The Soapmaker's Profit Companion Unique, Proven Marketing Strategies

& Profit Pulling Sidelines to Grow Your Business

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published by

Homeway Press PO Box 187

Canmer, KY 42722

www.homewaypress.com

Copyright 2005, Homeway Press, all rights reserved

Marketing Your Soaps

There are many ways to market your soaps and homemade bath products. I have found that giving free samples is one of the best methods for getting new customers for my soaps.

You can cut 16 samples from one basic 4 oz. bar of soap by cutting the bar into 8 pieces, then cutting those pieces in half. Next, place a piece of the soap in a small craft Ziploc bag (you can get these at Wal-Mart in the Crafts section) and label it with your business information using regular Avery mailing labels.

To distribute your samples, place them in attractive baskets and visit a few non-competing stores to see if they will let you leave your baskets on their counters.

You can also staple these to your business cards, and hand them out as you normally would a business card.

Yet another method I have found that works better than the above two would be to make what are called fish bowls and leave these at area businesses. To make a fish bowl, first print out some cards for customers information such as name, address and phone number. Next, purchase a few containers that are clear, and that has a secure lid on them, that are about the size of a regular fish bowl. Some people actually use fish bowls, but I have found this causes problems because the fish bowls break easily, and cannot be closed to prevent theft of your customers information.

Now take the lid of your container, and cut a slot that is big enough for your slips of paper that you printed off earlier to slip into when they are folded in half. Secure your lid onto your container with tape and then cover the tape with attractive ribbon.

Next, make a sign stating that anyone that enters your drawing for a free whatever will receive a free soap sample in the mail. The whatever can be a gift certificate from the store that lets you place your fish bowls on their counters (this helps promote the store, thus making the store owner more agreeable to letting you use their counter space), or it can be a few bars of soap from your inventory or both.

Next, locate stores that do not mind sharing some of their counter space with you. This is where you'll place your fish bowls.

Although this method costs a bit more because you are offering a prize, and because you will need to mail your samples, it also produces better results than by just handing out samples.

You will get potential customers addresses and phone numbers, when you mail your sample you can also include information about your products, and you can also send them a follow up mailing asking for their input on how well they liked your sample. This information can be very valuable towards the growth of your business.

You can also package samples of your bath salts and scrubs in the small zip lock bags as well, and use these instead if you do not make soap.

Selling Soap By The Loaf ~ Or Your Own Soap Butcher Shop

Maybe you have decided to turn your soap-making hobby into a full time business, and have decided to rent a storefront.

If this is the case, then you may find that selling soap by the slice is a wonderful way to sell your soaps while providing wonderful entertainment for your customers.

In old-fashioned butcher shops, meat was sold by the pound as the butcher cut it directly from the carcass in the freezer. The butcher would cut the meat, weigh it then package it quickly in wax-paper for the customer.

You can also use this method to sell your soaps! This not only saves time and money in packaging, but is also an attractive method that customers love.

To do this, first figure the cost per ounce that you will need to make a profit from your soaps. This cost will probably need to be calculated per loaf of soap, as we all know some recipes cost more to make and will cost the consumer more.

Once you have your cost per once calculated, you will know what to charge per cut soap.

There are many different ways to display your soap loaves in your store. You can set up an old fashioned table decorated with old crocheted doilies. Then arrange your loaves on several meat cutting boards, with a sharp knife provided for each individual loaf.

You can use overturned old wooden barrels as individual tables per loaf, or you can create a setup using old kitchen counters lined along your walls. You may even want to display some other antique items there as well.

Once you have your loaves displayed in an attractive manner, you are ready for business. You can cut the soap slices yourself or let your customers cut their own slices to the thickness that they like (check to be sure this is covered by your insurance policy first).

Once the slices are cut, weigh them, package them in plain wax paperthen put your business label on the wrapper.

By using this method, you cut and wrap as your soap is sold and save a lot of time and money because you do not have to worry about purchasing decorative boxes and bags. Nor do you have to worry about perfect cuts. Your customers will not care about packaging nor soap that may be cut a bit off, they are instead excited that they can come in, tell you how much they want and pay by the ounce instead of the bar.

Some customers want larger bars, whereas some would like a lot of smaller bars in different fragrances and designs possibly as gifts.

