My grandfather taught me as a child. It's 3x your cost. That covers your cost. Your time and your profit. DONE.

@unclejonssoap

6 жыл бұрын

It's not always that simple. Depends on your particular set up with the business. Sometimes it 4x markup. If you plan to wholesale, that changes things too. It's different for everyone.. Lol

@HON3YLAND1

5 жыл бұрын

I was gonna say mark up standard is 3x

@unclejonssoap

5 жыл бұрын

Only in some cases. It can be 3x or 4x. Some products require way more thought due to labor, production costs, materials, little nuances that are unique to your product, etc.. But, if you're leaving room for selling wholesale and retail for a fairly simple product, then 4x is going to work better generally.

@igot99problemsbutmyaltaint81

4 жыл бұрын

The real killer is over head....in all business. Red or Black...

This is the most common sense formula I've seen online yet. You get paid a fair price without pricing yourself out of the market.

I do plan on selling once I learn more but the thing you said about having to pay for costs even if it is a hobby... perfect. My husband gives me a hard time for giving soap away for free. Definitely going to have to “ eat it “ and show him this video! He’ll be glad to know I finally understand what he was saying 😂

@unclejonssoap

3 жыл бұрын

Ha! Well.. I just hate to see people lose out on their hard work 😂

Cost accounting used to send me into twitching eyes and fetal position (hardest course in accounting) You've summed the entire semester in 10 minutes.

Uncle Jon... you're the best... thanks for your videos

Great explanation Jon! Well done. I love the KISS principle. So many times, people make it more difficult than it has to be.

I am back again another cost down and profit margin learning so much from you,I am just a new person going to start my own biz a billion thanks

As always straight to the point ,And you explain everything very well .😊

Thank God your explanation is so simple❤❤

Thank you for your information. Very good explanation on all aspects of figuring out cost/pricing.

You are so cool. Easy to listen to, and full of good info....always!

You are the soap yoda!

@unclejonssoap

7 жыл бұрын

lol.. thanks sir!

You are such a kind teacher

Thank you so much, you've simplified everything for me...been struggling with pricing.

Thanks for the video Jon! Always good to see you :)

@unclejonssoap

7 жыл бұрын

+Tracey Standridge thanks!

Awesome Advice for sure! Thank you!

Thank you for the info. Have a blessed rest of the week. :)

I really like you videos, you make it very simple and easy to understand!

Hi Jon. Thank you for your response. I live in the US. I have Home Depot and Lowe’s in New Jersey. I will take your advice about the Lye. At least now I have a brand name. I was nervous about buying the wrong brand to make cold process soap. So thank you so much for the info. I love your calculator tutorial. I also enjoyed your pricing video. Well, I’m not going to (Lye) lol....I like all of your videos. They are wonderful and informative. I had no idea about pricing and a lot of other things you teach. Maybe this weekend, I can take the time to break out the pricing. I want to make soap for myself but also sell it. I want to start with one of your recipes that you so graciously reveal in one of your videos. Again, thank you for your kindness in sharing what you know. I appreciate it. I hope I can ask you more questions and that you don’t mind. God bless you Jon. Thank you. Maria

I just found you Jon! I love your common sense approach. I have soap hobbied about 20 years', there was no internet then, to be business savvy, but now more info. I'm doing my homework, the maths side is really the hard work! hopefully will get there and launch later this year luv n light x

Love these videos, great to see in through the windows of your business.

@unclejonssoap

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I love what I do :) I also wish there was someone there to explain these things to me when i was starting out..lol

Thanks Unvle Jon, you make it so simple

Thank you for making this video :) I'm getting ready to launch my website and revamped my whole pricing list. It felt like the right thing to do

Idk u had a channel. I'm subbed now. This man is the sweetest person and the fairest. Loved busting your shop and it smells awesome. Yay

@unclejonssoap

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Thank you Uncle Jon for your simple cost analysis. I'm starting a craft product business and I was scratching my head how to price my products. This helps me big time. Thank you again!

