One of the most popular cosmetics is soap. Every person uses it every day, regardless of gender, age, social status and level of income. Therefore, the demand for such products is maintained throughout the year. But the most popular soap is saturated with vitamins, minerals and healing herbal decoctions, because it contributes to the best skin care. Thus, many entrepreneurs have the question of opening a soap business. But how promising is this direction and how much can you earn on it? Let's look at these issues in more detail and find out how to open a home soap business and what it will take.
Business features
Let's dwell on this in more detail. Entrepreneurial people are constantly inventing new methods of earning, which would allow them to receive a stable income at home. One of the promising areas is the manufacture of soap. The relevance of this type of business is due not only to the high demand for cosmetics, but also to the cheapness of production. However, before finding out where to start soap making, let's first look at the main features of this process.
If you compare the soap with other products, then it is much easier to manufacture. However, for a product to be of high quality and in demand among consumers, an entrepreneur must be well versed in all the intricacies of production. Therefore, first you need to read thematic literature, study the technological process and collect as much useful information as possible. Particular attention should be paid to the choice of ingredients. They must be natural and safe, and also bring maximum benefits for skin care. If the soap does not meet these requirements, then it is unlikely that they will buy it, and therefore, you will simply waste your time and money.
Starting soap making at home from scratch, do not rush to immediately open a store or look for dealers. Try first to make small gift baskets and sell them to friends and acquaintances or look for potential buyers on social networks or on message boards. This will allow you to really assess the level of demand for soap, to perfect production technology and build a customer base that will constantly generate revenue for you. If your products begin to be well received, then in the future you can think about expanding your business.
Business plan
So, where to start soap making? In order for the investment to pay off, and the business constantly brings a stable profit, it is very important to carefully plan and calculate everything. To do this, you must have answers to a number of important questions, and a competent business plan will help you with this. It will allow you to assess the necessary size of the initial investment and the estimated timeline for reaching the breakeven level. In addition, you must evaluate all associated risks and develop an action plan in case of unforeseen circumstances.
To start working best at home, gradually forming a customer base and expanding the business. At the first stages of work, the main potential consumers will be your relatives and friends. If they like your soap, they will certainly tell their friends about it, and you will not have a hang-up from customers.
When compiling a business plan for home soap making with calculations, you should:
- determine the amount that will be spent on registration of individual entrepreneurs;
- calculate the investment needed to purchase inventory and raw materials;
- to develop a competent marketing campaign;
- think over the main distribution channels.
If you have a certain starting capital, then you can consider a slightly different option for doing business - not at home, but to rent a room. However, in this case, you will need to perform repairs in it in accordance with the basic requirements and standards of sanitary and epidemiological control and fire inspection, as well as conclude an agreement with municipal services for the removal and disposal of garbage.
Advantages and disadvantages
This aspect should be given special significance. Before you begin to develop a business plan and start soap making at home, you need to evaluate all the pros and cons that this type of business has. Among the main advantages are the following:
- low level of competition;
- simplicity and clarity of business;
- Do not need a large start-up capital;
- high demand for products regardless of seasonality and economic situation in the country;
- good prospects for scaling;
- long shelf life of soap.
As you can see, the pros are enough. As for the minuses, at least soap making at home has not so many of them, but they are. The main ones are:
- the difficulty of legalizing a business;
- Failure to comply with certain standards and the use of low-quality ingredients may cause harm to health.
Thus, this type of business has a lot more pluses than minuses, which makes it very attractive for start-up entrepreneurs, who do not have much experience and big start-up capital.
Technological process
So what do you need to know about this? There are a huge number of methods for the manufacture of products intended for hygienic and cosmetic skin care. For beginners who plan to do soap making at home, it is better to use the simplest one. It involves the manufacture of products according to the following algorithm:
- The soap base is cut into small cubes and melted in a steam bath.
- Next, base oils are added to the mass. Moreover, it is very important that their content in the finished product does not exceed 5 percent.
- At the next stage, 3 drops of flavorings and natural dyes are added and mixed well.
- Liquid soap is poured into special forms and left until completely solidified.
It is best to pack finished products according to beautiful bright boxes. You cannot make them yourself, so packaging is ordered at printing factories. This technology is also suitable for the production of liquid soap. The only difference is that the bulk is added with more essential oils that do not allow it to congeal.
Material and technical base
The technological process has been described in detail above, but now everyone is sure to have an equally important question about what is needed for soap making at home. To set up production, you really need some inventory. For the manufacture of cosmetics will need the following raw materials:
- soap base;
- essential oils or herbal extracts;
- natural dyes;
- fillers, which can be ground coffee beans, raspberry seeds, flower petals and much more;
- flavorings.