The fact that they can pick and choose the sizes they like is much more appreciated than a decorative box that costs them an extra 50 cents.

You can even go a few steps further by offering cake shaped loaves scented with fruits (use plastic Tupperware cake lid to make round cake soaps), clear wrapped candy soaps scented with peppermint or root beer (use small PVC pipes and melt and pour to make clear candies, then wrap them in clear cellophane) and you can even offer bath soaks by the scoop.

To offer the bath soaks by the scoop, just mix up your favorite bath soak recipe, or bath tea recipes, and place a large amount in a covered attractive container, then scoop into paper bags as the customer orders.

Using these methods, you can easily create a storefront that is not only exciting for your customers to shop from but that also will save you time and money. Just be sure that if you use knives, they are kept out of reach of little hands when children come into your store. You may be more comfortable providing the knife when the customer is ready to order, instead of just keeping them by the loaves.

Spa Foot Pampering Party Plan

This is a wonderful party plan to increase sales of your bath salts.

If you do not know how to make bath salts, I put the instructions at the end of this party plan.

This party plan is fun, exciting and will have your guests feet feeling oh so sweet.

You will need the following things for your party:

Refreshments (Cookies and tea or Cake and coffee is fine)

Olive Oil (4 tablespoons per guest)

A clean towel per guest (hand towels work great)

Foot soaking container per guest

You can use large plastic bowls, bath containers from the hospital or do as I do, buy cheap rubber maid containers. Just make sure they are large enough for two feet to fit in comfortably.

First, invite as many friends as you like to come to your party. Ask them to wear clean socks, as they will be getting their feet wet. Once your friends arrive have them sit down and take their shoes off and place a container at each guests feet.

Fill the containers with warm (NOT HOT) water. Pass out one bag of salts to each guest. Next, grab your olive oil, and ask each guest to pour half a bag of their salts in one hand, then you add 2 tablespoons of olive oil in their hands.

Have them rub one foot gently with the oil and salts then place their foot in the tub of warm water. You continue moving to each guest, and as you are done, start again with the first guest and have them use the rest of their salts (give another 2 tablespoons of olive oil) to their other foot.

Once all of your guests have soaked their salt soaked feet for about 5 minutes, you will then want them to scrub the oils off their feet (provide soap if some prefer it) and dry them with the towels.

Your guests feet will feel soft, silky smooth and very good once they have completed their foot spa.

Now serve refreshments. As your guests eat, inform them that they may also purchase salts to take home with them so they can pamper their feet at home as well. Tell them it is also very romantic for them to give the treatment to their spouses.

To make bath salts to resell for this party plan, you will need epsom salts, food coloring, sea salt, cocoa butter and fragrance.

Mix 2 bags of epsom salts, 2 ounces of grated cocoa butter and 1 cup of fine sea salt in a stainless steel bowl.

Add enough colorant to color your salts to your likeness, then mix 2 tablespoons of fragrance with the mixture and mix thoroughly until everything is incorporated well.

Package your salts by spooning them into small zip-lock bags that can be obtained in the Crafts section of Wal-Mart. Add an attractive label, and your salts are ready to resell for some welcome extra cash.

The smaller bags like these are usually sold for 50 cents to $1.00 per bag.

Developing your own Scrubs

You can make wonderful body scrubs that will leave your skin feeling silky and smooth for days on end.

Scrubs are made of salts or sugars both white and brown, and oils such as olive oil, cocoa butter or sweet almond oil for moisturizing.

Body scrubs gently exfoliate the skin and help to increase circulation. To make your own scrub, first you want to decide if you would like it to be a sugar or salt scrub. Please note that although salt invigorates your skin to a greater degree than a sugar scrub, it also stings if you have small nicks or cuts on your skin.

Once you have chosen your main scrub ingredient, you then want to choose an oil that is skin friendly. Now I have known of others who have used vegetable oils or baby oil (mineral oils), but I would not recommend that you use these oils on your body.

Mineral oils clog the pores whereas vegetable oil is a bit heavy and can cause your skin to feel greasy after your bath.

You will want to use skin-loving oil that does not leave a greasy feel thats absorbed through the skin for moisturizing. Grape seed oil is the perfect oil for skin, and is used in a lot of todays modern massage oils. Sweet almond oil is another that is light and good for your skin. Another, more readily available oil is olive oil.

