Determination and Dedication - setting up business

When I had the notion to sell soaps I did not foresee the incredible amount of work that would have to go into selling soap bars. I don't think a lot of people do. Being based in Scotland we come under the EU cosmetic legislation and with this comes a lot of paperwork!

My ever patient husband did say to me 'at some point you have to start selling your soaps', and I stalled for a very long time. Eventually after much humming and haa-ing I took the plunge.

After copious amounts of reading I started to take the first step in setting up the Bubble Trouble soaping business. The fun stuff had already been done, like making the soap, thinking of a name and making logos. It was now time to start on the business end.

First off was the safety assessments. I was fortunate enough to find a really helpful safety assessor who answered all my questions, even the stupid ones! When you first start it is overwhelming and I can see why a lot of people say 'stuff it, not doing it, too much hassle'. This is where determination and dedication is required.

Safety Assessments

I had never completed paperwork for safety assessments before so this was a completely new experience. The first thing I had to do was ensure the recipes were all hunky-dory beforehand, exact measurements, fragrances and colours and such like. I actually enjoyed this as it gave me an excuse to make the soaps to ensure that the desired quantities were correct. If they were not correct and required any adjustments this would incur extra charges so I wanted to make sure they were spot on before submitting recipes to the safety assessor.

During this time I was also in discussions with the safety assessors about what information they would require and timescales for completion of safety assessments. I received a template on how to lay out the information required by the safety assessor and this was very useful.

I had to get INCI documents for all the ingredients and CI numbers for all colours used from the companies I purchased my ingredients from. I had a little huffy sigh at this point when I realised that I could not chop and change companies based on sales and promotions. Such is life. So I picked the companies I preferred to buy from and continued in my documentation for the safety assessment. Writing down all the ingredients, companies I purchase products from and attaching these company's safety assessments. This was then sent to the safety assessors and now it was a waiting game.

However, there was still plenty to do!

CPNP Registration

This is probably the point that I realised I would have to set up a business. To register on the CPNP you need an official company name for your soaps. Another sigh from me. Having now spent money on the safety assessments, I was not about to give up, not a chance! So, I registered Bubble Trouble for a login, which takes a few days.

Once I received the login, I set up profiles for each soap bar being safety assessed and saved it as a draft to go back to once the safety assessments were in. It was all very technical, luckily, again, the safety assessor had sent a step by step guide on how to complete this document which helped tremendously as sections were about nanomaterials and frame formulation. When I first saw this it filled me with dread that this was beyond me, but the process and its jargon are now becoming part of my daily life, you do get used to it!

Once we received our safety assessments I completed the section regarding labels and packaging and attached the safety assessment to each soap profile. Time consuming and boring but necessary. We then submitted these and were officially registered on the EU portal for cosmetic products.

The Product Information File (PIF)

Ah, the PIF. This has had many an hour from me. Product formulations, animal testing statement, method statements; all pretty straight forward. However, Good Manufacturing Process, oh man that was a toughie. It is not difficult, don't get me wrong. And more than likely you do all the processes anyway but you see writing each step down and ensuring you have covered all eventualities - that required concentration and time. Do not rush this step, it is a vital part of your PIF. I split mine down into sections:

• General procedures

• Personal hygiene, health and safety

• Storage of ingredients and finished cosmetics

• Additional manufacturing notes

For me it was easier to identify all areas this way, but I am aware there are so many other ways to do this. Google helped a lot with ideas on how to set this out. I found blogs specifically for writing PIFs and forums. What to bear in mind is this is a legal document and can be inspected at any time by competent authorities.

Trading Standards

I contacted our local trading standards office to ensure that there was nothing I had missed and that there was anything that they needed to follow up on in terms of setting up a soaping business. Having gone through all the paperwork with them, it was okayed by the trading standards inspector to go ahead. I have to say my local trading standards inspector very helpful and supportive and even asked for the website so he could buy some for his wife, all very encouraging! So you are not taken by surprise, some trading standards inspectors do want to view the area you work in, whether this be in your home or in a business unit.

Accounts/HRMC

Hate accounting. I actually hate it so much I wish I did not need to write about it but unfortunately it is the backbone to any business. I am in a fortunate position that one of my friends is a chartered accountant and she happily helps me with my accounts for box of soap each month. It is a win-win situation. She sighs at me every month at my inability to appreciate the joys of accountancy!

It is important that you look at your accounts to ensure you are not out of pocket. Taking into account not only the ingredients of your soap but things like electricity you use, heating, printing costs, mobile costs, websites and of course your time. These numbers will ultimately give you the price of your soap.

