July Vlog - Spend a week with me as I start to redirect my business!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 9 жов 2024
- After last months vlog, a lot has happened. I have had time to sit and think and re-evaluate. This month I am sharing the direction I am taking my business in plus showing some of the new packaging I have received.
Thank you for watching!
#soyandshea #soapdesign #soapmaking
Soy and Shea is an Australian based small business specialising in handmade home & personal fragrances. I have been selling products at local markets since 2012 and online since 2014.
🛒 Website: soyandshea.com.au
🛒 Website: pimpmysoap.com.au
Join me on Patreon for lots of business advise and FREE recipes
/ createwithsoyandshea
SOCIAL MEDIA
🧼 Facebook: / soyandshea
🧼 Instagram: / soyandshea
You can find us on most social media platforms by searching @soyandshea
EQUIPMENT
🧼($) Scales: Amazon AU: amzn.to/33zvJy9
Amazon US: amzn.to/39g5b9S (please note they're 2g increments where as mine is 1g)
🧼Slab Splitter: www.etsy.com/a...
SMALL AUSSIE BUSINESSES with AWESOME TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
🧼 Wicked Lee Goods for 3D printed items: www.wickedleeg...
🧼 SoapCutterAU: www.etsy.com/a...
VIDEO SETUP
($)Camcorder: amzn.to/2LrmtYE (Australia)
amzn.to/2YRZ2Lb (US)
($) Tripod: amzn.to/2LrnqjG (Australia)
amzn.to/3pT4TLX (US)
Editing: Adobe Premiere
REFERENCE PAGES
I make these weekly videos to share the love and passion I have for creating the products available on the webstore and to show my customers the products are all handmade. These are not “How to” videos. If you would like to learn more about how to make soap and other bath and body products, I found the below websites and UA-cam channels to be helpful.
Soap Queen Website: www.soapqueen.com/
Soap Queen UA-cam: / @bramble-berry
Lovin Soap Website: www.lovinsoap....
MUSIC:
♫ Incompetech - Kevin MacLeod: incompetech.com
♫ UA-cam library
AFFILIATE LINKS:
Links used in this description with a ($) are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through one of those links, you won't pay any extra but I will receive a little commission for sharing with you! Thank you for your support!
Go get 'em girl ❤ You will be successful at anything you do because you have not only a can do attitude, but also because you are a hard and dedicated worker, and always thinking forward. Thanks for another great vlog Keeley ❤
Thank you 🧡 I'm definitely stubborn enough to make this work 😆 but I'm also lucky that I get to do what I love and that's a big driving factor
You've filled your brain with so much knowledge on the products you use to get the end result, you've come so far and I know that you will progress even more with your business. The world is your oyster , go get it girl .
Thank you 🧡 I do wish they'd told me in school this is what you can do with Chemistry.
I love that you have a bricks and mortar shop. What an inspiration for a small business to grow from online to opening a shop! I love your vlogs (even though i havent caught the last few) you're so great at chatting and explaining things and I love seeing how much you enjoy what you do. your brand, packaging and labelling are just beautiful.
Thank you for watching 🧡 I've really enjoyed the journey and love showing that it is possible to make your dreams come true. It's definitely not easy, but it's doable 😊
Glad you’re sticking around in the shop, and a big happy birthday 🎉
I love these vlogs, it’s so nice to see all the behind the scenes action 👏🏻 and I’m glad you had a fabulous week 😊
Thank you 🧡 it really was such a great week that really lifted my spirits and got my butt into gear with new projects
Such a wonderfully vlog again, always nice to walk the paths with u although u're the one to carry the walk, I didn't follow u too long but I'll not go away once I followed, please continue to put your butt into gear even I don't know how many butts u can put into😂😂😂😂ill be stink to die if I cannot buy your soaps🎉🎉🎉 wholesale or retails, each has their pros and cons, hope u can find the balance and have your business booms and blossoms!
P. S. I'm going to press the order button then heard that you'll have another promotions next mth, so I'm now waiting to buy after a few days happily..
@Terra_Momo I will be taking photos on Monday ready for the new promotion 😁 hopefully allowing Wholesale will allow me to grow retail too 🧡
I look forward to your vlog every month Keely, keep smiling and thankyou for sharing ☺.
Thank you 🧡 I'm definitely in a much better place
King of Suds is a usually name that Kate from Royalty soaps uses to refer to her subscribers. She’s the Queen of Suds!
