DIY marketing

I find it somewhat ironic that, given my extensive history of studying marketing, teaching marketing and applying marketing principles to other organizations, I am struggling with creating my own marketing plan. Plan?? What plan? So far, I'm networking on a variety of social networks, but I know I need to sit down and plan my marketing strategies. Why is it so difficult to apply my knowledge and experience to my own business?

I think part of my struggle is the social media aspect, which is pretty much 90% of my marketing strategy so far. When I studied advertising, social media was barely on the horizon and is still fairly new to most advertisers in terms of incorporating it into a marketing plan. I find myself the student again; researching online for articles that will help me develop a social media plan.

Hamster Wheel

Ever feel like you're working hard, but not getting anywhere? That's how I feel when it comes to figuring out my expenses and profits. I've been working on it some today and I don't feel like I've gotten anywhere. I HAVE learned how much "in the hole" my business is, so that's good to know so I can GET OUT OF IT! I have a good system for determining the prices of my products, but after a sale, I'm not sure how to divvy up where the money goes. I bought a "...for dummies" book on small business financial management, though I'm a bit apprehensive about reading it. Something about numbers just makes my mind come to a screeching halt. I guess that would be a good thing...at least I wouldn't be running in the hamster wheel anymore. :)

Voice for the Voiceless

Fellow Etsy Seller

The other day, a fellow etsy seller Convo-ed me. She is also located in St. Charles and wanted to buy some of my lotions. We arranged to meet at Bread Co. for the transaction. What a nice lady! I really enjoyed the opportunity to meet another etsy seller in person. Like myself, she is fairly new to the etsy experience. She offered some information to me that she had learned about selling on etsy. Evidently, sellers who offer more than 40 items (that's right, more than 40) do better than those of us who only have a dozen items in our shop. It's definitely going to take me a few months to build up to 40 items, but it's nice to have a goal for inventory. I'm sure "40" isn't the magic number, but who knows...Maybe it will be "37".

Check out my new friend's etsy shop at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/akcArt

New Slab Mold - the first trial

I tried my new Slab Mold from Bramble Berry last night. I also tried the "swirl" technique for the first time. I'm fairly pleased with how things turned out. I love the dividers in this mold. I think I did okay with my swirling, but as you can see from the bottom of the soap, I don't think my swirls went all the way through. Will need to work on that some more. Also, my purple wasn't as bright as I thought it would be, but it's a nice shade of lavender...which fits the fragrance: Lavender Vanilla. The most difficult part was figuring out how to get the soap out of the mold. The soap was pretty soft and difficult to work with without indenting it. I tried to gently free each bar individually, but that became time consuming. I then worked on sliding each of the dividers out, but that also took a bit of time. Between the two efforts, I finally freed all 18 bars!



Free at Last!

Key Lime Pie Soaps are here!!

I love Key Lime Pie. It is one of my favorite desserts. I love the lime taste. The whipped cream on top. It's like summertime in my mouth. Mmmmmm. It made sense that I had to make a Key Lime Pie Soap. I used Lime Essential Oil for the fragrance. It smells so good, it makes my mouth water! I'm pleased with how the green turned out. I was trying for a whipped topping look with the creamy color, but it didn't set up on top, so I had to swirl it in a little. I like it, even if it isn't what I intended. I have these posted in my etsy shop...just in time for summer.

(Now I'm hungry!!) :)

Twitter, twitter...

I've spent most of the day trying to figure out how to use Twitter. I'm learning, not only the basics, but also how to use it to gain loyal customers. Right now, it's a bit daunting. There are SO many great people to follow and that I want to follow me. It's also pretty addicting! As if Facebook weren't enough of a distraction! LOL!
So, follow me on twitter! @Catiebethbath

Soap mold has arrived!

I am eager to try out my new soap mold tonight. I'm going to make a Lavender Vanilla fragrance and try my hand at making lavender and brown swirled soap!

Garden Flower Soaps

These were fun to make and they smell soooo good! I call the scent "Lavender Dusk" because it's a sensual-smelling lavender. Something you might wear for a night out. These flower soaps will be on sale at Cottleville Crafts ETC...

Summer, summer, summertime

I made this glycerin soap last night using my new Papaya Coconut fragrance oil. I like to let my scents inspire the design of the soap and I'm pretty pleased with how this turned. It does actually have some orange shimmer mica in it, but it got lost in the green. It still shimmers in the sunlight, though. The "coconut" on top is really shredded goats milk soap and I added a touch of turquoise shimmer mica. It's pretty summery, don't you think? The smell reminds me of a fruit cocktail. Mmmmm...

Key Lime Pie

I LOVE Key Lime Pie. It is one of my absolutely favorite desserts! It was no wonder that a key lime pie soap would be on my list of "to make". Here it is. It has another two weeks to cure. I can hardly wait!

My soaps are in a real-life shop!

I am so excited to share that I'm now selling my soaps at Cottleville Crafts ETC...! I will still have my etsy shop and my "wholesale" shop (which is buying directly from me), but I'm just thrilled to have my soaps displayed and on sale in a cute, little boutique!