How My Business Sold Itself

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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 →

Farm Dreams — Part 1

Me and My First Love, Amigo - 1967
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Where does a dream begin? How does it develop into something one must pursue? Is it ever too late to take action on pursuing this dream? 

I’ve had a dream my whole life — literally as far back as I can remember. This is Part 1 of my farm dream story:  

As a kid growing up in the Los Angeles suburbs I longed to live on a farm with horses. Corrals, pastures, wide open spaces to ride off alone, just me and my equine best friend, was what I dreamed of nearly every day of my life. I don’t know why or even where this idea came from because I hadn’t been exposed to horses or farms, except on TV. I knew kids who would visit their relatives on farms – always in the Midwest, it seemed. Eventually I married one of those kids. Continue reading →

Grieving the Loss of Myself

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Last month my identity was stolen. It might not have been such an excruciatingly horrid experience if it were not for the fact that we are smack dab in the middle of buying our dream property—you know, with the necessary credit checks, title searches, folks googling our names to be sure we are who we say we are. It is only by chance that we discovered my stolen identity, as it is in most cases. There is no Stolen Identity Bureau of the government who notifies us when our social security number has been used illicitly.

The nightmare began when we attempted to file our tax returns electronically, like we have for years. To our surprise the system rejected our returns because someone had previously filed using my social security number. We are lucky because the fake return was rejected, which means the thief did not receive our refund. We are unlucky because our refund will now be held up for 180 days while the IRS proceeds to confirm I am who I say I am. And unlucky because we were forced to file via snail mail (certified & registered) – complete with an affidavit, a form explaining what happened, the police report case number, and copies of my social security card and passport. Continue reading →

Roadside Trash

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Roadside Trash

I picked some up today,

Not mine, I was taught not to litter.

Aluminum cans, plastic and glass,
I wonder about those responsible.

Illegal drinkers, lazy young men,
Ignorant about where their trash resides.

Cigarette packs, vodka bottles, take-out sacks,
I imagine all flung from moving vehicles. Continue reading →

How I Nearly Ruined My Own Birthday Celebration

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Depression–it rears its ugly head when you least expect it. I will not refer to it as something I suffer from/with. I prefer to say it is my dirty little secret which I cannot quite manage to be done with (once and for all) after years of keeping company with it. I try to portray myself as one who has everything under control always. There are days however, when that is easier said than done. Even when I don’t feel it, I have a Happy Face + Attitude (HFA) that I tap into—on most days. Periodically the dreaded depression sets in deeper than I’d like. Those are the days I try to hide from the world until I can get my HFA back on track, but this week it was out of my reach. I picked up the phone when it rang and my daughter was on the other end asking what I wanted to do for my birthday. Poor thing, I do feel bad for her.

Birthday BunnyNothing. Nothing at all. I hate my life. I want to run away. I want change. I wish I lived on a farm, was my sad, forlorn, woe-is-me response.

She had to hang up pretty quickly after that. I don’t blame her. I’ll talk to you Saturday, she said. Continue reading →

Fermenting Vegetables – Part 1

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My Discovery

A couple years ago, on a quest to find local sources for raw milk (more on that later), the incredible world of lacto-fermentation was opened to me. I attended a conference geared for people interested in traditional eating for good health. I heard some new terms, like bone broth, ferments, and I kept hearing over and over again that good saturated fats (like butter from grass fed cows) are healthy. Say what???  Another phrase I learned at the conference was how these things can heal our guts. Heal our guts? I didn’t know that was possible. And a lot of us need some healing in that department. With the onslaught of food allergies, autoimmune disorders, IBS, to name only a few of the disorders that I believe start in our digestive systems, we could all use some help with working towards healing our ailing guts. 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

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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 →

Ode to Dad

~ debsthoughts ~ 2 Comments
Father's Day
Dad and me saying goodbye in 1993 – when we moved out of state.

This morning I picked up a book and a book-marker fell out. It was one of the ones made my niece, Kelly, for my Dad’s memorial service last December.  There on the floor was a picture of my dad staring up at me, unexpectedly.

It occurs to me that this has probably been a contributing factor to my down feelings the last ten days.  Buying Father’s Day cards for other people’s dads is not the same as buying a special one for your own and spending time with him.  I miss him.

If you still have yours and if you are lucky enough to see him tomorrow, give him a hug and hold him tight.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad.

Slow Down and Rest–That’s an Order!

~ debsthoughts ~ 12 Comments

I love what I do at Big Fat Soap, but being a sole proprietor is hard work. One of the reasons I choose to be self-employed is so that my work schedule can be flexible. What a great plan! You may be thinking . . . but reality is when you work from home and are Director of Everything, like me, you tend to work far more hours each day than a typical American employee – 7 days a week. Orders must be filled and shipped, supplies must be inventoried and stocked, marketing and sales tasks must be done, forecasting, reports, planning, follow-up with customers, and on and on it goes. It is truly never-ending. Add to the equation, the personality type who feels guilty sitting down to read a book or relax in the garden during day-time hours, and you have potential trouble.

A friend I’ve met recently—also an entrepreneur—gave me some valuable advice: You MUST take a day off. This is not negotiable. I’ve been replaying her words in my mind and I know that it is important, but I haven’t been able to heed her advice until . . .  one day I got the message. Continue reading →