Cocoa butter is another oil that makes a wonderful solid scrub massage bar that is truly exhilarating.

To make your scrub, first pour your desired amount of salt or sugar into a bowl (you can also mix ingredients to make a sugar AND salt scrub) add a small amount of fragrance to scent to your liking, then add enough oil to make a thick slushy paste.

You can mix and match oils, as well as adding other ingredients like dried herbs, liquid soap for lather, baking soda to clarify skin, honey for moisture, or skin clays to help draw out impurities.

When developing your recipe, make sure that you write down the amount of each ingredient that you use. This way you can recreate the recipe again in the future. You can test your scrub on your hands. If it seems to have too much liquid then add more dry ingredientsif it does not run smoothly onto your skin due to it being too thick, add more oil.

To make a solid scrub bar, first find something that can be used as a mold to make hand sized bars. Small Tupperware containers or ice cube trays work well. Next, make a thick paste of scrub using cocoa butter instead of liquid oil. Melt the cocoa butter gently on your stovetop or in your microwave. Let it cool a bit so that your salt or sugar will not dissolve when added to the mix. Next, add your fragrances and other additives that you like, then your salt or sugar until the mass forms a very thick paste about the consistency of thick bread dough. Pack your mixture into your molds, tap your molds on your counter to eliminate any air bubbles, then stick this into your freezer until frozen. Freezing your bars helps them to release from the molds much easier than by trying to remove them at room temperature.

Your bars should be ready to remove from your freezer within 12 hours. Once removed, place them in a bowl while they thaw to make sure they stay solid. If you used too much liquid, then they may melt into a regular liquid scrub. This can still be used, though. If this happens, just add more dry ingredients to your recipe the next time you try it.

If your bars are too crumbly, then they need more cocoa butter. To fix this mishap, just crumble the mixture up really well; add more melted cocoa butter and place them back into the freezer.

When making your recipes, you cannot go wrong if you use the ingredients listed in this article. You can always add more oils, or scrub ingredients, to modify your recipe until it feels right for your particular skin type.

Your bars can be stored in a regular soap dish. The liquid scrubs can be stored in any container with a lid. Unfortunately, most scrubs are too thick for use in pump soap dispensers. When storing your scrubs, make sure that you use them within a month as you have not added any preservatives to keep them fresh. I would not recommend reselling scrubs that do not have preservatives in them either; they are best kept for personal use only.

Also, oils are slippery, use caution when getting in and out of your tub after using these scrubs. Also, keep out of reach of children, these are not suitable for young skin, and if you are elderly please use something that is not so slippery in your tub such as dry herb baths for your safety.

Decorative, Designer Soaps

There are many ways to add colorful designs to your homemade soaps. We will discuss using the cold process soap making method to make soaps with intriguing designs.

First, you will need to start with a plain white base. A base of 30% coconut oil, 5% castor oil and 65% lard makes a nice white base that lathers and conditions well.

To make tri-color soap with nice triangular designs, first make 1/3 of your base recipe to pour into your standard block soap mold. Once the base has traced, add colorant of your choice, then prop your mold at an angle so that when you pour your base into your mold it will fill only one corner of your mold instead of the whole bottom.

To do this, place a few books under one side of your mold to raise one side a few inches from your counter then place books against the other side of the mold to keep it from moving. Pour your soap down the side of your mold that still rests on the counter until it has filled the corner, but not quite fully to the top of the mold.

Now carefully cover your mold with a towel until your soap has gone through the saponification process and has cooled into soap. This will make a triangle block of soap that will sit off to the side of your regular bar, making a nice design.

Next, mix 2/3 of your plain white base recipe, and separate it into two equal amounts. Color these with 2 separate colors, pour one into your mold being careful not to splash it onto your triangle blockthen pour the second color on top of this.

Let this set for 24 hours covered, unmold your soap, cut, and you should have a nice tri-colored bar of soap with a triangle to the side. I have found these soaps to be much sought after from customers as a nice novelty for their bathroom dcor.

Another way to put nice designs in your soap would be to use a mold that makes individual bars of soaps instead of blocks.