I thought it was a great name my friend chose for his business. I don't have time to watch UA-cam so I have never heard the reference.
I am so happy everything is turning around and working out for you. You have the well wishes of many many good people. I used to get in a slump when I was young and my Mom would say, "hang on dear, the sun will pop out for you and will give you much needed rays of hope and sunshine!". Of course out came my sunshine, so uplifting. It worked for me. She had many sayings. Too many for this comment.
I would love to get a printer for name labels, (I currently use a brother, also), but can't afford that right now, either.
Hope next week goes well, too.
Cheers & Blessings 👍🤗
The quote that has always stayed with me is, " there is always someone in a worse position than you, so make the most of it." It's been a tough few months, but I think I needed it to see a new direction 🧡
I always look forward to the vlogs, thank you for taking the time to share!
Thank you for watching 🧡
❤ love your blogs never too long 😊😊
Thank you 🧡
Thank you for sharing !
Thank you for watching 🧡
So good to see you so excited and happy for the future of your business. Love your vlogs, I'm always very happy when I get a vlog notification!
Thank you 🧡 I'm definitely in a much better place now I've had time to sit and really look at things. I'm definitely excited for the future and already have the ball rolling
I don't usually comment but your vlog came out at just the right time, a long train journey home and my own small business anniversary is coming up. I don't make anything similar to what you make but I have watched your videos for years and always enjoy them. I love how honest you are with the business side of things, the good and the bad. This vlog has given me a good feeling going back to working on my business this week after selling at a not so great event and feeling quite burnt out with what I've been designing/making. Wishing you all the best! ~Fiona
I'm so happy it's encouraged you 🧡 I know how discouraging slow events are. The worst market I ever did, I sold only one small candle. I honestly thought I would have to stop and go back to work - I'd only left full time work less than a year before. I was browsing job ads when my phone rang and the person that had bought that one candle, placed a wedding order for 100 candles. It was then that I realised, markets are for marketing. Making sure your name sticks so next time they want what you sell they come to you 🧡 keep plodding along and it will happen
Keeley, George's soap looks so good I love acean soap's and the Orange Blossom sounds lovely. Love your sosp trays. Your Cashmere sosp looks lovely ,love the swirls.Your pineapple soap looks lovely in your new boxes.
Hope your visit to the market went well,you sure look so much happier than you did last time so glad things are working out for you.Take care and thank you for sharing 😊 x
Thank you 🧡 I'm definitely in a better place now and looking forward to the future. George's soaps are wonderful.
I loved being back at the market and catching up with everyone. It had been 2 years since I'd seen many of them
Great vlog Keeley. I haven’t had much time to make soap but you inspire me! I’m going to make a Sindy soap…..too much Barbie going on at mo and coming from the UK I’m sure you get it 😂. I hope you are keeping busy. Take care 😊
You have just brought back so many "horrible" memories 😆 my parents wouldn't buy me a Barbie but got me a Sindy. I was teased so much because I wasn't cool enough. That was until my parents brought me the My Little Pony castle. However, they only got me Apples as the pony and that one wasn't cool enough for the castle 🤣🤣
Well done Keeley. So happy that you are in a better frame of mind. Everyone is doing it tough these days and we all have to support small business. Love the new packaging and agree, any time you can streamline a process and save time, go for it, it is a winner. I took my time this morning and sat down to watch your vlog, so now (on my 'day off'), need to get back to making candles and bath bombs. I hope you enjoyed going back to the Twilight Markets. Look forward to next month's vlog. xx 💖💖😊😊
I'm glad you took time out for yourself. Thank you for watching 🧡
There is so much to consider with packaging costs, and so many forget time and the printing costs. I'm loving the new boxes.
Love your vlogs. I’m a super small business that is really just getting rolling good. I’ve been wanting to purchase a soap stamp. May I ask where you found yours? There are many out there it’s hard to know which ones work best without trying them and of course that is impossible when ordering custom stamps. Folks sharing helps with decisions. I hope it was ok to ask. Thank you for any advice you can give.
I got mine from Bebe Collection about 7 years ago. I love both of the ones I got and even now, they are as good as when I first got them
I hope that once you have the wholesale stuff figured out that you'd be willing to share your advice/experience on it on Patreon. I've been asked about wholesale before and it always felt intimidating to me because I never quite knew where to start with it. I've done small "custom orders" but not wholesale. I would love to know how you ended up arranging it and how the experience goes for you starting it up this time, once you're established and comfortable with your process anyway.
