Good Afternoon, Rose Garden.
How are you doing? I am doing well. I spent last week I decided to start adding fragrances that I have mapped out into my fragrance Excel spreadsheet. I have found a lot of lost loves and I wanted to start soaping them NOW. LOL. There are still about 45 recipes that I still need to add to my spreadsheet. In this fragrance blending life I get so inspired by foods and colors that it can be hard for me to narrow down what I want to make and when.
Currently, I have mapped out my Monster Mash fragrances and found some ideas from last year that I never got a chance to blend together. Bummer. So, now I need to get my oil order together for Bramble Berry and Candle Science so I can finally blend them all together and then send them out to my soapy testers. Shelley of Noelle's Garden, Lydia of Butter Depot, and Brandi of Funky Fresh are my go-to businesses to test out my blends because they sell soaps, candles, and body butters with all different base recipes so then can then tell me how everything holds up. These women haven't steered me wrong in the last 6 years so why change now, right? Shelley makes hot process as well as cold process soaps. Lydia is the Queen of Body Butters, dry body oils, and linen sprays. Brandi is the Goddess of Candles and Hot Process Soaps. They are all different in their likes and dislikes so I am sure to get a well rounded response.
So on Clubhouse we have been discussing not leaving money on the table. Ways that we seem to do that frequently is by not looking at all customers and possible customers. Through two Clubhouse meetings we have identified:
1. Barbershops - Men love to smell nice and have their own regimen when it comes to grooming and appearance. A lot of times we have to meet them where they are in order to not have any distractions in sales.
2. Massage Schools - Many of the students don't know how to make their own products and could use the assistance of someone or company who already does and is set up to offer them their own exclusive line.
3. Clubs - How many clubs have you gone to where they have their own signature fragrance (masculine or feminine) for their dancers, waitstaff, etc. to use? I learned this in Texas when I had a woman who was over her dancers come in and purchase my body oils for her dancers because the scents were unique.
4. Teacher Appreciation - How many of you have gone to your local schools and offered a teacher or educator discount? A Sanitation Engineer Discount? A Food Service Discount? When I use to make solid cuticle oils for a nail salon I suggested going to the three surrounding schools and offering a discount. It went over well buuuuttt they didn't have the staff to be able to satisfy the demand. Also, at Christmas the nail shop owner purchased "Thank You" 1 ounce lotions as gifts from me to give to her best customers. The lotions were a hit and from there I went from selling solid lotion sticks to just one nail tech to selling 8 ounce lotions to the shop. Unfortunately, they had to close up shop not too long after that due to not being able to get reliable staff. It was a good run while it lasted.
Well, that is all for now. I am sure that I will have more to say after I have created my fragrances. Chat with you later, Rose Garden.