Selling handmade soap may be one of the most popular ways to begin a home business. After all, turning a fun hobby into a business has broad appeal. What does it take to get started and what are the chances for success?
Soap business start-up involves all the steps of any other manufacturing and marketing company. The real attraction lies in being able to do that on a really small scale at a really low investment. That and the whole production process could hardly be simpler.
To begin you must master the whole production process. Maybe “master” is too strong a term, but at least you must be building superior products before you even consider selling what you make. Often aspiring soap business owners neglect this ground rule and try to sell what could charitably be called “junk.” Please don’t do that.
Once you have the soap making part down, you must be concerned with avenues for moving some soap. Possible outlets are many. One of the most obvious first thoughts drifts to the Internet. Only rookies think selling on the Internet is easy. It is not.
See, wherever you market you must deal with competition. And not just competition from other soap makers, of which there are far too many on the Internet. You must also compete for just the attention of potential customers. How can you catch their eye just for a few seconds? Not too easy on the computer world. Try it if you like. It is no place to start.
Better places to start are local venues. Think in terms of gift shops, spas, health food stores or better yet, local shows of some sort. Craft fairs, art shows and the like are obvious places to start.
After all, you just need a start. Getting a few initial customers puts you on your way. How’s that?
Business thrives on repeat sales to existing customers. Getting a new customer is the hardest part of marketing as well as the most expensive.
If you got your product right to start with, repeat sales should be no struggle. See, a simple brochure or a little catalog and you’re on your way to more sales than you can deal with. It’s getting customers to start that is the struggle.
The Internet makes great sense as a follow-up tool. Your traffic comes from your off-line efforts, not just from fighting the already crowded mobs struggling for on-line attention.
The marketing funnel for selling handmade soap looks like any other marketing plan. It’s an attempt to capture some sales from new customer in the easiest, most efficient manner possible. Then treat the customers right and offer opportunities for customers to buy more of what you have.
It’s simple, but not so easy. Go down the wrong trail and you’re finished before you really get started. Grab more tips for starting a soap business at another of our articles.
If you’re just thinking about starting or expanding a soap making business, please take a look at this article.