Soap Making 101 - Business Reality vs Expectations
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- čas přidán 26. 07. 2024
- Soap Making 101 - Business Reality vs Expectations
Time for another rambling session with me! Today, I'll be talking about our expectations vs the reality of starting a soap making business. Now... this isn't meant to discourage anyone from starting the soap business or staying with it when times get tough. Honest! I really wasn't trying to be a downer! But, I think a healthy dose of reality is good for us. It helps keep things in perspective and balanced. I hope you enjoy the ramblings!
#howtomakesoap #handmadesoap #soapmaking101
Please visit our website: www.unclejonssoap.com
Here's the link to the soap rack we just got! - www.webstaurantstore.com/stee...
The wooden soap cutter guy! - woodskin.ru
Our new podcast! (Not soap related)- "Storytime with uncle Reddit" open.spotify.com/show/18EzkUa...
www.unclejonssoap.com
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Soap Making 101 - Business Reality vs Expectations - Jak na to + styl
No disrespect to your wife, but I love you John.So down to earth
The 7:54 mark is so true of forums I am on. It is downright disgusting how many people come on these forums and just blatantly ask to be handed everything without any work. I see it more and more these days. I have only been making soap since Sept of last year and I make sure I do as much research on my own before asking people questions. Some people just come straight out and say..."I need a recipe for a hard long lasting bar that moisturizes, smells great and cures within 4 weeks so I can start selling"
Amen. I almost hate to watching some of these Facebook sites. 90% is “what do think about my recipe.” There are times I just want to respond to just make it and see if you like it. Too many people are chasing the unicorn.
Yep! Sometimes we just have to learn through experience and experimentation. The failed batches will teach us more than any person or success. It's weird but always been true with this type of thing.
Yey!!! Let's get real! When I make soap, I start really tidy, and somehow I end up with a bombsite! But I do clean up and tidy up completely.
Whoa....this is the only two week old video I’ve ever seen with no thumbs down! Hahaha
I just opened an Etsy shop selling soaps... going in not expecting it instant success because I know for most people that isn't reality. While learning I used a recipe I found, but I have since tweaked the recipe to make it mine, and listening to people for what they like as well as what people are allergic to and adjusting... it's definitely a learning process. Got a business license straight off and for what I'm doing that's all I need. (I'm not in city limits so I don't need a city license). I researched what is required for labeling. I do use vinegar, but just to wipe off counters and equipment, plus good ol' soap and water mostly. For cutting soap I just got a cheese cutter and marked off with an exacto how wide I cut them... eventually I do want a multi-cutter, but at this point in the game I don't need it, so that will be something once my business starts to really get going... before that I need to make more space for a curing rack. Always open for criticism, especially if it's constructive.
Hey, Can I ask how it's going for you?
@@Domtroniccurrently on hiatus
@@DeleightofThere thanks!
Thanks for your common sense approach. Kept me from buying too many "bells and whistles" 😁👍🏽
I know right? I’ve been soaping for 5 years now and this is the first time I made a profit. Plus I make the soap, order the ingredients and container, label & package it. No other employees. Just me! I work from home and have a small boutique in the front of the house. That’s it. I don’t even have a website cause I can’t afford to pay monthly to keep it going right now. But I’m hoping someday. Maybe when I retire next year. 😊 Thank you for all you do for us little people starting out.
Keep pushing!
Ecwid gives you a free website you can only post 10 items for free but hey that’s better than nothing right
This is your best video to date! You are a wealth of useful information and it's so thoughtful of you to take the time to share with others! I don't blame you for not wanting to give out your recipes, you worked hard to come up with the best ingredients for your soap,people should figure it out for themselves.You give us more than enough information to work through it. I had a grandmother who would give out her favorite recipes if people asked but omitted the amount .... even to me!!🤣 Keep up the awesome videos! 🙏🏻
Preach!! When I started Central Texas Soaps my main goal was to develop as slowly as possible because I still have to balance a regular 9-5 day job. It has been great for the most part and we've developed a great relationship with the local chamber of commerce officials and they always reach out to us for possible vendor events. I hope to one day have a little brick and mortar shop in the future, someday. Thank you for the great content Jon!
LMAO at the intro. As always, great video. Thanks.
