Success Stories Archives - Page 14 of 22

Starry Night Soap

May 23, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I appreciate how detail oriented these Starry Night soaps are by Crater Lake. Having recently had a major disaster with impatience and soap, I am inspired to pull out my soaping goodies this weekend and try to work on details. Maybe some soap designs for the Fourth of July coming up?

She says this about her creation:

This is a very cool bar of Hemp Soap – poured , not painted. Each bar is a full 4 ounces and is scented with Nag Champa. I used titanium oxide and mica as colorant.

She also made a brilliant Geometric Soap. The colors are delightful and the texture on top extraordinary.

Hummingbird Art Soap

May 19, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Thank you to Judith Ann from Sugar Island Treasures for sending us this fabulous photo of her Hummingbird soaps.

She is very artistic, having painted the Hummingbird photo in the back of the soaps and making the Hummbingbird soap to match. Using our Melt and Pour Tool Kit and the Milky Way Hummingbird mold, she made these wonderful Hummingbird soaps with the Non-Bleeding Red & Purple (mixed to make Fuscia), Green Patina Sheen Mica, Sparkle Gold and Merlot Mica. NOTE: The Hummingbird Mold has been discontinued. You may like the 6 Cavity Guest Bee Silicone Mold instead.

I am in awe of her artistry and the patience and vision required to make this beautiful soap a reality.

Why Use a Custom Photo?

May 17, 2008 Filed Under: Business Musings

It’s about an extra $750-1000 to get a really great custom photo for your ad or cover of your book. Is that a lot of money? Of course it is! But, when viewed over the lifetime of the project (the total cost of the ad campaign, the number of books printed, the thousands of brochures handed out), it is pennies extra per ad/brochure/book cover.

Why wouldn’t you spend the extra money to ensure you don’t get caught with someone else’s iconic graphics for your project?

Shout-Out to Nahia Creations

May 16, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News, Business Musings

Shelley from Nahia Creations is no stranger to the Soap Queen (here, here), having been an avid reader and commenter from this blogs early days.

Check out the major shout-out she got from Rare Bird Finds. We certainly have an A-List Community around here. And, I’m feeling pretty good about my soap choices right now too – I have a bar of Chocolate Espresso Nahia Creations soap in my shower right now. Hint: You can buy your own Chocolate Espresso fragrance right here.

Congrats Shelley! You deserve the recognition; your soap & packaging are amazing!

Soapy Advertising

May 13, 2008 Filed Under: Business Musings

Thank you Crunchy Chicken for the post about this um, unique way to work with soap.

Flogos is a company out of Alabama that make logos, out of a soap-like material that float through the air.

Quoting from their site:

Flogos are synthesized from proprietary surfactant (soap) based foam formulations and lighter than air gases such as helium. Flogos are designed to last for as long as their visual impact is needed. Specific formulations are available to provide a life expectancy of a few minutes to an hour or so. This also greatly depends on amospheric conditions such as wind direction and speed.

I can’t decide if this is the coolest thing since airplanes started dragging big huge “Will You Marry Me?” signs or an intrusive form of advertising. Still, it does use soap so that’s a plus in its favor.

"Saipua"- The Finnish word for "soap"

May 12, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Saipua is a small family owned business located in Hudson Valley, NY. Dedicated to small business, they have continued to produce small batches of olive oil based soap since 1999 to assure quality and sustainability. You will gasp when you check out their nicely designed site. Look how fresh and creative this display is; I’ll take ’em all!

These soaps have a vintage touch that I adore. Their packaging is the whimsical, each stamped and wrapped to perfection. Check out these adorable Travel Soaps that come in their own little travel pouch. As woman on the go, I don’t think I can live with out these. I’ll take one of these too please.

When I saw the packaging with a cute little chick on it, my first reaction was “Awww” but then I read the ingredients for this Mango Butter Soap and I melted. Here’s the description: “Mango butter, silk protein, sweet almond oil and shea butter make for an intensely rich soap that produces a creamy fine lather.” Sold! Put me down for two!

Conclusion? Well designed packaging, clean and easy to navigate site and some decadent recipes make this soapmaking company stand out from the pack.

Nobody Loves Your Baby…

May 9, 2008 Filed Under: Business Musings

My friend Bob Pritchett wrote a great book called, “Fire Someone Today.” It’s a must-readfor new businessess. One of my favorite chapters is entitled, “Nobody Loves your Baby Like You Do!”

As any mother can attest, her baby is always the most smart, the cutest, the most athletic and the happiest baby… ever! Luckily for my Mother of course, this really was true in the case of me. As the photo proves, not so much for my brother … (ha ha. I’m kidding. Of course. ELF, as he is affectionately known, was a close second in the looks, athleticism and smarts category.)

