We recently connected with Lela White and have shared our conversation below.
Lela, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
I worked in retail my entire life since I was 15 years old. Being a business owner you are always working. If you take time off your business is not making money. When you are working for a corporation you can take time off and the business still goes on and makes money. You are often also offered benefits and paid time off. As a business owner, especially one who makes all of their products, when you take time off products aren’t getting made and you are losing money, by not being able to fulfill orders. Sometimes, it is tempting to want to be able to have the security of being paid weekly for your work. Also, to be able to have a break and not be worrying about what it will be like when you get back to work. People often tell me to hire help, but I can’t afford to hire help. I like the freedom of being a business owner and being able to be there for my family and not have to worry about upsetting my “boss”. There are definitely pros and cons to working for someone else and working for yourself.
Lela, 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 make handmade bath and body products for the whole family. I started around 2005 by buying a soap-making kit off of eBay. It had some soap base, dried flowers, scents, colors, molds, and a book. I was so excited to get started and just made small decorative soaps. I eventually expanded into full bar soaps, lotions, body butters and more. I had small children then, so I was buying premade bases and adding scents and colors to the bases. I did very well at the time selling my products on eBay. We moved a few years later, and I took a few years off from making products. When I decided to start my business back up I wanted to learn to make my products from scratch so I can control all of the ingredients. I love being able to control which ingredients go into the products. A lot of my customers have allergies, so being able to customize an item is a huge benefit for both me and my customers. I also do a lot of in-person markets now which really connects me with my local customers. I love seeing my customers and hearing from them how much they love my products, how they give them as gifts, and how many items they have tried and fallen in love with.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to learn to not be sensitive. As a business owner, there will always be negative people. It’s so easy to let people get under your skin hurt your feelings and leave you feeling defeated. Some people don’t even try your products and still have hurtful things to say. In my personal life, I am a people pleaser and get my feelings hurt easily, as a business owner I have to have thicker skin and not let people who aren’t customers get to me. I have so many amazing customers who rave about my products, so that’s what I focus on. Mistakes definitely happen, but I strive to make everything right. If something gets damaged in shipping, I’ll ship a new one or give a refund. I strive to be an ethical business owner and treat my customers the way I would want to be treated as a customer.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
I make all of my products from scratch. I bought a lot of books, and courses and have watched a lot of YouTube videos. There is always a lot to learn in the bath and body product business. Fads are always changing too, so you have to decide if you want to invest in a new item that may only be popular for a few months. I always do a lot of research before I start making a new product, how much investment do I need? Have I had customers ask for these items? Would I use the item? I do get a lot of requests to make certain items, but I can’t make everything as a single maker. I’ve definitely have had to learn not to stretch myself to thin, to just focus on what I already make that sells well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.soapsbylela.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soapsbylela/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550699279405
- Other: Tiktok Soaps By Lela