You seem to be an honest person and giving all this advise is great. I told my son-in-law he needs to learn from you. I’ve been making soap for a few years but I don’t sell them. It’s just a hobby for me. My son and his partner have started making their own soaps as a business. It’s in the baby mode right now but they’re learning. I told my son in law to make his own mold liners and use boxes or make his own wooden molds. Trying to convince him. Told him I’m still learning from you so he sent me this video that he watched. So I’m pretty sure he’ll be learning from you. You’re more honest and more informative than the other soap makes I’ve listened to. So thank you
Awesome!
Thank you for making this video. Too many people make claims with their soaps. Not good... thank you for keeping it real 👍🏼
I love and appreciated your honesty.
Every time that I need a lift of reality I always go back to watch your videos !
I love the fact that you always "keep it real".
So thankfully for your videos for getting right into the important topics. It is a struggle sometimes to stay positive when sales are down. But the soap making community inspires me to keep at it!
Its so annoying when friends and family suggest, "You should advertise your castile soap as baby soap, because its so gentle!" Or "You should promote your oatmeal and charcoal bars as being good for eczema and acne!" I'm like... Um, no thanks. Then they get upset, like, "Fine, I guess you're not serious about growing your business!" I say, "Fine, I guess I don't wanna get fined or sued..."
Thanks for sharing about intellectual property and the concept of being willing help others over hurdles. I don't might helping but find it frustrating when someone wants me to practically write a business plan for them.
Thank you so much for all your advice and help!
Another great no nonsense truthful video.
Thank you for sharing. You are one of the first we watched when we wanted to start our soap making journey. Totally failed on the second batch, but we are learning.
It's all a process for sure.
My girlfriend and I started our soap making journey and I must say I really enjoy it ..this channel is tits and i have learned enough to warrant return visits daily lol ...anyway thanks a ton for sharing your skill set and opinions
Thanks!
Thanks for the videos and keeping it real. You’re one of the biggest influences why I finial took the dive into making soap.
Jon, another helpful video. Thank you.
Great advice. I always love how down to earth you are. Just like me!
This video is gold. I watch your videos and the wisdom is immeasurable. Thank you.
New to your you tube and loving it. Thanks for all the great information.
I agree. Don't give out your recipes. It took me 2.5 months to develop a soap. Quite a few $, time and effort. As well as having a sh*t ton of soap that's going to take a year to consume.
Thanks sooo much for all the great advice! You’ve really encouraged me to tread on. Sales have been really bad lately and I needed your video! You’re so honest and down to earth. Love it! Thx again. 😁
You. Are. Amazing!! Thank you for your channel. The best advice. Solid. Stable. Down to earth. Authentic. Love and soapy smiles from Cape Town, South Africa
16:11 Off my soapbox haha. I made my first batch of soap today out of lard from a pork roast (first clarified by boiling in water and leaving overnight, meat flavors have been left behind in the water) and caustic soda from the supermarket, surprisingly it seems to have worked. Subscribed so I can learn some more.
Thank you for your great content.
I really enjoyed hearing how you started out on a card table-thanks for sharing your info!
Good advice. Thank you for sharing it.
Another great video. Thank you!
You are the most upfront soap maker I've seen.thanks for the video,I'm subscribing
Honestly I am a soap maker as well just starting out but I am wanting to watch your videos more then others.. love the info no shit just straight to the point.. love it
I'm super late to finally following my path and man, you have been such a great voice of reason. Thank you!
Love this! It’s from the heart!
Thank you for this! I did choose a family member as a person to talk to and get ideas/suggestions from. He works as an out of town truck driver (not long haul, he works for a HUGE company and goes to different terminals to work as a local driver for a week at a time) so uses hotels a lot. My first idea was to talk to the independent hotel/inn/b&b companies in my area. He was a fantastic resource. He also has a beard almost as big as yours, so he was an amazing resource for beard oil/balm testing etc.
Having worked with many different MLMs in the past, I think you were bang on ... Thanks again Jon ...
Thank you. 😇
Uncle Jon huge kudos to you from Vancouver Island , British Columbia , Canada. I love your videos and I love your attitude. Keep it up man you do a good job❤️❤️
Thank you for your suggestions and insight. Very much appreciated and I love to watch your videos!