I'll definitely be sharing my wholesale adventure on Patreon
I enjoy making creams and lotions! Body washed and face serums not so much.
I love how quickly I can make Body wash and serum 🧡 but I love watching lotion and creams coming together
Go get 'em Keeley! By the way, where did you find your wooden stand for holding jars when labeling? I really would love to find one.
I got it from a local hardware store. It's the underside of a bannister rail from stairs. Works perfectly
Very interesting video! I would love to visit your shop but, since I live in the UK, it's not really feasible....😀
Where did you get the little sunshine pink moulds? They are adorable!
That's would be a big trip 😆 I think all the plans I have in place will help more people find me.
I got the moulds from one of my wholesale suppliers for my other business. I've never seen them before buy a retailer must sell them. Try googling Sun mould and hopefully a local supplier will come up
@@SoyandShea Thank you.
I would come to your shop, but you are half a world a way from Oregon.
That's a long trip 😆. I am also looking to drive more traffic to the website too. I'm excited for the future plans
Do you have a different stick blender for your facial products then the one you use for your soap?
Yes, I do have separate mixers for each. It came about after I used my soap blender in a lotion, and I saw bits of soap in the mix. Although the blender had been through the dishwasher, soap had got stuck under a rubber gasket. I check them all now but still use separate mixers.
hey keeley how are you and lucy the dog and is your birthday on the same day as august 15th and i love all for your vlogs and videos you do and i hopw next year be a better year for you and that shop just hang in they keeley you can get though the this and out other side i know you can do keeley just keep on going and push on though keeley and i i'm glad you had a good week last month was a bad month for you keeley and keep you head keeley all my love from clare 💘💘❤❤💖💖💓💓🥰🥰😘😘
Thank you 🧡 the official opening day was 13th August but I do a week long celebration. If I remember right, that's when your birthday is
@@SoyandShea hey keeley my birthday is on August 15th
But you can watch a documentary here on UA-cam were and how the natural mica comes from.
It’s very difficult to sensitive person to see. Little kids cave the they dig the soil, in the form of a well, and enter this hole until they reach the soil with mica. they carry the basket on their heads and climb improvised stairs. Many children die buried by landslides. They use the children as they don't have to dig such a big hole. Many are subject to hours of work... this documentary made me buy less Mica and try to use natural pigments like beets; red fruits, green vegetables, flowers, etc
I have looked into this and have seen that this does occur in some countries but as I said in the last comment, like everything you can also source from countries that have more humane ways of sourcing. The advocates are always going to scream the loudest to get your money but the ones doing the right thing are put down. Mica is also mined in the USA and I'm sure there is no child labour there, so it is about researching where your ingredients come from. At the end of the day, people need to make choices and there is never going to be a 100% right choice, do people want natural bright colours with possible questionable mining at cheap prices, do they want natural bright colours mined ethically at higher prices or do they want synthetic bright colours. Alternatively there are natural plant colours which are not as bright and have a tendency to fade. I've checked and all the mica I use are ethically sourced and the supplier has paperwork. Boycotting is not always the answer as it damages businesses that are doing the right thing. At the end of the day we do what is right for us and our business and the point I was making is that contrary to popular belief, mica is natural. I didn't mean for it to turn I to something that offends people
WHAT? That company telling you "maybe you should send it to a proper business address"... Oh, that makes me mad *for* you. I run my business out of my home. My home is my business address so, in my case, that excuse would not solve the issue. WTF?! Yep, that business is not worth it. Is it so hard to say "I'm sorry the delivery company/driver was not upholding out high standards. We will have a talk with the delivery company to make sure they are worthy of our continued relationship. Here is a coupon/discount for your next order." ? Is it really so hard to do that?! I've done that for stuff far less enraging that honestly wasn't even my fault. It just happens sometimes and you eat that as a business and try to be better.
I was stunned at their reply. I wasn't after anything at all. I said their quality was good but won't work with them when they use aramex. All they really needed to say was they could send with an alternative company if I made notes in booking. She told me at the end they use 3 places but I said her reaction to working with small business has also turned me off. Terrible company
I see you have gone back to the veggie peeler for beveling your soap.
Sure have. I think that bevelled has to be the worst thing I've purchased for my business. Gives a nice bevel but needs constant cleaning between soaps and it needs to be semi cured to avoid damaging soap.