Making a good living

Artisan shave soap makers.....

Do these guys make an ok’ish living?

Or is it more of a hobbie?




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I hope they do, so that we can continue enjoying their amazing products.
Until of course somebody decides that this is another place where small payers must be penalized in favor of big industries... opps.... sorry, I meant regulated to protect the consumers.

(McClelland closes its business after 40 years)

Very few make it to the “professional” level.


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I believe they kinda have to do ok to moderately well. I don’t think they would continue to do it if they were going into debt. Best of luck to all of them though, the more options the better. R&D is not cheap either.

I hope they do, so that we can continue enjoying their amazing products.
Until of course somebody decides that this is another place where small payers must be penalized in favor of big industries... opps.... sorry, I meant regulated to protect the consumers.

(McClelland closes its business after 40 years)

I guess I miss any connection between a shave vendor and one that vended tobacco.

The profit margin is so low and the labor required is so high that most do not. The only reason I managed to go full-time with my business is that I ran my business for almost three years working a full-time (and sometimes overtime) job to as I reinvested all the profits from the company into growth strategies and scaling up. Until I went full-time in March, I had spent a year and a half putting in well over 40 hours at my job and WAAAAAY over 40 hours a week on my company.

Of course, now going on 2-3 hours of sleep per night for months on end and eschewing a life outside of my business are totally worth it, but it's not the goldmine many make it out to be. It's a lot of hard work and one challenge after another, but, at the same time, nothing worth doing is easy. I would say that the biggest driver why any of us do it is because we love it, not because of the money.

The profit margin is so low and the labor required is so high that most do not. The only reason I managed to go full-time with my business is that I ran my business for almost three years working a full-time (and sometimes overtime) job to as I reinvested all the profits from the company into growth strategies and scaling up. Until I went full-time in March, I had spent a year and a half putting in well over 40 hours at my job and WAAAAAY over 40 hours a week on my company.

Of course, now going on 2-3 hours of sleep per night for months on end and eschewing a life outside of my business are totally worth it, but it's not the goldmine many make it out to be. It's a lot of hard work and one challenge after another, but, at the same time, nothing worth doing is easy. I would say that the biggest driver why any of us do it is because we love it, not because of the money.

Being a teacher I can relate to this very well lol. Good on you.

The profit margin is so low and the labor required is so high that most do not. The only reason I managed to go full-time with my business is that I ran my business for almost three years working a full-time (and sometimes overtime) job to as I reinvested all the profits from the company into growth strategies and scaling up. Until I went full-time in March, I had spent a year and a half putting in well over 40 hours at my job and WAAAAAY over 40 hours a week on my company.

Of course, now going on 2-3 hours of sleep per night for months on end and eschewing a life outside of my business are totally worth it, but it's not the goldmine many make it out to be. It's a lot of hard work and one challenge after another, but, at the same time, nothing worth doing is easy. I would say that the biggest driver why any of us do it is because we love it, not because of the money.

Being a teacher I can relate to this very well lol. Good on you.

God bless both teachers and artisans (and musicians).

I hope they do, so that we can continue enjoying their amazing products.
Until of course somebody decides that this is another place where small payers must be penalized in favor of big industries... opps.... sorry, I meant regulated to protect the consumers.

(McClelland closes its business after 40 years)

I guess I miss any connection between a shave vendor and one that vended tobacco.  

The explanation is in my post.

There's another relatively recent thread in which this matter was discussed quite extensively, although perhaps from a slightly different angle:
https://damnfineshave.com/thread-don’t-s...ney-around

Thanks, hawns, for offering a valuable artisan’s perspective in this matter. And hats off to you and all others who have persevered in the business!

From what I have read, it seems that many artisans make shaving products on the side (as a hobby or a second source of income). Some may eventually end up doing it full-time, many won’t.

In the thread I linked above, there is some discussion about the effect that “hobbyist artisans” might have on those who are in the business full-time. Obviously, the risks are greater for those for whom making shaving products is their sole income, as opposed to those who have another income source. On the other hand, everyone has to start somewhere, and it’s smarter to avoid putting all eggs in one basket until knowing that the basket can actually hold all the eggs…