Shownotes
Motivational Quote
Business Inspiration
Why soap making? [7:00] Learning the trade [7:45]A Candle Flickering Moment
Revising the plan to balance their family life while still keeping the business alive [15:55]Business Building Insight
When they saw that soap making could be a real business [10:36] How to price product correctly [13:00]Success Trait
Jen’s overall friendly and approachable style lead to strong sales at craft shows and a natural attraction of customers supporting their success [21:46]Productivity/Lifestyle Tool
A paper calendar that contains all the elements of the running of the family and farmValuable Book
Martha Rules: 10 Essentials for Achieving Success as You Start, Build, or Manage a Business by Martha Stewart
Contact Links
Website Facebook Phone – 269-535-6857If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you. Thanks! Sue
Transcripts
Gift biz unwrapped episode 35.
Speaker:I was in new hammered.
Speaker:I was in love.
Speaker:I had found my it,
Speaker:Hey, this is John Lee Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,
Speaker:and you're listening to the gifted biz unwrapped.
Speaker:And now it's time to light It up.
Speaker:Welcome to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop
Speaker:and grow your business.
Speaker:And now here's your host,
Speaker:Sue Monheit Unwrapped podcasts,
Speaker:whether you own a brick and mortar store sell online or
Speaker:just getting started,
Speaker:You'll discover new insight to gain traction And to grow your
Speaker:business. And today I have with me,
Speaker:Jennifer Eby,
Speaker:B farms,
Speaker:LLC, Jennifer Eby,
Speaker:along with her husband,
Speaker:Matthew owned Eby farms,
Speaker:which is a pasture-based 36 acre working farm in homestead in
Speaker:rural Southwestern,
Speaker:Michigan with her bubbly personality and contagiously positive outlook on life.
Speaker:Jennifer has taken the simple body product of soap and created
Speaker:a thriving home-based stay at home mom business in 2010,
Speaker:Jennifer started making soap and the next year she attended one
Speaker:local craft show.
Speaker:This has now grown into over 5,000
Speaker:bars of soap sold each year.
Speaker:At over 13 regional shows,
Speaker:they have wholesale accounts,
Speaker:website sales and farmer's markets.
Speaker:Jennifer has earned the title of the soap lady with hours
Speaker:of research production and time spent with the customers she loves.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:That sounds so Incredibly fun.
Speaker:I can't wait to hear the whole story.
Speaker:Welcome to the show,
Speaker:Jennifer. Thank you.
Speaker:I'm so excited to be here with you.
Speaker:I know it's going to be so fun.
Speaker:So would you like to add anything,
Speaker:filling any gaps here in the bio that I did before
Speaker:we get started?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:one of the things that really hit me about what we
Speaker:do is that we choose to do this.
Speaker:We did not fall into soap making.
Speaker:We did not fall into homesteading.
Speaker:This is a choice we made and I have traveled the
Speaker:world. I've lived in Europe and Southwest Michigan.
Speaker:There's no other place.
Speaker:I'd rather be,
Speaker:there's nothing else I'd rather be doing than making soap and
Speaker:living on a farm.
Speaker:Well, we're Going to hear that whole story really quickly here,
Speaker:but before we do,
Speaker:we like to align the conversation around the life of a
Speaker:motivational candle.
Speaker:The light shines on you while you share your stories and
Speaker:your experiences and how this all led to the farm and
Speaker:your soap and all of that.
Speaker:So Jen,
Speaker:are you ready to light it up?
Speaker:I am ready.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So you're busy making soaps,
Speaker:but you love colors of all sorts and you have some
Speaker:candles around while you're making soap,
Speaker:just because it a little ambiance to the whole production feel.
Speaker:What color are those candles that you like heavy,
Speaker:glowing around you?
Speaker:They are orange because orange is energetic.
Speaker:It is encouraging.
Speaker:It gives you energy to go the extra mile.
Speaker:Sure. Have that energy.
Speaker:So the orange candles are working for you.
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:And what type of a motivational quote would be on the
Speaker:orange camp?
Speaker:Well, you know,
Speaker:and I think about what we do.
Speaker:I think my candle would say that faith makes things possible,
Speaker:not easy.
Speaker:Ooh, I like that.
Speaker:If you think of that quote,
Speaker:how does that apply in life?
Speaker:Well, we,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we work really hard and we know that anything is possible
Speaker:if you're willing to work for it.
Speaker:And we have worked really hard so far,
Speaker:and we're not afraid to keep going with that.
Speaker:And I really feel that when you work hard for something
Speaker:that it comes to you,
Speaker:you make it happen.
Speaker:You Kind of put it out there in the environment,
Speaker:you have the faith that you're going to be able to
Speaker:achieve, whatever it is you're trying to do.
Speaker:Absolutely. See it.
Speaker:Come to pass.
Speaker:Yeah. There you go.
Speaker:All Right.
Speaker:So now here we go.
Speaker:I want to know how the whole thing happened in terms
Speaker:of, you know,
Speaker:first of all,
Speaker:being on the farm and then how everything evolved into soap
Speaker:making, which is so cool.
Speaker:Okay. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and funny enough,
Speaker:my dad would raise goats,
Speaker:turkeys, chickens,
Speaker:rabbits. And so I grew up with a little bit of
Speaker:farming and a big garden,
Speaker:and I thought,
Speaker:oh, that's a great thing.
