# I did it!



## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

Or I should say *we* since it was more dh's doing/prompting/helping than me. LOL We set out to visit a few small towns between 1 and 3 hours from here looking at places that might be good for our soap. We had only called a couple ahead of time and the rest were just places we knew about or spotted along the way. With the drive time uncertain we didn't really want to set up a bunch of appts so we just took our chances. Well......the very first place we stopped ordered and paid on the spot! We also have a B&B ordering soap cut for their guest rooms. 3-4 others look promising.....the best being a touristy historical spot (with a lot of old-time crafts) with a large gift shop that had been carrying soap but their supplier quit making it. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed on that one. And PJ was right.....it gets easier every time! Now I need to get my inventory up even more 'cause I'm ready to do it again!

One thing I messed up on is that I forgot to put order forms in my packets. So, I'm going to follow up with a short note and an order form with a return envelope to make it easy for them to order if they decide to. I don't know how I forgot that.


----------



## Lynn_Theesfeld (Feb 21, 2010)

Wow congrats!! Your doing better than I am I finally got a formula down that I love, I figure I will keep messing with that, and who knows where I will go from there :\


----------



## jimandpj (Mar 11, 2008)

Good job, Kathy! One thing to consider. You don't necessarily want your stores to be very close together. If they're competing with each other to sell your stuff, then sometimes neither moves your soap fast enough and neither reorders. Whereas one store in each area you can refer people to them. Make sure to get a list of your locations on your website (if you don't already have one).

Get soaping!

PJ


----------



## Faye Farms (Sep 14, 2009)

I'm excited for you. Way to go! That sure is great you have such a supportive DH.


----------



## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

Congrats!!


----------



## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

Yes, PJ.....that's an excellent point and I was considering that....esp. in the smaller towns.

My dh is very supportive......he wants to quit his second job! LOL He's been helping me with the actual soap making whenever he can so he can learn the process. He goes to any show/market I need him to if he's able to get off and he's always building something I need. Today he's putting up a big shelf to organize my inventory.


----------



## jimandpj (Mar 11, 2008)

That's awesome. Jim is now the chief soapmaker around here - frees me up to deal with all the business end of things. 

When I started making soap years ago, my batch size was 21 bars. So if I screwed up a batch, no problem. When Jim started making soap, his batch size was 150 bars! Let's just say, the first (and so far only) time he had a ruined batch, he was pretty angry with himself. LOL


----------



## newbie nubian (Feb 7, 2009)

Tell me where the soap is being sold so I can go there, buy some, and then go back and rave about it! I'm not that far from you so I'm probably close to the shops you are supplying. Sara.


----------



## Guest (Apr 3, 2010)

wonderful for you.. you must have done a great job marketing your products.. congrads on that
Barb


----------



## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

Could you share what you put into your marketing packet you gave to the store owners? 

PSD


----------



## tmfinley (Feb 21, 2008)

Congratulations, that is super!! Good job.


----------