Nobody can take care of a baby like its own mother. That’s the way it is with our businesses. You created your business, you stayed up long nights ensuring its health and you worry constantly about the long term future of your business. It’s up to you as the business owner to take care of your business, to design your long term strategy and to stay up long nights worrying about payroll.

Recently, I was at an evening networking event and chatting with three smart, outgoing sales reps. I was impressed that they were at the event on their own time and asked them about it. It turns out that their boss pays for them to go and network for the company. When I quipped, “Well, you better go get some more business cards then,” they hemmed and hawed about why it wasn’t necessary for them to actually do the work that their boss was paying them for.

Instead, they were content to sip their free drinks and have a nice social night on the town – all while being paid by the hour.

No one loves promoting and building your business like you do. There isn’t anyone on this planet that will work harder to ensure that your business is a success and there isn’t anyone who can replace you, the owner, at networking events, at conferences or just at staff meetings.

Yes, you can (and should) delegate. There are too many things for you to do at once. But when you delegate, it is vital that you lay out action plans for success. An action plan for success in the above example might look like clear goals and guidelines before the event (example: meet 10 people and have extended conversations with 3 companies that might use our services). This plan should be followed up with a meeting the next day to go over the expected outcomes from the social networking event. Delegating to the right people and ensuring that they have a plan to be successful goes a long ways towards augmenting the owner’s skills. But, it doesn’t replace you or your need to be the driver of your business.

What does this mean for you and your small business? It means you can never take anything for granted. It means that you’ll consistently appear to be micromanaging your staff. It means that you will not only stay up nights worrying about the company but you will think of strategy, review the week, and plan for the next month on your off-time. It means that the big heavy lifting, the “Where do we go from here? How can we increase our business?” is on your shoulders. No one knows your business the way you do. No one can gut-feel your industry like you do. Nobody can sell your business and your products as well as you do.

As my friend Bobsaid, “Nobody loves your baby like you do.”

Owls and Button Flowers

May 1, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Check out our awesome new Aloha Molds. We have 7 new Aloha molds and our favorites, so far, are the Retro Owls and the Button Flowers.

These molds are so great for layering because the divots are deep enough to effortlessly pour multiple layers. My first batch using these new molds were actually just to test some colors. They turned out pretty cute (if I don’t say so myself).

I used our clear melt and pou r and tested a brown, a yellow and a red liquid oxide concentrate. I liked how the colors turned out and no bleeding. Yahoo!. If you like these test colors you could try our Brown, Yellow, Red or Ulatramarine Pink Oxides.

Bramble Berry will for sure be adding the Brick Red Non-Bleeding Colorant pictured in the tests above.

These Owls were created by Bev, in packing. She saw mine and thought she could do better. I think we can all agree that Bev’s Owls are the winner. She used our Black, Brown and Yellow Oxides with White Melt and Pour Base. Bev used the clear melt and pour to achieve a true black (using black oxide and black mica) and also for the Sparkle Gold colored soap.

I absolutely love how the black owl turned out. Spooky and dark… though, it might be just dark enough to lather black. Using black oxide is tricky that way; if you use too much, it will create black bubbles in the tub.

To find step by step instructions on how to create Melt and Pour Soap, click here. For instructions on doing a double pour or layered soaps, check out the instructions on Teach Soap here.

Tammy, the Mud Queen

April 30, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Tammy Doering of Totally Pamper Me was at the Soap Guild convention in Vermont. She gave generous samples and workshops on how to make your skin smooth, fresh and young looking without surgery.

While I didn’t get to attend her session this time, I have gone to her “mudding” sessions before and came away impressed with her passion and zest for her business. Tammy really believes in her product … and it shows when she talks and gives demonstrations.

One of the things I admire about Tammy is that she charges boutique pricing – she charges $12.95 for one bar of soap! What’s even cooler about this is that Tammy actually gets this pricing because her product is formulated with ingredients and products that aren’t readily available anywhere else. It’s a great niche to be in.

Having just used her mask on my face last night, I can testify that my skin feels smooth, soft and supple after rinsing the product off.

There is so much talent here!

April 29, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

The talent in this little resort is bursting at the seams! I cannot get over how many amazing artisans and soap artists are all gathered in one place. Here are some of the entries to the “Best Of” Soapers Showcase.

Are you feeling inspired yet? I was absolutely in awe, mouth agape, at the entries. They inspired me to step up my CP game and get to work on being more creative. This embedded CP soap was one of “Wow!” soaps for me. I really felt like it was a work of art, something to be cherished and admired.

Embedding multiple colors of cold process soap is a true art and science unto its own. I wonder if teaching this technique plus swirling and layering might make for a good Otion Soapmaking Advanced Class?

