# Soap Costs: Supplies, milk, etc.



## NavyWife53108 (Apr 14, 2010)

I'm new to the forum and this is my first post, so forgive me if this has been asked!

In the near future, I'd like to acquire some dairy goats and use some of the milk for soap/lotion making. My question is, can you actually make profit from the soap, or is it purely hobby? I'm just wondering if it's something I can use to fill up my gas tank every month, or if it's better to use the products for Christmas and birthday gifts. Can someone give me a rough estimate of what it costs to get all the startup materials, then what it costs per batch? Just want to have a general idea, nothing to go check your receipts for. Thanks so much! This forum is amazing! :biggrin


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2010)

Hello Ally,
Tough questions to answer here.. because it does cost to get started.. it all starts with feeding and caring for the goats.. Yes you can make a profit, but you won't see it the first yr or two just buying supplies.. Again this depends on how big you want to get.. Can't tell you what it will cost, 
Soap cost will depend on oils you use and where you get them... 
Molds will depend on what you choose to use
Packaging will depend on what you choose.. 
there is such a wide range to cover here... 

I can make a bar of soap for less than one dollar, and that covers the cost of materials, packaging and marketing... but it took me a while to get there.. Most of us start out buying supplies at the local grocery store, health food stores etc.. using cardboard boxes for molds etc.. and go from there.. 
For example, I never want to go big, all i ever wanted to do was promote goat products, and make enough to keep my goatees in good grain and hay and pay for meds etc... maybe a little extra.. and I do just fine with that.. I got an offer from Clinque in New York last year and turned it down.. Like i said,, I never wanted big... I think big is stressful.. and I like my nice easy life.. don't want to have to stop everything to make huge batches of soap etc.. So it all depends on your goals... Write a business plan... see what you want out of it.. and go from there.. then you will decide how much you want to spend on supplies.. molds etc..
Barb


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## NavyWife53108 (Apr 14, 2010)

Thanks, Barb.

I think, if anything, we'll sell some of the products at farmer's markets, to friends/co-workers, etc. I want it to be a hobby, with the potential of making a few extra bucks (money, not goats lol). If for the first two years I only make it for personal use and for gift giving, that's fine. Just want to make sure it's realistic to believe that it's possible to earn some extra income and still have fun with it.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Wow, Barb, Clinique?!?! How cool is that! :biggrin


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## momofmany (Aug 18, 2009)

:crazy Yeah...I think Barb should have GONE FOR IT!!!!! :? She is good at what she does!!


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Ally why wait on goats to soap? You can buy milk locally, you can use canned or bottled grocery store goat milk, and you can also have more than half you line, not in goatmilk soap also. You being a navy wife it is also an income you can do anywhere you are stationed and if you get a website, and do most of your selling via USPS.com you also woudn't loose repeat customers to moving around. Most don't really go after soaping as a business so it's easy to be just a hobby, but like most things if you have a good product, those family members (for me it was milk customrs) will share your soap with their friends who want to buy it and then thier friends, and then one of those friends brothers owns a store and your daughters husbands best friend is a buyer at a health food store chain and so on an so on, this is what happened to me, and this year my income doubled from last year and has dwarfed my milk, cheese and breeding stock sales to the point I am not selling milk this spring an summer. Vicki


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