Business

How My Business Sold Itself

~ debsthoughts ~ 5 Comments

Last month I sold my seven-year old business, Big Fat Soap. Since I made the announcement dozens of fellow business owners have asked me how I did it, as though there were specific steps involved in the process. While I cannot outline exactly how the potential buyer(s) were found I would like to demonstrate what the experience was like from my perspective. Later Part Two of this series will explain the amount of work involved in getting it sold, because there was a LOT of work involved even after I watched the truck drive away with the contents of my business. Read on to hear how it happened. Continue reading →

Flexibility, Freedom, and Testing the Waters

~ debsthoughts ~ 3 Comments

MomYesterday was my mother’s birthday. She would have been 88. I wonder when I’ll stop doing that—calculating how old she would be if she were still alive today. It’s good to be remembered. I hope some of my loved ones will do that for me long after I’m gone from this world. In the meantime, I blog–or at least I pretend to blog, when I find time . . . and let me just say, this is not an effective way to blog.

My business keeps me far busier than I’d like to be, and it seems to me that this being busy thing prevents me from doing what it is that truly brings joy to my heart and fulfills me. Please don’t get me wrong, I enjoy making soap, and I am passionate about growing my business, but some days I find myself forgetting my why. Continue reading →

The Birth of a Brand – Big Fat Soap

~ debsthoughts ~ 4 Comments

The question asked of me most often is without a doubt, “Where did the name, Big Fat Soap, come from?”  Let me begin by saying, naming a business is about as tricky as naming a child. It’s a big responsibility, because this business (or child, as the case may be) will likely have to suffer through the rest of its life with this moniker.

Like many folks, I’ve always had a fantasy of owning my own business; however my early soapmaking endeavors did not begin with a business in mind. I made soap because it was useful, fun, and creative. The problem was I could not seem to stop making soap. Continue reading →