Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Colleen Laux. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Colleen, thanks for joining us today. Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job?

Prior to starting Cottonwood Soap Company, I worked as an attorney for 25 years. During that time, I learned the importance of having your business structured properly from the get-go: i.e creating an LLC for liability protection, registering your business with the state, getting all the necessary licensing and insurance, etc. I see too many small businesses operating without these structures that end up with big problems as they grow.

In addition, I read the book “Profit First” shortly after starting my business and as a result I have shown a profit (though certainly very modest in the beginning) as well as giving me a paycheck from Day 1.

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.

Well hello there! I’m a soap-slinging, retired attorney-turned-entrepreneur and a wife of 38+ years with two grown sons. My story of becoming a soap maker is a wild and wacky one, let me tell you!

You see, my husband’s skin was as dry as the Sahara Desert and my heels tend to crack like the Grand Canyon. We were spending all our money on store-bought products with no relief in sight. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and scoured the internet for DIY lotion recipes. And then, it happened… I fell down the rabbit hole of Pinterest and stumbled upon a whole world of beautiful soaps made by others. I thought to myself, “Why not give it a shot? What do I have to lose?”

I found what I thought was an “easy” soap recipe and before I knew it, I was in the kitchen whipping up my first batch. But, as it turns out, I didn’t do enough research and that first batch was a complete disaster. Straight to the trash can it went! But I didn’t let that defeat me. I did more reading, watched some videos, learned from my mistakes, and tried again. And you know what? This time, it actually turned out okay! I had to wait 6 whole weeks to see if it worked, but it did!

As I continued making soap, I soon had more soap than my family and friends could handle. So, I started giving it away and getting feedback on my different recipes. (And let me tell you, my friends and family are no cute and cuddly animals. They’re big and smelly, but they make great guinea pigs!)

Finally, with the encouragement of those closest to me, I started Cottonwood Soap Company to share my soapy creations with the world. And let me tell you, it’s been a wild ride!

And what about my original goal of helping my husband’s dry skin and my rough heels? Well, my husband says his skin has never felt better and my Happy Heals Lotion Stick has made a world of difference for my cracked heels. Mission accomplished!

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

I host my online store with Shopify. I chose them first and foremost because they are a leader in e-commerce websites. In addition, I am NOT tech savvy in the least, I have found their platform extremely easy to set up initially as well as to update as needed. Thus far, I really haven’t found any real cons for me or my business model.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Early in my journey, I came across a Facebook Page entitled : “Ali Thompson- Handmade Success Secrets” and I starting ready all that she wrote. Ali offers practical advice on developing and growing your social media audience with a focus on sellers of handmade items such as mine. Eventually I signed up for one of her courses, which offered a lifetime subscription, and have been following her advice since.

The core of her training focuses on daily posting to Facebook and Instagram, with an emphasis on posts that are designed to engage your audience, while also growing the “know, like, trust” factors. She stresses that posts that scream “buy me” and/or are blatantly salesy are ineffective in gaining followers who become buyers.

Following Ali’s advice, I nearly doubled my followers in a very short time and continue to grow my presence on both Facebook and Instagram.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cottonwoodsoap.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/cottonwoodsoap
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/cottonwoodsoap

Image Credits
Either myself or my husband has taken all of the photos that I have attached @CottonwoodSoap