Another "DUH" Moment

I just had another “duh” moment and it’s one that has created a change in how I’m going to be doing things in the future. More specifically, it’s going to change how I make soap. So for all of my soap customers I will start by saying “I’m very sorry!” But at the same time, I have to say to you, “You’re very welcome!”

Here’s a little of the back story of how I reached this moment (and what exactly this moment is). In July I met Miss Effie and we talked about having my soap in her Summer Kitchen. In conversation number two with Miss Effie she gave me a challenge…she wanted to know if I would be interested in creating a signature scent for her. To say that I was excited would be an unbelievable understatement.

I got to work immediately. I tinkered, I changed, I threw out, I started over, I bought new essential oils, I named it, I renamed it, etc, etc. And then we found two scents that were definite possibilities. We decided it was time to take these scent formulations and make soap with them. After both cured, she put them to a scent test and the winner was chosen unanimously! The process took 2 ½ months; “Miss Effie’s Signature Bees Knees Goat Milk Soap” was created and available for sale exclusively in the Summer Kitchen.

And this is where my slump started. Slump? Who said anything about a slump? I did, and I was in one. I suddenly didn’t like making soap anymore. What?!?! After all of that, I don’t like making soap anymore? Nope! It was a chore. It wasn’t fun. I even considered not making soap at all.

Buy why? What happened? And here was the “DUH” moment in the shower this morning, (I do my best thinking in the shower – using my soap) it’s not that I don’t like making soap. What I don’t like is the rut that I have fallen into jumped into head first. As a business owner, I have this self-proposed stigma that I can never be out of anything. If a customer wants a bar of Lavender soap, I better have a bar of Lavender soap. And because of this, I have fallen into production mode. By pushing myself into this way of thinking I have killed my creative ability. I have no time to create something new because I’m constantly working to make sure I have my shelves stocked with scents that I’ve already created.

Not anymore folks! Yes, I’ll still have staple scents like lavender and peppermint. Sometimes the Lavender soap will be simply Lavender, but sometimes it might have Patchouli in it or maybe even some oatmeal. So back to my apology…if you have a favorite scent, you should stock up because there is now a chance that at times I won’t have it. (Disclaimer: As long as Miss Effie wants her signature scent in the Summer Kitchen, she will have it.)

I can say for the first time in a couple of months that I am excited about making soap! I have herbs and loufa sponges that we grew for the sole purpose of my soaping adventures and I can’t wait to use each and every one of them…just not together, or maybe I will!