Last weekend, I spent the day with 60+ bath and beauty entrepreneurs in Nashville, TN. There’s a tangible high to be had when there’s that much synergy in the room and  the Tennessee Soap + Candle Social did not disappoint! I was honored to be asked to keynote the event and I seized the opportunity to debut my “Don’t Lose Your A#@!” workshop, designed to walk creative entrepreneurs through the process of costing their raw materials, labor and overhead expenses in order to arrive at product costings which ensure profit and viability. It was a lot of fun and I’m so grateful to all of the attendees for sitting through 75 minutes of math at 9am. It didn’t hurt, of course, that I sprinkled the digital presentation with a little eye candy to help keep us focused…

Oh yes, I certainly did. I was fighting an uphill battle teaching an pricing workshop to an undercaffeinated crowd at that hour and I came to the event shamelessly armed. But you would have been so proud of the rapt attention they paid to the entire presentation!

The event presented an opportunity to meet with a handful of dear friends, along with the opportunity to connect with dozens of new faces. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with so many of you and learning more about your businesses and where you want to take them. We also enjoyed some fabulous soap and candle demos and a delicious lunch on the campus of the Scarritt Bennett center, which makes for a stunning conference venue!

I extend my gratitude to Rachel Turner of Music City Suds and Birdie Dozier of Bon Aqua Cabin for their incredible organizational skills and their dedication to seeing this event through.  My hat is off to all of the attendees who traveled from Illinois, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama to gather together and support one another. I hope to see you all again next year!

If you’re reading and you were there, what did you think of the event?

Let’s put on our shopkeeper hat.

Being a “maker” is so firmly entrenched in our psyche that we often lose site of all the other angles. We’re so busy designing and creating and costing and promoting and paying that we often fail to take an objective look at the purchasing experience through the eyes of our buyer.  Once we’ve introduced our products and interested her enough to make a purchase, how do we build a relationship that’s ripe with longevity and loyalty?

Makers sometimes get tripped up on this exercise, but the good news is that you don’t need xray vision or a crystal ball to understand what makes a buyer happy.  There’s no magic here. Imagine you run a shop and purchase creative products from indie designers. Looking at things through that perspective… what would keep you happy?

1. Ship when you say you’ll ship.

Nothing is more frustrating for a retailer than not receiving merchandise when they expect it. Design a realistic shipping schedule for yourself and always tack on an extra day or two. It’s far better to under-promise and over-deliver than the other way around. If you know you won’t be able to make an estimated shipping date, then promptly notify the account, succinctly explain the scenario, offer up a new shipping date (that you absolutely must meet) and either offer them an incentive (i.e. 10% off their next order) to tuck something extra in their box.  And a handwritten note thanking them for their patience goes a long way, too.

2. Don’t undercut your wholesale partners.

As a creative maker in the wholesale marketplace, you never want to be perceived as competition by your accounts. We’re looking for a partnership here and your actions should reflect that.  If you sell your products via the internet, then be certain to keystone your own pricing (i.e. a $5 wholesale product should be at least $10 on your website). Even better: keystone + 10% to allow for the periodic promotions you’re certain to run.

3. Avoid oversaturation.

Shops don’t want to cannibalize each other and they don’t want to compete with one another for the pool of  local buyers who seek your product.  Accepting too many wholesale accounts in too small a market is a bad idea all the way around: the buyers will be frustrated at your inability to act as a partner and the products will move slowly off their shelves, reducing or eliminating reorders.  Be mindful of your current stockists and their proximity to each other.  At Bella Lucce, we’ve had our web developer create an instant zip code lookup, so we can determine if we have a current stockists in a given area at the outset of any conversations with newly interested parties.

4. Promote great accounts on your company blog.

You need blog material and they need promotion, right? Featuring stellar stores on your blog is a total win-win.  The shop get a search engine boost, a surge of web traffic and a ego massage. You get to show off all the groovy places that feature your product (which makes other groovy stores want to feature your product) and you have fresh fodder for the blog (which makes your readers happy and keeps those Google spiders busy, too).
Bonus points: include a testimonial from the shop owner detailing how fantastic your products are or what product is flying off the shelves. Displays of your product in-store are popular, too.

