We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michelle Manning Baker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Michelle , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

I started my business in late 2020, however I had the concept since 2019. I often wondered if I had done it 2019, how far I would have grown online. With everyone ordering online during the pandemic I think my online presence would be so much more.

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

I’m an accountant by trade, but started making soap for myself and family due to skin issues. My business is tailor to use mainly plant based materials to produce, skincare items. Our main product is natural soaps, however our line contains lotions, scrubs, balms, lip balm, body butters, shower steamers and we’ll be adding liquid soaps on the next few months. We hope to be a resource for people who are moving away from mass produced skincare and all the chemicals they contain. We provide natural clean products that doesn’t contain harmful chemicals. I know there are a lot of indie soap/ skincare brands on the market, but we hope our fun, colorful and funky products speaks to people who not only wants clean skincare but also wants bright vibrant fun products. I’m so proud of the growth we’ve made, the ability to streamline and stay product focus. All our products are focus on bath time and will continue to be, because we feel it is the most important part of anyone’s day.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

We product based business, therefore we produce everything from scratch. The learning curve to source raw materials had been a really big eye opener, but three years in I think we have it down pack. Learning that you need to purchase in bulk to keep cost down was our most important lesson.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I’ve used Amazon and Etsy; each come with it’s own challenges. Etsy is purely marketed as handmade, crafters etc it is a hard place to see or get much growth, however they have brand recognition so we don’t need to do much. While, Amazon also has brand recognition there handmade section isn’t has will established as Etsy and us super expensive for a small busy like ourselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rhsoapery.com
• Instagram: Rhsoapery
• Facebook: Rhsoapery
• Youtube: Rhsoapery

Image Credits
Taken by Michelle Manning Baker