap at a price that will bring in customers and create repeat customers? Soap is very heavy, so it may not be easy to price your soap at a price people are wanting to pay and then add shipping on top of that. Are you willing to work for less profit if your soap doesn't sell at the price you normally sell it at?

One last thought. Many people have something they want to sell, so they decide they want to sell it on line.

But the real question is......"What do people want to buy?"

Selling something you want to sell is like putting the cart in front of the horse.

Rather, ask yourself....what do people want? And how do you find out what people want?

Can you make money selling hand made soap online? .....The answer is.......If there a demand for it.

If you can find a niche that is currently not being satisfied, you can do great. But...... you have to offer something people are looking for. Maybe it is a specialty organic baby soap, or a bug repellent soap, or an ordor reducing soap, or something else. It just needs to be something that people want, that no one else (or very few people) are selling. Otherwise you may be building a costly "lemonade stand" that is sitting at the same street corner as 1,000 other lemonade stands.

I hope these questions help you consider for yourself "Can you make money selling hand made soap online?"

You can check out my website at How to Make Goat Milk Soap