It's no secret that launching a new business poses its challenges. I've said it time and again: getting off the ground is the toughest step. Earlier this year, I returned to my roots with the opening of a storefront in my upstate New York town. We welcomed our first customers in mid-May, and even though we launched during the traditionally SLOWEST season (yes, the summer slump!), we still achieved over $30,000 in revenue during our initial three months. This didn’t happen by sheer luck! I implemented the very strategies I advise our clients and students to use in our programs. Eager for ..read more

When you're starting a soap business, you've got a LOT to figure out. Your target market, branding, rules and regs, if you're going to sell retail or wholesale and where...the list of tasks for a biz owner is never ending.  But before you get too overwhelmed, there is one thing that you can get off your plate easily and cheaply. And that's making the soap itself! Ever heard of private label? Because it can be one of the best things to ever happen to your and your soap biz. Read on and find out how buying custom bulk soap can change your life.   There are many great reasons that priva ..read more

Inside the 4155 pages of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, Congress overhauled the FDA's oversight and regulatory framework on cosmetics. The 36 pages tucked inside, referred to as the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (“MoCRA”), majorly amended the FD&C Act that has governed our industry since 1938. This reform has been in the process for over a decade, and we've provided regulatory updates as any movement or progress happens. Now that reform is here, let's catch you up to speed! First and foremost, let's make two things clear ..read more

When you’re running a small soap biz, you wear a lot of hats. You’re the CEO, the dishwasher, the marketing team, the customer service rep, the production manager…and about 500 other things. It’s a lot. Like a LOT a lot.  Plus, many soap business owners started out as hobby soapmakers and have had to pick up small business skills along the way. “ROI what? I can’t just make whatever I want whenever I want?” It can be a bit of a rude awakening to learn that buying more fragrance oils and making even more soap doesn’t actually equal more profit. (In fact, usually the opposite.)  Wouldn ..read more

When you’re getting your soap biz off the ground, you are probably being careful about where you spend your cash. For many new soapmakers in business that often looks like gathering up a list of supplies and going on a shopping spree. Hold up, we need to pump the breaks! First off, most fresh-faced soap business owners start off their company with way too many products that don't make any sense to their (loosely defined) target market. One of the things most soapmakers do when they invest in one of our programs is to cut out more than 60% of their offerings! So, popping all your start-up ..read more

Here at Modern Soapmaking, we recently doubled our team - again! We put out the call for a new Success Coordinator, and our applicants were so amazing that not only did we hire a Success Coordinator, but we also found our new Director of Operations and Marketing Assistant. It's been a dream come true for our team, and we know that y'all have been feeling the love.  So give it up for our three new team members Cherise Green (Success Coordinator), Kathrine Dykes (Director of Operations), and Katelynn Durbin (Marketing Assistant)! Read on and learn all about the three new people supporting ..read more

We recently put out the call for applications to join the Modern Soapmaking team. Success Coordinator is a unique position, and we needed two. The right candidates had to have soapmaking expertise and mad organizational skills. And they needed to be customer service oriented and fit seamlessly into the Modern Soapmaking community! With close to one hundred applicants, some impressive video submissions, and several nontraditional Zoom interviews, y'all brought the goods! So much so that we decided to hire three applicants rather than the planned two. Why not, right!? We just had our biggest mon ..read more

Do you struggle to connect with your customers? When potential buyers see your Instagram posts, land on your website, and chat you up at your markets, do they feel right at home? They should. To make that happen, you need to know your target market like you know your best friend. One of the first steps of branding your soap biz is to define your target market. But, this is a huge obstacle for new soap biz owners that reach out for our help. So, let’s break down the barriers and start at the beginning… What is a target market, anyway? A lot of soap biz owners mistake their current custome ..read more

Shortly after I started Modern Soapmaking, I flung open the doors to my free Facebook group, the Business of Soapmaking with Modern Soapmaking. (We call it BoS for short!) In fact, according to Facebook, that fateful day was June 28, 2014. Yeah, let's revisit that: Six. ? Years. ? When I opened the doors to BoS, Facebook groups weren't as utilized as they are now. In fact, they were only a few years old at that point. Brands (including us!) still used Facebook Pages because you could still snag tons of organic reach. Soaper's Retreat was one of the pioneering Facebook groups for soapmakers (c ..read more

What happens when your sweaty ass boyfriend comes home from jiu-jitsu and wants to get it on? If you're like most women, you make that stinky man hop in the shower before laying a finger on you. But you're not. You're a soapmaker. And so is Carina, the badass brains behind today's Soapmaker to Moneymaker graduate feature. Carina's boyfriend made this move. And she made hers: deciding to launch a soap company specifically for sweaty people. And when she did the market research, she narrowed in on athletic women, because surprise - sweaty men have plenty of options custom tailored to their spor ..read more