Time to use what God gave me

My husband and I have been trying for several years to think of what a good business would be to start. We have tossed everything around, from a mailing house to getting involved with selling Arbonne to thinking I could start a catering/dessert company from home to a bicycle repair shop to a machine shop to a custom motorcycle parts shop. All those things had roadblocks for us we found out and they were just unfillable dreams. Although I still think it would be pretty darn cool if we could open a custom motorcycle parts shop.

I can cook up a storm and make some killer cakes and desserts and cookies. However, getting people to pay for this treat is something I have not figured out how to do. My "clients" are mostly the congregation at church, the women in my small group, the people I work with in the offices I have worked at. Nothing that necessarily lends itself to payment just well appreciated praise.

And I don't door to door sell very well a product I've got to hype up. Arbonne is wonderful, don't get me wrong. I just don't know that many people that I feel comfortable enough with to push into buying. And that's a "user error", not a product error. You run out of friends real quick.

However, I have a chemistry degree. Which up to this point has done me absolutely nothing to further my life. Other than it's pretty cool to watch vinegar and baking soda explode.

So to the point. My husband and I with the kids recently walked through the biggest craft show in Atlanta area, The Yellow Daisy Festival. The first place I stopped and basically the only stuff I bought was at a soap tent. I love soap and smelly things.

This got the wheels turning in my head. I love to mix up things, thus the chemistry degree and the cooking fascination. So why not try my hand at homemade natural soaps! I talked about it with my husband and we are at the point where we both think this is a great idea and it is do-able.

I have spent the past several days searching for ingredients and recipes and books and fragrances. I have collected most everything except the NaOH which I believe will be the hardest to find as I've read that is what is used in meth making. So I will probably have to order that on-line. Also I am needing the fragrances. It has been really really neat to research. And I want all the fragrances I see but some are so expensive. Or excuse me I've learned the book difference between Fragrance oil (FO) and essential oil (EO). So it's a matter of me purchasing some of each, using them and deciding what I like about each.

I can just envision myself in my lab coat mixing different scents, writing it down in my super secret potion book. I am super excited about it. Mad scientist excited!

There is a 2-3 week cure time on this so I am trying to determine how far to invest myself in the first batch. I would hate to spend lots of money only to find out I can't do it or I don't like it. So my first batch is very important for me to get right.

I have received so many positive responses from all the people I have talked to. And everyone has given me so many more avenues to think about for expanding beyond just soap. And I am thinking about and researching all of it.

The big step is the first batch. Time to jump off that cliff. I just have to get the lye and fragrance