5. Keep in touch.

Retailers frequently lament the fact that formerly hot-and-heavy makers who pursued them like lovers suddenly fall off the face of the planet once they’ve made the sale.  Keeping them hot for you is infinitely easier (and more cost-effective) than finding new lovers to pursue. Use an email database program (Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, etc.) to dispatch a monthly newsletter showing off your latest product introductions, press hits, upcoming shows and behind-the-scenes peeks. If you haven’t heard from a retailer in several months, pick up the phone and ask how it’s going. If they indicate that your merchandise isn’t moving, propose a product exchange or a shipment of promotional materials, a few testers, etc. to help get things moving again.

6. Offer product swaps for slow-moving items.

Many vendors offer a product exchange if the products aren’t moving quickly enough. This kind of policy really builds confidence with a retailer ans works best for non-consumables and products which aren’t subject to lots of “shelf wear.” You can protect yourself by offering one-time exchanges, specifying that the products must be from your current collection and in a condition suitable for resale.
“Current stock items may be exchanged (unopened, un-harmed, in the original packaging) for different merchandise, with all exchange shipping to be paid by the buyer.”

7. Regularly introduce new products.

New products are the lifeblood of retailers.  Yes, they need their staples, but consumers are always on the hunt for the latest and greatest.  Keeping your line stagnant means it will eventually go stale and retailers will lose interest.  Introduce new products once or twice a year to keep things interesting.  These don’t have to be radical category shifts or intricate collections. Artists: introduce a new print. Stationery girls: take a favorite notecard design and rework it into a magnet. Bath and body makers: add a new fragrance of lotion or an additional product format to an existing collection. Jewelry designers: recast a favorite gold design in silver.  You get the idea…

8. Provide promotional materials.

Promotional materials are designed to support your product at the point of sale. properly executed, they represent a cost-effective toolbox you can place in the hands of your wholesale buyers.  These can be provided on a complimentary basis with first orders, free with orders over $x or available to any stockist for a fee.
•  Window clings can be produced at minimal cost by a local sign company. Place your logo on a cling alongside the words “We proudly feature the xyz collection.”
• Preprinted shelftalkers offer critical information about your brand ethos, media coverage and product benefits.
• POP displays offer merchants instant merchandising support and draw attention to your products in a retail setting.

9. Make ordering easy.

The easier it is to place an order with your company, the more orders you’ll receive.  Simple, but oh-so-true. Work with your web developer to enable online ordering at wholesale prices. Process credit cards directly on your website.  Simplifying your checkout process and ensure it’s easy to follow. Accept multiple payment methods. Hook up a fax machine or use an online service like eFax to accept orders. Make that order form a tidy, well-designed, smartly-organized dream. Enable instant, automatic order confirmation emails if you process orders online and fast-as-lightning confirmations for orders processed manually.

10. Offer product training.

Products typically don’t sell themselves and shops are perpetually teaching staff about new products in an effort to boost sales. Help them help you: offer free product training to your wholesale partners. There are numerous options…
• Tuck product information cards listing features and benefits of new products into wholesale orders.
• Host a monthly product training call on a conference bridge. Invite stockists to hear your latest news + ask questions.
• Post videos on Vimeo or YouTube which walk buyers through specific products, their selling points and their creation processes.  Both platforms have a privacy feature which allows you to restrict viewing to select users.

I have 15 more tips for keeping your wholesale accounts happy, but they’re reserved exclusively for my LBU girls. Registration for my “how to wholesale” class opens again on May 27th and there are just 25 spots available. I’d love to welcome you into the course!

