We recently connected with Avi Rubin and have shared our conversation below.

Avi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

This thing started in our home office in 2008 with my siblings and parents. No employees, just pure love from a family that wanted to make a lasting impact in our community.

After my younger siblings learned that they had to actually “work” to participate in the magic we were building – they bailed. Leaving my Pops and I to run the show.

This was the case for many years, with us calling on friends and family to help when things got heavy and busy. We did this for many years and out grew the home office to taking over the garage.

Shortly after that, we outgrew that and had to get some warehouse space. We were soaping!!

With my pops tending to our family and working his career – I was left to man the ship we built.

Friends coming and going and helping with the simplest task and – hiring only to find out, I don’t need employees.

What i needed was to get my head on straight.

Build the systems. Build the processes. Build the machine so well that it can run as smoothly as possible with little to no help.

And so, that is what i did from 2008 till about 2015 and it was going OK.

At this point, I couldn’t wear all the hats that were required of me.

I was stamping our boxes, shipping soap, taking photos, building the website, replying to customers’ inquiries, growing business with wholesale partnerships, and keeping things fresh by experimenting and researching.

Something had to change – I was the weakest link in the chain. I was holding the business back from flourishing into what it has become today.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Today, Iron Lion Soap is WAY more than a ‘soap company’.

And yeah, that may sound silly and probably a but cliche but – it is true.

You could ask anyone of our customers and they would highly likey agree that Iron Lion Soap is a lifestyle, and we happen to just make the absolutely best soap on the planet.

See, at Iron Lion Soap we take what we do very seriously. Our soap bars arent made with 100% natural ingredients because that’s the cool thing to do – we do it because its whats right.

From our Skin Cream to our Deodorant, nothing comes out of Iron Lion Soap without putting you and the earth first.

There is a reason we have been in peoples showers for 15 years.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Now with a full fledge team of soapy folks like myself – there are a couple of folks that are integral to our operations.

You might have seen me call him “Dashiki” or maybe you got an email from “ds” – well the dude’s real name is Duran Salazar, and this guy is my right-hand man.
What started as a friendship that grew into us sharing a home for a few years – Duran is now the head of operations and our hygiene partner liaison for Iron Lion Soap.

If smell-o-vision existed, we surely wouldn’t need Victor. But, that’s not the case and therefore, we need a Victor, YOU need a Victor. You see, this dude right here is a modern-day Spielberg; he is our generation, Kubrick. Victor is the visual historian of ILS. He is what makes our products look so delicious on the other side of this screen.

And reluctantly – what I am going to share next could be a bad idea.

Our secret weapon.
The one who can baiscly read my mind. The one who knows exactly what I am thinking. The one who understands what being and Iron Lion is and the one who knows Iron Lion products, ethos, and mission nearly better than me. Audrey! This chick is what takes the chaos of the soap room and our incredible ingredients and pairs them oh so well with our counter-culture, anti-corporate approach to everything at ILS.

Without Audrey, Victor or Duran Iron Lion Soap would be in a very different place – if at all. Not only am I forever indebted to this family, I can’t imagine providing yall with a mindful business without them.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think there are two specific things that have granted us the reputation we have in the market.

Firstly – we are THE ALTERNATIVE. Some folks find Iron Lion Soap into their well being journey early, other folks find us well into a better, healthier lifestyle. Since 2008 we have been honest, transparent and focused on education. Its really people over products and community over commerce for us at Iron Lion Soap.

Secondly – our products just work. No bullshit. No filler. No shortcuts. What you see is what you get and simply put real ingredients work better.

Contact Info:

• Website: ironlionsoap.com
• Instagram: @ironlionsoap

Image Credits
brandonchristopherphoto@gmail.com