It's true...what they say...

Don't expect to make a profit the first three or four years in business. ANY business, let alone soap making! This will be my seventh year of making soap. I've broadened my horizons more this year than ever and now make a complete line of toiletry items to go with my beloved soap. It's no small task to create a product that creates a steady client base. Handmade soap, after all, is considered a luxury item (unfortunately, we all know that people can buy a six pack of a "store bought" soap...or should I say detergent...for a couple of bucks vs. buying one of ours for double that price.) Face it...times are tough and people can choose to spend what little money they have elsewhere. So there's always the need to push on...keep creating...keep forging ahead...make it what you want it to be!

For the last two years, I've had a customer who's been buying my soap who has lymph-node cancer. His wife, actually, purchased some of my soap in desperation. You see, they were trying to follow an "all natural" approach to healing his disease. Nothing artificial was to go into his body, or onto his body. The poor man was tired of bathing/washing in Borax...Borax...and more Borax. Oh, and rinsing with vinegar:( - the couple quizzed me on the ingredients of my soap. They wanted pure olive oil...not corn, not sunflower...olive. No synthetic fragrances. They began with just plain old oatmeal. Then, gradually, they added to their repertoire...lavender, rosemary, lemon, orange, eucalyptus and tea tree (which became his favorite). The last I knew, he was in remission. He said he will be eternally grateful for my soap...it made this horrible disease so much more bearable for him. Gosh...if I could heal the world.

This little business of ours, The Canterbury Soap Co., allows me to be a stay-at-home mom to our adorable three and a half year old son, Kyle. And, as mentioned above, we're finally beginning to see a little profit from our efforts. I guess this isn't much of a success story, per se. I just wanted to share with you my thoughts and feelings on this. If someone is to read this and get just the tiniest bit inspired to either begin making soap, or continue making soap, I'll be happy.