Great business advice. Great video.
I may not always agree with you (most times I do, lol) but I know that every time you are giving me the straight poop. Great video. thank you
Thanks!
My words exactly.
Excellent! Thank you.
Thumbs up all the way!!
I spent a year reading, researching, and learning before I bought anything for soap making just for my family use. At that time I had very young children youngest was 3 and with children I never take anything lightly now my kids all want me to get back into making soap again. Thank you for your videos
Thank you for all you do
This video: breath of fresh air!
Thanks for amazing content, and keeping it real! Once I travel around US, I will surely stop by and say hello (and buy some soap) 🙂
Lovely video!
I have no illusions. I love to make soaps and I give them away. I have a name and a trademark just in case and I follow all the regs.
thank you!
Great advice.
So much truth here!!
I love your brand!!! It's uniquely you. I appreciate every video you made. You speak from the heart and are very honest 💜
Thanks!
Uncle Jon you are real 💯💙
hello from Somerset county! Thank you for your informations.
I’m just trying to get started as a hobby. This is great advice for trying to grow it if that’s where this goes
Your videos are great! Love all the tips and recipes. Can you please do an episode of how you keep all your soap smells last long? Thank you!
Though its a year old I just came across this. I agree with starting small. Here is a big one. Do you use your own product? I am thinking about starting a business. Right now though it is for me. I recently used KOH to venture into liquid soaps. Info about having proper permits is helpful.
I bought a Müller blender from Amazon. It has the on button, super speed but also adjustable speeds. It’s a slightly taller than my old one (which I like). Just an FYI for when you’re dies.
It also came with the whisk and frother (both of which I use).
I have a thing for spatulas 🤣 finding a good one piece spatula is hard.
Going to start soon. Working on recipe and getting things ready. Not trying to make it big, just going from hobby to side thing cuase I love my job, but this hobby isn't cheap. My biggest issue right now is not getting enough criticism, all friends and family got say it's great. Lol, sure that will end when I start selling.
I love ur videos n I absolutely agree
Love the honesty. Wish I seen that before I bought random 20 moulds which I don't even use 😅🙄 now I refuse to buy anything that I seen in fancy videos no offense to anyone but such waste money for small business only.
I have been watching your videos for a while now, never commented but you are correct sir. Why not sell air cured soap because air is needed to live, this people need air cured soap… all kidding a side, I have always valued your insights. This video is no exception.
Hobby for the time. Good to know.
15:25 here, I am Korean, and I actually live in Korea, and I have have not heard about whitening soap.
I personally make soaps and very into soap business as well, so I know for sure there is no way that whitening soap is a 'big thing' in Korea.
I really love your channel and you are a very inspirational person. I wish you can correct that ;)
+ I have just searched that 'the whitening soap from Korea' is not actually from Korea. I think a soap making company (I don't know where they are from)
is branding their products as they are from Korea because K-beauty(Korea beauty products) is somehow popular in most Asian countries.
But as Korean living in Korea I can confirm that the soap is not from Korea at all. It's not your fault that you found Korean white soap is a big thing,
because literally they say it's Korean white soap. I wish more people would find that out.... :/
It was in a news article somewheythat I read that. Then, I had several Korean women (along with some Vietnamese and south African women) asking me to make it. It may also depend on what region they are from.
Absolutely love this video! Very informative and I appreciate your boldness and honesty.
Instead of using an emulsion blender, I use a ryobi cordless drill and a paint mixing attachment. I will never go back to blenders.
If I do bigger batches, then I'm with you on the drill - mixer combo.
@@unclejonssoap it really is the beat way to go. Just make sure you use a variable speed drill. You need to go slower on the rpm's because the paddle is bigger.
@@willswasteland that's why I want to look into a bench top drill press. Can set it nice and slow and go hands free😁 (damn.. forgot to switch back to the other account)
Love your videos, been watchi g a few now 😁 So in the states you don't have to have your recipe assessed before selling, just if you make a properties claim then you have to register with the fda?
I'm in UK and just started to make some batches and found out that apparently i can't even give it away for free to people to test before i pay to have the recipe tested for sales 🤷♂️
So, just to be clear, my thumb(s?) up is specifically for the MLM commentary. Thx for listening!
