We have an announcement to make.. well when I said “we” I mean me. It’s been me the whole friggin’ time, and I want to let everyone know, it’s been great, but I’m tired, I’m sore, I’m older and I want to retire, so hold on to your butts….BAD MOUTH SOAP is finally coming to an end, and to be honest, this has been something I wanted to do before the pandemic hit us with restriction, price hikes and supply reductions.
Starting out almost 10 years ago, I never thought I would have been where I am today. I got to travel the country, I sold in shops across Canada, met some amazing people, celebrities even! I was on TV/News, the radio and Im even in a book. Countless interviews to discuss my success, and it was rad. But, I never needed it. The hustle was only there for a hot minute because it was hubris and it caught up to me. I did it because I was good at it, and I liked it for awhile. And when I no longer did, it was too late. Breaking Bad vibes ?!
No one talks about dissolving a successful company, you really only fold when you financially cannot be stable or when you have failed or are defeated. In my case, it’s neither of those things.
I know the people I have gotten to know over the years have questions, so I will answer as best as I can…
1. Why are you doing this to me?
Well, Im in my 40s now, and I want to do other things.. things that soap has held me back from doing because Im making it all by myself, practically every weekend. I don’t need this, I have a full time job where I work from home and need an office space. Things are incredibly expensive now, and I have not hiked up the price of my bars of soap since 2018. Insurances have doubled, Shipping has doubled, ingredients have gone up well over 30% that it’s scary
2. You can hike up the cost of your soaps and we will still buy it though…
Im sure you would, but there are other issues of non-legit soap makers that do this for “fun” and apparently aren’t selling anything because it wouldn’t be legal. They don’t have the proper paperwork (Insurances, Health Canada, Taxes etc)… but they keep making it REGARDLESS of how expensive supplies are. They are the reason legit soap makers OR any makers of any kind suffer. We can’t compete with it.
3. Where the hell am I going to get soap now? You are the G.O.A.T
There are so many local-legit soap makers around that do this full time, to live, to survive that I highly suggest looking into such as:
1. Kaleidosoap
3. Anther & Apiary
6. Anointment
I just think it is important to support local handmade, but when it’s done the right way
4. You’ll be back… you love us too much.
Sorry, I really think this is it. I may make some for friends and family as gifts, but we’re not friends and we never will be
5. What about your STUFF?
Ill sell it off probably
6. Will you sell the business?
Nope. It’s going to die with me - GET YOUR OWN COOL IDEAS. And if you copy me.. I’ll know >:)
7. What about businesses that have customs soaps made by you?
If interested, I can hand the recipes off to a soap maker of their choice and they can continue with someone else.
8. Will you be doing a massive soap sale every once and awhile?
I have a lot of repeat customers, who I actually appreciate and would love to keep them satisfied, and it has crossed my mind to have something.. but for now, I just want to take a nap.
I’ve got to meet a lot people, and some I have created friendships with. Ive learned a lot, about me, about running a business, what that means, and best of all, I learned the importance of local and handmade. It’s hard. It sucks. But when this is what you do and this is what your passion is… it’s worth it.
This isn’t a bad thing. Well maybe for most of you, but for me it’s not. Just think of this like the ending of Seinfeld.. just ending on a good note.
TLDR: So long and thanks for all the fish!