@unclejonssoap

6 жыл бұрын

Awesome!

Love all of you video.Simple and clear.Very Helpful Congratulations

I've just started learning the basics of soap making, with the intention of turning it into a business someday. Your videos helped a lot in raising my confidence about pricing the soaps. Thank you so much! A subbie now. :)

@unclejonssoap

6 жыл бұрын

Fantastic! Thanks for watching! Glad you got something from my ramblings 😁

Shoutout from Singapore! Thanks for sharing your experience and wisdom!

The best costing advice I have ever heard. Harry whyte wood turner

Very helpful video! You make it so easy to understand...much appreciated!

@unclejonssoap

7 жыл бұрын

Awesome! Glad you got something from it :) Hopefully, I can keep it going! Do you have anything that you want to see explained? Just let me know and I'll see if I can get it done. Thanks!

Thank you for sharing all your knowledge.

This helped me understand what to focus on with pricing.

Explained in very simple way. Thank you 😊

You make everything simple...thanks

Thank you uncle Jon!

I learned something else from you. Just my 3rd video today and I liked everything you said. Were you a teacher? You explain everything so simple and you cover all the bases.

@unclejonssoap

6 жыл бұрын

I worked in special education for a local school district for about 8 years. Not really a teacher but i did work with teens :) Thanks for watching and the kind words!

@simplymoonchild3908

5 жыл бұрын

Uncle Jon's ......hi, what type of cutting tools should we use to cut our bar soaps once it’s cured/harden ?

@prosperityssoaps708

3 жыл бұрын

@@simplymoonchild3908 I know you will this last year and may have had to question answered since then, but I'm gonna answer so other people can see it. Depends on how much you make/sell. If you only make a little, a cheese slicer should do. If you plan on a lot, wire cutters are pricey but might be worth it, as long as you know you'll use it. With those, though, really do your research to make sure you'll need or want it, though. They're something like $200 a piece!!!! 🤪🤪🤪🤪

@lindaquinn5567

3 жыл бұрын

@@unclejonssoap for a girl who has autism, I found it easy to understand you:) that never happens a lot lol

Wow you made it so easy to understand for me thanks a lot for your information in your time

Excellent guidance sir !!! Many thanks for your clear explanation

@unclejonssoap

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

That was VERY helpful! Thank you!

Brotha I love your videos thank you for your help.

I needed this , I've just started out! I also want to learn to make soap and candles etc. Most off the stuff I make are out off socks and cotton wool and they get shipped abroad . Thank you!!

Why didn't I find your channel sooner. Very helpful thank you 😊

Great information. Thanks for sharing.

I'm learning alot, thank you

Ty UJ!!!

This is super educational and helpful, thanks!!!

@unclejonssoap

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Excellent video Jon.

@unclejonssoap

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

I work in a crew of two. A trainee was along recently, & he has a landscaping business. This guy's no uber-genius, but I was peppering him w/ questions about how he knew what to charge (he often submitted & won lucrative municipal bids). This's always fascinated me. Thanks!

@rockinrobin9455

7 жыл бұрын

Again, viewers, click on the "gear" icon, select "Speed" & crank this to 1.5x. Perfectly listenable.

Informative as always sir. Thanks!

@unclejonssoap

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Thanks uncle Jon

I'm starting a Cosmetics Company and this helps a lot, thanks!

Loved your video it was super helpful.

I appreciate the video. As for ink printing a label. What I did was note my ink level before I printed a label, Then I printed a sheet of labels and noted my ink level again and saw the difference. I then just put the cost of the ink and the ink level used on my spreadsheet and it figures out everything for me and adds it in the cost of my soap. So, as a result, Now I can make any size recipe and every little thing I do while adjusting my recipe and size, it tallies the cost for me and that includes ink. Very handy. I don't have to stick to the same size bar to know the cost. Although, my sales are from person to person and I only wish I could mark mine up 4x. I just figured that out. That would mean my normal $4 bar would be $6.40 Also, one more thing. I also tack in the cost of my shipping supplies. If I recieve $100 worth of oil, I enter in all the normal info but I also enter in the cost of shipping so if a bottle of spearmint costs me 33.95 and the shipping was 12.78 now my new cost for that bottle is 39.36 because it was factored into percentage size of orders. Meaning if that bottle was 30% of my shipping cost now that price is raised accordingly on my spreadsheet so I get my money back. That is included also as I adjusting my recipe. Very handy to have for pricing.