I am thrilled to announce an event that’s been months in the making: SoapMasters NYC! The beautiful and talented LaShonda Tyree of Nyah Beauty and Handmade Soap Coach is hosting some of my favorite people for a 3 day workshop brimming with information and empowerment. I’m honored to be invited to speak at this forward-thinking event and I’d love to see you there! Tickets are now available and that smart LaShonda has made it easy for you: there are 3 tracks to choose from. The Creative Business Ticket offers a day and a half is stellar business advice for makers of all kinds. The Soap Formulation Ticket strips out all the business goodness so you can focus on soapmaking and learning new techniques. But the VIP Ticket delivers it all (and it’s all good stuff!). Read on to learn more about the Masters and the workshops they’ll be presenting September 13-15 in New York City.

Lela Barker (that’s me!) Is the founder and CEO of Bella Lucce, the executive director of From Morocco, With Love and the president of Lucky Break Consulting.  She has a passion for small business, a heart for philanthropy and a brain brimming with lessons and anecdotes from ten years as a creative maker and entrepreneur. Lela will be presenting Don’t Lose Your Ass (a product pricing workshop) and The Recipe for Wholesale Success.

Dawn Fitch is the founder of Pooka Pure and Simple, a handmade bath and body company that you might have seen on The Today Show, CBS Evening News, Essence Magazine, Black Enterprise Magazine, The Network Journal, Michael Baisden Radio and various other media outlets. Dawn was the recipient of the Influencer Award for Entrepreneurship given by the Urban League, the Black Executive Award given by the African American Chambers of Commerce, and an Agent of Change award from the National Council of Negro Women and Pooka Pure and Simple was named a Local Hero by Whole Foods Markets. She’ll be leading two workshops: Next Stop, The Top and Be A Social Media Butterfly.

Donna Maria (or “dM,” as she is affectionately known by fans and friends alike) quit her job as a corporate attorney in DC in 2000 and founded the Indie Beauty Network, a for-profit trade organization serving small and independent businesses in the health, beauty and lifestyle industries. Today, Indie Beauty Network is part of Indie Business Media, LLC, a multi-faceted company  on a mission to empower women to maximize their potential through small business ownership. She has become a trusted advocate and a voice of influence and friendship for women business owners around the world. She’ll be teaching The Lifestyle CEO workshop.

A New Orleans, Louisiana native, Deirdre Mason is a business and intellectual property attorney and strategic business consultant with over 18 years of legal experience in corporate, real estate, land use, property tax appeals, worker’s compensation, civil and criminal litigation matters. Deirdre currently assists emerging and established businesses with corporate transactional matters in addition to registering and protecting trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Deirdre is a graduate of Rutgers University School of Law – Newark and the University of Pennsylvania’s College of Arts and Sciences. She’ll be leading a workshop that I’m particularly excited about: Name, Claim and Protect Your Creative Business.

Last (but certainly not least) is our lovely hostess, Ms. LaShonda Tyree. Finding herself trying to climb the corporate ladder of a mid size bank, La Shonda Tyree quickly found out that job security was a thing of the past. After being downsized after a corporate merger, La Shonda began to wonder if her new hobby of soapmaking, which was helping those closest to her would benefit others. In 2002 Nyah was born.After operating her full time handcrafted bath and body line for four years, La Shonda, aka The Handmade Soap Coach, began to turn her focus to teaching others the artisan craft of soapmaking and handmade natural cosmetics.  In 2011, she co-founded Beauty That Cares which improves the lives of girls and women through education, creation and donation. LaShonda will be presenting a full day of soapmaking workshops entitled The Mad Soap Scientist Unleashed.

Grab a spot for this incredible event and meet me in the Big Apple!

There’s no doubt about it: trade shows are pricey affairs.  Creative makers are often intimated by the price tag and uncertain of the benefits. This week in my LBU program, we’re exploring trade show strategies and I wanted to share a bit about budgeting for trade shows. Before we get to that, let’s firm up the benefits of exhibiting:

• Acquire New Stockists
Order-writing is the name of the game at trade shows and, if you’ve played your cards right, then you should walk away with a tidy stack of orders.