😁
bonjour, je suis vos vidéos depuis un petit moment déjà et j'apprécie énormément votre franc parler.
Bonjour! Merci d'avoir regardé la chaîne. J'espère vraiment que cela aidera un peu les gens. Désolé pour la traduction automatique .. en utilisant Google ... lol
@@unclejonssoap translantion is not bad at all.
How do I apply for an internship? I will move there for a year to learn from you.
Lol.. I might need the help soon.
I litterally cringe every time I hear a soap company saying their ingredients will fix x,y,z. It is cruising a fine line.
Yep because as soon as you start making claims other than it’ll get you clean, it’s no longer soap, it’s then a cosmetic or a drug depending on what you’re claiming.
In my state it’s illegal to make medical claims not supported by FDA data.
Yes you are ready for employees.
Can you explain what type of video equipment you use and editing software please?
Nothing but the truth. I don't do gloves either...they make my hands itch & swell, yet I've never had a lye burn after almost 40 years. You just have to be careful.
Hi Tanglewood, I think you might be allergic to talc? My friend is too, so she use talc free gloves.
@@asthenamesuggests9513 I've tried talc free & nitrile gloves...same problems. Thanks for the thought!
I feel your pain..lol
Hi Unc! So, I literally just came across your channel and I love it here. Quick question: if I missed calcium you measurements and my soap cam out way too oily and mushy, can I still allow it to cure for 4-6 weeks to see if it harden? (which I am) but is it a waste?
Sorry for the delayed. If it doesn't set up well within a few days I would toss it and start over. Especially if the weights and measurements might be off.
Did you mean to say calcium?
I'm in Nashville, so but 30 miles west, but going through bone death osteonocrosis it sucks its so painful..
Sorry to hear about your medical struggles. Hopefully, there's a light at the end of the tunnel.
This was overall a good and informative video! But the audio is very quiet for some reason, I had to turn my speakers all the way up and it's still rather quiet.
This may be the device you're listening on. I made sure to check on an average speaker set up at 30% volume and it came out normal. Sorry you're having trouble hearing. I'll be sure to double check the audio settings.
Thanks for your videos! How long can I store your soap?
The soap itself can be stored indefinitely. However many scents will start to fade after 6 months to a year.
Uncle Jon!!!! Please wear your eye safety gear. 🙏
I just found you.i make soap for my self.do you have a favorite recipe you care to share?
You mentioned keeping soap making tools separately from cooking tools. Should I still do that if I'm making melt and pour soup. Like say the bowl and microwave I use shouldn't be used again for foodie? I'm just curious about the safety of it all.
I would still keep them separate since you'll most likely be using fragrance.
Oh my gosh 😂😂😂😂😂
How to set up my office jet pro 8028e
You’ve got a great space . My space is munchkin land
I do alright for 400sf😁
I love your videos and I learned a lot from you. Do you have any company that you would recommend for essential oils. I like to buy organic, but I don't think they have good quality. They say it's 100% essential oil, but it seems that it's 100% no scent. Terrible.
Organic doesn't really do much for you unfortunately except raise the price. I really like bulk apothecary for most essential oils though.
Hey, how did you grow such soft beard 🙂
How to start soap making business?
Are you gonna make molds
Yep! Just finalizing the prices. Should start setting them very soon.
Hi John, can soap be made acidic?
Not that I'm aware of. It would be almost impossible to make a useful soap that's close to neutral in the pH scale let alone acidic. Plus, then it wouldn't really be soap in the true sense.
Thank you sir. Some people are looking for a body wash that is neutral or acidic to match natural sebum of the skin. Apparently Aveno has an acidic body wash. Alas. I love my soap that i make. Thank you for your channel and guidance. Cheers and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
John what do u do first, get tax I'd website insurance. Ill intern. I don't know where you are.. Lol
For me.. it was get the local business license and liability insurance. Then, I stayed a sole proprietor for a while as long as the insurance was good. Then, work on a website. It won't get a ton of traffic early on, but at least will be a place for people to go. I'm just outside Ocean City, Maryland.
My company is based on Christian based and, so its hard.
Plus disabled
I'm sorry your making me laugh.. That's sad.
Which part is sad?..lol