First, make a plain white base to fill your mold, and then remove a cup or two from your batch. Add colorant to the cup of mixture, and then pour this into a cake-decorating bag. Use this mixture to write colorful designs onto the bottom of your mold.

Once you have completed this, then CAREFULLY spoon your white base mixture on top of this, being very careful not to disturb your writings.

Once you have spooned a few inches over your writings, then you can carefully pour the rest of your soap into your mold (do this in one corner so if your writing is disturbed only one section will be messed up), let this set for 24 to 48 hours. Unmold and cut into bars.

When you unmold your soap, the bottoms will have your designs permanently embedded into your bars of soap. This is yet another intriguing method used to decorate your soaps.

Be creative and above all, have FUN!

Colored Salt Jars For Profit

If youve ever visited a fair or craft show, youve probably seen someone with a booth selling colored jars of decorative sand. The "sand man" will let children and adults alike place layers of colorful sand in decorative jars, then they use a stick to press lines down the sides of the jar to make the sand a bit more attractive.

Usually the sand mans booth is packed with children delighted about making their little sand jars when other booths at the fair have hardly any customers. This has been a product that has been a proven bestseller at craft fairs for many years and probably will for many years to come.

I have noticed a trend that makes candles using the same method. Instead of sand, candle makers use candle wax that is as fine as sand, the children layer the wax, the candle maker addas a wick and then uses a torch to melt the wax on top to make a seal so the wax will not fall out.

These also have proven to be good selling products at craft shows and fairs.

You, yourself, can use this same method for colored bath salts, using everyday items found at your local Wal-Mart. You will not need to look for a supplier of jars, bottles or salt. All youll need to do is to find a good source for fragrance, or just sell colored unscented salts.

To do this, visit Wal-Mart and buy several covered bins to put your salts in. The clear bins are best so that customers can see the color of your salts from the side, because children usually are not tall enough to peek inside your bins.

You will need a total of 8 bins, for 8 different colors.

The other supplies you will need are : food coloring, epsom salts, mason jars with attractive lids, fragrance (optional).

Your customers will be placing their colored salts in mason jars, instead of decorative jars. Mason jars are attractive containers for bath salts.

To make your salts, mix 2 bags of salts in a stainless steel bowl (not plastic), add a few drops of food coloring for color and stir until the salts are colored completely and evenly. You do not need to add much colorant, too much will stain tubs, I usually use 4 to 10 drops per 2 bags of epsom salts.

The colors of your salts will be white (leave uncolored), red (10 drops red), green (7 drops green), yellow (7 drops yellow), blue (10 drops blue), purple (5 drops red and 5 drops blue), orange (4 drops red and 7 drops yellow), pink (4 drops red).

Now pour your colored salts into your bins, and you are ready to sell. If you decide to add fragrance, you will not want to mix the fragrance with your salts just yet.

Your customers will want to choose their own fragrance, so what youll need to do is to offer a selection at your table for them to choose from. Add the fragrance to the jars BEFORE they place their salts in their jars. Place teaspoon per jar and let them layer their salts on top of the scent. The salts will quickly absorb the scent within a few hours so that the complete jar is scented.

You do not want to add the fragrance on top of the salts, as this could cause the colors to run and would ruin the design in the jar.

Make sure you include a safety note with your salts. Your safety note should state that the salts should be used under adult supervision ONLY, and to take care not to drop the jar as it is breakable. Also, you should include directions for use, as per FDA guidelines.

Blasting Bath Bombs

Bath bombs are easy to make and provide a delightful fizzing adventure in the tub. If you do not know what a bath bomb is, it is a sweet scented mixture of citric acid, baking soda and other ingredients that fizz when you plop them into your tub.

As your bomb fizzes, the scent is released filling the room with a comforting aroma that lasts for hours.

To make bath bombs, you will need 1/3 part citric acid, and 2/3 part baking soda as well as some witch hazel in a spray bottle.

First, mix the baking soda and citric acid together well, so that they are blended well. Next, add colorant if desired (you can use dried herbs for color, just a pinch or so) and enough fragrance to scent the mixture well.

Now, grab your witch hazel, and work fast as the mixture will start fizzing once you start adding the hazel. Spritz with one hand, and stir well with the other hand until the mixture is thoroughly wet with a consistency of play doh.