 • Enhance Your Brand Image
Exhibiting at a trade show sends a message that you’re playing for keeps and you’re ready to wholesale. You’ve ideally reached a new level of professionalism and you’re committing significant resources to build your wholesale business.  That’s impressive to buyers, media & competitors.

 • Enjoy Instant Product Feedback
This type of interaction inevitably yields opportunities for important, instant feedback about your products.

• Gain Media Exposure
Not only will you get that product in front of lots of new buyers, you’ll also be putting your brand out there in front of members of the press, as well.

• Network with Fellow Entrepreneurs
There will likely be hundreds (if not thousands) of exhibitors at a trade show, which presents a unique opportunity for networking, collaboration-building and competition-scoping.

• Exposure to Sales Reps
If you’re looking to work with sales reps, then you’ll find no shortage of them roaming trade show floors in search of promising new lines.

• Fuel Personal Relationships with Your Buyers
Trade shows present a unique opportunity for you to meet with countless existing stockists all in one place. By inviting existing accounts in the area to your trade show booth, you’re building and enhancing that relationship, which encourages loyalty and longevity.

• Build Your Mailing List
You’ll be collecting business cards en masse, which should be added to your mailing list and extend your reach.

Sounds lovely, right? Certainly, but only if you play your cards right: designing an attractive booth, having well-designed linesheets and order forms at the ready, and delivering the whole shebang at or under budget. Creative entrepreneurs are wise to keep the reigns on the financials, as these types of expenses can quickly spiral out of control.  Start by putting pen to paper and whipping out that calculator to design a realistic budget that accomplishes your show goals.  There are numerous expenses involved in exhibiting at a show, and the booth fee is just the tip of the iceberg.

A good rule of thumb? Take your booth fee and multiply it by three to arrive at your total  trade show budget.
Booth fee: $2700 x 3 =  $8,100 show budget

That figure will vary, of course, depending on how elaborate your booth design is, how many materials you need to ship in, how far you must travel and if you’re staying in the swankiest joint in town. But failing to design a target budget now will almost certainly lead to a financial panic later as miscellaneous expenses quickly accumulate.

Let’s walk through an example. Imagine that I’m going to exhibit at the National Stationery Show in NYC. The show lasts  4 days and I’ll need 2 additional days for set up + take down. That necessitates 5 nights of hotel accommodations. Two people will be manning the booth and we’re all the way in Kansas, so we’ll be flying in. I’ve upgraded to a hardwall 8×10″ booth at $43 per square foot and I’m going to pay the $400 upcharge for a corner booth.

$43 per square feet x 80 square feet = $3,440
+ $400 booth upcharge = $3,840 total booth fee
$3,840 booth fee x3 = $11,520 total show budget

$11,520 show budget
- $3,840 booth fee
- $2,304 for travel expenses (20%)
- $1,728 for show services (15%)
- $1,728 for booth design + furnishings (15%)
- $1,152 for printing + promotion (10%)
- $1,152 for shipping + related services (10%)

I’m committed to staying in budget, though I may have to make adjustments within those allocations. For example, I have $2304 reserved for travel expenses, but two plane tickets to NYC (at $400 each), plus 5 nights of hotel accommodations (at $300 each) total $2300, and our budget only provides $2304 in the travel category, leaving us a whopping $4 to feed ourselves and get around the city… not a very likely proposition. I’ll need to budget an additional $600 to allow for $100/day in meals and ground transportation. I re-read my show manual and discover that my hardwall booth is inclusive of electrical services, so I can likely pull $600 from the kitty reserved for show services in order to bulk up my travel budget.

