We were lucky to catch up with Ashley LeBaron recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Yes :) The way I got started was back in the fall of 2015 I wanted to make Christmas gifts for my family and had no idea what that would be but I saw a picture of a friends handmade soap on instragram and It inspired me to try it! I bought a book on Amazon and taught myself how to make it. It was a huge hit for all of my family so I started making it as a hobby and selling it on facebook in my community. From there I went to a Christmas tradeshow in El Paso Tx the following year and sold really well. From there I went to Las Vegas to sell at the Mandalay Bay Roper Cowboy Marketplace and did really well. It was then that I knew I had a product that would sell and that I could actually make a living doing it if I went to farmers markets and tradeshows every weekend. So thats what I did and my business just grew from there. Before I knew it I was getting wholesale orders and we started marketing campaigns and from there it just took off! Its been 7 years since I started making soap and it has been one heck of a journey :)

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I answered most of those questions in the previous section but the type of products I make are all natural handcrafted soap and skincare using organic oils and essential oils for scent and clays and botanicals for color. I am a firm beleiver in natural products and their benefits on the skin so I never lower my standards and buy synthetic ingredients or try to cut corners even though I know that nobody would ever know but me. My products don’t remove the natural oils from peoples skin so its very healing and moisturizing and they have helped many people who have troubled skin like acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea and dry, flaky skin. Im very proud of the fact that I make a quality product that is not only good for peoples skin and that helps them but its also sustainable and good for the environment. I truly love what I do and am very passionate about it.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

The Small Business Development Center here where I live helped me get started and I heard about them from a friend but I found out that they are everywhere and they are ready and willing to help any young entrepreneur get their business started and growing. They helped me register my business as an LLC at a fraction of what it originally would’ve costed and they helped me find a tax person to help me with accounting. They even helped me finance from of my continued learning courses so that I could perfect my craft. It was such an incredible blessing to have their help and they are available all over the USA to help young entrepreneurs but many people don’ t know about them.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I first quit my full time job to start my soapmaking and skincare business I was so afraid and nervous that I wouldn’t be able to make it. There were many times where I would sign up for a tradeshow and I would barely make enough to cover my costs which was really discouraging but i didn’t give up and instead, kept signing up for more festivals and farmers markets and I learned which ones did good with my product and which ones didn’t. Slowly but surely my business grew enough to where I was making enough money selling online that I no longer had to do tradeshows and that was a major milestone for my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: ashleymariesoap.com
• Instagram: @ashleymariesoap
• Facebook: ashleymariesoap
• Youtube: ashleymariesoap

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