Now firmly press your mixture into molds (ice cube trays work well), then let your bombs sit overnight until dry.

If your bombs fizz in the molds, just continue pressing them down, This just means that you used too much witch hazel resulting in a mixture that was too wet. Over time you will know what consistency is best for the humidity in your area. Until then, practice makes perfect.

The more you pack your mixture into your mold, the longer lasting and harder your bombs will be.

Your bath bombs can be used for yourself, as gifts to family and friends or sold to make some spare cash.

A nice way to package your bombs for gift giving would be to wrap them in cellophane and place a few in a large coffee cup, along with a sealed bag of hot cocoa, tea or coffee and a small candle.

Wrap this attractively in colorful wrap, add a bow, and you have a mini spa treat that is sure to please anyone.

Growing Your Herbs In A Trash Can

Even if you have no space for an herb garden, you can grow a large variety of herbs in a small amount of space using ordinary trash cans. Herbs are a wonderful ingredients for bath products, as well as recipes.

If you live in an apartment, or somewhere that offers no gardening space, this is one way you can have fresh herbs for your daily use.

First, you will need a plastic trash can. Any size will do. The larger the can, the more you can plant. I use a 15 gallon container for my plants, but the little 5 gallon cans will do well also.

Second, you will want to use either heavy-duty scissors to cut 5 inch circles in the side of your cans. Space the circles about 8 inches apart. These do not have to be cut neatly, or in perfect circles, as your plants will hide the cuts once they start growing. Also punch about 3 good drain holes in the bottom of your can.

Next, fill your can with potting soil (or good soil), and pack it extremely well. The more it is packed, the less chance you have of the dirt falling out of the holes.

Now choose a permanent, plant-friendly spot for your cans. You will not want to move it after you plant your seeds. If by some chance you do have to move it at a later date, then do so carefully.

Also place it on its lid, as water will seep out of the sides if you over water your plants, and you want to protect your flooring.

Now plant your seeds, in each hole that you cut out of your can. To plant them, poke your finger in the soil, place seeds in carefully, then cover with well packed soil again to keep them in place.

You can plant a different herb in each hole. Once planted, do not move the can or the dirt and seeds may fall out. Once the seeds develop roots, you will be able to move the can gently to

different locations because the roots will hold the plant and dirt in place.

Once your herbs get a nice size, your can should look like one huge plant, with no plastic to be seen from a distance. You'll have wonderful herbs growing out at every angle. This is a fantastic way to maintain a nice herb garden with little space.

You can also plant herbs at the top of the can, or place your favorite flowers there for color.

Delightful Home Scents

There are many ways to scent your home using perfumes and herbs. In todays world, you will find many gadgets on the market that are designed to make your home smell like scented flower fields or warm ocean winds.

The main problem with using modern products like air fresheners and incense is that the fragrance fades quickly. Air fresheners also put chemicals in the air that those with sensitive lungs may find disagreeable.

There are many alternative ways to scent a home where the fragrance lasts for weeks, months or yearsthat are not only more affordable but that also smell more wonderful.

One method would be to take squares of cloth and make little pillows about 4 inches square stuffed with herbs or nicely scented potpourri. Lavender buds make wonderful smelling sachets, as do dried citrus rinds and dried flowers.

Place these small pillows wherever you would like the scent to linger...in the bathroom, closet or under your sofa.

You can also make nice decorations of plaster of paris to hang in your closets, by your windows or in your car. To do this, purchase candy molds, essential oils (or any scented item like perfume or potpourri) and small twine. Mix the scent of your choice into your plaster of paris, pour into your molds, then take pieces of twin and tie the ends into a knot to create a loop. Press the knot into your plaster so that the twine will stay in place once the plaster dries.

A nice twist for this method would be to mold your plaster into small oval Tupperware bowls then stack them neatly in baskets throughout your home, These are known as scented rocks and make attractive dcor.

A nice way to get the scent of roses in your home would be to make rosewater soaked papers, and use these as stuffing inside of your scented pillows instead of dried florals or herbs.

To do this, simmer a cup of rose petals with one cup of water for 3 to 4 hours until the water is strongly scented. If the water

evaporates during the simmering, just add a bit more.