Ponder these strategies for saving money while exhibiting at trade shows:

1. Avoid the “free gift for every visitor” trap. It’s expensive and unnecessary.
2. For the best rates, reserve union labor + electrical services in advance.
3. Take a small toolbox with you so that you can execute minor assembly tasks, eliminating costly labor fees.
4. When designing a booth, think: lightweight + multipurpose.
5. Swing by the store to stock up on snacks. Food at the exhibit will be ball-park-pricey.
6.  File all applications on time to avoid late fees.  Early exhibitors sometimes enjoy reduced booth fees and they inevitably have first crack at the bat when choosing booth locations on the show floor.
7. Print linesheets, catalogs and order forms at home. Remember:  All show services are provided at a premium. And those lines will be looooong.

8. “Drayage” is the term which describes fees paid to transport your booth materials within the exhibition building. If you ship ahead, then you’ll incur storage fees and drayage fees, which can total thousands of dollars. If at all possible, drive to the trade show and load up an SUV or a small Uhaul with everything you’ll need. If you’re not driving in, then ship one large crate or pallet rather than multiple smaller boxes. Drayage is charged in 100# increments and is always rounded up.  (Four 20# boxes = 400# worth of fees- yikes!)

Do you have any money-saving trade show tips? If so, I’d love to hear about them!

Next week’s curriculum unit for my LBU students is all about working with sales reps and exhibiting at trade shows.  We’re continuing to explore how to wholesale our products and sales reps are a topic of frequent discussion among creative makers. I’m excited to dive into the issue next week and really work through the nuts and bolts. I think we’re often pre-programmed to believe that we must utilize reps when working on the wholesale market, but that’s not always the case. And no matter how fabulous your sales rep is, if you’re not ready to enter that arena, then the relationship won’t ultimately be successful. How do you know if you’re ready to work with a sales rep? So glad you asked! The following in an excerpt from next week’s LBU curriculum.

Acquiring sales reps is one of the quickest, most cost-effective strategies for increasing sales.  But how do you know if you’re ready? Give yourself the greenlight if you answer the following questions in the affirmative…

1. Are you comfortable with stores upcharging your wholesale price by 100-150%?

2. Have you diligently crunched your COGS to ensure that your wholesale prices are properly set?

3. Can you afford to pay sales reps a 10-20% commission on each order?

4. Are you able to consistently produce your product?

5. Do you have a firm plan in place for scaling your business?

6. Are you able to loosen the reigns of control enough to bring on other qualified team members?

7. Are you able to generate smaller sizes of your product or can you afford to provide your rep with one full-sized sample of whatever it is your selling?

8. Do your product labels include UPC codes?

9. Do you have line sheets, order forms and other marketing materials at the ready?

10. Have you scored a handful of wholesale accounts on your own?

11. Are you organized enough to track multiple sales reps and maintain thorough + accurate records?

12. Are you willing to release new products twice per year?

If you found yourself nodding your head “yes” as you read that list, then it’s time to seriously consider the possibility of sales reps!

Also attached to Unit 5 of LBU are a series of tools to assist with sales reps and trade shows, including: a worksheet with which to organize your due diligence discovery process when considering a new sales rep, a sample sales rep agreement, a database of 72 trade shows I recommend (sorted by industry), a trade show budgeting tool, a trade show packing list and more!

When I imagined the kind of women who might be interested in joining my LBU: Secrets To Wholesale Success program, I hoped it would attract brilliant creative entrepreneurs. The kind of ladies who weren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and get dirty. A bevy of women who had innovative products and grand plans for them. Dreamers and do’ers who would support and empower one another.

Ladies and gentlemen: I found my people. And I found them in record time (did you hear? LBU sold out in five days). We are finishing up our second week in the program and these chicks have utterly dazzled me. They dive head-first into new curriculum videos each Monday, they rapid-fire questions during Friday Office Hour calls and they brainstorm for one another and cheer each other on all week long at our private Facebook group. Tres amazing.

I wanted you to see their shining faces, too, so I compiled the Spring 2013 edition of the LBU Yearbook. Click the image below to access a larger file and read more about twenty of the savviest entrepreneurs on the planet. I proudly present the inaugural class of LBU!

