A home business idea ideally should fit your interests and talents and have a reasonable chance of generating a profit. Your expectations determine whether an idea makes sense for you. How does marketing soap stack up?
1. Easy to get going.
It certainly excels in the easy to get going factor. Very little investment required. Production skills are easily acquired. Can be done right at home. All in all, ease of start-up may be the biggest attraction.
2. Proven demand.
Many people seek out handcrafted soap. It’s widely available, but still largely from cottage industry. That means it’s not in retail stores everywhere. Using handcrafted soap products is almost a hobby for some users. They seek it out and like to try different scents and types. Wide-spread use of homemade soap is a fairly recent occurrence, but the word is out.
3. Lots of competition.
Since it’s easy to get in, many have. Competition is steep at every level. Many if not most soapmakers are hobbyists and selling soap helps to pay the cost of the hobby. Serious business people, even on a small scale, must compete with masses of hobby soapmakers.
Competition can be dealt with in several ways. Better product quality is one. Much soap made is crude and poorly designed. Another way to beat competition is to get in more or better locations. A major way to deal with competition is to build products that are different. Unique features generate return business and help capture initial sales from new customers.
4. Scales.
Will it scale up easily? Making soap in the kitchen sink is only good for a certain amount of volume. Get past that point and investment in facilities and equipment are a must. That means after a certain point, the investment required will leap higher.
5. Marketing possibilities.
Selling soap from home only happens after serious effort. You’ll only sell soap by venturing forth to sell what you have. That can include direct marketing to retail outlets. It can include sales at shows such as craft shows and festivals. Many different routes can help you find customers.
The real key to increased volume is follow-up with customers. That includes mailings of brochures and catalogs. It also includes web sites.
A frequently discussed home business ideas is soap making. It’s certainly easy to get going, but only gets you so far as a kitchen based operation. There is a proven market and several clear ways to reach the market. The big question is whether you wish to deal with all the competition and whether the profit potential meets your expectations. If you’re just thinking about starting or growing a soap making business, please take a look at this article.
Grab additional ideas for starting a soap business at another free article.