Once the concentration is strong, strain the mixture, then place strips of paper in the water and simmer until most of the water is evaporated. Next, lay your paper somewhere to dry, such as laying them on a towel or hanging them from a clothes hanger. Once dry, tear into little pieces and place in your sachets. Although the scent may not be as strong as you would like, once your pillows have been made and sit in place for a time, you will notice a nice, slight rose scent in your home. You simply need to give your home time to warm the papers which releases the scent.

You may also use these papers in your vacuum cleaner. Place the strips in an envelope and place the envelop in your vacuums bag. As you vacuum your home, you will notice a nice rose scent in the air.

Selling Safe Cosmetics And Soap

Everyday, I see people ignorant of laws they must follow before selling homemade bath and beauty products. I also see people that show no concern for the safety of their products.

I once went to a yard sale, where the lady had advertised that she sold homemade lye soap just like her grandmother used to make.

When I arrived, I asked her about her soap, and she showed me a basin full of what looked like LARGE chunks of chalk. Now I know soap, and I could tell by looking at her soaps that they were extremely lye heavy and would burn anyone that tried to use them. I mean you could blow on them and the ash would fly about as if it were actually chalk.

I asked her about the PH of her soap and asked her if it were safe for sensitive skin. She informed me that she did not know what PH was and that it was safe for any skin just as any soap is safe for any skin.

Now in the old days, yes, the soap was harsh for skin and did "bite" a bit. But even then, the ladies knew how to safely test their soap to ensure that it was not so lye heavy to actually be extremely unsafe. These ladies used eggs to test the strength of their lye solution, before pouring it into their greases.

Evidently this lady at the yard sale had not been informed of this by her grandmother, and was selling a very dangerous product to unsuspecting people. I tried to explain to her how dangerous it could be if she had not even tested the PH, but she got truly offended so I just left saying a prayer for anyone that had the misfortune of purchasing her product.

I was too scared to buy any for myself; I mean this was some scary looking soap.

If someone is going to take the time to make soap and sell them for profit, they must do the job right and make sure they learn every aspect of the soap and cosmetic making business.

These means following FDA regulations and guidelines, making sure they use preservatives when needed, making sure that their

products are safe, and putting safety warnings on their labels. There are so many aspects of this business one has to consider before they ever sell the first bar of soap to any customer.

For instance, if you do not test the PH of your most recent batch of soap, and if someone purchases a bar for their 5-year-old child, and your soap burns this child, YOU are going to be held liable as the manufacturer of the product.

This means you will have to reimburse doctor bills, pain and suffering, and you could face action by the FDA and CPSC (if you do not know what FDA and CPSC mean, then you have some more research to do before you sell a single product) if your product does not meet their labeling and manufacturing requirements.

Now regular soap is not a cosmetic if you claim it as just plain, pure soap. But it will need to be labeled according to regulations in place by your state and the federal government.

Any other bath product is considered a cosmetic and must meet FDA cosmetic regulations.

There are a lot of steps involved to ensure that you are covered in case someone gets hurt from one of your products.

You will need a business license. Call your local chamber of commerce to contact your local SBA consultant to get your business license, tax numbers and other business papers filed required in your state.

You will also need insurance. If you do not have insurance, then you could be sued and possibly lose anything you own. The best place to get insurance for soap makers is Bomba insurance, their website is located at http://www.bombainsurance.com . Bomba provides enough coverage for a home business, and has low yearly rates.

You will also need to read the FDA regulations and guidelines for making cosmetics.

FDA cosmetic labeling guidelines http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-lab1.html

FDA cosmetic handbook http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-hdbk.html

FDA fact sheet on soaps http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-215.html

Make sure you spend a lot of time reading the FDA links. They provide a wealth of information that can keep you from getting into serious trouble with the federal government.

Another good resource for regulations information is http://www.soapnuts.com/cosmeticlabeling.html

At the bottom of the page you will find links to information concerning what ingredients are safe for cosmetic use, using warning labels (if you make bath oils, you must place a warning that it could leave the tub slippery or you can get into trouble), and more information related to the soap and cosmetic business.

Do not be an ignorant businessperson, educate yourself and think of the safety of your customers before even thinking of making a dime of profits.

You owe it to your consumers, and you owe it to yourself and your family.