Alyssa Middleton of Vintage Body Spa in Louisville, KY

Starla Ledbetter of Roo Ranch Goat Milk Soap in Elverta, CA

Cherish Driskell of Operation Soapbox in Abilene, TX

Angela George of Angel Minaro Exquisite Beauty in Chicago, IL

Brenda Core of La Beaute Naturale in Bensalem, PA

Bethany Hilt of Vertere Skincare in Cleveland, OH

Mary Berry of Texas Beauty Labs in Plugerville, TX

Teri Patterson of Body Systems in Rapid City, SD

Linda Stevens of Studio 11 Glassworks in Dallas, GA

Kristie McNamara of Tilvee in Golden, CO

Carol Goss of Pamper Me Pure Bath & Body Alchemy in Ormond Beach, FL

Dawn Kinstley of Gruene Soapworks in New Braunfels, TX

Candace Sweeney of NaKee Natural in Jackson, MI

Kimberly Jones of Lumiere Cosmetics in New Hartford, NY

Kim Jones of Urban Tranquility in White Plains, NY

Christine Laureano of Ba6 Botanicals in Hampton Bays, NY

Roslyne Johnson of  Maya India Spa in Hempstead, NY

Debbie Richards of Big Fat Soap in Sugar Grove, IL

Joan Morais of Joan Morais Naturals in Fairfield, CA

Yolanda Cathcart of Londa’s Body Care in Roosevelt, NY

Interested in a spot in the Summer 2013 session of LBU? I’d love to welcome you! My six-week intensive kicks off July 15th and registration officially opens in late May. I can’t tell you precisely when but I can tell you that those on my mailing list will be the very first to know…

Lately, my Lucky Break University students have been deep diving into some important costing exercises, because the first rule of wholesale is that you can’t afford NOT to know your COGS (cost of goods sold).  And this isn’t the sort of thing that you can guess or estimate. This is the very left-brained component of our typically right-brained businesses and while number-crunching doesn’t have to top our “Favorite Business Tasks” list, it should have an honored placed on our semiannual “To Do” list.

I’m so passionate about the need to crunch accurate numbers often that l even included a Product Pricing Worksheet and a Pricing Calculator Tool (think of it as a lighter version of the forthcoming Price-O-Matic) for each of the LBU crew. I wanted to share with you two piece s of the pricing puzzle that I often see forgotten in overall calculations. But first, a quick lesson in COGS…

In their most basic form, the costs of good sold (COGS) are the combined expenses involved in bringing a product to market. For most creative entrepreneurs, those costs include…

• Raw Materials: The tangible components that compose your final product, plus product packaging

• Labor Costs: What it costs to pay someone to make that product

• Overhead Expenses: Workspace rent, utilities, insurance, phone and internet systems, etc.

Raw Materials +  Labor Expenses + Overhead  Expenses =

Cost Of Goods Sold

While pricing strategies are a dime a dozen, virtually all of them involve COGS as their core element. Simply put: you can’t attach a price to something unless you know precisely how much that something costs you to make. There are two small but important pieces to this COGS puzzle that I see left out time and time again:

a) Transportation costs for raw materials

b) Mandatory payroll taxes

Let’s look first at the transportation costs for raw materials.

In my LBU program, we’ve been running an imagined t-shirt company (aptly named: “The Best Damn T-Shirt Company In Town”) which produces screen printed tee’s. These might be our raw material costs for a single t-shirt.
T-shirt: $4.20
Ink: $.52
Custom neck label: $.14
Hangtag: $.10

Which brings our raw material costs to $4.96 per shirt. But wait! Did we pay to have any of those raw materials shipped to us? If so, then we’ve likely also paid freight costs. The ultimate goal is to understand the “landed costs” of each raw material, which reflect the the cost of the raw materials after it’s landed on your doorstep. There are several approaches…

1. Add a flat percentage.
Typically between 5-20% depending on how heavy your materials are and how far they’ve traveled. Using this system, our $4.98 is now $5.23-5.97. This is the easiest method if you order multiple items from a single vendor or purchase a single item from multiple vendors.

