Teach Soap

Something a little different from the "Help me get my soap business off the ground" posts. Why not?

I do not normally use forums for personal rants, but I have to let off some steam before I lose my cool at my job.

I work for a garden shop associated with a non-profit, historical estate garden as the Assistant Manager. My boss wants us to carry some soap and body products - in addition to plants and garden stuff, we have a wide range of gifty things. Being non-profit, my boss has a tight budget for buying inventory; most of our gift items are on consignment. This works out great as we can offer things from local artists and crafters without an outlay of funds we don't have. I get that.

My boss did purchase some body products from an established local business, but this outfit generally sells in a more affluent area and is kind of pricey for our area, which is Pierce County - the "Red Headed Stepchild" to affluent Seattle up north in King County. Average income is significantly less than in Seattle.

ETA: and the bigger, national companies want us to purchase a minimum amount we can't afford.

So...she knows I make soap. She approached me about making some for consignment in the shop.

My reply was a resounding "NO". Why? BEST case scenario...I make about $100 (27 bars of soap @ $6), given the 60/40 split. IF THAT. We just don't have the traffic for significant sales.

I used simple logic and numbers to explain why this is NOT a good idea. I explain that its highly recommended to have liability insurance that, at its cheapest, might cost $250, but could be higher. So even if the best case scenario does play out and I sell more than 25 bars...I am STILL in the hole $150...and we haven't even begun to talk about materials, packaging...and making any money for my time.

And it gets worse from there - I simply do not have the kind of set up at home to scale up much from my typical 3lb batches.

I've had to go over this at least 3x and....just today I got another "push" simply because my first foray into lotion was a smashing success.

ARGH...sometimes I feel like my words are not coming out in English!

OK, now I feel ready to respond, calmly, to yet another request.

Couldn't you say no? Problem solved lol

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'To whoever says that cleanliness is next to godliness, did a group of angels came down from the sky upon finishing taking a bath?'

Break the costs down for her on a piece of paper. Maybe that will sink in.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

If you've explained everything that many times, I would simply say no, end of discussion, and walk away. Some people just don't get it.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

I lived on McChord AFB for 10 years!!! Hi old neighbor!!! Lol

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Amber D that'd be me!

Interesting post. I run into this sort of stuff all. the. time. It boils down to other people having a GREAT IDEA for YOUR business or your life, and when you don't jump right on it, they get insulted. "You should do X!" Uh, no. I'm not interested in doing X, because I'm doing Y. Indignant response, "But you should do X!" Repeat. Repeat. It's the same as the person who says, "If you make X Flavor soap, I'll buy it." Again, it's their vision, not yours. So you cave in and make Flavor X soap. Guess what? They don't buy it! Like a newbie, I fell into that trap once, and won't be doing it again. Lesson learned. Then there's the, "Why don't you sell wholesale?" people. Because not only will I not make any money, I'll LOSE money. "As expensive as your soap is, how can you lose money?" Just shoot me.

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Jennifer
Doing my best to blow up my kitchen. In style!

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Maybe this will work - make an invoice breaking down your expenses for doing the soap, including your time, insurance, packaging, etc. Then divide that amount by the amount of bars the boss expects to buy. Then say that if she is willing to pay that amount, you'll be happy to do it. Nothing like sticker shock to dampen a "deal".

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I totally understand where you're coming from, April. And hey...we're neighbors.
I own and operate Anderson Island Soap.
I have yet to make a profit, but I just love making soap...so it's my therapy and hobby all rolled into one.
I make in small batches and sell at the Anderson Island General Store too.