Home-based business ideas series #5: How about a handmade soap home business?

May 15th, 2009

Making soaps at home and selling them - another home-based business idea you may like to consider.

If you have a love for soaps, you may want to learn to make your own. If you are able to make your own soaps, then you probably could also plan to start your own handmade soap home business.

If you want to start a soap making business, do keep in mind that customers are looking for uniqueness. As a soap lover, you probably know too well that customers want a variety of soaps to choose from. Not only you are looking at different scent options, shapes and sizes, you also want to offer hypoallergenic soaps, soaps made from goat’s milk or oatmeal, etc. Use these as the unique selling point to build your business from.

What skills do I need?

While you can learn the process of soap making studying books on your own, it would be faster and easier if you are trained and guided by an experienced soap maker. Do understand that soap making is more than just mixing different ingredients to get the chemical reactions going. There is also a touch of artistry involved in creating homemade soap. You may be following specific formulas in the beginning, but eventually you may design and create your own scented soap formula as your knowledge and skill on soap making develops.

What tools do I need?

You’ll want to develop your fragrance library for scenting your soaps. If you are going to offer different shapes and sizes of soaps, you will need a collection of soap moulds. Other tools will be the ingredients for your soaps. Each different type of soap will have its own special ingredients.

How do I start the business?

First of all, do a bit of research to make sure that you’re conforming to any laws that would apply to selling a skin care product in your country. Next, you would want to build a website to develop an online presence for your soap making business. Do some networking in online forums or message boards so that you can get the word out about your new business venture. You can also market yourself offline by giving soap as gifts during the holidays, birthdays, etc. Sell your soaps at local craft fair or bizarre to market yourself and your handmade soap business.

Keep in mind that making soaps is very time consuming. Furthermore, you have business matters to handle, e.g, taking orders, delivering goods, maintaining website, purchasing soap making ingredients, getting customers feedback, etc. So, plan your time well to take care of all aspects of your business.

Again, remember to reward yourself for your hard work, keep a positive attitude, and hang in there when the going gets tough. All the best!