Speaker:When Matt and I got married,
Speaker:he always wanted to be a farmer.
Speaker:And so Did he tell you this before you got married?
Speaker:I don't think I knew that.
Speaker:No. I think it was something that it kind of snowballed
Speaker:because we were buying local raise chicken and you know,
Speaker:we were looking at eggs locally or,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we're buying them at the store.
Speaker:We're buying the cage free and organic and we kind of
Speaker:turned into this,
Speaker:well, why are we buying it when we could raise it
Speaker:ourselves? So we started with 30 chickens to lay eggs.
Speaker:We, you know,
Speaker:did a couple chickens for me.
Speaker:And we actually bought a Derrick,
Speaker:not a dairy cow,
Speaker:but a bowl from a dairy to raise for beef.
Speaker:Now, were you in Chicago still at this time?
Speaker:No. This was Southwest Michigan.
Speaker:You Guys bought the land and we're living on the land
Speaker:already. And that's when Right.
Speaker:I moved from,
Speaker:from Chicago.
Speaker:I moved all over the world,
Speaker:lived in Europe and then ended up in Southwest Michigan because
Speaker:my parents were here.
Speaker:They had moved here to retire.
Speaker:And so when I got here,
Speaker:this was a great place to be.
Speaker:That's interesting Because you know,
Speaker:in Europe everything's about fresh food.
Speaker:So that probably laid the groundwork for you a little bit.
Speaker:It definitely spoiled me.
Speaker:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker:So that kind of started,
Speaker:my parents owned a 25 acre property and it became available.
Speaker:And so we had been living on about an acre and
Speaker:a half,
Speaker:maybe two acres,
Speaker:beautiful brick house,
Speaker:five bedrooms.
Speaker:So we had started this healthy lifestyle,
Speaker:this role,
Speaker:the snowball.
Speaker:And so we started looking at ingredients and that's actually where
Speaker:the soap started was having a six month old baby in
Speaker:the bathtub,
Speaker:looking at the back of baby wash and going,
Speaker:oh my God,
Speaker:it's all chemicals.
Speaker:The only thing readable is water and fragrance and fragrance is
Speaker:a chemical.
Speaker:So that's where that desire came in.
Speaker:That I need to know how to do something better,
Speaker:do something different Because you had the mindset of all the
Speaker:clean, healthy living,
Speaker:especially out on the farm and all of that.
Speaker:So now you have this idea,
Speaker:what do you do with it?
Speaker:You give a couple bars of soap to friends,
Speaker:to family.
Speaker:And, but how did you know how to make soap?
Speaker:Oh, I did you have to do research or,
Speaker:well, I put it out to friends who knows how to
Speaker:make soap because there had to be somebody,
Speaker:but this craft didn't start from nothing.
Speaker:Somebody has to know how to do this.
Speaker:And so I did,
Speaker:I found a friend of a friend that agreed to teach
Speaker:a little mini class on how to make soap.
Speaker:And that was it as we're making.
Speaker:So I was enamored.
Speaker:I was in love.
Speaker:I had found my it really,
Speaker:when you say,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:how did the idea of a business start?
Speaker:It was that first time making.
Speaker:So I knew I can do this.
Speaker:This is what I want to do.
Speaker:So, and we're just talking to five years ago,
Speaker:right? Yeah.
Speaker:We're just talking five years ago.
Speaker:Initially it was just for our family.
Speaker:So it really isn't that difficult.
Speaker:It's time consuming,
Speaker:but it's kind of like any cooking thing.
Speaker:Once somebody shows you how to do it,
Speaker:you go,
Speaker:oh really that's it.
Speaker:But it's the time.
Speaker:And it's the energy of doing the research of what ingredients
Speaker:you want to use,
Speaker:how to keep it clean as in clean ingredients,
Speaker:how to keep what you want in it,
Speaker:the purity and the natural part of that.
Speaker:So then did you manipulate the recipe if you will,
Speaker:a little bit to make it your own,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:add a little bit more special this or a little more
Speaker:special that just to make it your own special recipe.
Speaker:What We have done is we do our own proprietary blends
Speaker:of essential oils.
Speaker:And so nothing is pre-bought and nothing is premixed.
Speaker:We do it all ourselves.
Speaker:So that recipe,
Speaker:that main recipe is the recipe that I learned how to
Speaker:soap with.
Speaker:So it's kind of like your base.
Speaker:It is that's our base,
Speaker:our base oils.
Speaker:We use five different oils of castor oil,
Speaker:cocoa butter,
Speaker:coconut oil,
Speaker:olive oil,
Speaker:and Palm oil.
Speaker:And then when you make soap,
Speaker:you're gonna mix water and lie together to get a solution.
Speaker:And then you mix that with the oils.
Speaker:And that creates a chemical reaction.
Speaker:Lie is actually the catalyst.
Speaker:And so what happens once that chemical reaction has taken place,
Speaker:you have soap and at a chemical level,
Speaker:soap is actually a salt,
Speaker:which is why you can go in the ocean and you
Speaker:come out feeling really clean.
Speaker:The fun thing about soap is chemically.
Speaker:You know it,
Speaker:yes, it's assault.
Speaker:What that means is I'll go back a little bit.
Speaker:Water by itself is a head and a tail.
Speaker:And the tail is smooth.
Speaker:So if you have mud on you and you rinse it
Speaker:off with water,
Speaker:a lot of it comes off.
