Starting a Soap Business. How?

I have so many students and customers (who have eventually become my friend) asking me what to do with all the extra soaps they have at home. Initially everyone gets excited when they get into this soaping hobby. You want to try out lots of new things, you want to experiment with different scents and colours etc.


Then one fine day you realise that you have so many soaps left even after you have given them to your friends and family. Now what? Stop soaping? No way! its way to fun to leave such hobby. So the only other alternatives will be to sell.

So the next question will be; are you really up to it?

Don't get me wrong, I'm one of those who really think that anyone can start business from anywhere these days since the world is basically at our finger tips, but before you get starting on this business, try to take sometime to consider these questions:

Why?
The first question you should ask yourself is why do you want to sell them? is it because everyone is saying its really good? or is it just because you have some extra left and so you want to sell it? Or did u find a miracle product and you being as awesome as you are you must spread the goodness to everyone? Which is it? The why is always important:-)

Where?
Secondly you will have to think is where do you want to sell your product? Will you be selling it at work/college? will you sell it online, Will you go to markets and sell them? or would you prefer to do catalog based business, have some drop shippers etc? This is like the second most important thing because without the why and where, you probably wouldn't be able to kick start your business.

HOW?
another question you should ask yourself is how will you be selling your soap? is it going to be seasonal, or will it be by wholesale where someone orders min of 10 pcs from you, or will it be for wedding gift projects. This is also important and it is one of the things that will lead you to think about your WHO.

WHO?
Who are you selling this product to? Now the usual answer i get is: Everybody! It will be awesome if you can sell to everybody, but as a startup i would suggest that you have a specific target in mind as to who you are selling. A scenario: if you had open a booth in a college selling soap and all your soaps are natural looking and has essential oil, do you think it will do well as compared to lets say your competitor who is selling soap as colourful as lush with fruit extracts and fruit shaped soap? Wouldn't your soap be selling better in older age group like in late 30's-50's? Thats why you need to have a specific target market initially so you know what to make for them. (Just my 2 cents:-))

How much of business knowledge do you have?
Even its your first time its ok its baby step you can start anywhere but do some readings before getting into it. Getting into business is a real commitment and you will have to look at various factors before considering selling.

Cash Flow
Now this is like the backbone of business. You need cash to run the business period. You can always start this business with Rm100, but initially, put the money back into the business to generate more cash flow because you will need it when the business expends.

So in conclusion, think about all this before you jump into the business. Its an incredible journey and yes you can make a lot of money when you start your own business. The only limit is your imagination. But before you do, make sure you start with a proper solid foundation so that things will get easier in years to come:-)

Good luck:-)