Business Ideas | Small Business Ideas: Start Your Own Homemade Soap Business

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Start Your Own Homemade Soap Business | Start a Soap Making Business

The soap industry is very lucrative these days. Are you dreaming about your own soap business? We can show you that starting a Handmade Soap Business is so easy; all it takes is thoughtful preparation and a little time.

In addition, you need some passion and good research to distribute your soap to the marketplace.
There is plenty of handmade soap in the U.S. market. If you search for it online you would find more than 300 pages of listings on this type of business. Therefore, it’s important to find your best niche and set yourself apart in terms of product offers.

Homemade Soap Business Guide

Detailed strategic planning is very important in a handmade soap business. You need to find cheap raw materials to purchase but ensure that the quality is still good. For the first few months of operation, the best thing to do is buy only the supplies you need to use for a month or two. Plan your production process ahead of time especially if your goal is to produce huge quantities of soap.

Another tip is to price your products low – calculate the cost for you to make one batch of soap. For example, if you made 50 bars costing only $20, then your cost per soap is 40 cents. Imagine your profit if you price each one for $3-$4!

Marketing Homemade Soap Business

You can also make a nice profit if you keep your mark-up low for each soap and then sell huge volumes of it. Here are some instructions on how you can grab your edge in this business:

Secure legitimate licenses and business cards – the license will make sure that you are professional and your business is legal. Be ready to hand your cards to everyone you meet.

Find good places to sell your soap – you can make a nice income even if you just sell in craft fairs. But don’t limit yourself here; you can actually approach local stores to distribute your product. Alternatively, you can sell a huge volume to wholesalers and let them carry your brand on consignment basis.

Make natural soap baskets to package several soaps – if you make a nice packaging for your soaps, you can sell them in bulk. For instance, your soap basket could contain a foot scrubber and bath mint together with 3 handmade soaps. Then, you can approach real estate brokers or other organizations to give it to their customers as premium gifts. Although it would only cost a few dollars to creatively put these baskets together, you can easily sell them for around $50-$75 depending on your chosen price.

Launch a website displaying your items – you can make more income by accepting credit cards as forms of payment. You can market your handmade soaps using a website and several forms of payment facility to make this possible for you.

Needed to Start a Soap-Making Business

Licenses

Insurance

Supplies

Education

Website

Advertising

How to Start Selling Homemade Soap

Homemade soaps and other beauty products sell well even in tough economic times. Novelty soaps and soaps with natural ingredients, visual appeal and wonderful scents are purchased as gift items and personal luxuries. Learn how to start selling homemade soap to earn extra money or start a new career.

Step 1

Make sure you are confident about your homemade soap's quality and look. Soap making takes some practice to get the ingredients and process right. Use the soap yourself and give it as gifts to get some feedback about your soap.

Step 2

Learn how to make soap if you haven't already started. Various ways to make soap include cold process, hot process, melt and pour kits and glycerin soap making. Experiment with different methods to find the one that is easiest and fastest.

Step 3

Figure out who your target market is. The type of molds, colors and scents you use in your soap will appeal to different customers. Soaps for kids or parties will appeal to parents or grandparents, soaps with natural ingredients will appeal to earth conscious customers, and soaps that are packaged with other beauty products or in boxes could appeal to corporate gift givers. These are just a few of the possible target customers. Who you sell to will determine where and how to start selling homemade soap.

Step 4

Design and print business cards, a catalog and brochures. Give them out to customers and mail updated catalogs periodically to get repeat business and referrals.

Step 5

Sell online. Many web hosting companies offer inexpensive e-commerce sites with templates for easy design. Etsy is a popular site for selling craft products with low fees. There are many online craft malls to sell your products. Find ones that appeal to your target market.

Step 6
Check your local paper for upcoming craft fairs or local festivals. Find out how to rent a booth and what supplies you'll need to bring. Some festivals will provide a table and canopy.

Step 7

Get the supplies you need to set up your booth. It may be possible to rent a canopy for outdoor sales; check with local party supply rental companies. You'll need a table, a table cover and a cash box at the minimum. Create a more appealing booth with decorations, ways that show how your soap is used, and displays that put your soaps at eye level.

Step 8

Team up with other craftspeople who sell related items like beauty products and favors. You'll cover more territory with a larger product.

Step 9

Work on your sales skills. Soap making is a lot different from soap selling, so it may take some practice to get comfortable with sales. Your soap may sell itself online and at farmers markets, but you'll have to work on being forceful and persuasive to get more aggressive sales. Consider partnering with someone with proven sales skills.

Step 10

Give away product to be used in bathrooms at local restaurants and businesses. Put the soaps in a small basket or soap dish that has your business card attached.

Step 11

Ask about placing product in local stores, like gift shops, home stores, boutiques and stores that sell health and beauty products.

References (2)

Photo Credits (2)

2 comments:

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Homemade SoapMarch 6, 2014 at 9:51 AM
Homemade Soap, Homemade Soap Business, Soap Making Business, Start a Soap-Making Business, Start Your Own Homemade Soap Business
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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

Pages

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Start Your Own Homemade Soap Business | Start a Soap Making Business

Homemade Soap Business Guide

Marketing Homemade Soap Business

Needed to Start a Soap-Making Business

How to Start Selling Homemade Soap

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6
Check your local paper for upcoming craft fairs or local festivals. Find out how to rent a booth and what supplies you'll need to bring. Some festivals will provide a table and canopy.

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Step 10

Step 11

References (2)

Photo Credits (2)

2 comments:

Small Business Ideas | List Of Small Business Ideas

Pages

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Start Your Own Homemade Soap Business | Start a Soap Making Business

Homemade Soap Business Guide

Marketing Homemade Soap Business

Needed to Start a Soap-Making Business

How to Start Selling Homemade Soap

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6Check your local paper for upcoming craft fairs or local festivals. Find out how to rent a booth and what supplies you'll need to bring. Some festivals will provide a table and canopy.

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Step 10

Step 11

References (2)

Photo Credits (2)

2 comments:

Small Business Ideas | List Of Small Business Ideas

Step 6
Check your local paper for upcoming craft fairs or local festivals. Find out how to rent a booth and what supplies you'll need to bring. Some festivals will provide a table and canopy.