Speaker:But when you use soap,
Speaker:soap is ahead and a tail that is spiky.
Speaker:So it actually pulls that dirt particle off of you or
Speaker:your clothing or anything you're washing and pulls it off.
Speaker:And that's kind of how stuff works.
Speaker:I would never have known that unless you just Described that
Speaker:that's a really cool learning unto itself,
Speaker:right there.
Speaker:It's totally chemistry in the kitchen.
Speaker:And you tell the kids now don't just wash your hands
Speaker:with water.
Speaker:You have to use the soap and rub your hands.
Speaker:And We love that part.
Speaker:Okay. You,
Speaker:so you have the bass,
Speaker:you learn the bass and you decide,
Speaker:this is something I really want to do.
Speaker:This is what I like that.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:this is a great idea.
Speaker:Talk us through how number one from that revelation,
Speaker:you went over to Matt and said,
Speaker:all right,
Speaker:guess what,
Speaker:honey? I have an idea.
Speaker:That's exactly right.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we are very frugal.
Speaker:We, you know,
Speaker:we have a really good budget.
Speaker:We stick to it,
Speaker:but I saw this potential there.
Speaker:And he said,
Speaker:yeah, you know,
Speaker:what do you need?
Speaker:Let's, let's get you set up.
Speaker:He, wasn't totally convinced that this could make money,
Speaker:but he knows that once I get real passionate about something,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you gotta turn me loose.
Speaker:So we bought,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we've cash,
Speaker:flowed everything from the most part.
Speaker:And so we started with a little bit and we're buying
Speaker:the smallest amounts we can and mixing everything up.
Speaker:And after that first craft show,
Speaker:he was really awestruck that this could work.
Speaker:This could really be something.
Speaker:And so he jumped on board.
Speaker:He's my spreadsheet,
Speaker:he's my business manager.
Speaker:He runs the time trials for me.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:he sits there with a stopwatch and he'll be like,
Speaker:okay, you know,
Speaker:are you done now?
Speaker:Oh, when are you starting?
Speaker:And he really helps me to figure out what timeframe we
Speaker:have so that we can apply an amount to that,
Speaker:of what it costs to do the whole project We're getting
Speaker:into the business.
Speaker:And so we were talking about product creation at first.
Speaker:Now we're getting serious.
Speaker:Okay. You went to the craft show and you saw that
Speaker:this could be a business because you saw that there's a
Speaker:market who wants to purchase it and they're willing to pay
Speaker:for it.
Speaker:Yes. So now it comes into the numbers because as you
Speaker:start getting orders,
Speaker:there's obviously the cost of your product.
Speaker:And now what you're getting into is there's and production.
Speaker:And you mentioned that soap takes some time to do.
Speaker:Yes, it does.
Speaker:So as a developing company.
Speaker:Okay. So you've got Matt with the stopwatch,
Speaker:you've got you making the soap.
Speaker:So give us kind of a visual of how all that
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:right in the beginning when you're just figuring it all out,
Speaker:how that works.
Speaker:Absolutely. We were making smaller batches that so two or three
Speaker:batches. Okay.
Speaker:How long did it heal?
Speaker:I'm going to pull out all the oils for the base.
Speaker:So I'm getting out the castor oil and I'm going to
Speaker:pour, okay.
Speaker:Are you ready?
Speaker:Start to stopwatch?
Speaker:And so I start to pour,
Speaker:I'm going to measure out from my buckets,
Speaker:what I need up the cocoa butter of the Palm oil,
Speaker:and now stop measuring,
Speaker:stop the stopwatch.
Speaker:And then we have to let some things melt and then
Speaker:we go back and start the stopwatch.
Speaker:Okay. Cause now we have to measure out liquid oils.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:that's done.
Speaker:Stop the stopwatch.
Speaker:How long did that take collectively?
Speaker:Because in between I can do other things while things are
Speaker:melting, then we're not wasting time and not charging our customers
Speaker:for time that I'm not spending.
Speaker:We literally would sit down and go,
Speaker:okay, start the stopwatch.
Speaker:And I'm going to prepare the pans to be ready for
Speaker:the soap to pour in.
Speaker:So I'm folding and cutting and taping.
Speaker:And then we would add all of that time up to
Speaker:find out how much physical time was spent making the soap.
Speaker:So Jen was this to know production wise for costing of
Speaker:the product?
Speaker:That's correct.
Speaker:Okay. Were you also doing it so that you had like
Speaker:a methodology,
Speaker:if you wanted someone to repeat these things the same way
Speaker:you do so that you could bring on staff later or
Speaker:was it just pricing for the time being,
Speaker:it Was just pricing for the time being,
Speaker:because we really look at what we do,
Speaker:not as a hobby,
Speaker:but as a business.
Speaker:And if we're going to be a business,
Speaker:we have to be making money.
Speaker:And so we have to know the amount of time we're
Speaker:putting into things,
Speaker:because we know a lot of people that they say they
Speaker:have a business,
Speaker:but it's really a hobby because they don't know how much
Speaker:anything costs.
Speaker:They don't know their bottom line.
Speaker:They don't know what their profit margin is.
Speaker:And we decided very early on,
Speaker:if we're going to do this,
Speaker:we want to really do it well and find out what
Speaker:our profit margin is,
Speaker:really know our numbers so that we could be sure that
Speaker:we were taking care of paying ourselves first,
Speaker:a profit and then,
Speaker:or not paying ourselves first and then making a profit.
