We were lucky to catch up with Jennifer Huenefeld recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jennifer, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

I found myself spending plenty of time at home during the covid pandemic and I was searching for a creative outlet. I have always cared about our environment so I was researching way to minimize waste in my household. I fell i love with making handcrafted bar soap and I haven’t stopped since. I really enjoyed that I was making something most people use daily, and I could create it with little to no single use plastics. I was really inspiring by that. I started gifting to friends and family and eventually I launched The Drop Soap Shop, a bath and body care line that keeps provides sustainable, high quality ingredients while keeping our planet in mind. I really enjoy selling face to face to engage with my customers and I have learned so much with using digital marketing to gain some social media attention. Today, I am selling my products online through my website, and in some local stores. I am really proud of my progress looking back on where I started and where my business is today.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

For me, making soap started out as a space to get creative and bring my ideas to life. I quickly learned there is much more to owning a soap shop than making soap. As a business owner and the only employee of my company, I have needed to learn a lot of new skills. One of which being marketing! I started out selling single soaps and now I am mostly selling customer bulk orders. I am using my product as gifts for baby showers, birthday parties, weddings, and I also make custom logo stamp soap bars for businesses. Using my product to market other peoples businesses has help me get my name out there. I am now digging deeper into digital marketing to explore more possibilities to reach more people.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Most of my business skills comes from the college courses I have been taking, but I do try and listen to podcasts when I am in need of motivation and more positivity. I have been loving School of Greatness with Lewis Howes and Build with Rob with Rob Dyrdek. When life feels so busy and there are many tasks that need to be completed, I honestly don’t know where I’d be with out positivity and keeping a balanced mind. I like to remind myself of all there is to be thankful for and the kindness I have seen throughout my journey.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Social media, and it’s fun too! I started out thinking having a business page was only to post photos of your products and get people to buy your product, but it is so much more, Many social platforms allow you to bond and connect with your audience and create a voice to your brand. I love using instagram to share the behind the scenes of the start of finish of one of my soaps, because I found my passion for making soaps by watching others making it. I also enjoy teaching others ways the can minimize waste in their lifes and how good it can feel. Social media can allow you to reach so many different people out there. It is a necessity for my growing business!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thedropsoapshop.squarespace.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/thedropsoapshop
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thedropsoapshop