Southern Essence is closed ****UNTIL SEPT 21st****

[Southern28Chick]

I have closed my site down until September 21st. I continue to get orders in, which is great but I have been spending so much time getting orders together and shipped that I don't have much time to replenish my out of stock items.

I'm expecting Christmas to blow me away so I'm taking the next 2 weeks to make as much soap as I possibly can. My goal is 625 bars a week. I'm also going to introduce many new soaps when my site is back online.

Ok, here's the sucky part. I sell my soaps for $3.50 each. Due to my suppliers constantly going up in price for my ingredients, I may have to go up to $3.75 or even $4.00 a bar. Which would still make me one of the cheapest handcrafted soaps seller in the country. Some people sell theirs for $6.00 each!!! What do y'all think about the price increase? Do you think it'll hurt my sales? I really can't think of any way to get around it. I just might have to raise my price.

Edited: If you go to my site you see a little note telling everyone the site is closed...it will be back Sept. 21st though.

 

[Lunachick]

I'd pay that price for quality soap! I hope my order is ok, since ordered about a week ago. I know some of your soaps weren't in stock yet.

I'm patient, and good luck with your soap making and be careful, making all that soap!!! Looking forward to checking out your site later on in Sept!

 

[LynnGrigg]

I hope mine's ok too. I ordered earlier this week. I figured you were probably going nuts with the single orders and with the country store deal. I already knew I'd have to wait for you to make some new soap but wanted to be sure to get some in time for Christmas. I'm excited for you! What's the name of the country store that is selling your soap? My oldest brither is in Raleigh - maybe I'll get a chance to go sometime. All the best! Lynn

 

[nccountrygirl]

Trisha, if you are paying more for the ingredients to make the soap then of course you are going to have to charge more and I personally don't think it will hurt sales. It seems like people are willing to pay what you ask just to have some of your soap, and if they don't want to pay it, there are plenty out there that will. Good luck and keep us posted with the outcome.

Laura

 

[MayberrySaint]

You need to create a detailed budget including cost of supplies, advertising, taxes, equipment, utilities, labor (pay yourself), etc. and find out your exact cost per bar produced. This should be done at different levels of sales...350 per week, 500 per week, 750 per week, 1000 per week, etc. Your cost structure will change as your production levels go up. You have fixed and variable costs...your fixed costs per bar will go down as your sales increase. Your variable costs will stay about the same. After creating a specific, detailed budget...decide what you want your gross profit margin to be over cost. Once that is set...your sales price will be determined. If costs of supplies go up...your sales price will go up to maintain the gross margin you desire. However, as your sales volume increases other costs will go down and help offset your supply cost increase. The budget is the key to setting your sales price.

Hint...I would not give out to much info on the forum about your sales projections, costs, etc. It is too easy for someone to calculate how much money you are making and it can create jealousy, etc.

 

[mdbucks]

didn't go looking for other sites prices, but if you say your price is good that works for me, now stop chatting and start soaping(is there a technical term for making soap), if the price increase is needed do it. Like you said if I go looking elsewhere and find same soap is 6 bucks, it will just make me appreciate the price you are letting your soap go for.

 

[Southern28Chick]

Quote:
Yeah your order is going to ship next week. The only hold up is the Oatmeal Almond, it still has another week of cure time left.

The store my soaps will be at is at Hill Ridge Farms. They're planning on selling them for $5.00 each though.

 

[mdbucks]

on website I would stress the TEMPORARILY CLOSED

 

[MayberrySaint]

Also...how do you have your business structured legally...is it:
1. Sole Proprietorship
2. Corporation
3. LLC

At the sales volumes you are talking about, your tax implications are high. It is important that you have your legal tax entity set-up correctly to minimize what you have to pay Uncle Sam and NC. Also, make sure you have a good accountant to itemize all your business costs to minimize those nasty taxes. A good accounting program like Quickbooks is a HUGE help in setting your budgets and tracking your expenses.

 

[Southern28Chick]

Quote:
"Soaping" sounds about right to me. I would be "soaping" right now but I'm waiting for the UPS guy with my palm oil to get here. His name is Lloyd, you know you order a lot of stuff if you know the UPS guy's name!!!