Speaker:Right. Absolutely.
Speaker:So give biz listeners,
Speaker:I want to underscore all of that because so often we,
Speaker:if we make crafts or whether it's soap or candles or
Speaker:baby clothes or anything like that,
Speaker:we always underestimate how much our products are worth.
Speaker:I think it's because we think that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:just because we've made them,
Speaker:there's not as much value to them.
Speaker:I don't know what it is,
Speaker:but crafters are notorious for underpricing their product.
Speaker:Yes. So one of the reasons I think that Jen's been
Speaker:so successful is they've really looked at that right from the
Speaker:front and you heard what she said,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:they've been able to take their own money to invest in
Speaker:grow the business.
Speaker:But right from the beginning,
Speaker:they were making sure that they were paying themselves back both
Speaker:in time,
Speaker:right. The time that it spent.
Speaker:So they're paying themselves for their own time.
Speaker:Which many of us would say,
Speaker:well, that's just free time.
Speaker:Cause it's me doing it.
Speaker:Right. So you were paying yourself and then also some type
Speaker:of margin on top of that.
Speaker:Of course.
Speaker:Correct. Because my time is valuable because if I'm not making
Speaker:soap, then there's something else I can be doing.
Speaker:That is a profit to Eby farms.
Speaker:Absolutely. Okay.
Speaker:So this is all sounding beautiful and everything is going fabulously.
Speaker:And we know that there are always hurdles along the way,
Speaker:something happens to kind of catch up a little bit.
Speaker:Can you take us to one of those times when you
Speaker:just, you had a challenge and then you had to overcome
Speaker:the challenge so that you could continue.
Speaker:Absolutely. I'm going to take you back to July 22nd,
Speaker:2013. And at that point we had a six month old
Speaker:baby, a three-year-old and a ten-year-old and it had been a
Speaker:rough summer.
Speaker:Things were money was really tight,
Speaker:really tight.
Speaker:That was a summer where if it could break,
Speaker:it broke and we were just having a rough go.
Speaker:And I looked at my husband and I said,
Speaker:Matt, two years in two years,
Speaker:if things are not better than I quit,
Speaker:then we need to change something dramatically and change it all
Speaker:because this isn't going to work.
Speaker:And so for the next two years,
Speaker:we started changing things.
Speaker:So soaping things,
Speaker:we changed the papers we were using for our pans.
Speaker:We worked on buying bigger amounts of oils,
Speaker:of essential oils of anything that was going to be useful
Speaker:to us so that we weren't last minute trying to order.
Speaker:So there wasn't stress the farm stuff.
Speaker:We started looking at ways we could save time,
Speaker:save money,
Speaker:make things easier.
Speaker:And two years later we hit July 22nd,
Speaker:2015, and things were better and we didn't quit.
Speaker:And I didn't give up in between.
Speaker:I definitely had my moments of calling Matt and going.
Speaker:I quit today.
Speaker:It's so done.
Speaker:Was it because of the stress Or just the workload,
Speaker:the time in,
Speaker:what was it?
Speaker:All of it,
Speaker:all of it,
Speaker:the stress,
Speaker:the workload being a mom,
Speaker:making dinner,
Speaker:making soap.
Speaker:A lot of times I would prep soap during the day
Speaker:and then I would put the kids to bed and I
Speaker:would soap from nine to midnight.
Speaker:And that would be my time to get my soap done.
Speaker:So you have a tired mom,
Speaker:you have somebody who is just willing to give it all.
Speaker:And, and Matt is definitely there with me because I wouldn't
Speaker:work this hard if he wasn't working twice as hard.
Speaker:So I think that was a big deal was we were
Speaker:working so hard.
Speaker:We had to find ways to not cut corners,
Speaker:but to make things easier on us and on our family.
Speaker:And we did that.
Speaker:We were able to do that.
Speaker:It did take two years,
Speaker:but holding out has made the difference and it really does
Speaker:feel good.
Speaker:This is a great example because you recognize that there was
Speaker:something that needed to change.
Speaker:You put a marker in the sand saying,
Speaker:okay, two years,
Speaker:if this I'm giving it two years,
Speaker:all out for two years,
Speaker:we'll see what happens,
Speaker:but then you just didn't keep doing the same thing over
Speaker:and over again.
Speaker:And just,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:do the same thing harder or faster.
Speaker:You really smartly looked at everything and made a joke.
Speaker:Well, it isn't that the definition of insanity doing the same
Speaker:thing over and over and expecting a different result.
Speaker:Exactly. Sounds like the two things that you really looked at
Speaker:were costs you bought in larger quantities,
Speaker:which got your pricing down a little bit.
Speaker:And it also didn't require them to reorder as often,
Speaker:which would have been time.
Speaker:Yes. And then also the procedure,
Speaker:something, you fine tune the procedures a little bit so that
Speaker:the actual time start to finish of making the soaps that
Speaker:condensed in one way or another.
Speaker:Absolutely. That is it.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Very interesting.
Speaker:So give biz listeners think about that,
Speaker:especially if you're a crafter or things that you're doing in
Speaker:your shop,
Speaker:are they all things that are leading towards your goals?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:it's so easy for us to get into those tasks that
Speaker:are really pretty simple,
Speaker:easy mindless tasks,
Speaker:but aren't marching us to our goal,
Speaker:whatever that is getting new customers,
Speaker:building new products,
Speaker:all those types of things.