In addition to raw materials, appropriate equipment is also required. Soap making kit for beginners includes:
- electronic balance;
- set of knives;
- molds for soaps of various shapes;
- grater;
- stainless utensils for melting the soap base;
- shoulder blades;
- measuring spoons and glasses;
- protective glasses;
- respirator;
- packaging;
- alkali for foaming soap;
- blender for mixing all components.
You do not have to buy everything separately. Today, ready-made kits are available for sale, designed for making soap at home, which includes all the necessary equipment. The only thing you need to buy is soap forms. At your disposal should be several different options so that you can produce several types of soap, for example, children's or thematic, from which you can form gift sets.
Financial planning
Many beginning entrepreneurs are interested in the question of whether it is profitable to do soap making at home. To answer it, you need to do some calculations. The first step is to calculate how much you need to start. Among the main items of expenditure are the following:
- soap base - 25 p. per 100 grams of raw materials;
- essential oils - 100 r. per 100 ml;
- dyes - 100 p. per bottle;
- flavorings - 20 p. per bottle.
The production of one unit of production will cost approximately 30 rubles. The average cost of soap is 150 rubles per bar. Thus, the margin is 500 percent. In addition to raw materials, for normal operation you will also need a quality tool. His purchase will cost 40-50 thousand rubles.
Business profitability
We have calculated the initial investment required to start the manufacture of skin care cosmetics. But how much can you earn from soap making at home? It all depends on the volume of sales and production of finished products. According to experienced entrepreneurs who have been working in this area for more than a year, at home, it is realistic to make about 50 bars of soap every day. If you sell them at the lowest price, then minus the cost of raw materials every day, you can earn about 3,500 rubles. In total, during normal operation, 77,000 rubles will be released per month. But here it is important to understand that at the initial stages it will be very difficult to stably produce such a quantity of products. On average, you will be able to produce 10-20 bars. Having performed simple calculations, it can be calculated that reaching the payback level will take only 1.5-2 months. This is a very good indicator, given the small starting investment.
Legalization of business
Let's dwell on this aspect in more detail. If you want soap making at home to be your main source of income, then you should think about getting an IP. Legalization of activities will not only help to avoid many problems with the law, but also open additional opportunities and great prospects for you. But, as already mentioned above, this is a rather complex process that takes a lot of time and effort, and also requires certain financial costs.
To work legally, you will be required to:
- register an individual entrepreneur at the tax office or through the State Services portal;
- get a certificate certifying the quality of products and their compliance with all standards;
- rent a room that meets all legal requirements.
Undoubtedly, the settlement of all legal formalities is quite expensive, but certified products are much more expensive, so investments will certainly pay off. In addition, working legally, you can avoid fines in the event of a tax inspection.
Implementation methods
So, everything necessary for the production was purchased, documents were drawn up. This raises another important question: how to make money on soap making at home? In order for a business to make a profit, you need to establish a sales system. Today, there are the following sales channels for cosmetics:
- Social networks. Many entrepreneurs actively use them to promote and sell their goods and services. You will need to create a group or page and promote it. Contextual advertising will help you with this.
- Search for distributors. You can try to offer your products to cosmetic stores. But this option is only possible with certified soap. If customers like it, then sales locations will constantly generate good profits, and you will only have to produce even more products.
- Opening your own point. Sales can be made at fairs or in shopping centers. In the latter case, it is worth thinking about product branding, so that customers recognize it against the background of universal diversity.
- Online store. This sales method is optimal because it combines high efficiency and relatively low costs. Running the site will cost a mere penny, but if you can promote it, it will generate higher sales volumes than your own store.
In addition to making money on the sale of soap, you can conduct paid workshops. Every year they are becoming increasingly popular, so they will increase the profitability of the business and create a good source of additional income.
Advertising
So what do you need to know about this? A good and well-thought-out marketing plan for soap making at home is your key to success. To achieve high sales, you must correctly provide your product to the buyer. The big advantage of this type of activity is that it does not need large advertising costs.
First of all, you should talk about how you make soap to as many friends and acquaintances as possible. Give them a few slices per sample for free. It is very important that they like the products, because people are the best advertisement. You can also attend various thematic exhibitions and present homemade soap on them. A large number of people will find out about you there, so you will certainly be able to interest at least someone and sell several probes.
Conclusion
This article described in detail the process of starting a home soap business. For some novice entrepreneurs, this direction may be in doubt, but its profitability is quite high. According to experienced businessmen, on average it keeps at the level of 100-120 percent, but with the right approach, you can achieve higher rates. Even with the most pessimistic forecasts, invested funds pay off in about 4-5 months. Another plus is the low level of competition. Rather, it is completely absent. Even a novice entrepreneur who has never done anything like this before will be able to occupy his niche in the market. All this makes soap making one of the most attractive areas for people who want to open their own business, but do not have a large starting capital. Therefore, cast aside doubts and begin to make cosmetic soap. Do not be afraid to take risks! In this case, you definitely will not burn.