If You Start Me Up, I’ll Never Stop

Executive DirectorBusiness & Finance2 Comments

That’s what we’re hoping, at least. Do you make the most bodacious bath bombs? Perhaps you’ve perfected a body butter? Or maybe your soap swirls are ready for prime time. If you’ve been thinking about moving beyond a cosmetic-crafting hobby into a business, we have a little something to help start you up.

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Introducing the Business Start-Up Toolkit, accessible from the Soapmakers dropdown on the HSCG’s home page. This toolkit is available to everyone, member or not, free of charge. This toolkit (one of many we are rolling out) will be part of our new resource library. While the library isn’t ready for prime time, we couldn’t keep this toolkit from you any longer.

Why introduce a resource? Part of the Guild’s mission is to foster the handcrafted soap and cosmetic industry through education and training. We believe the more you know about getting your business off the ground, the better positioned you are for success!

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On to the good stuff…so, you’re wondering, what kinds of things will you find in this toolkit? Today, we’ve broken the toolkit into six key areas, including quick guides to:

–        Types of business structures and their respective advantages and disadvantages

–        How to choose a business name, including pitfalls to avoid

–        How to get an employer identification number from the IRS

–        What the heck an assumed name is and how to handle it

–        Various types and sources of insurance for your business

–        What you need to do to start your business finances on the right foot

Take a look at the website and check out the toolkit for all the juicy details. Starting a business can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be intimidating. We hope this guide helps give you the kickstart you need to build your business! This is by no means a static guide, so do let us know what other start-up advice you’d like to see.

What did you wish you knew when you started your business?

2 Comments on “If You Start Me Up, I’ll Never Stop”

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