Speaker:So make sure that when you're doing different tasks,
Speaker:that they're actually marching you towards what your overall objective.
Speaker:That's great.
Speaker:Yeah. I mean,
Speaker:I, this was a perfect example.
Speaker:So that was fabulous,
Speaker:John. So let's talk about,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:mostly you're selling,
Speaker:I do know that you're online,
Speaker:but you're mostly selling face-to-face at regional shows.
Speaker:Can you talk to us a little bit about when you're
Speaker:at those shows,
Speaker:what are you finding that could be helpful for our listeners
Speaker:in terms of the way you're working the booth or presenting
Speaker:the product or some tips on how you're seeing the product
Speaker:sell when you're at the show?
Speaker:Absolutely things we have found is with a lot of the
Speaker:crafts, you want to keep it simple.
Speaker:You want to make sure that your product is easy to
Speaker:understand that it's out there in a way where the pricing
Speaker:is clearly marked.
Speaker:And that way,
Speaker:when people come up to your table,
Speaker:they're not having to ask you,
Speaker:well, how much is this?
Speaker:And they're not having to be embarrassed about it.
Speaker:We've also noticed that people just buying your product,
Speaker:they are buying you.
Speaker:So you want to look your best.
Speaker:You want to dress really dice.
Speaker:You want to have your hair done really well.
Speaker:You don't have to go over the top,
Speaker:but people are buying you.
Speaker:And so standing up,
Speaker:talking to people,
Speaker:being at eye level,
Speaker:not reading a book,
Speaker:not paying attention to somebody else,
Speaker:not walking away from your booth,
Speaker:but being available,
Speaker:be there,
Speaker:show up,
Speaker:sell your product because you love it because you're passionate about
Speaker:it. And that really makes a difference because I can tell
Speaker:the vendors they're just there because they signed up to be
Speaker:at a show.
Speaker:They don't really want to be there.
Speaker:They'd, you know,
Speaker:they'd much rather slept in and they're not real passionate about
Speaker:their product.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:they don't know the details.
Speaker:They don't know well how it was really made.
Speaker:I am not sure.
Speaker:That's not what customers want to hear.
Speaker:They want to know that you love this product that you're
Speaker:sure about it.
Speaker:And that really does make a difference because your customers are
Speaker:people that become your friends.
Speaker:A lot of the time,
Speaker:they become someone that comes back year after year.
Speaker:We feel like a lot of the shows,
Speaker:it's kind of like a family reunion.
Speaker:People have watched us grow.
Speaker:We always keep a picture of our family on the table.
Speaker:So every year that changes and people want to know how
Speaker:are the kids what's going on?
Speaker:What's new.
Speaker:Oh, everybody's getting bigger.
Speaker:And that makes a difference because it is about relationships because
Speaker:that's our way of marketing.
Speaker:Our customers are our best advertisers.
Speaker:I think It's so cool that you put a new picture
Speaker:of your family up.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:Well, that's the thing.
Speaker:I'm a stay at home.
Speaker:Mom. This is my stay at home mom business.
Speaker:I want people to know they're not just buying a bar
Speaker:of soap.
Speaker:They're buying something that was made special at home by me
Speaker:in my kitchen,
Speaker:the Whole story.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:in a way they're helping support and raise the family with
Speaker:You by supporting you,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:what are the kids up to?
Speaker:What Are they doing?
Speaker:And do you bring the kids ever to the shows the
Speaker:Craft shows we do sometimes it's gotten a little bit hairy
Speaker:having a two year old because he really doesn't want to
Speaker:stay put.
Speaker:So a lot of times,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:my 12 year old will go with me and she does
Speaker:a great job helping.
Speaker:And she loves to talk to people too.
Speaker:So that makes a big difference.
Speaker:So on the customer service end,
Speaker:a lot of the way you make them feel unique and
Speaker:valued is just by sharing your family with them and making
Speaker:sure that you're there talking to them when you're at The
Speaker:shows. Absolutely.
Speaker:We have people that we see every week.
Speaker:We have people we see once a year and we work
Speaker:really hard to remember their faces,
Speaker:to know their names,
Speaker:because these are people that we care about.
Speaker:These are people that have told us their story.
Speaker:I have heard so many testimonies of my body itch.
Speaker:Every time I took a bath,
Speaker:my skin had this problem or that problem and what you're
Speaker:making helps me.
Speaker:And so for that makes it personal to me that this
Speaker:product is going out to Sue and Sue loves this product
Speaker:because it works for her.
Speaker:And so to really keep it personal and to be happy
Speaker:to see people this last weekend,
Speaker:I was at a show and Barb came,
Speaker:I haven't seen Barb in almost a year,
Speaker:but I've talked to her a couple times and it was
Speaker:exciting to chat with her.
Speaker:And she took home her 25 bars of soap and she
Speaker:was so happy.
Speaker:And that makes me happy.
Speaker:And so the relationship end of that becomes your marketing.
Speaker:I think People interaction is what makes it all worth it.
Speaker:It really does.
Speaker:So Jen,
Speaker:when you're meeting and forming all those relationships with all of
Speaker:these people,
Speaker:do you then communicate with them at all throughout the year
Speaker:through emails or cards or some type of system,
Speaker:or is it just from show to show?
