Q: What Led You to Start
Making Homemade Soaps?
A: My son was diagnosed with severe
eczema at 3 months old. We began using all natural soaps and I
was intrigued with the soapmaking process. My husband and I
began doing our own research, and finally took the plunge and
began soapmaking on our own almost 2 years ago.
Q: How did you go
about making soaps your business?
A: My soaps were covering my kitchen
counters, office, and spilling out into our garage! Friends and
family would take a few bars whenever they visited. We wanted to
experiment with new recipes and ingredients, and began selling our
soaps on Ebay to provide some resources for additional supplies.
Within a few months we opened our store, Blue House Soaps.
Q: Was starting your business difficult?
A: My husband and I both have a
background in business that helped us in starting this venture. Our
combined experience and education made our transition from Ebay
sellers to owning our own website a smooth transition. Of course, we
are still learning!
Q: How do you manage
to run a business with small children?
A: We have very specific "work" time and
"family" time. Our work day ends at 3:30pm when our children arrive
home from school. We take that time to assist our children with
homework, sit down to dinner as a family, have some family time in
the evening, etc. We may work for an additional period of time in
the evening after the kids are in bed, but late afternoon/early
evening is dedicated to family time.
Q: What does your home office/work space
look like?
A: We have converted a bedroom to a home
office. My husband and I both have our own desk and computer on
opposite sides of the room. There is a large packaging and work
table in between our desks. Both walls have large shelving which
store supplies, and one entire wall is shelved and provides soap
storage.
Q: What Is The Most
Rewarding Thing About Running Your Home Business?
A: The most rewarding thing is being
able to be available to my children. When my 4 year old son had an
asthma attack last week and was admitted to the hospital, taking a
few days off to care for him was not an issue. I didn't have to use
"sick days" or call for permission to miss work. My family comes
first - and my home business allows me to use my own discretion as
to how I spend my time.
Q: What new an exciting
things can we expect in the future?
A: We will debut many new items this
month at Blue House Soaps. We are adding even more all natural
items, as well as a fun kids line of soaps. Our holiday soap
collection will be available this month as well as gift sets, and we
will be adding more soaps to our aromatherapy line.