Having recently set up Bubble Trouble as a business I had to register with HRMC as a sole trader. With the help of an accountant this was reasonably straightforward. To be honest it is probably reasonably straightforward to anyone who doesn't absolutely detest numbers. Another job was ticked off the to do list, and even better, one I do not like!

The website

Oh.my.god. This has been the bane of my life! I consider myself to be ok with technology - not up there with the computer programmers of the world but not completely dumbfounded by technology. Setting up the website has been a slog. It is a continual process and continues to be a love-hate relationship. I hate it when building it but love the end results. I started building my webpage on a free site, Wix.com as it came recommended to me by a friend. The setting up of the page was relatively straightforward and the things that got me were easily fixed and usually because of my inability to click the correct button! For example I spent approximately an hour trying to edit text, getting more and more frustrated by the minute, only to find I had not clicked on the 'edit text' button. Sigh and face palm! I took the leap only a few days ago to upgrade my account to premium and get my own domain name, it costs pennies and looks a hell of a lot more professional. It also comes with added extras like space and analytics.

It does require continual promotion on social media sites to get people to go to the site and after speaking to other website owners I am not alone in this issue. People like to see the pretty pictures on Instagram but will not necessarily make the leap from looking at your pictures to going to your website. It is something I am working on at the moment, especially as my store is about to launch on the website.

Labelling

Well I was dreading this part more so than any other part of the process. Labelling always seems so complex and scary. After receiving my safety assessments and reading through all of this, I found that it was not as scary as originally anticipated.

Within the safety assessments you get a breakdown of each product and substance exposure characteristics. This shows you the ingredients in their chemical format and the percentages for each. This makes it very easy to compile the labels. In essence, you need to copy this information to your label. The safety assessments also include any warnings you will need to include on your labels, making that a lot easier also.

So anyone out there that is filled with the same pit of your stomach dread about labelling, worry not, as it is quite straightforward once you receive your safety assessments. I have found that the safety assessors are happy to assist in anyway they can to help also, so when they ask if you need any advice, take it.

Packaging

I hate shrink wrap with a passion. It drives me bonkers! So one day after shrink wrapping a number of soap bars I took to Instagram to ask fellow melt and pour soapers how they wrap their product. Unfortunately it seems shrink wrap is the preferred method for melt and pour soaps as it keeps all the goodness of the soap bar in. One suggestion from an American soaper was Saran wrap. I had to google what this was as I had no clue and had never heard of it, to find it was cling film. I have tried using cling film with a number of my soaps now and it is waaaaay easier to wrap them up than shrink wrap but does not look particularly professional, mind you neither do my shrink wrap skills! So I had to find a workaround.

I found boxes. I know it sounds stupid but my idea was to shrink wrap the soap to the best of my ability (without shouting expletives at said shrink wrap) put them in boxes with the Bubble Trouble logo on them. I have found this conforms to my idea of what looks nice more so than a label and shrink wrap.

I took ages trying to find cheap boxes as I do not want this to push up the price of my soap bars. I found some absolutely stunning cheap boxes at an American site, which were $15 for 100 but I nearly fell off my seat when shipping came in at $55, so that was a no go. Off I went in search of decent soap boxes in the UK. I contacted some complanies who brand the boxes for you but these were out of my price range at approx. £250 for 100 boxes. I then found The Soap Kitchen sells boxes for soap. These were reasonably priced and resulted in me purchasing 10 of the boxes to try them out - they have been a god send and I plan to purchase more! My advice is to always have a budget and look around until you get a suitable price for you.

Things to note in the Safety Assessment

1. You cannot deviate from your recipe

2. If you want to produce soaps for under 3 year olds or specifically for the face, a separate report is required

3. Within our safety assessment there is a clause that under EU food imitation regulations, we are not allowed to make soap that looks like food - and after seeing all the wonderful soaps on Instagram from other countries, I am honestly gutted. Was looking forward to trying a cupcake soap. Ah well.

Light at the end of the tunnel

One thing we have learnt in this process is you need dedication and determination. For what was once a hobby it has now become an integral part of our family life, I mean fellow soapers will agree we talk about little else!

Also do not let the paperwork dampen your creativity. I have found making days for the business part and days for soap making separate has helped. When I was doing a bit here and a bit there my creativity was at an all time low but having re-adjusted my working it is back up there in soap heaven.

Having gone through the process and now at the selling stage (finally), the next time my husband tells me 'you need to start selling your soap' I can say 'yes dear, I am'.