Speaker:We have a email base of customers that want to get
Speaker:our newsletter every spring.
Speaker:So we send it out.
Speaker:The end of February,
Speaker:beginning of March is our,
Speaker:is our timeframe.
Speaker:And so when people email us and say,
Speaker:Hey, I want to know what's going on on the farm,
Speaker:keep us updated.
Speaker:We add them to our list.
Speaker:So that's one way we communicate with people.
Speaker:We send out our farm newsletter that has all the information
Speaker:for the year.
Speaker:It has all our order forms for what we're doing on
Speaker:the farm.
Speaker:It updates people with what's going on with soaping.
Speaker:So that's been our main way of talking to people.
Speaker:We've done cards for,
Speaker:let's say Christmas,
Speaker:one year we did cards.
Speaker:We hear from people through Facebook.
Speaker:Facebook has been an awesome way for us to contact people
Speaker:and to keep them updated with what's happening on the farm.
Speaker:We try to post pictures,
Speaker:just even making comments about,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:Hey, 20 batches of soap are done.
Speaker:We can't wait to see you this weekend,
Speaker:whatever show that's been a great opportunity.
Speaker:I get phone calls all the time.
Speaker:Sue, I constantly talk to people who found our name on
Speaker:a website,
Speaker:or they got a bar of soap or they got a
Speaker:body butter for Christmas and they want to know how they
Speaker:can get more.
Speaker:Yeah. So just like you were saying,
Speaker:word of mouth.
Speaker:Yes. No.
Speaker:And then,
Speaker:and then being able to call up and actually talk to
Speaker:you. Yes.
Speaker:What is your most popular product?
Speaker:My very most popular product is a soap called fresh thoughts
Speaker:and it is a lemon grass,
Speaker:Rosemary Sage with a drop of citrus.
Speaker:And so the smell is just fresh and clean and whisks
Speaker:your mind away to fresh new places.
Speaker:Ooh, I love that visual.
Speaker:That sounds so yummy.
Speaker:Oh, it is yummy this year.
Speaker:The other thing has been,
Speaker:we did a lavender swirl and it's funny because fresh thoughts
Speaker:has been my top seller since I started doing shows.
Speaker:And all of a sudden this lavender swirl is about to
Speaker:take over and it's just because people really do love the
Speaker:fresh, clean smell of lavender.
Speaker:And so who's naming these soaps.
Speaker:It's me doing great.
Speaker:I love both of these names.
Speaker:That's awesome.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:the thing I find is that people will walk up and
Speaker:they're like,
Speaker:well, you know,
Speaker:I don't like the smell of vanilla.
Speaker:And you're like,
Speaker:okay here,
Speaker:try this and try this and try this.
Speaker:And they smell all these different soaps and you go back
Speaker:and you go and they watch in that vanilla.
Speaker:It's funny.
Speaker:It's kind of fun because if I don't put a name
Speaker:on it that what's in it,
Speaker:then people are more willing to smell it.
Speaker:They're more willing to try it.
Speaker:We do a body butter and people all the time are
Speaker:kind of like,
Speaker:well, what is this?
Speaker:What, what,
Speaker:what, what do you do with it?
Speaker:You slather it on your skin and your body eats it
Speaker:up and,
Speaker:and people love it because it's something fun and it's different.
Speaker:And that's been kind of neat to watch just The way
Speaker:you're describing it now.
Speaker:I mean your way with words in terms of,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:it's not just like,
Speaker:oh, you just put it on like lotion.
Speaker:That's not what you said.
Speaker:You put it on Your body,
Speaker:your body eats it up whole different way of branding and
Speaker:presenting your product.
Speaker:For sure.
Speaker:Definitely. We had a really big honor this year.
Speaker:We were recognized by mother earth news magazine as a winner
Speaker:of homesteader of the year.
Speaker:There were four winners and we were selected to represent the
Speaker:clean living section of homesteaders.
Speaker:So this was really huge because something like mother earth news
Speaker:is really well known.
Speaker:They're very renowned.
Speaker:Their Facebook page has something like 1.9
Speaker:million viewers.
Speaker:So we were really excited about that.
Speaker:And the article that they did was in the August September
Speaker:issue. And that really,
Speaker:really was exciting for us on the farm.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:How cool is that?
Speaker:Did you apply for that?
Speaker:Or did someone nominate you or how were you found to
Speaker:even be part of potentially being selected as a way we
Speaker:Applied for it?
Speaker:We had to give a,
Speaker:something like 500 word statement about what we were doing and
Speaker:why we thought that we were even,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:in the running for this homesteader of the year.
Speaker:And so we got an email back with a questionnaire,
Speaker:which we filled out.
Speaker:It was a two page questionnaire.
Speaker:And after a couple of days,
Speaker:it turned into four pages of answers.
Speaker:They were some really in-depth questions about the farm and homesteading
Speaker:and what we're doing.
Speaker:It didn't figure we would hear anything.
Speaker:It was just kind of on a whim.
Speaker:Like let's,
Speaker:let's see what happens.
Speaker:We got word back.
Speaker:And we actually talked to the editor on April 1st and
Speaker:we talked to her on the phone.
Speaker:We had this great conversation.
Speaker:And the last thing she says to us is by the
Speaker:way, we've selected you as one of our winners.
Speaker:And I just went,
Speaker:That was huge.
Speaker:Congratulations. Oh my gosh.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:give his listeners that big,
Speaker:because look at what they did.