2. Calculate actual shipping costs per unit.
If you purchase 100 shirts at a time and the shipping charges on those 100 t-shirts total $18, then the shipping cost per unit is $.18. Our $4.20 t-shirt cost is now $4.38. This method takes a bit more footwork, but it’s obviously the most accurate, too.

If you fail to add in all those transportation costs, then you ultimately shortchange your raw material calculations. Make certain that every raw material cost in your COGS calculations represent landed costs.

The second missing piece of the puzzle involves the employer’s portion of payroll taxes.

Every type of pricing strategy relies heavily upon accurate labor costs, yet this particular expense bucket is often one of the most challenging for an entrepreneur. Determining correct labor costs is dependent on four factors:

1. Including every step + type of labor involved.

2. Accurately calculating how long each of those tasks takes per item produced.

3. Properly valuing the labor for each task.

4. Remembering to calculate required payroll taxes.

Oh yes, the dreaded payroll taxes. I’ll never forget the day I got my first paycheck (as a mail clerk in an insurance office at the age of 14) and how I stood there stunned, with a subtly trembling lip, as the realization washed over me: the federal government was going to dip into every paycheck for the rest of my life. On the scale of horror, it was second only to the day that I cut a paycheck to my first employee and realized that as an employer, I’d be chipping in as well.

In fact, you’re responsible for matching your employee’s contributions to social security and medicare. You’re also legally obligated to pay state unemployment taxes and federal unemployment.  Icing on the cake: you’ll most likely be required to provide workman’s compensation coverage, though those laws vary by state.

What does that mean for you? When crunching labor-related numbers and planning for future growth, your $10 per hour job is going to cost the company around $12 an hour.  Running the numbers without including all those additional costs is a recipe for disaster. I recommend  reading this article for more details and then contacting your state’s Department of Revenue to ask about specific state rates. If you’re the type that likes to boil things down to essence, you can add a blanket 15-20% onto your labor calculations to accommodate for payroll tax expenses and workman’s compensation.

One more thing: Please remember to pay yourself. Too often, solopreneurs neglect to precisely calculate labor costs, if they calculate them at all (after all, we’re the primary source of labor, right?).  If you have any ambition to scale your business, then you m.u.s.t. factor labor into your equation from the very beginning.  Neglecting this important exercise means that you’ll either lose your ass when the time comes to hire employees, or you’ll be forced to raise prices suddenly and significantly.

Besides, your time has value and there’s a powerful mindset shift that begins to take shape the moment you start valuing your labor appropriately.

I’ve run across a few unique opportunities this week that I wanted to share…

If you’ve ever wanted to learn to create your own bath and body products, then I’d like to introduce you to Joan Morais.  Born in Hawaii and based in California, Joan is a natural cosmetic formulator and instructor, certified aromatherapist and herbalist.  She shares her passion with burgeoning entrepreneurs by teaching a series of formulation workshops that are nothing short of brilliant. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Joan for several year now and have always known her to be a kind soul with a sincere desire to empower others. She also happens to uber-professional and quite savvy, which are qualifications that top my personal “Teacher Wish List.” For a limited time, Joan is offering three (!) scholarships to her online e-study courses. You can select from natural hair care or bath and body formulations.  The deadline to enter is April 14th and the process is blissfully simple.  Learn more at Joan’s website.

Also, if you have a creative bent and an itch to visit Morocco, then a new workshop by Project 91 might interest you. Headquartered in gorgeous Essaouira, Morocco (which just-so-happens to be my favorite city on the planet!), this UK-based charity seeks to improve the prospects of the nation’s youth. Though Morocco is a developing country with much to offer, there is a dearth of employment opportunities for this generation.  Through a series of free educational courses and job skills trainings, Project 91 seeks to educate and empower. They’re offering an intriguing workshop for creatives, spanning eight days and costing you nothing. In their words:

“Project 91 is delighted to host ‘RECYCLAGE’ with Colleen Cassar – an 8-day course in upcycling old clothes into toys, jewellery and fashion accessories, from 22 June to 8 July. The course, which will take place in the Project 91 shop, is open to Moroccan and non-Moroccan women; it is free but donations are welcome. Let’s see what we can make from the collision of Moroccan, Australian and other cultures!”