I,m just starting out.. thanks for the simple explanation..just subscibed..

That was helpful, thank you

Great information Jon. My granddaughter loves her lavender bath soap. I'll be ordering more down the road. See you soon.

@unclejonssoap

7 жыл бұрын

Very cool! I'm glad she likes it!

Very helpful thank you

The rarity of the product and how many you want to make in a given time, should also factor in. In my case, I'm by myself and I don't want to be bombarded with orders. Therefore I'm multiplying my cost to make times 8.

Wow very good info, . I have friends wanting me to make soap favors for them again ❤️ and in am wanting to charge them correctly.

Very good advice

Thanks for sharing !!!!!!!!!!

Just stumbled upon you, making my hot process to eventually sell. Thanks for the great advice!

@unclejonssoap

5 жыл бұрын

Congrats!

Good information. Very helpful. Thanks for sharing. 👍

@unclejonssoap

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Great Video Jon.

@unclejonssoap

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Oh my goodness. My mind is so blown it's about to leak out my ears. My shop goes live next week and I was using 6 different calculators and averaging the outcomes. I didn't just calculate time to make the product, I calculated everything from start to finish. From the trip to the store to buy the yarn to writing, editing and posting the listing for each individual scarf. WHOLESALE put me over $150. Retail was astronomical for a scarf that's not made of gold. I went along, however, because the calculators and blogs were encouraging. Get paid for your time, it's valuable. Just because you wouldn't buy it (I'm frugal) it doesn't mean that someone else won't. As I set up to go live next week, I started wondering if something was off. I got to this video because I was searching for whether or not to charge for the entire production, from getting in the car to buy the yarn to uploading the listing to Etsy or just the time to actually make the item. Then I watched this and I hear what you said about time, and I'm flabbergasted. But the price when I calculate things makes more sense. This question hit me after watching this ten times and then reading the comment 5 times. As craftsman, we're selling goods, not services unless we're doing custom which may be different. But if you're not custom, could it be said that when we add in time, we're charging for goods AND services? Much to think about but I may have to run with your advice.

@unclejonssoap

4 жыл бұрын

Yep.. if I calculated all my time in then each bar of soap would retail for over $20🤣. We make our money after the sale. I agree it should be looked at, but if we nickle and dime everything into each product, we would never be able to compete with the market at all. Now, if I'm doing custom work that's a different ball game. So, how long does it take you to make one of your scarves.. including the trips to get materials. If it's more than an hour to an hour and a half, then it's going to be tough unless you're in a very affluent area. Or.. if your scarves are something that's set apart and more unique then what people can get from other creators. You said your scarves were pricing at roughly $150 each? So, that means your time and materials are $37.50 right?

@jacquelinestextiles6313

4 жыл бұрын

@@unclejonssoap Oh my goodness! I started my shop last Wednesday and got my first sale yesterday! And the lady wants two more scarves! I can't help but wonder how eager she'd be for more scarves if I set the scarf at the original price of 187.00 for that particular kind. Based on all the other calculators and blogs and vlogs I would have done it with reservations, figuring they were the experts. If I didn't see your video at what was practically the midnight hour, I don't think I'd have this really encouraging start to my little business. THANK YOU for such practical and reasonable advice!

@unclejonssoap

4 жыл бұрын

Outstanding! Congrats on a great start!