Speaker:They actually kind of,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:risked it because anyone coming in and analyzing them and you
Speaker:always want to win.
Speaker:Cause you always know your business is the best of course,
Speaker:but they put themselves out there and look at how successful
Speaker:it is.
Speaker:So think about that for your business.
Speaker:Are there any PR moves that you can make to get
Speaker:some recognition and some visibility for your business?
Speaker:Wow. That's a huge story.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:Did you post that on Facebook?
Speaker:We did post it on Facebook.
Speaker:Yeah. We're going to move now into the reflection section and
Speaker:this gives us a feel for things that you've found have
Speaker:helped you to be successful along the way over and above
Speaker:what we've talked about specifically with your product and your business.
Speaker:So think back when you were a little girl all the
Speaker:way up until now,
Speaker:what do you think is one natural trait that you have
Speaker:that helped you to succeed this whole time?
Speaker:I can talk to anybody.
Speaker:My parents are very friendly people.
Speaker:My dad would talk to anybody in a grocery store line.
Speaker:My mom is just wonderful and easy to chat with.
Speaker:And I think that trait has passed to me and it
Speaker:makes it simple for me to talk to people and say,
Speaker:hi, how are you today?
Speaker:Or, Hey,
Speaker:have you,
Speaker:have you ever tried natural soap before?
Speaker:And it does push me a little out of my comfort
Speaker:zone, but I'm willing to try because the worst thing somebody
Speaker:can say is no.
Speaker:So that's definitely a trait.
Speaker:I guess I would almost kind of put me at not
Speaker:fearless, but I'm not afraid to talk to people.
Speaker:I'm not intimidated.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:Which helps so much at the shows too.
Speaker:And then when people respond positively,
Speaker:then that just reaffirms to you that that's a good thing
Speaker:to be doing.
Speaker:And then you just keep going.
Speaker:Absolutely. That's it.
Speaker:You got to start it for the first time to know,
Speaker:to get that.
Speaker:What tool do you use regularly to help you keep productive
Speaker:or to create balance on the farm with the kids and
Speaker:the soap and everything else you've got going on?
Speaker:We use a paper calendar.
Speaker:I know this is like nobody knows.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:Yeah. The kids know where's mom's calendar because that one calendar
Speaker:has our life in it.
Speaker:It is our schedule book.
Speaker:I'm the secretary.
Speaker:And so Matt will call me and go,
Speaker:do we have anything going on at this point?
Speaker:Can you put it on the calendar?
Speaker:If something happens on the farm,
Speaker:when I order stuff,
Speaker:it goes on the calendar ordered this day arrived.
Speaker:It really does make a difference for us,
Speaker:especially with the fact that we don't use smartphones.
Speaker:At this point,
Speaker:we don't have fabulous internet connection at our house.
Speaker:And so having that paper calendar has made a difference because
Speaker:it's solid.
Speaker:It doesn't change.
Speaker:It doesn't accidentally,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:get deleted unless somebody whites it out or erases it.
Speaker:It's in the book On calendar for more family events and
Speaker:business, it all emerges into calendar.
Speaker:It is all on one calendar.
Speaker:Yeah. You May be surprised about this,
Speaker:but in the answer to this question from other shows,
Speaker:a lot of people resort back to the paper way of
Speaker:doing things.
Speaker:It's very interesting.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:even though there's all these apps out there and specifically with
Speaker:calendars. Wow,
Speaker:thanks. Yeah.
Speaker:I'm serious.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:not everybody of course,
Speaker:but always surprised because a lot of people and like to
Speaker:do lists and all of that sticky note.
Speaker:Yes, Absolutely.
Speaker:Well, we've read that people who are the most productive have
Speaker:lists of things that they want to accomplish at the beginning
Speaker:of the year,
Speaker:we do sit down and make a list of things we'd
Speaker:like to get done for the year.
Speaker:And then along the way we make lists for seasons.
Speaker:And then it'll sometimes just be this week.
Speaker:This has to get done.
Speaker:And that really does aid in our productivity.
Speaker:Sure. It mentally focuses you in to reach whatever it is
Speaker:that, that,
Speaker:that task or goal or whatever it is that has to
Speaker:get. It really does.
Speaker:And it really helps too,
Speaker:when you have kids that need to understand,
Speaker:even though I'm at home,
Speaker:I need to be in the kitchen and I need to
Speaker:get this done so that my part of the farm can
Speaker:be doing what it needs to do.
Speaker:And they can see that it's all Interconnected.
Speaker:I guess I never thought about that.
Speaker:It is,
Speaker:it's all connected.
Speaker:If it doesn't get done,
Speaker:then I can't go to the show.
Speaker:And that means we can't make the money that we need
Speaker:to buy the groceries to feed you dinner.
Speaker:Okay. Mom,
Speaker:keep working.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:Jen, what book have you read lately that you think our
Speaker:listeners would find?
Speaker:We do a lot of reading.
Speaker:And so this was kind of a question that I did
Speaker:have to think about for a while.
Speaker:And what I came up with is the Martha rules by
Speaker:Martha Stewart.
Speaker:And what I love about it is that she refers to
Speaker:small businesses as actual small businesses,
Speaker:one employee,
Speaker:no employees where I've read some marketing books where they,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:they talk about a small business being 200 employees and I'm
Speaker:going, nah,
Speaker:it doesn't really apply.
