Hi! I’m Deb, the soap maker, designer, creator, web designer, marketing person, bookkeeper, and the shipper. I also order supplies, take inventory, pay the bills and in general, do anything and everything to run my little business.
If you’d like some insight on that – well – here goes!
I’ve recently retired from my full-time job as a database administrator for Arizona’s largest elementary school district. In the middle of Covid. When thousands of people are out of work. Yeah, scary!...
So, I retired. I decided beforehand to start my own business to keep me busy and to share the love of all soapy things handmade! I LOVE making soap! I would rather make soap than put together a website, or take inventory or do bookkeeping. I’m sure sometime in the future I can hire someone for all of that!
A typical day in my newly retired and newly formed business starts something like this:
Wake up and drink 2 ginormous cups of homemade latte. Thank you, husband, for buying me my dream espresso maker! Brush teeth and hair and wash face, feed the cat (yes, she’s a tortoiseshell), and get my day started.
I check on the website for new orders or changes from the website provider first. Print out any orders for shipping later in the day and then check the bank account to see what’s come in and what’s gone out.
If I’m making soap that day, I start to get my supplies in order, making sure that the hubby has eaten breakfast so I can work in peace, (He likes to say that I get my coven together and we all huddle around a cauldron to make soap, but that’s not right!) (or true!)
If I’m not making soap, I sit and work for an hour on marketing which takes me MUCH longer than an hour because I’m just not geared that way. I’m a ones and zeros gal and creative thinking is a struggle!
After working on whatever is demanding my time, I eat lunch, relax and do whatever strikes me as fun. I read. A lot. My current obsession is a book called “Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine” by Mike Michalowicz. I’ve learned so much from that book about accounting practices, which is good because I had no idea of any of that before starting my little business. If you've not read it, look for it and give it a read! The book is filled with his humor and vignettes about his life-very interesting.
I also read a LOT of fiction, mostly sci-fi and mystery, but sometimes historical drama.
I also have a love of genealogy. My sister in Ohio and I work on it together with help from everyone, of course! Genealogy is not a thing you do by yourself at all – it’s done with the help of aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents, and everyone else you’re related to and many that you're not related to, also!
I currently serve on the Historical Committee of The Friends Of Mount Moriah Cemetery. Mount Moriah cemetery is located in Philadelphia, which is where my father’s family lived. Many of my ancestors were buried there and it’s a cemetery that in years past fell into disrepair. A small group of volunteers is slowly reclaiming the space, cutting back trash trees and the grass, and resetting headstones that have fallen over. It's amazing to see all the work that they have done here! Did you know that it is the original burial site of Betsy Ross?
I normally have webinars so I can learn more about running my business – how to fill out my tax forms (have someone else do it!) or how to run Facebook/Google/Instagram/Pinterest ads or what trends in soapmaking are taking off.
Yep, palm oil is out and goat milk is in! Lol
Evenings I relax with the hubby, do dinner and make plans for the next day.
Not too exciting and I bet my life doesn’t sound much different than yours! But – come over and visit, have a coffee with me and we can talk! 😊