I’m completely smitten with this entire project. Spend a week in one of the most charming places I’ve ever stepped foot in and learn groovy new skills? Yes, please! Leave a comment if you’re in need of recommendations for drivers, restaurants or accommodations- I also run a nonprofit in the area and I’m happy to help connect you. Warning: once you step foot inside Essaouira, you may never want to leave…

…a mosquito at a nudist colony?

…a one-armed paper hanger?

…a rooster in a henhouse?

…a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs?

You get the idea.  I’m busier than I know what to do with right now.

I feel blessed to have businesses which are parading through unstable economies (and doing so with glittery costumes and big bass drums). But the honest truth is that last night, as I pondered my calendar for the next few months, I came to the realization that I need to pause a few things in order to fully commit to a few others.

The following services are unavailable until Monday, May 27th:

* POP consultations

* Hour-long consultations

* Cosmetic Label Reviews

* Full-day VIP Jam Sessions

* Product Photography (both live and virtual art direction)

I will continue, of course, to work with my existing clients but accepting new work at this time wouldn’t be fair to anyone.  I’m fully invested in my LBU “Secrets To Wholesale Success” class. I’ve got a few speaking engagements to prepare that need preparation. I’m planning a mondo-sized event with Jessika from Oh My! Handmade (no details yet, but it’s going to be epic). Toss in two virtual classes in development and a rush of new consulting clients and, well… I need to pace myself.

I appreciate your patience and look oh-so-forward to playing again on May 27th. The amount of material I’m pulling together is dizzying and I want to fully commit to each piece of this puzzle and do them justice. Grazie!

Can you see me doing my happy dance from wherever you are? Somewhere in beautiful Savannah GA, there’s a joyful soul with bouncy brown ringlets grooving across the hardwood floors of a charming vacation house in the Historic District. Just be grateful that I’m not singing and dancing, as I am far better at one than the other…

Oh My! Handmade has long been my favorite community for creative entrepreneurs (I’m even a contributor! See my 2013 Goal Mandala and my post about intellectual property protection). But editor Jessika Hepburn just added a new twist that has me uber-excited. The Oh My! Marketplace launches today, bringing together a variety of products and services qualified by a “high standard of awesome” for the benefit of creative entrepreneurs the world over. Hip, hip, hooray! I’ll let Jessika give you the 411 herself:

“Creative entrepreneurs rejoice! Today Oh My! Handmade launches a new creative marketplace bringing together some of the best services and supplies for growing a creative business. Now entrepreneurs have a curated source for finding designers, illustrators, print shops, developers, on/offline events, programs and much more. You can also find suppliers for creative, promotional, and packaging materials. Entrepreneurship is hard work and looking for the resources to grow a creative business can be exhausting. The Oh My! Marketplace is reinventing entrepreneurship by offering a community of knowledgeable, experienced, and generally awesome folks to help creatives at every stage of the business journey. Collaborative and creative, the friendly Oh My! Marketplace is waiting to welcome you!”

My favorite part? Jessika has personally vetted each and every vendor.  I’ve enjoyed many, many interactions with Jess, but every interaction we’ve ever had has reinforced her unwavering standards and high ethics. I firmly believe that having this gathering of vetted businesses really will change everything for creative entrepreneurs as they navigate the (sometimes choppy) waters of getting their gig up and running.

I invite you to check out Lucky Break Consulting’s personal marketplace right here (Seriously? Those JFDI posters are on fire) and the entire Oh My! Marketplace over here. I know how long and hard Jess has worked on this project and I am standing by the finish line with my moonwalk at the ready to throw virtual glitter on her as she crosses!