Speaker:I can't really take what you're saying and work with it.
Speaker:The Martha rules really gets down to the nitty gritty of
Speaker:how she made her business work,
Speaker:how she's seen other productive businesses work.
Speaker:And I love it.
Speaker:I love how she uses small business as an example.
Speaker:That's a great example.
Speaker:And honestly,
Speaker:even if any of us have dreams of growing our business,
Speaker:it all starts with that first person.
Speaker:You never hear anybody starting a business and saying,
Speaker:okay, I'm going to find a product,
Speaker:but first I'm going to hire five people.
Speaker:It all starts in the beginning with an idea.
Speaker:And the one person who is usually the one who had
Speaker:the idea.
Speaker:Yeah, Exactly.
Speaker:Yes. Yeah.
Speaker:Martha rule sounds like a great book and listeners just as
Speaker:you're listening to the podcast today,
Speaker:you can listen to audio books with ease.
Speaker:I've teamed up with audible for you to get an audio
Speaker:book, just like the Martha rules for free.
Speaker:All you need to do is go to gift biz,
Speaker:book.com and make a selection.
Speaker:And now Jen,
Speaker:we're winding down and I want to bring you into our
Speaker:dare to dream a question I'd like to present you with
Speaker:a virtual gift.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.
Speaker:This is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable Heights
Speaker:that you would wish to obtain.
Speaker:So please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside your box?
Speaker:Oh my goodness.
Speaker:I am opening this gift and I am finding a soaping
Speaker:kitchen that is designated for soaping only.
Speaker:And it's amazing.
Speaker:And it's wonderful.
Speaker:And it comes with some additional retail accounts where I can
Speaker:sell this beautiful soap that I'm making in this kitchen.
Speaker:That's wonderful because then you can share it with all of
Speaker:us. Absolutely love It.
Speaker:It love it.
Speaker:But you're going to keep going with the fun names,
Speaker:like the fresh thoughts and the lavender swirl.
Speaker:Absolutely. We have a deep ripple.
Speaker:We have.
Speaker:Yeah. You love deep ripple.
Speaker:It's a lavender vanilla and it has corn meal in it
Speaker:for gentle exfoliation.
Speaker:So listen,
Speaker:Now I know we're going to work on that dream.
Speaker:We're all going to put out in the environment for you
Speaker:to be able to have your very own soaping kitchen of
Speaker:any size that you want.
Speaker:Oh, I totally accept that.
Speaker:That's awesome.
Speaker:Right. Okay.
Speaker:So meanwhile,
Speaker:we all want your soap.
Speaker:So where do we go?
Speaker:How do we get in touch with you or order or
Speaker:go check out what's going on through your Facebook page?
Speaker:Tell us a couple of ways that we can connect.
Speaker:Absolutely. You can find us on Facebook.
Speaker:It's Eby farms,
Speaker:LLC. You can also go to our website.
Speaker:It's Eby farms,
Speaker:llc.com. And on there,
Speaker:you will find not only our store front,
Speaker:but you'll also find a page that has a listing of
Speaker:where we will be.
Speaker:So you can come and visit us at different shows.
Speaker:We try to put up any updates of new wholesale accounts.
Speaker:So places you can go brick and mortar stores that are
Speaker:carrying our products.
Speaker:You can also just give us a call.
Speaker:You can call and talk to me at (269) 535-6857.
Speaker:And you'll get me on the other end of the line.
Speaker:That's fabulous.
Speaker:So give biz listeners check all of this out if you're
Speaker:interested. And you do know that if you are walking your
Speaker:dog in the car in your own shop and you weren't
Speaker:able to capture any the contact information,
Speaker:you can just jump right over to the show notes page
Speaker:and I'll have it all there and available for you.
Speaker:Jen, thank you so much.
Speaker:I just love how you've really given us a visual of
Speaker:your business and how it's formed.
Speaker:And it sounds beautiful out there on your farm.
Speaker:And I'm already picturing you in your new kitchen.
Speaker:So I'm jumping forward a little bit.
Speaker:We went,
Speaker:we went to what was,
Speaker:and now I'm jumping forward a little bit,
Speaker:but I am just so excited for you.
Speaker:I wish you nothing but the best in terms of the
Speaker:growth of your company and may your candle always Feel,
Speaker:I appreciate it.
Speaker:Learn how to work smarter while developing and growing your business.
Speaker:Download our guide called 25 free tools to enhance your business
Speaker:and life.
Speaker:It's our gift to you and available@giftbizonrap.com
Speaker:slash tools.
Speaker:Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for the
Speaker:next episode.
Speaker:Today's show is sponsored by the ribbon print company,
Speaker:looking for a new income source for your gift business.
Speaker:Customization is more popular now than ever brand your product from
Speaker:your logo or print,
Speaker:a happy birthday,
Speaker:Jessica Goodman,
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Speaker:write a checkout.
Speaker:It's all done right in your shop or cross studio in
Speaker:seconds. Check out the ribbon print company.com
Speaker:for more information.
Speaker:Would you like to be on the show or do you
Speaker:know someone who can provide valuable insight from their experiences?
Speaker:If so,
Speaker:we'd love to hear from you.
Speaker:All you need to do is submit a form for consideration.
Speaker:You can access the form@giftunwrapped.com
Speaker:forward slash yes,
Speaker:that's gift unwrapped.com
