Want to know the secret to my success as a businesswoman?
I’ve been in business for almost sixteen years. I’ve read scores of books on business and soapmaking, watched hours of webinars, sat in seminars, and spent time with my mentors, both in soapmaking and business. Business isn’t a one-and-done proposition; it must be a continuing journey towards growth and improvement.
Being a home educator, I obviously love teaching. Being a business owner, soapmaker, and cosmetic manufacturer, I love sharing that passion with others, teaching what I’ve learned through the years. Whenever someone comes to me with a true desire to invest themselves in learning, I’m happy to take time to teach them. I’ve even thought about offering classes in beginning soapmaking and setting up a small business.
One of the things that I’ve experienced many times is requests from newbies wanting my success. If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me, “Can I have your best selling soap recipe? I want to sell them at the flea market this weekend,” I’d have my dream beach house and be comfortable for life. I thought those days were behind me. Then Sunday happened.
A local lady I know messaged me on Facebook: “Can you give me a crash course on making soap?” I explained to her that there is no “crash course” to soapmaking. I further shared that I spent six months learning how to make cold processed soap, and that’s the average. I have books on techniques, formulation, oil analysis, soapmaking chemistry, and labeling. This isn’t a quick and easy knowledge set; it takes time, dedication, and work. I quickly got the feeling that the lady wasn’t interested in spending time learning the craft; she wanted my best soap formulation so she could make soaps to sell in our local area. She wanted my 10+ years of knowledge and experience fast and free! I gave her what she needed, though not what she wanted. The lady wasn’t happy with this. She wanted the shortcut.
Just as there are no shortcuts in soapmaking, there are no shortcuts in life. If you want to be successful in any endeavor, you absolutely must invest the time to do it and do it well.
Business: Those of us with successful businesses are enviable, I’m sure. We have wholesale accounts, websites, active social media accounts, and a customer following. We make it look easy, because no one sees the work we put in after hours (like right now it’s after 10:30 p.m. as I type this). My friend and I put it, “It takes a lot of time and hard work to become an ‘overnight success.'” Some people seem to have that one magical idea that nets them a small fortune seemingly overnight, but those people are few and far between. The rest of us put in a lot of work, sweat, and tears into making our dreams profitable.
Fitness: You’ve probably seen the great, awesome boiled egg diet that kept popping up all over social media a few weeks ago. Lose 24 pounds in 2 weeks with the boiled egg diet! This diet has nothing to do with eggs, though they’re great sources of low-fat protein. The diet is very close to keto and extremely low calorie. A quick estimate of calories indicates maybe 1000 calories a day and very few carbohydrates with this diet, so losing weight will be quick – and temporary. Those pounds won’t stay off once the diet is over. If you want lasting weight loss, deprivation isn’t the way to go. You’ve got to make lasting life changes, not temporary weight changes, if health is your goal.
Peace of Mind: Who doesn’t love a trip to the beach or the mountains? We breathe in the fresh air and the change of scenery helps us unwind. When we get home, though, it’s like all the stress and pressures quickly envelop us again. That’s why I developed my beach-inspired soaps, so you can bring the beach home. If you want to de-stress and stay calm, relaxing needs to be a daily goal. Yoga, meditation, or just getting off by yourself to chill for a bit will help lower the stress, which will, in turn, improve other areas of your life.
So what’s the secret to my success? Hard work. Studying. Learning from others. Making material investments in my improvement. Years of experience. And years of mistakes. Part of the joy of rebranding was starting fresh with all my years of experience as well as the lessons learned from my mistakes – lessons I happily pass along to others. And underscoring it all, I work with integrity. A business owner can have vast amounts of knowledge and experience, but if they lack in basic integrity, then their business lacks in other ways, too.
What are some of the secrets of your success? Please share them below.
