huminbird

I am a WAHM and have been making soap and selling for a little over a year now. We put 1k into the business account and I have over half of that left, enough supplies to last me quite a while and a few nice business toys that can be counted as expenses. On paper I didn't make any money this last year but in reality the business is more than paying for itself. I think for the first three years or so I will continue expanding so that I never make much money on paper and then when I have most of the supplies and tools I need the business will take off. Also, things will be slow until our little one is in school so that I have more time to invest into my business.

I mostly do farmers markets and this is my down time of the year. I also have three small wholesale accounts.

I am just now getting into trading because spring is a slow time for me. So, if you want some goat milk soap offer me a trade

Check out my shop in my siggy and let me know what you think of my website. Constructive criticism is something I need, its newish and I need all the help I can get.

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Mother of Kelvin 05/08/08 (Horray Horray for the 8th of May) Wife of wonderful hubby and WAHM who makes awesome goat milk soap...check it out at:
http://www.ilovegoatmilksoap.com

weareborgswife

I am not officially a WHAM, but plan to make a bunch of stuff over the next few months and then offer it for sale, as my friends keep telling me I should sell things! At Christmas time I was hired by one friend to sew a bunch of stuff for her and made $150 which paid for almost all the crafting supplies I bought to make my kid's their Christmas dolls (I spent another $25 on a different type of doll fabric at the last minute after reading some reviews), and this left me with enough supplies to make more to sell if I desire to... I need to start making some cash to pay for extras like baseball fees, swimming lessons, etc. So I will be putting some things for sale on Craigslist and on my facebook page in the next couple of weeks. For me that is enough promotion, as I have had friends ask me to make customs for them based on my "see what I made" posts. I have them pay for supplies and then my time, which seems to work out well on both sides. That's about all I can keep up with right now with a toddler, and two other kids, homeschooling, helping my husband with his computer business, and we are pastors which takes a lot of time .

luvkadcl

Are both of you working at home with the business? Are things getting better. I hear everyone is feeling the economy. My girlfriend has a party supply business that she runs out of her house and she has felt it really hard.

Best of luck!! Let this be a successful year for everyone!!

Cindy

luvkadcl

Thanks for sharing! Life sounds busy and fun!!

Cindy

luvkadcl

Your soaps look delicious! How would goats milk be for itchy skin? $4 for the soap seems like a fair price but then shipping adds it to $8 which is really high for me. Shipping prices really have really gone up which is hard for a business. What do they charge you to have a stand at the farmers market. How much do you normally make in a day after expenses?

Your website is nice. It could be my monitor, but the pictures are a little dark.

Good luck with the business. Let this year be the best ever!!
Cindy

I mostly do farmers markets and this is my down time of the year. I also have three small wholesale accounts.


Check out my shop in my siggy and let me know what you think of my website. Constructive criticism is something I need, its newish and I need all the help I can get.[/QUOTE]

envyjewels

I've been a sahm for over 4yrs and a wahm for a little over 3. I've been focusing mostly on building a local client base as the internet is so saturated with jewelry. My business growth has been slow but steady as my initial investment was small (around $500 or so) so my profits keep going into expanding supplies, tools, and more shows. Last year I was able to pull money for x-mas and the odd extra for the boys. This year I tripled my sales and was able to do x-mas and refurnish our living room with enough left to buy supplies in time for spring shows and should carry me most of the summer (besides custom orders for weddings).

I would say that the best move I ever made was to do our farmers market from May to Oct. I get steady sales every week and customs for weddings in between. I developed a presence in our community resulting in alot of fall sales for x-mas.

I also have 2 wholesale accounts in local boutiques that make regular orders every few months.

I don't think I will ever be able to make this a full time gig though, as I have a limit on how much product I can physically make, but this year, using last years sales as an estimate, I have decided to draw a very small wage that we will be using to knock our dept down.

The deal is that I stay home until our youngest is in school (2yrs left) and I plan to work as hard as possible to build my business so that I only have to get something part time. Mostly, I just don't want to give it up after all my hard work, but it has to be viable to do that!

Good luck

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My Etsy Shop

charitys*creations

I have been custom sewing since 2005. My first year I only made $75. Now I am making a profit. They say if you don't double your income each year you need to move on. You should be making a profit within 5 years. I just did this last year. So it took me 4 years. I advertise on my van and word of mouth. I work in my home so I get lots of right offs

suburbansparkle

Thanks! Yes, my husband is home doing the business full time. I'm mostly mom, but he's better at the actual craft of it, and I'm better at the marketing and administrative stuff. :-)

Things picked up a bit since I last posted. And yay, tax return time has come so we'll be able to float a little while on that. I've also joined a networking group locally and meeting new contacts - so it's all good. Just have to be patient and keep working at it.

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Mom to four great kids, homeschooling and home business with her husband of 10 years.

huminbird

I know it seems expensive when you add shipping but I try to encourage people to buy more than one bar at a time Its flat rate shipping so the more the customer buys the better deal they are getting. Soap is pretty heavy so it does cost a bit to ship it. It really is in the buyers favor if they buy three or more bars.

Goat milk soap is great for dry and itchy skin. The added moisturizers from using whole goat milk makes for a really nice bar of soap. Just using home made soaps are much better for the skin because we don't remove the naturally occurring glycerin and sell it to cosmetic companies or put it into liquid body wash to make them more moisturizing. There is quite a bit of information online if you google "why use goat milk soap".

I am in our local farmers market and it is quite reasonably priced at $12 a day and $15 to get into it at the beginning of the year. Sometimes I bring in over 100 and sometimes I only sell enough to cover the fee and lunch. I am looking into getting into a bigger market this year. I also do quite a few Christmas time shows. Since I am new and don't know which ones are the best they tend to be hit and miss. I tend to do best in the tiny church basement sales more than the big mall ones.

Because I am a full time mom and only a part time soaper I am not making much yet, I plan on pretty much just breaking even for a couple of years and building up the business and then when my son enters school I can put all my daytime effort into the business and hopefully start paying the bills.

__________________
Mother of Kelvin 05/08/08 (Horray Horray for the 8th of May) Wife of wonderful hubby and WAHM who makes awesome goat milk soap...check it out at:
http://www.ilovegoatmilksoap.com

ashleyh8584

I would love to get to the point of making money to support my hobby. Right now my crafts go for x mas and birthday presents. Family loves them but I haven't had tome to get them advertised.