Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chris McKinney. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Chris, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
I had always knew that working for someone else wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life soon after I got out of the Marine Corps. I constantly looked for something I could really sink my teeth into and make a run at trying to do something on my own that wouldn’t stifle my creativity, that thing ultimately ended up being soap. Had you told me at 20 years old I’d be making soap for a living, I would have called you crazy, however here I am. I knew I didn’t have a ton of investment capital in order to start something on my own, so I googled “how to start a business with no money.” Starting a soap business was 6th on the list of this article I found, so I got to thinking how I could put my spin on this idea and make it mine. I started researching competitors, ingredients, how to make videos, etc. Everything I could possibly expose myself to when it came to the soap industry. There were plenty of businesses that catered to the female demographic, but only 1-2 well known brands that catered to “manly” men. That is what makes my bars different. They are all-natural; we only use natural colorants and essential oil for scents. Nothing synthetic in any of the soap I make, and we shaped it like a grenade on one side to draw this demographic in to at least start the conversation about why using an all-natural soap gives a far superior showering experience over those chemically laden body washes and mass produced soaps in big box stores. We want everyone to experience a Shower with Freedom, and that’s what we aim to do.
Chris, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am the original Grenade Soap making K Bar Soap Company. The design of my bars is proprietary and patented, because we had to make something visually appealing first, not just another boring square bar of soap of a brick like everyone else. I felt like this shape would fit in the realm of what I was creating so it made a good fit. I name the different scents from experiences I had in the Marine Corps, which gives me a good creative outlet. I still make everything I sell in house, myself. All small batch made, by my two hands. I handle all customer service myself because each and every customer is important to me, I ship all orders within 24 hours of being placed, and I never compromise quality for quantity. I operate at a high standard, and promise to always do so.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
This was a slow go for me from the start. I knew I didn’t ever want to be in debt just to start a business, so I kept my growth small in the beginning until I could start making enough money to justify growth. I kept everything on a business credit card to keep my equity at 100% which is still the case today. If I had to do it all over again, would I do it the same? Probably not. This slow roll in growth is ok, but I feel I could have had more of an impact had I had a lump sum to hit the ground running from the start.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My goal is to educate the consumer about the reasons one does not have to use chemicals on the largest organ of their body. There is no need to slather chemical infused garbage on their skin each and every day when options like myself exist. It truly gives the user a different feel unlike that of mass produced body wash and other mass produced soap. My soap will not cause any unnecessary drying of your skin unlike that of store bought products which oftentimes do so they can sell you on the idea of needing lotion or other moisturizing products. These producers remove the glycerine out of their soap and replace it with unnecessary chemicals to use that glycerine in other more profitable areas of their business. This is why their product is inferior to handmade, cold processed soap like we produce.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kbarsoapco.com
- Instagram: @kbarsoapco
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kbarsoapco
Image Credits
Allen Promotions