I am on such a creative high after seeing all of the unique and different ways to make, display and package soap. There are a lot of soaps the Soap Guild show at to be proud of.

SuperStar Guests

April 28, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I was so honored and humbled by two of the superstar guests for my talk on Building Your Business – Jamila White, the E-Commerce Diva herself and Donna Maria from the Indie Business Network.

This is Jamila White from Bootstrap Babes and the E-Commerce Diva. She was warm, funny and instantly engaging. I especially liked that she smiled at me throughout my talk. It gave me a perfect place to rest my eyes any time I felt my energy flagging throughout my 1 hour talk.

Here I am, meeting Donna Maria from Indie Business Network. I love that both she and Jamila look bright and cheery in their colors and always have huge smiles on their faces. I felt really lucky and privileged to meet them both.

Donna Maria also writes a blog and updates it faithfully. She writes about small business and ways to increase your possibility of success. You can find her blog here. I read it at least once a week. Donna Maria’s husband is also at the conference, helping to film. He was such a nice guy and it’s clear why they’re such a good match.

Lori Nova & her Swirling Aristry

April 28, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I am so lucky that I get to hang out with Lori Nova, two days in a row. She won the best swirl for the Soap Guild show for the last two years.

Here is her non-entry entry for this year. The Guild wanted to give someone else a chance to win so Lori didn’t get to officially enter. Still, she’s teaching here and I’m sure her soaps and her class will be an inspiration for everyone.

I’m headed off to give my last speech of the conference on growing a business.

Mastermind Your Way to Success

April 24, 2008 Filed Under: Business Musings

I had the honor of speaking to the IAAP (International Association of Administrative Professionals) yesterday. I spoke about the importance of having a very strong support network. Every successful person has a huge massive support team around them – you may not see them, but they’re there. Not only am I lucky enough to have a fabulous group at Bramble Berry, I also have my Mastermind Group. Here’s a photo my Mastermind Group, comprised of women business owners in Bellingham, Washington.

What is a Mastermind Group? The concept of a Mastermind Group was introduced to the world in a formal manner by Napolean Hill, the author of “Think and Grow Rich” in the 1900’s. He defined the Mastermind Principle as, “”The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony. No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind.”

My Bellingham Mastermind Group meets once a month. We have homework, book reports and a long update process that involves talking about our business (and personal!) goals and our progress on those goals. We rarely talk about problems but instead focus on getting more success out of our lives.

I felt honored (and humbled) to speak to the group of (mostly) woman professionals about starting their very own support network to help them reach their goals and potential.

From the Get Rich Slowly Blog: “Without goals, you are living reactively, letting life push you around. With goals, you can live a proactive life, steering toward a destination. When you have an end in mind, it’s easier to see when you’ve made a wrong turn. You know where your path is supposed to lead.” And with a Mastermind Group around you, helping you and supporting you down that path, it’s a lot easier to get on and stay on the path to your personal bliss

You are the sum total of the five people you spend the most time with. Do the people you hang out with lift you up? Inspire you to reach your highest potential and urge you to shoot for the stars?

If you’re interested in learning more about this concept, here are some resources that you can draw from to start your own support network.

Mastermind Resources

Books:

Think and Grow Rich

by Napoleon Hill

The Success Principles

by Jack Canfield

Mastermind Group Resources Blog

http://www.evancarmichael.com/Mastermind-Group/

The Masterminding Maven

http://www.makeadifference.com/

(online courses, books, movies)

How to Start a Mastermind Group (in a nutshell):

Decide what the focus of the group will be
Decide the criteria for membership
Look around; find members
Determine a meeting structure & time schedule
Agree on the “spirit” of the meetings (judgment free, proactive)
Decide on a Leader
Start Masterminding your way to success

Permission to Work a 50 Hour Week

April 8, 2008 Filed Under: Business Musings

Phew, I had a busy day today. I was in Seattle attending two CEO Roundtables. One dealt with “Work Life Balance” (or rather, the myth) and the other discussion centered on “Avoiding Burnout as an Entrepreneur. Both were interesting and insightful. The main take away is an obvious one but something I need frequent reminders on.

Remember on the plane, when the flight attendant reminds you that, in case of an emergency, to strap on your oxygen mask before those of small children around you?

It’s that way with business as well. If the leader of the team doesn’t take care of themselves, it’s impossible for them to take care of others and shepherd the company to a sustainable future.

“Taking Care” can be defined in many ways — everything from working out, meditation time, meeting up with friends, vacations, and not working the weekends — the point of the roundtables turned out to be that it’s important to find something that makes you feel fulfilled and then be relentlessly systematic about actually doing it on a regular basis.

Afterwards, I checked my list of “Energy Expanders” and promptly went out for a jog: