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MumsClub Name: carolbe
Real Name: Carol Beck
Age (or age range): 27
Children’s ages: 2 and 1
Business Name: Soap With A Twist
Website: www.soapwithatwist.co.uk
Business Contact:enquiries@soapwithatwist.co.uk (Carol Beck)
What are the key features of the products or services that your business offers:
I make handmade soaps and gift baskets. My soaps include children's soaps and food-themed soaps such as mini chocolates.
Why should customers and clients use your services?
My soaps are unique and lovingly hand-crafted! If the perfect soap isn't on my site, I offer a facility to design your own soap and/or gift basket!
When & how did you start up in business?
This is a new venture - so 2008.
How did you decide what business to go into, and what was your motivation?
I already make personalised gifts on my other site Fresh Look Gifts so I'd decided to go into personalised soaps as an extension to my range. However, I discovered that I enjoyed soap-making so much that I'd make it a business in its own right!
Have, or do you do anything out of the ordinary to benefit your business?
I run a monthly promotion offering free soap samples to my newsletter subscribers. It's a great way to encourage loyalty to the website / mailing list and to give customers a chance to try out a new soap fragrance that they might not have considered previously.
What stage is your business at now & what are your plans for the future?
It's a new business at the moment, so I'm working on building up my product range. In the future, I'd be aiming to offer a wholesale & dropship service and to get my soaps into high street shops.
How do you manage to juggle your business with family life? Has it been challenging?
My children are both pre-school, so they're at home with me. I have to take advantage of nap times and work a lot in the evenings. I also have a great support network in my husband, parents and in-laws, who all help out with child-minding!
What advice would you give another mum considering starting her own business?
Expect there to be a major settling in period while you learn to juggle your business life and family life - it can be very difficult! Just keep focusing on whatever YOUR personal motivations are and remember that it'll all get easier as times goes on. Don't be afraid to ask for help and support - as well as friends and family, it really helps to take advantage of support networks such as Mumsclub which is full of other mums in exactly the same boat!
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