@jacquelinestextiles6313

4 жыл бұрын

@@unclejonssoap thank you! :0D

Hi, I am originally from New York. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and moved to Jersey many many years later as an adult. Toms River NJ is very different from the city life, but I like it. Still miss New York though very much so I visit the city a lot. I have never been to Mt. Holly but have heard it is very nice. Where do you live Jon? And I can’t wait to try to cost out soaps and expenses. Going to follow your cost video. I started making melt and pour last December, but I want to do cold process. It’s better. Once I get confident with that, then I want to try making other things like detergent. You’re the best. No need to watch other videos people. I’m sticking with Jon. Lol

@unclejonssoap

6 жыл бұрын

First.. Thanks for watching! We used to spend parts of our Summers in Tom's River! Island heights to be exact. There was a small closer of Summer cottages does near the yacht club where that old pavilion burned down (again). West camp walk was the street name. Loved that little area! I think you'll be fine doing CP soap. It's not too difficult unless you try to make it that way... Lol. Just take your time in the first few batches and have fun with it 😁. Mt. Holly is ok I guess. It's had some major ups and downs through the years but it's still where I came from. Glad to have you on our channel! Feel free to ask questions and Todd me dinner ideas if there's anything you would like to see in video. Cheers!

Your a great teacher ❤️

@unclejonssoap

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

This was so helpful...

Sometimes I sell my soap to myself. This is nice because I can charge anything I want since I'll be the one collecting the money. I just took a shower with a $6T bar of soap, and man do I feel good.

@unclejonssoap

2 жыл бұрын

🤣

Thank you for the video. Very useful.

@unclejonssoap

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! 😁

very cool and extremely informative. some of the websites out there also tend to offer suggestive retail prices below some of their kits that they have available.

@unclejonssoap

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Glad I found your channel. I subbed. Great video.

@unclejonssoap

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Thank you! I will try your strategy. Another strategy that was online, gave me a selling price of $98, for only 1 Keychain! NO ONE is going to buy a Crocheted Keychain, for that amount!

x2.5 for wholesale should cover all your cost. x4 for retail. Those are fair prices considering all what is involved to manufacture your product. For big wholesale orders then you have some room for price negotiations with your clients…

very informative, thank you!

thank you for your help

Ooooh that is a great container

Great insight!

@unclejonssoap

7 жыл бұрын

+MaryFrances C Thanks!

Thank you! It’s my first time selling and concerned I will charge to much or to little . And want to be fair . I’m overthinking it all 😂

@unclejonssoap

8 ай бұрын

It happens all the time. I still second guess myself sometimes even with my voiceover work and other KZread channels...lol

Correct question is how you define your cost. Thank you for all the tutorials. Learn a lot from your clips

Hi! Just discovered you tonite! Enjoying your videos😃.

I love all the advice and simple breakdown of cost to create the pricing for a product. And I'd love to know which printer you use (that supplies so many multi task). Thanks.

U are the best teacher

Thx uncle Jon

Thank You!

Oh sorry Jon. I didn’t see the last part of your response that I can ask you more questions questions. And yes, your response helped a lot. I’m googling Ace stores in Jersey. I’m sure they exist lol. Thanks again. Have a blessed day.

@unclejonssoap

6 жыл бұрын

Very cool! What part of NJ? I grew up in the Mt Holly area mostly. South Jersey 😁

Very helpful! ,Thanks. 😊

@unclejonssoap

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

I just happened to click on ur videos and I luv them there really cool!

@unclejonssoap

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

people keep saying to i need to average my time in, funny though, I enjoy making it so much I don't feel like its a job. I am about to launch my product in June and the only thing I don't like to do is sit at the computer and make labels. :( But because I am starting out with low start up cost I know its mandatory. Thank you for the video, found you this morning and now I'm up to 4th video.

