Remember the Name…

Brought to you by: Fort Minor

As I sit here watching the Japan v. Belgium World Cup match on repeat, it reminded me of a blog interview on Soap Queen that I read a few months ago that really upset me. Not because it was offensive or anything like that. What it was, was very heartbreaking, gut wrenching and soul shattering to see someone on the path you are on doing basically everything you’re trying to do and succeeding, while you stumble around in the dark and fall on your face constantly. This soap-maker was doing exactly what I wanted to do, found the niche I want to be in and had started making soap around the same time I had, but in the same time period they created a successful online store and now have a brick & mortar (aka store front), while I can’t get 1 GOD DAMN sale. What does this have to do with the World Cup? Well, all these teams around the world play the exact same sport, with the exact same rules and a stroke of luck (getting past the goal keeper) or experience (seasoned coaching staff) determines who wins and who loses most matches. The really good teams have had this combination for years. I think soap making and soap selling is the same way. Is it anyone’s fault that this soap-maker has succeeded where I haven’t? Yes. Mine. The reason being, I don’t have the funds to start properly nor the support. From what the article stated this person had the complete support of their parent, even product testing and thorough feed back, I on the other hand, can’t get anyone in my family to even tell me what they like about anything I make.

Japan didn’t make the quarter finals this year, but they made damn sure that Belgium (and the world) remembered their name when that game was over and gave notice for the next world cup. I want that too, I’m not asking for a store front, or even a permanent setup anywhere, all I’m asking for is that people know my name and what I’m about.

My mother, especially, as she loves to lord over me the one time she backed me in a business venture doing direct sales selling jewelry (that she strongly encouraged me to do) and it didn’t go so well. Okay it failed miserably, in my personal opinion it was lack of support, not financial (even though that did come into play after a while), but emotional and mental. I literally had no one to bounce ideas off of, on one to listen and give critic, no one willing to come to my shows, no one willing to talk about my business to others. Even my mentor stopped offering advice. I was so discouraged that I stopped paying the annual dues and walked away. I couldn’t justify spending over $400 a year and not seeing the return, even with tax write-offs. To this day my mother won’t let it go. It’s one of the reasons I refuse to ask her for any money for this venture, but again I was pushed into something that I knew very little about, running a business, and once again I have no support. Everyone was all for me starting this thing, before they remembered they had to pay for the product.

I’m falling back into listening to my mind tell me that I’m not ever gonna be anything and to why bother. I’m trying very hard not to listen to that voice, but no one is there to tell me any different, so it’s an uphill struggle everyday. I even revamped, my basic economy soap, adding an extra touch of soft oils that could be good for your skin. I also added, guest and travel size bars for those of you that may want to sample or to just take it with you. So far it’s only in Basic Economy and Coconut Milk, but more are coming!