I Find Soapers To Be
I’ve had conversations with soapers from all over the country, all over the world. I find soapers to be from all walks of life. I’ve met women who are single or divorced, married for a bazillion years, home schooling their children and need, not just a job, but a way of life. These women created a business out of thin air.
They stay home with their children and run a business, along with daily chores of household management: laundry, dishes, groceries... They are multi-skilled and multi-talented, with a level of time management that is envied by those who never seem to have enough time to complete a task.
I’ve read about and talked with women, (most soapers tend to be women, but the soaping community is not exclusively made up of women) who have disabled partners and need to stay home so they created, once again, a business out of their surroundings.
These women knew their time was more valuable caring for their families, and chose to create the business that would afford them a flexible schedule.
Now, this isn’t to say they chose the easier, softer path. When a successful handmade business gets its legs, starts to create some revenue, it can be highly demanding. With that said, these women (and men) would rather work long hours, spend every waking moment when not caring for others, focused on their business, and work for nothing some days than give the care of their families and loved ones over to someone else.
And then there is the freedom. Anyone who has worked for a corporation, or for someone else, knows your day is not, in any part, your own. You have hired your time, your life-force energy, out to someone else. You are utilizing your skills for someone else’s benefit. In essence, they are leveraging you to make their company money.
With a soap business, the product (in this case soap) is made from seemingly unrelated items into something that has not existed before, with an individual creative difference. That, alone, eliminates competition. No two soaps are ever the same. They are made by hand. Don't believe the corps that have sold us a false bill of good, claiming that handmade is inferior.
Tell that to your grandmother after she presents you with homemade cookies. It is not only a sign of her love for you, but each cookie is packed with HER attention and devotion.
So, I’ve learned that soapers are some of the most innovative, clever, resourceful and resilient group of people I’ve yet to meet and I’m proud to be apart of this community.
Well done Soapers, well done!