RAISING THE BAR
Emma Heathcote-James is the founder of Cotswolds-based Little Soap Company
Little Soap Company is a hobby that went wrong.
I freelanced in the media but wanted something that was mine, a hobby business to get me away from my laptop. My grandmother collected handmade bars of soap from all over the world. After she died, her stashes had dwindled. I tried various soap, but it felt so awful on
It’s all about education. Remember your story.
my skin that I tried to make my own. The results were very mixed, so when I met someone at a village fete with an amazing formulation who was about to pack up the business, I asked to buy her recipes. I offered her £2,500 based on the logic it was what my neighbour had paid for his ‘hobby’ bike.
I really admire Jamie Oliver for helping people understand the preservatives put into pre-made food. At the moment, people don’t understand what’s going into cosmetics. Our products only use pure organic ingredients – stuff you can be happy putting on your skin every day. In our Little Soap School, we offer classes in hand-making bars and balms. If people are going to copy, they will. If they work as hard as me in those first few years, they deserve their success!
At first I bought ingredients in small, very expensive quantities, made the bars on my kitchen table and sold them at markets. I broke even and
it was lots of fun but I wanted them to be in Waitrose. I used to wait in their foyer, searching for the right buyer. I wince about it now but it worked! But that kitchen table is in our offices to remind us how we started.
Surround yourself with like-minded people.
When I started, I was so lonely. I didn’t realise how hard it would be on my own. I found out about Women in Rural Enterprises (WiRE) and started my own group. It was so helpful meeting local producers and makers.
Listen to others – but trust your gut.
Speaking at a conference early on, one audience member kept asking pertinent questions as I lamented the physical cap for one-man producers. She asked why hadn’t I upscaled and got a factory if I wanted to get organic soap to everyone? It turned out that she was from Tesco and wanted to stock my products. I spent two or three months deciding whether to go ahead, to make it my full-time job. The creation of our ‘Everyday’ range meant I had to find factories I could trust. People do business with people and I’ve learned that my gut instinct is always right. After that, everything gathered speed and we then went into Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Booths, Tesco and Boots nationwide. That was five years ago.
Get employees who are better than you.
The challenge is finding the right people – it’s your baby; to others, understandably, it’s a job. But find them and it’s a massive help – I hand over the things I’m not good at, and focus on what I enjoy most; the vision, public speaking, seeing buyers and social enterprise work. You’ve got to trust other people.
The best ideas can come from your own needs.
I used to look after guide dog puppies – Umber was especially naughty and always filthy. Once I grabbed some nearby soap to rub him down. That led to the development of our new Little Beast bar. We’ve also made a shampoo – a real challenge without using chemicals. There’s nothing else that’s similar for pets so it fills a gap in the market.
My business is me, so it’s got to be somewhere that suits who I am.
An industrial unit just wouldn’t work for me. We’re in a Cotswolds stone building with ten acres of land out the back. In the summer, there’s nothing nicer than sitting with your feet in the stream.
Find ways to unload.
I tend to say yes a lot; I’m learning to say no. At first, I was treating the business as a massive distraction from what wasn’t great in my life. Yoga and running have been magic for my anxiety and stress.
Know yourself.
At the start of last year, my family and business mentor suggested I had some downtime – the business had grown so fast. But that’s just not me, I’ve got to keep moving. This year, we’re releasing shower gel and haircare exclusively for Waitrose. Even now, eight years on, when I see our products on the shelves, I want to tug people’s sleeves and tell them that I made them.