We have just celebrated our 1-year anniversary. This year has been filled with a lot of successes, lessons, heartaches, tears, smiles, and much more. Lets start off by my lessons.
What I have learned in this first year of running All Things Mental Health by Ashley.
- Running a small business successfully is possible. Do not let the lessons deter you from the path God has led deter of us to individually take. Also, you can make money selling soap.
- Do not put all of your bags in one basket. For example, focus on a making a couple of products. Over time, see what works for your clientele and which items will be cost effect to make and sell.
- Every time you may want to make may not sell. You have to decide if it is worth making if your clientele is not purchasing.
- Put yourself out there and try different events and festivals. This is the only way you are going to know what will work for your specific business. For example, there is a small business friend of mine who makes wood products, t-shits, etc. She found that her best events are multi-day events, and events in northern Virginia. She found she does not do well at single day events.
- Wholesale is not for everyone in every season. I tried wholesale and did some transactions, but it was not as successful as I thought. I decide to invest my money and time into in-person events. Giving retail another try. If a form of income did not work out in the past, there is nothing wrong with revisiting it in the future.
- Having some form of tracking system. For example, QuickBooks or an excel sheet. This is important for tax purposes but also if you want to keep up monthly on your expenses versus income.
- Have a website. This gives your customers a central location to return to make future purchases.
- Ordering in bulk- this allows you to save money which in return you can sell your products for reasonable prices.
- Making small business friends. Sometimes friends and families do not understand what it is like running a small business. Having a small business friend allows you to bounce ideas of off and vent when things get difficult.
Bonus:
Check with your town or county and see if they offer a small business workshop. This will allow you to obtain the basics of running small business. You may learn about profit margin, sales pitch, missions’ statement, business plan, etc.
Here are some other questions people have asked throughout the year.
Additional questions/statements:
- What would I have told myself a year ago when I started the business? Nothing because I learn better by experiences. Do what is best for you and learn along the way.
- What has been the hardest things about starting a business? Realizing what works as far as making products, selling products, and advertising. Another hard part is not getting any sales on wholesale platforms; despite your efforts to promote and obtain good quality photos.
- I bet your house smells good? However, I tell people my house smells confused with all of the different scents. Overall, all the scents smell great in the home.
- What do you do for self-care? Spending quality time with my child, kayaking, and being in nature.
- Do you run this business full-time? No, however, I will in the future.
- How do you find events/festivals? Facebook, word of mouth, and making vendor friends. When you find that first event, talk to the other vendors and see what events they have coming up. Use that as a guide and determine if that event is within your price range or if your clientele is there.
- Figure out what events work better for you. Determine how much money you want to invest. Gather a list of future events that have been both profitable, organized, and cost effective. Use this as a guide for future years.
Bonus tips
- Offer card reader and other payment options at events. I would have lost a lot of money if I did not have a card reader, paypal, venmo, and cashapp options.
- Weekly markets are consistent income and consistent customer base. Since doing weekly markets during the summer, I have seen a big change in my business income.
What to expect in year 2?
- Moving in the ecofriendly direction
- Continuing to watch TikTok videos, YouTube videos, and Pinterest to gain inspiration.
- Making sure my products are cohesive in the size and texture.
- Remaining cost efficient so I can keep my prices reasonable for my customers.
- Instead of investing money into different product categories, look into different scent selections.
- Better selection of vendor events. Sticking with some events that have been profitable in year 1 but also trying other similar events to those. For example, wine festivals. Investing in 1-day events and weekly markets versus 2-3 day weekend events.
What have been some successful moments?
- Having clients come back and let you know how your product has helped them or made them feel.
- Having repeat customers.
- Having customers post your products on social media.
- Increase support and following across all of the social medias.
- Developing great small business friends.
- Having customers tell you not to give up, they love the work I am doing, and how much they support my self-care business.
- Having the business be able to run itself.
Fun fact:
The average soap maker makes 1,000k per month. My business has made that number.
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
We would not have been able to make these numbers if it was not for you and your support. Thank you all for being apart of this year 1 adventure. I will see you in year 2!