Hi, you are fantastic and wonderful to share your knowledge. I love your straightforward approach and no nonsense explanations. Just simple and right to it. I am learning a lot from you even though I have not made my first batch of soaps yet. I want to watch ALL of your videos. But where should I buy and what brand lye? That is was stopping me from making the soap. I want to keep it simple like you do. God bless you for all you do. Thank you so much! Maria

@unclejonssoap

6 жыл бұрын

Hi Maria! Thanks for watching. So... That's Tricky Weston depending on where you live. If you're in the US, I can help with that. Locally, see if you have an Ace hardware store. They tend to sell Red Devil lye and it's 100% sodium hydroxide. If they don't carry it (near the plungers) then I would go on Amazon and look for Essential Depot sodium hydroxide. I'm not sure if the price is better on Amazon or directly from essential depot. I would compare both. I love that I can get my lye from them in pre portioned 2 pound bottles. Even though I make a lot of soap, it makes life easier with storage and not opening too much at one time then having to transfer 50 pounds of lye to buckets..lol. I hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions 😁

ty :)

Good breakdown! I'd like to add that when you're pricing, you need to look not just at the price you pay for the materials you use, but also the cost of getting those materials to your shop. If you buy a bucket of oil for say $50, but it costs you $20 for delivery, then really the oil costs $70. "Cost of goods sold", etc.

@unclejonssoap

5 жыл бұрын

Exactly! I probably should have spelled that out a little more clearly. I use the total cost of that product. So if it's shipped, that is part of my cost, if I buy something retail (gasp) then I include the sales tax I paid out of pocket. Thanks!

@dyingsun23

5 жыл бұрын

Makes you appreciate the value of buying in bulk! I used to make and sell candles, it helps to break the price of all your ingredients down to cost per gram, makes calculating your finished product a lot easier :)

@unclejonssoap

5 жыл бұрын

Yep! I do it by ounces because I'm too stubborn to learn metric right now..lol. But I find that if I break it down like that it is easy. Just have to make sure I watch for price changes throughout the year 😁

Love your videos very helpful for a new soap maker! Thank you. Do you have a preferred lye calculator? If so possible a video on that!?

@unclejonssoap

4 жыл бұрын

I tend to stick with soapcalc.com since I've been using it the longest. I've done a video on that for regular soap and shave soap before 😁

Charging for time is a very difficult thing. Fortunately soap making isn't labor intensive. It probably takes you significantly less than an hour to mix up a batch of soap. That's prep, mixing, and cleanup. Then there is cutting, printing labels and packaging. Again, less than an hour I'm guessing. The reality of the situation is you price on your direct costs. If you're working full time and not making enough to pay all your overhead and utilities and end up with enough money in your pocket to make it worth your while, you either need to increase prices or decrease costs or increase your productivity so you can make more money.

Thank you Jon for making this video! It was very informative. I really liked your shave soap container. Where do you buy your containers?

@unclejonssoap

6 жыл бұрын

I now get my shave containers at wholesale supplies plus. The natural ones seem to hold up really well.

Thank you. I make model kits (figurines). I see everyone including labor costs with complex formulas. But those formulas only work if you are making stuff that only costs a few bucks to make like jewellery or gift cards. My product would be too expensive, I'd struggle to sell. My material costs are so high I only multiply by 3, otherwise my market will shrink.

This guy is so right: you don't add your time onto handcrafted goods. When I see people doing this, they always overprice their items at flea markets etc. $20 for jewelry that isn't even sterling silver etc.

@lightatomindark6202

5 жыл бұрын

Don't forget they spend the time of making that jewellery, it doesn't matter what material it is. I am a watch repair and the time is so precious it doesn't matter what watch it is.

👍 Thanks

Awesome video....only thing I can think of that you didn't mention is I incorporate my shipping costs into my ppb...some ingredients are expensive to ship! Your last video on trolls had me rofl!! Keep up the good work !

@unclejonssoap

7 жыл бұрын

Do you mean getting stuff shipped to you? I always figure that as part of the cost of goods. Shipping my stuff to customers, they pay for..lol. Thanks for the kind words. I was late getting another jerk video up :)

@shadyacrehomestead4737

7 жыл бұрын

Yes, stuff shipped to me. My customers also pay for shipping. Always enjoy your videos, love what your thoughts are on the small business soaping industry. Soap on :)

@unclejonssoap

7 жыл бұрын

Editing a mold video now :)

Dope