More Than WE Know

South Pacific Body, LLC has rapidly grown from an inventory that would fit into two rubbermaid containers to a 10×10 foot storeroom crammed with merchandise waiting to be shipped.

Founder Bethany Luz, says she doesn’t know why the growth has been so phenomenal. But upon review, it’s clear Bethany is following several sound marketing principles to build her customer base.

1) research - Bethany surveys her customers and potential customers on her own website and her etsy site. This provides her current insights into their wants and needs.

2) innovation - Bethany is constantly developing new products - her famous Black and Tan beer soap for men, and seasonal scents such as

• Pumpkin Pie
• Cranberry Orange
• Pecan Praline
• Dark Chocolate Brownie
• Mocha
• Brown Sugar
• Vanilla Sugar
• Gingerbread
• Holiday Cookie

3) connection - Bethany has an easy to navigate website that links to her Etsy store. Her copy is compelling and her pictures are well-lit and nicely staged. Bethany makes it a point to educate her potential customers as to the advantages of handmade soap over store-bought and the differences in ingredients between the two. Offline Bethany sells at fairs, in-home parties.

Bethany says at South Pacific Body “Skin is our obsession“. After reading her interview, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Bethany, tell me about your business.

My business is my baby! I own a Bath and Body company, South Pacific Body, LLC, specializing in vegan olive oil soaps, although I have several lines of unique bath and body products.

What is your best holiday item?

Well, let’s see… I do concentrate on tropical scents, but for the holidays I introduced a fantastic gingerbread olive oil soap and Holiday Cookie fizzing bath salts.

What inspired or motivated you to start your business?

Boy, I could write a novel! In short, from chronic hives.

For some unknown reason, I have been cursed with chronic hives. In search for a cure, I’ve received treatments ranging from pills to UV radiation. Nothing helped, so I started purchasing olive oil soaps from specialty stores and fell in love with them. So much so, I started to make them after a bazillion hours of research and 3 books cover to cover.

Soap making isn’t easy, so a lot of care has to be taken. I had already been making bath and body products for many years, but starting soap was a big, big deal. Oh, and I never get hives anymore.

Your business has really grown - do you use a manufacturer to keep up with the demand?

Manufacture? No way! Every single bar is made by me, by hand, from scratch, using the two best methods of soap making… cold and hot process.

Soap making is fun, rewarding, and DANGEROUS. Maybe that’s the best part!

Dangerous? Wow! What’s involved?

Soap is a very basic formula: Lye+Water+Fat=Soap. That’s it. My measurements are top secret, but all cold and hot process soaps are made the same way. First, I need to put on all my soap making safety gear… gloves, goggles and a mask. One little splash of lye or raw caustic soap and I’ll burn my skin, or worse, go blind.

After I’m safely dressed, I’m ready… Add lye to water (this is the dangerous part!) mix oils, bring the oils to a certain temperature, cool the lye to a certain temperature, mix together, bring to trace (like a pudding consistency), pour into a mold. And wait.

And wait. And wait.

In a month you will have a perfect bar of soap. At the end of the process, there is no lye in the soap, just the by-product , glycerin.

I had no idea all of that work was involved! It makes me look at soaps with a new appreciation! How do you know the soaps are safe for use?

I test the pH level of every brick myself to make sure they are all in the safe range, then use a slice of each brick to make sure it’s perfect.

Once in a while, they aren’t, and I either use them myself, re-batch the soap, or if it’s really bad, it gets pitched. That has only happened twice, thank goodness! I’ll usually just use them myself.

Once in a while I will sell them as “Oops” soaps if they are just ugly. Customers love that, because it’s a great deal on a good, yet ugly bar of soap!

I love the idea of “Oops” soaps! It’s a fun way to remind your customers that these are handmade and that it isn’t easy to create such special and beautiful soaps. They feel more emotionally connected and you get to salvage some inventory!

What else do you sell?

I have many other products… scrubs made with shea and cocoa butter, whipped shea butter, natural butter balms (shea, mango and cocoa butter) body sprays, lip balms, lotions, Dead Sea Salts, and my husband’s soap dishes. I only use a preservative when necessary, and the minimum amount required. Like my soaps,these are all made by me.

My lotions are the only products that I use a pre-made base for (I add the scent).

Everything else is made completely from scratch. I am very proud of that.

What’s the secret of your rapid growth?

I do not really know how or why I grew so quickly. I do use the best oils available to make my soaps… food grade olive oil, coconut and palm oil, plus every batch is super fatted with castor oil. Superfatting is adding extra oil to the batch to make the extremely soothing and gentle. I think castor oil is the best oil for the job.

I have had to quit my job to run my business full time. That’s when I *really*grew, when I could give it my full attention all the time. I’m always adding new products, in new scents (although my store is 1/2 empty right now since I sold most everything for the holidays!)

Do you have employees?

This is pretty much a one woman show. I do everything from producing products, research, ordering supplies and packaging, bottling and packaging the products, and shipping them out (same day or next day).

If my husband is available, he will package soaps for me. He also makes all my molds and soap dishes by hand for me.

What keeps you motivated?

My extremely supportive husband, children and extended family, plus my wonderful customers who have written me letters, recommended me to friends, and keep coming back for more.

How did you fund your business?

At first, it was credit cards, but now my business has grown so much it completely supports itself, which is wonderful.

Who is your target market?

Vegans, Vegetarians and anyone who wants to treat their skin better than a 40 cent bar of supermarket soap.

What percentage of your business is online? What is your ideal percentage?

I would guess about 60% is online. The other 40% is craft shows, local buyers and my wholesale accounts with specialty stores.

Where do you get most of your customers?

Most of my customers now are through word of mouth (I think). I try to network as much as possible, but I just don’t have the time to blog.

What is the biggest challenge you faced and how did you overcome it?

Organization. At one point, I outgrew the 2 bins of stock. Yes, my entire stock used to fit in 2 rubbermaid bins! At my turning point I had to renovate a room,which is now solely used to stock my online store. It’s like a 10×10 spa store in here! More stock meant better organizational skills, which is something I struggle with.

What was the best unexpected thing that happened to you?

My online store exploded very quickly. I did not realize I would be successful so quickly.

What do you wish you had known when you started?

That becoming a business owner would take over! I work more now that I ever did.

I may be tired a lot, but I’m tired for me, and nobody else.

Do you have kids? Do you work at home?

Yes, I have two boys ages 11 and 16. I run my business out of my home.

What is the biggest challenge of being a work-at-home mom?

By far, the biggest challenge is having one computer that all four of us have to use. It may seem like a small challenge, but it can be maddening when I have work to do on the computer and my 16 year old also has to write a term paper!

How have your kids they helped you be a better entrepreneur?

My youngest son is always so excited! He loves testing out new scents. My 16 year old just likes to hoard the lip balms! They have both been so patient and supportive with this big change. Seeing your mom change isn’t easy, and they both handled it well.

How has being an entrepreneur helped you be a better mom?

I think to some extent people still live with the mindset that women must depend on men financially. I think I’ve shown my boys that women (and men) can do what they love and support themselves financially with determination, hard work, love and a few tears.

What advice do you have for other Women Entrepreneurs, or Entrepreneur-wannabe’s?

Know your market, know your product, make it clear to family that you need their support, hire a lawyer, get insurance, be scared, do it anyway.

To see more of Bethany’s handmade soaps visit South Pacific Body.

To get my special report on 7 Steps to Sustainable Success for Women Entrepreneurs -> Click Here.

If you would like your business profiled on More Than WE Know please contact me at Liz (at) Morethanweknow (dot) com.

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